Provide publicly funded child care to certain child care staff

As Introduced

136th
General Assembly

Regular
Session
H. B. No. 768

2025-2026

Representatives White, E., Bryant
Bailey

Cosponsors: Representatives Jarrells,
McNally, Lett, Piccolantonio, Rader, Brennan, Abdullahi, Russo,
Rogers, Brownlee, Miller, J., Sims, Sweeney, Brewer, Synenberg,
Upchurch, Somani, Tims

To
amend sections 5104.30 and 5104.34 and to enact section 5104.342 of
the Revised Code
to
provide publicly funded child care benefits to certain child care
staff members and to make an appropriation.

BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

Section
1.
That
sections 5104.30 and 5104.34 be amended and section 5104.342 of the
Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:

Sec.
5104.30.
(A)
The department of children and youth is hereby designated as the
state agency responsible for administration and coordination of
federal and state funding for publicly funded child care in this
state. Publicly funded child care shall be provided to the following:

(1)
Recipients of transitional child care as provided under section
5104.34 of the Revised Code;

(2)
Participants in the Ohio works first program established under
Chapter 5107. of the Revised Code;

(3)
Individuals who would be participating in the Ohio works first
program if not for a sanction under section 5107.16 of the Revised
Code and who continue to participate in a work activity,
developmental activity, or alternative work activity pursuant to an
assignment under section 5107.42 of the Revised Code;

(4)
A family receiving publicly funded child care on October 1, 1997,
until the family's income reaches one hundred fifty per cent of the
federal poverty line;

(5)
Subject to available funds, other individuals determined eligible in
accordance with rules adopted under section 5104.38 of the Revised
Code
;

(6)
Subject to available funds, child care staff members as provided
under section 5104.342 of the Revised Code
.

The
department shall apply to the United States department of health and
human services for authority to operate a coordinated program for
publicly funded child care, if the director of children and youth
determines that the application is necessary. For purposes of this
section, the department of children and youth may enter into
agreements with other state agencies that are involved in regulation
or funding of child care. The department shall consider the special
needs of migrant workers when it administers and coordinates publicly
funded child care and shall develop appropriate procedures for
accommodating the needs of migrant workers for publicly funded child
care.

(B)
The department of children and youth shall distribute state and
federal funds for publicly funded child care, including
appropriations of state funds for publicly funded child care and
appropriations of federal funds available under the child care block
grant act, Title IV-A, and Title XX. The department may use any state
funds appropriated for publicly funded child care as the state share
required to match any federal funds appropriated for publicly funded
child care.

(C)
In the use of federal funds available under the child care block
grant act, all of the following apply:

(1)
The department may use the federal funds to hire staff to prepare any
rules required under this chapter and to administer and coordinate
federal and state funding for publicly funded child care.

(2)
Not more than five per cent of the aggregate amount of the federal
funds received for a fiscal year may be expended for administrative
costs.

(3)
The department shall allocate and use at least four per cent of the
federal funds for the following:

(a)
Activities designed to provide comprehensive consumer education to
parents and the public;

(b)
Activities that increase parental choice;

(c)
Activities, including child care resource and referral services,
designed to improve the quality, and increase the supply, of child
care;

(d)
Establishing the step up to quality program pursuant to section
5104.29 of the Revised Code.

(4)
The department shall ensure that the federal funds will be used only
to supplement, and will not be used to supplant, federal, state, and
local funds available on the effective date of the child care block
grant act for publicly funded child care and related programs. If
authorized by rules adopted by the department pursuant to section
5104.42 of the Revised Code, county departments of job and family
services may purchase child care from funds obtained through any
other means.

(D)
The department shall encourage the development of suitable child care
throughout the state, especially in areas with high concentrations of
recipients of public assistance and families with low incomes. The
department shall encourage the development of suitable child care
designed to accommodate the special needs of migrant workers. On
request, the department, through its employees or contracts with
state or community child care resource and referral service
organizations, shall provide consultation to groups and individuals
interested in developing child care. The department of children and
youth may enter into interagency agreements with the department of
education and workforce, the chancellor of higher education, the
department of development, and other state agencies and entities
whenever the cooperative efforts of the other state agencies and
entities are necessary for the department of children and youth to
fulfill its duties and responsibilities under this chapter.

The
department shall develop and maintain a registry of persons providing
child care. The director shall adopt rules in accordance with Chapter
119. of the Revised Code establishing procedures and requirements for
the registry's administration.

(E)(1)
The director shall adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the
Revised Code establishing both of the following:

(a)
Payment rates for providers of publicly funded child care not later
than the first day of July in each odd-numbered year;

(b)
A procedure for paying providers of publicly funded child care.

(2)
In establishing payment rates under division (E)(1)(a) of this
section, the director shall do all of the following:

(a)
Use the information obtained from the market rate survey developed
and conducted in accordance with 45 C.F.R. 98.45;

(b)
Establish an enhanced payment rate for providers who enroll children
whose caretaker parents work nontraditional hours;

(c)
With regard to the step up to quality program established pursuant to
section 5104.29 of the Revised Code, establish enhanced payment rates
for child care providers that participate in the program.

(3)
In establishing payment rates under division (E)(1)(a) of this
section, the director may establish different payment rates based on
any of the following:

(a)
Geographic location of the provider;

(b)
Type of care provided;

(c)
Age of the child served;

(d)
Special needs of the child served;

(e)
Whether the expanded hours of service are provided;

(f)
Whether weekend service is provided;

(g)
Whether the provider has exceeded the minimum requirements of state
statutes and rules governing child care;

(h)
Any other factors the director considers appropriate.

Sec.
5104.34.
(A)(1)
Each county department of job and family services shall implement
procedures for making determinations of eligibility for publicly
funded child care. Under those procedures, the eligibility
determination for each applicant shall be made no later than thirty
calendar days from the date the county department receives a
completed application for publicly funded child care. Each applicant
shall be notified promptly of the results of the eligibility
determination. An applicant aggrieved by a decision or delay in
making an eligibility determination may appeal the decision or delay
to the department of children and youth in accordance with section
5101.35 of the Revised Code. The due process rights of applicants
shall be protected.

To
the extent permitted by federal law, the county department may make
all determinations of eligibility for publicly funded child care, may
contract with child care providers or child care resource and
referral service organizations for the providers or resource and
referral service organizations to make all or any part of the
determinations, and may contract with child care providers or child
care resource and referral service organizations for the providers or
resource and referral service organizations to collect specified
information for use by the county department in making
determinations. If a county department contracts with a child care
provider or a child care resource and referral service organization
for eligibility determinations or for the collection of information,
the contract shall require the provider or resource and referral
service organization to make each eligibility determination no later
than thirty calendar days from the date the provider or resource and
referral organization receives a completed application that is the
basis of the determination and to collect and transmit all necessary
information to the county department within a period of time that
enables the county department to make each eligibility determination
no later than thirty days after the filing of the application that is
the basis of the determination.

The
county department may station employees of the department in various
locations throughout the county to collect information relevant to
applications for publicly funded child care and to make eligibility
determinations. The county department, child care provider, and child
care resource and referral service organization shall make each
determination of eligibility for publicly funded child care no later
than thirty days after the filing of the application that is the
basis of the determination, shall make each determination in
accordance with any relevant rules adopted pursuant to section
5104.38 of the Revised Code, and shall notify promptly each applicant
for publicly funded child care of the results of the determination of
the applicant's eligibility.

The
director of children and youth shall adopt rules in accordance with
Chapter 119. of the Revised Code for monitoring the eligibility
determination process. In accordance with those rules, the state
department shall monitor eligibility determinations made by county
departments of job and family services and shall direct any entity
that is not in compliance with this division or any rule adopted
under this division to implement corrective action specified by the
department.

(2)(a)
All eligibility determinations for publicly funded child care shall
be made in accordance with rules adopted pursuant to division (A) of
section 5104.38 of the Revised Code. Except as otherwise provided in
this section, all of the following apply:

(i)
Publicly funded child care may be provided only to eligible infants,
toddlers, preschool-age children, school-age children under age
thirteen, or children receiving special needs child care.

(ii)
For an applicant to be eligible for publicly funded child care, the
caretaker parent must be employed or participating in a program of
education or training for an amount of time reasonably related to the
time that the parent's children are receiving publicly funded child
care. This restriction does not apply to families whose children are
eligible for protective child care.

(iii)
The eligibility period for publicly funded child care shall be at
least twelve months.

(b)
If a caretaker parent who has been determined eligible to receive
publicly funded child care no longer meets the requirements of
division (A)(2)(a)(ii) of this section, the caretaker parent may
continue to receive publicly funded child care for a period of at
least three but not more than four months not to extend beyond the
caretaker parent's eligibility period.

(c)
If a child turns thirteen, or if a child receiving special needs
child care turns eighteen, during the eligibility period, the
caretaker parent may continue to receive publicly funded child care
until the end of that eligibility period.

Subject
to available funds,
and
except as provided in section 5104.342 of the Revised Code,
the
department of children and youth shall allow a family to receive
publicly funded child care unless the family's income exceeds the
maximum income eligibility limit. Initial and continued eligibility
for publicly funded child care is subject to available funds unless
the family is receiving child care pursuant to division (A)(1), (2),
(3), or (4) of section 5104.30 of the Revised Code. If the department
must limit eligibility due to lack of available funds, it shall give
first priority for publicly funded child care to an assistance group
whose income is not more than the maximum income eligibility limit
that received transitional child care in the previous month but is no
longer eligible because the eligibility period has expired. Such an
assistance group shall continue to receive priority for publicly
funded child care until its income exceeds the maximum income
eligibility limit.

(3)
An assistance group that ceases to participate in the Ohio works
first program established under Chapter 5107. of the Revised Code is
eligible for transitional child care at any time during the
immediately following twelve-month period that both of the following
apply:

(a)
The assistance group requires child care due to employment;

(b)
The assistance group's income is not more than one hundred fifty per
cent of the federal poverty line.

An
assistance group ineligible to participate in the Ohio works first
program pursuant to section 5101.83 or section 5107.16 of the Revised
Code is not eligible for transitional child care.

(B)
To the extent permitted by federal law, the department of children
and youth may require a caretaker parent determined to be eligible
for publicly funded child care to pay a fee according to the schedule
of fees established in rules adopted under section 5104.38 of the
Revised Code. The department shall make protective child care
services and homeless child care services available to children
without regard to the income or assets of the caretaker parent of the
child.

(C)
A caretaker parent receiving publicly funded child care shall report
to the entity that determined eligibility any changes in status with
respect to employment or participation in a program of education or
training not later than ten calendar days after the change occurs.

(D)
If the department of children and youth determines that available
resources are not sufficient to provide publicly funded child care to
all eligible families who request it, the department may establish a
waiting list. The department may establish separate waiting lists
within the waiting list based on income.

(E)
A caretaker parent shall not receive publicly funded child care from
more than one child care provider per child during a week, unless a
county department grants the family an exemption for one of the
following reasons:

(1)
The child needs additional care during non-traditional hours;

(2)
The child needs to change providers in the middle of the week and the
hours of care provided by the providers do not overlap;

(3)
The child's provider is closed on scheduled school days off or on
calamity days.

(F)
As used in this section, "maximum income eligibility limit"
means the amount of income specified in rules adopted under division
(A) of section 5104.38 of the Revised Code.

Sec.
5104.342.
(A)
As used in this section and section 5104.30 of the Revised Code,
"child care staff member" does not include an employee of
an approved child day camp or an administrator, authorized
representative, or owner.

(B)
When determining eligibility for publicly funded child care as
described in section 5104.34 of the Revised Code, a county department
of job and family services shall exclude all of a family's income
from that determination if an applicant for publicly funded child
care demonstrates to the county department that the child's caretaker
parent is a child care staff member who works as such for a minimum
of twenty hours per week. The applicant shall otherwise meet the
requirements of division (A)(2)(a) of section 5104.34 of the Revised
Code.

Section
2.
That
existing sections 5104.30 and 5104.34 of the Revised Code are hereby
repealed.

Section
3.
On
the effective date of this section, or as soon as possible
thereafter, the Director of Children and Youth shall certify to the
Director of Budget and Management the amount necessary to provide
publicly funded child care benefits to child care staff members in
accordance with section 5104.342 of the Revised Code during fiscal
year 2026 and fiscal year 2027. The amount certified is hereby
appropriated.

Within
the limits set forth in this act, the Director of Budget and
Management shall establish accounts indicating the source and amount
of funds for each appropriation made in this act, and shall determine
the manner in which appropriation accounts shall be maintained.
Expenditures from operating appropriations contained in this act
shall be accounted for as though made in, and are subject to all
applicable provisions of, H.B. 96 of the 136th General Assembly.