Working conn. child care

AN ACT Relating to modifying the working connections child care 1
program; amending RCW 43.216.802, 43.216.828, and 41.56.153; adding 2
new sections to chapter 43.216 RCW; creating a new section; repealing 3
RCW 43.216.827; providing an effective date; providing an expiration 4
date; and declaring an emergency. 5
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:6
Sec. 1. RCW 43.216.802 and 2025 c 412 s 5 are each amended to 7
read as follows: 8
(1) It is the intent of the legislature to increase working 9
families' access to affordable, high quality child care and to 10
support the expansion of the workforce to support businesses and the 11
statewide economy. 12
(2) A family is eligible for working connections child care when 13
the household's annual income is at or below 60 percent of the state 14
median income adjusted for family size and: 15
(a) The child receiving care is: (i) Less than 13 years of age; 16
or (ii) less than 19 years of age and has a verified special need 17
according to department rule or is under court supervision; and18
(b) The household meets all other program eligibility 19
requirements established in this chapter or in rule by the department 20
S-5278.3
SENATE BILL 6353
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2026 Regular Session
By Senators Robinson and Gildon
Read first time 02/18/26. Referred to Committee on Ways & Means.
p. 1 SB 6353
as authorized by RCW 43.216.055 or 43.216.065 or any other authority 1
granted by this chapter. 2
(3) ((Beginning July 1, 2029, a family is eligible for working 3
connections child care when the household's annual income is above 60 4
percent and at or below 75 percent of the state median income 5
adjusted for family size and:6
(a) The child receiving care is: (i) Less than 13 years of age; 7
or (ii) less than 19 years of age and has a verified special need 8
according to department rule or is under court supervision; and9
(b) The household meets all other program eligibility 10
requirements established in this chapter or in rule by the department 11
as authorized by RCW 43.216.055 or 43.216.065 or any other authority 12
granted by this chapter.13
(4) Beginning July 1, 2031, and subject to the availability of 14
amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, a family is eligible 15
for working connections child care when the household's annual income 16
is above 75 percent of the state median income and is at or below 85 17
percent of the state median income adjusted for family size and:18
(a) The child receiving care is: (i) Less than 13 years of age; 19
or (ii) less than 19 years of age and has a verified special need 20
according to department rule or is under court supervision; and21
(b) The household meets all other program eligibility 22
requirements established in this chapter or in rule by the department 23
as authorized by RCW 43.216.055 or 43.216.065 or any other authority 24
granted by this chapter.25
(5))) Beginning November 1, 2024, when an applicant or consumer 26
is a member of an assistance unit that is eligible for or receiving 27
basic food benefits under the federal supplemental nutrition 28
assistance program or the state food assistance program the 29
department must determine that the household income eligibility 30
requirements in this section are met. 31
(((6))) (4) The department must adopt rules to implement this 32
section, including an income phase-out eligibility period.33
(((7))) (5) The department may not consider the citizenship 34
status of an applicant or consumer's child when determining 35
eligibility for working connections child care benefits.36
(((8))) (6) The income eligibility requirements in 37
((subsections)) subsection (2) ((through (4))) of this section ((do)) 38
does not apply to households eligible for the working connections 39
child care program under RCW 43.216.808 and 43.216.814.40
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NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. (1) By October 1, 2026, the department of 1
children, youth, and families shall adopt a rule that allows licensed 2
or certified child care centers who accept state subsidy payments to:3
(a) Claim a daily payment of up to 15 days when a child attends 4
at least one day in a month within the authorization period and the 5
number of units authorized; and 6
(b) Claim a daily payment for each additional day a child attends 7
beyond 15 days in a month within the authorization period and the 8
number of units authorized. 9
(2) This section expires July 1, 2027. 10
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 43.216 11
RCW under the subchapter heading "subsidized child care" to read as 12
follows: 13
The department shall adopt a rule that allows licensed or 14
certified child care providers who accept state subsidy payments to:15
(1) Claim a daily payment of up to 15 days when a child attends 16
at least one day in a month within the authorization period and the 17
number of units authorized; and 18
(2) Claim a daily payment for each additional day a child attends 19
beyond 15 days in a month within the authorization period and the 20
number of units authorized. 21
Sec. 4. RCW 43.216.828 and 2025 c 424 s 957 are each amended to 22
read as follows: 23
(1) It is the intent of the legislature to systemically increase 24
child care subsidy rates over time until rates are equal to the full 25
cost of providing high quality child care. 26
(2)(a) Beginning July 1, 2026, child care subsidy base rates must 27
achieve the 85th percentile of market, as established by the most 28
recent market rate survey published before May 20, 2025, for licensed 29
or certified child care providers. 30
(b) Beginning July 1, 2027, child care subsidy base rates must 31
achieve the 75th percentile of market for licensed or certified child 32
care providers. The state and the exclusive representative for family 33
child care providers must enter into bargaining over the 34
implementation of the subsidy rate increase under this subsection.35
(3)(a) The department shall ((build upon the work of the child 36
care collaborative task force to develop and implement a child care 37
cost estimate model and )) use the completed child care cost ((model)) 38
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methodology published in accordance with RCW 43.216.829 to recommend 1
subsidy rates at levels that are sufficient to compensate licensed or 2
certified child care providers for the full costs of providing high 3
quality child care. ((The department shall consider:4
(i) Adjusting rates to reflect cost of living such as area median 5
income, cost of living by zip code, and grouping by categories such 6
as rural, suburban, or urban; and7
(ii) Incorporating the rate model for nonstandard child care 8
hours developed under section 306, chapter 199, Laws of 2021.))9
(b) The department shall build upon the work of the child care 10
collaborative task force to evaluate options to support access to 11
affordable health care insurance coverage for licensed or certified 12
child care providers. 13
(4) This section does not interfere with, impede, or in any way 14
diminish the right of family child care providers to bargain 15
collectively with the state through the exclusive bargaining 16
representatives as provided for under RCW 41.56.153.17
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. A new section is added to chapter 43.216 18
RCW under the subchapter heading "subsidized child care" to read as 19
follows: 20
Beginning July 1, 2026, licensed or certified child care 21
providers may not receive a child care subsidy rate that is different 22
than the rate for the subsidy region in which the provider is 23
located. 24
Sec. 6. RCW 41.56.153 and 2007 c 278 s 2 are each amended to 25
read as follows: 26
(1) In addition to the entities listed in RCW 41.56.101, this 27
chapter applies to the governor with respect to family child care 28
providers. Solely for the purposes of collective bargaining and as 29
expressly limited under subsections (2) and (3) of this section, the 30
governor is the public employer of family child care providers who, 31
solely for the purposes of collective bargaining, are public 32
employees. The public employer shall be represented for bargaining 33
purposes by the governor or the governor's designee appointed under 34
chapter 41.80 RCW. 35
(2) This chapter governs the collective bargaining relationship 36
between the governor and family child care providers, except as 37
follows: 38
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(a) A statewide unit of all family child care providers is the 1
only unit appropriate for purposes of collective bargaining under RCW 2
41.56.211. 3
(b) The exclusive bargaining representative of family child care 4
providers in the unit specified in (a) of this subsection shall be 5
the representative chosen in an election conducted pursuant to RCW 6
41.56.221, except that in the initial election conducted under 7
chapter 54, Laws of 2006, if more than one labor organization is on 8
the ballot and none of the choices receives a majority of the votes 9
cast, a runoff election shall be held. 10
(c)(i) Notwithstanding the definition of "collective bargaining" 11
in RCW 41.56.030(4), and in accordance with (c)(ii) of this 12
subsection, the scope of collective bargaining for child care 13
providers under this section shall be limited solely to: (((i))) (A) 14
Economic compensation, such as manner and rate of subsidy and 15
reimbursement, including tiered reimbursements; (((ii))) (B) health 16
and welfare benefits; (((iii))) (C) professional development and 17
training; (((iv))) (D) labor-management committees; (((v))) (E) 18
grievance procedures; and (((vi))) (F) other economic matters. 19
Retirement benefits shall not be subject to collective bargaining. By 20
such obligation neither party shall be compelled to agree to a 21
proposal or be required to make a concession unless otherwise 22
provided in this chapter. 23
(ii) For the purposes of this subsection (2)(c), the scope of 24
bargaining for economic compensation and other economic matters only 25
includes:26
(A) Child care subsidy base rates subject to RCW 43.216.828;27
(B) Tiered reimbursement authorized under RCW 43.216.135;28
(C) Child-specific enhancements based on the needs of the 29
individual child;30
(D) Payment processes, except that the scope of collective 31
bargaining does not include the attendance policy under section 3 of 32
this act;33
(E) Complex needs grants, early childhood equity grants, and 34
state-approved trauma-informed care supports;35
(F) Quality improvement awards authorized in RCW 43.216.085;36
(G) Fees, such as registration fees, overtime payments, field 37
trips, or enrichment fees; and38
(H) Matters related to the early achievers program established in 39
chapter 43.216 RCW, additional rating supports authorized in RCW 40
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43.216.087, needs-based grants authorized in RCW 43.216.087, and dual 1
language designation awards authorized in RCW 43.216.592.2
(d) The mediation and interest arbitration provisions of RCW 3
41.56.501 through 41.56.540 apply, except that: 4
(i) With respect to commencement of negotiations between the 5
governor and the exclusive bargaining representative of family child 6
care providers, negotiations shall be commenced initially upon 7
certification of an exclusive bargaining representative under (a) of 8
this subsection and, thereafter, by February 1st of any even-numbered 9
year; and 10
(ii) The decision of the arbitration panel is not binding on the 11
legislature and, if the legislature does not approve the request for 12
funds necessary to implement the compensation and benefit provisions 13
of the arbitrated collective bargaining agreement, is not binding on 14
the state. 15
(e) Family child care providers do not have the right to strike.16
(3) Family child care providers who are public employees solely 17
for the purposes of collective bargaining under subsection (1) of 18
this section are not, for that reason, employees of the state for any 19
purpose. This section applies only to the governance of the 20
collective bargaining relationship between the employer and family 21
child care providers as provided in subsections (1) and (2) of this 22
section. 23
(4) This section does not create or modify: 24
(a) The parents' or legal guardians' right to choose and 25
terminate the services of any family child care provider that 26
provides care for their child or children; 27
(b) The secretary of the department of social and health 28
services' right to adopt requirements under RCW 74.15.030, except for 29
requirements related to grievance procedures and collective 30
negotiations on personnel matters as specified in subsection (2)(c) 31
of this section; 32
(c) Chapter 26.44 RCW, RCW 43.43.832, 43.20A.205, and 74.15.130; 33
and 34
(d) The legislature's right to make programmatic modifications to 35
the delivery of state services through child care subsidy programs, 36
including standards of eligibility of parents, legal guardians, and 37
family child care providers participating in child care subsidy 38
programs, and the nature of services provided. The governor shall not 39
enter into, extend, or renew any agreement under this section that 40
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does not expressly reserve the legislative rights described in this 1
subsection (4)(d). 2
(5) Upon meeting the requirements of subsection (6) of this 3
section, the governor must submit, as a part of the proposed biennial 4
or supplemental operating budget submitted to the legislature under 5
RCW 43.88.030, a request for funds necessary to implement the 6
compensation and benefit provisions of a collective bargaining 7
agreement entered into under this section or for legislation 8
necessary to implement such agreement. 9
(6) A request for funds necessary to implement the compensation 10
and benefit provisions of a collective bargaining agreement entered 11
into under this section shall not be submitted by the governor to the 12
legislature unless such request has been: 13
(a) Submitted to the director of financial management by October 14
1st before the legislative session at which the request is to be 15
considered, except that, for initial negotiations under this section, 16
the request must be submitted by November 15, 2006; and17
(b) Certified by the director of financial management as being 18
feasible financially for the state or reflects the binding decision 19
of an arbitration panel reached under this section.20
(7) The legislature must approve or reject the submission of the 21
request for funds as a whole. If the legislature rejects or fails to 22
act on the submission, any such agreement will be reopened solely for 23
the purpose of renegotiating the funds necessary to implement the 24
agreement. 25
(8) The governor shall periodically consult with the joint 26
committee on employment relations established by RCW 41.80.010 27
regarding appropriations necessary to implement the compensation and 28
benefit provisions of any collective bargaining agreement and, upon 29
completion of negotiations, advise the committee on the elements of 30
the agreement and on any legislation necessary to implement such 31
agreement. 32
(9) After the expiration date of any collective bargaining 33
agreement entered into under this section, all of the terms and 34
conditions specified in any such agreement remain in effect until the 35
effective date of a subsequent agreement, not to exceed one year from 36
the expiration date stated in the agreement, except as provided in 37
subsection (4)(d) of this section. 38
(10) If, after the compensation and benefit provisions of an 39
agreement are approved by the legislature, a significant revenue 40
p. 7 SB 6353
shortfall occurs resulting in reduced appropriations, as declared by 1
proclamation of the governor or by resolution of the legislature, 2
both parties shall immediately enter into collective bargaining for a 3
mutually agreed upon modification of the agreement.4
(11) In enacting this section, the legislature intends to provide 5
state action immunity under federal and state antitrust laws for the 6
joint activities of family child care providers and their exclusive 7
bargaining representative to the extent such activities are 8
authorized by this chapter. 9
NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. RCW 43.216.827 (Prospective payments) and 10
2025 c 412 s 13 are each repealed.11
NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. Section 3 of this act takes effect July 1, 12
2027.13
NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. Except for section 3 of this act, this act 14
is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, 15
health, or safety, or support of the state government and its 16
existing public institutions, and takes effect immediately.17
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