8291. For purposes of this article, “plan” means an individualized county childcare subsidy plan developed and approved as described in Section 8289, which includes all of the following:
(a) An assessment to identify the county’s goal for its subsidized childcare system. The assessment shall examine whether the current structure of subsidized childcare funding adequately supports working families in the county and whether the county’s childcare goals coincide with the state’s requirements for funding, eligibility, priority, and reimbursement. The assessment shall also identify barriers in the state’s childcare subsidy system that inhibit the county from meeting its childcare goals. In conducting the assessment, the county shall consider all of the following:
(1) The general demographics of families who are in need of childcare, including employment, income, language, ethnic, and family composition.
(2) The current supply of available subsidized childcare.
(3) The level of need for various types of subsidized childcare services, including, but not limited to, infant care, after-hours care, and care for children with exceptional needs.
(4) The county’s self-sufficiency income level.
(5) Income eligibility levels for subsidized childcare.
(6) Family fees.
(7) The cost of providing childcare.
(8) The regional market rates, as established by the department, for different types of childcare.
(9) The standard reimbursement rate or state per diem for centers operating under contracts with the department.
(10) Trends in the county’s unemployment rate and housing affordability index.
(b) (1) Development of a local policy to eliminate state-imposed regulatory barriers to the county’s achievement of its desired outcomes for subsidized childcare.
(2) The local policy shall do all of the following:
(A) Prioritize lowest income families first.
(B) Follow the family fee schedule established pursuant to Section 8252 of this code or Section 10290 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, as applicable, for those families that are income eligible, as defined by Section 8213 of this code or Section 10271.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, as applicable.
(C) Meet local goals that are consistent with the state’s childcare goals.
(D) Identify existing policies that would be affected by the county’s plan.
(E) (i) Authorize any agency that provides childcare and development services in the county through a contract with the department to apply to the department to amend existing contracts in order to benefit from the local policy.
(ii) The department shall approve an application to amend an existing contract if the plan is modified pursuant to Section 8292.
(iii) The contract of a department contractor who does not elect to request an amendment to its contract remains operative and enforceable.
(3) The local policy may supersede state law concerning childcare subsidy programs with regard only to the following factors:
(A) Provide a family that qualifies for the second or third stage of childcare services pursuant to Chapter 21 (commencing with Section 10370) of Part 1.8 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, for purposes of eligibility, fees, and reimbursements, the same or higher level of benefit as a family that qualifies for subsidized childcare on another basis pursuant to the local policy, except as otherwise provided in Chapter 21 (commencing with Section 10370) of Part 1.8 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to impact or reduce any element in the second or third stage of childcare services pursuant to Chapter 21 (commencing with Section 10370) of Part 1.8 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code that provides a greater benefit to participating families than is provided for in the local policy.
(B) Fees, including, but not limited to, family fees, sliding scale fees, and copayments for those families that are not income eligible, as defined by Section 8213 of this code or Section 10271.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, as applicable.
(C) Reimbursement rates, including adjustment factors identified in Section 8244 of this code or Section 10281.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, as applicable.
(D) The ratio of four-year-old children in state preschool programs pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 8263.
(E) Methods of maximizing the efficient use of subsidy funds, including, but not limited to, multiyear contracting with the department for preschool, and interagency agreements that allow for flexible and temporary transfer of funds among agencies.
(F) Families with children enrolled in part-day California state preschool program services, pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 8207), may be eligible for up to two 180-day periods within a 24-month period without the family being certified as a new enrollment each year.
(c) Recognition that all funding sources utilized by contractors that provide childcare and development services in the county are eligible to be included in the county’s plan.
(d) Establishment of measurable outcomes to evaluate the success of the plan to achieve the county’s childcare goals, and to overcome any barriers identified in the state’s childcare subsidy system.
(e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to permit the county to change the regional market rate survey results for the county.
(f) Nothing in this section shall allow the county to adopt as part of its plan an increase to the regional market reimbursement rate beyond the level provided in the Budget Act.
(g) The plan may include stage one childcare services in addition to alternative payment and direct service childcare programs. If the plan includes CalWORKs childcare, the plan administrator shall consult with their county welfare department to identify opportunities for alignment, ensuring families experience no break in their childcare services due to a transition between the three stages of childcare services and policies implemented in the plan.
(Added by renumbering Section 8347.2 by Stats. 2021, Ch. 116, Sec. 180. (AB 131) Effective July 23, 2021.)