AB 120: Early childhood education and childcare.

(1) Existing law, the Child Care and Development Services Act, administered by the State Department of Social Services, establishes a system of childcare and development services for children up to 13 years of age. Under the act, families that meet specified requirements are eligible for federal and state subsidized childcare and development services, and a family that establishes initial eligibility or ongoing eligibility for these services is considered to meet all eligibility and need requirements for those services for not less than 24 months, except as specified. Existing federal regulations require a minimum of 12 months of eligibility for these services before a redetermination of eligibility is made.

This bill would, if a family already receiving childcare services adds an additional child and requests services for that child during the current eligibility period, extend the family’s eligibility period, as necessary, to ensure that the additional child receives at least 12 months of eligibility for services before a redetermination of eligibility, as specified.

(2) Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services to annually report to the Department of Finance and the Legislature a statewide summary identifying the estimated funding used in general childcare and development programs for infants and toddlers, and the number of preschool age children receiving part-day preschool and wraparound childcare services.

This bill would delete the requirement for that report to identify the number of preschool age children receiving part-day preschool and wraparound childcare services.

(3) Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services to contract with local contracting agencies for alternative payment programs for childcare services to be provided throughout the state. Existing law requires an alternative payment program to reimburse a licensed childcare provider in accordance with a biennial market rate survey, as specified, at a rate not to exceed the regional market rate ceiling, as prescribed. Under existing law, reimbursements to childcare providers based upon a daily rate may only be allowed under certain circumstances, including that a family has an unscheduled but documented need of 6 hours or more per occurrence that exceeds the certified need for childcare or a family has a documented need of 6 hours or more per day that exceeds no more than 14 days per month.

This bill would reduce the documented need for reimbursements to childcare providers based upon a daily rate from 6 hours or more to 5 hours or more, as described.

(4) Existing law allocates certain appropriated funds to the State Department of Social Services and State Department of Education to provide specified family childcare providers and childcare centers with a monthly cost of care plus rate commencing January 1, 2024, and through June 30, 2026. The monthly cost of care plus rate is a supplemental monthly payment to those providers and centers.

This bill would extend the payment of the monthly cost of care plus rate to June 30, 2026, and would allocate additional funds to the State Department of Social Services and State Department of Education from the Budget Act of 2025 to provide a once-per-month cost of care plus rate for each child served who is enrolled in subsidized childcare, therefore making an appropriation. From July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026, inclusive, the bill would require that monthly rate to be equal to the existing rate increased by a percentage calculated by the Department of Finance based on a specified formula.

(5) Existing law provides for a specified annual funding increase for special education and childcare and development programs if an inflation or cost-of-living adjustment is not otherwise provided for those programs. Existing law suspends the annual cost-of-living adjustment for childcare and development programs for the 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, and 2020–21 fiscal years.

This bill would additionally suspend the annual cost-of-living adjustment for childcare and development programs for the 2025–26 fiscal year.

(6) Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services, in collaboration with the State Department of Education, to implement a reimbursement system plan that establishes reasonable standards and assigned reimbursement rates for state-subsidized childcare and development services. Existing law also requires the department, in collaboration with the State Department of Education, to develop and conduct an alternative methodology, as specified, to set reimbursement rates for state-subsidized childcare and development services.

Existing law requires the department, from October 1, 2024, to January 1, 2026, inclusive, to provide the Assembly Committee on Budget, the Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review, and the Legislative Analyst’s Office with quarterly updates on the implementation of the new reimbursement rates set under the alternative methodology. If a market rate survey is used to set reimbursement rates, existing law requires the department to contract to conduct a regional market rate survey no more than once every 2 years, as specified.

This bill would extend the timeframe during which the above-described quarterly update is required to July 1, 2027, and require the department to include additional specified information commencing with the quarterly update due October 1, 2025. The bill would, commencing July 1, 2026, increase rates for specified programs by the cost-of-living adjustment granted by the Legislature annually, as specified.

This bill would express the intent of the Legislature to cease using a regional market rate survey and to instead use an alternative methodology to inform the setting of future childcare rates, and to set reimbursement rates that are informed by the alternative methodology by statute. The bill would further express the intent of the Legislature that specified programs be reimbursed under a unified structure that takes into account a common set of rate elements, that base rates be administered as a per-child amount, and that rate levels be informed by, and rates vary based on, specified criteria.

(7) Existing law also requires, for California state preschool programs and childcare and development programs, the State Department of Education and the State Department of Social Services to collaborate to implement a reimbursement system plan that establishes reasonable standards and assigned reimbursement rates. Existing law requires the reimbursement rate to be increased by the above-described cost-of-living adjustment, except for specified fiscal years, including the 2024–25 fiscal year.

This bill would, commencing July 1, 2026, require the cost-of-living adjustment for state preschool programs to be consistent with the adjustment granted by the Legislature annually, as specified. The bill would additionally suspend the annual cost-of-living adjustment for the 2025–26 fiscal year.

(8) Existing law requires, commencing January 1, 2022, those California state preschool program contractors and childcare and development program contractors who, as of December 31, 2021, received the established standard reimbursement rate to be reimbursed at the greater of the 75th percentile of the 2018 regional market rate survey or the contract per-child reimbursement amount as of December 31, 2021, as increased by a specified cost-of-living adjustment.

This bill would instead require, commencing July 1, 2025, and through June 30, 2026, if the program is open and operating in accordance with its approved program calendar and remains open and providing services to certified children throughout the program year, the contract reimbursement to be based on the lesser of the maximum reimbursable amount stated in the contract and the net reimbursable program costs. The bill would also require, commencing July 1, 2026, the contract reimbursement to be based on the lesser of the maximum reimbursable amount stated in the contract, the net reimbursable program costs, or the product of the adjusted child days of enrollment for certified children times the contract rate set forth in the above-described provisions.

(9) Existing law also requires the State Department of Social Services, in the administration of childcare and development programs, to contract with local contracting agencies for a variety of alternative payment programs for childcare services to be provided throughout the state. Existing law requires alternative payment programs to reimburse childcare providers based upon actual days and hours of attendance.

This bill would, beginning July 1, 2025, and through June 30, 2026, instead require those programs to reimburse childcare providers based on families’ certified need, as specified, and would appropriate $88,550,000 from the General Fund for this purpose.

(10) Existing law authorizes family childcare providers to form, join, and participate in the activities of provider organizations and to seek the certification of a provider organization to act as the representative for family childcare providers on matters related to childcare subsidy programs pursuant to a petition and election process overseen by the Public Employment Relations Board or a neutral third party designated by the board. Existing law requires the Governor and a certified provider organization to jointly prepare a memorandum of understanding if an agreement is reached, which is required to be presented to the Legislature for determination, and which would be binding on all state departments and agencies, and their contractors and subcontractors, and any political subdivision of the state, that are involved in the administration of state-funded early care and education programs.

If the above-described reimbursement rate provisions are in conflict with a memorandum of understanding between the Governor and a certified provider organization, the bill would require the memorandum of understanding to be controlling without further legislative action, except as specified.

(11) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.