A 1001: Implements automatic market rate increases for child care assistance such that assistance will be equal to the applicable payment rate established by the department.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 1001 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled) January 8, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. CLARK, CHANDLER-WATERMAN, DAVILA, SIMON, GONZA- LEZ-ROJAS, ZACCARO, BICHOTTE HERMELYN -- read once and referred to the Committee on Children and Families AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to implementing automatic market rate increases for child care assistance The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 4 of section 410-x of the social services law, 2 as added by section 52 of part B of chapter 436 of the laws of 1997, is 3 amended to read as follows: 4 4. The amount to be paid or allowed for child care assistance funded 5 under the block grant shall be the actual cost of care [but no more 6 than] and equal to one hundred percent of the applicable market-related 7 payment rate established by the department in regulations. The payment 8 rates established by the department shall be sufficient to ensure equal 9 access for eligible children to comparable child care assistance in the 10 substate area that are provided to children whose parents are not eligi- 11 ble to receive assistance under any federal or state programs. Such 12 payment rates shall take into account the variations in the costs of 13 providing child care in different settings and to children of different 14 age groups, and the additional costs of providing child care for chil- 15 dren with special needs. 16 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD02595-01-5