Child care and development services: alternative payment programs: reimbursement rates.

The Child Care and Development Services Act has a purpose of providing a comprehensive, coordinated, and cost-effective system of child care and development services for children from infancy to 13 years of age and their parents, including a full range of supervision, health, and support services through full- and part-time programs. The act requires the State Department of Education to contract with local contracting agencies for alternative payment programs that are intended to allow for maximum parental choice in child care. The act, to provide maximum parental choice, authorizes alternative payment programs to include certain things, including a subsidy that follows the family from one provider to another, as provided. Existing law authorizes funds appropriated for the act to be used for alternative payment programs to allow for maximum parental choice, as provided. This bill would, to provide maximum parental choice and access, instead require alternative payment programs to include these certain things. The bill would authorize funds appropriated for the act to also be used to allow for maximum parental access, as provided. The act requires certain child care providers to submit to the alternative payment program a monthly attendance record or invoice, as provided, and requires the record or invoice to be maintained by the child care provider in the unaltered original form in which it was created. This bill would delete the requirement that the child care provider maintain the record or invoice in the unaltered original form in which it was created. The act requires a child care provider to post the provider's rates and discounts or scholarship policies, if any. This bill would delete this requirement. The act requires, when making referrals, every agency operating both a direct service program and an alternative payment program to provide at least 4 referrals, as provided, to a family. This bill would instead require a resource and referral agency to provide at least 4 referrals to a family, as provided. The act provides that a family enrolled in a state or federally funded child care and development program whose services would otherwise be terminated, as provided, may continue to receive child development services, as provided. This bill would also require that subsequent to enrollment, a child be deemed eligible for services for a period of 12 months. The act requires a physical examination and evaluation, including age-appropriate immunization, before, or within 6 weeks of, enrollment, as provided. Existing law requires a child to be temporarily excluded from the program if there is good cause to believe the child is suffering from a recognized contagious or infectious disease, as provided. This bill would instead specify that if the child care provider has good cause to believe that a child is suffering from a recognized contagious or infectious disease, the child would be temporarily excluded from the program, as provided. The act requires the Superintendent to adopt rules, regulations, and guidelines to facilitate the funding and reimbursement procedures. This bill would require the Superintendent to adopt these rules, regulations, and guidelines to facilitate the funding and reimbursement procedures for contractors operating centers, family child care homes, or both. The act requires the Superintendent to establish a fee schedule for families using preschool and child care and development services. This bill would authorize the contractor to require a child care provider to collect the family fee, as deducted from the child care provider reimbursement, or to collect the family fee amount directly from the parent. The bill would authorize specified contractors to develop a written policy that directs parents to pay family fees directly to the child care provider, as provided.