Child care and development: reimbursement rates.

Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to implement a plan that establishes reasonable child care standards and assigned reimbursement rates, as provided. Existing law requires the standard reimbursement rate to be increased annually by a cost-of-living adjustment, as provided. This bill would provide that the standard reimbursement rate is not intended to fund mandated costs imposed upon child development programs due to actions of law relating to minimum wage requirements, health insurance requirements, new or increased fees, new or expanded program requirements, or other cost increases due to legislative action. The bill would also require the standard reimbursement rate to be raised as needed to provide a living wage, reasonable health insurance, and retirement benefits for employees, to support the recruitment and retention of skilled and trained teachers, to support the financial stability of programs and educational quality, and to achieve gender pay equity. The bill would define cost-of-living adjustment to be, among other things, at least equal to the amount of the inflation adjustments given to K–12 education programs, as provided.