Chapter
617
2006 -- S 2028 SUBSTITUTE A
Enacted 07/14/06
A N A C T
RELATING TO CHILD
CARE ASSISTANCE
Introduced By: Senators Tassoni,
Issa, Doyle, McBurney, and Damiani
Date Introduced: January
10, 2006
It is
enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION
1. Section 40-5.1-17 of the General Laws in Chapter 40-5.1 entitled
"Family
Independence
Act" is hereby amended to read as follows:
40-5.1-17.
Families eligible for child care assistance. -- (a) The department
shall
provide
appropriate child care to every parent who requires child care in order to meet
the work
requirements
in section 40-5.1-9 and to all other families with incomes at or below one
hundred
eighty-five
percent (185%) of the federal poverty line, if and to the extent such other
families
require
child care in order to work at paid employment; provided, however, that
effective January
1, 1999,
the department shall provide appropriate child care to such other families
whose incomes
are at
or below two hundred percent (200%) of the federal poverty line; effective July
1, 1999, the
department
shall provide appropriate child care to such other families whose incomes are
at or
below
two hundred twenty-five percent (225%) of the federal poverty line.
(b) For purposes of this section "appropriate child care" means child
care, including
infant/toddler,
pre-school, nursery school, school-age, and youth care, which is provided by a
person
or organization qualified, approved, and authorized to provide such care by the
department
of
children, youth, and families, or by the department of elementary and secondary
education, or
such
other lawful providers as determined by the department of human services, in
cooperation
with the
department of children, youth and families and the department of elementary and
secondary
education, subject to the following age limitations:
(1) Through December 31, 1998, for a child below the age of thirteen (13), or
children
age
thirteen (13) years or older who are under supervision of the family court or
who require care
because
of a physical or mental impairment;
(2) Effective January 1, 1999, for a child below the age of fifteen (15);
(3) Effective July 1, 1999, for a child below the age of sixteen (16).
(c) The department of human services shall determine rates of reimbursement for
child
care
services for children over the age of twelve (12) in accordance with the
provisions of section
40-6.2-1.1(d).
For purposes of this section "appropriate child care" is defined in
section 40-5.1-9(d).
(d) Families with incomes below one hundred percent (100%) of the applicable
federal
poverty
guidelines shall be provided with free child care. Families with incomes equal
to or
greater
than one hundred percent (100%) of the applicable federal poverty guideline
shall be
required
to pay for some portion of the child care they receive, according to a sliding
fee scale
adopted
by the department.
(e) In determining the type of child care to be provided to a family, the
department shall
take
into account the cost of available child care options and the suitability of
the type of care
available
for the child and the parent's preference as to the type of child care.
(f) For purposes of this section "income" for families receiving cash
assistance under
section
40-5.1-9 means gross earned income and unearned income, subject to the income
exclusions
in section 40-5.1-10(b) and section 40-5.1-10(c); and income for other families
shall
mean
gross earned and unearned income as determined by departmental regulations.
(g) The entitlement provided for in subsection (a) shall be an entitlement to
payment of a
subsidy
for child care to an appropriate child care provider as defined in subsection
(b). The
caseload
estimating conference established by chapter 17 of title 35 shall forecast the
expenditures
for child care in accordance with the provisions of section 35-17-1.
(h)
In determining eligibility for child care assistance program for children of
members of
reserve
components called to active duty during a time of conflict, the department
shall freeze the
family
composition and the family income of the reserve component member as it was in
the
month
prior to the month of leaving for active duty. This shall continue until the
individual is
officially
discharged from active duty.
SECTION
2. This act shall take effect on July 1, 2006.
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LC00026/SUB A/3
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