BILL NUMBER: S5327A

SPONSOR: BRISPORT
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the social services law, in relation to child care
assistance under the child care block grant

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of the bill amends section 410-x of the social services law by
adding a new subdivision 10, which states that a social services
district shall provide child care assistance funded under the block
grant for additional or different hours than a parent or caretaker
spends in work, training, educational activities or other reasons for
care designated by the social services district in its consolidated
services plan in accordance with paragraph (e) of subdivision one of
section four hundred ten-w of this title, including, but not limited to,
paying for full-time child care assistance regardless of the hours of
the activity of the parent's or caretaker's reason for care.

Section 2 amends section 410-w of the social services law by adding a
new subdivision 1-a, providing that for all families eligible for child
              

care assistance pursuant to subdivision one of this section, a social
services district shall not limit authorized child care services strict-
ly based on the hours during which the parent or caretaker is engaged in
work, education or other activity or the number of hours the parent or
caretaker is engaged in any such reasons for care.

Section 3 sets forth the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Legislation signed into law in 2022 (chapter 694) was understood and
intended to end New York's long-standing rule of tying child care access
to parents' exact hours of work. However, the Office of Children and
Family Services (OCFS) has interpreted that legislation narrowly, and
provided guidance that limits the effectiveness of this important legis-
lation. If this narrow interpretation is allowed to stand, it means that
the "decoupling" provisions will impact only child care assistance
supported solely by local funds; in other words, the OCFS interpretation
effectively renders the reach of the 2022 legislation small to nonexist-
ent.

New York's child care assistance program is almost entirely funded by a
combination of federal, state, and a small contribution of local funds,
with local funds generally not "segregated" from the other funds.

This bill corrects the agency's narrow interpretation in order achieve
the goals of the original legislation. New York's long-standing rule of
tying child care access to parents' exact hours of work has made it
difficult for working people, including parents in a growing gig economy
with fluctuating schedules, to access child care assistance.  Even for
families able to access care, the rule disrupted the stability and
consistency young children need to learn and thrive.  Additionally, the
original legislation was intended to give child care providers another
layer of much-needed financial stability to provide the high-quality
care and education New York's youngest children deserve.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

To be determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
The thirtieth day after it shall have become a law.