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ARTICLE 11 AS AMENDED |
RELATING TO HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
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SECTION 1. Title 23 of the General Laws entitled "HEALTH AND SAFETY" is hereby |
amended by adding thereto the following chapter: |
CHAPTER 17.2930 |
PRIMARY CARE TRAINING SITES PROGRAM |
23-17.2930-1. Short title. |
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Primary Care Training Sites |
Program". |
23-17.2930-2. Definitions. |
As used in this chapter, the following words and phrases are construed as follows: |
(1) "Director" means the director of the department of health;. |
(2) "Grant" means a sum awarded pursuant to a contract executed pursuant to § 23- |
17.2930-4;. |
(3) "National Committee for Quality Assurance" or "NCQA" means the nonprofit |
organization headquartered in the District of Columbia working to improve healthcare quality |
through the administration of evidence-based standards, measures, programs, and accreditation;. |
(4) "Office" means the office of primary care training established pursuant to the provisions |
of § 23-17.2930-3;. |
(5) "Patient-centered medical home" or "PCMH" means a model of healthcare that puts |
patients at the forefront of care by providing team-based healthcarehealth care delivery led by a |
healthcare provider to render comprehensive and continuous medical care to patients with a goal |
to obtain maximal health outcomes;. |
(6) "Primary care" means day-to-day healthcarehealth care provided by a healthcare |
professional. Typically, the healthcare professional acts as the first contact and principal point of |
continuing care for patients within a healthcare system, and coordinates other specialist care that |
the patient may require;. and |
(7) "Primary care site" means a site, location, or medical practice that serves as the patient's |
entry point into the healthcare system and acts as the continuing focal point for all required |
healthcare services. |
23-17.2930-3. Creation of office of primary care training -- Purpose. |
There is hereby authorized, created, and established an office of primary care training |
within the department of health. The purpose of the office shall be to: |
(1) Assist the director in developing an application and selection process for the awarding |
of grants pursuant to the provisions of this chapter; |
(2) Provide oversight of grant recipients; |
(3) Coordinate meetings and related logistics to implement the provisions of this chapter; |
(4) Assist applicants for grants to comply with the process to include providing information |
and assistance in processing of grant awards; |
(5) Recommend acceptance or rejection of proposed contracts and grants to be approved |
by the director in accordance with the provisions of § 42-11-11; |
(6) Coordinate with the approval of the director, and with the director of administration, |
the approval of all contracts negotiated pursuant to the provisions of this chapter and the provisions |
of § 42-11-11; |
(7) Establish evidence-based standards to measure the success and performance of all |
recipients of grants provided pursuant to the provisions of this chapter; and |
(8) Perform all other duties as assigned by the director. |
The office of primary care training shall be staffed by the person or persons assigned by |
the director. |
23-17.2930-4. Contracts. |
In compliance with the provisions of § 42-11-11, the director shall have the authority to |
enter into contracts, subject to appropriation, for medical education to be conducted at primary care |
practice sites. Any contract entered into shall not exceed ninety thousand dollars ($90,000) per |
primary care site contract recipient, per calendar year and shall contain, at a minimum, the |
following terms, conditions, and provisions: |
(1) The primary care site shall serve as an enhanced interdisciplinary clinical training site; |
(2) The primary care site shall have achieved and shall maintain NCQA PCMH distinction; |
(3) The primary care site shall provide integrated behavioral health services; |
(4) The primary care site shall provide an agreed curriculum of training for physicians, |
nurse practitioners and physician assistants; and |
(5) Training shall include a minimum of five (5) hours didactic training and shall introduce |
the trainees to the concept of PCMH and how the principles of the model have been operationalized |
in the primary care delivery setting. |
23-17.2930-5. Rules and regulations. |
The director shall promulgate rules and regulations to implement the provisions of this |
chapter. |
23-17.2930-6. Reports. |
The director shall report annually to the general assembly and the governor no later than |
December 31 of each year on the status and progress of the primary care training sites program |
established and administered pursuant to the provisions of this chapter. |
23-17.2930-7. Severability. |
If any provision of this chapter or any rule or regulation promulgated pursuant to the |
provisions of this chapter, or its application to any person or circumstance, is held invalid by a court |
of competent jurisdiction, the reminder of the chapter, rule, or regulation and the application of the |
provision to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected by its invalidity. The invalidity of |
any section or sections or portion of any section or sections of this chapter shall not affect the |
validity of the remainder of this chapter. |
SECTION 2. Sections 40-5.2-10, 40-5.2-11, and 40-5.2-12 of the General Laws in Chapter |
40-5.2 entitled "The Rhode Island Works Program" are hereby amended to read as follows: |
40-5.2-10. Necessary requirements and conditions. |
The following requirements and conditions shall be necessary to establish eligibility for |
the program. |
(a) Citizenship, alienage, and residency requirements. |
(1) A person shall be a resident of the Statestate of Rhode Island. |
(2) Effective October 1, 2008, a person shall be a United States citizen, or shall meet the |
alienage requirements established in § 402(b) of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity |
Reconciliation Act of 1996, PRWORA, Pub. L. No. 104-193 and as that section may hereafter be |
amended [8 U.S.C. § 1612]; a person who is not a United States citizen and does not meet the |
alienage requirements established in PRWORA, as amended, is not eligible for cash assistance in |
accordance with this chapter. |
(b) The family/assistance unit must meet any other requirements established by the |
department of human services by rules and regulations adopted pursuant to the Administrative |
Procedures Act, as necessary to promote the purpose and goals of this chapter. |
(c) Receipt of cash assistance is conditional upon compliance with all program |
requirements. |
(d) All individuals domiciled in this state shall be exempt from the application of |
subdivision 115(d)(1)(A) of Pub. L. No. 104-193, the Personal Responsibility and Work |
Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, PRWORA [21 U.S.C. § 862a], which makes any |
individual ineligible for certain state and federal assistance if that individual has been convicted |
under federal or state law of any offense that is classified as a felony by the law of the jurisdiction |
and that has as an element the possession, use, or distribution of a controlled substance as defined |
in § 102(6) of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. § 802(6)). |
(e) Individual employment plan as a condition of eligibility. |
(1) Following receipt of an application, the department of human services shall assess the |
financial conditions of the family, including the non-parent caretaker relative who is applying for |
cash assistance for themself as well as for the minor child(ren), in the context of an eligibility |
determination. If a parent or non-parent caretaker relative is unemployed or under-employed, the |
department shall conduct an initial assessment, taking into account: |
(A) The physical capacity, skills, education, work experience, health, safety, family |
responsibilities, and place of residence of the individual; and |
(B) The child care and supportive services required by the applicant to avail themself of |
employment opportunities and/or work readiness programs. |
(2) On the basis of this assessment, the department of human services and the department |
of labor and training, as appropriate, in consultation with the applicant, shall develop an individual |
employment plan for the family that requires the individual to participate in the intensive |
employment services. Intensive employment services shall be defined as the work requirement |
activities in § 40-5.2-12(g) and (i). |
(3) The director, or the director’s designee, may assign a case manager to an |
applicant/participant, as appropriate. |
(4) The department of labor and training and the department of human services in |
conjunction with the participant shall develop a revised individual employment plan that shall |
identify employment objectives, taking into consideration factors above, and shall include a |
strategy for immediate employment and for preparing for, finding, and retaining employment |
consistent, to the extent practicable, with the individual’s career objectives. |
(5) The individual employment plan must include the provision for the participant to |
engage in work requirements as outlined in § 40-5.2-12. |
(6)(i) The participant shall attend and participate immediately in intensive assessment and |
employment services as the first step in the individual employment plan, unless temporarily exempt |
from this requirement in accordance with this chapter. Intensive assessment and employment |
services shall be defined as the work requirement activities in § 40-5.2-12(g) and (i). |
(ii) Parents under age twenty (20) without a high school diploma or general equivalency |
diploma (GED) shall be referred to special teen-parent programs that will provide intensive services |
designed to assist teen parents to complete high school education or GED, and to continue approved |
work plan activities in accord with Rhode Island works program requirements. |
(7) The applicant shall become a participant in accordance with this chapter at the time the |
individual employment plan is signed and entered into. |
(8) Applicants and participants of the Rhode Island works program shall agree to comply |
with the terms of the individual employment plan, and shall cooperate fully with the steps |
established in the individual employment plan, including the work requirements. |
(9) The department of human services has the authority under the chapter to require |
attendance by the applicant/participant, either at the department of human services or at the |
department of labor and training, at appointments deemed necessary for the purpose of having the |
applicant enter into and become eligible for assistance through the Rhode Island works program. |
The appointments include, but are not limited to: the initial interview, orientation and assessment; |
job readiness; and job search. Attendance is required as a condition of eligibility for cash assistance |
in accordance with rules and regulations established by the department. |
(10) As a condition of eligibility for assistance pursuant to this chapter, the |
applicant/participant shall be obligated to keep appointments; attend orientation meetings at the |
department of human services and/or the Rhode Island department of labor and training; participate |
in any initial assessments or appraisals; and comply with all the terms of the individual employment |
plan in accordance with department of human services rules and regulations. |
(11) A participant, including a parent or non-parent caretaker relative included in the cash |
assistance payment, shall not voluntarily quit a job or refuse a job unless there is good cause as |
defined in this chapter or the department’s rules and regulations. |
(12) A participant who voluntarily quits or refuses a job without good cause, as defined in |
§ 40-5.2-12(l), while receiving cash assistance in accordance with this chapter, shall be sanctioned |
in accordance with rules and regulations promulgated by the department. |
(f) Resources. |
(1) The family or assistance unit’s countable resources shall be less than the allowable |
resource limit established by the department in accordance with this chapter. |
(2) No family or assistance unit shall be eligible for assistance payments if the combined |
value of its available resources (reduced by any obligations or debts with respect to such resources) |
exceeds five thousand dollars ($5,000). |
(3) For purposes of this subsection, the following shall not be counted as resources of the |
family/assistance unit in the determination of eligibility for the works program: |
(i) The home owned and occupied by a child, parent, relative, or other individual; |
(ii) Real property owned by a husband and wife as tenants by the entirety, if the property |
is not the home of the family and if the spouse of the applicant refuses to sell his or her interest in |
the property; |
(iii) Real property that the family is making a good faith effort to dispose of, however, any |
cash assistance payable to the family for any such period shall be conditioned upon such disposal |
of the real property within six (6) months of the date of application and any payments of assistance |
for that period shall (at the time of disposal) be considered overpayments to the extent that they |
would not have occurred at the beginning of the period for which the payments were made. All |
overpayments are debts subject to recovery in accordance with the provisions of the chapter; |
(iv) Income-producing property other than real estate including, but not limited to, |
equipment such as farm tools, carpenter’s tools, and vehicles used in the production of goods or |
services that the department determines are necessary for the family to earn a living; |
(v) One vehicle for each adult household member, but not to exceed two (2) vehicles per |
household, and in addition, a vehicle used primarily for income-producing purposes such as, but |
not limited to, a taxi, truck, or fishing boat; a vehicle used as a family’s home; a vehicle that |
annually produces income consistent with its fair market value, even if only used on a seasonal |
basis; a vehicle necessary to transport a family member with a disability where the vehicle is |
specially equipped to meet the specific needs of the person with a disability or if the vehicle is a |
special type of vehicle that makes it possible to transport the person with a disability; |
(vi) Household furnishings and appliances, clothing, personal effects, and keepsakes of |
limited value; |
(vii) Burial plots (one for each child, relative, and other individual in the assistance unit) |
and funeral arrangements; |
(viii) For the month of receipt and the following month, any refund of federal income taxes |
made to the family by reason of § 32 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 26 U.S.C. § 32 (relating |
to earned income tax credit), and any payment made to the family by an employer under § 3507 of |
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 26 U.S.C. § 3507 [repealed] (relating to advance payment of |
such earned income credit); |
(ix) The resources of any family member receiving supplementary security income |
assistance under the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 301 et seq.; |
(x) Any veteran’s disability pension benefits received as a result of any disability sustained |
by the veteran while in the military service. |
(g) Income. |
(1) Except as otherwise provided for herein, in determining eligibility for and the amount |
of cash assistance to which a family is entitled under this chapter, the income of a family includes |
all of the money, goods, and services received or actually available to any member of the family. |
(2) In determining the eligibility for and the amount of cash assistance to which a |
family/assistance unit is entitled under this chapter, income in any month shall not include the first |
three hundred dollars ($300) five hundred and twenty-five dollars ($525) of gross earnings plus |
fifty percent (50%) of the gross earnings of the family in excess of three hundred dollars ($300) |
five hundred and twenty-five dollars ($525) earned during the month. |
(3) The income of a family shall not include: |
(i) The first fifty dollars ($50.00) in child support received in any month from each |
noncustodial parent of a child plus any arrearages in child support (to the extent of the first fifty |
dollars ($50.00) per month multiplied by the number of months in which the support has been in |
arrears) that are paid in any month by a noncustodial parent of a child; |
(ii) Earned income of any child; |
(iii) Income received by a family member who is receiving Supplemental Security Income |
(SSI) assistance under Title XVI of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1381 et seq.; |
(iv) The value of assistance provided by state or federal government or private agencies to |
meet nutritional needs, including: value of USDA-donated foods; value of supplemental food |
assistance received under the Child Nutrition Act of 1966, as amended, and the special food service |
program for children under Title VII, nutrition program for the elderly, of the Older Americans Act |
of 1965 as amended, and the value of food stamps; |
(v) Value of certain assistance provided to undergraduate students, including any grant or |
loan for an undergraduate student for educational purposes made or insured under any loan program |
administered by the United States Commissioner of Education (or the Rhode Island council on |
postsecondary education or the Rhode Island division of higher education assistance); |
(vi) Foster care payments; |
(vii) Home energy assistance funded by state or federal government or by a nonprofit |
organization; |
(viii) Payments for supportive services or reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses made |
to foster grandparents, senior health aides, or senior companions and to persons serving in SCORE |
and ACE and any other program under Title II and Title III of the Domestic Volunteer Service Act |
of 1973, 42 U.S.C. § 5000 et seq.; |
(ix) Payments to volunteers under AmeriCorps VISTA as defined in the department’s rules |
and regulations; |
(x) Certain payments to native Americans; payments distributed per capita to, or held in |
trust for, members of any Indian Tribe under P.L. 92-254, 25 U.S.C. § 1261 et seq., P.L. 93-134, |
25 U.S.C. § 1401 et seq., or P.L. 94-540; receipts distributed to members of certain Indian tribes |
which are referred to in § 5 of P.L. 94-114, 25 U.S.C. § 459d, that became effective October 17, |
1975; |
(xi) Refund from the federal and state earned income tax credit and any federal or state |
child tax credits or rebates; |
(xii) The value of any state, local, or federal government rent or housing subsidy, provided |
that this exclusion shall not limit the reduction in benefits provided for in the payment standard |
section of this chapter; |
(xiii) The earned income of any adult family member who gains employment while an |
active RI Works household member. This income is excluded for the first six (6) months of |
employment in which the income is earned, or until the household’s total gross income exceeds |
one hundred eighty-five percent (185%) of the federal poverty level, unless the household reaches |
its sixty-month (60) time limit first; |
(xiv) Any veteran’s disability pension benefits received as a result of any disability |
sustained by the veteran while in the military service. |
(4) The receipt of a lump sum of income shall affect participants for cash assistance in |
accordance with rules and regulations promulgated by the department. |
(h) Time limit on the receipt of cash assistance. |
(1) On or after January 1, 2020, no cash assistance shall be provided, pursuant to this |
chapter, to a family or assistance unit that includes an adult member who has received cash |
assistance for a total of sixty (60) months (whether or not consecutive), to include any time |
receiving any type of cash assistance in any other state or territory of the United States of America |
as defined herein. Provided further, in no circumstances other than provided for in subsection (h)(3) |
with respect to certain minor children, shall cash assistance be provided pursuant to this chapter to |
a family or assistance unit that includes an adult member who has received cash assistance for a |
total of a lifetime limit of sixty (60) months. |
(2) Cash benefits received by a minor dependent child shall not be counted toward their |
lifetime time limit for receiving benefits under this chapter should that minor child apply for cash |
benefits as an adult. |
(3) Certain minor children not subject to time limit. This section regarding the lifetime time |
limit for the receipt of cash assistance, shall not apply only in the instances of a minor child(ren) |
living with a parent who receives SSI benefits and a minor child(ren) living with a responsible adult |
non-parent caretaker relative who is not in the cash assistance payment. |
(4) Receipt of family cash assistance in any other state or territory of the United States of |
America shall be determined by the department of human services and shall include family cash |
assistance funded in whole or in part by Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds |
[Title IV-A of the federal Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 601 et seq.] and/or family cash assistance |
provided under a program similar to the Rhode Island families work and opportunity program or |
the federal TANF program. |
(5)(i) The department of human services shall mail a notice to each assistance unit when |
the assistance unit has six (6) months of cash assistance remaining and each month thereafter until |
the time limit has expired. The notice must be developed by the department of human services and |
must contain information about the lifetime time limit, the number of months the participant has |
remaining, the hardship extension policy, the availability of a post-employment-and-closure bonus; |
and any other information pertinent to a family or an assistance unit nearing the sixty-month (60) |
lifetime time limit. |
(ii) For applicants who have less than six (6) months remaining in the sixty-month (60) |
lifetime time limit because the family or assistance unit previously received cash assistance in |
Rhode Island or in another state, the department shall notify the applicant of the number of months |
remaining when the application is approved and begin the process required in subsection (h)(5)(i). |
(6) If a cash assistance recipient family was closed pursuant to Rhode Island’s Temporary |
Assistance for Needy Families Program (federal TANF described in Title IV-A of the Federal |
Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 601 et seq.), formerly entitled the Rhode Island family |
independence program, more specifically under § 40-5.1-9(2)(c) [repealed], due to sanction |
because of failure to comply with the cash assistance program requirements; and that recipient |
family received sixty (60) months of cash benefits in accordance with the family independence |
program, then that recipient family is not able to receive further cash assistance for his/her family, |
under this chapter, except under hardship exceptions. |
(7) The months of state or federally funded cash assistance received by a recipient family |
since May 1, 1997, under Rhode Island’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program |
(federal TANF described in Title IV-A of the Federal Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 601 et seq.), |
formerly entitled the Rhode Island family independence program, shall be countable toward the |
time-limited cash assistance described in this chapter. |
(i) Time limit on the receipt of cash assistance. |
(1) No cash assistance shall be provided, pursuant to this chapter, to a family assistance |
unit in which an adult member has received cash assistance for a total of sixty (60) months (whether |
or not consecutive) to include any time receiving any type of cash assistance in any other state or |
territory of the United States as defined herein effective August 1, 2008. Provided further, that no |
cash assistance shall be provided to a family in which an adult member has received assistance for |
twenty-four (24) consecutive months unless the adult member has a rehabilitation employment plan |
as provided in § 40-5.2-12(g)(5). |
(2) Effective August 1, 2008, no cash assistance shall be provided pursuant to this chapter |
to a family in which a child has received cash assistance for a total of sixty (60) months (whether |
or not consecutive) if the parent is ineligible for assistance under this chapter pursuant to subsection |
(a)(2) to include any time they received any type of cash assistance in any other state or territory |
of the United States as defined herein. |
(j) Hardship exceptions. |
(1) The department may extend an assistance unit’s or family’s cash assistance beyond the |
time limit, by reason of hardship; provided, however, that the number of families to be exempted |
by the department with respect to their time limit under this subsection shall not exceed twenty |
percent (20%) of the average monthly number of families to which assistance is provided for under |
this chapter in a fiscal year; provided, however, that to the extent now or hereafter permitted by |
federal law, any waiver granted under § 40-5.2-34, for domestic violence, shall not be counted in |
determining the twenty percent (20%) maximum under this section. |
(2) Parents who receive extensions to the time limit due to hardship must have and comply |
with employment plans designed to remove or ameliorate the conditions that warranted the |
extension. |
(k) Parents under eighteen (18) years of age. |
(1) A family consisting of a parent who is under the age of eighteen (18), and who has |
never been married, and who has a child; or a family consisting of a person under the age of eighteen |
(18) from onset of pregnancy shall be eligible for cash assistance only if the family resides in the |
home of an adult parent, legal guardian, or other adult relative. The assistance shall be provided to |
the adult parent, legal guardian, or other adult relative on behalf of the individual and child unless |
otherwise authorized by the department. |
(2) This subsection shall not apply if the minor parent or pregnant minor has no parent, |
legal guardian, or other adult relative who is living and/or whose whereabouts are unknown; or the |
department determines that the physical or emotional health or safety of the minor parent, or his or |
her child, or the pregnant minor, would be jeopardized if he or she was required to live in the same |
residence as his or her parent, legal guardian, or other adult relative (refusal of a parent, legal |
guardian, or other adult relative to allow the minor parent or his or her child, or a pregnant minor, |
to live in his or her home shall constitute a presumption that the health or safety would be so |
jeopardized); or the minor parent or pregnant minor has lived apart from his or her own parent or |
legal guardian for a period of at least one year before either the birth of any child to a minor parent |
or the onset of the pregnant minor’s pregnancy; or there is good cause, under departmental |
regulations, for waiving the subsection; and the individual resides in a supervised supportive-living |
arrangement to the extent available. |
(3) For purposes of this section, “supervised supportive-living arrangement” means an |
arrangement that requires minor parents to enroll and make satisfactory progress in a program |
leading to a high school diploma or a general education development certificate, and requires minor |
parents to participate in the adolescent parenting program designated by the department, to the |
extent the program is available; and provides rules and regulations that ensure regular adult |
supervision. |
(l) Assignment and cooperation. As a condition of eligibility for cash and medical |
assistance under this chapter, each adult member, parent, or caretaker relative of the |
family/assistance unit must: |
(1) Assign to the state any rights to support for children within the family from any person |
that the family member has at the time the assignment is executed or may have while receiving |
assistance under this chapter; |
(2) Consent to and cooperate with the state in establishing the paternity and in establishing |
and/or enforcing child support and medical support orders for all children in the family or assistance |
unit in accordance with title 15 of the general laws, as amended, unless the parent or caretaker |
relative is found to have good cause for refusing to comply with the requirements of this subsection. |
(3) Absent good cause, as defined by the department of human services through the |
rulemaking process, for refusing to comply with the requirements of subsections (l)(1) and (l)(2), |
cash assistance to the family shall be reduced by twenty-five percent (25%) until the adult member |
of the family who has refused to comply with the requirements of this subsection consents to and |
cooperates with the state in accordance with the requirements of this subsection. |
(4) As a condition of eligibility for cash and medical assistance under this chapter, each |
adult member, parent, or caretaker relative of the family/assistance unit must consent to and |
cooperate with the state in identifying and providing information to assist the state in pursuing any |
third party who may be liable to pay for care and services under Title XIX of the Social Security |
Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1396 et seq. |
40-5.2-11. Cash assistance. |
(a) A family or assistance unit found by the department to meet the eligibility criteria set |
forth in this chapter shall be eligible to receive cash assistance as of the date a signed, written |
application, signed under a penalty of perjury, is received by the department. |
(b) The family members or assistance unit shall be eligible for cash assistance for so long |
as they continue to meet the eligibility criteria outlined in accordance with this chapter. Parents and |
adult non-parent caretaker relatives receiving cash assistance shall be eligible so long as they meet |
the terms and conditions of the work requirements of § 40-5.2-12. An adult caretaker relative shall |
be eligible for assistance as a member of the assistance unit so long as he or she meets all the |
eligibility requirements of this chapter. |
(c) The monthly amount of cash assistance shall be equal to the payment standard for the |
family minus the countable income of the family in that month. The department is authorized to |
reduce the amount of assistance in the month of application to reflect the number of the days |
between the first day of the month and the effective date of the application. |
(d) A decision on the application for assistance shall be made or rejected by the department |
no later than thirty (30) days following the date submitted and shall be effective as of the date of |
application. |
(e) The payment standard is equal to the sum of the following: four hundred twenty-five |
dollars ($425) five hundred ten dollars ($510) (three hundred sixty dollars ($360) (four hundred |
forty-five dollars ($445) for a family residing in subsidized housing) for the first person; one |
hundred fifty-nine dollars ($159) one hundred ninety-one dollars ($191) for the second person; one |
hundred thirty-seven dollars ($137) one hundred sixty-four dollars ($164) for the third person; and |
one hundred four dollars ($104) one hundred twenty-five dollars ($125) for each additional person. |
40-5.2-12. Work requirements for receipt of cash assistance. |
(a) The department of human services and the department of labor and training shall assess |
the applicant/parent or non-parent caretaker relative’s work experience, educational, and vocational |
abilities, and the department, together with the parent, shall develop and enter into a mandatory, |
individual employment plan in accordance with § 40-5.2-10(e). |
(b) In the case of a family including two (2) parents, at least one of the parents shall be |
required to participate in an employment plan leading to full-time employment. The department |
may also require the second parent in a two-parent (2) household to develop an employment plan |
if, and when, the youngest child reaches six (6) years of age or older. |
(c) The written, individual employment plan shall specify, at minimum, the immediate |
steps necessary to support a goal of long-term, economic independence. |
(d) All applicants and participants in the Rhode Island works employment program must |
attend and participate in required appointments, employment plan development, and employment- |
related activities, unless temporarily exempt for reasons specified in this chapter. |
(e) A recipient/participant temporarily exempted from the work requirements may |
participate in an individual employment plan on a voluntary basis, however, the individual remains |
subject to the same program compliance requirements as a participant without a temporary |
exemption. |
(f) The individual employment plan shall specify the participant’s work activity(ies) and |
the supportive services that will be provided by the department to enable the participant to engage |
in the work activity(ies). |
(g) Work requirements for single-parent families. In single-parent households, the |
participant parent or non-parent caretaker relative in the cash assistance payment, shall participate |
as a condition of eligibility, for a minimum of twenty (20) hours per week if the youngest child in |
the home is under the age of six (6), and for a minimum of thirty (30) hours per week if the youngest |
child in the home is six (6) years of age or older, in one or more of their required work activities, |
as appropriate, in order to help the parent obtain stable, full-time, paid employment, as determined |
by the department of human services and the department of labor and training; provided, however, |
that he or she shall begin with intensive employment services as the first step in the individual |
employment plan. Required work activities are as follows: |
(1) At least twenty (20) hours per week must come from participation in one or more of |
the following ten (10) work activities: |
(i) Unsubsidized employment; |
(ii) Subsidized private-sector employment; |
(iii) Subsidized public-sector employment; |
(iv) Work experience; |
(v) On-the-job training; |
(vi) Job search and job readiness; |
(vii) Community service programs; |
(viii) Vocational educational training not to exceed twelve (12) months; provided, |
however, that a participant who successfully completes their first year of education at the |
community college of Rhode Island may participate in vocational education training for an |
additional twelve (12) months; |
(ix) Providing childcare services to another participant parent who is participating in an |
approved community service program; and |
(x) Adult education in an intensive work-readiness program. |
(2) Above twenty (20) hours per week, the parent may participate in one or more of the |
following three (3) activities in order to satisfy a thirty-hour (30) requirement: |
(i) Job skills training directly related to employment; |
(ii) Education directly related to employment; and |
(iii) Satisfactory attendance at a secondary school or in a course of study leading to a |
certificate of general equivalence if it is a teen parent under the age of twenty (20) who is without |
a high school diploma or General Equivalence Diploma (GED). |
(3) In the case of a parent under the age of twenty (20), attendance at a secondary school |
or the equivalent during the month, or twenty (20) hours per week on average for the month in |
education directly related to employment, will be counted as engaged in work. |
(4) A parent who participates in a work experience or community service program for the |
maximum number of hours per week allowable by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is deemed |
to have participated in his or her required minimum hours per week in core activities if actual |
participation falls short of his or her required minimum hours per week. |
(5) A parent who has been determined to have a physical or mental impairment affecting |
employment, but who has not been found eligible for Social Security Disability benefits or |
Supplemental Security Income must participate in his or her rehabilitation employment plan as |
developed with the office of rehabilitation services that leads to employment and/or to receipt of |
disability benefits through the Social Security Administration. |
(6) A required work activity may be any other work activity permissible under federal |
TANF provisions or state-defined Rhode Island works program activity, including up to ten (10) |
hours of activities required by a parent’s department of children, youth and families service plan. |
(h) Exemptions from work requirements for the single-parent family. Work requirements |
outlined in subsection (g) shall not apply to a single parent if (and for so long as) the department |
finds that he or she is: |
(1) Caring for a child below the age of one; provided, however, that a parent may opt for |
the deferral from an individual employment plan for a maximum of twelve (12) months during the |
twenty-four (24) months of eligibility for cash assistance and provided, further, that a minor parent |
without a high school diploma or the equivalent, and who is not married, shall not be exempt for |
more than twelve (12) weeks from the birth of the child; |
(2) Caring for a disabled family member who resides in the home and requires full-time |
care; |
(3) A recipient of Social Security Disability benefits or Supplemental Security Income or |
other disability benefits that have the same standard of disability as defined by the Social Security |
Administration; |
(4) An individual receiving assistance who is a victim of domestic violence as determined |
by the department in accordance with rules and regulations; |
(5) An applicant for assistance in her third trimester or a pregnant woman in her third |
trimester who is a recipient of assistance and has medical documentation that she cannot work; |
(6) An individual otherwise exempt by the department as defined in rules and regulations |
promulgated by the department. |
(i) Work requirement for two-parent families. |
(1) In families consisting of two (2) parents, one or both parents are required, and shall be |
engaged in, work activities as defined below, for an individual or combined total of at least thirty- |
five (35) hours per week during the month, not fewer than thirty (30) hours per week of which are |
attributable to one or more of the following listed work activities; provided, however, that he or she |
shall begin with intensive employment services as the first step in the individual employment plan. |
Two-parent work requirements shall be defined as the following: |
(i) Unsubsidized employment; |
(ii) Subsidized private-sector employment; |
(iii) Subsidized public-sector employment; |
(iv) Work experience; |
(v) On-the-job training; |
(vi) Job search and job readiness; |
(vii) Community service program; |
(viii) Vocational educational training not to exceed twelve (12) months; provided, |
however, that a participant who successfully completes their first year of education at the |
community college of Rhode Island may participate in vocational education training for an |
additional twelve (12) months; |
(ix) The provision of childcare services to a participant individual who is participating in a |
community service program; and |
(x) Adult education in an intensive work-readiness program. |
(2) Above thirty (30) hours per week, the following three (3) activities may also count for |
participation: |
(i) Job skills training directly related to employment; |
(ii) Education directly related to employment; and |
(iii) Satisfactory attendance at secondary school or in a course of study leading to a |
certificate of general equivalence. |
(3) A family with two (2) parents, in which one or both parents participate in a work |
experience or community service program, shall be deemed to have participated in core work |
activities for the maximum number of hours per week allowable by the Fair Labor Standards Act |
(FLSA) if actual participation falls short of his or her required minimum hours per week. |
(4) If the family receives childcare assistance and an adult in the family is not disabled or |
caring for a severely disabled child, then the work-eligible individuals must be participating in work |
activities for an average of at least fifty-five (55) hours per week to count as a two-parent family |
engaged in work for the month. |
(5) At least fifty (50) of the fifty-five (55) hours per week must come from participation in |
the activities listed in subsection (i)(1). |
Above fifty (50) hours per week, the three (3) activities listed in subsection (i)(2) may also |
count as participation. |
(6) A family with two (2) parents receiving child care in which one or both parents |
participate in a work experience or community service program for the maximum number of hours |
per week allowable by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) will be considered to have met their |
required core hours if actual participation falls short of the required minimum hours per week. For |
families that need additional hours beyond the core activity requirement, these hours must be |
satisfied in some other TANF work activity. |
(j) Exemptions from work requirements for two-parent families. Work requirements |
outlined in subsection (i) shall not apply to two-parent families if (and for so long as) the department |
finds that: |
(1) Both parents receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI); |
(2) One parent receives SSI, and the other parent is caring for a disabled family member |
who resides in the home and who requires full-time care; or |
(3) The parents are otherwise exempt by the department as defined in rules and regulations. |
(k) Failure to comply with work requirements — Sanctions and terminations. |
(1) The cash assistance to which an otherwise eligible family/assistance unit is entitled |
under this chapter shall be reduced for three (3) months, whether or not consecutive, in accordance |
with rules and regulations promulgated by the department, whenever any participant, without good |
cause as defined by the department in its rules and regulations, has failed to enter into an individual |
employment plan; has failed to attend a required appointment; has refused or quit employment; or |
has failed to comply with any other requirements for the receipt of cash assistance under this |
chapter. The reduction in cash assistance shall not exceed the share of the payment made to the |
participant, i.e., the amount paid in addition to the payment for the dependent children. If the |
family’s benefit has been reduced, benefits shall be restored to the full amount beginning with the |
initial payment made on the first of the month following the month in which the parent: (i) Enters |
into an individual employment plan or rehabilitation plan and demonstrates compliance with the |
terms thereof; or (ii) Demonstrates compliance with the terms of his or her existing individual |
employment plan or rehabilitation plan, as such plan may be amended by agreement of the parent |
and the department. |
(2) In the case where appropriate child care has been made available in accordance with |
this chapter, a participant’s failure, without good cause, to accept a bona fide offer of work, |
including full-time, part-time, and/or temporary employment, or unpaid work experience or |
community service, shall be deemed a failure to comply with the work requirements of this section |
and shall result in reduction or termination of cash assistance, as defined by the department in rules |
and regulations duly promulgated. |
(3) If the family/assistance unit’s benefit has been reduced for a total of three (3) months, |
whether or not consecutive in accordance with this section due to the failure by one or more parents |
to enter into an individual employment plan, or failure to comply with the terms of his or her |
individual employment plan, or the failure to comply with the requirements of this chapter, cash |
assistance to the entire family shall end. The family/assistance unit may reapply for benefits, and |
the benefits shall be restored to the family/assistance unit in the full amount the family/assistance |
unit is otherwise eligible for under this chapter beginning on the first of the month following the |
month in which all parents in the family/assistance unit who are subject to the employment or |
rehabilitation plan requirements under this chapter: (i) Enter into an individual employment or |
rehabilitation plan as applicable, and demonstrate compliance with the terms thereof, or (ii) |
Demonstrate compliance with the terms of the parent’s individual employment or rehabilitation |
employment plan in effect at the time of termination of benefits, as such plan may be amended by |
agreement of the parent and the department. |
(4)(3) Up to ten (10) days following a notice of adverse action to reduce or terminate |
benefits under this subsection, the client may request the opportunity to meet with a social worker |
to identify the reasons for non-compliance, establish good cause, and seek to resolve any issues |
that have prevented the parent from complying with the employment plan requirements. |
(5)(4) Participants whose cases had closed in sanction status pursuant to Rhode Island’s |
prior Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program (federal TANF described in Title IV-A |
of the federal Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 601 et seq.), the family independence program, more |
specifically, § 40-5.1-9(2)(c) [repealed], due to failure to comply with the cash assistance program |
requirements, but who had received less than forty-eight (48) months of cash assistance at the time |
of closure, and who reapply for cash assistance under the Rhode Island works program, must |
demonstrate full compliance, as defined by the department in its rules and regulations, before they |
shall be eligible for cash assistance pursuant to this chapter. |
(l) Good cause. Good cause for failing to meet any program requirements including leaving |
employment, and failure to fulfill documentation requirements, shall be outlined in rules and |
regulations promulgated by the department of human services. |
SECTION 3. Section 40-5.2-20 of the General Laws in Chapter 40-5.2 entitled "The Rhode |
Island Works Program" is hereby amended to read as follows: |
40-5.2-20. Childcare assistance — Families or assistance units eligible. |
(a) The department shall provide appropriate child care to every participant who is eligible |
for cash assistance and who requires child care in order to meet the work requirements in |
accordance with this chapter. |
(b) Low-income child care. The department shall provide child care to all other working |
families with incomes at or below two hundred percent (200%) two hundred sixty-one percent |
(261%) of the federal poverty level if, and to the extent, these other families require child care in |
order to work at paid employment as defined in the department’s rules and regulations. The |
department shall also provide child care to families with incomes below two hundred two hundred |
sixty-one percent (200%) (261%) of the federal poverty level if, and to the extent, these families |
require child care to participate on a short-term basis, as defined in the department’s rules and |
regulations, in training, apprenticeship, internship, on-the-job training, work experience, work |
immersion, or other job-readiness/job-attachment program sponsored or funded by the human |
resource investment council (governor’s workforce board) or state agencies that are part of the |
coordinated program system pursuant to § 42-102-11. Effective from January 1, 2021, through June |
30, 2022, the department shall also provide childcare assistance to families with incomes below |
one hundred eighty percent (180%) of the federal poverty level when such assistance is necessary |
for a member of these families to enroll or maintain enrollment in a Rhode Island public institution |
of higher education provided that eligibility to receive funding is capped when expenditures reach |
$200,000 for this provision. Effective July 1, 2022 through December 31, 2024, the department |
shall also provide childcare assistance to families with incomes below two hundred percent (200%) |
of the federal poverty level when such assistance is necessary for a member of these families to |
enroll or maintain enrollment in a Rhode Island public institution of higher education. Effective |
January 1, 2025, the department shall also provide childcare assistance to families with incomes |
below two hundred sixty-one percent (261%) of the federal poverty level when such assistance is |
necessary for a member of these families to enroll or maintain enrollment in a Rhode Island public |
institution of higher education. |
(c) No family/assistance unit shall be eligible for childcare assistance under this chapter if |
the combined value of its liquid resources exceeds one million dollars ($1,000,000), which |
corresponds to the amount permitted by the federal government under the state plan and set forth |
in the administrative rulemaking process by the department. Liquid resources are defined as any |
interest(s) in property in the form of cash or other financial instruments or accounts that are readily |
convertible to cash or cash equivalents. These include, but are not limited to: cash, bank, credit |
union, or other financial institution savings, checking, and money market accounts; certificates of |
deposit or other time deposits; stocks; bonds; mutual funds; and other similar financial instruments |
or accounts. These do not include educational savings accounts, plans, or programs; retirement |
accounts, plans, or programs; or accounts held jointly with another adult, not including a spouse. |
The department is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations to determine the ownership and |
source of the funds in the joint account. |
(d) As a condition of eligibility for childcare assistance under this chapter, the parent or |
caretaker relative of the family must consent to, and must cooperate with, the department in |
establishing paternity, and in establishing and/or enforcing child support and medical support |
orders for any children in the family receiving appropriate child care under this section in |
accordance with the applicable sections of title 15, as amended, unless the parent or caretaker |
relative is found to have good cause for refusing to comply with the requirements of this subsection. |
(e) For purposes of this section, “appropriate child care” means child care, including infant, |
toddler, preschool, nursery school, and school-age, that is provided by a person or organization |
qualified, approved, and authorized to provide the care by the state agency or agencies designated |
to make the determinations in accordance with the provisions set forth herein. |
(f)(1) Families with incomes below one hundred percent (100%) of the applicable federal |
poverty level guidelines shall be provided with free child care. Families with incomes greater than |
one hundred percent (100%) and less than two hundred percent (200%) 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 in the department’s rules, not to exceed seven |
percent (7%) of income as defined in subsection (h) of this section. |
(2) Families who are receiving childcare assistance and who become ineligible for |
childcare assistance as a result of their incomes exceeding two hundred percent (200%) two |
hundred sixty-one percent (261%) of the applicable federal poverty guidelines shall continue to be |
eligible for childcare assistance until their incomes exceed three hundred percent (300%) of the |
applicable federal poverty guidelines. To be eligible, the families must continue to pay for some |
portion of the child care they receive, as indicated in a sliding-fee scale adopted in the department’s |
rules, not to exceed seven percent (7%) of income as defined in subsection (h) of this section, and |
in accordance with all other eligibility standards. |
(g) In determining the type of child care to be provided to a family, the department shall |
take into account the cost of available childcare options; the suitability of the type of care available |
for the child; and the parent’s preference as to the type of child care. |
(h) For purposes of this section, “income” for families receiving cash assistance under § |
40-5.2-11 means gross, earned income and unearned income, subject to the income exclusions in |
§§ 40-5.2-10(g)(2) and 40-5.2-10(g)(3), and income for other families shall mean gross, earned and |
unearned income as determined by departmental regulations. |
(i) The caseload estimating conference established by chapter 17 of title 35 shall forecast |
the expenditures for child care in accordance with the provisions of § 35-17-1. |
(j) In determining eligibility for childcare assistance 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. |
(k) Effective from August 1, 2023, through July 31, 2024 2025, the department shall |
provide funding for child care for eligible childcare educators, and childcare staff, who work at |
least twenty (20) hours a week in licensed childcare centers and licensed family childcare homes |
as defined in the department’s rules and regulations. Eligibility is limited to qualifying childcare |
educators and childcare staff with family incomes up to three hundred percent (300%) of the |
applicable federal poverty guidelines and will have no copayments. Qualifying participants may |
select the childcare center or family childcare home for their children. The department shall |
promulgate regulations necessary to implement this section, and will collect applicant and |
participant data to report estimated demand for state-funded child care for eligible childcare |
educators and childcare staff. The report shall be due to the governor and the general assembly by |
November 1, 2024. |
SECTION 4. Section 40-6.2-1.1 of the General Laws in Chapter 40-6.2 entitled "Child |
Care — State Subsidies" is hereby amended to read as follows: |
40-6.2-1.1. Rates established. |
(a) Through June 30, 2015, subject to the payment limitations in subsection (c), the |
maximum reimbursement rates to be paid by the departments of human services and children, youth |
and families for licensed childcare centers and licensed family childcare providers shall be based |
on the following schedule of the 75th percentile of the 2002 weekly market rates adjusted for the |
average of the 75th percentile of the 2002 and the 2004 weekly market rates: |
Licensed Childcare Centers 75th Percentile of Weekly |
Market Rate |
Infant $182.00 |
Preschool $150.00 |
School-Age $135.00 |
Licensed Family Childcare 75th Percentile of Weekly |
Providers Market Rate |
Infant $150.00 |
Preschool $150.00 |
School-Age $135.00 |
Effective July 1, 2015, subject to the payment limitations in subsection (c), the maximum |
reimbursement rates to be paid by the departments of human services and children, youth and |
families for licensed childcare centers and licensed family childcare providers shall be based on the |
above schedule of the 75th percentile of the 2002 weekly market rates adjusted for the average of |
the 75th percentile of the 2002 and the 2004 weekly market rates. These rates shall be increased by |
ten dollars ($10.00) per week for infant/toddler care provided by licensed family childcare |
providers and license-exempt providers and then the rates for all providers for all age groups shall |
be increased by three percent (3%). For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2018, licensed childcare |
centers shall be reimbursed a maximum weekly rate of one hundred ninety-three dollars and sixty- |
four cents ($193.64) for infant/toddler care and one hundred sixty-one dollars and seventy-one |
cents ($161.71) for preschool-age children. |
(b) Effective July l, 2018, subject to the payment limitations in subsection (c), the |
maximum infant/toddler and preschool-age reimbursement rates to be paid by the departments of |
human services and children, youth and families for licensed childcare centers shall be |
implemented in a tiered manner, reflective of the quality rating the provider has achieved within |
the state’s quality rating system outlined in § 42-12-23.1. |
(1) For infant/toddler child care, tier one shall be reimbursed two and one-half percent |
(2.5%) above the FY 2018 weekly amount, tier two shall be reimbursed five percent (5%) above |
the FY 2018 weekly amount, tier three shall be reimbursed thirteen percent (13%) above the FY |
2018 weekly amount, tier four shall be reimbursed twenty percent (20%) above the FY 2018 weekly |
amount, and tier five shall be reimbursed thirty-three percent (33%) above the FY 2018 weekly |
amount. |
(2) For preschool reimbursement rates, tier one shall be reimbursed two and one-half |
(2.5%) percent (2.5%) above the FY 2018 weekly amount, tier two shall be reimbursed five percent |
(5%) above the FY 2018 weekly amount, tier three shall be reimbursed ten percent (10%) above |
the FY 2018 weekly amount, tier four shall be reimbursed thirteen percent (13%) above the FY |
2018 weekly amount, and tier five shall be reimbursed twenty-one percent (21%) above the FY |
2018 weekly amount. |
(c) [Deleted by P.L. 2019, ch. 88, art. 13, § 4.] |
(d) By June 30, 2004, and biennially through June 30, 2014, the department of labor and |
training shall conduct an independent survey or certify an independent survey of the then-current |
weekly market rates for child care in Rhode Island and shall forward the weekly market rate survey |
to the department of human services. The next survey shall be conducted by June 30, 2016, and |
triennially thereafter. The departments of human services and labor and training will jointly |
determine the survey criteria including, but not limited to, rate categories and sub-categories. |
(e) In order to expand the accessibility and availability of quality child care, the department |
of human services is authorized to establish, by regulation, alternative or incentive rates of |
reimbursement for quality enhancements, innovative or specialized child care, and alternative |
methodologies of childcare delivery, including nontraditional delivery systems and collaborations. |
(f) Effective January 1, 2007, all childcare providers have the option to be paid every two |
(2) weeks and have the option of automatic direct deposit and/or electronic funds transfer of |
reimbursement payments. |
(g) Effective July 1, 2019, the maximum infant/toddler reimbursement rates to be paid by |
the departments of human services and children, youth and families for licensed family childcare |
providers shall be implemented in a tiered manner, reflective of the quality rating the provider has |
achieved within the state’s quality rating system outlined in § 42-12-23.1. Tier one shall be |
reimbursed two percent (2%) above the prevailing base rate for step 1 and step 2 providers, three |
percent (3%) above prevailing base rate for step 3 providers, and four percent (4%) above the |
prevailing base rate for step 4 providers; tier two shall be reimbursed five percent (5%) above the |
prevailing base rate; tier three shall be reimbursed eleven percent (11%) above the prevailing base |
rate; tier four shall be reimbursed fourteen percent (14%) above the prevailing base rate; and tier |
five shall be reimbursed twenty-three percent (23%) above the prevailing base rate. |
(h) Through December 31, 2021, the maximum reimbursement rates paid by the |
departments of human services, and children, youth and families to licensed childcare centers shall |
be consistent with the enhanced emergency rates provided as of June 1, 2021, as follows: |
Tier 1 Tier 2 Tier 3 Tier 4 Tier 5 |
Infant/Toddler $257.54 $257.54 $257.54 $257.54 $273.00 |
Preschool Age $195.67 $195.67 $195.67 $195.67 $260.00 |
School Age $200.00 $200.00 $200.00 $200.00 $245.00 |
The maximum reimbursement rates paid by the departments of human services, and |
children, youth and families to licensed family childcare providers shall be consistent with the |
enhanced emergency rates provided as of June 1, 2021, as follows: |
Tier 1 Tier 2 Tier 3 Tier 4 Tier 5 |
Infant/Toddler $224.43 $224.43 $224.43 $224.43 $224.43 |
Preschool Age $171.45 $171.45 $171.45 $171.45 $171.45 |
School Age $162.30 $162.30 $162.30 $162.30 $162.30 |
(i) Effective January 1, 2022, the maximum reimbursement rates to be paid by the |
departments of human services and children, youth and families for licensed childcare centers shall |
be implemented in a tiered manner, reflective of the quality rating the provider has achieved within |
the state’s quality rating system outlined in § 42-12-23.1. Maximum weekly rates shall be |
reimbursed as follows: |
Licensed Childcare Centers |
Tier One Tier Two Tier Three Tier Four Tier Five |
Infant/Toddler $236.36 $244.88 $257.15 $268.74 $284.39 |
Preschool $207.51 $212.27 $218.45 $223.50 $231.39 |
School-Age $180.38 $182.77 $185.17 $187.57 $189.97 |
The maximum reimbursement rates for licensed family childcare providers paid by the |
departments of human services, and children, youth and families is determined through collective |
bargaining. The maximum reimbursement rates for infant/toddler and preschool age children paid |
to licensed family childcare providers by both departments is implemented in a tiered manner that |
reflects the quality rating the provider has achieved in accordance with § 42-12-23.1. |
(j) Effective July 1, 2022, the maximum reimbursement rates to be paid by the departments |
of human services and children, youth and families for licensed childcare centers shall be |
implemented in a tiered manner, reflective of the quality rating the provider has achieved within |
the state’s quality rating system outlined in § 42-12-23.1. Maximum weekly rates shall be |
reimbursed as follows: |
Licensed Childcare Centers |
Tier One Tier Two Tier Three Tier Four Tier Five |
Infant/Toddler $265 $270 $282 $289 $300 |
Infant/Toddler |
Preschool $225 $235 $243 $250 $260 |
School-Age $200 $205 $220 $238 $250 |
(k) Effective July 1, 2024, the maximum reimbursement rates to be paid by the departments |
of human services and children, youth and families for licensed childcare centers shall be |
implemented in a tiered manner, reflective of the quality rating the provider has achieved within |
the state’s quality rating system outlined in § 42-12-23.1. Maximum weekly rates shall be |
reimbursed as follows: |
Licensed Childcare Centers |
Tier One Tier Two Tier Three Tier Four Tier Five |
Infant/Toddler $278 $284 $296 $303 $315 |
Preschool $236 $247 $255 $263 $273 |
School-Age $210 $215 $231 $250 $263 |
SECTION 5. Title 42 of the General Laws entitled "STATE AFFAIRS AND |
GOVERNMENT" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following chapter: |
CHAPTER 166 |
THE LADDERS TO LICENSURE PROGRAM |
42-166-1. The ladders to licensure grant program. |
The executive office of health and human services is hereby directed to establish the ladders |
to licensure grant program, a public-private partnership to: |
(1) Increase the number of licensed health professionals; |
(2) Increase racial, ethnic, cultural, and linguistic diversity of health professionals; |
(3) Provide academic, financial and wrap around supports to enable working adults to |
obtain health professional higher education degrees and license; |
(4) Leverage employer support for academic, financial, and wraparound supports; |
(5) Align with existing state workforce and higher education initiatives; |
(6) Develop and implement career ladders with tiered training and education requirements |
and corresponding salary increases; |
(7) Develop and implement interscholastic and interdepartmental agreements that accept |
prior learning, credentials, work experience, and academic credits towards |
requirementrequirements for higher education health professional degrees; |
(8) Establish policies and initiatives to counter systemic racism and other institutional |
barriers to participation and advancement of underrepresented populations; |
(9) Establish policies and initiatives that provide flexible scheduling of work hours and/or |
academic programs to reduce barriers to participation; and |
(10) Identify state policy barriers to entry and advancement in the field. |
42-166-2. Use of appropriated funds. |
Any appropriated funds shall be used to provide grants to three (3) or four (4) grantee |
partnerships, consisting of multiple private sector health and human services employer |
organizations and education grantee partnerships (with at least one focused on behavioral health |
and one focused on nursing). Employers will be required to contribute a twenty-five percent (25%) |
in-kind match and a ten percent (10%) cash match. |
42-166-3. Oversight. |
The executive office of health and human services shall collaborate and coordinate with |
the department of labor and training and the office of the postsecondary commissioner in the |
development, implementation, and oversight of the program. |
42-166-4. Reporting. |
The executive office of health and human services shall provide quarterly reports to the |
speaker of the house of representatives and senate president documenting the progress of the |
implementation of the program. |
SECTION 6. Section 3 of this article shall take effect January 1, 2025, except for the |
provisions of § 40-5.2-20(k) which shall take effect July 1, 2024. The remainder of this article shall |
take effect July 1, 2024. |