2024 -- S 2459

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LC004003

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2024

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO HUMAN SERVICES -- THE RHODE ISLAND WORKS PROGRAM

     Introduced By: Senators DiMario, Cano, Valverde, Murray, DiPalma, Lauria, Kallman,
Acosta, and Zurier

     Date Introduced: February 12, 2024

     Referred To: Senate Judiciary

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. 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%) 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 percent (200%) 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, 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.

     (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.

The parent or caretaker relative of any family applying for child care assistance may voluntarily

access the state's office of child support services for assistance establishing parentage, establishing

a child support and/or medical order, and enforcement of that order, but this shall not be a

requirement to qualify for or access child care assistance.

     (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

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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%) 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, 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.

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The report shall be due to the governor and the general assembly by November 1, 2024.

     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO HUMAN SERVICES -- THE RHODE ISLAND WORKS PROGRAM

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     This act would remove the requirement that families consent to, and cooperate with the

department of human services in establishing paternity and enforcing child and medical support

orders as a condition of eligibility for childcare assistance.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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