HF 707 (LSB 2533HV (3) 90)

HOUSE FILE 707

BY  COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

(SUCCESSOR TO HSB 233)

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to state child care assistance eligibility requirements and child care provider reimbursement rates.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 237A.1, Code 2023, is amended by adding the following new subsection:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  7A.  “Children needing special needs care” or “special needs child” means a child or children with one or more of the following conditions:
   a.  The child has been diagnosed by a physician or by a person endorsed for service as a school psychologist by the department of education to have a developmental disability which substantially limits one or more major life activities, and the child requires professional treatment, assistance in self-care, or the purchase of special adaptive equipment.
   b.  The child has been determined by a qualified intellectual disability professional to have a condition which impairs the child’s intellectual and social functioning.
   c.  The child has been diagnosed by a mental health professional to have a behavioral or emotional disorder characterized by situationally inappropriate behavior which deviates substantially from behavior appropriate to the child’s age, or which significantly interferes with the child’s intellectual, social, or personal development.
    Sec. 2.  Section 237A.13, subsection 1, paragraph c, Code 2023, is amended to read as follows:
   c.  The child’s parent, guardian, or custodian is employed and the family income meets income requirements a minimum of thirty-two hours per week or an average of thirty-two hours per week during the month if the child requires basic care, or twenty-eight hours per week or an average of twenty-eight hours per week during the month if the child is a special needs child.
    Sec. 3.  Section 237A.13, Code 2023, is amended by adding the following new subsection:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  1A.  A family shall only be initially eligible for state child care assistance if the family’s gross monthly income does not exceed the lesser of:
   a.  (1)  One hundred fifty-five percent of the federal poverty level applicable to the family size for children needing basic care.
   (2)  Two hundred percent of the federal poverty level applicable to the family size for children needing special needs care.
   b.  Eighty-five percent of the state median gross monthly income.
    Sec. 4.  Section 237A.13, subsection 3, Code 2023, is amended to read as follows:
   3.  a.  The department shall set reimbursement rates as authorized by appropriations enacted for payment of the reimbursements. The department shall conduct a statewide reimbursement rate survey to compile information on each county and the survey shall be conducted at least every two years. The department shall set rates in a manner so as to provide incentives for an unregistered provider to become registered.
   b.  The department shall not modify reimbursement rates to the state child care assistance program or financial eligibility requirements for a family participating in the state child care assistance program without prior enabling legislation in this state passed on or after January 1, 2023.
    Sec. 5.  Section 237A.13, subsection 8, paragraphs a and c, Code 2023, are amended to read as follows:
   a.  Families with an income at or below one hundred percent of the federal poverty level whose members, for at least twenty-eight thirty-two hours per week in the aggregate, are employed or are participating at a satisfactory level in an approved training program or educational program, and parents with a family income at or below one hundred percent of the federal poverty level who are under the age of twenty-one years and are participating in an educational program leading to a high school diploma or the equivalent.
   c.  Families with an income of more than one hundred percent but not more than one hundred forty-five fifty-five percent of the federal poverty level whose members, for at least twenty-eight thirty-two hours per week in the aggregate, are employed or are participating at a satisfactory level in an approved training program or educational program.
    Sec. 6.  DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES —— INCREASED STATE CHILD CARE ASSISTANCE REIMBURSEMENT RATES.  The department of health and human services shall amend its administrative rules pursuant to chapter 17A to increase the half-day reimbursement rates paid to child care providers reimbursed under the state child care assistance program to at least the sixty-fifth percentile but no more than the eightieth percentile of the 2020 market rate survey.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill relates to state child care assistance (CCA) eligibility requirements and child care provider reimbursement rates.
   The bill defines “child needing special needs care” or “special needs child” as a child that has been diagnosed by a physician or by a person endorsed for service as a school psychologist by the department of education to have a developmental disability which substantially limits one or more major life activities, and requires professional treatment, assistance in self-care, or the purchase of special adaptive equipment; a child determined by a qualified intellectual disability professional to have a condition which impairs the child’s intellectual and social functioning; a child diagnosed by a mental health professional to have a behavioral or emotional disorder characterized by situationally inappropriate behavior which deviates substantially from behavior appropriate to the child’s age, or which significantly interferes with the child’s intellectual, social, or personal development; or a child with a combination of any of the foregoing conditions.
   The bill requires, for the purposes of CCA eligibility, that a child’s parent, guardian, or custodian who is employed must work a minimum of 32 hours per week or an average of 32 hours per week during the month if the child requires basic care, or 28 hours per week or an average of 32 hours per week during the month if the child is a special needs child.
   The bill provides that a family shall only be initially eligible for CCA if the family’s gross monthly income does not exceed the lesser of: (1) 155 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL) applicable to the family size for children needing basic care, (2) 200 percent of the FPL applicable to the family size for children needing special needs care, or (3) 85 percent of the state median gross monthly income.
   The bill prohibits the department of health and human services (HHS) and the director of HHS from modifying reimbursement rates for child care providers reimbursed under the CCA program or eligibility requirements for a family participating in the CCA program without prior enabling legislation in this state passed on or after January 1, 2023.
   Based upon funding availability, HHS has established waiting list categories for CCA based on a priority order set out in Code section 237A.13(8). The most prioritized and third most prioritized categories are: (1) families with income at or below 100 percent of the FPL whose members work at least 28 hours in the aggregate, are employed or are participating at a satisfactory level in an approved training program or educational program, and parents with income at or below 100 percent of the FPL who are under 21 years of age and are participating in an educational program leading to a high school diploma or the equivalent; and (3) families with an income of more than 100 percent but not more than 145 percent of the FPL whose members work for at least 28 hours in the aggregate, and are employed or are participating at a satisfactory level in an approved training program. The bill changes the work requirements for the first and third categories of prioritization from 28 hours to 32 hours, and raises the income limit to qualify for the third category from 145 percent of the FPL to 155 percent of the FPL.
   The bill directs HHS to set half-day reimbursement rates for child care providers participating in the CCA program to at least the 65th percentile but not more than the 80th percentile of the 2020 market rate survey conducted by HHS to analyze and evaluate the market rate of child care services throughout the state.