The City and County of San Francisco may develop and implement an individualized county childcare subsidy plan. The plan shall ensure that childcare subsidies received by the city and county are used to address local needs, conditions, and priorities of
working families in the community.
Article 10Childcare Subsidy Plan for the City and County of San Francisco
Section § 8283
San Francisco can create its own plan to use childcare subsidy funds to meet the specific needs of working families in the community.
San Francisco individualized childcare subsidy plan childcare subsidies local needs working families community priorities childcare funding local conditions subsidy implementation community needs funding priorities local childcare subsidy plan development county plan childcare support
Section § 8284
San Francisco can create a special plan to improve local childcare subsidies. This plan must understand the city’s childcare needs and whether the current funding helps working families. It should identify any rules that make it hard to achieve childcare goals. The plan should first prioritize low-income families and aim to match city goals with state requirements. It should include ways to adjust contracts and improve enrollment capacity. San Francisco can make local changes to certain rules like fees and reimbursement rates, but can't change broader state-set rates or increase beyond budget limits. The plan may include CalWORKs and strive to help families transition smoothly between subsidy stages. The plan also needs clear outcomes to measure its success.
Before implementing the local subsidy plan, the City and County of San Francisco, in consultation with the department, shall develop an individualized county childcare subsidy plan for the city and county that includes the following four elements:
(a)CA Education Code § 8284(a) An assessment to identify the city and county’s goal for its subsidized
childcare system. The assessment shall examine whether the current structure of subsidized childcare funding adequately supports working families in the city and county and whether the city and county’s childcare goals coincide with the state’s requirements for funding, eligibility, priority, and reimbursement. The assessment shall also identify barriers in the state’s childcare
subsidy system that inhibit the city and county from meeting its childcare goals. In conducting the assessment, the city and county shall consider all of the following:
(1)CA Education Code § 8284(a)(1) The general demographics of families who are in need of childcare, including employment, income, language, ethnic, and family composition.
(2)CA Education Code § 8284(a)(2) The current supply of available subsidized
childcare.
(3)CA Education Code § 8284(a)(3) The level of need for various types of subsidized childcare services including, but not limited to, infant care, after-hours care, and care for children with exceptional needs.
(4)CA Education Code § 8284(a)(4) The city and county’s self-sufficiency income level.
(5)CA Education Code § 8284(a)(5) Income eligibility levels for subsidized
childcare.
(6)CA Education Code § 8284(a)(6) Family fees.
(7)CA Education Code § 8284(a)(7) The cost of providing childcare.
(8)CA Education Code § 8284(a)(8) The regional market rates, as established by the department, for different types of childcare.
(9)CA Education Code § 8284(a)(9) The standard reimbursement rate or state per diem for centers operating under contracts with the department.
(10)CA Education Code § 8284(a)(10) Trends in the county’s unemployment rate and housing affordability index.
(b)CA Education Code § 8284(b) Development of a local policy to eliminate state-imposed regulatory barriers to the city and county’s achievement of its desired outcomes for subsidized preschool.
(1)CA Education Code § 8284(b)(1) The local policy shall do all of the following:
(A)CA Education Code § 8284(b)(1)(A) Prioritize lowest income families first.
(B)CA Education Code § 8284(b)(1)(B) Follow the family fee schedule established pursuant to Section 8252 of this code or Section 10290 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, as applicable, for those families that are income eligible, as defined by Section
8213 of this code or Section 10271.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, as applicable.
(C)CA Education Code § 8284(b)(1)(C) Meet local goals that are consistent with the state’s childcare goals.
(D)CA Education Code § 8284(b)(1)(D) Identify existing policies that would be affected by the city and county’s childcare
subsidy plan.
(E)Copy CA Education Code § 8284(b)(1)(E)
(i)Copy CA Education Code § 8284(b)(1)(E)(i) Authorize any agency that provides childcare and development services in the city and county through a contract with the department to apply to the department to amend existing contracts in order to benefit from the local policy once it is adopted.
(ii)CA Education Code § 8284(b)(1)(E)(i)(ii) The department shall approve an application to amend an existing contract if the childcare subsidy plan is approved pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section
8285, or modified pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section
8285.
(iii)CA Education Code § 8284(b)(1)(E)(i)(iii) The contract of a department contractor who does not elect to request an amendment to its contract remains operative and enforceable.
(2)Copy CA Education Code § 8284(b)(2)
(A)Copy CA Education Code § 8284(b)(2)(A) The city and county shall, by the end of the first fiscal year of operation under the approved childcare subsidy plan, demonstrate an increase in the aggregate child days of enrollment in the county as compared to the enrollment in the final quarter of the 2004–05 fiscal year.
(B)CA Education Code § 8284(b)(2)(A)(B) The amount of the increase shall be at least equal to the aggregate child days of enrollment in the final quarter of the
2004–05 fiscal year for all contracts amended as provided in subparagraph (E) of paragraph (1), under which the contractor receives an increase in its reimbursement rate, times 2 percent.
(C)CA Education Code § 8284(b)(2)(A)(C) The amount of the increase shall also be proportional to the total contract maximum reimbursable amount to reflect the changes in the budget allocation for each fiscal year of the plan.
(3)CA Education Code § 8284(b)(3) The local policy may supersede state law concerning preschool subsidy programs with regard only to the following factors:
(A)CA Education Code § 8284(b)(3)(A) Provide a family that qualifies for the second or third stage of
childcare services pursuant to Chapter 21 (commencing with Section 10370) of Part 1.8 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, for purposes of eligibility, fees, and reimbursements, the same or higher level of benefit as a family that qualifies for subsidized childcare on another basis pursuant to the local policy, except as otherwise provided in
Chapter 21 (commencing with Section 10370) of Part 1.8 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to impact or reduce any element in the second or third stage of childcare services pursuant to Chapter 21 (commencing with Section 10370) of Part 1.8 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code that provides a greater benefit to participating families than is provided for in the local policy.
(B)CA Education Code § 8284(b)(3)(B) Fees including, but
not limited to, family fees, sliding scale fees, and copayments for those families that are not income eligible, as defined by Section 8213 of this code or Section 10271.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, as applicable.
(C)CA Education Code § 8284(b)(3)(C) Reimbursement rates, including adjustment factors identified in Section 8244 of this code or Section 10281.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, as applicable.
(D)CA Education Code § 8284(b)(3)(D) The ratio of four-year-old children in state preschool programs pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 8263.
(E)CA Education Code § 8284(b)(3)(E) Methods of maximizing the efficient use of subsidy funds, including, but not limited to, multiyear contracting with the department for center-based
childcare
and interagency agreements that allow for flexible and temporary transfer of funds among agencies.
(F)CA Education Code § 8284(b)(3)(F) Families with children enrolled in part-day California state preschool program services, pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section
8207), may be eligible for up to two 180-day periods within a 24-month period without the family being certified as a new enrollment each year.
(c)CA Education Code § 8284(c) Recognition that all funding sources utilized by contractors that provide childcare and development services in the city and county are eligible to be included in the preschool subsidy plan of the city and county.
(d)CA Education Code § 8284(d) Establishment of measurable outcomes to evaluate the success of the plan to achieve the city and county’s
childcare goals and to overcome any barriers identified in the state’s childcare subsidy system.
(e)CA Education Code § 8284(e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to permit the city and county to change the regional market rate survey results for the city and county.
(f)CA Education Code § 8284(f) Nothing in this section shall allow the city and county to
adopt as part of its plan an increase to the regional market reimbursement rate beyond the level provided in the Budget Act.
(g)CA Education Code § 8284(g) The plan may include stage one childcare services in addition to alternative payment and direct service childcare programs. If the plan includes CalWORKs childcare, the plan administrator shall consult with their county
welfare department to identify opportunities for alignment, ensuring families experience no break in their
childcare services due to a transition between the three stages of childcare services and policies implemented in the plan.
San Francisco childcare local subsidy plan childcare system goals working families support subsidized childcare assessment barriers to childcare income eligibility levels family fees childcare cost regional market rates policy for preschool subsidies prioritize low-income families contract amendments CalWORKs childcare alignment reimbursement rates
Section § 8285
This law section outlines the process for approving a plan in San Francisco. First, the plan must be approved by the local planning council. After that, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors needs to conduct at least one public hearing. If the board supports the plan, it is sent to the department for review. The department has 30 days to decide whether to approve or reject the plan or any modifications, but they can only disapprove parts that clash with specific California articles or federal law.
(a)CA Education Code § 8285(a) The plan shall be submitted to the local planning council, as defined in subdivision (g) of Section 10480 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, for approval. Upon approval of the plan by the local planning council, the Board of Supervisors of the City and County of San Francisco shall hold at least one public hearing on the plan. Following the hearing, if the board of supervisors votes in favor of the plan, the plan shall be
submitted to the department for review.
(b)CA Education Code § 8285(b) Within 30 days of receiving the plan, the department shall review and either approve or disapprove the plan.
(c)CA Education Code § 8285(c) Within 30 days of receiving any modification to the plan, the department shall review and either approve or disapprove that modification to the plan.
(d)CA Education Code § 8285(d) The department may disapprove only those portions of the plan or modifications to the plan that are not in conformance with either this article or Article 9 (commencing with Section
8273) or that are in conflict with federal law.
local planning council Board of Supervisors public hearing plan approval plan modifications department review San Francisco conflict with federal law Article 9 Welfare and Institutions Code plan submission review process disapproval conditions approval timeline
Section § 8286
This law requires San Francisco to create a report every three years that reviews how well they are doing with their childcare plan. The report should show how they use funds and make improvements in childcare. This report must be sent to the Legislature, the State Department of Social Services, and the department using a specific template, and it must follow certain guidelines in another government section.
(a)CA Education Code § 8286(a) The City and County of San Francisco shall, at least once every three years, using the template developed by the department, prepare and submit to the Legislature, the State Department of Social Services, and the department a report that summarizes the success of the city and county’s plan, and the city and county’s ability to maximize the use of funds and to improve and stabilize childcare in the city and county.
(b)CA Education Code § 8286(b) A report to be submitted pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
San Francisco childcare plan childcare fund usage childcare improvement report submission Legislature report Department of Social Services childcare report template government report compliance childcare stabilization three-year report cycle
Section § 8287
If you want to make any changes to the plan, you have to follow the specific procedures that start in Section 8273.
Any modifications to the plan shall be submitted in conformance with the procedures established in Article 9 (commencing with Section 8273).
plan modifications submit modifications procedures Article 9 Section 8273 conformance changes to plan submission requirements procedural compliance educational plans modification procedure
Section § 8288
This rule says that if a contractor is part of a local subsidy plan, they still get any changes in funding they would have gotten if they weren't part of the plan.
A participating contractor shall receive any increase or decrease in funding that the contractor would have received if the contractor had not participated in the local subsidy plan established by this article.
participating contractor funding increase funding decrease local subsidy plan contractor funding financial changes fund allocation subsidy participation contractor compensation funding adjustments EDC Section 8288 educational contractor subsidy plan effects
Section § 8288.5
This law states that any parts of a plan dealing with preschool will be managed by one department, while all other childcare program plans will be managed by the State Department of Social Services.
Commencing on the effective date of the act that added this section, the components of the plan relating to preschool shall be overseen by the department and the components of the plan addressing all other childcare programs shall be overseen by the State Department of Social Services.
preschool plan childcare program oversight State Department of Social Services effective date plan components department responsibilities social services management preschool management childcare oversight
