READ FIRST TIME 01/29/14.   

     AN ACT Relating to child care; and amending RCW 43.215.135.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1   RCW 43.215.135 and 2013 c 323 s 9 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The department shall establish and implement policies in the working connections child care program to promote stability and quality of care for children from low-income households. Policies for the expenditure of funds constituting the working connections child care program must be consistent with the outcome measures defined in RCW 74.08A.410 and the standards established in this section intended to promote continuity of care for children.
     (2) The department shall establish and implement policies to train staff on child care subsidy fraud, including:
     (a) Methods to detect suspected child care subsidy fraud;
     (b) The department's procedures for reporting suspected child care subsidy fraud to the office of fraud and accountability; and
     (c) The office of fraud and accountability's procedures for reporting child care subsidy fraud anonymously.
     (3) To incentivize a working connections child care subsidy applicant or recipient to seek child support enforcement services from the department of social and health services, division of child support, the department of social and health services shall waive the child care copayment for one month for applicants or recipients who seek child support enforcement services for the first time and have not already done so as required by other public assistance programs.
     (4) Beginning in fiscal year 2013, authorizations for the working connections child care subsidy shall be effective for twelve months unless a change in circumstances necessitates reauthorization sooner than twelve months. Seeking child support enforcement services for the first time under subsection (3) of this section constitutes a change in circumstances. The twelve-month certification applies only if the enrollments in the child care subsidy or working connections child care program are capped.
     (((3))) (5) Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, beginning September 1, 2013, working connections child care providers shall receive a five percent increase in the subsidy rate for enrolling in level 2 in the early achievers programs. Providers must complete level 2 and advance to level 3 within thirty months in order to maintain this increase.