BILL REQ. #:  S-4271.2 

READ FIRST TIME 02/03/12.   

     AN ACT Relating to authorization periods for subsidized child care; amending RCW 43.215.135; adding a new section to chapter 43.215 RCW; and providing an effective date.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 43.215.135 and 2011 1st sp.s. c 42 s 11 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) As a condition of receiving a child care subsidy or a working connections child care subsidy, the applicant or recipient must seek child support enforcement services from the department of social and health services, division of child support, unless the department finds that the applicant or recipient has good cause not to cooperate.
     (3) ((Except as provided in subsection (4) of this section, an applicant or recipient of a child care subsidy or a working connections child care subsidy is eligible to receive that subsidy for six months before having to recertify his or her income eligibility. The six-month certification provision applies only if enrollments in the child care subsidy or working connections child care program are capped.
     (4))) Beginning in fiscal year ((2011, for families with children enrolled in an early childhood education and assistance program, a head start program, or an early head start program)) 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. The twelve-month certification applies only if the enrollments in the child care subsidy or working connections child care program are capped.
     (((5) The department, in consultation with the department of social and health services, shall report to the legislature by September 1, 2011, with:
     (a) An analysis of the impact of the twelve-month authorization period on the stability of child care, program costs, and administrative savings; and
     (b) Recommendations for expanding the application of the twelve-month authorization period to additional populations of children in care.))

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 43.215 RCW to read as follows:
     When an applicant or recipient applies for or receives working connections child care benefits, he or she is required to:
     (1) Notify the department within five days, of any change in providers;
     (2) Notify the applicant or recipient's provider within ten days of any change in the following:
     (a) The number of child care hours the applicant or recipient needs;
     (b) The applicant or recipient's countable income, including any temporary assistance for needy families or child support grant increases or decreases;
     (c) The applicant or recipient's household size;
     (d) Starting, stopping, or changing any employment, school activity, or approved temporary assistance for needy families activity;
     (e) The address and telephone number of the applicant or recipient's in-home or relative provider; and
     (f) The applicant or recipient's legal obligation to pay child support;
     (3) Report to the department of social and health services, within twenty-four hours, any pending charges or conviction information the applicant or recipient learns about his or her in-home or relative provider; and
     (4) Report to the department of social and health services, within twenty-four hours, any pending charges or conviction information the applicant or recipient learns about anyone sixteen years of age or older who lives with the provider when the provider is providing care outside the child's home.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   This act takes effect July 1, 2012.