8265-8272
EDUCATION CODE
SECTION 8265-8272
8265. (a) The Superintendent shall implement a plan that establishes reasonable standards and assigned reimbursement rates, which vary with the length of the program year and the hours of service. (1) Parent fees shall be used to pay reasonable and necessary costs for providing additional services. (2) When establishing standards and assigned reimbursement rates, the Superintendent shall confer with applicant agencies. (3) The reimbursement system, including standards and rates, shall be submitted to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee. (4) The Superintendent may establish any regulations he or she deems advisable concerning conditions of service and hours of enrollment for children in the programs. (b) The standard reimbursement rate shall be three thousand five hundred twenty-three dollars ($3,523) per unit of average daily enrollment for a 250-day year, increased by the cost-of-living adjustment granted by the Legislature beginning July 1, 1980. (c) The plan shall require agencies having an assigned reimbursement rate above the current year standard reimbursement rate to reduce costs on an incremental basis to achieve the standard reimbursement rate. (d) The plan shall provide for adjusting reimbursement on a case-by-case basis, in order to maintain service levels for agencies currently at a rate less than the standard reimbursement rate. Assigned reimbursement rates shall be increased only on the basis of one or more of the following: (1) Loss of program resources from other sources. (2) Need of an agency to pay the same child care rates as those prevailing in the local community. (3) Increased costs directly attributable to new or different regulations. (4) Documented increased costs necessary to maintain the prior year's level of service and ensure the continuation of threatened programs. Child care agencies funded at the lowest rates shall be given first priority for increases. (e) The plan shall provide for expansion of child development programs at no more than the standard reimbursement rate for that fiscal year. (f) The Superintendent may reduce the percentage of reduction for a public agency that satisfies any of the following: (1) Serves more than 400 children. (2) Has in effect a collective bargaining agreement. (3) Has other extenuating circumstances that apply, as determined by the Superintendent. 8265.1. Rate increases authorized by paragraph (2) of subdivision (d) of Section 8265 shall be in effect from July 1 of the contract year for which the rate increase is requested. The State Department of Education shall develop a rate increase process, for alternative payment and other similar program types, between October 1 and March 30. Decisions regarding rate increases shall be made within 60 days by the State Department of Education. 8265.5. (a) In order to reflect the additional expense of serving children who meet any of the criteria outlined in paragraphs (1) to (7), inclusive, of subdivision (b) the provider agency's reported child days of enrollment for these children shall be multiplied by the adjustment factors listed below. (b) The adjustment factors shall apply to those programs for which assigned reimbursement rates are at or below the standard reimbursement rate. In addition, the adjustment factors shall apply to those programs for which assigned reimbursement rates are above the standard reimbursement rate, but the reimbursement rate, as adjusted, shall not exceed the adjusted standard reimbursement rate. (1) For infants who are 0 to 18 months of age and are served in a child day care center, the adjustment factor shall be 1.7. (2) For toddlers who are 18 to 36 months of age and are served in a child day care center, the adjustment factor shall be 1.4. (3) For infants and toddlers who are 0 to 36 months of age and are served in a family child care home, the adjustment factor shall be 1.4. (4) For children with exceptional needs who are 0 to 21 years of age, the adjustment factor shall be 1.2. (5) For severely disabled children who are 0 to 21 years of age, the adjustment factor shall be 1.5. (6) For a child at risk of neglect, abuse, or exploitation who are 0 to 14 years of age, the adjustment factor shall be 1.1. (7) For limited-English-speaking and non-English-speaking children who are 2 years of age through kindergarten age, the adjustment factor shall be 1.1. (c) Use of the adjustment factors shall not increase the provider agency's total annual allocation. (d) Days of enrollment for children having more than one of the criteria outlined in paragraphs (1) to (7), inclusive, of subdivision (b) shall not be reported under more than one of the above categories. (e) The difference between the reimbursement resulting from the use of the adjustment factors outlined in paragraphs (1) to (7), inclusive, of subdivision (b) and the reimbursement that would otherwise be received by a provider in the absence of the adjustment factors shall be used for special and appropriate services for each child for whom an adjustment factor is claimed. 8265.7. Notwithstanding Section 8265, programs above the standard reimbursement rate may be considered on a case-by-case basis for rate adjustments due to documented increases in insurance costs. 8266. Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 8265, the assigned reimbursement rate of a center-based child care agency (a) contracting with the Department of Education, (b) operating under licensing standards for child care and development facilities specified by Section 1500 et seq. of the Health and Safety Code and by Title 22 of the California Administrative Code, and (c) with less than a majority of subsidized children enrolled in the facility, shall be equivalent to the fee paid for the same service by families of nonsubsidized children. It is not the intent of the Legislature to preclude an agency with a contract with the department from adjusting the fees charged to nonsubsidized children during the contract year. In no event shall the assigned reimbursement rate exceed the standard reimbursement rate established pursuant to Section 8265. These agencies shall provide documentation to the department that subsidized children, as necessary and appropriate, shall receive supportive services through county welfare departments, resource and referral programs, or other existing community resources, or all of them. 8266.1. Commencing with the 1995-96 fiscal year and each fiscal year thereafter, for the purposes of this chapter, reimbursement rates shall be adjusted by the following reimbursement factors for child care and development programs with a standard reimbursement rate, but shall not apply to the Resource and Referral Programs set forth in Article 2 (commencing with Section 8210), the Alternative Payment Programs set forth in Article 3 (commencing with Section 8220), the part-day California state preschool programs set forth in Article 7 (commencing with Section 8235), the schoolage community child care services programs set forth in Article 22 (commencing with Section 8460), or to the schoolage parent and infant development programs: (a) For child care and development providers serving children for less than four hours per day, the reimbursement factor is 55 percent of the standard reimbursement rate. (b) For child care and development program providers serving children for not less than four hours per day, and less than six and one-half hours per day, the reimbursement factor is 75 percent of the standard reimbursement rate. For providers operating under the At Risk Child Care Program set forth in Article 15.5 (commencing with Section 8350) and serving children for not less than four hours per day, and less than seven hours per day, the reimbursement factor is 75 percent of the standard reimbursement rate. (c) For child care and development program providers serving children for not less than six and one-half hours per day, and less than 10 and one-half hours per day, the reimbursement factor is 100 percent of the standard reimbursement rate. For providers operating under the At Risk Child Care Program set forth in Article 15.5 (commencing with Section 8350) and serving children for not less than seven hours per day, and less than 10 hours per day, the reimbursement factor is 100 percent of the standard reimbursement rate. (d) For child care and development program providers serving children for 10 1/2 hours or more per day, the reimbursement factor is 118 percent of the standard reimbursement rate. 8266.5. Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 8265, the payment made to a child care facility (a) with authorization for payments from an alternative payment program or a county welfare department, (b) operating under licensing standards for child day care facilities specified by Sections 1500 et seq. of the Health and Safety Code and by Title 22 of the California Administrative Code, and (c) with less than a majority of subsidized children enrolled in the facility, shall be the same as the fee paid for the same service by families of nonsubsidized children. Each alternative payment system or county welfare department shall provide documentation that subsidized children, as necessary and appropriate, shall receive supportive services through county welfare departments, resource and referral programs, other existing community resources, or all of them. 8267. The audits for those agencies licensed under the provisions of Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 1500) of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code shall include a sampling of the evidence of fees paid by families of nonsubsidized children, the average daily enrollment of subsidized and nonsubsidized children, the average number of days of service provided to subsidized children, and the services provided to subsidized children pursuant to the terms of the contract. 8268. The Superintendent of Public Instruction and the State Controller shall establish the necessary plans to advance child care funds to contracting agencies. 8269. The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall adopt rules, regulations, and guidelines to facilitate the funding and reimbursement procedures required by this chapter. 8270. The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall support the coordination of resources available to state and local agencies serving children, youth, and their families. 8271. In the event that operating agencies are unable to operate due to incomplete renovations authorized by administrating state agencies, or due to circumstances beyond the control of the operating agency, including earthquakes, floods, or fire, such programs shall not be penalized for incurred program expenses nor in subsequent annual budget allocations. 8272. (a) The rules, regulations, and guidelines adopted by the Superintendent of Public Instruction pursuant to Sections 8261 and 8269 shall permit reimbursement for interest paid by contractors on private sector debt financing for the purchase, lease-purchase, repair, or renovation of child care and development facilities owned or leased by contractors providing center-based care. (b) The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall adopt regulations requiring contractors to demonstrate that the amount of interest paid in a year on private sector debt financing for the purposes identified in subdivision (a) does not exceed the value obtained by the state in the use of the facilities during the year for the child care and development services program. The regulations shall include, but not be limited to, the following methods of making this demonstration: (1) Amortization of a loan or lease-purchase contract on a straight-line basis for the purchase price of a portable building, including any transportation charges, installation charges, loan fees, taxes, points or other fees associated with the purchase, over a period of 15 years or more. (2) Amortization of a loan or lease-purchase contract on a straight-line basis for the purchase price of a permanent building and real estate, including any loan fees, taxes, points or other fees associated with the purchase, over a period of 15 years or more. (3) Evidence acceptable to the Superintendent of Public Instruction that loan payments for the purchase of a portable building or permanent building and real estate, including principal and interest, do not exceed the fair market rental cost that the contractor would have paid if the property was not purchased. (c) Loans or lease-purchase agreements amortized over the number of years designated in subdivision (b), but due in a fewer number of years, shall not be disallowed because of the shorter due date.