S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
753--A
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
I N S E N A T E
(PREFILED)
January 9, 2019
___________
Introduced by Sens. MONTGOMERY, GOUNARDES, LIU -- read twice and ordered
printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Children
and Families -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted
as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to direct the office of children and family services to examine,
evaluate and make recommendations on the availability of child day
care and child care assistance, and determine the unmet need of child
care subsidies; and providing for the repeal of such provisions upon
expiration thereof
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. 1. The office of children and family services shall exam-
ine, evaluate and make recommendations concerning the availability of
funding for day care for children in the state. Such office shall pay
particular attention to the impact of the lack of necessary child day
care upon the ability of working families to achieve self-sufficiency
and a better standard of living.
The office of children and family services shall direct its attention
to:
(a) establishing an inventory of child day care for working families
and those at or near poverty;
(b) identifying child day care shortage areas on a regional basis and
providing projections of the future demand of the next five to ten years
for child day care based on the regional birth rates, employment and
population growth rates;
(c) comparing on a statewide and regional basis, the demand for child
day care services over the succeeding five to ten years, including
whether the projected growth rate in the child day care industry will be
sufficient to meet such future needs;
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03546-02-9
S. 753--A 2
(d) offering recommendations to the department of labor and any other
relevant agencies as to how the labor force can help meet the projected
shortage;
(e) identifying policies that would encourage the establishment and
operation of more child day care center providers, and increasing the
capacity of existing child day care providers;
(f) assessing the cost to parents and guardians of day care for chil-
dren on a regional basis, including the availability of government funds
for parents and guardians toward child care costs;
(g) identifying which social services districts have insufficient
funding to serve all eligible families and determining whether they are
receiving no new cases or restricting eligibility based upon set income
levels;
(h) reviewing the number and percentage of eligible families receiving
child care subsidies in this state, as compared to other states, and
report on any policy approaches in use in other states that could be
useful for consideration in this state;
(i) identifying which social services districts maintain waiting lists
for eligible families seeking child care subsidies;
(j) calculating the total sum of families statewide that are awaiting
child care subsidies and the projected fiscal impact to the state if all
eligible families are served;
(k) comparing the income levels of families receiving child care
subsidies on a regional basis to determine what inequities exist across
the state;
(l) examining the use of child care funding by local social services
districts to provide transportation to child care and determining the
unmet need for this service;
(m) identifying policies that would encourage and facilitate expansion
of quality child day care services by neighbors and in communities where
the working poor live and/or work; and identifying and quantifying those
factors that contribute to establishing quality child day care in commu-
nities with the greatest need; and
(n) examining the feasibility of implementing a standard family share
percentage for child care cost co-payments across the state.
2. (a) Each social services district shall submit data regarding the
income of families who applied for child care assistance pursuant to
this act to the department, specifying:
(i) the number of families who were denied;
(ii) the number of families who received such assistance; and
(iii) a listing of the incomes pursuant to subparagraph (ii) of para-
graph (b) of this subdivision of the families who applied for such
assistance.
(b) Each social services district shall submit data regarding the
number of all families who applied for and received child care assist-
ance pursuant to this act whose:
(i) incomes were under one hundred one percent of the federal poverty
level for their family size;
(ii) incomes were between one hundred one percent and one hundred
fifty percent of the federal poverty level for their family size; and
(iii) incomes were between one hundred fifty-one percent and two
hundred percent of the federal poverty level for their family size.
(c) Each social services district shall submit data regarding the
number of all families who applied for and were denied child care
assistance pursuant to this act whose:
S. 753--A 3
(i) incomes were under one hundred one percent of the federal poverty
level for their family size;
(ii) incomes were between one hundred one percent and one hundred
fifty percent of the federal poverty level for their family size; and
(iii) incomes were between one hundred fifty-one percent and two
hundred percent of the federal poverty level for their family size.
§ 2. The office of children and family services may request and shall
receive any available information from state agencies that is relevant
and material to the study required by section one of this act.
§ 3. Within twelve months of the effective date of this act, the
commissioner of children and family services shall submit a report, to
the governor, the temporary president of the senate, the speaker of the
assembly, the minority leader of the senate, the minority leader of the
assembly, and the child care availability task force established pursu-
ant to section 390-k of the social services law, on the office's find-
ings, conclusions and recommendations, and shall submit therewith such
legislative proposals as the office of children and family services
shall deem necessary to implement its recommendations. In addition, such
office shall make such report available to the public and post it on the
internet website operated by the office.
§ 4. This act shall take effect immediately, and shall expire and be
deemed repealed one year after such date.