S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4858
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             February 8, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by M. of A. JEAN-PIERRE, COOK, DICKENS, FAHY, JOYNER, VANEL,
   WALSH,  WILLIAMS,  OTIS,  DE LA ROSA,  SIMON,  RAMOS,  THIELE,  REYES,
   L. ROSENTHAL,  WALCZYK,  RA,  FRONTUS,  CRUZ,  PICHARDO,  BUTTENSCHON,
   BARRON, NIOU -- read once and referred to the  Committee  on  Children
   and Families

 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.
                                                            LBD04877-01-1
              

 A. 4858                             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:

 A. 4858                             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.