Sponsored by:
Senator M. TERESA RUIZ
District 29 (Essex)
Senator JOSEPH F. VITALE
District 19 (Middlesex)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senators Cruz-Perez, Cryan, Cunningham, Singleton, Stanfield, Turner and Stack
SYNOPSIS
Extends child care subsidies to families earning up to 300 percent of federal poverty level; appropriates funds.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As reported by the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee on June 6, 2022, with amendments.
An Act concerning child care services 1[and] ,1 supplementing P.L.1993, c.46 (C.30:5B-31) 1, and making an appropriation1 .
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. Notwithstanding any law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, the Division of Family Development in the Department of Human Services shall provide child care services through the State’s subsidized child care assistance program for a family with a maximum annual gross family income, when adjusted for family size, that is at or below 300 percent of the 1[Federal Poverty Level] federal poverty level1 .
b. The Commissioner of Human Services shall establish and utilize no less than four tiers, with the highest income tier being 300 percent of the 1[Federal Poverty Level] federal poverty level1 , to determine initial income eligibility and subsequent redetermination, as well as placement on the division’s co-payment schedule 1,1 regarding child care services provided under the State’s subsidized child care assistance program.
c. The provisions of this section shall not preclude the 1[Commissioner] commissioner1 from establishing a tier that provides for a maximum income prior to exit from the State’s subsidized child care assistance program in which a family’s maximum annual gross family income, when adjusted for family size, is permitted to be higher than 300 percent of the 1[Federal Poverty Level] federal poverty level1 .
d. As used in this section:
“Child care services” means those services provided to eligible children for which the Division of Family Development in the Department of Human Services receives and administers State and federal funding to provide subsidy payments to licensed child care providers.
e. The Commissioner of Human Services shall apply for such State plan amendments or waivers as may be necessary to implement the provisions of this act and to continue to secure any available federal financial participation for the applicable child care programs 1.1
2. There are hereby appropriated 1from the General Fund to the Department of Human Services1 such sums as may be necessary for the implementation of the provisions of this act, as determined by the Commissioner of Human Services 1subject to approval by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget in the Department of the Treasury1 .
3. The Commissioner of Human Services, pursuant to the “Administrative 1[Procedures] Procedure1 Act,” P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), shall adopt rules and regulations necessary to effectuate the purposes of this act.
4. This act shall take effect immediately.