§ 40-5.2-20. Childcare assistance — Families or assistance units eligible.
(a) The department shall provide appropriate child care to every participant who is eligible
for cash assistance and who requires child care in order to meet the work requirements
in accordance with this chapter.
(b) Low-income child care. The department shall provide child care to all other working families with incomes
at or below two hundred sixty-one percent (261%) of the federal poverty level if,
and to the extent, these other families require child care in order to work at paid
employment as defined in the department's rules and regulations. The department shall
also provide child care to families with incomes below two hundred sixty-one percent
(261%) of the federal poverty level if, and to the extent, these families require
child care to participate on a short-term basis, as defined in the department's rules
and regulations, in training, apprenticeship, internship, on-the-job training, work
experience, work immersion, or other job-readiness/job-attachment program sponsored
or funded by the human resource investment council (governor's workforce board) or
state agencies that are part of the coordinated program system pursuant to § 42-102-11. Effective from January 1, 2021, through June 30, 2022, the department shall also
provide childcare assistance to families with incomes below one hundred eighty percent
(180%) of the federal poverty level when such assistance is necessary for a member
of these families to enroll or maintain enrollment in a Rhode Island public institution
of higher education provided that eligibility to receive funding is capped when expenditures
reach $200,000 for this provision. Effective July 1, 2022 through December 31, 2024,
the department shall also provide childcare assistance to families with incomes below
two hundred percent (200%) of the federal poverty level when such assistance is necessary
for a member of these families to enroll or maintain enrollment in a Rhode Island
public institution of higher education. Effective January 1, 2025, the department
shall also provide childcare assistance to families with incomes below two hundred
sixty-one percent (261%) of the federal poverty level when such assistance is necessary
for a member of these families to enroll or maintain enrollment in a Rhode Island
public institution of higher education.
(c) No family/assistance unit shall be eligible for childcare assistance under this chapter
if the combined value of its liquid resources exceeds one million dollars ($1,000,000),
which corresponds to the amount permitted by the federal government under the state
plan and set forth in the administrative rulemaking process by the department. Liquid
resources are defined as any interest(s) in property in the form of cash or other
financial instruments or accounts that are readily convertible to cash or cash equivalents.
These include, but are not limited to: cash, bank, credit union, or other financial
institution savings, checking, and money market accounts; certificates of deposit
or other time deposits; stocks; bonds; mutual funds; and other similar financial instruments
or accounts. These do not include educational savings accounts, plans, or programs;
retirement accounts, plans, or programs; or accounts held jointly with another adult,
not including a spouse. The department is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations
to determine the ownership and source of the funds in the joint account.
(d) As a condition of eligibility for childcare assistance under this chapter, the parent
or caretaker relative of the family must consent to, and must cooperate with, the
department in establishing paternity, and in establishing and/or enforcing child support
and medical support orders for any children in the family receiving appropriate child
care under this section in accordance with the applicable sections of title 15, as
amended, unless the parent or caretaker relative is found to have good cause for refusing
to comply with the requirements of this subsection.
(e) For purposes of this section, "appropriate child care� means child care, including
infant, toddler, preschool, nursery school, and school-age, that is provided by a
person or organization qualified, approved, and authorized to provide the care by
the state agency or agencies designated to make the determinations in accordance with
the provisions set forth herein.
(f)(1) Families with incomes below one hundred percent (100%) of the applicable federal poverty
level guidelines shall be provided with free child care. Families with incomes greater
than one hundred percent (100%) and less than two hundred percent (200%) of the applicable
federal poverty guideline shall be required to pay for some portion of the child care
they receive, according to a sliding-fee scale adopted by the department in the department's
rules, not to exceed seven percent (7%) of income as defined in subsection (h) of
this section.
(2) Families who are receiving childcare assistance and who become ineligible for childcare
assistance as a result of their incomes exceeding two hundred sixty-one percent (261%)
of the applicable federal poverty guidelines shall continue to be eligible for childcare
assistance until their incomes exceed three hundred percent (300%) of the applicable
federal poverty guidelines. To be eligible, the families must continue to pay for
some portion of the child care they receive, as indicated in a sliding-fee scale adopted
in the department's rules, not to exceed seven percent (7%) of income as defined in
subsection (h) of this section, and in accordance with all other eligibility standards.
(g) In determining the type of child care to be provided to a family, the department shall
take into account the cost of available childcare options; the suitability of the
type of care available for the child; and the parent's preference as to the type of
child care.
(h) For purposes of this section, "income� for families receiving cash assistance under
§ 40-5.2-11 means gross, earned income and unearned income, subject to the income exclusions
in §§ 40-5.2-10(g)(2) and 40-5.2-10(g)(3), and income for other families shall mean gross, earned and unearned income as determined
by departmental regulations.
(i) The caseload estimating conference established by chapter 17 of title 35 shall forecast the expenditures for child care in accordance with the provisions
of § 35-17-1.
(j) In determining eligibility for childcare assistance for children of members of reserve
components called to active duty during a time of conflict, the department shall freeze
the family composition and the family income of the reserve component member as it
was in the month prior to the month of leaving for active duty. This shall continue
until the individual is officially discharged from active duty.
(k) Effective from August 1, 2023, through July 31, 2028, the department shall provide
funding for child care for eligible childcare educators, and childcare staff, who
work at least twenty (20) hours a week in licensed childcare centers and licensed
family childcare homes as defined in the department's rules and regulations. Eligibility
is limited to qualifying childcare educators and childcare staff with family incomes
up to three hundred percent (300%) of the applicable federal poverty guidelines and
will have no copayments. Qualifying participants may select the childcare center or
family childcare home for their children. The department shall promulgate regulations
necessary to implement this section, and will collect applicant and participant data
to report estimated demand for state-funded child care for eligible childcare educators
and childcare staff. The report shall be due annually to the governor and the general
assembly by November 1.