(a) The Commissioner of Early Childhood shall establish and operate a child care subsidy program to increase the availability, affordability and quality of child care services for families with a parent or caretaker who (1) is working or attending high school, or (2) receives cash assistance under the temporary family assistance program from the Department of Social Services and is participating in an education, training or other job preparation activity approved pursuant to subsection (b) of section 17b-688i or subsection (b) of section 17b-689d. Services available under the child care subsidy program shall include the provision of child care subsidies for children under the age of thirteen or children under the age of nineteen with special needs. The Office of Early Childhood shall open and maintain enrollment for the child care subsidy program and shall administer such program within the existing budgetary resources available. The office shall issue a notice on the office's Internet web site any time the office closes the program to new applications, changes eligibility requirements, changes program benefits or makes any other change to the program's status or terms, except the office shall not be required to issue such notice when the office expands program eligibility. Any change in the office's acceptance of new applications, eligibility requirements, program benefits or any other change to the program's status or terms for which the office is required to give notice pursuant to this subsection, shall not be effective until thirty days after the office issues such notice.

(b) The commissioner shall establish income standards for applicants and recipients at a level to include a family with gross income up to fifty per cent of the state-wide median income, except the commissioner (1) may increase the income level to up to seventy-five per cent of the state-wide median income, (2) upon the request of the Commissioner of Children and Families, may waive the income standards for adoptive families so that children adopted on or after October 1, 1999, from the Department of Children and Families are eligible for the child care subsidy program, and (3) on and after March 1, 2003, shall reduce the income eligibility level to up to fifty-five per cent of the state-wide median income for applicants and recipients who qualify based on their loss of eligibility for temporary family assistance. The commissioner may adopt regulations in accordance with chapter 54 to establish income criteria and durational requirements for such waiver of income standards.

(c) The commissioner, in consultation with the Commissioner of Social Services, shall establish eligibility and program standards including, but not limited to: (1) A priority intake and eligibility system with preference given to serving (A) recipients of temporary family assistance who are employed or engaged in employment activities under the Department of Social Services' “Jobs First” program, (B) working families whose temporary family assistance was discontinued not more than five years prior to the date of application for the child care subsidy program, (C) teen parents, (D) low-income working families, (E) adoptive families of children who were adopted from the Department of Children and Families and who are granted a waiver of income standards under subdivision (2) of subsection (b) of this section, (F) working families who are at risk of welfare dependency, and (G) any household with a child or children participating in the Early Head Start-Child Care Partnership federal grant program for a period of up to twelve months based on Early Head Start eligibility criteria; (2) health and safety standards for child care providers not required to be licensed; (3) a reimbursement system for child care services which account for differences in the age of the child, number of children in the family, the geographic region and type of care provided by licensed and unlicensed caregivers, the cost and type of services provided by licensed and unlicensed caregivers, successful completion of fifteen hours of annual in-service training or credentialing of child care directors and administrators, and program accreditation; (4) supplemental payment for special needs of the child and extended nontraditional hours; (5) an annual rate review process for providers which assures that reimbursement rates are maintained at levels which permit equal access to a variety of child care settings; (6) a sliding reimbursement scale for participating families; (7) an administrative appeals process; (8) an administrative hearing process to adjudicate cases of alleged fraud and abuse and to impose sanctions and recover overpayments; (9) an extended period of program and payment eligibility when a parent who is receiving a child care subsidy experiences a temporary interruption in employment or other approved activity; and (10) a waiting list for the child care subsidy program that (A) allows the commissioner to exercise discretion in prioritizing within and between existing priority groups, including, but not limited to, children described in 45 CFR 98.46, as amended from time to time, and households with an infant or toddler, and (B) reflects the priority and eligibility system set forth in subdivision (1) of this subsection, which is reviewed periodically, with the inclusion of this information in the annual report required to be issued annually by the office to the Governor and the General Assembly in accordance with section 17b-733. Such action will include, but not be limited to, family income, age of child, region of state and length of time on such waiting list.

(d) Not later than July 1, 2015, an applicant determined to be eligible for program benefits by the Commissioner of Early Childhood shall remain eligible for such benefits for a period prescribed by federal law.

(e) Within available appropriations, a recipient of program benefits who takes unpaid leave from such recipient's employment due to the birth or impending birth of a child shall be granted not more than six weeks of payment eligibility during the leave if: (1) The recipient intends to return to work at the end of the unpaid leave; (2) the recipient verifies that eligibility is needed to prevent the loss of a slot in a school-based program or licensed child care setting; and (3) the child receiving child care services under the program continues to attend the program during the recipient's leave.

(f) A provider under the child care subsidy program that qualifies for eligibility and subsequently receives payment for child care services for recipients under this section shall be reimbursed for such services until informed by the office of the recipient's ineligibility.

(g) All licensed child care providers and those providers exempt from licensing shall provide the office with the following information in order to maintain eligibility for reimbursement: (1) The name, address, appropriate identification, Social Security number and telephone number of the provider and all adults who work for or reside at the location where care is provided; (2) the name and address of the child's doctor, primary care provider and health insurance company; (3) whether the child is immunized and has had health screens pursuant to the federal Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic and Treatment Services Program under 42 USC 1396d; and (4) the number of children cared for by the provider.

(h) On or after July 1, 2014, the commissioner shall adopt regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, to implement the provisions of this section.

(i) The commissioner shall submit to the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to human services and appropriations and the budgets of state agencies a copy of the Child Care and Development Fund Plan that the commissioner submits to the Administration for Children and Families pursuant to federal law. The copy of the plan shall be submitted to the committees not later than thirty days after submission of the plan to the Administration for Children and Families.

(j) The commissioner may expend an amount not to exceed two per cent of the amount appropriated for purposes of this section in a manner consistent with the provisions of section 10-509.

(P.A. 74-206, S. 1, 2; P.A. 77-614, S. 532, 610; P.A. 86-417, S. 2, 15; P.A. 87-412, S. 1, 2; P.A. 88-160, S. 1, 3; P.A. 91-292, S. 1, 5; P.A. 92-223; P.A. 93-262, S. 1, 87; P.A. 97-259, S. 28, 41; P.A. 99-166, S. 7; 99-230, S. 6, 10; 99-252, S. 5; P.A. 00-187, S. 5, 75; P.A. 01-173, S. 45, 67; P.A. 03-2, S. 16; P.A. 04-16, S. 14; 04-258, S. 37; P.A. 08-100, S. 1; Sept. Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-5, S. 51; P.A. 10-61, S. 1; P.A. 11-18, S. 1; P.A. 13-50, S. 1; P.A. 14-39, S. 32; 14-122, S. 35; 14-217, S. 224; P.A. 15-143, S. 8; 15-227, S. 6; P.A. 16-131, S. 4; P.A. 18-184, S. 3.)

History: P.A. 77-614 substituted commissioner of human resources for commissioner of community affairs, effective January 1, 1979; P.A. 86-417 expanded the list of day care providers from which the commissioner could purchase services to include group day care homes, family day care homes, providers serving in child's home and relatives, required the commissioner to adopt regulations on eligibility and level of payment and required the commissioner to pay the same amount for each child in the same family; P.A. 87-412 added provision authorizing the purchase of services from a relative of a child giving day care in the relative's home and redefined the standard of eligibility; P.A. 88-160 authorized the commissioner to provide day care subsidies to parents for day care services and increased the standard of eligibility to 70%; P.A. 91-292 changed eligibility level for day care subsidies from 70% to 50% of the state-wide median income; required regulations re subsidies and specified the factors to determine the level of subsidy; P.A. 92-223 provided that the commissioner may increase the standard of initial eligibility to include children in families with income up to 75% of the state-wide median income and provided that participating families with income less than 75% of the median shall at a minimum be eligible until the child attends school for a full day; P.A. 93-262 authorized substitution of commissioner and department of social services for commissioner and department of human resources, effective July 1, 1993; Sec. 8-210b transferred to Sec. 17b-749 in 1995; P.A. 97-259 deleted existing language and added new provisions re child care subsidy program, effective July 1, 1997; P.A. 99-166 amended Subsec. (b) by permitting commissioner to waive income standards for adoptive families of children who were in custody of department and amended Subsec. (c) by adding adoptive families of children who were in custody of department to list of services preferences; P.A. 99-230 amended Subsec. (e) to make a technical change, effective July 1, 1999; P.A. 99-252 amended Subsec. (b)(2) to allow commissioner to waive the income standards for adoptive families so that children adopted on or after October 1, 1999, from the Department of Children and Families are eligible for the child care subsidy program, deleting reference to children who were in the custody of the department, and to authorize adoption of regulations to establish income criteria and durational requirements for such waiver of income standards and amended Subsec. (c)(1) to give preference to adoptive families of children who were adopted from the Department of Children and Families and who are granted a waiver of income standards under Subsec. (b)(2), deleting reference to children who were in the custody of the department; P.A. 00-187 amended Subsec. (c)(3) to add requirement for successful completion of 15 hours of annual in-service training or credentialing of child care directors and administrators, effective July 1, 2000; P.A. 01-173 amended Subsec. (c) to make a technical change, effective July 1, 2001; P.A. 03-2 added Subsec. (b)(3) requiring commissioner to reduce income eligibility to up to 55% of the state-wide median income for applicants and recipients qualifying for the program based on loss of eligibility for temporary family assistance, effective February 28, 2003; P.A. 04-16 made a technical change in Subsec. (b); P.A. 04-258 amended Subsec. (a) to require the department to maintain open enrollment and administer the program within existing available budgetary resources and amended Subsec. (c)(1) to give priority intake and eligibility status to recipients of temporary family assistance who are engaged in “Jobs First” employment activities and to working families whose temporary family assistance benefits were discontinued not more than five years prior to the date of application for child care subsidy program benefits, effective July 1, 2004; P.A. 08-100 amended Subsec. (c) by adding new Subdiv. (9) re eligibility extension for participant experiencing temporary interruption in employment and redesignating existing Subdiv. (9) as Subdiv. (10), effective July 1, 2008; Sept. Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-5 added Subsec. (g) requiring Commissioner of Children and Families to submit copy of the Child Care and Development Fund Plan to human services and appropriations committees, effective October 5, 2009; P.A. 10-61 amended Subsec. (a) by requiring that commissioner provide prior notice of changes in program benefits and eligibility requirements and closure of program to new applications, amended Subsec. (c)(5) by specifying that annual rate review process applies to providers, added new Subsec. (d) re eligibility redeterminations, added new Subsec. (e) re commissioner's report concerning eligibility redeterminations and authorizing 6-month eligibility redetermination if overpayments have increased, redesignated existing Subsec. (d) as Subsec. (f) and amended same to delete “On and after January 1, 1998,” and replace “parent’s” with “recipient’s”, and redesignated existing Subsecs. (e) to (g) as Subsecs. (g) to (i), effective July 1, 2010; P.A. 11-18 amended Subsec. (a) by adding provisions requiring department to provide notice of changes to program status or terms, effective May 24, 2011; P.A. 13-50 added new Subsec. (e) re payment eligibility for recipient of program benefits who takes unpaid employment leave due to birth or impending birth of a child, redesignated existing Subsecs. (e) to (i) as Subsecs. (f) to (j), and made a conforming change; P.A. 14-39 replaced references to Commissioner and Department of Social Services with references to Commissioner and Office of Early Childhood throughout, amended Subsec. (c) by adding “in consultation with the Commissioner of Social Services”, deleting “subdivision (10) of” re Sec. 17b-733 and making a technical change, amended Subsec. (d) by designating existing provision re applicant to remain eligible for program benefits as Subdiv. (1) and adding Subdiv. (2) re Commissioner of Early Childhood to make eligibility determinations, amended Subsec. (f) by designating existing provision re report submitted on and after October 15, 2011, and until June 30, 2014, as Subdiv. (1), adding Subdiv. (2) re Commissioner of Early Childhood to submit annual report and make eligibility determinations, and making technical changes, and amended Subsec. (i) by replacing “January 1, 1998” with “July 1, 2014”, effective July 1, 2014; P.A. 14-122 made technical changes in Subsec. (a); P.A. 14-217 amended Subsec. (c) to add Subdiv. (1)(G) re priority intake and eligibility for households with children in the Early Head Start-Child Care Partnership federal grant program and to add Subpara. (A) to (F) designators, effective July 1, 2014; P.A. 15-143 made a technical change in Subsec. (c)(1)(E), effective June 30, 2015; P.A. 15-227 amended Subsec. (a) by designating existing provisions re parent or caretaker as Subdivs. (1) and (2) and deleting provision re provision of written notice to recipients, made a technical change in Subsec. (c)(1)(E), amended Subsec. (d) by deleting former Subdiv. (2) re eligibility determinations on and after July 1, 2014, deleting Subdiv. (1) designator, replacing “January 1, 2011” with “July 1, 2015”, adding “by the Commissioner of Early Childhood” and “prescribed by federal law” and deleting provision re 8-month eligibility period, deleted former Subsec. (f) re eligibility redeterminations and redesignated existing Subsecs. (g) to (j) as Subsecs. (f) to (i), effective July 1, 2015; P.A. 16-131 amended Subsec. (a) by adding references to Secs. 17b-688i(b) and 17b-689d(b) in Subdiv. (2) and making technical changes, effective July 1, 2016; P.A. 18-184 amended Subsec. (c)(10) by designating existing provision re priority and eligibility system set forth in Subdiv. (1) as Subpara. (B) and adding Subpara. (A) re commissioner to exercise discretion in prioritizing within and between existing priority groups, and adding Subsec. (j) re commissioner may expend amount not to exceed 2 per cent of amount appropriated in manner consistent with Sec. 10-509, effective July 1, 2018.

See Sec. 8-222b re municipal powers with respect to private day care facilities.

See Sec. 8-226 re use of prior bond proceeds for purposes of this section.

See Sec. 17b-749l re notice of program changes and intake closure.