California § 10280.2

§ 10280.2.

(a) (1) Consistent with the agreement, dated June 25, 2021, entered into by the Governor and Child Care Providers United - California, the state and Child Care Providers United - California shall establish a Joint Labor Management Committee to develop recommendations for a single reimbursement rate structure that addresses quality standards for equity and accessibility while supporting positive learning and developmental outcomes for children. The State Department of Social Services shall secure a contractor, in consultation with the Joint Labor Management Committee, to assist with the work to be completed pursuant to this subdivision. (2) The Joint Labor Management Committee shall develop the recommendations described in paragraph (1) and shall present the recommendations to the Department of Finance no later than November 15, 2022, to inform the Governor’s proposed budget for the 2023–24 fiscal year, which will be presented to the Legislature by January 10, 2023. (3) To aid in these efforts related to rate reform and quality investments, the department may allocate up to twenty million dollars ($20,000,000) of the funds described in subdivision (d) of Provision 5 of Item 6100-149-0890 of the Budget Act of 2021 (Ch. 32, Stats. 2021), as amended by Senate Bill 129 of the 2021–22 Regular Session, for the purposes of this subdivision. Within 30 days of securing a contractor, the department shall notify the Joint Legislative Budget Committee on the scope of work, and, within 60 days after the end of the contract period, shall provide the Joint Legislative Budget Committee with a report of all actual expenditures incurred. (4) Contracts or grants awarded pursuant to this subdivision shall be exempt from the personal services contracting requirements of Article 4 (commencing with Section 19130) of Chapter 5 of Part 2 of Division 5 of Title 2 of the Government Code. Contracts or grants awarded pursuant to this subdivision shall be exempt from the Public Contract Code and the State Contracting Manual, and shall not be subject to the approval of the Department of General Services. (b) (1) The State Department of Social Services shall, in consultation with the State Department of Education, convene a working group separate from the Joint Labor Management Committee established pursuant to subdivision (a) to assess the methodology for establishing reimbursement rates and the existing quality standards for child care and development and preschool programs, including, but not limited to, licensing standards and the requirements in Subchapter 12 (commencing with Section 18270) of Chapter 19 of Division 1 of Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations, as that subchapter read on June 30, 2021, for equity and accessibility to all provider types and settings. This assessment shall be informed by evidence-based elements that best support child development and positive child outcomes. The workgroup shall include, but not be limited to, Child Care Providers United - California to represent family child care providers, as defined in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 10421, teacher and administrator representatives of state-funded center-based contractors for both preschool and infant-toddler settings, child development experts, parent representatives, a Head Start representative, an alternative payment program agency representative, and representatives from the administration, as determined necessary by the department. (2) The assessment and any recommendations of the workgroup shall be research-based, account for the diversity of California’s child care and development and early learning system, account for alignment across federal Head Start and state-subsidized programs, and be aligned with the experience and education of the child care workforce, as well as the environmental settings of child care and development programs. The workgroup shall, no later than August 15, 2022, provide recommendations, including, but not limited to, recommendations on how the State Department of Social Services should define child care workforce competencies and how these competencies would align with rate reform, to the Joint Labor Management Committee established pursuant to subdivision (a), the Department of Finance, and the Joint Legislative Budget Committee.