Requires a study to evaluate the costs associated with the provision of child day care services

Title of bill

An act directing the commissioner of the office of children and family services to conduct a study to evaluate the costs associated with the provision of child day care services

Purpose

To understand the actual cost of providing child day care in New York State, as well as the cost of child day care as it relates to quality of care.

Summary of provisions

Section 1 of this bill requires the Commissioner of the Office of Children and Family services shall contract with an external research organization to conduct a child care cost study to evaluate the cost of providing child day care in New York State. The study shall also evaluate the cost of the child day care related to each level of rating under the Quality Stars NY Initiative.

(a) The type of settings included in the study shall be subject to funds available but include, at a minimum, child care day care centers, group family day care homes and family day care homes.

(b) The methodology used in the study shall take into account factors influencing costs, including but not limited to: geographical region, type of setting, age of children served, qualifications of staff, educational curriculum, the number of children served and staff to child ratios.

(c) The data collected shall provide information on the breakdown of all sources of revenue and personnel and non-personnel expenses, for each type of child day care program setting included in the study. The Commissioner of the Office of Children and Family Services shall submit a report detailing the findings of the child day care cost study to the Governor, the Temporary President of the Senate, the Speaker of the Assembly, the Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Children and Families and the Chairperson of the Assembly Committee on Children and Families on or before July 1, 2017.

Section 2 of this act shall take effect immediately.

Justification

State and Federal law require the level of child care assistance a family receives be adequate to ensure equal access to child care as it relates to those families who are not receiving subsidies. Every two years, the Office of Children and Family Services contracts with a market rate firm to conduct a survey of regulated child care providers. The payment rate is then set at the 75th percentile of the market, based on the data collected, which is the level of payment the Federal government has determined is sufficient to provide equal access. Despite this process, some child care providers have expressed that the results of the market rate survey do not adequately represent the real cost of providing child care.

The State relies on this tool to set subsidy levels, and it is critical that the rate reflect the true cost of care in order to ensure that payment rates are sufficient. The study required by this bill will evaluate the actual cost of providing child care, outside the parameters of the market rates survey. Such information will help guide the State in determining whether the rates set are sufficient in

meeting the goal of equal access for low-income earning families, as required by State and Federal law.

Prior legislative history

2015-16: A.9638 (Jaffee)

Fiscal implications

To be determined.

Effective date

Immediate