AB 4

This bill makes changes to the Wisconsin Shares program related to record

keeping, eligibility requirements, and maximum payment rates for child care

providers. Wisconsin Shares is part of the Wisconsin Works (W-2) program under

current law, which the Department of Children and Families administers and which

provides work experience and benefits for low-income custodial parents who are at

least 18 years old. Under current law, an individual who is the parent of a child under

the age of 13 or, if the child is disabled, under the age of 19 may receive a child care

subsidy under Wisconsin Shares if the individual needs child care services to

participate in various educational or work activities and satisfies other eligibility

criteria. Work activities for which an individual may be eligible for a child care

subsidy include work in an unsubsidized job; work in a W-2 employment position,

which is subsidized; and participation in a work experience component of the food

stamp program, which is also subsidized. This bill expands the work activities for

which an individual may be eligible for a child care subsidy to include work in any

job.

Current law requires DCF to establish maximum payment rates for licensed

child care services provided under Wisconsin Shares and prohibits DCF from

increasing the maximum payment rates for child care providers before June 30,

2013. This bill removes that prohibition because it is obsolete.

This bill also moves child care provider record-keeping requirements from the

section of the statutes governing Wisconsin Shares to the subchapter of the statutes

governing child care providers generally. The bill keeps the current requirement for

child care providers to retain attendance records for at least three years after the

child's last day of attendance but eliminates a reference to whether or not the

provider receives or is eligible to receive child care subsidies.