SB 322

This bill authorizes the Department of Children and Families to establish a program for making monthly payments and monthly per-child payments to certified child care providers, licensed child care centers, and child care programs established or contracted for by a school board. This new payment program is in addition to the current law system for providing child care payments under Wisconsin Shares. The bill requires DCF to promulgate rules to implement the program, including establishing eligibility requirements and payment amounts and setting requirements for how recipients may use the payments, and authorizes DCF to promulgate these rules as emergency rules. The bill funds the program through a new appropriation and by allocating federal moneys, including child care development funds and moneys received under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families block grant program.

The bill eliminates the current law method by which DCF may modify maximum payment rates for child care providers under Wisconsin Shares based on a child care provider’s rating under the quality rating system known as YoungStar.

Wisconsin Shares is a part of the Wisconsin Works program under current law, which DCF 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, who needs child care services to participate in various education or work activities, and who satisfies other eligibility criteria may receive a child care subsidy for child care services under Wisconsin Shares.