Concerning the working connections child care program.
Summary
Modifies existing income eligibility provisions for the Working Connections Child Care program so that income eligibility is maintained at 60 percent of the State Median Income (SMI), instead of increasing to 75 percent of the SMI beginning July 1, 2029, and 85 percent of the SMI (subject to funding) beginning July 1, 2031.
Requires that child care subsidy rates must achieve the seventy-fifth percentile of market beginning July 1, 2027.
Requires that the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) adopt rules that, depending on the number of days a child has attended in a calendar month, allow child care providers to claim: (a) up to 11 days; (b) up to 15 days; or (c) up to the full number of authorized days.
Prohibits the DCYF from allowing child care providers to receive a child care subsidy rate that is different than the rate for the subsidy region in which the provider is located.
Repeals the requirement that the DCYF pay child care providers prospectively based on when child care is expected to begin.
From the Substitute House Bill Report (SHB 2689), written by the Legislature's nonpartisan staff. Read the full report ↗