As Introduced
135th General Assembly
Regular Session H. B. No. 570
2023-2024
Representatives Isaacsohn, Sweeney
A BILL
To amend sections 5104.30 and 5104.34 and to enact 1
section 5104.342 of the Revised Code to provide 2
publicly funded child care benefits to child 3
care staff members, to amend the versions of 4
sections 5104.30 and 5104.34 of the Revised Code 5
that are scheduled to take effect on January 1, 6
2025, to continue the changes on and after that 7
date, and to make an appropriation. 8
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 5104.30 and 5104.34 be amended 9
and section 5104.342 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as 10
follows: 11
Sec. 5104.30. (A) The department of job and family 12
services is hereby designated as the state agency responsible 13
for administration and coordination of federal and state funding 14
for publicly funded child care in this state. Publicly funded 15
child care shall be provided to the following: 16
(1) Recipients of transitional child care as provided 17
under section 5104.34 of the Revised Code; 18
(2) Participants in the Ohio works first program 19
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established under Chapter 5107. of the Revised Code; 20
(3) Individuals who would be participating in the Ohio 21
works first program if not for a sanction under section 5107.16 22
of the Revised Code and who continue to participate in a work 23
activity, developmental activity, or alternative work activity 24
pursuant to an assignment under section 5107.42 of the Revised 25
Code; 26
(4) A family receiving publicly funded child care on 27
October 1, 1997, until the family's income reaches one hundred 28
fifty per cent of the federal poverty line; 29
(5) Subject to available funds, other individuals 30
determined eligible in accordance with rules adopted under 31
section 5104.38 of the Revised Code; 32
(6) Subject to available funds, child care staff members 33
as provided under section 5104.342 of the Revised Code. 34
The department shall apply to the United States department 35
of health and human services for authority to operate a 36
coordinated program for publicly funded child care, if the 37
director of job and family services determines that the 38
application is necessary. For purposes of this section, the 39
department of job and family services may enter into agreements 40
with other state agencies that are involved in regulation or 41
funding of child care. The department shall consider the special 42
needs of migrant workers when it administers and coordinates 43
publicly funded child care and shall develop appropriate 44
procedures for accommodating the needs of migrant workers for 45
publicly funded child care. 46
(B) The department of job and family services shall 47
distribute state and federal funds for publicly funded child 48
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As Introduced
care, including appropriations of state funds for publicly 49
funded child care and appropriations of federal funds available 50
under the child care block grant act, Title IV-A, and Title XX. 51
The department may use any state funds appropriated for publicly 52
funded child care as the state share required to match any 53
federal funds appropriated for publicly funded child care. 54
(C) In the use of federal funds available under the child 55
care block grant act, all of the following apply: 56
(1) The department may use the federal funds to hire staff 57
to prepare any rules required under this chapter and to 58
administer and coordinate federal and state funding for publicly 59
funded child care. 60
(2) Not more than five per cent of the aggregate amount of 61
the federal funds received for a fiscal year may be expended for 62
administrative costs. 63
(3) The department shall allocate and use at least four 64
per cent of the federal funds for the following: 65
(a) Activities designed to provide comprehensive consumer 66
education to parents and the public; 67
(b) Activities that increase parental choice; 68
(c) Activities, including child care resource and referral 69
services, designed to improve the quality, and increase the 70
supply, of child care; 71
(d) Establishing the step up to quality program pursuant 72
to section 5104.29 of the Revised Code. 73
(4) The department shall ensure that the federal funds 74
will be used only to supplement, and will not be used to 75
supplant, federal, state, and local funds available on the 76
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As Introduced
effective date of the child care block grant act for publicly 77
funded child care and related programs. If authorized by rules 78
adopted by the department pursuant to section 5104.42 of the 79
Revised Code, county departments of job and family services may 80
purchase child care from funds obtained through any other means. 81
(D) The department shall encourage the development of 82
suitable child care throughout the state, especially in areas 83
with high concentrations of recipients of public assistance and 84
families with low incomes. The department shall encourage the 85
development of suitable child care designed to accommodate the 86
special needs of migrant workers. On request, the department, 87
through its employees or contracts with state or community child 88
care resource and referral service organizations, shall provide 89
consultation to groups and individuals interested in developing 90
child care. The department of job and family services may enter 91
into interagency agreements with the department of education and 92
workforce, the chancellor of higher education, the department of 93
development, and other state agencies and entities whenever the 94
cooperative efforts of the other state agencies and entities are 95
necessary for the department of job and family services to 96
fulfill its duties and responsibilities under this chapter. 97
The department shall develop and maintain a registry of 98
persons providing child care. The director shall adopt rules in 99
accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code establishing 100
procedures and requirements for the registry's administration. 101
(E)(1) The director shall adopt rules in accordance with 102
Chapter 119. of the Revised Code establishing both of the 103
following: 104
(a) Reimbursement rates for providers of publicly funded 105
child care not later than the first day of July in each odd- 106
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numbered year; 107
(b) A procedure for reimbursing and paying providers of 108
publicly funded child care. 109
(2) In establishing reimbursement rates under division (E) 110
(1)(a) of this section, the director shall do all of the 111
following: 112
(a) Use the information obtained in accordance with 45 113
C.F.R. 98.45; 114
(b) Establish an enhanced reimbursement rate for providers 115
who provide child care for caretaker parents who work 116
nontraditional hours; 117
(c) With regard to the step up to quality program 118
established pursuant to section 5104.29 of the Revised Code, 119
establish enhanced reimbursement rates for child care providers 120
that participate in the program. 121
(3) In establishing reimbursement rates under division (E) 122
(1)(a) of this section, the director may establish different 123
reimbursement rates based on any of the following: 124
(a) Geographic location of the provider; 125
(b) Type of care provided; 126
(c) Age of the child served; 127
(d) Special needs of the child served; 128
(e) Whether the expanded hours of service are provided; 129
(f) Whether weekend service is provided; 130
(g) Whether the provider has exceeded the minimum 131
requirements of state statutes and rules governing child care; 132
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(h) Any other factors the director considers appropriate. 133
Sec. 5104.34. (A)(1) Each county department of job and 134
family services shall implement procedures for making 135
determinations of eligibility for publicly funded child care. 136
Under those procedures, the eligibility determination for each 137
applicant shall be made no later than thirty calendar days from 138
the date the county department receives a completed application 139
for publicly funded child care. Each applicant shall be notified 140
promptly of the results of the eligibility determination. An 141
applicant aggrieved by a decision or delay in making an 142
eligibility determination may appeal the decision or delay to 143
the department of job and family services in accordance with 144
section 5101.35 of the Revised Code. The due process rights of 145
applicants shall be protected. 146
To the extent permitted by federal law, the county 147
department may make all determinations of eligibility for 148
publicly funded child care, may contract with child care 149
providers or child care resource and referral service 150
organizations for the providers or resource and referral service 151
organizations to make all or any part of the determinations, and 152
may contract with child care providers or child care resource 153
and referral service organizations for the providers or resource 154
and referral service organizations to collect specified 155
information for use by the county department in making 156
determinations. If a county department contracts with a child 157
care provider or a child care resource and referral service 158
organization for eligibility determinations or for the 159
collection of information, the contract shall require the 160
provider or resource and referral service organization to make 161
each eligibility determination no later than thirty calendar 162
days from the date the provider or resource and referral 163
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organization receives a completed application that is the basis 164
of the determination and to collect and transmit all necessary 165
information to the county department within a period of time 166
that enables the county department to make each eligibility 167
determination no later than thirty days after the filing of the 168
application that is the basis of the determination. 169
The county department may station employees of the 170
department in various locations throughout the county to collect 171
information relevant to applications for publicly funded child 172
care and to make eligibility determinations. The county 173
department, child care provider, and child care resource and 174
referral service organization shall make each determination of 175
eligibility for publicly funded child care no later than thirty 176
days after the filing of the application that is the basis of 177
the determination, shall make each determination in accordance 178
with any relevant rules adopted pursuant to section 5104.38 of 179
the Revised Code, and shall notify promptly each applicant for 180
publicly funded child care of the results of the determination 181
of the applicant's eligibility. 182
The director of job and family services shall adopt rules 183
in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code for 184
monitoring the eligibility determination process. In accordance 185
with those rules, the state department shall monitor eligibility 186
determinations made by county departments of job and family 187
services and shall direct any entity that is not in compliance 188
with this division or any rule adopted under this division to 189
implement corrective action specified by the department. 190
(2)(a) All eligibility determinations for publicly funded 191
child care shall be made in accordance with rules adopted 192
pursuant to division (A) of section 5104.38 of the Revised Code. 193
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Except as otherwise provided in this section, all of the 194
following apply: 195
(i) Publicly funded child care may be provided only to 196
eligible infants, toddlers, preschool-age children, school-age 197
children under age thirteen, or children receiving special needs 198
child care. 199
(ii) For an applicant to be eligible for publicly funded 200
child care, the caretaker parent must be employed or 201
participating in a program of education or training for an 202
amount of time reasonably related to the time that the parent's 203
children are receiving publicly funded child care. This 204
restriction does not apply to families whose children are 205
eligible for protective child care. 206
(iii) The eligibility period for publicly funded child 207
care shall be at least twelve months. 208
(b) In accordance with rules adopted under division (B) of 209
section 5104.38 of the Revised Code, an applicant may receive 210
publicly funded child care while the county department 211
determines eligibility. An applicant may receive publicly funded 212
child care while a county department determines eligibility only 213
once during a twelve-month period. If the county department 214
determines that an applicant is not eligible for publicly funded 215
child care, the child care provider shall be paid for providing 216
publicly funded child care for up to five days after that 217
determination if the county department received a completed 218
application with all required documentation. A program may 219
appeal a denial of payment under this division. 220
(c) If a caretaker parent who has been determined eligibl