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CCB 25-15 Page Three

Guidance:

Effective January 1, 2025, counties and contractors shall authorize Stage One, C2AP, or C3AP families for no less than 24-months. In addition, this bulletin provides the following guidance and reminders related to this change:

1) The extension of C2AP or C3AP child care eligibility to 24-months is not applicable to existing 12-month certifications. Existing certifications will remain in effect and will come up for recertification after 12-months.

2) Currently enrolled families in Stage One childcare will complete their current 12- month eligibility cycle and will be recertified for an additional 24-months of eligibility at the time of their next recertification or until they become otherwise ineligible, or the Stage Two administrator confirms that their transfer to Stage Two is complete per ACL 19-99.

3) For families enrolled on or after January 1, 2025, per WIC 10271 for C2AP or C3AP and ACL 19-99 for Stage One child care, a family who has been deemed eligible for services shall receive those services for no less than 24-months before having to be recertified and is not required to report changes for at least 24-months with certain exceptions. In C2AP and C3AP, the exceptions to 24- month eligibility are as follows:

• A family who initially is certified as income eligible voluntarily reports income that exceeds the threshold for ongoing eligibility pursuant to 5 CCR Section 18082.3. • A family who no longer meets the residency requirements pursuant to 5 CCR Section 18107. • A family who has abandoned care pursuant to 5 CCR Section 18066.5 and the contractor issues a Notice of Action to disenroll the family.

4) As a reminder, for families participating in CalWORKs Family Reunification (FR), pursuant to AB 135, CalWORKs FR services, including child care, are authorized for a period of up to six months or for a time period that is based on or in accordance with CWS reunification plan or court order. Participants may be authorized for an additional six months of child care upon extension of their CalWORKs FR plan. If the family reunifies before the six-month interval, the child care services are discontinued. Once the child is reunified with the family of origin and the family is recertified with CalWORKs, the child care services may be authorized for up to 24 months if otherwise eligible, per CCB 25-08.

5) In addition to monitoring participants’ stability and transitions, counties and contractors shall continue to manage program eligibility. Counties and contractors may discontinue a Stage One Child Care authorization under any of the following circumstances: