10271. (Amended by Stats. 2026, Ch. 25, Sec. 29.)

(a) (1) The department shall adopt rules and regulations on eligibility, enrollment, and priority of services needed to implement this part. In order to be eligible for federal and state subsidized child development services, families shall meet at least one requirement in each of the following areas:

(A) A family is (i) a current aid recipient, (ii) income eligible, (iii) homeless, (iv) one whose children are recipients of protective services, or whose children have been identified as being abused, neglected, or exploited, or at risk of being abused, neglected, or exploited, or (v) one who has a member of its household who is certified to receive benefits from Medi-Cal, CalFresh, the California Food Assistance Program, the California Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, the federal Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations, Head Start, Early Head Start, or any other designated means-tested government program, as determined by the department. If a family is deemed eligible pursuant to clause (v), the family shall be prioritized by the income declared on the application for the means-tested government program.

(B) A family needs the childcare services (i) because the child is identified by a legal, medical, or social services agency, a local educational agency liaison for homeless children and youths designated pursuant to Section 11432(g)(1)(J)(ii) of Title 42 of the United States Code, a Head Start program, or an emergency or transitional shelter as (I) a recipient of protective services, (II) being neglected, abused, or exploited, or at risk of neglect, abuse, or exploitation, or (III) being homeless, (ii) because the parents are (I) engaged in vocational training leading directly to a recognized trade, paraprofession, or profession, (II) engaged in an educational program for English language learners or to attain a high school diploma or general educational development certificate, (III) employed or seeking employment, (IV) seeking permanent housing for family stability, or (V) incapacitated, or (iii) because the families are eligible for Stage Two and Stage Three and are participating in a CalWORKs program activity.

(2) If only one parent has signed an application for enrollment in childcare services, as required by this part or regulations adopted to implement this part, and the information provided on the application indicates that there is a second parent who has not signed the application, the parent who has signed the application shall self-certify the presence or absence of the second parent under penalty of perjury. The parent who has signed the application shall not be required to submit additional information documenting the presence or absence of the second parent.

(b) Except as provided in Chapter 21 (commencing with Section 10370), priority for federal and state subsidized child development services is as follows:

(1) First priority shall be given to neglected or abused children who are recipients of child protective services, or children who are at risk of being neglected or abused, upon written referral from a legal, medical, or social services agency. If an agency is unable to enroll a child in the first priority category, the agency shall refer the family to local resource and referral services to locate services for the child.

(2) Second priority shall be given equally to eligible families, regardless of the number of parents in the home, who are income eligible. Within this priority, families with the lowest gross monthly income in relation to family size, as determined by a schedule adopted by the department, shall be admitted first. If two or more families are in the same priority in relation to income, the family that has a child with exceptional needs shall be admitted first. If there is no family of the same priority with a child with exceptional needs, the family of the same priority in which the primary home language is a language other than English shall be admitted first. If there is no family of the same priority in which the primary home language is a language other than English, the family of the same priority that has been on the waiting list for the longest time shall be admitted first. For purposes of determining order of admission, grants of public assistance recipients shall be counted as income.

(3) The department shall set criteria for, and may grant specific waivers of, the priorities established in this subdivision for agencies that wish to serve specific populations, including children with exceptional needs or children of prisoners. These new waivers shall not include proposals to avoid appropriate fee schedules or admit ineligible families, but may include proposals to accept members of special populations in other than strict income order, as long as appropriate fees are paid.

(c) Notwithstanding any other law, in order to promote continuity of services, a family enrolled in a state or federally funded childcare and development program whose services would otherwise be terminated because the family no longer meets the program income, eligibility, or need criteria may continue to receive child development services in another state or federally funded childcare and development program if the contractor is able to transfer the family’s enrollment to another program for which the family is eligible before the date of termination of services or to exchange the family’s existing enrollment with the enrollment of a family in another program, provided that both families satisfy the eligibility requirements for the program in which they are being enrolled. The transfer of enrollment may be to another program within the same administrative agency or to another agency that administers state or federally funded childcare and development programs.

(d) A physical examination and evaluation, including age-appropriate immunization, shall be required before, or within six weeks of, enrollment. A standard, rule, or regulation shall not require medical examination or immunization for admission to a childcare and development program of a child whose parent or guardian files a letter with the governing board of the childcare and development program stating that the medical examination or immunization is contrary to the parent’s or guardian’s religious beliefs, or provide for the exclusion of a child from the program because of a parent or guardian having filed the letter. However, if there is good cause to believe that a child is suffering from a recognized contagious or infectious disease, the child shall be temporarily excluded from the program until the governing board of the childcare and development program is satisfied that the child is not suffering from that contagious or infectious disease.

(e) Regulations formulated and promulgated pursuant to this section shall include the recommendations of the State Department of Health Care Services relative to health care screening and the provision of health care services. The department shall seek the advice and assistance of these health authorities in situations where service under this part includes or requires care of children who are ill or children with exceptional needs.

(f) The department shall establish guidelines for the collection of employer-sponsored childcare benefit payments from a parent whose child receives subsidized childcare and development services. These guidelines shall provide for the collection of the full amount of the benefit payment, but not to exceed the actual cost of childcare and development services provided, notwithstanding the applicable fee based on the fee schedule.

(g) The department shall establish guidelines according to which the director or a duly authorized representative of the childcare and development program will certify children as eligible for state reimbursement pursuant to this section.

(h) (1) Except as provided in paragraphs (3) to (5), inclusive, upon establishing initial eligibility or ongoing eligibility for services under this part, a family shall be considered to meet all eligibility and need requirements for those services for not less than 24 months, shall receive those services for not less than 24 months before having their eligibility or need recertified, and shall not be required to report changes to income or other changes for at least 24 months.

(2) In the event that the eligibility period as described in paragraph (1) ends before the end of a program year, eligibility shall be extended until the end of the program year, as long as applicable age-eligibility requirements are met, as specified in Section 10213.5.

(3) A family that establishes initial eligibility or ongoing eligibility on the basis of income shall report increases in income that exceed the threshold for ongoing income eligibility as described in subdivision (b) of Section 10271.5, and the family’s ongoing eligibility for services shall at that time be recertified.

(4) A family may at any time voluntarily report income or other changes. This information shall be used, as applicable, to reduce the family’s fees, increase the family’s services, or extend the period of the family’s eligibility before recertification.

(5) If a family already receiving services pursuant to this part adds an additional child to the family size and the family requests services for that child during the current eligibility period, the family’s eligibility period shall be extended, as necessary, to ensure that the additional child receives at least 12 months of eligibility for services before a redetermination of eligibility, as required pursuant to Section 98.21 of Title 45 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

(i) (1) Because a family that meets eligibility requirements at its most recent eligibility certification or recertification is considered eligible until the next recertification, as provided in subdivision (h), a payment made by a child development program for a child during this period shall not be considered an error or an improper payment due to a change in the family’s circumstances during that same period.

(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the department may seek to recover payments that are the result of fraud.

(k) (1) Notwithstanding the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code) and Section 33308.5 of the Education Code, until regulations are filed with the Secretary of State, the department shall implement the changes made to subdivision (h) by the act that added this subdivision through management bulletins or similar letters of instruction on or before December 1, 2023.

(2) The department shall initiate a rulemaking action to implement the changes made to subdivision (h) by the act that added this subdivision on or before December 31, 2024.

( l ) (1) Notwithstanding the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code), the department may implement and administer the changes made to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) by the act that added this subdivision by all-county letters, bulletins, or similar written instructions until rules and regulations are adopted or revised.

(2) The department shall initiate a rulemaking action to adopt regulations to implement this subdivision no later than July 1, 2030.

(m) Public funds shall not be paid directly or indirectly to an agency that does not pay at least the minimum wage to each of its employees.