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state resulting from the income eligibility changes made in subdivisions (2)(a) and (b) of this section by Laws 2021, LB485. If the available amount of such funds is insufficient to pay such costs, then funds provided to the state for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program established in 42 U.S.C. 601 et seq. may also be used. It is the intent of the Legislature that, beginning October 1, 2026, the Nebraska Health Care Cash Fund shall be used to pay the costs to the state resulting from the income eligibility changes made in subdivisions (2)(a) and (b) of this section by this legislative bill. No General Funds shall be used to pay the costs to the state, other than administration costs, resulting from the income eligibility changes made in subdivisions (2)(a) and (b) of this section by Laws 2021, LB485, for the period beginning July 1, 2021, through September 30, 2026. (d) The Department of Health and Human Services shall collaborate with a private nonprofit organization with expertise in early childhood care and education for an independent evaluation of the income eligibility changes made in subdivisions (2)(a) and (b) of this section by Laws 2021, LB485, if private funding is made available for such purpose. The evaluation shall be completed by July 1, 2024, and shall be submitted electronically to the department and to the Health and Human Services Committee of the Legislature. (3) In determining the rate or rates to be paid by the department for child care as defined in section 43-2605, the department shall adopt a fixed- rate schedule for the state or a fixed-rate schedule for an area of the state applicable to each child care program category of provider as defined in section 71-1910 which may claim reimbursement for services provided by the federal Child Care Subsidy program, except that the department shall not pay a rate higher than that charged by an individual provider to that provider's private clients. The schedule may provide separate rates for care for infants, for children with special needs, including disabilities or technological dependence, or for other individual categories of children. The schedule may also provide tiered rates based upon a quality scale rating of step three or higher under the Step Up to Quality Child Care Act. The schedule shall be effective on October 1 of every year and shall be revised annually by the department. Sec. 2. Section 68-1724, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement, 2024, is amended to read: 68-1724 (1) Cash assistance shall be provided for a period or periods of time not to exceed a total of sixty months for recipient families with children subject to the following: (a) If the state fails to meet the specific terms of the self-sufficiency contract developed under section 68-1719, the sixty-month time limit established in this section shall be extended; (b) The sixty-month time period for cash assistance shall begin within the first month of eligibility; (c) When no longer eligible to receive cash assistance, assistance shall be available to reimburse work-related child care expenses even if the recipient family has not achieved economic self-sufficiency. The amount of such assistance shall be based on a cost-shared plan between the recipient family and the state which shall provide assistance up to two hundred percent of the federal poverty level. It is the intent of the Legislature that, beginning October 1, 2026, the Nebraska Health Care Cash Fund shall be used to pay the costs to the state resulting from the income eligibility changes made in this section by this legislative bill. prior to October 1, 2026, or one hundred eighty-five percent of the federal poverty level on and after October 1, 2026. A recipient family may be required to contribute up to twenty percent of such family's gross income for child care. It is the intent of the Legislature that transitional health care coverage be made available on a sliding-scale basis to individuals and families with incomes up to one hundred eighty-five percent of the federal poverty level if other health care coverage is not available; and (d) The self-sufficiency contract shall be revised and cash assistance extended when there is no job available for adult members of the recipient family. It is the intent of the Legislature that available job shall mean a job which results in an income of at least equal to the amount of cash assistance that would have been available if receiving assistance minus unearned income available to the recipient family. The department shall develop policy guidelines to allow for cash assistance to persons who have received the maximum cash assistance provided by this section and who face extreme hardship without additional assistance. For purposes of this section, extreme hardship means a recipient family does not have adequate cash resources to meet the costs of the basic needs of food, clothing, and housing without continuing assistance or the child or children are at risk of losing care by and residence with their parent or parents. (2) Cash assistance conditions under the Welfare Reform Act shall be as follows: (a) Adults in recipient families shall mean individuals at least nineteen years of age living with and related to a child eighteen years of age or younger and shall include parents, siblings, uncles, aunts, cousins, or grandparents, whether the relationship is biological, adoptive, or step; (b) The payment standard shall be based upon family size; (c) The adults in the recipient family shall ensure that the minor children regularly attend school. Education is a valuable personal resource. The cash assistance provided to the recipient family may be reduced when the parent or parents have failed to take reasonable action to encourage the minor children of the recipient family ages sixteen and under to regularly attend LB304 2026 LB304 2026 -2-