40-5.2-20. Childcare assistance — Families or assistance units eligible.

(a) The department shall provide appropriate child care to every participant who is eligible

for cash assistance and who requires child care in order to meet the work requirements in

accordance with this chapter.

(b) Low-income child care. The department shall provide child care to all other working

families with incomes at or below two hundred sixty-one percent (261%) two hundred eighty-five

percent (285%) of the federal poverty level if, and to the extent, these other families require child

care in order to work at paid employment as defined in the department’s rules and regulations. The

department shall also provide child care to families with incomes below two hundred sixty-one

percent (261%) two hundred eighty-five percent (285%) of the federal poverty level if, and to the

extent, these families require child care to participate on a short-term basis, as defined in the

department’s rules and regulations, in training, apprenticeship, internship, on-the-job training, work

experience, work immersion, or other job-readiness/job-attachment program sponsored or funded

by the human resource investment council (governor’s workforce board) or state agencies that are

part of the coordinated program system pursuant to § 42-102-11. Effective from January 1, 2021,

through June 30, 2022, the department shall also provide childcare assistance to families with

incomes below one hundred eighty percent (180%) of the federal poverty level when such

assistance is necessary for a member of these families to enroll or maintain enrollment in a Rhode

Island public institution of higher education provided that eligibility to receive funding is capped

when expenditures reach $200,000 for this provision. Effective July 1, 2022 through December 31,

2024, the department shall also provide childcare assistance to families with incomes below two

hundred percent (200%) of the federal poverty level when such assistance is necessary for a

member of these families to enroll or maintain enrollment in a Rhode Island public institution of

higher education. Effective from January 1, 2025 through December 31, 2026 , the department shall

also provide childcare assistance to families with incomes below two hundred sixty-one percent

(261%) of the federal poverty level when such assistance is necessary for a member of these

families to enroll or maintain enrollment in a Rhode Island public institution of higher education.

Effective on January 1, 2027, the department shall also provide childcare assistance to families

with incomes below two hundred eighty-five percent (285%) of the federal poverty level when such

assistance is necessary for a member of these families to enroll or maintain enrollment in a Rhode

Island public institution of higher education.

(d) (e) As a condition of eligibility for childcare assistance under this chapter, the parent or

caretaker relative of the family must consent to, and must cooperate with, the department in

establishing paternity, and in establishing and/or enforcing child support and medical support

orders for any children in the family receiving appropriate child care under this section in

accordance with the applicable sections of title 15, as amended, unless the parent or caretaker

relative is found to have good cause for refusing to comply with the requirements of this subsection.

(e) (f) For purposes of this section, “appropriate child care” means child care, including

infant, toddler, preschool, nursery school, and school-age, that is provided by a person or

organization qualified, approved, and authorized to provide the care by the state agency or agencies

designated to make the determinations in accordance with the provisions set forth herein.

(f) (g) (1) Families with incomes below one hundred percent (100%) of the applicable

federal poverty level guidelines shall be provided with free child care. Families with incomes

greater than one hundred percent (100%) and less than two hundred percent (200%) of the

applicable federal poverty guideline shall be required to pay for some portion of the child care they

receive, according to a sliding-fee scale adopted by the department in the department’s rules, not

to exceed seven percent (7%) of income as defined in subsection (h) of this section.

(2) Families who are receiving childcare assistance and who become ineligible for

childcare assistance as a result of their incomes exceeding two hundred sixty-one percent (261%)

two hundred eighty-five percent (285%) of the applicable federal poverty guidelines shall continue

to be eligible for childcare assistance until their incomes exceed three hundred percent (300%) three

hundred twenty-five percent (325%) of the applicable federal poverty guidelines. To be eligible,

the families must continue to pay for some portion of the child care they receive, as indicated in a

sliding-fee scale adopted in the department’s rules, not to exceed seven percent (7%) of income as

defined in subsection (h) of this section, and in accordance with all other eligibility standards.

(g) (h) In determining the type of child care to be provided to a family, the department shall

take into account the cost of available childcare options; the suitability of the type of care available

for the child; and the parent’s preference as to the type of child care.

(h) (i) For purposes of this section, “income” for families receiving cash assistance under §

40-5.2-11 means gross, earned income and unearned income, subject to the income exclusions in

§§ 40-5.2-10(g)(2) and 40-5.2-10(g)(3), and income for other families shall mean gross, earned and

unearned income as determined by departmental regulations.

(i) (j) The caseload estimating conference established by chapter 17 of title 35 shall forecast

the expenditures for child care in accordance with the provisions of § 35-17-1.

(j) (k) In determining eligibility for childcare assistance for children of members of reserve

components called to active duty during a time of conflict, the department shall freeze the family

composition and the family income of the reserve component member as it was in the month prior

to the month of leaving for active duty. This shall continue until the individual is officially

discharged from active duty.

(k) ( l ) Effective from August 1, 2023, through July 31, 2028 2030 , the department shall

provide funding for child care for eligible childcare educators, and childcare staff, who work at

least twenty (20) hours a week in licensed childcare centers and licensed family childcare homes

as defined in the department’s rules and regulations. Eligibility is limited to qualifying childcare

educators and childcare staff with family incomes up to three hundred percent (300%) of the

applicable federal poverty guidelines and will have no copayments. This protective service group

shall continue to be eligible for childcare assistance until their incomes exceed three hundred

twenty-five percent (325%) of the applicable federal poverty guidelines. Qualifying participants

29 may select the childcare center or family childcare home for their children. The department shall

promulgate regulations necessary to implement this section, and will collect applicant and

participant data to report estimated demand for state-funded child care for eligible childcare

educators and childcare staff. The report shall be due annually to the governor and the general

assembly by November 1.