Early learning and care: rates.

Existing law establishes a system of childcare and development services, administered by the State Department of Social Services, for children from infancy to 13 years of age. Existing law authorizes, upon departmental approval, the use of appropriated funds for alternative payment programs to allow for maximum parental choice. Existing law authorizes the reimbursement to those programs for the cost of childcare paid to childcare providers and the administrative and support services costs of the alternative program.

Existing law prohibits the total cost for administration and support services from exceeding 17.5% of the total contract amount.

This bill would expand the authorization for reimbursement to include the direct program and support costs, as defined, of the alternative program. The bill would replace the term "administrative and support services costs" with "indirect administrative costs," as defined, and prohibit the indirect administrative costs from exceeding 15% of the maximum reimbursable amount of the contract, and further prohibit the combined costs of direct program and support costs and indirect administrative costs from exceeding 25%. If 25% of the maximum reimbursable amount of the contract falls below $300,000, the bill would require the minimum reimbursement to be $300,000.