In September 2016, Governor Brown approved
Assembly Bill 2368, authorizing an individualized child care subsidy plan for the County of Santa Clara. Authored by Assemblymember Rich Gordon and co-sponsored by the Santa Clara Office of Education and Kidango, the legislation allows Santa Clara County to develop and implement a plan through July 2022. Modeled on similar bills, especially AB833 for Alameda County, the legislation removes some of the regulatory constraints in providing subsidized child care through Title 5 contracts with the California Department of Education (CDE). Under AB2368, the individualized child care plan is designed to “ensure that child care subsidies received by the County of Santa Clara are used to address local needs, conditions, and priorities of working families in the community.” AB2368 provides the county only limited flexibility in designing its subsidy rules. There are four fundamental limitations on the pilot:
- No family who would have been eligible under state rules can either become ineligible or be asked to pay higher family fees;
- Provider participation is entirely voluntary;
- The number of child days of enrollment across participating providers must increase overall from the base year; and
- There are no additional resources for the pilot – only unearned and unallocated funds from existing contracts and funding streams.
As part of the State Budget agreement 2023, early education/childcare trailer bill language (AB/SB 116) included an extension of the childcare pilots, ensuring the pilots will continue until July 1, 2024.
Dr. Mary Ann Dewan, County Superintendent of Schools for the Santa Clara County Office of Education, said, "Our priority is to increase access to high quality preschool and childcare for low-income children and their families. Raising the monthly and annual income thresholds for families ensures that more families can attend."
Income eligibility varies by contract type. As of July 1, 2022, direct service and voucher-based child care and development contracts administered by the California Department of Social Services (CDSS), including CCTR, remain at 85% of state median income (SMI). In comparison, the income eligibility for CSPP contractors, administered by the California Department of Education (CDE), has been increased to 100 percent of the state median income (SMI). The tables below outline the income eligibility per family size for each contract type, starting with CCTR, followed by CSPP. The Subsidy Pilot Contractors listed at the bottom of the page may operate one or both contract types. Click the links to learn more!
Subsidy Pilot Contractors
Through the careful development of the Individualized County Childcare Subsidy Plan, Santa Clara County aims to address major challenges in the child care subsidy system to better meet needs and priorities of families and childcare contractors in the County.
