Bill Summary for Bill Number SB12-022

Date: 03/20/2012

Final
BILL SUMMARY for SB12-022

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT

Votes: View-->	Action Taken:
Moved to refer Senate Bill 12-022 to the Committee	PASS

01:36 PM -- Senate Bill 12-022

Representative Massey presented Senate Bill 12-022, concerning maintaining child care assistance for working families. The bill creates a pilot program in the Department of Human Services to allow up to 10 counties to modify their Child Care Assistance Program to mitigate the "cliff effect." In regards to child care assistance, the cliff effect refers to a situation when working parents receiving assistance begin to earn income above the eligibility limit, and in turn, lose their eligibility for assistance, which can hinder their ability to continue to work or to afford child care costs. Specifically, the pilot program allows counties to continue providing extended child care assistance for up to two years after a person receiving assistance has exceeded the county eligibility limit. The pilot program allows counties to require parents receiving extended assistance to pay an increasing portion of the child care costs according to a schedule over the two-year period and allow for a gradual transition off of assistance over the two-year period. Representative Massey responded to questions about the timeframe outlined in the bill to extend the child care assistance to families, what currently occurs with regards to child care assistance for working families, and the occurrence of parents turning down promotions and raises in order to continue to qualify for the Colorado Child Care Assistance Program.

01:41 PM -- Melody Maitland, The Bell Policy Center, testified in support of the bill. She provided several statements of support (Attachments A through C) to the committee. She explained the cliff effect and the occurrence of parents turning down promotions and raises in order to continue to qualify for the Colorado Child Care Assistance Program. Ms. Maitland responded to questions about the bill, including how the pilot program would be paid for by counties and how the bill could impact the type of child care available to families. Representative Massey and the committee discussed how receiving child care assistance may impact the level of child care accessible to parents.

01:51 PM -- Rich Jones, The Bell Policy Center, testified in support of the bill.

01:51 PM -- Jennifer Landrum, Colorado Children's Campaign, testified in support of the bill. She discussed the costs of child care in Colorado and the cliff effect. Ms. Landrum responded to questions about the availability of data on the cliff effect, the potential impact the pilot program might have on providing assistance to additional families, the average number of children in the families receiving assistance under the Colorado Child Care Assistance Program, and whether parents are allowed to stay at home to care for their children.

02:01 PM -- Bridget Kaminetsky, 9 to 5 Colorado Chapter, testified in support of the bill. She discussed the situations that can occur when parents no longer qualify for the Colorado Child Care Assistance Program.

02:05 PM -- Pat Ratliff, County Counties, Inc., testified on the bill in a neutral position. She responded to questions about the flexibility and permissiveness of the pilot program. She discussed concerns about parents using unlicensed child care providers. She explained that county general fund moneys will be utilized for the pilot program. She responded to questions about wait lists for child care assistance. Representative Massey discussed the public-private partnerships that could be formed through the bill. Ms. Ratliff responded to a question about the ability of counties to allow parents to stay home to care for their children under various programs. Representative Massey discussed the benefits of employing parents.

02:14 PM -- Laurie Zeller, Women's Foundation of Colorado, testified in support of the bill and provided a written statement (Attachment D) to the committee. She responded to questions about the Women's Foundation of Colorado and the availability of data on the cliff effect.

02:19 PM

Representative Massey responded to questions about the funding for the pilot program. The committee discussed allowing parents to stay home to care for their children and the need to encourage people to achieve self-sufficiency.


BILL:	SB12-022
TIME:	02:21:48 PM
MOVED:	Massey
MOTION:	Moved to refer Senate Bill 12-022 to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a vote of 10-3.
SECONDED:	Kefalas
		VOTE
	Bradford	Yes
	Brown	No
	Fields	Yes
	Joshi	No
	Kefalas	Yes
	Kerr J.	Yes
	Massey	Yes
	McCann	Yes
	Peniston	Yes
	Schafer S.	Yes
	Young	Yes
	Acree	No
	Summers	Yes

YES: 10 NO: 3 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS