Early Child Care and Education Legislative Changes

Senate Enrolled Act 2 expands income eligibility for CCDF and OMWPK for employees of licensed or regulated child care programs to 85% of state median income (SMI) from 150% of federal poverty level (FPL).

Previously, early child care workers were required to meet the same income eligibility requirements of other categories of workers (i.e., 150% of Federal Poverty Level). With the passage of Senate Enrolled Act 2, the income eligibility threshold for early child care workers has changed to 85% of the state median income, allowing more workers to qualify for child care assistance.

Individuals who are employed in licensed or regulated child programs and meet the new income threshold.

SMI varies by household size. For example, 85% of Indiana's SMI for a four-person household is approximately $75,814.

Regulated providers will be able to submit an employee referral through I-LEAD. Eligibility determination office staff will work with employees to confirm eligibility and process vouchers.

Yes, child care workers are subject to the same eligibility determination rules and processes. This means that their eligibility for services will be reevaluated annually. If their income exceeds 85% of SMI, they will no longer be eligible for the state child care assistance program.

Co-pays are dependent on income and years in the program. Child care employees receiving CCDF will have co-pays determined in the same way as any family receiving CCDF.

The reimbursement process for enrollment fees will not change between newly-eligible staff and other families who receive CCDF.

A provider's staff would only become eligible for expanded CCDF once the program becomes licensed. Providers will not be retroactively reimbursed.

No, the rules of CCDF will still apply. Children will not be able to be placed in the same classroom as their guardian.

Senate Enrolled Act 2 requires rule changes for licensed child care centers to allow for the following:

• 16- and 17-year-olds must be with a lead caregiver at all times but may be included in child and staff ratios and act as child caregivers of school-age children.
• 18-year-olds may serve as lead teachers of infant/toddler classrooms.

This rule update only applies to licensed child care centers. Other program auspices such as homes, ministries and Legally Licensed Exempt Programs (LLEPs) receiving CCDF may already hire 16- and 17-year-olds per Indiana child care regulations.

Approximately 800 individuals.

OECOSL will ensure consistency across programs during the rulemaking process.

As with any hiring decision, providers will need to consider the unique training and resources needed to support younger caregivers in being successful in early child care roles. Younger caregivers will likely have less experience and training in caring for young children, thus will benefit from more training, coaching and support opportunities. This might include expanded orientation and training, mentoring or coaching programs, regular feedback opportunities or other standardized supports.

Programs that hire younger caregivers are required to notify parents of the change and are encouraged to offer information about related training provided to help reassure families.

In the coming weeks, OECOSL will share a communication toolkit with programs to share the change with family audiences. Programs are encouraged to personalize communications.

Per current requirements, a lead caregiver must be at least 18 years old.

Providers are not required to meet the new minimum age requirements. Hiring decisions are at the discretion of the business.

No, the minimum age requirements for educators teaching 3-5-year-olds is remaining the same. These staff members must be at least 18 years old.

OECOSL defines school-age children as between 5 and 15 years of age.

At this time, variances are being issued for providers hiring younger staff members who have not yet completed high school. Once this change takes effect, providers will have more flexibility to hire younger staff members. More details will be shared later.

Senate Enrolled Act 2 extends provider eligibility to public schools, including charter schools, regardless of PTQ level, to provide qualified early child education services, allowing them to participate in On My Way Pre-K and receive a pre-kindergarten voucher.

Public schools and charter schools that are accredited to provide early child care and seek to participate in the On My Way Pre-K program.

OECOSL will gather feedback and work directly with stakeholders on implementation.

House Enrolled Act 1102 provides that a family child care home does not have to be regulated if the provider:

1. Does not receive regular compensation for child care or
2. Provide care for less than 6 hours/day and no more than 30 hours per week and
3. Provides care to fewer than 8 children, not including any children who are a relative of the provider, under the custody or guardianship of the provider, or are at least 14 years old and limits the number of children under 12 months of age that may be provided care in an unlicensed child care home.

Family child care homes supporting fewer than 8 children who are under the age of 14 and are not related or in the care of the provider.

OEOCSL is working on discovery and an implementation plan and will share more later in the year.

House Enrolled Act 1102 revises the definition of child care home to allow providers to serve more children (with restrictions on the number of infants) for more hours without requiring a license. Under the revised definition a child care provider that serves no more than 7 unrelated children with 3 or fewer infants in a residential setting may operate without a license if:

• They do not receive regular compensation; or
• They provide care for less than 6 hours/day and less than 30 hours/week.

OEOCSL is currently working on discovery and an implementation plan and will share more later in the year.

House Enrolled Act 1102 permits contracted employees at public or private schools the ability to access child care programs on school property.

Contracted employees looking for access to affordable, quality child care.

OEOCSL is currently working on discovery and an implementation plan and will share more later in the year.

Senate Enrolled Act 2 requires rule changes to define a substitute educator as a caregiver type across all categories of regulated child care providers.

All licensed and regulated providers.

OECOSL will ensure consistency across programs during the rulemaking process. More information to come.

This change is creating a process  to allow substitute teachers to work in the early child care field. It is up to the provider to determine if substitutes should abide by any additional qualifications they have in place for their staff and substitute workforce?

The micro facility pilot program establishes a new category of licensed providers that provides child care for 3 – 30 children for at least 4 hours/day. The state will work to develop a regulatory model for these new micro-facilities that incorporate waivers or variances from rules and provides goals that consider increasing the availability of child care, particularly in geographic areas facing a critical shortage of child care and ensuring the health and safety of the children served by micro-facilities. At least three providers will be selected to operate micro-facilities under this pilot program.

The micro-facility pilot seeks to address the critical shortage of child care in areas of the state.

New or existing providers that seek to operate a micro- facility and have previously faced regulatory barriers to operating such a facility. Families in areas facing the critical shortage of child care also stand to be impacted by being afforded better access to care.

The state will develop a regulatory model for the micro facility pilot program by 2025.

OECOSL will share more about this effort in future town hall events and other provider and community partner channels.

The study aims to deepen the state’s understanding of the current state of Indiana’s early child care workforce and provide insight into ways it can be strengthened to better support Hoosier families and communities.

Interested individuals can follow this work by attending public ELAC meetings. Visit the ELAC webpage to learn more about upcoming meetings.

Legislation requires the new dashboard be accessible by September 30, 2024.

The state will publish a dashboard providing the following:

• The number of child care subsidies available.
• The average copayment required under each available subsidy.
• The number of children on a wait list for each available subsidy.
• Other key indicators, as determined by the office of the secretary, of the effectiveness of the available child care subsidies in each Indiana county

The new reporting requirements seek to create added information and transparency to support state leaders and legislators in making important decisions regarding state-sponsored child care assistance programs.

Legislation requires the dashboard be published by September 30, 2024.

No. This change is not expected to directly impact providers as the data outlined in legislation reflect information already possessed by the state.