Bill > SB95

This bill modifies Alaska's child care assistance program by making several important changes to existing statutes. The bill replaces references to "day care" with "child care" throughout the legislation and introduces new provisions to enhance child care support. Key changes include establishing a maximum monthly household income threshold of 105 percent of the state's median monthly household income for program eligibility, creating a sliding fee scale that limits parent contributions to no more than seven percent of family monthly income, and requiring child care facilities receiving grants to reserve at least 15 percent of their subsidized spaces for children eligible for assistance. The bill also requires child care facilities to prioritize children from low-income families and prohibits facilities from denying child acceptance based on disability or socioeconomic status. Additionally, the legislation mandates the department to establish a program partnering with private sector entities to create incentives for employers to develop on-site or near-site child care, and allows the department to provide additional grants to the highest performing and highest quality child care facilities in the state. The bill includes provisions for federal approval of these changes and has a retroactive effective date of July 23, 2024, with certain sections contingent on federal approval.

Budget and Finance, Health and Social Services

Health & Social Services (S)

https://www.akleg.gov/basis/Bill/Detail/34?Root=SB95