Bill > SB513

This bill directs the Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF), in collaboration with the Kansas Office of Early Childhood, to develop, acquire, and implement a new software system for managing and directly paying child care subsidies to eligible child care providers. This system, referred to as a "child care subsidy management and payment system," is intended to streamline the process of providing financial assistance to providers who care for children receiving subsidies under the Kansas child care subsidy program. Key features of this system will include a portal for providers to manage their service records and payments, integration with existing state systems for determining eligibility, licensing, and financial matters, secure communication tools, a customer assistance function for providers, and tools for program monitoring and integrity. Before procuring the system, DCF must first issue a request for information to private vendors by January 1, 2027, to gather details on system capabilities, implementation options, costs, vendor experience with federal child care requirements, and estimated timelines. Following this, by June 30, 2027, DCF will submit a report to legislative committees outlining the vendor responses, estimated costs, recommendations for issuing a formal request for proposals (which should not exceed one year for procurement), a proposed implementation timeline, and any necessary changes to state law to facilitate direct payments to providers. Once this report is submitted and subject to available funding, DCF will then proceed with issuing the request for proposals to select a vendor for the development and implementation of the new system.

Health and Social Services

Ways and Means (Senate)

https://kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/sb513/