Revision: March 5, 2024, 8:07 a.m.
SB 596-FN - AS INTRODUCED
2024 SESSION
24-3153
05/08
SENATE BILL 596-FN
AN ACT relative to the definition of disability or special needs under the child care scholarship program.
SPONSORS: Sen. Ricciardi, Dist 9; Sen. Gannon, Dist 23; Sen. Soucy, Dist 18; Sen. Carson, Dist 14; Sen. Innis, Dist 7; Sen. Altschiller, Dist 24; Sen. Whitley, Dist 15; Sen. Fenton, Dist 10
COMMITTEE: Education
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ANALYSIS
This bill directs the department of health and human services to adopt rules relative to the definition of disability or special needs for purposes of the child care scholarship program and establishes certain criteria for such rules.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
24-3153
05/08
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Four
AN ACT relative to the definition of disability or special needs under the child care scholarship program.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Subparagraph; New Hampshire Employment Program and Family Assistance Program; Rulemaking; Child Care Scholarship Program. Amend RSA 167:83, II by inserting after subparagraph (q) the following new subparagraph:
(r) The definition of "disability" or "special needs" under the child care scholarship program; provided that such definition shall include any child who displays, or is at risk for, delayed social or emotional development. An eligible child shall not require a formal diagnosis or formal special education code, but rather shall qualify under this category so long as the following provisions are met:
(1) The child undergoes developmental and/or behavioral screening using any standardized and/or approved early childhood screening tool, such as but not limited to the following:
(A) Ages and Stages Questionnaires (ASQ).
(B) Battelle Developmental Inventory Screening Tool, 2nd ed (BDI-ST).
(C) Bayley Infant Neurodevelopmental Screen (BINS).
(D) Brigance Screens-II.
(E) Child Development Inventory (CDI).
(F) Child Development Review-Parent Questionnaire (CDR-PQ).
(G) Denver-II Developmental Screening Test.
(H) Infant Development Inventory.
(I) Parents’ Evaluation of Developmental Status (PEDS).
(2) The results of the screening tool indicate a delay, or risk of delay, in any category of social and emotional development.
(3) The child’s child care provider and licensed treating clinician, or other licensed professional as reasonably identified by the department, have verified or otherwise certified the results of the tool.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
24-3153
Revised 3/5/24
SB 596-FN- FISCAL NOTE
AS INTRODUCED
AN ACT relative to the definition of disability or special needs under the child care scholarship program.
FISCAL IMPACT: [ X ] State [ ] County [ ] Local [ ] None
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Estimated State Impact - Increase / (Decrease) | ||||||
| FY 2024 | FY 2025 | FY 2026 | FY 2027 | ||
Revenue | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | ||
Revenue Fund(s) | None | |||||
Expenditures | $0 | $744,000 | $744,000 | $744,000 | ||
Funding Source(s) | General Fund | |||||
Appropriations | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | ||
Funding Source(s) | None | |||||
• Does this bill provide sufficient funding to cover estimated expenditures? [X] No • Does this bill authorize new positions to implement this bill? [X] No | ||||||
METHODOLOGY:
This bill modifies the definition of “disability” or “special needs” to include any child who displays, or is at risk for, delayed social or emotional development. The bill specifies that eligible children shall not require a formal diagnosis or formal special education code, but rather shall qualify under this category so long as certain specified conditions are met. The Department of Health and Human Services states that its Women, Infant, and Children (WIC) program conducts developmental monitoring of young children. For calendar year 2023, the WIC program conducted 19,067 appointments that included developmental monitoring, and referred 1,195 parents to additional services for concerns their children might be at risk of or experiencing a delay. The Department assumes that the 6.3% of children referred by WIC for additional services is reflective of the percentage of childcare scholarship recipients experiencing or at risk of a delay that are awaiting formal diagnosis. There were an average of 2,268 scholarship recipients from February 2023 to January 2024; therefore, the Department expects 143 children to be eligible for additional supplemental payments. The amount of a supplemental payment varies based on level of service: $100 per week for full time, $75 per week for half time, and $50 per week for part time. Since the Department assumes that children experiencing or at risk of developmental delay will be more likely to need full time childcare, it assumes the $100 supplemental payment will be used. The Department therefore expects the bill will cost approximately $743,600 per year. This figure is an estimate only, and could be lower if the smaller supplemental payments are used, or higher if rate increases are implemented in subsequent years.
The Department notes that it does not expect the change to the definition of a child with special needs to impact the number of children older than age 13 who are eligible for New Hampshire child care scholarship. The Department assumes that most children with social or emotional delays will have received a formal diagnosis by the time they are 13, and so the number of such children is unlikely to be affected by the bill.
Since the bill is effective 60 days after passage, it is assumed that the fiscal impact will begin in FY25.
AGENCIES CONTACTED:
Department of Health and Human Services