State Child Care Assistance Policies 2010: California

•    Income eligibility limit: In 2010, a family of three in California could qualify for child care assistance with an annual income up to $45,228 (247 percent of poverty, 70 percent of state median income).¹

•    Waiting list: California had 194,460 children on the waiting list for child care assistance as of June 2009.      

•    Parent copayments: In 2010, a family of three with an income at 100 percent of poverty ($18,310 a year) receiving child care assistance had no copayment. A family of three with an income at 150 percent of poverty ($27,465 a year) receiving child care assistance paid $87 per month, or 4 percent of its income in copayments.

•    Reimbursement rates: In 2010, California’s reimbursement rates for child care providers serving families receiving child care assistance were below the federally recommended level—the 75th percentile of current market rates, which is the level designed to give families access to 75 percent of the providers in their community.
o    California’s monthly reimbursement rate for center care for a four-year-old in Los Angeles County was $44, or 6 percent, below the 75th percentile of current market rates for this type of care.
o    California’s monthly reimbursement rate for center care for a one-year-old in Los Angeles County was $199, or 16 percent, below the 75th percentile of current market rates for this type of care.

•    Tiered reimbursement rates: In 2010, California did not pay higher reimbursement rates for higher-quality care.

•    Eligibility for parents searching for a job: In 2010, California allowed parents to qualify for or continue receiving child care assistance for up to 6 weeks while searching for a job. 

¹Two pilot counties (San Mateo and San Francisco) allowed families already receiving assistance to continue to receive it up to an income of $54,096 in 2010.

Source: Karen Schulman and Helen Blank, State Child Care Assistance Policies 2010: New Federal Funds Help States Weather the Storm (Washington, DC: National Women’s Law Center, 2010). These data reflect policies as of February 2010, unless otherwise indicated.