Management Bulletin 24-06

Early Education Division

Subject: Assessment and Reporting of Family Fees for Fiscal Year (FY) 2024–25

Number: 24-06

Date: June 2024

Expires: Until rescinded

Authority: California Education Code (EC) sections 8252–8254 and Welfare and Institutions Code (WIC) Section 10290; California Code of Regulations Title 5 (5 CCR) sections 17734–17737

Attention: Executive Directors and Program Directors Operating Full-Day California State Preschool Programs

Purpose

This Management Bulletin (MB) is to notify California State Preschool Program (CSPP) contractors of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024–25 Family Fee Schedule that will become effective July 1, 2024, and provide guidance on calculating family fees.

This MB rescinds and replaces MB 23-07.

Policy

Effective July 1, 2024, CSPP contractors must use the 2024–25 fee schedule available at https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/cd/ci/documents/fy2425famfeeschedule.xlsx when:

• Assessing family fees for families at initial certification or at recertification
  
• A parent voluntarily requests a reduction to their family fees
  

The Education Code (EC) Section 8253 and Welfare and Institutions Code (WIC) Section 10290 exempt the following families from family fees:

• Families receiving California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) cash aid as described in EC Section 8253(b)

• Families of children enrolled in a part-day CSPP as described in EC Section 8253(c)
  

• Families with children who have been identified as at risk of abuse or neglect or who are receiving child protective services may be exempt from paying a family fee for up to 12 months if it is required by the child(ren)’s service plan as described in EC Section 8253(a) and California Code of Regulations Title 5 (5 CCR) Section 17735

• Families with an adjusted monthly income below 75 percent of the state median family income as described in WIC Section 10290(e)(2)(B)
  

The 5 CCR Section 17734(i) provides that families with a certified need of fewer than 130 hours per month will be assessed a part-time fee while families with a certified need of 130 hours or more per month will be assessed a full-time fee. Pursuant to EC Section 8252(d), fees may only be assessed at certification and recertification unless a parent voluntarily requests a reduction to family fees.

Directives for Implementation

New Enrollments and Recertifications

For FY 2024–25, contractors are required to calculate and assess the applicable family fee at initial certification and recertification for all full-day CSPP families not exempt from family fees using the updated family fee schedule and issue a Notice of Action (NOA) at initial certification or recertification that includes the amount of the assessed family fee. Families enrolling in part-day CSPP must not be assessed a fee at initial certification or recertification.

Pursuant to the 5 CCR Section 17734, families enrolled in full-day CSPP with a certified need of fewer than 130 hours per month will be assessed a part-time fee, while families enrolled in full-day CSPP with a certified need of 130 hours or more per month will be assessed a full-time fee. When a family has more than one child enrolled in CSPP and/or childcare programs administered by the California Department of Social Services (CDSS), the family fee must be assessed based on the family’s child who is certified for the greatest number of hours.

Families who were initially certified or recertified based on an eligibility criterion other than income, and who are not otherwise exempt from family fees, are still required to be assessed a fee. These families are required to self-certify their income for the purpose of assessing the family fee.

As a reminder, families shall only be assessed one flat monthly family fee when they have more than one child enrolled in either a CSPP program administered by the California Department of Education (CDE), or a combination of a CSPP and a childcare program administered by the CDSS. When a contractor has families with children enrolled in both a CSPP administered by the CDE, and a childcare program administered by the CDSS, and those children are enrolled for the same period, the contractor may choose which contract the family fee assessment will be applied to. Section 17737 of 5 CCR also establishes a process in which families can receive credit for fees paid to other service providers when the contractor is unable to fulfill the family’s entire certified need for care.

Family Fee Requirements for Currently Enrolled Families

Contractors are strongly encouraged to notify families when the new family fee schedule is available and remind families that they can request a reduction to their family fee based on the new family fee schedule. Pursuant to EC Section 8263(h)(3) and 5 CCR 17756, a family may voluntarily report income or other changes. This information shall only be used to reduce family fees, increase the family’s services, or extend the period of the family’s eligibility before recertification.

Contractors must use the FY 2024–25 Family Fee Schedule, included in this bulletin, and the new income information reported by the family to assess the family’s new fee.

If the family fee has decreased, the contractor must issue a NOA in accordance with 5 CCR Section 17756 reflecting the new family fee.

If the recalculation results in a higher fee, no further action is required until the next certification.

Families on Delinquent Family Fee Plans

The EC Section 8252(k) includes language that allows contractors to forgive and not collect any uncollected delinquent fee balance accrued before October 1, 2023; therefore, contractors do not need to collect any previous debts for family fees before this time. Any families with plans to pay delinquent fees accrued prior to October 1, 2023, may no longer be required to make payments in accordance with their plan. The intent of EC Section 8252(k) is to reduce the burden of fees on families; as such and to ensure consistency in implementation, the CDE strongly urges contractors not to collect any uncollected delinquent fee balances for this timeline.

However, contractors must follow the process outlined in 5 CCR Section 17739 for families with delinquent family fees accrued after October 1, 2023, including sending a NOA.

Contractor Reporting and Reimbursement

Contractors must report the amount of family fees assessed between July 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025, on the line Family Fees for Certified Children in the FY 2024–25 Enrollment, Attendance, and Fiscal Reports through the California Preschool Accounting Reporting Information System (CPARIS). Contractors are reminded that family fees reported on the Family Fees for Certified Children line must be based on the amount of fees the contractor expects to collect in the report month, regardless of when the revenue is actually received. Reporting fees according to this directive will ensure the CDE is reimbursing contractors accurately.

In instances where a family has children enrolled in both a CSPP administered by the CDE, and a childcare program administered by the CDSS, with the same number of hours, the contractor has the discretion on where to report the assessed fee (i.e., to either the CDE or the CDSS contract). However, to ensure consistency from one report month to the next, contractors must have written policies or procedures on how they determine the program to which they report the family fee.

Background and Authority

The EC Section 8213 requires the Department of Finance to update the State Median Income (SMI) annually.

The EC Sections 8252 through 8254 refer to the state requirements for establishing a family fee schedule, the assessment of those fees, and the applicable exemptions.

The EC Section 8252(d) states that fees may only be assessed at initial certification and recertification.

The EC Sections 8252(a) and (b) require the State Superintendent of Public Instruction to use the family fee schedule developed in conjunction with the CDSS, for families receiving preschool services and/or childcare and development services, pursuant to WIC Section 10290. Pursuant to EC Sections 8332(b) and (d), the family fee schedule is subject to the approval of the Department of Finance and designed based on the most current SMI, adjusted for family size.

The EC Section 8252(j) provides that family fees accrued but uncollected prior to October 1, 2023, may be forgiven and not collected.

The 5 CCR, sections 17733 through 17740, set forth family fee requirements for full-day CSPP.

The 5 CCR, Section 17734(b) and (i), further require that the family fee schedule differentiate between full-time fees and part-time fees and that families be assessed a flat monthly fee. Assessment of the monthly fee is based on the following factors:

• Hours of certified need, as documented on the application for services
  
• The family’s adjusted monthly income
  
• Family size
  

The WIC Section 10290(e) caps the maximum family fee at 1 percent of a family’s monthly income for families receiving CSPP services and provides that families with an adjusted monthly income below 75 percent of the SMI are not assessed a family fee.

Resources

To be informed of updated information, please sign up for the CDE Early Education Division’s (EED) email distribution list at https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/cd/ci/emailindex.asp.

If you have any programmatic questions regarding the information in this MB, please contact your assigned EED, Program Quality Implementation Office Regional Consultant. The Consultant Regional Assignments directory can be accessed at https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/cd/ci/assignments.asp.

If you have any fiscal questions about the information in this MB, please contact your assigned Early Education and Nutrition Fiscal Services (EENFS) fiscal analyst. The Fiscal Analyst Directory can be accessed at https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/cd/faad.asp.

This MB is mandatory only to the extent that it cites a specific statutory or regulatory requirement. Any portion of this MB that is not supported by a specific statutory and/or regulatory requirement and is not prescriptive pursuant to California EC 33308.5.