The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has issued guidance and temporary waivers regarding Stage One Child Care and the Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for Foster Children because of COVID-19.
CalWORKs Stage One child care providers must be reimbursed for the maximum hours of authorized care, regardless of attendance, from July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021.
Family fees for former CalWORKs recipients receiving Stage One Child Care continue to be waived through June 30, 2021. Families who were disenrolled, voluntarily or involuntarily, because of inability to pay family fees from July to August, 2020 must be reenrolled without the need for any additional documentation.
Signature requirements for CalWORKs and the Bridge Program continue to be waived for the duration of the statewide emergency declaration.
Counties must reimburse for CalWORKs Stage One Child Care and the Bridge Program during the time school-age children participate in distance learning and are attending their child care program or are being cared for by a child care provider. This is because CDSS does not consider the child to be attending school while participating in distance learning for purposes of child care reimbursement. (ACWDL, October 2, 2020.)