The Emergency Care Bridge Program provides child care for foster children for a limited time via payment or voucher if work or school responsibilities prevent resource families from providing care when the child for whom they have care and responsibility is not in school. It also provides child care navigation services to families that qualify.
The California Department of Social Services has clarified that families cannot get Emergency Child Care Bridge benefits for hours where:
- The Child is in public education program
- The Child is attending a private school
- The Child is getting other instruction or education in an alternate setting such as homeschooling/tutoring, independent studies program or online schooling.
Otherwise, if the parent is working and the child is not in an education setting in the three categories above, the family can get Emergency Child Care Bridge benefits for child care because the child is not considered to be attending school.
The term “working” for the parent includes not just working at a job but also time spent looking for work, filling out job applications, going to interviews, going to job fairs, and volunteer hours to gain work experience. Resource and Referral Agencies and the county Welfare Department are able to determine reasonable hours for employment seeking activities. (CCB 25-01, January 17, 2025.)