Directs the commissioner of social services shall establish a rate differential for child care providers who provide care to a child with a diagnosed developmental delay or disability, provided such rate differential is no less than 30% above the applicable market rate otherwise payable for such child care services, and further provided such rate differential is sufficient to provide appropriate care.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9396
IN SENATE
March 9, 2026
___________
Introduced by Sen. FAHY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Children and Families
AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to providing
enhanced rates for child care services provided to disabled and/or
developmentally delayed children
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 4 of section 410-x of the social services law,
2 as added by section 52 of part B of chapter 436 of the laws of 1997, is
3 amended to read as follows:
4 4. The amount to be paid or allowed for child care assistance funded
5 under the block grant shall be the actual cost of care but no more than
6 the applicable market-related payment rate established by the department
7 in regulations. The payment rates established by the department shall be
8 sufficient to ensure equal access for eligible children to comparable
9 child care assistance in the substate area that are provided to children
10 whose parents are not eligible to receive assistance under any federal
11 or state programs. Such payment rates shall take into account the vari-
12 ations in the costs of providing child care in different settings and to
13 children of different age groups[, and the additional costs of providing
14 child care for children with special needs]. Additionally and notwith-
15 standing any other provision of law, the commissioner shall establish a
16 rate differential for child care providers who provide care to a child
17 with a diagnosed developmental delay or disability, as defined by the
18 commissioner. Such differential shall be no less than thirty percent
19 above the applicable market rate otherwise payable for such child care
20 services. The commissioner shall ensure that such rate differential is
21 sufficient to account for the additional staffing, training, accommo-
22 dations, and supports necessary to provide safe, inclusive, and develop-
23 mentally appropriate care to children with developmental delays and
24 disabilities.
25 § 2. The office of children and family services, in consultation with
26 the office for people with developmental disabilities and the department
27 of health, shall promulgate any rules and regulations necessary to
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD15023-01-6
S. 9396 2
1 implement the provisions of this act, including but not limited to
2 documentation requirements and eligibility criteria, provided that such
3 requirements shall not impose undue administrative burden on families or
4 providers.
5 § 3. This act shall take effect on the first of April next succeeding
6 the date on which it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the
7 addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary
8 for the implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized
9 to be made and completed on or before such effective date.
