To: Board of Supervisors
From: Marla Stuart, Employment and Human Services Director
Report Title: CalWORKs Stage 2 and California Alternative Payment Program Funding
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Employment and Human Services Department Director, or designee, to accept funding in an amount not to exceed $1,098,197 from the California Department of Social Services for CalWORKs Stage 2 child care providers and for administrative support as the contract administrator for CalWORKs Stage 2 (C2AP) and California Alternative Payment Program (CAPP), and to authorize the approval of any amendments related to this funding for the period of July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026.
FISCAL IMPACT:
$1,098,197: 100% State funds, all of which is funded by CDSS and budgeted in FY25-26.
$393,175.00 is for C2AP
$705,022 is for administrative support of C2AP and CAPP
BACKGROUND:
This staff report seeks to accept state funding for a total of $1,098,197 from the California Department of Social Services (CDSS), which has been appropriated through Senate Bill (SB)120 and Assembly Bill (AB) 378 to support Senate Bill (SB) 102. SB 120 authorizes ongoing reimbursements to childcare providers based on the maximum authorized hours of care, regardless of actual attendance. Additionally, AB 378 supports SB 102 by providing administrative support allocation to development contractors who act as contract administrators for the CalWORKs Stage 2 (C2AP) and the California Alternative Payment Program (CAPP). This notification increases the funding by $1,098,197 for a new total payment limit of $30,821,579.
On December 17, 2024, the Board of Supervisors approved the Continued Funding Application for fiscal year 2025-2026 and accepted $29,723,382 (C.84) for the provision of C2AP and CAPP childcare programs. On July 23, 2025, CDSS issued Child Care Bulletin (CCB) number 25-20, advising administrators of Alternative Payment Programs to continue reimbursing childcare providers based on the maximum authorized hours of care.
On March 11, 2025, the Board of Supervisors approved an administrative support allocation of $705,022 (C. 32) to the Employment and Human Services Department (EHSD) as the contract administrator for C2AP and CAPP. On August 3, 2025, CDSS issued Child Care Bulletin (CCB) number 25-21, providing fiscal guidance for the ongoing administrative support of Alternative Payment Programs (C2AP, CAPP). Acceptable use of funds includes supporting activities related to SB 102 including but not limited to dues deduction, meeting new Subsidized Provider Report (SPR) requirements and data collection related to Child Care Provider Union (CCPU) data requests.
This staff report is to execute the County’s allocation of $1,098,197 and to authorize approval of any amendments during the 2025-2026 term. This increase will raise the total funding amount from $29,723,382 to $30,821,579.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
The County will not be in compliance with Head Start program requirements, which may jeopardize funding and successful 2024-2029 grant implementation.
Should the proposed action not be approved by the Board of Supervisors, additional CDSS funding for childcare providers throughout Contra Costa County will be forfeited.