For purposes of this article, âplanâ means an individualized county childcare subsidy plan developed and approved as described in Section 8289, which includes all of the following: (a) An assessment to identify the countyâs goal for its subsidized childcare system. The assessment shall examine whether the current structure of subsidized childcare funding adequately supports working families in the county and whether the countyâs childcare goals coincide with the stateâs requirements for funding, eligibility, priority, and reimbursement. The assessment shall also identify barriers in the stateâs childcare subsidy system that inhibit the county from meeting its childcare goals. In conducting the assessment, the county shall consider all of the following: (1) The general demographics of families who are in need of childcare, including employment, income, language, ethnic, and family composition. (2) The current supply of available subsidized childcare. (3) The level of need for various types of subsidized childcare services, including, but not limited to, infant care, after-hours care, and care for children with exceptional needs. (4) The countyâs self-sufficiency income level. (5) Income eligibility levels for subsidized childcare. (6) Family fees. (7) The cost of providing childcare. (8) The regional market rates, as established by the department, for different types of childcare. (9) The standard reimbursement rate or state per diem for centers operating under contracts with the department. (10) Trends in the countyâs unemployment rate and housing affordability index. (b) (1) Development of a local policy to eliminate state-imposed regulatory barriers to the countyâs achievement of its desired outcomes for subsidized childcare. (2) The local policy shall do all of the following: (A) Prioritize lowest income families first. (B) Follow the family fee schedule established pursuant to Section 8252 of this code or Section 10290 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, as applicable, for those families that are income eligible, as defined by Section 8213 of this code or Section 10271.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, as applicable. (C) Meet local goals that are consistent with the stateâs childcare goals. (D) Identify existing policies that would be affected by the countyâs plan. (E) (i) Authorize any agency that provides childcare and development services in the county through a contract with the department to apply to the department to amend existing contracts in order to benefit from the local policy. (ii) The department shall approve an application to amend an existing contract if the plan is modified pursuant to Section 8292. (iii) The contract of a department contractor who does not elect to request an amendment to its contract remains operative and enforceable. (3) The local policy may supersede state law concerning childcare subsidy programs with regard only to the following factors: (A) Provide a family that qualifies for the second or third stage of childcare services pursuant to Chapter 21 (commencing with Section 10370) of Part 1.8 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, for purposes of eligibility, fees, and reimbursements, the same or higher level of benefit as a family that qualifies for subsidized childcare on another basis pursuant to the local policy, except as otherwise provided in Chapter 21 (commencing with Section 10370) of Part 1.8 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to impact or reduce any element in the second or third stage of childcare services pursuant to Chapter 21 (commencing with Section 10370) of Part 1.8 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code that provides a greater benefit to participating families than is provided for in the local policy. (B) Fees, including, but not limited to, family fees, sliding scale fees, and copayments for those families that are not income eligible, as defined by Se
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