California legislation · 2025-2026 Regular Session
California AB2429: Childcare: mental health consultation services.
Status: Chaptered, September 20, 2026
What the bill says
An act to amend Section 8243 of the Education Code, and to amend Section 10281 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to childcare. childcare Childcare: mental health consultation services. The Child Care and Development Services Act, administered by the State Department of Social Services, establishes a system of childcare and development services for children up to 13 years of age. The Early Education Act requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction, to, among other things, provide an inclusive and cost-effective preschool program…
From the chaptered text, September 20, 2026:
An act to amend Section 8243 of the Education Code, and to amend Section 10281 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to childcare. childcare Childcare: mental health consultation services. The Child Care and Development Services Act, administered by the State Department of Social Services, establishes a system of childcare and development services for children up to 13 years of age. The Early Education Act requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction, to, among other things, provide an inclusive and cost-effective preschool program. Under both acts, the cost to a provider agency of providing an early childhood mental health consultation service is reimbursable if certain requirements are met, including that the consultation service uses a relationship-based model that includes specified components, including, among others, that, at least twice per program year, early care- and education setting-based mental health assessments are conducted and that there is, with the consent of parents or legal guardians, at least one screening of each enrolled child for adverse childhood experiences and screening for buffering factors. This bill would remove the requirement that the consultation service use a relationship-based model that includes those components in order to be reimbursable and would instead require that, in order to be reimbursable, the consultation service, among other things, uses a relationship-based model that incorporates, at least once per school or …