A.  The Legislature of Louisiana hereby finds and declares the following:

(1)  Families with minor children  comprise a significant and growing segment of the homeless population of this state.

(2)  As filed with the Administration for Children and Families, the Child Care and Development Fund plan of this state for the period October 1, 2013, through September 30, 2015, authorizes the same services for families experiencing homelessness as for other low-income families.  However, the plan does not address other eligibility factors that may be a barrier for homeless families in seeking child care assistance.

(3)  Louisiana requires parents who receive subsidized child care to work or attend school for a prescribed number of hours in a defined period as a condition of receiving child care assistance but, unlike many other states, does not waive work and education activity requirements for homeless parents.

(4)  Compliance with work and education activity requirements, as is mandated currently for homeless parents to receive child care assistance, is disproportionately more burdensome for homeless parents than for parents with stable housing, and creates unique risks to the safety and health of homeless children.

B.  The purposes of this Chapter include, without limitation, the following:

(1)  To mitigate barriers that Louisiana families experiencing homelessness face in accessing child care.

(2)  To reduce the incidence of developmental delays and physical and mental health problems among young children who experience homelessness by providing access to quality child care.

Acts 2014, No. 787, §2, eff. June 19, 2014.