Relating to the establishment of a grant program and grant fund administered by the department of human services to provide grants for new or expanded licensed child care centers and new or expanded registered child development homes

This bill relates to the establishment of a grant program and grant fund administered by the department of human services to provide grants for new or expanded licensed child care centers and new or expanded registered child development homes. The bill creates a child care center and child development home grant fund (fund) in the state treasury under the control of the department of human services (department). The fund consists of any moneys appropriated by the general assembly and any other moneys that are lawfully available to the department. Moneys in the fund are appropriated to the department to be used for the purposes of a child care center and child development home grant program (program). Moneys in the fund that remain unencumbered or unobligated at the close of the fiscal year do not revert but remain available for expenditure for the program in succeeding fiscal years. Interest earned on moneys in the fund are credited to the fund. The bill requires the department to adopt rules to establish and administer the program to provide grants, not to exceed $50,000 per grant, to eligible persons for costs related to the establishment of a new licensed child care center (center) or a new child development home (home), or for the expansion of an existing center or an existing home. For any one fiscal year, the department cannot approve more than $4 million in grants. “Licensed child care center” and “child development home” are defined in the bill. The rules adopted by the department must specify the eligibility requirements for applicants to the program and the items eligible for grant funding. Costs related to licensing or registration, supplies, and infrastructure must be eligible for grant funding. A new center or a new home is required by the bill to be licensed or registered and fully operational within two years of the date of a person’s receipt of a grant. Of the children for whom the new center, the new home, the expanded center, or the expanded home provide child care, a minimum of percent of the children must be from a family that qualifies for state child care assistance. The bill requires a person that is awarded a grant to enter into an agreement with the department specifying the requirements that must be maintained in order for the person to retain the grant. The agreement must contain, at a minimum, provisions addressing the legal name of the person receiving the grant; the amount of the grant; annual certification by the person to the department of the person’s compliance with the agreement, the program, and Code chapter 237D; the repayment of the grant, or a portion of the grant, if the person does not meet all of the requirements of the agreement, the program, and Code chapter 237D; repayment of the grant if a new center or a new home for which the grant was received goes out of business within two years of the date that the new center or home became fully operational; and repayment of the grant if an expanded center or an expanded home for which the grant was received goes out of business within two years of the date on which the grant was received.