1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to child care; providing for the 
  1.3             establishment of demonstration projects; appropriating 
  1.4             money; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota 
  1.5             Statutes, chapter 119B. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  [119B.25] [CHILD CARE SERVICE INTEGRATION 
  1.8   DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.] 
  1.9      The child care service integration demonstration projects 
  1.10  are established to integrate and coordinate programs serving 
  1.11  young children 12 years of age or under.  The commissioner of 
  1.12  children, families, and learning shall approve child care 
  1.13  service integration demonstration projects.  The demonstration 
  1.14  projects shall integrate Head Start, special needs programs, 
  1.15  family child care centers, learning readiness, and early child 
  1.16  education programs, as well as expand access to the basic 
  1.17  sliding fee scale under section 119B.03.  The number of projects 
  1.18  approved shall be based on the funding available.  The 
  1.19  demonstration projects shall demonstrate the effectiveness of 
  1.20  early child care and education through the expansion of 
  1.21  eligibility for child care services and integration of other 
  1.22  services for young children in the community.  At least one 
  1.23  project shall be located outside of the Twin Cities metropolitan 
  1.24  area, and at least one project must be located in a community 
  1.25  with a diverse racial and ethnic population.  At least one 
  2.1   project must look at the concept of including a paid parental 
  2.2   care option in the sliding fee scale for families with children 
  2.3   under the age of one year.  The parental care option would 
  2.4   provide reimbursement to parents who stay home to care for the 
  2.5   parent's child. 
  2.6      Sec. 2.  [119B.26] [ADVISORY TASK FORCE AND PLANNING 
  2.7   GRANTS.] 
  2.8      Subdivision 1.  [DUTIES OF COMMISSIONER.] The commissioner 
  2.9   shall appoint an advisory task force under section 15.014.  With 
  2.10  the advice and assistance of the advisory task force, the 
  2.11  commissioner shall develop: 
  2.12     (1) the request for proposal content and process; 
  2.13     (2) criteria for selection of demonstration projects; 
  2.14     (3) criteria for awarding funds for demonstration projects; 
  2.15     (4) criteria for evaluation of demonstration projects; 
  2.16     (5) criteria and process for the distribution of planning 
  2.17  money; and 
  2.18     (6) annual reports to the legislature, including 
  2.19  recommendations for expansion or future direction of the 
  2.20  demonstration projects. 
  2.21     The commissioner shall evaluate the effectiveness of the 
  2.22  demonstration projects and make recommendations on the 
  2.23  implications of the policy on the development of young 
  2.24  children.  The commissioner shall provide technical assistance 
  2.25  on how to create a new sliding fee scale and reimbursement rate 
  2.26  structure during the planning and implementation of 
  2.27  demonstration projects. 
  2.28     Subd. 2.  [ADVISORY TASK FORCE.] (a) An advisory task force 
  2.29  of 15 members shall be established.  The advisory task force 
  2.30  shall be drawn from, but not limited to, the business community; 
  2.31  parents; child care providers, including for-profit and 
  2.32  nonprofit child care centers, and family child care; Head Start; 
  2.33  special needs programs; child care resource and referral 
  2.34  programs; early childhood and family education programs; public 
  2.35  school districts; family collaboratives; communities of color; 
  2.36  labor; local units of government involved in the delivery of 
  3.1   child care services; and a child care researcher or evaluator 
  3.2   from the University of Minnesota center for early education and 
  3.3   development.  At least one-third of the task force shall be 
  3.4   members of communities of color or religious or ethnic 
  3.5   minorities.  The department is encouraged to form working groups 
  3.6   on specific issues in addition to the advisory task force in 
  3.7   order to broaden the expertise and involvement of the community. 
  3.8      (b) The advisory task force shall: 
  3.9      (1) advise the commissioner on the criteria and process for 
  3.10  distribution of planning money; 
  3.11     (2) review applications received by the commissioner for 
  3.12  planning grants and make recommendations on funding; 
  3.13     (3) advise the commissioner on the request for proposal 
  3.14  content and process for creating the demonstration projects; 
  3.15     (4) review applications submitted to the commissioner for 
  3.16  demonstration projects and make recommendations for funding; 
  3.17     (5) advise the commissioner on implementation of the 
  3.18  projects; 
  3.19     (6) advise the commissioner on evaluation of the projects 
  3.20  and the evaluation criteria necessary; and 
  3.21     (7) make recommendations on the future expansion and 
  3.22  direction of the projects. 
  3.23     (c) The commissioner shall consider the advisory task 
  3.24  force's recommendations before awarding grants or adopting 
  3.25  policies regarding the planning grants and the demonstration 
  3.26  projects. 
  3.27     Subd. 3.  [PLANNING GRANTS.] (a) The commissioner may make 
  3.28  grants to child care resource and referral programs established 
  3.29  under section 119B.18 to develop proposals for child care 
  3.30  service integration demonstration projects.  The commissioner 
  3.31  may award up to ten planning grants.  Requests for a grant to 
  3.32  develop a proposal must include a 25 percent local match.  The 
  3.33  matching funds may be provided in the form of personnel 
  3.34  allocation, office space, equipment, supplies, and other in-kind 
  3.35  assistance.  If a regional child care resource and referral 
  3.36  program declines to apply for a grant for the area it serves, 
  4.1   the commissioner may award a grant to another organization which 
  4.2   can demonstrate the ability to plan a demonstration project and 
  4.3   engage the community in the process. 
  4.4      (b) Requests for a planning grant must include a plan for 
  4.5   involving members of the community listed in subdivision 2 and 
  4.6   include a statement of support from at least two of those groups.
  4.7      Sec. 3.  [119B.27] [PROGRAM STRUCTURE.] 
  4.8      Subdivision 1.  [DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.] (a) Demonstration 
  4.9   projects shall run for three years and be designed to expand 
  4.10  child care funding to more families engaged in work, education, 
  4.11  and training in the community to demonstrate the impact of a 
  4.12  quality integrated early child care and education system. 
  4.13     (b) The applicants' community plan shall be designed 
  4.14  according to the following concepts: 
  4.15     (1) high quality early child care and education; 
  4.16     (2) continuity of relationship between child and caregiver; 
  4.17     (3) parental involvement; 
  4.18     (4) promotion of family stability; 
  4.19     (5) cultural sensitivity; 
  4.20     (6) emotional, cognitive, social, and health status of 
  4.21  children; and 
  4.22     (7) an increase in family self-sufficiency. 
  4.23     (c) Existing funding streams and services affecting 
  4.24  eligible families in the community shall be integrated into the 
  4.25  projects under this section to the extent possible. 
  4.26     (d) Plans must recognize that high quality performance and 
  4.27  development occur when they are linked to rewards such as 
  4.28  salary, compensation, and career development for providers and 
  4.29  incorporate these issues into the plan. 
  4.30     (e) Plans shall include measurable outcomes including, but 
  4.31  not limited to: 
  4.32     (1) parental satisfaction; 
  4.33     (2) an increase in compensation of child care teachers and 
  4.34  aides; 
  4.35     (3) a reduction of turnover of child care teachers and 
  4.36  aides; 
  5.1      (4) improvement in the integration of and access to 
  5.2   services available to children within the project area; 
  5.3      (5) improvement in the training level of child care staff; 
  5.4   and 
  5.5      (6) appropriate interactions between children and their 
  5.6   caregivers that are predictive of increased social and 
  5.7   intellectual development in the children in child care. 
  5.8      (f) Demonstration projects shall use the basic sliding fee 
  5.9   program under section 119B.03 as the base for the program 
  5.10  design, increasing the upper limit of the program to 125 percent 
  5.11  of the state median income, adjusted for family size, and serve 
  5.12  all eligible applicants within the project.  One project shall 
  5.13  consider a new process for parents to apply for child care 
  5.14  assistance outside of the county public assistance department. 
  5.15     (g) Projects shall ensure coordination of the child care 
  5.16  system with the following programs:  health service, family 
  5.17  support service, Head Start, school and youth service, early 
  5.18  childhood and family education, special needs, and other 
  5.19  community programs serving children. 
  5.20     Subd. 2.  [EXEMPTION FROM LAWS AND RULES.] Notwithstanding 
  5.21  any law or rule to the contrary, any child program under the 
  5.22  department of children, families, and learning is exempt from 
  5.23  Minnesota laws and rules in order to implement the demonstration 
  5.24  projects.  The department shall apply for any necessary federal 
  5.25  waivers required to implement the demonstration projects. 
  5.26     Subd. 3.  [USE OF FUNDS.] (a) Of the funds appropriated for 
  5.27  this section, at least 70 percent but no more than 80 percent 
  5.28  shall be used to increase the sliding fee scale to 125 percent 
  5.29  of the state median income, adjusted for family size, in the 
  5.30  demonstration project communities.  The sliding fee scale shall 
  5.31  be set so that no family pays more than 15 percent of the 
  5.32  family's income for child care. 
  5.33     (b) The reimbursement rate shall be increased to include an 
  5.34  increase in compensation for child care workers to levels which 
  5.35  attract and retain qualified workers and ensure quality.  The 
  5.36  demonstration project may make a front-end grant for wage 
  6.1   increases which will be recouped through the reimbursement 
  6.2   mechanism. 
  6.3      (c) No more than five percent of funds allocated for this 
  6.4   section may be spent on administering the projects at the 
  6.5   project level. 
  6.6      (d) Funding shall not be restricted to organizations that 
  6.7   received a planning grant.  Organizations may collaborate in the 
  6.8   application process to create a project. 
  6.9      Subd. 4.  [DEMONSTRATION COMMUNITY.] The applicant for a 
  6.10  planning grant shall determine the size and boundaries of the 
  6.11  area to be included in the demonstration project.  Factors for 
  6.12  setting the boundaries include: 
  6.13     (1) the amount of funds available for the project; 
  6.14     (2) the demographics of the area for children needing child 
  6.15  care; 
  6.16     (3) the income levels of the community; 
  6.17     (4) the number of child care slots available in the 
  6.18  community; and 
  6.19     (5) other relevant factors. 
  6.20     Subd. 5.  [ELIGIBLE FAMILIES.] (a) Families with children 
  6.21  under the age of 13 are eligible to receive funds or child care 
  6.22  through this demonstration project if they meet two of the 
  6.23  following criteria: 
  6.24     (1) must live within the boundaries of the demonstration 
  6.25  communities; 
  6.26     (2) have at least one parent employed within the boundaries 
  6.27  of the demonstration community; or 
  6.28     (3) use child care located within the boundaries of the 
  6.29  demonstration community. 
  6.30     (b) Eligibility for families who do not meet at least two 
  6.31  of the criteria in paragraph (a) may be determined by the 
  6.32  community if funding permits. 
  6.33     Subd. 6.  [CRITERIA FOR FUNDING.] To receive funding, a 
  6.34  demonstration project must show: 
  6.35     (1) that a majority of the members of the community 
  6.36  described in section 119B.26, subdivision 2, are active 
  7.1   participants in the project; 
  7.2      (2) how the project will combine child care sliding fee 
  7.3   program funds, temporary assistance for needy families (TANF) 
  7.4   child care program funds, and any additional child care funds 
  7.5   available with funds appropriated for this section to create a 
  7.6   communitywide child care system based on the sliding fee program 
  7.7   in which the upper limit of the sliding fee program is increased 
  7.8   to 125 percent of the state median income, adjusted for family 
  7.9   size; 
  7.10     (3) that all waiting lists for child care services are 
  7.11  eliminated in the area served; 
  7.12     (4) how a range of child care options will be provided and 
  7.13  parent choice enhanced, and how other funding streams will be 
  7.14  integrated to achieve this goal; 
  7.15     (5) how the delivery system meets the needs of working 
  7.16  parents and parents in education or training programs; 
  7.17     (6) how quality of care in the area will be improved; 
  7.18     (7) how learning readiness of children receiving care will 
  7.19  be improved; 
  7.20     (8) how the education, skill, and competence of providers 
  7.21  in the area will be improved; 
  7.22     (9) how the project will support the success of families 
  7.23  enrolled in temporary assistance for needy families; 
  7.24     (10) how the project will increase the stability of child 
  7.25  care services and the continuity of the relationship between the 
  7.26  provider and the child receiving care; 
  7.27     (11) how parents will be involved and how parent 
  7.28  satisfaction will be improved; 
  7.29     (12) how culturally sensitive care will be provided; 
  7.30     (13) how child care will be integrated with other services 
  7.31  and how resources throughout the community will be shared; 
  7.32     (14) how compensation for workers will be increased and 
  7.33  maintained; 
  7.34     (15) how the business community and private sector will be 
  7.35  involved; 
  7.36     (16) how coordination of transportation will be improved; 
  8.1      (17) that the applicant is capable of implementing and 
  8.2   administering the project; 
  8.3      (18) that the applicant agrees to collect information 
  8.4   required for the evaluation of the project; and 
  8.5      (19) any other criteria developed by the advisory committee.
  8.6      Sec. 4.  [INCREASE IN COMPLEMENT.] 
  8.7      The staff complement of the department of children, 
  8.8   families, and learning shall be increased by two positions to 
  8.9   handle the planning, technical assistance, and implementation of 
  8.10  the demonstration projects authorized in section 1. 
  8.11     Sec. 5.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  8.12     $....... is appropriated from the general fund to the 
  8.13  department of children, families, and learning for the planning 
  8.14  grants in section 2, subdivision 3. 
  8.15     Sec. 6.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  8.16     $....... is appropriated from the general fund to the 
  8.17  department of children, families, and learning for the 
  8.18  demonstration projects in section 3, subdivision 1, including 
  8.19  contracts for evaluation and policy recommendations.  These 
  8.20  funds are to provide for the full three years of the 
  8.21  demonstration projects and are available until expended.