HF 1019

as introduced - 87th Legislature (2011 - 2012) Posted on 03/10/2011 09:42am

A bill for an act
relating to human services; modifying school readiness service agreements
in the child care assistance program; amending Minnesota Statutes 2010,
section 119B.231, subdivisions 2, 4; repealing Minnesota Statutes 2010, section
124D.142.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 119B.231, subdivision 2, is amended to
read:

Subd. 2.

Provider eligibility.

(a) To be considered for an SRSA, a provider shall
apply to the commissioner or have been chosen as an SRSA provider prior to June 30,
2009, and have complied with all requirements of the SRSA agreement. Priority for funds
is given to providers who had agreements prior to June 30, 2009. If sufficient funds are
available, the commissioner shall make applications available to additional providers. To
be eligible to apply for an SRSA, a provider shall:

(1) be eligible for child care assistance payments under chapter 119B;

(2) have at least 25 percent of the children enrolled with the provider subsidized
through the child care assistance program; new text begin and
new text end

(3) provide full-time, full-year child care services deleted text begin ; and deleted text end new text begin .
new text end

deleted text begin (4) have obtained a level 3 or 4 star rating under the voluntary Parent Aware quality
rating system.
deleted text end

(b) The commissioner may waive the 25 percent requirement in paragraph (a),
clause (2), if necessary to achieve geographic distribution of SRSA providers and diversity
of types of care provided by SRSA providers.

(c) An eligible provider who would like to enter into an SRSA with the commissioner
shall submit an SRSA application. To determine whether to enter into an SRSA with a
provider, the commissioner shall evaluate the following factors:

deleted text begin (1) the provider's Parent Aware rating score;
deleted text end

deleted text begin (2) deleted text end new text begin (1) new text end the provider's current or planned social service and employment linkages;

deleted text begin (3) deleted text end new text begin (2) new text end the geographic distribution needed for SRSA providers;

deleted text begin (4) deleted text end new text begin (3) new text end the inclusion of a variety of child care delivery models; and

deleted text begin (5) deleted text end new text begin (4) new text end other related factors determined by the commissioner.

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 119B.231, subdivision 4, is amended to read:

Subd. 4.

Requirements of providers.

An SRSA must include assessment,
evaluation, and reporting requirements that promote the goals of improved school
readiness and movement toward appropriate child development milestones. A provider
who enters into an SRSA shall comply with all SRSA requirements, including the
assessment, evaluation, and reporting requirements in the SRSA. deleted text begin Providers who have been
selected previously for SRSAs must begin the process to obtain a rating using Parent
Aware according to timelines established by the commissioner. If the initial Parent Aware
rating is less than three stars, the provider must submit a plan to improve the rating. If
a 3 or 4 star rating is not obtained within established timelines, the commissioner may
consider continuation of the agreement, depending upon the progress made and other
factors. Providers who apply and are selected for a new SRSA agreement on or after July
1, 2009, must have a level 3 or 4 star rating under the voluntary Parent Aware quality
rating system at the time the SRSA agreement is signed.
deleted text end

Sec. 3. new text begin REPEALER.
new text end

new text begin Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 124D.142, new text end new text begin is repealed.
new text end