HF 1328

as introduced - 88th Legislature (2013 - 2014) Posted on 03/18/2013 04:51pm

A bill for an act
relating to human services; modifying the child care assistance accreditation
bonus; amending Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 119B.13, subdivision 3a.

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

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 119B.13, subdivision 3a, is amended to
read:

Subd. 3a.

Provider rate differential for accreditation.

A family child care
provider or child care center shall be paid a 15 percent differential above the maximum
rate established in subdivision 1, up to the actual provider rate, if the provider or center
holds a current early childhood development credential or is accredited. For a family
child care provider, early childhood development credential and accreditation includes
an individual who has earned a child development associate degree, a child development
associate credential, a diploma in child development from a Minnesota state technical
college, or a bachelor's or post baccalaureate degree in early childhood education from
an accredited college or university, or who is accredited by the National Association for
Family Child Care or the Competency Based Training and Assessment Program. For a
child care center, accreditation includes accreditation that meets the following criteria:
the accrediting organization must demonstrate the use of standards that promote the
physical, social, emotional, and cognitive development of children. The accreditation
standards shall include, but are not limited to, positive interactions between adults and
children, age-appropriate learning activities, a system of tracking children's learning,
use of assessment to meet children's needs, specific qualifications for staff, a learning
environment that supports developmentally appropriate experiences for children, health
and safety requirements, and family engagement strategies. deleted text begin The commissioner of human
services, in conjunction with the commissioners of education and health, will develop an
application and approval process based on the criteria in this section and any additional
criteria. The process developed by the commissioner of human services must address
periodic reassessment of approved accreditations. The commissioner of human services
must report the criteria developed, the application, approval, and reassessment processes,
and any additional recommendations by February 15, 2013, to the chairs and ranking
minority members of the legislative committees having jurisdiction over early childhood
issues. deleted text end new text begin Based on an application process developed by the commissioner in conjunction
with the commissioners of education and health, the Department of Human Services must
accept applications from accrediting organizations beginning on July 1, 2013, and on an
annual basis thereafter. The provider rate differential shall be paid to centers holding an
accreditation from an approved accrediting organization beginning on a billing cycle to be
determined by the commissioner, no later than the last Monday in February of a calendar
year. The commissioner shall annually publish a list of approved accrediting organizations.
An approved accreditation must be reassessed by the commissioner every two years.
If an approved accrediting organization is determined to no longer meet the approval
criteria, the organization must be notified by the commissioner and the differential
payment must end after a 15-day notice period. new text end The following accreditations shall be
recognized for the provider rate differential until an approval process is implemented: the
National Association for the Education of Young Children, the Council on Accreditation,
the National Early Childhood Program Accreditation, the National School-Age Care
Association, or the National Head Start Association Program of Excellence. For
Montessori programs, accreditation includes the American Montessori Society, Association
of Montessori International-USA, or the National Center for Montessori Education.