1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to economic development; appropriating money for sustainable child care 
1.3 	in rural Minnesota.
1.4 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.5 	Section 1. APPROPRIATION; MINNESOTA INITIATIVE FOUNDATIONS.
 1.6 	(a) $1,500,000 in fiscal year 2018 is appropriated from the general fund to the 
1.7 	commissioner of employment and economic development for grants to Minnesota initiative 
1.8 	foundations. This is a onetime appropriation and is available until June 30, 2020. Grant 
1.9 	funds must be awarded in equal amounts to each initiative foundation.
1.10 	(b) Minnesota initiative foundations must use grant funds under this section to:
1.11 	(1) facilitate planning processes for rural communities resulting in a community solution 
1.12 	action plan that guides decision making to sustain and increase the supply of quality child 
1.13 	care in the region to support economic development;
1.14 	(2) engage the private sector to invest local resources to support the community solution 
1.15 	action plan and ensure child care is a vital component of additional regional economic 
1.16 	development planning processes;
1.17 	(3) provide small business development resources, training, and technical assistance to 
1.18 	rural child care business owners through a learning cohort. Financial and business 
1.19 	development assistance must endeavor to prepare child care businesses for quality 
1.20 	engagement and improvement by stabilizing operations, leveraging funding from other 
1.21 	sources, and fostering business acumen that allows child care businesses to plan for and 
1.22 	afford the cost of quality child care; and
2.1 	(4) recruit child care programs to participate in Parent Aware, Minnesota's quality and 
2.2 	improvement rating system, by providing targeted resources designed to encourage high 
2.3 	levels of participation. Minnesota initiative foundations must work with local partners to 
2.4 	provide low-cost training, professional development opportunities, and curriculum. Minnesota 
2.5 	initiative foundations must fund, through local partners, an enhanced level of coaching to 
2.6 	rural child care providers to obtain a quality rating through Parent Aware.