1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to child care; establishing child development 
  1.3             education loans; providing funding for child care 
  1.4             provider training initiatives; appropriating money; 
  1.5             amending Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 119B.18, by 
  1.6             adding a subdivision. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 119B.18, is 
  1.9   amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  1.10     Subd. 3.  [CHILD DEVELOPMENT EDUCATION AND TRAINING LOANS.] 
  1.11  The commissioner shall establish a child development education 
  1.12  and training loan program to be administered by the regional 
  1.13  child care resource and referral programs.  The purpose of the 
  1.14  program is to expand training and education opportunities for 
  1.15  child care workers, to promote stable staffing in child care 
  1.16  facilities, and to encourage continuity of care for children in 
  1.17  child care facilities.  The program may make loans for (1) 
  1.18  credit-based courses in child development or child care 
  1.19  administration, or (2) course work to become a child development 
  1.20  associate or to receive accreditation by the national 
  1.21  association of family child care.  
  1.22     The commissioner shall establish application procedures, 
  1.23  eligibility criteria, terms, and other conditions necessary to 
  1.24  make educational loans under this section.  A single applicant 
  1.25  may not receive more than $1,500 per year under this program.  
  1.26  All or part of the loan may be forgiven if the applicant 
  2.1   continues to provide child care services for a period of 12 
  2.2   months following the completion of all courses paid for by the 
  2.3   educational loan.  
  2.4      Sec. 2.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  2.5      Subdivision 1.  [TOTAL APPROPRIATION.] $4,835,000 is 
  2.6   appropriated from the general fund to the commissioner of 
  2.7   children, families, and learning for the biennium ending June 
  2.8   30, 1999, for the purposes of this section. 
  2.9      Subd. 2.  [APPROPRIATION; CHILD CARE MENTOR PROGRAMS.] (a) 
  2.10  Of the appropriation in subdivision 1, $320,000 is for a grant 
  2.11  to the Minnesota licensed family child care association for 
  2.12  statewide implementation of the family child care mentorship 
  2.13  model developed by the association. 
  2.14     (b) Of the appropriation in subdivision 1, $310,000 is for 
  2.15  a grant to the Minnesota child care apprentice/mentor program to 
  2.16  modify the apprentice/mentor program for statewide 
  2.17  implementation through the child care careers program of the 
  2.18  community/technical college system. 
  2.19     (c) In fiscal year 1999, at the request of the Minnesota 
  2.20  licensed family child care association and the Minnesota child 
  2.21  care apprentice/mentor program, the commissioner may transfer 
  2.22  funding between the programs in paragraphs (a) and (b) in order 
  2.23  to respond to the demonstrated demand for these programs. 
  2.24     Subd. 3.  [APPROPRIATION; PROJECT IMPACT.] Of the 
  2.25  appropriation in subdivision 1, $375,000 is for a grant to 
  2.26  expand project impact, which prepares child care providers and 
  2.27  staff who are members of a community of color, as that term is 
  2.28  defined in Minnesota Statutes, section 257.076, subdivision 3, 
  2.29  to meet or exceed the education and experience requirements of 
  2.30  assistant teachers, teachers, and family day care providers in 
  2.31  licensed child care programs. 
  2.32     Subd. 4.  [APPROPRIATION; CHILD CARE APPRENTICE/MENTOR 
  2.33  PROGRAM.] Of the appropriation in subdivision 1, $750,000 is to 
  2.34  expand the Minnesota child care apprentice/mentor program, which 
  2.35  prepares child care center staff to meet or exceed the education 
  2.36  and experience requirements of teachers in licensed child care 
  3.1   centers. 
  3.2      Subd. 5.  [APPROPRIATION; ECFE/FAMILY CHILD CARE TRAINING 
  3.3   COLLABORATION.] Of the appropriation in subdivision 1, $800,000 
  3.4   is for the commissioner to make grants to early childhood family 
  3.5   education (ECFE) programs established under Minnesota Statutes, 
  3.6   section 121.882, to enable the ECFE programs to expand their 
  3.7   staff and programming capacity sufficiently to permit licensed 
  3.8   or legal unlicensed child care providers to participate in the 
  3.9   ECFE program. 
  3.10     Subd. 6.  [APPROPRIATION; CHILD DEVELOPMENT EDUCATION AID 
  3.11  TRAINING LOANS.] Of the appropriation in subdivision 1, 
  3.12  $2,280,000 is for education and training loans made by the 
  3.13  regional child care resource and referral programs under the 
  3.14  loan program established in section 1.  No more than eight 
  3.15  percent of this appropriation may be used for administration of 
  3.16  the loan program.