1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to early childhood education; modifying child care assistance provider 
1.3 	rates; creating a quality rating and improvement system; modifying child care 
1.4 	improvement grants; appropriating money;amending Minnesota Statutes 2008, 
1.5 	sections 119B.04, by adding a subdivision; 119B.13, subdivision 3a; 119B.21, 
1.6 	subdivisions 5, 10; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 
1.7 	124D.
1.8 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.9 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 119B.04, is amended by adding a 
1.10 	subdivision to read:
1.11 		Subd. 3.Quality improvement. Beginning July 1, 2009, the commissioner shall 
1.12 	allocate an additional $250,000 per year above the amount allocated in fiscal year 2009 
1.13 	in federal child care and development funds for Parent Aware star rating tool activities 
1.14 	including quality improvement grants, training for Parent Aware providers, accreditation 
1.15 	facilitation, and on-site observations.

1.16 	Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 119B.13, subdivision 3a, is amended to read:
1.17 		Subd. 3a.Provider rate differential for accreditation. A family child care 
1.18 	provider or child care center shall be paid a 15 percent differential above the maximum 
1.19 	rate established in subdivision 1, up to the actual provider rate, if the provider or center 
1.20 	holds a current early childhood development credential, has received a three or four star 
1.21 	rating on the Parent Aware star rating tool, or is accredited.  For a family child care 
1.22 	provider, early childhood development credential and accreditation includes an individual 
1.23 	who has earned a child development associate degree, a child development associate 
1.24 	credential, a diploma in child development from a Minnesota state technical college, or a 
2.1 	bachelor's or post baccalaureate degree in early childhood education from an accredited 
2.2 	college or university, or who is accredited by the National Association for Family Child 
2.3 	Care or the Competency Based Training and Assessment Program.  For a child care center, 
2.4 	accreditation includes accreditation by the National Association for the Education of 
2.5 	Young Children, the Council on Accreditation, the National Early Childhood Program 
2.6 	Accreditation, the National School-Age Care Association, or the National Head Start 
2.7 	Association Program of Excellence.  For Montessori programs, accreditation includes 
2.8 	the American Montessori Society, Association of Montessori International-USA, or the 
2.9 	National Center for Montessori Education.

2.10 	Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 119B.21, subdivision 5, is amended to read:
2.11 		Subd. 5.Child care services grants. (a) A child care resource and referral program 
2.12 	designated under section 119B.19, subdivision 1a, may award child care services grants 
2.13 	for: 
2.14 	(1) creating new licensed child care facilities and expanding existing facilities, 
2.15 	including, but not limited to, supplies, equipment, facility renovation, and remodeling;
2.16 	(2) improving licensed child care facility programs;
2.17 	(3) staff training and development services including, but not limited to, in-service 
2.18 	training, curriculum development, accreditation, certification, consulting, resource 
2.19 	centers, program and resource materials, supporting effective teacher-child interactions, 
2.20 	child-focused teaching, and content-driven classroom instruction;
2.21 	(4) interim financing;
2.22 	(5) capacity building through the purchase of appropriate technology to create, 
2.23 	enhance, and maintain business management systems;
2.24 	(6) emergency assistance for child care programs;
2.25 	(7) new programs or projects for the creation, expansion, or improvement of 
2.26 	programs that serve ethnic immigrant and refugee communities; and
2.27 	(8) targeted recruitment initiatives to expand and build the capacity of the child 
2.28 	care system and to improve the quality of care provided by legal nonlicensed child care 
2.29 	providers.
2.30 	(b) A child care resource and referral program designated under section 119B.19, 
2.31 	subdivision 1a, may award child care services grants to: 
2.32 	(1) licensed providers;
2.33 	(2) providers in the process of being licensed;
2.34 	(3) corporations or public agencies that develop or provide child care services;
2.35 	(4) school-age care programs;
3.1 	(5) legal nonlicensed or family, friend, and neighbor care providers; or
3.2 	(6) any combination of clauses (1) to (5).
3.3 	(c) A recipient of a child care services grant for facility improvements, interim 
3.4 	financing, or staff training and development must provide a 25 percent local match.
3.5 	(d) Beginning July 1, 2009, grants under this subdivision shall be increasingly 
3.6 	awarded for activities that improve provider quality, including activities under paragraph 
3.7 	(a), clauses (1) to (3).

3.8 	Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 119B.21, subdivision 10, is amended to read:
3.9 		Subd. 10.Family child care technical assistance grants. (a) A child care resource 
3.10 	and referral organization designated under section 119B.19, subdivision 1a, may award 
3.11 	technical assistance grants of up to $1,000. These grants may be used for: 
3.12 	(1) facility improvements, including, but not limited to, improvements to meet 
3.13 	licensing requirements;
3.14 	(2) improvements to expand a child care facility or program;
3.15 	(3) toys and equipment;
3.16 	(4) technology and software to create, enhance, and maintain business management 
3.17 	systems;
3.18 	(5) start-up costs;
3.19 	(6) staff training and development; and
3.20 	(7) other uses approved by the commissioner.
3.21 	(b) A child care resource and referral program may award family child care technical 
3.22 	assistance grants to:
3.23 	(1) licensed family child care providers; 
3.24 	(2) child care providers in the process of becoming licensed; or
3.25 	(3) legal nonlicensed or family, friend, and neighbor care providers.
3.26 	(c) A local match is not required for a family child care technical assistance grant.
3.27 	(d) Beginning July 1, 2009, grants under this subdivision shall be increasingly 
3.28 	awarded for activities that improve provider quality, including activities under paragraph 
3.29 	(a), clauses (1) and (6).

3.30 	Sec. 5. [124D.142] QUALITY RATING AND IMPROVEMENT SYSTEM.
3.31 	There is established a quality rating and improvement system based on the goal that 
3.32 	all Minnesota's children have access to high quality early learning and care programs 
3.33 	in a range of settings that meet the needs of children and their families.  Creation of a 
3.34 	standards-based quality rating and improvement system includes:
4.1 	(a)	 Establishing an early care and education framework that improves quality 
4.2 	opportunities for early learning for all of Minnesota's young children.  The framework 
4.3 	shall be based on the Minnesota quality rating system rating tool and informed by 
4.4 	evaluation results;
4.5 	(b)	Using the framework as a tool to ensure that publicly funded and regulated early 
4.6 	learning and care services in both public and private market programs are high quality. 
4.7 	The state shall establish a plan to link all future state funding to the framework; and
4.8 	(c)	Using the framework to track progress toward statewide access to high quality 
4.9 	early learning and care programs, progress toward the number of low-income children 
4.10 	whose parents can access quality programs, and progress in reducing the number of 
4.11 	children not fully prepared to enter kindergarten.
4.12 	In addition, in creating the quality rating and improvement system, the state shall 
4.13 	consider the cost of administering and staffing the system and collecting assessment 
4.14 	and evaluation data.
4.15 	Prior to the creation of a statewide quality rating and improvement system, the state 
4.16 	shall employ the Minnesota quality rating system rating tool in use in fiscal year 2008.

4.17 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective July 1, 2009.

4.18 	Sec. 6. [124D.143] QUALITY RATING AND IMPROVEMENT SYSTEM; 
4.19 	COLLABORATION.
4.20 	The commissioners of education and human services shall work together to create 
4.21 	common standards for the quality rating and improvement system under section 124D.142.

4.22 	Sec. 7. APPROPRIATIONS.
 4.23 		Subdivision 1.Child care services grants. (a) $....... is appropriated from the 
4.24 	general fund for the biennium ending on June 30, 2011, to the commissioner of human 
4.25 	services for the purpose of providing child care services grants under Minnesota Statutes, 
4.26 	section 119B.21. This appropriation must be used to provide quality improvement grants 
4.27 	to providers who are rated one or two stars on the Parent Aware star rating tool at the time 
4.28 	of application for the grant. This appropriation is added to the base.
4.29 	(b) $....... is appropriated from the general fund for the biennium ending on June 
4.30 	30, 2011, to the commissioner of human services for the purpose of providing child 
4.31 	care services grants under Minnesota Statutes, section 119B.21, subdivision 5. This 
4.32 	appropriation must be used to provide quality improvement grants and is added to the base.
5.1 		Subd. 2.Parent Aware star rating tool. $....... is appropriated from the general 
5.2 	fund for the biennium ending June 30, 2011, to the commissioner of human services for 
5.3 	the Parent Aware star rating tool. This appropriation shall be used for administration of 
5.4 	the rating tool and for on-site observations. This appropriation is added to the base.
5.5 		Subd. 3.Child care development grants. $....... is appropriated from the general 
5.6 	fund for the biennium ending June 30, 2011, to the commissioner of human services for 
5.7 	child care development grants under Minnesota Statutes, chapter 119B. This appropriation 
5.8 	is added to the base.