1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to human services; education; providing for system redesign; modifying 
1.3 	the basic sliding fee child care program; modifying eligibility for early learning 
1.4 	scholarship; appropriating money; amending Minnesota Statutes 2016, sections 
1.5 	119B.03, subdivision 4; 124D.165, subdivision 2.
1.6 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.7 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 119B.03, subdivision 4, is amended to read:
1.8 		Subd. 4.Funding priority. (a) First priority for child care assistance under the basic 
1.9 	sliding fee program must be given to eligible families that are homeless as defined in United 
1.10 	States Code, title 42, section 11434a(2).
1.11 	(b) Second priority must be given to eligible non-MFIP families who do not have a high 
1.12 	school or general equivalency diploma or who need remedial and basic skill courses in order 
1.13 	to pursue employment or to pursue education leading to employment and who need child 
1.14 	care assistance to participate in the education program. This includes student parents as 
1.15 	defined under section 119B.011, subdivision 19b. Within this priority, the following 
1.16 	subpriorities must be used:
1.17 	(1) child care needs of minor parents;
1.18 	(2) child care needs of parents under 21 years of age; and
1.19 	(3) child care needs of other parents within the priority group described in this paragraph.
1.20 	(b) Second(c) Third priority must be given to parents who have completed their MFIP 
1.21 	or DWP transition year, or parents who are no longer receiving or eligible for diversionary 
1.22 	work program supports.
2.1 	(c) Third(d) Fourth priority must be given to families who are eligible for portable basic 
2.2 	sliding fee assistance through the portability pool under subdivision 9.
2.3 	(d) Fourth(e) Fifth priority must be given to families in which at least one parent is a 
2.4 	veteran as defined under section 197.447.
2.5 	(e) (f)  Families under paragraph (b)(c) must be added to the basic sliding fee waiting 
2.6 	list on the date they begin the transition year under section 119B.011, subdivision 20, and 
2.7 	must be moved into the basic sliding fee program as soon as possible after they complete 
2.8 	their transition year.

2.9 	Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 124D.165, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
2.10 		Subd. 2.Family eligibility. (a) For a family to receive an early learning scholarship, 
2.11 	parents or guardians must meet the following eligibility requirements:
2.12 	(1) have a child three or four years of age on September 1 of the current school year, 
2.13 	who has not yet started kindergarten; and
2.14 	(2) have income equal to or less than 185 percent of federal poverty level income in the 
2.15 	current calendar year, or be able to document their child's current participation in the free 
2.16 	and reduced-price lunch program or child and adult care food program, National School 
2.17 	Lunch Act, United States Code, title 42, sections 1751 and 1766; the Food Distribution 
2.18 	Program on Indian Reservations, Food and Nutrition Act, United States Code, title 7, sections 
2.19 	2011-2036; Head Start under the federal Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act 
2.20 	of 2007; Minnesota family investment program under chapter 256J; child care assistance 
2.21 	programs under chapter 119B; the supplemental nutrition assistance program; or placement 
2.22 	in foster care under section 260C.212.
2.23 	(b) Notwithstanding the other provisions of this section, a parent under age 21 who is 
2.24 	pursuing a high school or general education equivalency diploma is eligible for an early 
2.25 	learning scholarship if the parent has a child age zero to five years old and meets the income 
2.26 	eligibility guidelines in this subdivision.
2.27 	(c) Any siblings between the ages zero to five years old of a child who has been awarded 
2.28 	a scholarship under this section must be awarded a scholarship upon request, provided the 
2.29 	sibling attends the same program as long as funds are available.
2.30 	(d) A child who has received a scholarship under this section must continue to receive 
2.31 	a scholarship each year until that child is eligible for kindergarten under section 120A.20
2.32 	and as long as funds are available.
3.1 	(e) Early learning scholarships may not be counted as earned income for the purposes 
3.2 	of medical assistance under chapter 256B, MinnesotaCare under chapter 256L, Minnesota 
3.3 	family investment program under chapter 256J, child care assistance programs under chapter 
3.4 	119B, or Head Start under the federal Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 
3.5 	2007.
3.6 	(f) A child from an adjoining state whose family resides at a Minnesota address as 
3.7 	assigned by the United States Postal Service, who has received developmental screening 
3.8 	under sections 121A.16 to 121A.19, who intends to enroll in a Minnesota school district, 
3.9 	and whose family meets the criteria of paragraph (a) is eligible for an early learning 
3.10 	scholarship under this section.
3.11 	(g) A child whose family is homeless and meets the criteria in paragraph (a), clause (1), 
3.12 	is eligible for an early learning scholarship under this section.

3.13 	Sec. 3. SYSTEM REDESIGN; HOMELESS CHILDREN SUPPORTS.
 3.14 	The Children's Cabinet must create a plan for a cross-agency system that provides support 
3.15 	for a family that is homeless, especially with children up to four years of age, to access 
3.16 	available services. The Children's Cabinet shall create the plan in consultation with the 
3.17 	Department of Education, the Department of Human Services, the Department of Health, 
3.18 	the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency, and stakeholders including counties, school districts, 
3.19 	and nonprofits. The redesigned system must address issues including:
3.20 	(1) implementation methodology that addresses differences in service delivery in rural 
3.21 	versus urban settings;
3.22 	(2) a training pipeline to increase qualified staff for service providers, including staff of 
3.23 	color;
3.24 	(3) statewide entry and intake forms to assess and identify the educational and 
3.25 	developmental needs of the child;
3.26 	(4) a support plan that follows the child even after the child is no longer homeless;
3.27 	(5) a common data system that allows for easier sharing of data and the plan components 
3.28 	for each child between local entities;
3.29 	(6) identifying and supporting a community outreach system;
3.30 	(7) personalizing assistance for a child who is homeless and the child's family to help  
3.31 	the child and the family navigate systems and resources;
3.32 	(8) transportation options to access services; and
4.1 	(9) methods to ensure that all state-funded programs and services for a child who is 
4.2 	homeless are adequately staffed with personnel who are trained on the specifics of the 
4.3 	program and receive professional development to handle complex, intergenerational trauma.
4.4 	The Children's Cabinet must report findings and recommendations regarding the plan, along 
4.5 	with draft legislation, to the chairs and ranking minority members of the legislative 
4.6 	committees having jurisdiction over early childhood through grade 12 education, housing, 
4.7 	and human services policy by January 23, 2018.

4.8 	Sec. 4. APPROPRIATIONS.
 4.9 		Subdivision 1.Department of Human Services. The sums indicated in this section are 
4.10 	appropriated from the general fund to the commissioner of human services for the fiscal 
4.11 	year designated.
4.12 		Subd. 2.Children's Cabinet. For the Children's Cabinet's system redesign report to the 
4.13 	legislature:

4.14		$
	200,000
	.....
	2018