HF 3693

1st Engrossment - 91st Legislature (2019 - 2020) Posted on 03/12/2020 03:55pm

A bill for an act
relating to child care; authorizing grants to expand access to child care for children
with disabilities; appropriating money.

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

Section 1. new text begin CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES INCLUSIVE CHILD CARE ACCESS
EXPANSION GRANT PROGRAM.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Establishment. new text end

new text begin (a) The commissioner of human services shall establish
a competitive grant program to expand access to licensed family child care providers or
licensed child care centers for children with disabilities including medical complexities.
The commissioner shall award grants to counties or tribes, including at least one county
from the seven-county metropolitan area and at least one county or tribe outside the
seven-county metropolitan area, and grant funds shall be used to enable child care providers
to develop an inclusive child care setting and offer care to children with disabilities and
children without disabilities. Grants shall be awarded to at least two applicants beginning
no later than January 31, 2021.
new text end

new text begin (b) For purposes of this section, "child with a disability" means a child who has a
substantial delay or has an identifiable physical, medical, emotional, or mental condition
that hinders development.
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new text begin (c) For purposes of this section, "inclusive child care setting" means child care provided
in a manner that serves children with disabilities in the same setting as children without
disabilities.
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new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Commissioner's duties. new text end

new text begin To administer the grant program, the commissioner
shall:
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new text begin (1) consult with relevant stakeholders to develop a request for proposals that at least
requires grant applicants to identify the items or services, and estimated accompanying costs
where possible, needed to expand access to inclusive child care settings for children with
disabilities;
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new text begin (2) develop procedures for data collection, qualitative and quantitative measurement of
grant program outcomes, and reporting requirements for grant recipients;
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new text begin (3) convene a working group of grant recipients, partner child care providers, and
participating families to assess progress on grant activities, share best practices, and collect
and review data on grant activities; and
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new text begin (4) by November 1, 2023, provide a report to the chairs and ranking minority members
of the legislative committees with jurisdiction over health and human services on the activities
and outcomes of the grant program, with legislative recommendations for implementing
inclusive child care settings statewide. The report shall be made available to the public.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Grant activities. new text end

new text begin Grant recipients shall use grant funds for the cost of facility
modifications, resources, or services necessary to expand access to inclusive child care
settings for children with disabilities, including:
new text end

new text begin (1) onetime needs to equip a child care setting to serve children with disabilities, including
but not limited to environmental modifications; accessibility modifications; sensory
adaptation; training materials and staff time for training, including for substitutes; or
equipment purchases, including durable medical equipment;
new text end

new text begin (2) ongoing medical or disability-related services for children with disabilities in inclusive
child care settings, including but not limited to mental health supports; inclusion specialist
services; home care nursing; behavioral supports; coaching or training for staff and
substitutes; substitute teaching time; or additional child care staff, an enhanced rate, or
another mechanism to increase staff-to-child ratio; and
new text end

new text begin (3) other expenses determined by the grant recipient and each partner child care provider
to be necessary to establish an inclusive child care setting and serve children with disabilities
at the provider's location.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Requirements for grant recipients. new text end

new text begin Upon receipt of grant funds and throughout
the grant period, grant recipients shall:
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new text begin (1) partner with at least two but no more than five child care providers, each of which
must meet one of the following criteria:
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new text begin (i) serve 29 or fewer children, including at least two children with a disability who are
not a family member of the child care provider if the participating child care provider is a
family child care provider; or
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new text begin (ii) serve more than 30 children, including at least three children with a disability;
new text end

new text begin (2) develop and follow a process to ensure that grant funding is used to support children
with disabilities who, without the additional supports made available through the grant,
would have difficulty accessing an inclusive child care setting;
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new text begin (3) pursue funding for ongoing services needed for children with disabilities in inclusive
child care settings, such as Medicaid or private health insurance coverage; additional grant
funding; or other funding sources;
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new text begin (4) explore and seek opportunities to use existing federal funds to provide ongoing
support to family child care providers or child care centers serving children with disabilities.
Grant recipients shall seek to minimize family financial obligations for child care for a child
with disabilities beyond what child care would cost for a child without disabilities; and
new text end

new text begin (5) identify and utilize training resources for child care providers, where available and
applicable, for at least one of the grant recipient's partner child care providers.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 5. new text end

new text begin Reporting. new text end

new text begin Grant recipients shall report to the commissioner every six months,
in a manner specified by the commissioner, on the following:
new text end

new text begin (1) the number, type, and cost of additional supports needed to serve children with
disabilities in inclusive child care settings;
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new text begin (2) best practices for billing;
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new text begin (3) availability and use of funding sources other than through the grant program;
new text end

new text begin (4) processes for identifying families of children with disabilities who could benefit
from grant activities and connecting them with a child care provider interested in serving
them;
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new text begin (5) processes and eligibility criteria used to determine whether a child is a child with a
disability and means of prioritizing grant funding to serve children with significant support
needs associated with their disability; and
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new text begin (6) any other information deemed relevant by the commissioner.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective July 1, 2020.
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Sec. 2. new text begin APPROPRIATION; CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES INCLUSIVE CHILD
CARE ACCESS EXPANSION GRANT PROGRAM.
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new text begin $250,000 in fiscal year 2021 is appropriated from the general fund to the commissioner
of human services for the inclusive child care access expansion grants in section 1. The
commissioner may use up to seven percent of the appropriation for administration and
technical assistance. The base for this appropriation is $250,000 in fiscal year 2022 and
$250,000 in fiscal year 2023. This is not an ongoing appropriation. The commissioner of
management and budget shall not include a base amount for this appropriation in fiscal year
2024. This section expires June 30, 2023.
new text end