SF 1358

as introduced - 81st Legislature (1999 - 2000) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to child care; modifying assistance through 
  1.3             the at-home infant care program; appropriating money; 
  1.4             amending Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 119B.061. 
  1.5   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.6      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 119B.061, is 
  1.7   amended to read: 
  1.8      119B.061 [AT-HOME INFANT CHILD CARE PROGRAM.] 
  1.9      Subdivision 1.  [ESTABLISHMENT.] Beginning July 1, 1998, A 
  1.10  family receiving or eligible to receive assistance under the 
  1.11  basic sliding fee program is eligible for in which a parent 
  1.12  provides care for the family's infant child may receive a 
  1.13  subsidy in lieu of assistance for a parent to provide short-term 
  1.14  child care for the family's infant child.  An eligible family 
  1.15  must meet the eligibility factors under section 119B.09, the 
  1.16  income criteria under section 119B.12, and if the family has 
  1.17  income within the range established under section 119B.09, 
  1.18  subdivision 1, paragraph (a), as calculated under section 
  1.19  119B.09, subdivision 4, and meets the requirements of this 
  1.20  section.  Subject to federal match and maintenance of effort 
  1.21  requirements for the child care and development fund, the 
  1.22  commissioner shall establish a pool of up to seven percent of 
  1.23  the annual appropriation for the basic sliding fee program to 
  1.24  provide assistance under the at-home infant child care program.  
  1.25  At the end of the a fiscal year, the commissioner may carry 
  2.1   forward any unspent funds must be used allocated for assistance 
  2.2   under this section to the next fiscal year for assistance under 
  2.3   the basic sliding fee program. 
  2.4      Subd. 2.  [ELIGIBLE FAMILIES.] A family with an infant 
  2.5   under the age of one year two years is eligible for assistance 
  2.6   if: 
  2.7      (1) the family is not receiving MFIP-S, other cash 
  2.8   assistance, or other child care assistance; 
  2.9      (2) the family has not previously received the full 
  2.10  one-year exemption from the work requirement for infant care 
  2.11  under the MFIP-S program; and 
  2.12     (3) the family has not previously received a life-long 
  2.13  total of 12 24 months of assistance under this section; and 
  2.14     (4) the family is participating in the basic sliding fee 
  2.15  program or, for the first child in a family, provides 
  2.16  verification of employment at the time of application and meets 
  2.17  the program requirements. 
  2.18     Subd. 3.  [ELIGIBLE PARENT.] Only A family is eligible for 
  2.19  assistance under this section if one parent, in a two-parent 
  2.20  family, is eligible for assistance cares for the family's infant 
  2.21  child.  The eligible parent must: 
  2.22     (1) be over the age of 18; 
  2.23     (2) provide care for the infant full-time care for the 
  2.24  child in the child's infant's home; and 
  2.25     (3) provide child care for any other children in the family 
  2.26  that who are eligible for child care assistance under this 
  2.27  chapter.  
  2.28     For the purposes of this section "parent" means birth 
  2.29  parent, adopted parent, or stepparent. 
  2.30     Subd. 4.  [ASSISTANCE.] (a) A family is limited to a 
  2.31  lifetime total of 12 24 months of assistance under this section. 
  2.32  The maximum rate of assistance must be at is equal to 75 percent 
  2.33  of the rate established under section 119B.13 for care of 
  2.34  infants in licensed family day care in the applicant's county of 
  2.35  residence.  Assistance must be calculated to reflect the 
  2.36  copay parent fee requirement and under section 119B.12 for the 
  3.1   family's income level and family size. 
  3.2      (b) A participating family must continue to report income 
  3.3   and other family changes as specified in the county's plan under 
  3.4   section 119B.08, subdivision 3.  The family must treat any 
  3.5   assistance received under this section as unearned income. 
  3.6      (c) Participation in the at-home infant child care program 
  3.7   must be is not considered participation in the basic sliding fee 
  3.8   program for purposes of continuing eligibility under section 
  3.9   119B.03, subdivision 3.  At the family's choice, the county must 
  3.10  place a family participating in the at-home infant care program 
  3.11  on the waiting list under section 119B.03, subdivision 2, for 
  3.12  basic sliding fee child care assistance. 
  3.13     (d) The time that a family that receives assistance under 
  3.14  this section is ineligible for must be deducted from the 
  3.15  one-year exemption from work requirements under the MFIP-S 
  3.16  program. 
  3.17     (e) Assistance under this section does not establish an 
  3.18  employer-employee relationship between any member of the 
  3.19  assisted family and the county or state. 
  3.20     Subd. 5.  [IMPLEMENTATION.] (a) By July 1, 1998, the 
  3.21  commissioner shall implement the at-home infant child care 
  3.22  program under this section through counties that administer the 
  3.23  basic sliding fee program under section 119B.03.  The 
  3.24  commissioner must develop and distribute consumer information on 
  3.25  the at-home infant care program to assist parents of infants or 
  3.26  expectant parents in making informed child care decisions. 
  3.27     (b) The commissioner shall evaluate this program and report 
  3.28  the impact to the legislature by January 1, 2000.  The 
  3.29  evaluation must include data on the number of families 
  3.30  participating in the program; the number of families continuing 
  3.31  to pursue employment or education while participating in the 
  3.32  program; the average income of families prior to, during, and 
  3.33  after participation in the program; family size; and single 
  3.34  parent and two-parent status. 
  3.35     Sec. 2.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  3.36     $1,500,000 each year of the appropriation for the basic 
  4.1   sliding fee program under Minnesota Statutes, section 119B.03, 
  4.2   for the biennium ending June 30, 2001, is set aside according to 
  4.3   Minnesota Statutes, section 119B.061, subdivision 1, for 
  4.4   assistance under the at-home infant care program.