SF 2496

as introduced - 83rd Legislature (2003 - 2004) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to human services; modifying child care 
  1.3             assistance provisions; amending Minnesota Statutes 
  1.4             2002, sections 119B.011, by adding a subdivision; 
  1.5             119B.09, by adding a subdivision; 119B.13, by adding a 
  1.6             subdivision; Minnesota Statutes 2003 Supplement, 
  1.7             sections 119B.011, subdivision 20; 119B.03, 
  1.8             subdivision 4; 119B.13, subdivision 1; repealing Laws 
  1.9             2003, First Special Session chapter 14, article 9, 
  1.10            section 36. 
  1.11  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.12     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 119B.011, is 
  1.13  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  1.14     Subd. 19b.  [QUALITY CHILD CARE.] "Quality child care" 
  1.15  means care provided by:  
  1.16     (1) a child care center or facility providing legal child 
  1.17  care services as defined under section 245A.03 and accredited by 
  1.18  the National Association for the Education of Young Children, 
  1.19  the Council on Accreditation, the National Early Childhood 
  1.20  Program Accreditation, the National School-Age Care Association, 
  1.21  or the National Head Start Association Program of Excellence; or 
  1.22     (2) an individual providing legal child care services as 
  1.23  defined in section 245A.03 who has earned a child development 
  1.24  associate degree, a diploma in child development from a 
  1.25  Minnesota state technical college, or a bachelor's degree in 
  1.26  early childhood education from an accredited college or 
  1.27  university, or who is accredited by the National Association for 
  1.28  Family Child Care or the Competency Based Training and 
  2.1   Assessment Program. 
  2.2      [EFFECTIVE DATE.] This section is effective July 1, 2004. 
  2.3      Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2003 Supplement, section 
  2.4   119B.011, subdivision 20, is amended to read: 
  2.5      Subd. 20.  [TRANSITION YEAR FAMILIES.] (a) "Transition year 
  2.6   families" means families who have received MFIP assistance, or 
  2.7   who were eligible to receive MFIP assistance after choosing to 
  2.8   discontinue receipt of the cash portion of MFIP assistance under 
  2.9   section 256J.31, subdivision 12, for at least three of the last 
  2.10  six months before losing eligibility for MFIP.  Transition year 
  2.11  child care may be used to support employment or job search. 
  2.12  Eligibility for transition year child care begins the first 
  2.13  month after the family's MFIP case has closed and continues for 
  2.14  12 consecutive months.  Previous receipt of child care 
  2.15  assistance is not required in order to be eligible for 
  2.16  transition year child care.  Notwithstanding section 119B.09, 
  2.17  subdivision 1, paragraph (a), clause (3), families with adjusted 
  2.18  gross income up to 250 percent of the federal poverty guidelines 
  2.19  are eligible for transition year child care, regardless of 
  2.20  current or previous receipt of child care assistance.  
  2.21  Transition year child care is not available to families who have 
  2.22  been disqualified from MFIP due to fraud.  
  2.23     (b) "Transition year extension year families" means 
  2.24  families who have completed their transition year of child care 
  2.25  assistance under this subdivision and who are eligible for, but 
  2.26  on a waiting list for, services under section 119B.03.  For 
  2.27  purposes of sections 119B.03, subdivision 3, and 119B.05, 
  2.28  subdivision 1, clause (2), families participating in extended 
  2.29  transition year shall not be considered transition year 
  2.30  families.  Transition year extension child care may be used to 
  2.31  support employment or a job search that meets the requirements 
  2.32  of section 119B.10 for the length of time necessary for families 
  2.33  to be moved from the basic sliding fee waiting list into the 
  2.34  basic sliding fee program.  
  2.35     [EFFECTIVE DATE.] This section is effective the day 
  2.36  following final enactment.  
  3.1      Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 2003 Supplement, section 
  3.2   119B.03, subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
  3.3      Subd. 4.  [FUNDING PRIORITY.] (a) First priority for child 
  3.4   care assistance under the basic sliding fee program must be 
  3.5   given to eligible non-MFIP families who do not have a high 
  3.6   school or general equivalency diploma or who need remedial and 
  3.7   basic skill courses in order to pursue employment or to pursue 
  3.8   education leading to employment and who need child care 
  3.9   assistance to participate in the education program.  Within this 
  3.10  priority, the following subpriorities must be used: 
  3.11     (1) child care needs of minor parents; 
  3.12     (2) child care needs of parents under 21 years of age; and 
  3.13     (3) child care needs of other parents within the priority 
  3.14  group described in this paragraph. 
  3.15     (b) Second priority must be given to parents who have 
  3.16  completed their MFIP or work first transition year, or parents 
  3.17  who are no longer receiving or eligible for diversionary work 
  3.18  program supports. 
  3.19     (c) Third priority must be given to families who are 
  3.20  eligible for portable basic sliding fee assistance through the 
  3.21  portability pool under subdivision 9. 
  3.22     (d) Families under paragraph (b) must be added to the basic 
  3.23  sliding fee waiting list on the date they begin the transition 
  3.24  year under section 119B.011, subdivision 20, and must be moved 
  3.25  into the basic sliding fee program as soon as possible after 
  3.26  they complete their transition year.  
  3.27     (e) A county may terminate child care assistance for 
  3.28  families already receiving assistance when the county receives:  
  3.29     (1) a revised allocation from the child care fund that is 
  3.30  smaller than the allocation stated in the notice sent to the 
  3.31  county; and 
  3.32     (2) such short notice of a change in its allocation that 
  3.33  the county cannot absorb the difference in the allocation.  
  3.34  If a county terminates assistance for families, the county must 
  3.35  take into consideration the priorities in paragraphs (a) to 
  3.36  (c).  Families under the first priority must be the last 
  4.1   terminated from the program, families under the second priority 
  4.2   must be terminated before families under the first priority, and 
  4.3   families under the third priority must be terminated before 
  4.4   families under the second or first priority.  The county must 
  4.5   consult with the commissioner before terminating assistance 
  4.6   under this section. 
  4.7      [EFFECTIVE DATE.] This section is effective the day 
  4.8   following final enactment. 
  4.9      Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 119B.09, is 
  4.10  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  4.11     Subd. 1a.  [PORTABILITY POOL; CONTINUED ELIGIBILITY.] For 
  4.12  each family receiving child care assistance that moves between 
  4.13  Minnesota counties and exhausts the family's eligibility for the 
  4.14  portability pool under section 119B.03, subdivision 9, the 
  4.15  receiving county must keep the family on the waiting list, 
  4.16  effective from the date of the move, until:  
  4.17     (1) basic sliding fee funds are available; 
  4.18     (2) the family no longer meets the maximum income 
  4.19  eligibility level of 250 percent of the federal poverty 
  4.20  guidelines at program exit under subdivision 1; or 
  4.21     (3) the family no longer meets other eligibility 
  4.22  requirements under section 119B.03, subdivision 3. 
  4.23     [EFFECTIVE DATE.] This section is effective the day 
  4.24  following final enactment. 
  4.25     Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 2003 Supplement, section 
  4.26  119B.13, subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  4.27     Subdivision 1.  [SUBSIDY RESTRICTIONS.] The maximum rate 
  4.28  paid for child care assistance under the child care fund may not 
  4.29  exceed the 75th percentile rate for like-care arrangements in 
  4.30  the county as surveyed by the commissioner.  A rate which 
  4.31  includes a provider bonus rate differential paid under 
  4.32  subdivision 2 7 or a special needs rate paid under subdivision 3 
  4.33  may be in excess of the maximum rate allowed under this 
  4.34  subdivision.  The department shall monitor the effect of this 
  4.35  paragraph on provider rates.  The county shall pay the 
  4.36  provider's full charges for every child in care up to the 
  5.1   maximum established.  The commissioner shall determine the 
  5.2   maximum rate for each type of care on an hourly, full-day, and 
  5.3   weekly basis, including special needs and handicapped care.  Not 
  5.4   less than once every two years, the commissioner shall evaluate 
  5.5   market practices for payment of absences and shall establish 
  5.6   policies for payment of absent days that reflect current market 
  5.7   practice. 
  5.8      When the provider charge is greater than the maximum 
  5.9   provider rate allowed, the parent is responsible for payment of 
  5.10  the difference in the rates in addition to any family co-payment 
  5.11  fee. 
  5.12     [EFFECTIVE DATE.] This section is effective July 1, 2004. 
  5.13     Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 119B.13, is 
  5.14  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  5.15     Subd. 7.  [PROVIDER RATE DIFFERENTIAL FOR QUALITY CHILD 
  5.16  CARE.] A family child care provider or child care center shall 
  5.17  be paid a ten percent rate differential above the maximum rate 
  5.18  established in subdivision 1, if the provider or center provides 
  5.19  quality child care as defined in section 119B.011, subdivision 
  5.20  19b, up to the actual provider or center rate. 
  5.21     [EFFECTIVE DATE.] This section is effective July 1, 2004. 
  5.22     Sec. 7.  [CHILD CARE ASSISTANCE PARENT FEE SCHEDULE.] 
  5.23     By July 1, 2004, the commissioner of human services shall 
  5.24  establish a parent fee schedule for the child care assistance 
  5.25  programs.  Parent fees shall be determined using a sliding fee 
  5.26  scale established by the commissioner which begins at two 
  5.27  percent of adjusted gross income for families with incomes at 
  5.28  100 percent of federal poverty guidelines and increases to 13 
  5.29  percent of adjusted gross income for families with adjusted 
  5.30  gross income up to 250 percent of federal poverty guidelines. 
  5.31     [EFFECTIVE DATE.] This section is effective the day 
  5.32  following final enactment. 
  5.33     Sec. 8.  [TERMINATION OF CHILD CARE ASSISTANCE; PORTABILITY 
  5.34  POOL; AND TRANSITION YEAR CHILD CARE; DIRECTION TO 
  5.35  COMMISSIONER.] 
  5.36     The commissioner of human services shall amend: 
  6.1      (1) Minnesota Rules, part 3400.0183, subpart 1, to conform 
  6.2   to the requirements of Minnesota Statutes, section 119B.03, 
  6.3   subdivision 4; 
  6.4      (2) Minnesota Rules, part 3400.0060, subpart 9, to conform 
  6.5   to Minnesota Statutes, section 119B.09, subdivision 1a; and 
  6.6      (3) Minnesota Rules, part 3400.0090, subpart 2, to conform 
  6.7   to Minnesota Statutes, section 119B.011, subdivision 20. 
  6.8      [EFFECTIVE DATE.] This section is effective the day 
  6.9   following final enactment. 
  6.10     Sec. 9.  [REPEALER.] 
  6.11     Laws 2003, First Special Session chapter 14, article 9, 
  6.12  section 36, is repealed effective the day following final 
  6.13  enactment.