1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to early childhood development; establishing 
  1.3             an infant development project; appropriating money. 
  1.4   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.5      Section 1.  [FINDINGS.] 
  1.6      The legislature finds that children in the first years of 
  1.7   their lives may be positively influenced by well-focused 
  1.8   strategies to support their intellectual and social 
  1.9   development.  These strategies recognize the important role of 
  1.10  the child's caregivers in providing for the health and 
  1.11  development needs of infants and children.  Focused, intensive, 
  1.12  and sustained early intervention strategies have also been 
  1.13  demonstrated to provide long-term benefits in both intellectual 
  1.14  development and performance for vulnerable infants.  These 
  1.15  strategies should focus and build on existing community 
  1.16  resources to support the development of infants and children 
  1.17  from families who face multiple barriers. 
  1.18     Sec. 2.  [PILOT INFANT DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE.] 
  1.19     Subdivision 1.  [ESTABLISHMENT.] A grant program to fund 
  1.20  initiatives that support infant development and parent education 
  1.21  is established.  Grants under this program may be used for: 
  1.22     (1) early childhood family education programs to expand 
  1.23  services for infants and parents; or 
  1.24     (2) collaborate programming to provide intensive services 
  2.1   for infants from at-risk families. 
  2.2      Subd. 2.  [EARLY CHILDHOOD FAMILY EDUCATION INFANT 
  2.3   DEVELOPMENT GRANT AWARDS.] (a) Early childhood family education 
  2.4   programs under section 121.882 may apply to the commissioner of 
  2.5   children, families, and learning for a grant to fund a pilot 
  2.6   program to increase services for families of infants.  
  2.7   Programming for infants and their families must conform to the 
  2.8   service and other requirements of the early childhood family 
  2.9   education programs.  The infant program must include learning 
  2.10  experiences for parents of infants.  Such learning experiences 
  2.11  must focus upon methods and information which stimulate and 
  2.12  nurture the intellectual and emotional development of infants.  
  2.13  For proposals from programs with service areas where centralized 
  2.14  classes are not feasible or optimal, home visiting programs 
  2.15  under section 121.882, subdivision 2b, may be part of the 
  2.16  proposal. 
  2.17     (b) Grant applicants must apply under subdivision 4.  The 
  2.18  applicant must describe the proposed infant and family education 
  2.19  approach.  The application must specify the program components, 
  2.20  outreach methods, targeted ages, anticipated role of the home 
  2.21  visits, if any, and how the program will encourage participation 
  2.22  by families with infants. 
  2.23     Subd. 3.  [INTENSIVE INTERVENTION FOR INFANTS.] (a) 
  2.24  Existing way to grow grantees under section 121.835 may apply 
  2.25  for a grant to develop and deliver an intensive infant 
  2.26  intervention program.  These programs must provide a continuum 
  2.27  of services for infants and families who face or are likely to 
  2.28  face multiple barriers that may impede development.  These 
  2.29  services should include early childhood education, family 
  2.30  education and support, home visits, health services, medical 
  2.31  services, nutrition services, and social services.  The program 
  2.32  must be designed on the following principles: 
  2.33     (1) they must provide intergenerational support with an 
  2.34  emphasis on the child's caregivers including, but not limited 
  2.35  to, parents, with a recognition of the needs and goals of the 
  2.36  adults and health and development needs of the infants; 
  3.1      (2) they must be capable of individualizing services to 
  3.2   respond to and support the needs of individual families and 
  3.3   infants; and 
  3.4      (3) they must build on existing services in the community, 
  3.5   focusing and coordinating services to support infant development 
  3.6   in participating families and in partnership with other 
  3.7   providers of infant services including child development and 
  3.8   child care centers. 
  3.9      Programs must include parent education and center-based 
  3.10  programming for infants and caregivers, and may include home 
  3.11  visiting.  The programs must offer services to families with 
  3.12  infants beginning in their first year of life and must either 
  3.13  continue or provide for transition to other programs that 
  3.14  support child development until age six. 
  3.15     (b) The grant application under subdivision 4 must specify 
  3.16  the following: 
  3.17     (1) proposed methods to identify areas or families and 
  3.18  infants that are likely to face multiple barriers as provided by 
  3.19  the department of children, families, and learning; 
  3.20     (2) proposed methods of outreach to encourage participation 
  3.21  and to establish priorities for participation; 
  3.22     (3) proposed collaboration with existing providers of early 
  3.23  child care services, including child development centers and 
  3.24  child care centers; 
  3.25     (4) methods and requirements for the involvement of parents 
  3.26  and caregivers in the program; 
  3.27     (5) evaluation of the initiative, including anticipated 
  3.28  outcomes and proposed methods to measure the outcomes; and 
  3.29     (6) methods to disseminate what was learned from the 
  3.30  initiative to other early childhood education and development 
  3.31  programs and providers. 
  3.32     Subd. 4.  [GRANT AWARDS.] To obtain a grant under 
  3.33  subdivision 2 or 3, the eligible applicant must submit an 
  3.34  application in the form and manner prescribed by the 
  3.35  commissioner.  The commissioner may require information in 
  3.36  addition to that required under subdivisions 2 and 3.  The 
  4.1   commissioner shall award .... grants to early childhood family 
  4.2   education programs for initiatives under subdivision 2.  The 
  4.3   commissioner shall award .... grants to way to grow grantees for 
  4.4   initiatives under subdivision 3. 
  4.5      Sec. 3.  [APPROPRIATIONS.] 
  4.6      Subdivision 1.  [DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN, FAMILIES, AND 
  4.7   LEARNING.] The sums indicated in this section are appropriated 
  4.8   from the general fund to the department of children, families, 
  4.9   and learning for the fiscal years designated. 
  4.10     Subd. 2.  [EARLY CHILDHOOD FAMILY EDUCATION INFANT 
  4.11  DEVELOPMENT GRANTS.] For grants to early childhood family 
  4.12  education programs under Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 
  4.13  121.882, to fund initiatives under section 2, subdivision 2: 
  4.14       $  ...,...     .....     1998 
  4.15       $  ...,...     .....     1999 
  4.16     Any balance in the first year does not cancel but is 
  4.17  available for the second year. 
  4.18     Subd. 3.  [INTENSIVE INTERVENTION FOR INFANTS GRANTS.] For 
  4.19  grants to way to grow grantees under Minnesota Statutes 1996, 
  4.20  section 121.835 to fund initiatives under section 2, subdivision 
  4.21  3: 
  4.22       $  ...,...     .....     1998 
  4.23       $  ...,...     .....     1999 
  4.24     Any balance in the first year does not cancel but is 
  4.25  available for the second year. 
  4.26     Of these amounts, up to 2.5 percent may be used for 
  4.27  administration and up to 2.5 percent may be used for staff 
  4.28  development and program evaluation.