1999 Minnesota Statutes

     119B.02 Duties of commissioner. 

    Subdivision 1.    Child care services.  The commissioner 
 shall develop standards for county and human services boards to 
 provide child care services to enable eligible families to 
 participate in employment, training, or education programs.  
 Within the limits of available appropriations, the commissioner 
 shall distribute money to counties to reduce the costs of child 
 care for eligible families.  The commissioner shall adopt rules 
 to govern the program in accordance with this section.  The 
 rules must establish a sliding schedule of fees for parents 
 receiving child care services.  The rules shall provide that 
 funds received as a lump sum payment of child support arrearages 
 shall not be counted as income to a family in the month received 
 but shall be prorated over the 12 months following receipt and 
 added to the family income during those months.  In the rules 
 adopted under this section, county and human services boards 
 shall be authorized to establish policies for payment of child 
 care spaces for absent children, when the payment is required by 
 the child's regular provider.  The rules shall not set a maximum 
 number of days for which absence payments can be made, but 
 instead shall direct the county agency to set limits and pay for 
 absences according to the prevailing market practice in the 
 county.  County policies for payment of absences shall be 
 subject to the approval of the commissioner.  The commissioner 
 shall maximize the use of federal money under title I and title 
 IV of Public Law Number 104-193, the Personal Responsibility and 
 Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, and other programs 
 that provide federal or state reimbursement for child care 
 services for low-income families who are in education, training, 
 job search, or other activities allowed under those programs.  
 Money appropriated under this section must be coordinated with 
 the programs that provide federal reimbursement for child care 
 services to accomplish this purpose.  Federal reimbursement 
 obtained must be allocated to the county that spent money for 
 child care that is federally reimbursable under programs that 
 provide federal reimbursement for child care services.  The 
 counties shall use the federal money to expand child care 
 services.  The commissioner may adopt rules under chapter 14 to 
 implement and coordinate federal program requirements. 

    Subd. 2.    Contractual agreements with tribes.  The 
 commissioner may enter into contractual agreements with a 
 federally recognized Indian tribe with a reservation in 
 Minnesota to carry out the responsibilities of county human 
 service agencies to the extent necessary for the tribe to 
 operate child care assistance programs under sections 119B.03 
 and 119B.05.  An agreement may allow for the tribe to be 
 reimbursed for child care assistance services provided under 
 section 119B.05.  The commissioner shall consult with the 
 affected county or counties in the contractual agreement 
 negotiations, if the county or counties wish to be included, in 
 order to avoid the duplication of county and tribal child care 
 services.  Funding to support services under section 119B.03 may 
 be transferred to the federally recognized Indian tribe with a 
 reservation in Minnesota from allocations available to counties 
 in which reservation boundaries lie.  When funding is 
 transferred under section 119B.03, the amount shall be 
 commensurate to estimates of the proportion of reservation 
 residents with characteristics identified in section 119B.03, 
 subdivision 6, to the total population of county residents with 
 those same characteristics.  

    Subd. 3.    Supervision of counties.  The commissioner 
 shall supervise child care programs administered by the counties 
 through standard-setting, technical assistance to the counties, 
 approval of county child care fund plans, and distribution of 
 public money for services.  The commissioner shall provide 
 training and other support services to assist counties in 
 planning for and implementing child care assistance programs.  
 The commissioner shall adopt rules under chapter 14 that 
 establish minimum administrative standards for the provision of 
 child care services by county boards of commissioners.  

    Subd. 4.    Universal application form.  The 
 commissioner must develop and make available to all counties a 
 universal application form for child care assistance under this 
 chapter.  The application must provide notice of eligibility 
 requirements for assistance and penalties for wrongfully 
 obtaining assistance. 

    Subd. 5.    Program integrity.  For child care 
 assistance programs under this chapter, the commissioner shall 
 enforce, in cooperation with the commissioner of human services, 
 the requirements for program integrity and fraud prevention 
 investigations under sections 256.046, 256.98, and 256.983. 

    HIST: 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 72; 1987 c 403 art 2 s 146; art 3 s 
 60; 1989 c 282 art 2 s 141; 1990 c 432 s 1; 1991 c 292 art 5 s 
 52; 1995 c 207 art 4 s 24; 1995 c 257 art 1 s 17; 1997 c 162 art 
 4 s 9; 1998 c 407 art 6 s 2; 1999 c 159 s 13; 1999 c 205 art 1 s 
 11-14