2007 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.
The commissioner shall maximize the use of federal money under title I and title IV of Public
Law 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
commissioner may develop and make available to all counties a child care addendum form to
be used to supplement the combined application form for MFIP, DWP, or Food Support or to
supplement other statewide application forms for public assistance programs for families applying
for one of these programs in addition to child care assistance. 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 the requirements for program integrity and fraud prevention
investigations under sections 256.046, 256.98, and 256.983.
    Subd. 6. Data. Data collected, maintained, used, or disseminated by the welfare system
pertaining to persons selected as legal nonlicensed child care providers by families receiving child
care assistance shall be treated as licensing data as provided in section 13.46, subdivision 4.
History: 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; 2001 c 178 art 2 s 5;
1Sp2003 c 14 art 9 s 8; 2004 c 288 art 4 s 7; 2004 c 290 s 24; 2005 c 98 art 1 s 3