2006 Minnesota Statutes

119B.03 BASIC SLIDING FEE PROGRAM.
    Subdivision 1. Allocation period; notice of allocation. When the commissioner notifies
county and human service boards of the forms and instructions they are to follow in the
development of their child care fund plans required under section 119B.08, subdivision 3, the
commissioner shall also notify county and human services boards of their estimated child care
fund program allocation for the two years covered by the plan. By October 1 of each year, the
commissioner shall notify all counties of their final child care fund program allocation.
    Subd. 2. Waiting list. Each county that receives funds under this section must keep a written
record and report to the commissioner the number of eligible families who have applied for a
child care subsidy or have requested child care assistance. Counties shall perform a preliminary
determination of eligibility when a family requests child care assistance. At a minimum, a
county must make a preliminary determination of eligibility based on family size, income, and
authorized activity. A family seeking child care assistance must provide the required information
to the county. A family that appears to be eligible must be put on a waiting list if funds are not
immediately available. The waiting list must identify students in need of child care. Counties
must review and update their waiting list at least every six months.
    Subd. 3. Eligible participants. Families that meet the eligibility requirements under sections
119B.07, 119B.09, and 119B.10, except MFIP participants, diversionary work program, and
transition year families are eligible for child care assistance under the basic sliding fee program.
Families enrolled in the basic sliding fee program shall be continued until they are no longer
eligible. Child care assistance provided through the child care fund is considered assistance to
the parent.
    Subd. 4. Funding priority. (a) First priority for child care assistance under the basic sliding
fee program must be given to eligible non-MFIP families who do not have a high school or general
equivalency diploma or who need remedial and basic skill courses in order to pursue employment
or to pursue education leading to employment and who need child care assistance to participate in
the education program. Within this priority, the following subpriorities must be used:
(1) child care needs of minor parents;
(2) child care needs of parents under 21 years of age; and
(3) child care needs of other parents within the priority group described in this paragraph.
(b) Second priority must be given to parents who have completed their MFIP or DWP
transition year, or parents who are no longer receiving or eligible for diversionary work program
supports.
(c) Third priority must be given to families who are eligible for portable basic sliding fee
assistance through the portability pool under subdivision 9.
(d) Fourth priority must be given to families in which at least one parent is a veteran
as defined under section 197.447.
(e) Families under paragraph (b) must be added to the basic sliding fee waiting list on the
date they begin the transition year under section 119B.011, subdivision 20, and must be moved
into the basic sliding fee program as soon as possible after they complete their transition year.
    Subd. 5. Review of use of funds; reallocation. (a) After each quarter, the commissioner
shall review the use of basic sliding fee program allocations by county. The commissioner may
reallocate unexpended or unencumbered money among those counties who have expended
their full allocation or may allow a county to expend up to ten percent of its allocation in the
subsequent allocation period.
(b) Any unexpended state and federal appropriations from the first year of the biennium may
be carried forward to the second year of the biennium.
    Subd. 6. Allocation formula. The basic sliding fee state and federal funds shall be allocated
on a calendar year basis. Funds shall be allocated first in amounts equal to each county's
guaranteed floor according to subdivision 8, with any remaining available funds allocated
according to the following formula:
(a) One-fourth of the funds shall be allocated in proportion to each county's total expenditures
for the basic sliding fee child care program reported during the most recent fiscal year completed
at the time of the notice of allocation.
(b) One-fourth of the funds shall be allocated based on the number of families participating
in the transition year child care program as reported during the most recent quarter completed at
the time of the notice of allocation.
(c) One-fourth of the funds shall be allocated in proportion to each county's most recently
reported first, second, and third priority waiting list as defined in subdivision 2 and the
reinstatement list of those families whose assistance was terminated with the approval of the
commissioner under Minnesota Rules, part 3400.0183, subpart 1.
(d) One-fourth of the funds must be allocated in proportion to each county's most recently
reported waiting list as defined in subdivision 2 and the reinstatement list of those families whose
assistance was terminated with the approval of the commissioner under Minnesota Rules, part
3400.0183, subpart 1.
    Subd. 6a. Allocation due to increased funding. When funding increases are implemented
within a calendar year, every county must receive an allocation at least equal to its original
allocation for the same time period. The remainder of the allocation must be recalculated to reflect
the funding increase, according to formulas identified in subdivision 6.
    Subd. 6b. Allocation due to decreased funding. When funding decreases are implemented
within a calendar year, county allocations must be reduced in an amount proportionate to the
reduction in the total allocation for the same time period. This applies when a funding decrease
necessitates the revision of an existing calendar year allocation.
    Subd. 7.[Repealed, 1999 c 205 art 1 s 73]
    Subd. 8. Guaranteed floor. (a) Beginning January 1, 1996, each county's guaranteed floor
shall equal 90 percent of the allocation received in the preceding calendar year. For the period
January 1, 1999, to December 31, 1999, each county's guaranteed floor must be equal to its original
calendar year 1998 allocation or its actual earnings for calendar year 1998, whichever is less.
(b) When the amount of funds available for allocation is less than the amount available in
the previous year, each county's previous year allocation shall be reduced in proportion to the
reduction in the statewide funding, for the purpose of establishing the guaranteed floor.
    Subd. 9. Portability pool. (a) The commissioner shall establish a pool of up to five percent
of the annual appropriation for the basic sliding fee program to provide continuous child care
assistance for eligible families who move between Minnesota counties. At the end of each
allocation period, any unspent funds in the portability pool must be used for assistance under the
basic sliding fee program. If expenditures from the portability pool exceed the amount of money
available, the reallocation pool must be reduced to cover these shortages.
(b) To be eligible for portable basic sliding fee assistance, a family that has moved from a
county in which it was receiving basic sliding fee assistance to a county with a waiting list for
the basic sliding fee program must:
(1) meet the income and eligibility guidelines for the basic sliding fee program; and
(2) notify the new county of residence within 60 days of moving and submit information to
the new county of residence to verify eligibility for the basic sliding fee program.
(c) The receiving county must:
(1) accept administrative responsibility for applicants for portable basic sliding fee assistance
at the end of the two months of assistance under the Unitary Residency Act;
(2) continue basic sliding fee assistance for the lesser of six months or until the family is able
to receive assistance under the county's regular basic sliding program; and
(3) notify the commissioner through the quarterly reporting process of any family that meets
the criteria of the portable basic sliding fee assistance pool.
    Subd. 10. Application; entry points. Two or more methods of applying for the basic sliding
fee program must be available to applicants in each county. To meet the requirements of this
subdivision, a county may provide alternative methods of applying for assistance, including, but
not limited to, a mail application, or application sites that are located outside of government
offices.
History: 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 72; 1987 c 403 art 3 s 61; 1988 c 689 art 2 s 224; 1989 c 282
art 2 s 142; 1990 c 568 art 4 s 39-41; 1991 c 292 art 5 s 53; 1992 c 464 art 1 s 31; 1992 c 513 art
8 s 28,29; 1995 c 207 art 4 s 25-29; 1997 c 162 art 1 s 19; art 4 s 10-17; 1998 c 254 art 1 s 29;
1999 c 159 s 14,15; 1999 c 205 art 1 s 15-20,69; 2000 c 489 art 1 s 5,6; 1Sp2003 c 14 art 1 s 1;
art 9 s 10,11; 2004 c 288 art 4 s 8-11; 2005 c 159 art 3 s 2; 2006 c 264 s 2