(1) The Oregon Business Development Department shall administer a grant and loan program to provide financial assistance to eligible applicants for allowable costs expended for early child care infrastructure activities, from moneys in the Child Care Infrastructure Fund established under ORS § 329A.725, in accordance with this section.

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(2) The department shall:

(a) Coordinate with the Department of Early Learning and Care and consult with the Department of Education and the Housing and Community Services Department in the design and implementation of the program.

(b) Engage with relevant stakeholders, including but not limited to nonprofit and for-profit entities that are directly or indirectly involved in child care throughout the state, to collect necessary information that may be used to facilitate the design and implementation of the program.

(3) For purposes of this section, allowable costs include, but are not limited to:

(a) Costs for the planning and design of early learning and care facilities.

(b) Costs for property acquisition to be used for early learning and care facilities or child care facility development projects.

(c) Repairs, improvements and renovations to early learning and care facilities, including climate resilience modifications, energy efficiency improvements, seismic retrofitting and necessary repairs due to a natural disaster.

(d) Child care facility development projects, including direct project management costs.

(e) Costs of contracting with third parties, including but not limited to nonprofit entities and community development financial institutions, to assist in the administration of child care infrastructure activities.

(f) Construction costs and expenses.

(g) Costs related to child care workforce investments.

(h) Costs related to providing support to organizations in the establishment or expansion of child care providers and facilities.

(i) Other costs that the Oregon Business Development Department, after consulting with the Department of Early Learning and Care, determines to be necessary to carry out early child care infrastructure activities.

(4) In addition to the allowable costs under subsection (3) of this section, the Oregon Business Development Department may use moneys from the Child Care Infrastructure Fund to pay administrative costs incurred by the department.

(5) Subject to subsection (6) of this section, the amount of financial assistance provided to eligible applicants under this section shall be in an amount prescribed by the department by rule, except that the department may not:

(a) Distribute funds to an eligible applicant that is a school district:

(A) In an amount that exceeds 25 percent of the amount appropriated to the Oregon Business Development Department under ORS § 329A.725.

(B) Unless the school district has demonstrated the ability to provide matching funds in an amount that is equal to the amount of matching funds the school district is required to provide under the Oregon School Capital Improvement Matching Program under ORS § 286A.801.

(b) Distribute funds to eligible applicants that are culturally specific early learning, early childhood and parent support programs described under ORS § 417.782 (1), in an amount that is less than 25 percent of the total amount appropriated to the department under ORS § 329A.725.

(6) The total amount of financial assistance allowable to eligible applicants under this section must be distributed with regard to the availability of funds. If the funds available in the Child Care Infrastructure Fund established under ORS § 329A.725 are not adequate to provide financial support to all eligible applicants that have been approved by the department to receive financial assistance under this section, the department may prioritize distribution based on an applicant’s ability or demonstrated commitment to provide any of the following child care services to families with the greatest child care needs:

(a) Culturally and linguistically specific and appropriate early learning and care;

(b) Child care during nonstandard working hours such as evenings and weekends;

(c) Child care for infants and toddlers;

(d) Early learning and care that aligns with parent preferences; or

(e) Early learning and care in communities that have historically experienced a lack of accessible and affordable child care.

(7)(a) The department, in consultation with the Department of Early Learning and Care, shall adopt rules to implement this section. At a minimum, the rules must include:

(A) An application process by which an eligible applicant may apply for financial assistance under this section;

(B) The terms and conditions for any agreements related to financial assistance provided under this section;

(C) A process for reviewing and approving applications submitted for financial assistance received under this section;

(D) Subject to limitations under subsections (5) and (6) of this section, the amount of financial assistance that may be provided to eligible applicants; and

(E) A process for establishing prioritizations upon which the Oregon Business Development Department may base the awarding of grants and loans for financial assistance under this section to eligible applicants located in rural geographic areas and among historically underserved communities.

(b) The department shall, in consultation with the Early Learning Council established under ORS § 326.425, adopt rules concerning applicants that the department may deem to be eligible applicants. [2023 c.523 § 4]

See note under 329A.720.