§ 3505. Supplemental child care grants

(a)(1) The Commissioner for Children and Families may reserve up to one-half of one percent of the child care family assistance program funds for extraordinary financial relief to assist child care programs that are at risk of closing due to financial hardship. The Commissioner shall develop guidelines for providing assistance and shall prioritize extraordinary financial relief to child care programs in areas of the State with high poverty and low access to high quality child care. If the Commissioner determines a child care program is at risk of closure because its operations are not fiscally sustainable, he or she may provide assistance to transition children served by the child care operator in an orderly fashion and to help secure other child care opportunities for children served by the program in an effort to minimize the disruption of services. The Commissioner has the authority to request tax returns and other financial documents to verify the financial hardship and ability to sustain operations.

(2) Annually on or before January 15, the Commissioner shall report to the Senate Committee on Health and Welfare and to the House Committee on Human Services regarding any funds distributed pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection. Specifically, the report shall address how funds were distributed and used. It shall also address results related to any distribution of funds.

(b) In instances in which extraordinary financial relief will not maintain ongoing access to high-quality child care, the Department for Children and Families may provide additional support to ensure access to high-quality, comprehensive child care that meets the needs of working parents in high-poverty areas of Vermont. Licensed child care programs may be considered for this additional financial support to help ensure ongoing access to high-quality child care in areas of the State where none exists, as determined by the Commissioner. Financial assistance may be granted, at the discretion of the Commissioner, if the child care program meets the following criteria:

(1) provides full-day child care year-round;

(2) serves infants and toddlers;

(3) is located in a high-poverty area without access to public transportation, as determined by the Commissioner;

(4) maintains a 5 star rating in the STep Ahead Recognition System (STARS) program;

(5) maintains a caseload in which at least 80 percent of enrollees receive a 100 percent child care subsidy; and

(6) receives child care subsidies as its primary source of program revenue. (Added 2013, No. 179 (Adj. Sess.), § E.318; amended 2015, No. 58, § E.318.)