TITLE: Relating to authorizing the establishment of community child-care collaboratives and establishing a grant program for those collaboratives administered by the Texas Workforce Commission.

SUMMARY: Relating to authorizing the establishment of community child-care collaboratives and establishing a grant program for those collaboratives administered by the Texas Workforce Commission.

FULL TEXT:
AN ACT relating to authorizing the establishment of community child-care collaboratives and establishing a grant program for those collaboratives administered by the Texas Workforce Commission. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1. Subtitle G, Title 10, Government Code, is amended by adding Chapter 2308B to read as follows: CHAPTER 2308B. COMMUNITY CHILD-CARE COLLABORATIVE GRANT PROGRAM Sec. 2308B.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter: (1) "Commission" means the Texas Workforce Commission. (2) "Community child-care collaborative" means a group of public, private, and nonprofit organizations working to expand child-care capacity in this state. (3) "Priority area" means an area: (A) where the number of children younger than six years of age who have working parents is at least three times greater than the capacity of licensed child-care providers in the area; or (B) determined by the commission to be underserved with respect to child-care providers. Sec. 2308B.002. COMMUNITY CHILD-CARE COLLABORATIVE GRANTS. (a) To the extent funds are appropriated to the commission for that purpose, the commission shall develop a grant program for eligible community child-care collaboratives that may include a combination of local governmental entities, nonprofit community organizations, economic development agencies, local employers, licensed child-care providers, and faith-based community organizations to establish or expand quality child-care capacity in priority areas through partnerships between local stakeholders and qualified providers. (b) Each grant shall fund community child-care collaboratives that are designed to: (1) bring together public and private sector partners to address child-care needs in this state; (2) increase the number of licensed, high-quality child-care providers available to serve communities in priority areas; (3) oversee ongoing child-care operations; and (4) produce any other outcomes the commission considers necessary for the success of the grant program. (c) The grant program may not award more than five grants each year. (d) The commission shall develop a competitive application process for the grant program. (e) The commission shall require each applicant for a grant to: (1) provide evidence of substantial coordination and partnership between the lead grant applicant and local municipalities, employers, child-care providers, and other community stakeholders in the formation, operation, and oversight of the community child-care collaborative; (2) clearly demonstrate the community child-care collaborative's plan to provide licensed child-care services through child-care facilities and family homes licensed, registered, or listed under Chapter 42, Human Resources Code; (3) include in the application the applicant's proposed structure for governance and oversight of the community child-care collaborative; and (4) list all possible additional resources from public or private sources that may be used to sustain the community child-care collaborative and the effort to continue providing child-care services after the initial grant period has expired. Sec. 2308B.003. PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS. The commission shall establish standards for the grant program that require a grant recipient to: (1) increase licensed child-care capacity in a priority area by a minimum of 50 children; (2) apply for and receive approval to operate a licensed child-care facility or facilities that will meet the minimum requirements established by the commission; (3) demonstrate high-quality early childhood education practices by participating in the Texas Rising Star program; (4) serve children supported through child-care subsidies; (5) collaborate with partners to ensure working families can access and afford child care that meets their needs; (6) govern and oversee ongoing child-care operations; and (7) meet other standards the commission considers necessary for the success of the grant program. Sec. 2308B.004. ACCEPTABLE USES OF GRANT MONEY. An entity shall use money received from a grant under this chapter to establish a community child-care collaborative to expand child-care capacity. Acceptable uses for the money include: (1) planning and developing child-care infrastructure, including construction, renovation, land acquisition, permits, furniture, and other supplies; (2) establishing, operating, or maintaining expanded child-care capacity in the community served by the community child-care collaborative, including child-care facilities and family homes licensed, registered, or listed under Chapter 42, Human Resources Code; (3) providing services to ensure child-care facilities supported through the grant program follow and comply with all requirements under Chapter 42, Human Resources Code, that are applicable to the provider; (4) establishing a competitive application process to select child-care providers with proven experience providing child care in this state; (5) providing professional development and business administration for the child-care providers selected by the community child-care collaborative; (6) developing and distributing coordinated marketing, enrollment, and capacity reporting to the community served by the community child-care collaborative; (7) providing scholarships for families to assist with the overall affordability of quality child care; and (8) other allowable uses the commission considers necessary for the success of the grant program. Sec. 2308B.005. OUTCOME MEASURES FOR COMMUNITY CHILD-CARE COLLABORATIVES. Each community child-care collaborative that receives a grant from the commission to establish or expand child care shall: (1) increase child-care capacity in the priority area by adding at least 50 new licensed capacity slots; (2) open a child-care facility licensed under Chapter 42, Human Resources Code, and in compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local regulations; and (3) report, in accordance with the grant program requirements developed by the commission, on the impact of the program in the following areas: (A) child development outcomes; (B) parental engagement; (C) engagement with employers within the priority area; and (D) any other outcomes the commission considers necessary for the success of the grant program. Sec. 2308B.006. REVIEW OF OUTCOME MEASURES. Not later than July 15 of each year for which a grant has been awarded, each entity operating a community child-care collaborative shall review the performance of the entity's collaborative outcomes under Section 2308B.005 and report to the commission regarding the entity's findings. Sec. 2308B.007. RULES. The commission shall adopt any rules necessary to implement the community child-care collaborative grant program established under this chapter, including rules regarding: (1) grant program eligibility; (2) the required elements of a community child-care collaborative; and (3) permissible and prohibited uses of funds received by an entity from a grant made under this chapter. SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.