Increase Capacity Early Childhood Care & Education

The act creates 4 new grant programs to increase capacity for early childhood care and education, improve recruitment and retention rates for early childhood educators (educators), and improve salaries for educators. The act makes an appropriation.

Specifically, the act creates the following programs:

• The employer-based child care facility grant program;
• The early care and education recruitment and retention grant and scholarship program;
• The child care teacher salary grant program; and
• The community innovation and resilience for care and learning equity (CIRCLE) grant program.

The act also eliminates the repeal dates for the child care sustainability grant program and the emerging and expanding child care grant program.

The act appropriates money for the grant programs from the general fund as well as from federal funds from the child care development fund.

The act makes the following appropriations:

• During the 2020 special session, the general assembly appropriated money for early childhood education. The act states that any of that money not expended prior to July 1, 2021, is further appropriated to the department of human services for the next fiscal year for the same purpose.
• For the 2020-21 state fiscal year, $8,800,000 is appropriated to the department of human services for use by the office of early childhood. This appropriation is from the general fund. To implement this act, the office of early childhood may use this appropriation as follows:
• $100,000 for administration, which amount is based on an assumption that the office will require an additional 1.0 FTE; and
• $8,700,000 for the employer-based child care facility grant program.
• Any money appropriated but not expended prior to July 1, 2021, is further appropriated to the department of human services for use by the office of early childhood for the 2021-22 state fiscal year for the same purposes.
• For the 2021-22 state fiscal year, $320,241,576 is appropriated to the department of human services for use by the office of early childhood. This appropriation is from federal funds from child care development funds. To implement this act, the office of early childhood may use this appropriation as follows:
• $292,700,664 for the child care sustainability grant program, which amount is based on an assumption that the office will require an additional 3.0 FTE. Any money appropriated for the child care sustainability grant program but not expended prior to July 1, 2022, is further appropriated for use by the office of early childhood for the 2022-23 state fiscal year for the same purposes;
• $16,800,000 for the community innovation and resilience for care and learning equity (CIRCLE) grant program, which amount is based on an assumption that the office will require an additional 1.0 FTE. Any money appropriated to the community innovation and resilience for care and learning equity (CIRCLE) grant program but not expended prior to July 1, 2022, is further appropriated for use by the office of early childhood for the 2022-23 state fiscal year for the same purposes;
• $7,200,000 for the early care and education recruitment and retention grant and scholarship program, which amount is based on an assumption that the office will require an additional 4.0 FTE;
• $3,000,000 for the child care teacher salary grant program, which amount is based on an assumption that the office will require an additional 1.0 FTE; and
• $540,912 for the administration, monitoring, compliance, and reporting requirements associated with the money appropriated in this subsection (3), which amount is based on an assumption that the office will require an additional 4.0 FTE.
• For the 2021-22 state fiscal year, $58,622,936 is appropriated to the department of human services for use by the office of early childhood. This appropriation is from federal funds from child care development funds. The office of early childhood may use this appropriation as follows:
• $23,845,252 for the child care assistance program;
• $32,455,511 for child care grants for quality and availability and federal targeted funds requirements, which amount is based on an assumption that the office will require an additional 6.0 FTE;
• $2,150,000 for the early childhood mental health consultation program, which amount is based on an assumption that the office will require an additional 1.0 FTE; and
• $172,173 for the administration, monitoring, compliance, and reporting requirements associated with the money appropriated in this subsection (4), which amount is based on an assumption that the office will require an additional 2.0 FTE.
  (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)