SB554: SB554 Early Care and Learning; a grant program to expand access to child care and preschool programs; provide

26 LC 65 0057 Senate Bill 554 By: Senators Payne of the 54th, Anavitarte of the 31st, Halpern of the 39th, Anderson of the 43rd, Hickman of the 4th and others A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Article 1 of Chapter 1A of Title 20 of the Official Co de of Georgia Annotated,1 relating to general provisions regarding early care and learning, so as to provide for a grant2 program to expand access to child care and preschool programs; to provide that the3 Department of Early Care and Learning shall establish grant cri teria; to provide for such4 department to establish grant amounts; to provide for grant purposes; to provide for a grant5 condition; to provide for technical assistance; to provide for the promulgation of rules and6 regulations; to provide for definitions; to provide legislative findings and purpose; to provide7 for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.8 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:9 SECTION 1.10 Article 1 of Chapter 1A of Title 20 of the Official Code of Geo rgia Annotated, relating to11 general provisions regarding early care and learning, is amende d by adding a new Code12 section to read as follows:13 "20-1A-19.14 (a) The General Assembly finds and declares that it is in the public interest that child care15 providers have access to capital for repairs, renovations, and expansion of their facilities,16 particularly in rural areas, to the maximum extent practicable to improve economic and17 S. B. 554 - 1 - 26 LC 65 0057 social conditions. It is the purpose of this Code section, ther efore, to provide grants to18 increase the capacity of child care facilities of this state, a nd it is the intention of the19 General Assembly that this Code section be liberally construed to carry out such purpose.20 (b) As used in this Code section, the term:21 (1) 'Program' means the Georgia Child Care Facilities Program established by this Code22 section.23 (2) 'Rural county' means a county in this state that has a population of less than 50,000 24 according to the United States decennial census of 2020 or any future such census.25 (c) No later than July 1, 2027, the department shall create and administer a grant program26 to be known as the Georgia Child Care Facilities Program for th e establishment and27 expansion of facilities for child care learning centers and family child care learning homes28 licensed by the department.29 (d)(1) The department shall establish criteria for the award o f grants for the program,30 which shall be determined upon a competitive basis, and shall p rioritize applications31 which demonstrate one or more of the following:32 (A) Participation in Georgia's Childcare and Parent Services (CAPS) program;33 (B) Participation in Georgia's Pre-K Program; or34 (C) Meets two or more of the following criteria:35 (i) The applicant is located in a rural county and demonstrate s a need to expand36 access to licensed child care and preschool programs in such co unty by the ratio of37 children in licensed child care and preschool programs to the total number of children38 from six weeks to 13 years of age;39 (ii) The applicant is located in a school district with low re ading proficiency as40 demonstrated with a percentage of third grade students in such school district with a41 score of proficient learner or above on the most recent English Language Arts (ELA)42 milestones assessment lower than the state average for such assessment;43 S. B. 554 - 2 - 26 LC 65 0057 (iii) The applicant serves children from birth to five years o f age in disability44 inclusive environments as defined by the department; or45 (iv) The applicant participates in a federal nutrition program , including, without46 limitation, the Child and Adult Care Food Program authorized under 7 C.F.R. 226 or47 the Summer Food Service Program authorized under 7 C.F.R. 225.48 (2) The department shall publish the application process and grant criteria on its website.49 (e)(1) Grants awarded pursuant to this Code section shall be subject to appropriations by50 the General Assembly or other available funding and shall be used to:51 (A) Construct new child care learning centers or family child care learning homes;52 (B) Retrofit, renovate, repair, or modernize existing child ca re learning centers or53 family child care learning homes in a manner that will result in increased capacity;54 (C) Retrofit, renovate, repair, or modernize existing facilities for use as new child care55 learning centers or family child care learning homes; or56 (D) Provide for nonrecurring costs to increase the utilization of existing licensed child57 care capacity.58 (2) The department shall be authorized to establish the amounts associated with grants59 awarded pursuant to this Code section based on factors that include, without limitation,60 the scope of the project, regional costs, the provision of incl usive environments, or the61 need to meet licensing requirements or health and safety standards.62 (f) As a condition of receipt of grant funds awarded pursuant to this Code section, the63 recipient shall enter into a contract with the department that provides the recipient will64 remain operational as a licensed child care learning center or licensed family child care65 learning home for at least five consecutive years after receipt of the initial grant award and66 may include a provision for repayment of grant funds if such condition is not met.67 (g) The department shall make technical assistance available to grantees, including but not68 limited to, support for project development, business, licensin g, operations, and69 S. B. 554 - 3 - 26 LC 65 0057 coordination of funding sources. Such technical assistance may be provided by the70 department directly or by an organization funded by the department.71 (h) A grantee that does not own the facility for which grant fu nds are requested shall72 maintain a lease, or other legally enforceable right of occupan cy, with a minimum73 remaining term of five years as a condition of eligibility.74 (i) In any given fiscal year, the department may allocate up t o 25 percent of the total75 moneys available in the grant fund to be held in reserve for ad ministration and technical76 assistance expenses associated with the program.77 (j) The department shall promulgate rules and regulations nece ssary to implement this78 Code section."79 SECTION 2.80 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.81 S. B. 554 - 4 -