This bill establishes a Child Care Solutions Fund under the control of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to support child care workers in Iowa. The fund will consist of appropriated moneys from the general assembly, interest from investments, and donations intended for its purposes. The fund will provide a state match of $2 for every $1 of private investment that communities secure to increase the wages of child care workers. HHS is tasked with defining eligibility requirements for geographic areas to be designated as communities and must continue this designation until all areas of the state are included.

Additionally, the bill mandates that HHS submit an annual report to the general assembly detailing the fund's distribution and its impact on communities, including the number of child care providers supported and new child care workers hired. HHS is also required to use the fund to continue providing state matching moneys to communities that participated in a previous child care wage enhancement project. To support these initiatives, the bill appropriates $6 million to HHS for the fiscal year 2025-2026 for deposit into the Child Care Solutions Fund.