This bill revises the child care assistance program in Minnesota by introducing new provisions and repealing existing ones. It requires the commissioner to provide direct child care services through grants or contracts specifically targeting families in underserved areas, those with infants and toddlers, and families with children with disabilities. The bill also updates eligibility criteria, allowing counties to synchronize eligibility periods for multiple children in a family and extending eligibility for young parents still in school. A new parent fee structure is established, exempting certain families from fees, while ensuring that child care providers receive payments consistent with accepted practices. Additionally, the bill mandates the commissioner to simplify the application process to minimize disruptions to parents' employment or education and includes a grant program for direct child care services.

Moreover, the bill sets new guidelines for reimbursement of absent days for legal nonlicensed family child care providers, stipulating that reimbursement will only occur if providers have a uniform written policy on child absences. It allows exceptions for children with documented medical conditions, enabling them to exceed the standard absent days limit. The bill also includes provisions for families with specific circumstances, such as young parents enrolled in educational programs, allowing them to exceed absent days limits as well. Child care providers are to be reimbursed for up to ten holidays per year, which do not count against the absent days limit, and families will not face overpayment assessments unless there is an error in the authorized care amount.

Statutes affected:
Introduction: 142E.17, 142E.02, 142E.03, 142E.15, 245C.13