The Florida Senate

402.3052  Child development associate training grants program.--

(1)  There is hereby created the child development associate training grants program within the department.

(a)  The purpose of the child development associate training grants program is to provide child care personnel who work in a licensed child care facility or public and nonpublic preschool program for children 5 years of age or under an opportunity to receive a child development associate credential, or its equivalent, and to receive other training to enhance their skills.

(b)  The State Coordinating Council for Early Childhood Services shall serve in an advisory capacity to the department in the implementation of the training program.

(2)  The department shall establish eligibility criteria for the training program for child care personnel under this section.

(3)  The department through contract may provide a training grant to a community college, vocational/technical program, central agency, or other entity to provide the training for a child development associate credential or its equivalent.

(4)  The department shall require a community college, vocational/technical program, central agency, or other entity under contract to comply with the following requirements:

(a)  Identification of the training needs of the area served by the community college, vocational/technical program, central agency, or other entity participating in the training grant, including an assessment of area resources available for training child care, home visits, and other family support personnel to work with children with special needs.

(b)  Development of procedures to accommodate and facilitate the attendance of child care personnel who are interested in the training at the training site and location.

(c)  Development of a plan to provide training and technical assistance, as needed, to child care personnel after the attainment of the child development associate credential or its equivalent.

(d)  Development of lending resources and other library material addressing child development, for the use of child care personnel in a licensed child care facility.

(e)  Submission of an annual training report that provides information required by the department, including, but not limited to, the following:

1.  The number of child care personnel trained.

2.  The number of child care personnel attaining the child development associate credential or its equivalent.

(f)  The development of training strategies to train child care personnel beyond the child development associate credential.

(g)  Other requirements as determined by the department.

(5)  The department shall provide child care incentive grants for innovative child care private-public partnerships that promote the development of child care facilities or family day care homes.

(a)  The purpose of the child care incentive grants is to encourage private-public partnership efforts to train and assist public assistance recipients to gain employment in child care facilities or operate child care facilities or family day care homes.

(b)  Child care incentive grants shall assist public assistance recipients, whenever possible, in acquiring the child development associate credential or its equivalent.

(c)  The department shall develop and implement a plan, in cooperation with other state agencies, to maximize existing federal and state funding sources to achieve the purpose of this incentive grant.

(6)  The department may contract with the Department of Education to implement any of the provisions of the section.

(7)  The department may adopt rules and other policy provisions necessary to implement this section.

(8)  This section shall be implemented only to the extent that funding is available.

History.--s. 5, ch. 91-300.