(a) There is hereby established a project known as the California Child Care Initiative Project. It is the intent of the Legislature to promote and foster the project in cooperation with private corporations and local governments. The objective of the project is to increase the availability of quality child care programs in the state.

(b) For purposes of this section, the California Child Care Initiative Project means a project to expand the role and functions of selected resource and referral agencies in activities including needs assessment, recruitment and screening of providers, technical assistance, and staff development and training, in order to aid communities in increasing their capability in the number of child care spaces available and the quality of child care services offered.

(c) The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall allocate all state funds appropriated for the California Child Care Initiative Project for the purpose of making grants to those child care resource and referral agencies that have been selected as pilot sites for the project.

(d) The project shall ensure that each dollar of state funds allocated pursuant to subdivision (c) is matched by two dollars ($2) from other sources, including private corporations, the federal government, or local governments.

(e) The grants to the sites made available by the project shall be comprised of a combination of state funds and other funds pursuant to subdivision (d).

(f) The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall develop a data base for the project.

(Amended by Stats. 2001, Ch. 745, Sec. 10. Effective October 12, 2001.)