(a) The state, acting by and in the discretion of the Commissioner of Social Services or the Commissioner of Early Childhood, as appropriate, may enter into a contract with a municipality or a qualified private, nonprofit corporation for state financial assistance for the planning, construction, renovation, site preparation and purchase of improved or unimproved property as part of a capital development project for neighborhood facilities. Such facilities may include, but need not be limited to, child care centers, elderly centers, multipurpose human resource centers, emergency shelters for the homeless and shelters for victims of domestic violence. The financial assistance shall be in the form of state grants-in-aid equal to (1) all or any portion of the cost of such capital development project if the grantee is a qualified private nonprofit corporation, or (2) up to two-thirds of the cost of such capital development project if the grantee is a municipality, as determined by the Commissioner of Social Services or the Commissioner of Early Childhood, as appropriate.

(b) The state, acting by and in the discretion of the Commissioner of Early Childhood, may enter into a contract with a municipality, a human resource development agency or a nonprofit corporation for state financial assistance in developing and operating child care centers for children disadvantaged by reasons of economic, social or environmental conditions, provided no such financial assistance shall be available for the operating costs of any such child care center unless it has been licensed by the Commissioner of Early Childhood pursuant to section 19a-80. Such financial assistance shall be available for a program of a municipality, of a human resource development agency or of a nonprofit corporation which may provide for personnel, equipment, supplies, activities, program materials and renovation and remodeling of the physical facilities of such child care centers. Such contract shall provide for state financial assistance, within available appropriations, in the form of a state grant-in-aid (1) for a portion of the cost of such program, as determined by the Commissioner of Early Childhood, if not federally assisted, (2) equal to one-half of the amount by which the net cost of such program, as approved by the Commissioner of Early Childhood, exceeds the federal grant-in-aid thereof, or (3) in an amount up to the per child cost as described in subdivision (1) of subsection (b) of section 10-16q, for each child in such program that is three or four years of age and each child that is five years of age who is not eligible to enroll in school, pursuant to section 10-15c, while maintaining services to children under three years of age under this section. The Commissioner of Early Childhood may authorize child care centers receiving financial assistance under this subsection to apply a program surplus to the next program year. The Commissioner of Early Childhood shall consult with directors of child care centers in establishing fees for the operation of such centers.

(c) The Office of Early Childhood, in consultation with representatives from child care centers, within available appropriations, shall develop guidelines for programs provided at state-contracted child care centers. The guidelines shall include standards for program quality and design and identify short and long-term outcomes for families participating in such programs. The Office of Early Childhood, within available appropriations, shall provide a copy of such guidelines to each state-contracted child care center. Each state-contracted child care center shall use the guidelines to develop a program improvement plan for the next twelve-month period and shall submit the plan to the Office of Early Childhood. The plan shall include goals to be used for measuring such improvement. The Office of Early Childhood shall use the plan to monitor the progress of such center.

(d) The state, acting by and in the discretion of the Commissioner of Early Childhood, may enter into a contract with a municipality, a human resource development agency or a nonprofit corporation for state financial assistance for a project of renovation of any child care center receiving assistance under this section, to make such center accessible to persons with physical disabilities, in the form of a state grant-in-aid equal to (1) the total net cost of the project, as approved by the Commissioner of Early Childhood, or (2) the total amount by which the net cost of the project, as approved by the Commissioner of Early Childhood, exceeds the federal grant-in-aid thereof.

(e) Any municipality, human resource development agency or nonprofit corporation that enters into a contract pursuant to this section for state financial assistance for a child care center shall have sole responsibility for the development of the budget of the program provided at such child care center, including, but not limited to, personnel costs, purchases of equipment, supplies, activities and program materials, within the resources provided by the state under such contract. Upon local determination of a change in the type of child care services required in the area, a municipality, human resource development agency or nonprofit corporation may, within the limits of its annual budget and subject to the provisions of this subsection and sections 19a-77 to 19a-80, inclusive, and 19a-82 to 19a-87a, inclusive, change its child care service. An application to change the type of child care service provided shall be submitted to the Commissioner of Early Childhood. Not later than forty-five days after the Commissioner of Early Childhood receives the application, the Commissioner of Early Childhood shall advise the municipality, human resource development agency or nonprofit corporation of the Commissioner of Early Childhood’s approval, denial or approval with modifications of the application. If the Commissioner of Early Childhood fails to act on the application not later than forty-five days after the application’s submittal, the application shall be deemed approved.

(f) The Commissioner of Early Childhood may, in his or her discretion, with the approval of the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, authorize the expenditure of such funds for the purposes of this section as shall enable the Commissioner of Early Childhood to apply for, qualify for and provide the state’s share of federally assisted child care services.

(1967, P.A. 522, S. 13; 768, S. 1, 3; 1969, P.A. 588, S. 3, 4; 772, S. 1; 1972, P.A. 198, S. 1; P.A. 73-420; P.A. 74-289, S. 1, 2; P.A. 77-614, S. 323, 531, 610; P.A. 78-73, S. 1–3; P.A. 84-454, S. 1, 3; P.A. 86-417, S. 1, 15; P.A. 87-344; P.A. 91-371, S. 2, 4; P.A. 93-262, S. 1, 87; 93-381, S. 9, 39; P.A. 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58; 95-360, S. 17, 32; P.A. 97-259, S. 20, 41; P.A. 98-252, S. 2, 3, 80; P.A. 12-120, S. 2; P.A. 13-31, S. 3; P.A. 14-39, S. 60; P.A. 15-227, S. 25; P.A. 16-163, S. 6; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 16-3, S. 93; P.A. 17-202, S. 9.)

History: 1969 acts amended Subsec. (b) to require that aid be given only to day care centers licensed by commissioner of health; and amended Subsec. (a) to include assistance for child day care facilities, deleted requirement that projects be approved by Department of Housing and Urban development and split grants-in-aid into two categories; 1972 act allowed grant-in-aid for 80%, rather than two-thirds, of cost of non-federally-assisted program; P.A. 73-420 amended Subsec. (b) to clarify that provision re aid given only to centers licensed by health commissioner applies to aid for operating costs and added Subsec. (d); P.A. 74-289 amended Subsec. (a) to include contracts with human resource development agencies; P.A. 77-614 substituted commissioner of health services for commissioner of health, secretary of the office of policy and management for commissioner of finance and control and commissioner of human resources for commissioner of social services, specified that references to “commissioner” refer to commissioner of human resources rather than to commissioner of community affairs as before and amended Subsec. (c) to delete provision for transfer of community affairs department funds at request of social services commissioner, effective January 1, 1979; P.A. 78-73 inserted new Subsec. (c) re renovations to allow access for physically disabled and relettered remaining Subsecs. accordingly; P.A. 84-454 amended Subsec. (b) by adding that financial assistance be provided “within available appropriations” and by changing Subsec. (b)(1) from a grant-in-aid equal to 80% of the “net cost of a day care center program of the municipality or a human resource development agency as approved by the commissioner” to “for a portion of the cost of such program as determined by the commissioner of human resources”; P.A. 86-417 inserted new Subsec. (d) setting forth policy applicable to municipalities or human resource development agencies which receive state financial assistance for day care facilities, relettering previously existing Subsecs. as necessary, and made technical changes; P.A. 87-344 deleted Subsec. (f) on the recoupment of funds and replaced the existing language in Subsec. (a) which provided for a contract with a municipality or a “human resource development agency” and limited the amount of the grant to two-thirds of the net cost of the project or where the project is assisted by the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, one-half the amount by which the net cost of the project exceeds the federal grant; P.A. 91-371 added provision in Subsec. (b) authorizing child day care centers to apply a surplus to the next program year and allowing such centers to establish fees for their operation; P.A. 93-262 authorized substitution of commissioner and department of social services for commissioner and department of human resources, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 93-381 replaced commissioner of health services with commissioner of public health and addiction services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with Commissioner and Department of Public Health, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 95-360 substituted reference to Sec. 19a-82 for Sec. 19a-81 in Subsec. (d), effective July 13, 1995; P.A. 97-259 added provisions for contracts with nonprofit corporations, added new Subsec. (c) re guidelines for state-contracted child care center programs and redesignated existing Subsecs. (c) to (e) as Subsecs. (d) to (f), effective July 1, 1997; P.A. 98-252 amended Subsecs. (b) and (e) to make technical changes, effective July 1, 1998; P.A. 12-120 amended Subsec. (a) by adding references to Commissioner of Education, amended Subsecs. (b) to (f) by replacing references to Commissioner and Department of Social Services with references to Commissioner and Department of Education, and made technical and conforming changes, effective June 15, 2012; P.A. 13-31 made a technical change in Subsec. (d), effective May 28, 2013; P.A. 14-39 replaced references to Commissioner and Department of Education with references to Commissioner and Office of Early Childhood throughout and replaced “Commissioner of Public Health” with “Commissioner of Early Childhood” in Subsec. (b), effective July 1, 2014; pursuant to P.A. 15-227, references to child day care centers were changed editorially by the Revisors to references to child care centers in Subsec. (b) and “child day care service” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “child care service” in Subsec. (e), effective July 1, 2015; P.A. 16-163 amended Subsec. (a) by replacing “child day care facilities” with “child care centers”, amended Subsec. (c) by replacing “state-contracted child care center programs” with “programs provided at state-contracted child care centers”, amended Subsec. (d) by replacing “child day care facility” with “child care center”, amended Subsec. (e) by replacing “day care facility” with “child care center”, by replacing “day care program” with “program provided at such child care center” and by replacing “day care service” with “child care services”, amended Subsec. (f) by replacing “day care program” with “child care services”, and made technical and conforming changes, effective June 9, 2016; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 16-3 amended Subsec. (b) by adding Subdiv. (3) re grant-in-aid in an amount up to the per child cost described in Sec. 10-16q(b)(1), effective July 1, 2016; P.A. 17-202 amended Subsec. (d) by replacing “the physically disabled” with “persons with physical disabilities”.