Sec. 302.005. CHILD-CARE TRAINING CENTER PILOT PROGRAMS. (a) The commission shall establish four pilot programs in which the division shall certify day-care facilities licensed under Chapter 42, Human Resources Code, as training centers that offer training and certification for recipients of public assistance in basic skills, child care, child-care vendor entrepreneurial training, and early childhood education. The commission shall determine the pilot sites, with at least one site in an urban area and at least one site in a rural area.

(b) The commission shall cooperate with the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services in the adoption of rules under this section. The commission may not adopt a rule under this section that conflicts with a rule of the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services.

(c) The commission shall award a contract to a child-care facility to act as a training center based on:

(1) the level of training of the facility's staff; and

(2) the history of the facility in delivering high-quality care.

(d) The child-care subsidy for a person who participates in training through a pilot program and who qualifies for a subsidy for the person's child shall be paid directly to the facility. The facility may not count such a person in the facility's child-to-staff ratio.

(e) A person who is a recipient of financial assistance under Chapter 31, Human Resources Code, may qualify to participate in training through a pilot program by applying to the commission and:

(1) providing proof of possession of a high school diploma or the equivalent or enrollment in a program leading to a high school diploma or the equivalent;

(2) demonstrating possession of general skills and competence, as determined by commission rule; and

(3) demonstrating, to the satisfaction of the commission, a long-term commitment to the early childhood care profession.

(f) Funding for a person who participates in training through a pilot program shall be provided through a work supplement program for 12 months. The commission may provide additional funding for the person to participate in training through the pilot program for an additional 12 months.

(g) The commission may also provide funding for a person who participates in training through a pilot program to:

(1) complete the person's Child Development Associate national credential, Certified Child-Care Professional Credential, or other child-care certification, as determined by the commission;

(2) participate in ongoing interactive training; and

(3) provide start-up grants and loans to establish the person's own child-care business.

(h) A facility that provides training through a pilot program shall maintain a mentor relationship with each person who participates in training through the program at the facility. A person who participates in training at a facility may be required to participate in additional training programs after the date the person completes the pilot program.

(i) The child of a person who participates in training through a pilot program is entitled to the same discounted rate for child-care services at the facility in which the person is participating in training that the facility offers to the facility's employees. The child-care subsidy provided for the person's child shall be paid to the facility in which the person is participating in training at the rate that the facility offers to the facility's employees. The money saved by the commission under this subsection may be used by the commission to administer the pilot program established under this section.

(j) The commission shall adopt rules that establish eligibility criteria for a facility to participate in a pilot program and provide requirements for implementation of the pilot program.

(k) Repealed by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 817, Sec. 9.01(7).

(l) In this section, "work supplement program" means a program under which the state reserves all or part of the amounts that would be payable as benefits to welfare recipients and uses those amounts to provide and subsidize jobs for the recipients.

Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 684, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997. Renumbered from Sec. 302.003 by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 62, Sec. 19.01(83), eff. Sept. 1, 1999. Amended by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 817, Sec. 9.01(7), eff. Sept. 1, 2003.