237A.4A Child care regulatory fee — child care facility fund.

1. a. The department shall implement a regulatory fee for licensure of child care facilities. The fee requirements shall provide for tiered amounts based upon a child care facility’s capacity and a child development home’s regulatory category at the time of licensure.

b. The regulatory fee for centers shall not exceed one hundred fifty dollars.

c. The regulatory fee for category “A” and “B” child development homes shall not exceed one hundred fifty dollars and the fee for category “C” child development homes shall not exceed one hundred eighty-seven dollars.

d. The department shall adopt rules for implementation of the fee.

2. Regulatory fees collected shall augment existing funding for regulation of child care facilities in order to phase in annual inspections of child development homes and improve inspections of child care centers. The department shall not supplant existing funding for regulation of child care with funding derived from the regulatory fee. The department shall seek to meet the following target percentages of the total number of child development homes in the state inspected annually in phasing in the annual inspection of all child development homes:

a. For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2009, twenty percent.

b. For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2010, forty percent.

c. For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2011, sixty percent.

d. For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2012, eighty percent.

e. For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2013, and succeeding fiscal years, one hundred percent.

3. a. In phasing in the inspection of child development homes, the department shall give priority to child development homes that have recently become licensed and have paid the regulatory fee implemented pursuant to this section.

b. The results of an inspection of a child care facility shall be made publicly available on the internet page or site implemented by the department in accordance with section 237A.25 and through other means.

4. The target time frame for the department’s issuance of the report concerning an inspection or other regulatory visit to a child care facility is sixty calendar days.

5. A child care facility fund is created in the state treasury under the authority of the department. The fund is separate from the general fund of the state. Regulatory fees collected under subsection 1 shall be credited to the fund. Moneys credited to the fund shall not revert to any other fund and are not subject to transfer except as specifically provided by law. Notwithstanding section 12C.7, subsection 2, interest or earnings on moneys deposited in the fund shall be credited to the fund. Moneys in the fund are annually appropriated to the department to be used for staffing dedicated to monitoring and regulation of child care facilities, contracting, related technology costs, record checks, grants and fee waivers, and other expenses for inspection and regulation of child care facilities. Any full-time equivalent positions paid for out of the fund shall be in addition to other such positions authorized for the department.

2009 Acts, ch 179, §208