As used in the Early Childhood Care Accountability Act:

A. "child care assistance" means the assistance administered by the department that provides child care through the child care assistance program for school-aged children as the primary service delivery strategy through a contract with the department that offers services based on income and need for care to parents with children who are school-aged, as department rules define "school-aged";

B. "culturally and linguistically appropriate" means taking into consideration the culture, customs and language of an eligible family;

C. "early childhood care assistance" means assistance administered by the department that provides child care through the child care assistance program for children under five years of age as the primary service delivery strategy through a contract with the department and that offers services based on income criteria and need for care to parents with children who have not yet entered kindergarten;

D. "eligible family" means a family that receives early childhood care assistance or child care assistance through the department;

E. "licensed child care program" means a publicly or privately funded program that:

(1) provides child care in the state in accordance with department standards to school-aged children, as department rules define "school-aged"; and

(2) is licensed by the department;

F. "licensed early childhood care program" means a publicly or privately funded program that provides child care in accordance with department standards to children under five years of age in the state and that is licensed by the department; and

G. "licensed exempt child care program" means a child care home or facility that is exempt from child care licensing requirements pursuant to the Public Health Act [Chapter 24, Article 1 NMSA 1978].

History: Laws 2018, ch. 44, § 2.

Effective dates. — Laws 2018, ch. 44 contained no effective date provision, but, pursuant to N.M. Const., art. IV, § 23, was effective May 16, 2018, 90 days after the adjournment of the legislature.