(A) The director of job and family services may prescribe additional requirements for licensing child day-care centers or type A family day-care homes that provide publicly funded child care pursuant to this chapter and any rules adopted under it. The director shall develop standards as required by federal laws and regulations for child care programs supported by federal funds.

(B)

(1) On or before February 28, 1992, the department of job and family services shall develop a statewide plan for child care resource and referral services. The plan shall be based upon the experiences of other states with respect to child care resource and referral services, the experiences of communities in this state that have child care resource and referral service organizations, and the needs of communities in this state that do not have child care resource and referral service organizations. The plan shall be designed to ensure that child care resource and referral services are available in each county in the state to families who need child care. The department shall consider the special needs of migrant workers when it develops the plan and shall include in the plan procedures designed to accommodate the needs of migrant workers.

(2) The director of job and family services shall adopt rules for funding child care resource and referral service organizations. The rules shall include all of the following:

(a) A description of the services that a child care resource and referral service organization is required to provide to families who need child care;

(b) The qualifications for a child care resource and referral service organization;

(c) A description of the procedures for providing federal and state funding for county or multicounty child care resource and referral service organizations;

(d) A timetable for providing child care resource and referral services to all communities in the state;

(e) Uniform information gathering and reporting procedures that are designed to be used in compatible computer systems;

(f) Procedures for establishing statewide nonprofit technical assistance services to coordinate uniform data collection and to publish reports on child care supply, demand, and cost and to provide technical assistance to communities that do not have child care resource and referral service organizations and to existing child care resource and referral service organizations;

(g) Requirements governing contracts entered into under division (C) of this section, which may include limits on the percentage of funds distributed by the department that may be used for the contracts.

(C) Child care resource and referral service organizations receiving funds distributed by the department may, in accordance with rules adopted under division (B)(2) of this section, enter into contracts with local governmental entities, nonprofit organizations including nonprofit organizations that provide child care, and individuals under which the entities, organizations, or individuals may provide child care resource and referral services in the community with those funds, if the contracts are submitted to and approved by the department prior to execution.

Effective Date: 07-01-2000; 05-18-2005.