November 30, 2016, Introduced by Senators ANANICH, HOPGOOD, KNEZEK, JOHNSON, BIEDA and GREGORY and referred to the Committee on Families, Seniors and Human Services.
A bill to amend 1973 PA 116, entitled
"An act to provide for the protection of children through the
licensing and regulation of child care organizations; to provide
for the establishment of standards of care for child care
organizations; to prescribe powers and duties of certain
departments of this state and adoption facilitators; to provide
penalties; and to repeal acts and parts of acts,"
(MCL 722.111 to 722.128) by adding section 16a.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 16a. (1) There is created a body politic and corporate
known as the child care executive partnership that shall establish
and govern the child care executive partnership program. The
purpose of the child care executive partnership program is to use
state and federal funds as incentives for matching local funds
derived from local governments, employers, charitable foundations,
and other sources so that communities of this state may create
local flexible partnerships with employers. The child care
executive partnership program funds shall be used at the discretion
of local communities to meet the needs of working parents. A child
care purchasing pool shall be developed with the state, federal,
and local funds to provide subsidies to low-income working parents
whose family income does not exceed the allowable income for any
federally subsidized child care program with a dollar-for-dollar
match from employers, local government, and other matching
contributions. The funds used from the child care purchasing pool
must be used to supplement or extend the use of existing public or
private funds for direct services.
(2) The child care executive partnership, staffed by the
department, shall consist of a representative of the governor and 9
members of the corporate or child care community, appointed by the
governor. Members shall serve for a period of 4 years, except that
the representative of the governor shall serve at the pleasure of
the governor.
(3) The child care executive partnership shall be chaired by a
member chosen by a majority vote and shall meet at least quarterly
and at other times upon the call of the chair. The child care
executive partnership may use any method of telecommunications to
conduct meetings, including establishing a quorum through
telecommunications, only if the public is given proper notice of a
telecommunications meeting and reasonable access to observe and,
when appropriate, participate.
(4) Members shall serve without compensation but may be
reimbursed for per diem and travel expenses in accordance with
state law.
(5) The child care executive partnership shall have all the
powers and authority, not explicitly prohibited by law, necessary
to carry out and effectuate the purposes of this section, as well
as the functions, duties, and responsibilities of the partnership,
including, but not limited to, the following:
(a) Making recommendations concerning the implementation and
coordination of the school readiness program.
(b) Soliciting, accepting, receiving, investing, and expending
funds from public or private sources.
(c) Contracting with public or private entities as necessary.
(d) Approving an annual budget.
(e) Providing a report to the governor, the speaker of the
house of representatives, and the senate majority leader on or
before December 1 of each year.
(6) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subsection,
the corporate body politic previously established by prior law is
the corporate body politic for purposes of this section and shall
continue in existence. All member terms of the existing corporate
body politic expire as of September 30, 2018, and new members shall
be appointed beginning October 1, 2018, in accordance with this
subsection.
(7) The legislature shall annually determine the amount of
state or federal low-income child care money that shall be used to
create child care executive partnership program child care
purchasing pools in counties chosen by the child care executive
partnership provided that at least 2 of the counties have
populations of no more than 300,000. The legislature shall annually
review the effectiveness of the child care purchasing pool program
and reevaluate the percentage of additional state or federal funds,
if any, that can be used for the program's expansion. To ensure a
seamless service delivery and ease of access for families, the
office shall administer the child care purchasing pool funds.
(8) The department, in conjunction with the child care
executive partnership, shall develop procedures for disbursement of
funds through the child care purchasing pools. In order to be
considered for funding, an early learning coalition or the
department must commit to all of the following:
(a) Matching the state purchasing pool funds on a dollar-for-
dollar basis.
(b) Expending only public funds that are matched by employers,
local government, and other matching contributors who contribute to
the purchasing pool. Parents shall also pay a fee that may not be
less than the amount identified in the early learning coalition's
school readiness program sliding fee scale.
(9) Each early learning coalition shall establish a community
child care task force for each child care purchasing pool. The task
force must be composed of employers, parents, private child care
providers, and 1 representative from the local children's services
council, if a children's services council exists in the area of the
purchasing pool. The early learning coalition is expected to
recruit the task force members from existing child care councils,
commissions, or task forces already operating in the area of a
purchasing pool. A majority of the task force shall consist of
employers.
(10) Each participating early learning coalition shall develop
a plan for the use of child care purchasing pool funds. The plan
must show how many children will be served by the purchasing pool,
how many will be new to receiving child care services, and how the
early learning coalition intends to attract new employers and their
employees to the program.
Enacting section 1. This amendatory act takes effect 90 days
after the date it is enacted into law.