§ 20-78-205 - Division of Child Care and Early Childhood Education.
20-78-205. Division of Child Care and Early Childhood Education.
(a) (1) There is created the Division of Child Care and Early Childhood Education within the Department of Human Services. In creating the division, the General Assembly intends for the following to be maintained and enhanced:
(A) Coordination of existing early childhood education and child care programs;
(B) Placement of children in quality early childhood programs which support their development and readiness for school;
(C) Development of new child care services under welfare reform which promote the developmental needs of children receiving transitional employment assistance benefits or other forms of public assistance;
(D) Quality program standards for all early childhood and child care programs;
(E) State support for early childhood and child care programs to attain quality program standards;
(F) Economic and cultural integration of children in early childhood programs;
(G) Access to additional support services for early childhood and child care programs, such as health care and nutrition services;
(H) Career development opportunities for early childhood program staff;
(I) On-going interagency planning and collaboration in regard to early childhood and child care;
(J) Parent support and education in choosing appropriate early childhood programs for their children; and
(K) State support for local leadership, program innovation, and excellence in early childhood and care programs.
(b) The division shall have the following duties:
(1) Administration of the Child Care and Development Block Grant and other child care funds, state and federal, that are available to the Department of Human Services;
(2) Administration of Arkansas Better Chance Program, under interagency agreement with the Department of Education;
(3) Administration of the Special Nutrition Program;
(4) Establishment and promulgation of rules to be approved by the Arkansas Early Childhood Commission setting standards governing the granting, revocation, refusal, and suspension of licenses for a child care facility and the operation of child care facilities in this state, as defined by 20-78-202;
(5) Staff support for the operation of the commission;
(6) Provide consultative resources for the private sector in developing child care programs;
(7) Provide consultative resources for the private sector in developing child care facilities;
(8) Solicit grant funds for exemplary early childhood and child care programs; and
(9) Administration of the birth through prekindergarten teaching credential and the promulgation of rules to implement the teaching credential program under 20-78-801 et seq.
(c) No later than October 1, 1998, an appropriate subcommittee of the Joint Budget Committee shall be designated to perform a comprehensive review of the division to determine whether the creation of the division within the Department of Human Services has been consistent with legislative intent. The review shall be conducted with advice from the Senate Committee on Children and Youth, the House Subcommittee on Children and Youth of the House Committee on Aging, Children and Youth, Legislative and Military Affairs, the House Committee on Education, and the Senate Committee on Education. The subcommitee shall forward a recommendation to the Governor and the Joint Budget Committee, and a determination of the status of the division shall be made prior to the 1999 General Assembly.
(d) (1) In addition to any other rights, powers, functions, and duties granted by law to the division, the Department of Human Services is hereby authorized to promote and cooperate in the establishment of a foundation under the Arkansas nonprofit corporation law and to accept support and assistance in the form of money, property, or otherwise from the foundation to be used to enhance quality, affordability, and availability of child care and early education for all children in the state.
(2) If a foundation is established for the early care and education of children and if the Department of Human Services shares resources or facilities with the foundation or accepts support and assistance from the foundation, the foundation shall file annually a report with the Governor, the Legislative Council, and the Legislative Joint Auditing Committee showing the amount and source of all gifts, grants, and donations of money or property received by the foundation and all expenditures or other dispositions of money or property by the foundation during the preceding year.
(3) After consultation with the commission, the Director of the Division of Child Care and Early Childhood Education shall prepare rules for the use of foundation funds. The director shall submit the proposed rules to the Legislative Council for its review.
(4) No person over whom the Department of Human Services has day-to-day managerial control shall receive compensation or remuneration from funds not in the State Treasury.