237A.26 - STATEWIDE RESOURCE AND REFERRAL SERVICES -- GRANTS.
237A.26 STATEWIDE RESOURCE AND REFERRAL SERVICES --
GRANTS.
1. The department shall administer a statewide grant program for
child care resource and referral services. Grants shall only be
awarded to community-based nonprofit incorporated agencies and public
agencies. Grants shall be awarded to facilitate the establishment of
regional resource and referral agencies throughout the state, based
upon the distribution of the child population in the state.
2. The department shall provide oversight of and annually
evaluate an agency which is awarded a grant to provide resource and
referral services to a region.
3. An agency which receives a grant to provide resource and
referral services shall perform both of the following functions:
a. Organize assistance to child care homes and child
development homes utilizing training levels based upon the homes'
degrees of experience and interest.
b. Operate in partnership with both public and private
interests and coordinate resource and referral services with existing
community services.
4. An agency, to be eligible to receive a grant to provide
resource and referral services, must match the grant with financial
resources equal to at least twenty-five percent of the amount of the
grant. The financial resources may include a private donation, an
in-kind contribution, or a public funding source other than a
separate state grant for child care service improvement.
5. An agency, to be eligible to receive a grant to provide
resource and referral services, must have a board of directors if the
agency is an incorporated nonprofit agency or must have an advisory
board if the agency is a public agency, to oversee the provision of
resource and referral services. The board shall include providers,
consumers, and other persons interested in the provision or delivery
of child care services.
6. An agency which receives a child care resource and referral
grant shall provide all of the following services:
a. Assist families in selecting quality child care. The
agency must provide referrals to registered and licensed child care
facilities, and to persons providing care, supervision, and guidance
of a child which is not defined as child care under section 237A.1
and may provide referrals to unregistered providers.
b. Assist child care providers in adopting appropriate
program and business practices to provide quality child care
services.
c. Provide information to the public regarding the
availability of child care services in the communities within the
agency's region.
d. Actively encourage the development of new and expansion of
existing child care facilities in response to identified community
needs.
e. Provide specialized services to employers, including the
provision of resource and referral services to employee groups
identified by the employer and the provision of technical assistance
to develop employer-supported child care programs. The specialized
services may include but are not limited to working with employers to
identify networks of recommended registered and licensed child care
providers for employee groups and to implement employer-supported
quality improvement initiatives among the network providers.
f. Refer eligible child care facilities to the federal child
care food programs.
g. Loan toys, other equipment, and resource materials to
child care facilities.
h. Administer funding designated within the grant to provide
a substitute caregiver program for registered child development homes
to provide substitute child care in a home when the home provider is
ill, on vacation, receiving training, or is otherwise unable to
provide the care.
7. The department may contract with an agency receiving a child
care resource and referral grant to perform any of the following
functions relating to publicly funded services providing care,
supervision, and guidance of a child:
a. Determine an individual's eligibility for the services in
accordance with income requirements.
b. Administer a voucher, certificate, or other system for
reimbursing an eligible provider of the services.
8. For purposes of improving the quality and consistency of data
collection, consultation, and other support to child care home and
child development home providers, a resource and referral services
agency grantee shall coordinate and assist with publicly and
privately funded efforts administered at the community level to
provide the support. The support and efforts addressed by a grantee
may include but are not limited to community-funded child care home
and child development home consultants. Community members involved
with the assistance may include but are not limited to the efforts of
a community empowerment area board under chapter 28, and of community
representatives of education, health, human services, business,
faith, and public interests. Section History: Recent Form
90 Acts, ch 1248, § 4; 92 Acts, ch 1083, § 5; 99 Acts, ch 192,
§22; 2002 Acts, ch 1142, §23--26, 31
Referred to in § 237A.30, 256C.3