2005 Connecticut Code - Sec. 8-210. State financial assistance for the planning, construction, renovation, site preparation and purchase of property for neighborhood facilities, including child day care facilities. Guidelines for state-contracted child care center programs.

      Sec. 8-210. State financial assistance for the planning, construction, renovation, site preparation and purchase of property for neighborhood facilities, including child day care facilities. Guidelines for state-contracted child care center programs. (a) The state, acting by and in the discretion of the Commissioner of Social Services, may enter into a contract with a municipality or a qualified private, nonprofit corporation for state financial assistance for the planning, construction, renovation, site preparation and purchase of improved or unimproved property as part of a capital development project for neighborhood facilities. Such facilities may include, but are not limited to, child day care facilities, elderly centers, multipurpose human resource centers, emergency shelters for the homeless and shelters for victims of domestic violence. The financial assistance shall be in the form of state grants-in-aid equal to (1) all or any portion of the cost of such capital development project if the grantee is a qualified private nonprofit corporation or (2) up to two-thirds of the cost of such capital development project if the grantee is a municipality, as determined by the commissioner.

      (b) The state, acting by and in the discretion of the Commissioner of Social Services, may enter into a contract with a municipality, a human resource development agency or a nonprofit corporation for state financial assistance in developing and operating child day care centers for children disadvantaged by reasons of economic, social or environmental conditions, provided no such financial assistance shall be available for the operating costs of any such day care center unless it has been licensed by the Commissioner of Public Health pursuant to section 19a-80. Such financial assistance shall be available for a program of a municipality, of a human resource development agency or of a nonprofit corporation which may provide for personnel, equipment, supplies, activities, program materials and renovation and remodeling of physical facilities of such day care centers. Such contract shall provide for state financial assistance, within available appropriations, in the form of a state grant-in-aid (1) for a portion of the cost of such program as determined by the Commissioner of Social Services, if not federally assisted, or (2) equal to one-half of the amount by which the net cost of such program as approved by the commissioner exceeds the federal grant-in-aid thereof. The Commissioner of Social Services may authorize child day care centers provided financial assistance pursuant to this subsection to apply a program surplus to the next program year. The commissioner shall consult with directors of child day care centers in establishing fees for the operation of such centers.

      (c) The Department of Social Services, in consultation with representatives from child care centers, within available appropriations, shall develop guidelines for state-contracted child care center programs. The guidelines shall include standards for program quality and design and identify short and long-term outcomes for families participating in such programs. The Department of Social Services, within available appropriations, shall provide a copy of such guidelines to each state-contracted child care center. Each state-contracted child care center shall use the guidelines to develop a program improvement plan for the next twelve-month period and shall submit the plan to the department. The plan shall include goals to be used for measuring such improvement. The department shall use the plan to monitor the progress of the center.

      (d) The state, acting by and in the discretion of the commissioner may enter into a contract with a municipality, a human resource development agency or a nonprofit corporation for state financial assistance for a project of renovation of any child day care facility receiving assistance pursuant to the provisions of this section, to make such facility accessible to the physically disabled, in the form of a state grant-in-aid equal to (1) the total net cost of the project as approved by the commissioner or (2) the total amount by which the net cost of the project as approved by the commissioner exceeds the federal grant-in-aid thereof.

      (e) Any municipality, human resource development agency or nonprofit corporation which enters into a contract pursuant to this section for state financial assistance for a day care facility shall have sole responsibility for the development of the budget of the day care program, including, but not limited to, personnel costs, purchases of equipment, supplies, activities and program materials, within the resources provided by the state under said contract. Upon local determination of a change in the type of day care service required in the area, a municipality, human resource development agency or nonprofit corporation may, within the limits of its annual budget and subject to the provisions of this subsection and sections 19a-77 to 19a-80, inclusive, and 19a-82 to 19a-87a, inclusive, change its day care service. An application to change the type of child day care service provided shall be submitted to the Commissioner of Social Services. Within forty-five days of his receipt of the application, the commissioner shall advise the municipality, human resource development agency or nonprofit corporation of his approval, denial or approval with modifications of the application. If the commissioner fails to act on the application within forty-five days of its submittal, the application shall be deemed approved.

      (f) The Commissioner of Social Services may in his discretion with the approval of the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management authorize the expenditure of such funds for the purposes of this section as shall enable the Commissioner of Social Services to apply for, qualify for and provide the state's share of a federally assisted day care program.

      (1967, P.A. 522, S. 13; 768, S. 1, 3; 1969, P.A. 588, S. 3, 4; 772, S. 1; 1972, P.A. 198, S. 1; P.A. 73-420; P.A. 74-289, S. 1, 2; P.A. 77-614, S. 323, 531, 610; P.A. 78-73, S. 1-3; P.A. 84-454, S. 1, 3; P.A. 86-417, S. 1, 15; P.A. 87-344; P.A. 91-371, S. 2, 4; P.A. 93-262, S. 1, 87; 93-381, S. 9, 39; P.A. 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58; 95-360, S. 17, 32; P.A. 97-259, S. 20, 41; P.A. 98-252, S. 2, 3, 80.)

      History: 1969 acts amended Subsec. (b) to require that aid be given only to day care centers licensed by commissioner of health; and amended Subsec. (a) to include assistance for child day care facilities, deleted requirement that projects be approved by Department of Housing and Urban development and split grants-in-aid into two categories; 1972 act allowed grant-in-aid for eighty per cent, rather than two-thirds, of cost of non-federally-assisted program; P.A. 73-420 amended Subsec. (b) to clarify that provision re aid given only to centers licensed by health commissioner applies to aid for operating costs and added Subsec. (d); P.A. 74-289 amended Subsec. (a) to include contracts with human resource development agencies; P.A. 77-614 substituted commissioner of health services for commissioner of health, secretary of the office of policy and management for commissioner of finance and control and commissioner of human resources for commissioner of social services, specified that references to "commissioner" refer to commissioner of human resources rather than to commissioner of community affairs as before and amended Subsec. (c) to delete provision for transfer of community affairs department funds at request of social services commissioner, effective January 1, 1979; P.A. 78-73 inserted new Subsec. (c) re renovations to allow access for physically disabled and relettered remaining Subsecs. accordingly; P.A. 84-454 amended Subsec. (b) by adding that financial assistance be provided "within available appropriations" and by changing Subdiv. (1) of Subsec. (b) from a grant-in-aid equal to "eighty per cent of the net cost of a day care center program of the municipality or a human resource development agency as approved by the commissioner" to "for a portion of the cost of such program as determined by the commissioner of human resources"; P.A. 86-417 inserted new Subsec. (d) setting forth policy applicable to municipalities or human resource development agencies which receive state financial assistance for day care facilities, relettering previously existing Subsecs. as necessary, and made technical changes; P.A. 87-344 deleted Subsec. (f) on the recoupment of funds and replaced the existing language in Subsec. (a) which provided for a contract with a municipality or a "human resource development agency" and limited the amount of the grant to two-thirds of the net cost of the project or where the project is assisted by the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, one-half the amount by which the net cost of the project exceeds the federal grant; P.A. 91-371 added provision in Subsec. (b) authorizing child day care centers to apply a surplus to the next program year and allowing such centers to establish fees for their operation; P.A. 93-262 authorized substitution of commissioner and department of social services for commissioner and department of human resources, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 93-381 replaced commissioner of health services with commissioner of public health and addiction services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with Commissioner and Department of Public Health, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 95-360 substituted reference to Sec. 19a-82 for Sec. 19a-81 in Subsec. (d), effective July 13, 1995; P.A. 97-259 added provisions for contracts with nonprofit corporations, added new Subsec. (c) re guidelines for state-contracted child care center programs and redesignated existing Subsecs. (c) to (e) as Subsecs. (d) to (f), effective July 1, 1997; P.A. 98-252 amended Subsecs. (b) and (e) to make technical changes, effective July 1, 1998.

      See Sec. 8-222b re municipal powers with respect to child day care and neighborhood facilities under this section.

      See Sec. 8-226 re use of prior bond proceeds for purposes of this section.