Revision: March 8, 2023, 11:44 a.m.
Health and Human Services
March 8, 2023
2023-0846s
06/10
Amendment to SB 237-FN
Amend the bill by replacing section 4 with the following:
4 New Sections; Department of Health and Human Services. Amend RSA 126-A by inserting after section 17-a the following new sections:
126-A:17-b Child Care Workforce Fund and Child Care Workforce Recruitment and Retention Program Established.
I. There is hereby established in the state treasury a child care workforce fund to finance recruitment and retention bonus and benefit grants for eligible New Hampshire child care employers. The fund shall be nonlapsing and continually appropriated to the department of health and human services for the purposes of this section. The state treasurer shall invest the moneys deposited in the fund as provided by law. Interest earned on moneys deposited in the fund shall be deposited into the fund.
II. The department of health and human services, in consultation with the advisory council on child care established in RSA 126-A:17 and the governor's council for thriving children as established in executive order 2020-03, shall designate an entity to administer grants to eligible New Hampshire child care employers and to manage and implement the recruitment and retention program.
III. The amount of annual grants to child care employers for the purposes of staff retention and recruitment shall be determined by the department after all applications have been approved. The flexible funding shall be disbursed by the employer in any of the following ways:
(a) Deposit into an eligible, tax-advantaged health savings account or flexible spending account;
(b) Mentor credentialing and support networks for mentors;
(c) Sign-on and/or retention incentives and/or wage increases;
(d) Professional costs such as training hours, CPR, or memberships in professional organizations;
(e) Child care tuition assistance;
(f) Credit towards the employee’s share of the cost of their health insurance plan;
(g) Paid time off equivalent;
(h) Child care tuition discount;
(i) Student loan repayment;
(j) Telemedicine coverage; or
(k) Payment towards a physical, first-aid certification, CPR certification, background check, or other credential required for the child care position.
IV. Eligibility for a grant from the child care workforce fund shall be as follows:
(a) Eligible child care programs shall be:
(1) Child care programs operating in New Hampshire with an active child care license or that are license-exempt and enrolled in the department of health and human services child care scholarship program. These programs shall include those who serve children from birth through age 12 and are also referred to as center-based, family-based, early childhood education, early learning, outside of school time, before and after school, and summer camp programs; and
(2) Non-profit and privately-owned center-based and family-based child care programs.
(b) If grant application requests exceed available funding, preference shall be given to eligible child care programs which are:
(1) Enrolled in New Hampshire's child care scholarship program; and
(2) Connected to the work of their related early childhood regional network, as determined by the department.
(c) Child care programs enrolled in or in preparation to enroll in the granite steps for quality system are eligible for the additional benefits described in this section in recognition of their extra effort and commitment to continuous quality improvement.
VI. The department of health and human services shall adopt rules under RSA 541-A relative to the duties of the entity designated in paragraph II of this section.
VII. The department of health and human services shall incorporate in its biennial appropriation request pursuant to RSA 9:4 an amount necessary to fully fund the child care workforce fund grant program established in this section.
126-A:17-c Regional Fingerprinting Support Program Established.
I. There is hereby established in the state treasury a regional fingerprinting support program workforce fund to support child care employers and staff during the pendency of background checks as outlined in the state’s plan for strengthening child care. The fund shall be nonlapsing and continually appropriated to the department of health and human services for the purposes of this section. The state treasurer shall invest the moneys deposited in the fund as provided by law. Interest earned on moneys deposited in the fund shall be deposited into the fund.
II. The department of health and human services shall administer grants to eligible child care employers.
III. The department of health and human services shall develop the grant program terms and implement the regional fingerprinting support program by August 31, 2023.
Amend the bill by replacing section 6 with the following:
I. The sum of $1 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2024 and the sum of $1 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025 are hereby appropriated to the department of health and human services for the purpose of the administration, management, and implementation of child care workforce fund established in RSA 126-A:17-b. The governor shall determine if any discretionary funds appropriated in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, Public Law 117-2, or any other federal funds, can be used for this purpose, and the department shall use such federal funds for this purpose. Any remainder shall be appropriated from the general fund. Funds appropriated under this paragraph shall be nonlapsing. The governor is authorized to draw a warrant for the general fund portion of such sum from any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated.
II. The sum of $250,000 fiscal year ending June 30, 2024, and $250,000 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025 are hereby appropriated to the department of health and human services for the purpose of the administration, management, and implementation of regional fingerprinting support fund established in RSA 126-A:17-c. The governor shall determine if any discretionary funds appropriated in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, Public Law 117-2, or any other federal funds, can be used for this purpose, and the department shall use such federal funds for this purpose. Any remainder shall be appropriated from the general fund. Funds appropriated under this paragraph shall be nonlapsing. The governor is authorized to draw a warrant for the general fund portion of such sum from any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated.
III. The sum of $7 million for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2024, and $7 million for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025 are hereby appropriated to the department of health and human services for the purpose of the administration, management, and implementation of the employment program and family assistance program fund established in RSA 167:83. The governor shall determine if any discretionary funds appropriated in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, Public Law 117-2, or any other federal funds, can be used for this purpose, and the department shall use such federal funds for this purpose. Any remainder shall be appropriated from the general fund. Funds appropriated under this paragraph shall be nonlapsing. The governor is authorized to draw a warrant for the general fund portion of such sum from any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated.
IV.(a) The sum of $1,250,000 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2024, and the sum of $1,250,000 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, are hereby appropriated to the community college system of New Hampshire for the purpose of providing scholarships and program support for early childhood education programs. Such sums shall be nonlapsing, continually appropriated, and shall be in addition to any other amounts appropriated to the community college system of New Hampshire. Not more than 5 percent of the appropriated funds shall be used for program administration, with the remainder being distributed as scholarships, program support, and student support to increase the number of early childhood education graduates from the community college system. The governor is authorized to draw a warrant for said sums out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated.
(b) The chancellor of the community college system shall submit a report end the end of each fiscal year of the biennium ending June 30, 2025 to the governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, and the president of the senate on the use of appropriated funds, enrollment data, and graduation data for early childhood education programs, no later than July 1, 2024 and July 1, 2025.