(a) There is created a child care improvement pilot program to provide grants to nonprofit organizations to be used for establishing a new child care agency in this state or making improvements to, or assisting with staffing, recruitment, or salary gaps, at an existing child care agency in this state. The program must be operated from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2026.

Terms Used In Tennessee Code 71-3-520

  • agency: means and only where the context requires in any other provision of law, a place or facility, regardless of whether it is currently licensed, that is operated as a family child care home, a group child care home, a child care center, or a drop-in center, as those terms are defined in this part, or that provides child care for five (5) or more children who are not related to the primary caregiver for three (3) or more hours per day. See Tennessee Code 71-3-501
  • Child care: means the provision of supervision and protection, and, at a minimum, meeting the basic needs, of a child or children for less than twenty-four (24) hours a day. See Tennessee Code 71-3-501
  • Commissioner: means the chief administrative officer in charge of the department of human services. See Tennessee Code 71-3-501
  • Department: means the department of human services. See Tennessee Code 71-3-501
  • Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
  • Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • written: includes printing, typewriting, engraving, lithography, and any other mode of representing words and letters. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Year: means a calendar year, unless otherwise expressed. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b) There is created within the state general fund a special account to be known as the child care improvement fund (the fund).
(c) The department of human services shall administer the fund, and moneys in the fund must be expended and obligated only in accordance with this section and in accordance with appropriations made by the general assembly.
(d) Unless otherwise specified in this section, moneys deposited in the fund must be used only to implement and administer the purposes set forth in this section. In addition to appropriations made to the fund, the department may accept other funds, public or private, by way of gift or grant to the fund. A gift or grant must be deposited into the fund to be expended in accordance with this section.
(e) The state treasurer shall invest moneys in the fund for the benefit of the fund in accordance with § 9-4-603. Interest accruing on investments and deposits of the fund must be credited to and remain part of the fund.
(f) Any unencumbered moneys and any unexpended balance of the fund remaining at the end of a fiscal year do not revert to the general fund, but must be carried forward until expended in accordance with this section. No part of the fund shall be diverted to the general fund or any other public fund.
(g) All expenditures from the fund are subject to review in the form of a written report submitted by the department to the commissioner of finance and administration no later than January 15, 2024, and by January 15 each year thereafter until the close of the pilot program period.
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