Purpose of the Bill

The bill aims to support economic development by improving child care services in rural Minnesota. It seeks to allocate resources for the planning and development of child care services through the Minnesota Initiative Foundations.

Main Provisions

• Funding Allocation: The bill proposes to provide $1 million annually from the general fund and $2.5 million annually from the workforce development fund for both fiscal years 2026 and 2027. This funding will be used to distribute grants evenly to each of the Minnesota Initiative Foundations. These funds are available until June 30, 2031.
• Child Care Planning: The Minnesota Initiative Foundations will use the grant money to facilitate planning processes in rural communities to create action plans for sustaining and increasing quality child care availability. The emphasis is on involving community decision-making to bolster economic development.
• Private Sector Engagement: Encourages private investment in supporting and implementing community child care solutions, making it a key component of regional economic development strategies.
• Training and Assistance: Offers locally-based training and technical assistance to rural child care businesses. It aims to improve business operations, stabilize financial conditions, leverage outside funding, and enhance business skills to maintain quality child care services.
• Quality Improvement: The program includes initiatives to recruit child care programs to join quality improvement and rating systems. This will involve providing low-cost training, professional development, and enhanced coaching for rural providers to boost the quality and rating of child care services.

Significant Changes to Existing Law

There are no noted changes to existing law, as this bill mainly proposes new funding and initiatives to enhance child care services in rural areas through economic development strategies.

Relevant Terms

• Economic development
• Minnesota Initiative Foundations
• Rural child care planning
• Workforce development fund
• Quality child care services
• Community solution action plan
• Private sector engagement