1.Thestateboardshalldevelopandpromoteaschoolreadychildrengrantprogramwhich
shall provide for all of the following components:
a.Identify the performance measures that will be used to assess the effectiveness of
the school ready children grants, including the amount of early intellectual stimulation of
very young children, the basic skill levels of students entering school, the health status of
children, the incidence of child abuse and neglect, the level of involvement by parents with
their children, and the degree of quality of an accessibility to child care.
b.Identify guidelines and a process to be used for determining the readiness of an early
childhood Iowa area board for administering a school ready children grant.
c.Providefortechnicalassistanceconcerningfundingsources,programde
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1. Thestateboardshalldevelopandpromoteaschoolreadychildrengrantprogramwhich
shall provide for all of the following components:
a. Identify the performance measures that will be used to assess the effectiveness of
the school ready children grants, including the amount of early intellectual stimulation of
very young children, the basic skill levels of students entering school, the health status of
children, the incidence of child abuse and neglect, the level of involvement by parents with
their children, and the degree of quality of an accessibility to child care.
b. Identify guidelines and a process to be used for determining the readiness of an early
childhood Iowa area board for administering a school ready children grant.
c. Providefortechnicalassistanceconcerningfundingsources,programdesign,andother
pertinent areas.
2. The state board shall provide maximum flexibility to grantees for the use of the grant
moneys included in a school ready children grant, including but not limited to authorizing an
area board to use grant moneys to pay for regular audits required pursuant to section 256I.5,
subsection 1, if moneys distributed to an area board for administrative costs are insufficient
to pay for the required audits.
3. A school ready children grant shall, to the extent possible, be used to support programs
that meet quality standards identified by the state board. At a minimum, a grant shall be used
to provide all of the following:
a. Preschool services provided on a voluntary basis to children deemed at risk.
b. (1) Family support services promoted to parents of children from zero through age
five. Family support services shall include but are not limited to home visitation and parent
education. Of the state funding that an area board designates for family support programs,
at least sixty percent shall be committed to programs with a home visitation component.
(2) Itistheintentofthegeneralassemblythatpriorityforfamilysupportprogramfunding
be given to programs using evidence-based or promising models for family support.
c. Other services to support the strategic plan developed by the state board.
d. Services to improve the quality and availability of all types of child care.
4. a. A school ready children grant shall be awarded to an area board annually, as
funding is available. Receipt of continued funding is subject to submission of the required
annual report data and the state board’s determination that the area board is making
progress, through the use of specific, quantifiable performance measures and locally
identified community-wide indicators, toward achieving the desired results and other results
identifiedinthecommunityplan. Eachareaboardshallparticipateinthedesignationprocess
§256I.9, EARLY CHILDHOOD IOWA INITIATIVE 8
to measure the area’s success. If the use of performance measures and community-wide
indicators does not show that an area board has made progress toward achieving the results
identified in the community plan, the state board shall require a plan of corrective action,
provide technical assistance, withhold any increase in funding, or withdraw grant funding.
b. The state board shall distribute school ready children grant moneys to area boards with
approvedcomprehensivecommunityplansbaseduponadeterminationofanearlychildhood
Iowa area’s designation.
c. Anareaboard’sdesignationshallbedeterminedbyevidenceofsuccessfulcollaboration
among public and private early care, education, health, and human services interests in
the area or a documented program design that supports a strong likelihood of a successful
collaboration between these interests.
d. The provisions for distribution of school ready children grant moneys shall be
determined by the state board.
e. The amount of school ready children grant funding an area board may carry forward
from one fiscal year to the succeeding fiscal year shall not exceed twenty percent of the grant
amount for the fiscal year. All of the school ready children grant funds received by an area
board for a fiscal year which remain unencumbered or unobligated at the close of a fiscal
year shall be carried forward to the succeeding fiscal year. However, the grant amount for
the succeeding fiscal year shall be reduced by the amount in excess of twenty percent of the
grant amount received for the fiscal year.