(a) In this section, “child” means an individual who is under the age of 19 years at any time during a calendar year.
(b) (1) Subject to subsections (e) and (f) of this section, if a household includes an individual who receives a federally funded benefit under the food supplement program, the State shall provide matching funds to a county to supplement benefits received under § 5–501 of this subtitle for each child in the household.
(2) For each child in the household, the combined State and county supplement under paragraph (1) of this subsection shall equal at least:
(i) $30 per month in the months of June, July, and August; and
(ii) $10 in the month of December.
(c) (1) A supplement provided under subsection (b)(2)(i) of this section shall be added to the household food supplement program benefit account in June, July, and August.
(2) A supplement provided under subsection (b)(2)(ii) of this section shall be added to the household food supplement program benefit account in December.
(d) A household may not receive more than one supplement per child under subsection (b) of this section.
(e) (1) (i) To receive funding in the following fiscal year for the supplements under subsection (b) of this section, a county shall submit an application to the Department on or before the date established by the Department.
(ii) The application shall include the following information:
1. the number of program participants to be served;
2. the county’s commitment to conducting an evaluation to assess the effectiveness of the program;
3. certification of the availability of local share funds; and
4. any other relevant information required by the Department.
(2) (i) On or before the date established by the Department, the Department shall notify each county that submitted a complete application of the amount of funding available in the next fiscal year for supplements under subsection (b) of this section.
(ii) Receipt of available funding under subparagraph (i) of this paragraph is contingent on approval by the Department of a county’s final plan submitted in accordance with paragraph (3) of this subsection.
(3) On or before the date established by the Department, a county that is notified of available funding shall submit a final plan to the Department that includes:
(i) a communication plan, coordinated with the Department, to inform eligible families of the food supplement program and the supplements available under this section;
(ii) if funding is not sufficient to provide a minimum supplement of $100 to all children in the county receiving food supplement program benefits in the fiscal year, a designation of which children will be eligible to receive the supplements under this section;
(iii) the criteria used to determine eligibility under item (ii) of this paragraph; and
(iv) an evaluation plan to measure:
1. the impact of the supplements on recipients;
2. food supplement program participation; and
3. any other relevant information required by the Department.
(4) (i) The Department shall review a final plan submitted under paragraph (3) of this subsection and approve or reject the final plan.
(ii) The Department shall notify a county of its decision under subparagraph (i) of this paragraph on or before April 1.
(iii) If the Department rejects a county’s final plan, the county may submit a revised final plan for approval on or before April 15.
(iv) If the Department approves a county’s final plan, the Department shall certify the amount of funding that will be provided for the county in the following fiscal year.
(5) Each county with an approved final plan shall be awarded funding in accordance with subsection (f) of this section.
(f) (1) The State and local shares of funding required for a county with an approved final plan shall be equal to the State and local share percentages established by the State and local cost–share formula for that county required under § 5–303(d)(3)(i) of the Education Article.
(2) (i) Except as provided in subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph, in each fiscal year, the Department shall provide the State share of funds for each county with an approved final plan for the fiscal year in an amount equal to the product of:
1. the total amount of funds appropriated under subsection (g) of this section; and
2. the number of children in households that receive a federal benefit under the food supplement program in the county, divided by the total number of children in households that receive a federal benefit under the food supplement program in all counties with an approved final plan.
(ii) The amount of funds provided to a county under subparagraph (i) of this paragraph may not be greater than the State share amount that corresponds to the maximum available local share funds certified under subsection (e)(1)(ii)3 of this section.
(3) (i) A county may provide funding in addition to the funding required under paragraph (1) of this subsection to increase the number of supplements provided in the county.
(ii) Funding provided by a county under subparagraph (i) of this paragraph may not affect the amount of funding the Department is required to provide under paragraph (2) of this subsection.
(g) Subject to the State budget, the Department may use the funding the State is required to provide under subsection (b)(1) of this section to:
(1) provide funds to a county to supplement benefits; and
(2) offset administrative costs of the federal Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer Program.