§ 410-Q — Child care resource and referral program services

§ 410-q. Child care resource and referral program services. 1. Each\nagency approved to receive funding pursuant to this title shall, to the\nextent funds are available for such purposes, provide the following:\n (a) Information and referral services directed at educating parents\nwho contact the agency regarding early childhood services options and\nmethods of selecting the best option for his or her child; referring\nparents or guardians to early childhood services providers; informing\nparents about the availability of financial assistance and tax credits;\nreferral for parents in coordinating part-day early childhood services\nproviders and programs to meet the full-day care needs of parents;\nreferrals for parents of preschool children with handicapping conditions\npursuant to section forty-four hundred ten of the education law and\nsection twenty-five hundred forty-two of the public health law;\nproviding written information to those who contact the agency seeking\ninformation about early childhood services; maintaining a provider\nresource file and a file of parents currently seeking early childhood\nservices; and publicizing child care resource and referral services as\nnecessary to assure that the availability of those services are known to\nthe community;\n (b) Services directed at expanding the number of available family day\ncare providers and recruiting potential providers; providing information\non licensing and registration requirements and available funding sources\nto potential early childhood services providers and programs; and\nassisting individuals or organizations to qualify as legal early\nchildhood services providers or programs by providing information on\napplicable laws and regulations relating to zoning, taxes, insurance,\ngovernment licensing or registration, and other matters of concern to\nnew providers;\n (c) Services directed at maintaining and providing information and\nresources on early childhood training and other relevant programs for\nprospective and current providers, including educating child care\nproviders not requiring a license or registration pursuant to section\nthree hundred ninety of this article with information on available\ntraining opportunities at the time of enrollment and re-enrollment;\n (d) Services directed at developing and maintaining provider data\nbases to determine service utilization and unmet needs for additional\nearly childhood services;\n (e) Assuring access to the United States department of agriculture\nchild care food program for providers in the service area;\n (f) Services directed at providing written materials and conducting\noutreach to employers to encourage their support of child care resource\nand referral services and other early childhood services; and\n (g) Each agency funded herein shall provide services in a manner\nresponsive to the cultural, linguistic and economic characteristics of\nthe community served.\n 2. Enhanced services which an agency agrees to provide pursuant to a\ncontract may include one or more of the following:\n (a) Services directed at expanding the supply of regulated care in\nareas where such care is not readily available;\n (b) Services directed at enhancing the availability and quality of\nearly childhood services which serve families with particular language,\nethnic and cultural backgrounds;\n (c) Services directed at meeting the early childhood services needs of\nchildren with special needs;\n (d) Training or technical assistance services targeted to meet\nspecific local early childhood services needs; and\n (e) Services directed at promoting, coordinating and assisting\ncollaborative efforts between early childhood services providers and\nprograms to meet the local need for full-day early childhood services.\n