§ 3505 — Supplemental child care grants

(a)(1)(A) The Commissioner for Children and Families may utilize up to one-half of one percent of funds appropriated for the Child Care Financial Assistance Program in a fiscal year for extraordinary financial relief to assist child care programs that are at risk of closing or not opening due to experiencing financial hardship. The Commissioner may provide extraordinary financial relief under this subdivision (A) to both licensed and registered child care programs and to child care programs that are in the process of becoming licensed or registered. The Commissioner shall develop guidelines for providing assistance and shall prioritize extraordinary financial relief to child care programs in areas of the State with high poverty and low access to high-quality child care.
(B) In order to transition children who are currently served by a child care program that is closing to a new child care program in an orderly fashion, the Commissioner may provide assistance to the existing or new program to minimize the disruption of services to the affected children.
(C) As needed to implement this subdivision (1), the Commissioner has the authority to request tax returns and other financial documents to verify a child care program’s financial hardship and its ability to sustain or increase operations.
(2) Annually on or before January 15, the Commissioner shall report to the Senate Committee on Health and Welfare and to the House Committee on Human Services regarding any funds distributed pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection. Specifically, the report shall address how funds were distributed and used. It shall also address results related to any distribution of funds.
(b) In instances in which extraordinary financial relief will not maintain ongoing access to high-quality child care, the Department for Children and Families may provide additional support to ensure access to high-quality, comprehensive child care that meets the needs of working parents in high-poverty areas of Vermont. Licensed child care programs may be considered for this additional financial support to help ensure ongoing access to high-quality child care in areas of the State where none exists, as determined by the Commissioner. Financial assistance may be granted, at the discretion of the Commissioner, if the child care program meets the following criteria:
(1) provides full-day child care year-round;
(2) serves infants and toddlers;
(3) is located in a high-poverty area without access to public transportation, as determined by the Commissioner;
(4) maintains a 5 star rating in the STep Ahead Recognition System (STARS) program;
(5) maintains a caseload in which at least 80 percent of enrollees receive a 100 percent child care subsidy; and
(6) receives child care subsidies as its primary source of program revenue. (Added 2013, No. 179 (Adj. Sess.), § E.318; amended 2015, No. 58, § E.318; 2025, No. 27, § E.318, eff. July 1, 2025.)