State sets preschool grant limits and child care safety rules

The Office of Early Childhood, working with the Department of Education, runs a grant program for preschool costs. Local and regional boards of education may apply for grants for preschool programs under their jurisdiction. Boards may receive up to $75,000 per classroom to renovate an existing public school for preschool. Annual operating grants may be up to $6,500 per child served or $97,500 per classroom. Programs must meet state standards to receive grants for up to five years. The grant program covers fiscal years ending June 30, 2025, and later. This section takes effect July 1, 2026.

Each youth camp licensee gives the Office of Early Childhood written contact information for the camp and updates it as needed. This duty applies to each person licensed to operate a youth camp. The office shares the information with the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection under an agreement for use in an emergency alert system. Alerts may cover nearby emergencies that could endanger children at a camp. These requirements take effect October 1, 2026.

The Early Childhood commissioner may deny, suspend, or revoke a family child care home license or staff approval for specified reasons. These provisions cover family child care home owners, assistants, substitute staff, certain employees, and qualifying household members. Reasons include certain convictions, criminal records the commissioner reasonably believes make someone unsuitable, failure to substantially follow regulations, or care that endangers children. For the listed household-member conviction rules, the household member must be at least 18 and live in the home. A person whose license or approval is revoked cannot reapply for one year. These licensing provisions take effect July 1, 2026.

Covered child care providers and staff complete comprehensive background checks at least once every five years; a person may ask the commissioner to waive fingerprinting for a medical condition. The rules cover defined child care providers and staff, including facility workers and certain people providing care through the child care subsidy program. Checks include criminal history, sex offender registries, and child abuse or neglect registries in states where the person lived during the previous five years. Some applicants need not repeat checks if they completed them within five years and meet the employment or separation conditions, but the commissioner may require another check sooner. If the commissioner grants a fingerprint waiver, the state conducts a criminal history check using the person's name and date of birth. These provisions take effect July 1, 2026. The five-year check cycle applies to each covered provider or staff member.

A licensed child care center or group child care home operator must notify the commissioner when they learn of a specified conviction or child abuse registry placement. This duty applies to people licensed to operate child care centers and group child care homes. The report concerns the owner, operator, or an employee in a position connected with providing care to children. Failure to report may lead to license action and a civil penalty of up to $100 per day for each day after the operator learns of the conviction or registry placement. These provisions take effect July 1, 2026. The reporting duty begins when the licensee learns of the conviction or registry placement.