By Villarreal H.B. No. 2781 77R6262 KLA-D A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1-1 AN ACT 1-2 relating to a grant program for local workforce development boards 1-3 to design and implement child-care demonstration projects. 1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-5 SECTION 1. Subchapter D, Chapter 301, Labor Code, is amended 1-6 by adding Section 301.069 to read as follows: 1-7 Sec. 301.069. CHILD-CARE DEMONSTRATION PROJECT GRANTS. (a) 1-8 The commission shall make grants available on a one-time basis to 1-9 local workforce development boards to enable the boards to design 1-10 and implement child-care demonstration projects. The commission 1-11 shall make at least 12 but not more than 16 grants available and 1-12 shall award the grants through a competitive bidding process. 1-13 (b) A local workforce development board that receives a 1-14 grant under this section shall use the grant to design and 1-15 implement a demonstration project that: 1-16 (1) expands child-care services in underserved rural 1-17 local workforce development areas, including: 1-18 (A) home-based child-care services; 1-19 (B) child-care services at nontraditional times, 1-20 including services that accommodate the child-care needs of parents 1-21 who work shift-schedules, evenings, and weekends; and 1-22 (C) services to link child-care programs, 1-23 prekindergarten programs under Subchapter E, Chapter 29, Education 1-24 Code, and the federal Head Start program; 2-1 (2) creates or expands existing pilot programs based 2-2 on demonstrated models, including the North Carolina T.E.A.C.H. 2-3 project, that provide strategies for successfully recruiting and 2-4 retaining child-care providers; 2-5 (3) creates pilot programs designed to assist 2-6 low-income, at-risk parents receiving child-care services provided 2-7 by the commission with career counseling and locating employment 2-8 with the potential for career advancement; and 2-9 (4) develops initiatives that foster school readiness 2-10 in young children and encourage pre-reading and problem-solving 2-11 skills in those children. 2-12 (c) To be eligible for a grant under this section, a local 2-13 workforce development board must: 2-14 (1) conduct the demonstration project for which the 2-15 grant is made: 2-16 (A) for a period of at least 12 but not more 2-17 than 24 months on an annual budget of not more than $400,000; and 2-18 (B) in a manner that allows replication of the 2-19 project in whole or part by other local workforce development 2-20 boards to address similar child-care service needs in underserved 2-21 local workforce development areas; and 2-22 (2) use the grant to directly provide child-care 2-23 services that, at the conclusion of the demonstration project, will 2-24 be funded through existing local workforce development board 2-25 resources for child-care services or other local resources. 2-26 SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.