Amend CSHB 680 (house committee printing) by striking page 5, line 25, through page 7, line 18, and substituting the following:
Sec. 302.0461. CHILD CARE PROVIDER CONTRACT AGREEMENTS PILOT PROGRAM. (a) The commission shall establish a voluntary pilot program that authorizes local workforce development boards to contract with child care providers operating in the board's area to provide subsidized child care services.
(b) To be eligible for a contract with a local workforce development board participating in the pilot program under Subsection (a), a child care provider must:
(1) be a Texas Rising Star Program provider with a three-star rating or higher; and
(2) meet one of the following priorities of the commission:
(A) be located in:
(i) an area where the number of children younger than six years of age who have working parents is at least three times greater than the capacity of licensed child care providers in the area; or
(ii) an area determined by the commission to be underserved with respect to child care providers;
(B) have a partnership with a school district to provide a prekindergarten program;
(C) have a partnership with the Early Head Start or Head Start Program;
(D) increase the number of places reserved for infants and toddlers by high-quality child care providers; or
(E) satisfy a requirement in the local workforce development board's strategic plan.
(c) A local workforce development board participating in the pilot program shall determine the number of places that the board reserves in the contract with a child care provider participating in the commission's subsidized child care program.
(d) The commission shall determine:
(1) the duration of the pilot program; and
(2) the reporting requirements for a local workforce development board, including:
(A) a report to determine the effects of the pilot program on:
(i) the financial stability of the child care provider participating in the contract;
(ii) the availability of high-quality child care options for participants in the commission's subsidized child care program in the workforce development area;
(iii) the number of high-quality child care providers in any part of the workforce development area with a high concentration of families with a need for child care; and
(iv) the percentage of children participating in the commission's subsidized child care program at each Texas Rising Star Program provider in the local workforce development area; and
(B) any other information required by the commission.