History: P.A. 85-558 increased the bond authorization limit from three hundred fifty thousand dollars to four hundred
fifty thousand dollars; P.A. 86-396 increased bond authorization from four hundred fifty thousand dollars to nine hundred
fifty thousand dollars; P.A. 87-405 increased the bond authorization from nine hundred fifty thousand dollars to one million
three hundred twenty-five thousand dollars; P.A. 88-343 increased the bond authorization from one million three hundred
twenty-five thousand dollars to three million three hundred twenty-five thousand dollars; P.A. 89-331 increased the bond
authorization from three million three hundred twenty-five thousand dollars to four million three hundred twenty-five
thousand dollars; P.A. 90-297 decreased the bond authorization from four million three hundred twenty-five thousand
dollars to four million two hundred seventy-five thousand dollars; Sec. 17-31y transferred to Sec. 17-593 in 1991; May
Sp. Sess. P.A. 92-7 amended Subsec. (a) to increase the bond authorization from four million two hundred seventy-five
thousand dollars to five million two hundred seventy-five thousand dollars and amended Subsec. (b) to provide for the
signing of the request for authorization by the secretary of the office of policy and management rather than the commissioner
of human resources; P.A. 93-262 authorized substitution of commissioner and department of social services for commissioner and department of human resources, effective July 1, 1993; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 93-1 amended Subsec. (a) to increase
bond authorization from five million two hundred seventy-five thousand dollars, to five million seven hundred seventy-five thousand dollars, effective July 1, 1993; Sec. 17-593 transferred to Sec. 17b-735 in 1995; P.A. 99-241 amended Subsec.
(a) to increase authorization from $5,775,000 to $7,775,000, effective July 1, 1999, provided $1,000,000 is effective July 1,
2000; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 05-5 amended Subsec. (a) to decrease the aggregate authorization from $7,775,000 to $6,024,798,
effective July 1, 2005.
Sec. 17b-749c. Supplemental quality enhancement grant program. (a) The
Commissioner of Social Services, in consultation with the Commissioner of Education,
shall establish a program, within available appropriations, to provide, on a competitive
basis, supplemental quality enhancement grants to providers of child day care services
or providers of school readiness programs pursuant to section 10-16p and section 10-16u. Child day care providers and school readiness programs may apply for a supplemental quality enhancement grant at such time and on such form as the Commissioner of
Social Services prescribes.
(b) Priority for such grants shall be given to programs that are: (1) Included in a
local school readiness plan; (2) full-day, year-round programs; and (3) accredited, as
defined in subdivision (4) of subsection (a) of section 10-16p.
(c) The grants shall be used to:
(1) Help providers who are not accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children to obtain such accreditation;
(2) Help directors and administrators to obtain training;
(3) Provide comprehensive services, such as enhanced access to health care, a health
consultant, a mental health consultant, nutrition, family support services, parent education, literacy and parental involvement, and community and home outreach programs;
and provide information concerning access when needed to a speech and language therapist;
(4) Purchase educational equipment;
(5) Provide scholarships for training to obtain a credential in early childhood education or child development;
(6) Provide training for persons who are mentor teachers, as defined in federal regulations for the Head Start program, and provide a family service coordinator or a family
service worker as such positions are defined in such federal regulations;
(7) Repair fire, health and safety problems in existing facilities and conduct minor
remodeling to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act; train child care providers on injury and illness prevention; and achieve compliance with national safety standards;
(8) Create a supportive network with family day care homes and other providers of
care for children;
(9) Provide for educational consultation and staff development;
(10) Provide for program quality assurance personnel;
(11) Provide technical assistance services to enable providers to develop child care
facilities pursuant to sections 17b-749g, 17b-749h and 17b-749i;
(12) Establish a single point of entry system;
(13) Provide services that enhance the quality of programs to maximize the health,
safety and learning of children from birth to three years of age, inclusive, including, but
not limited to, those children served by informal child care arrangements. Such grants
may be used for the improvement of staff to child ratios and interaction, initiatives
to promote staff retention, preliteracy development, parent involvement, curriculum
content and lesson plans.
(P.A. 97-259, S. 7, 41; P.A. 99-230, S. 7, 10; P.A. 00-187, S. 6, 12, 75; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-1, S. 16, 54; P.A. 05-245, S. 4.)
History: P.A. 97-259 effective July 1, 1997; P.A. 99-230 amended Subsec. (c) to add Subdivs. (8) to (10), inclusive,
re educational consultation and staff development, program quality assurance personnel and technical assistance, effective
July 1, 1999; P.A. 00-187 amended Subsec. (a) to add reference to Sec. 10-16u and amended Subsec. (c) to add Subdiv.
(11) re single point of entry system, effective July 1, 2000; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-1 amended Subsec. (c) to renumber
existing Subdivs. (2) to (11) as Subdivs. (3) to (12), to add new Subdiv. (2) re training, in Subdiv. (3) to add provisions re
health consultant and information on access to a speech and language specialist, and in Subdiv. (7) to add provisions re
training on injury and illness prevention and achieving compliance with national safety standards, effective July 1, 2001;
P.A. 05-245 amended Subsec. (c) by adding "a mental health consultant" in Subdiv. (3), by replacing language re associate
certificate with language re credential in Subdiv. (5), by adding language re other providers of care in Subdiv. (8) and by
adding new Subdiv. (13) re services to enhance quality of programs, effective July 1, 2005.
Sec. 17b-749k. Criminal history records checks and child abuse registry
checks for purposes of child care subsidy program. Refusal to provide payments.
(a) The Commissioner of Social Services shall, within available appropriations, require
any person, other than a relative, providing child care services to a child in the child's
home who receives a child care subsidy from the Department of Social Services to
submit to state and national criminal history records checks. The criminal history records
checks required pursuant to this subsection shall be conducted in accordance with section
29-17a. The commissioner shall also request a check of the state child abuse registry
established pursuant to section 17a-101k.
(b) The Commissioner of Social Services shall have the discretion to refuse payments for child care under any financial assistance program administered by him if the
person providing such child care has been convicted in this state or any other state of a
felony, as defined in section 53a-25, involving the use, attempted use or threatened use
of physical force against another person, of cruelty to persons under section 53-20, injury
or risk of injury to or impairing morals of children under section 53-21, abandonment of
children under the age of six years under section 53-23 or any felony where the victim
of the felony is a child under eighteen years of age, or of a violation of section 53a-70,
53a-70a, 53a-70b, 53a-71, 53a-72a, 53a-72b or 53a-73a, or has a criminal record or was
the subject of a substantiated report of child abuse in this state or any other state that the
commissioner reasonably believes renders the person unsuitable to provide child care.
(P.A. 97-259, S. 38, 41; P.A. 01-175, S. 11, 32; P.A. 03-243, S. 9; P.A. 05-207, S. 7.)
History: P.A. 97-259 effective July 1, 1997; P.A. 01-175 amended Subsec. (a) by replacing language re criminal records
checks as a permissive request with language re mandatory state and national criminal history records checks pursuant to
Sec. 29-17a, deleting language re fee and making technical changes, effective July 1, 2001; P.A. 03-243 amended Subsec.
(a) by adding "for perpetrator information"; P.A. 05-207 amended Subsec. (a) to delete requirement that commissioner
check state child abuse registry for perpetrator information.