Page 646
House Bill No. 5506
Public Act No. 22-118 646 of 739
Sec. 459. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2022) (a) The Office of Early Childhood shall establish and administer the Start Early - Early Child Development Initiative. The office shall develop funding priorities for the initiative for early education and support services through a grant program for research and early education service providers to support the growth and enhancement of a system of high-quality early childhood care and education and support services. The office may test more than one type of intervention or type of program for young children and families, and shall track the differences in children's progress by program type. Funding under the initiative may include targeted formula grants to providers in high-need areas throughout the state to serve a cohort of children from infancy through kindergarten entrance and may include existing providers serving a cohort of children in the target community who agree to implement research- based professional development or curricular interventions that begin in the infant and toddler years. (b) The office shall establish standards for the initiative that shall include, but need not be limited to, eligibility requirements, participant requirements, program outcome metrics, data reporting requirements, evaluative methods and a formula for the distribution of grant funds for a period not less than five years. Such standards may include, but need not be limited to, guidelines for staff-child interactions, lesson plans, parental engagement, staff qualifications and training, and curriculum content, including physical, social, emotional, quantitative, executive function and preliteracy development. (c) The Commissioner of Early Childhood, or a contractor who has entered into a contract under the initiative with the commissioner, shall enter into contracts with an institution of higher education, child care center, group child care home, family child care home or staffed family child care networks to create new or support existing infant and toddler spaces and preschool spaces within the standards established by the