Contracts with licensed child development centers; payment for services.

(a) The Department shall, on an annual basis, enter into contracts or agreements with licensed child development centers to provide day care services for children described in § 4-404.01 . Payment for such services shall be on the following basis:

(1) Subject to subsections (b) through (h) of this section, payments to child development centers for care of these children shall be made on a monthly basis according to the following rates:

(A) For full care other than that provided under subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, child development centers shall receive $18 per day for each child, plus $1 per day for each child to whom the child development center provides transportation.

(B) For full care provided only during summers and vacations to children who otherwise do not receive care under this section or who otherwise receive only part-time care, child development centers shall receive $14.40 per day for each child.

(C) For part-time care, child development centers shall receive $9 per day for each child.

(2) No child development center shall be paid more than its stated rate prior to the application of its sliding fee scale for children not eligible for subsidized care.

(3) The Mayor, pursuant to subchapter I of Chapter 5 of Title 2 , shall issue rules to establish differentiated payment rates for child development centers that reflect variations in the costs of providing services to children of different age groups which shall not be below the rates established pursuant to subsections (a)(1) and (h)(2) [sic] of this section.

(b) For child development centers that reserve at least 25% of their classroom capacity for children eligible for funding under this chapter, the Department shall, on or before August 1, 1979, for fiscal year 1980 and at least 90 days prior to the beginning of each subsequent fiscal year, specify the number of spaces it projects will be utilized by children eligible for funding under this chapter during the next fiscal year, and provide written notification of its projection to each such center.

(c) Payment shall be made by the Department to child development centers for all such spaces specified for reservation in accordance with subsection (b) of this section, so long as they remain available and are able to be utilized by children eligible for funding under this chapter.

(d) Reimbursement by the Department to child development centers providing services on a year-round basis shall be based upon a 260-day year.

(e) The Mayor shall report to the Council of the District of Columbia, by July 1st each year, what impact the cost of living has had on the provision of day care services in the District during the preceding 12 months, and what the monthly utilization has been during that same period in each category of day care paid for by the District.

(f) The Department shall delegate the function of determining the eligibility of children to be served by each child development center whenever:

(1) The center has requested to perform this function; and

(2) The Department has determined, based on the center’s current performance of this function or otherwise, that the center has exhibited a reasonable capability to carry out such function.

(g) The Department shall retain all fees collected from parents of eligible children pursuant to subsection (a) of this section as specified by the fee scale set forth in § 4-405 .