Child care accreditation program; established
HRS §346-188
in effect346-188. Child care accreditation program; established
(a) The department shall establish and implement a child care accreditation program.
(b) The department shall develop standards,
policies, and procedures for the administration of the child care accreditation
program, which shall, at minimum:
(1) Provide upfront grant funding to cover the cost
of accreditation by one of the national early learning accrediting
organizations, as identified in section 346-184(b), or as approved by the
director;
(2) Provide grant funding for technical assistance to
assist an eligible child care provider through the accreditation process; and
(3) Be available to licensed group child care
centers, licensed group child care homes, licensed infant and toddler child
care centers, and registered family child care homes.
(c) Requests for
grants shall be submitted to the department in accordance with administrative
rules adopted by the department to administer the grant program. Each request
shall at a minimum state:
(1) The name of the child care provider requesting
grant funds;
(2) The expenses that are necessary for the child
care provider to obtain the accreditation; and
(3) The age range of the children the child care
provider serves.
(d) Each applicant for a grant shall provide
proof that the applicant:
(1) Has United States citizenship or permanent United
States resident alien status and is a resident of the State at the time of
application;
(2) Is currently licensed or registered as a child
care provider, or is an exempt provider approved by the department;
(3) Provides child care at the time of application;
(4) Complies with all other federal, state, or county
statutes, rules, or ordinances necessary to conduct the activities or provide
the services for which a grant is awarded;
(5) Complies with all applicable federal and state
laws prohibiting discrimination against a person on the basis of race, color,
national origin, religion, creed, sex, age, sexual orientation, or disability;
(6) Agrees not to use state funds for entertainment
or lobbying activities;
(7) Allows the department, legislative committees and
their staff, and the auditor full access to the applicant's records, reports,
files, and other related documents and information for the purposes of
monitoring, measuring the effectiveness of, and ensuring the proper expenditure
of the grant;
(8) Is not employed by a child care facility that is
part of, owned or operated by, or owned or operated as a private educational
institution; provided that an organization or individual that owns or operates
both a private educational institution and a child care facility may apply only
if the organization or individual can provide evidence that the operations and
finances of the private educational institution are completely separate from
the operations and finances of the child care facility such that it is clear a
grant awarded under this section would not support or benefit the private
educational institution in violation of article X, section 1 of the Hawaii
State Constitution;
(9) Satisfies any other standards that may be
required by the source of funding; and
(10) Meets all other standards prescribed in rules
adopted by the department to implement the grants awarded under this section.
(e) Each child care provider who, after
meeting the requirements of subsection (d), receives grant funds from the
department shall be required to obtain accreditation and continue to provide
child care for three years after receiving accreditation.
(f) Each request for grant funds shall be
submitted to the department on an application form provided by the department
and shall at a minimum contain the information required by subsection (d). The
department shall review each request to determine whether the applicant is
eligible to receive grant funds and shall make a final decision on each
request. The department shall inform each grant applicant of the disposition
of the applicant's request. The department shall adopt rules to establish an
appeals process for any denial of a request.
(g) The department shall not release the
public funds approved for a grant under this section unless a contract is
entered into between the department and the grant recipient. The department
shall develop and determine, in consultation with and subject to review and
approval of the department of the attorney general, the specific contract form
to be used.
(h) Appropriations for grants made under this
section shall be subject to the allotment system generally applicable to all
appropriations made by the legislature.
(i) Each grant contract executed pursuant to
this section shall be monitored by the department to ensure compliance with
this section, and shall be evaluated annually to determine whether the grant
attained the intended results in the manner contemplated.
(j) Any grant recipient who withholds or omits
any material fact or deliberately misrepresents facts to the department shall
be in violation of this section and, in addition to other penalties provided by
law, any recipient found to have violated this section or the terms of any
contract executed pursuant to this section shall be prohibited from applying
for any grants awarded by the department for a period of five years from the
date of termination.
(k) The child care accreditation program may
provide grant funding to cover incidental expenses to allow a child care
provider to receive accreditation, including but not limited to expenses for
furniture, equipment, or minor renovations.
(l) The department may contract with a service
provider in accordance with chapters 103D and 103F, as applicable, to operate
the child care accreditation program.
(m) The department shall adopt rules without
regard to chapter 91 to administer the child care accreditation program.
(n) The department shall report to the
legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of each regular
session with the number and general location of programs applying for and
participating in the child care accreditation program, an aggregated breakdown
of the type and amount of costs the program covered for providers, and the
percentage of providers receiving preschool open doors program funds that have
begun the accreditation process or are currently accredited.
(o) For the purposes
of this section:
"Grant" means an award of state funds
to a specified recipient to support the activities of the recipient and permit
the community to benefit from those activities.
"Private educational institution"
means a nonpublic entity that provides:
(1) Educational services for any grades from
kindergarten through grade twelve;
(2) Post-secondary education; or
(3) Pre-kindergarten level services that are provided
by an entity that holds itself out to the public as a school or educational
institution, or that are identified by the entity as educational services
rather than solely as child care services.
"Recipient" means a child care
provider receiving a grant.
[L 2023, c 169, §3]
Source: Hawaii State Legislature (capitol.hawaii.gov), via Internet Archive capturesURL: http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol07_Ch0346-0398/HRS0346/HRS_0346-0188.htmFetched: 11/10/2026