1. The department shall administer a statewide grant program for child day care resource and referral services. Grants shall only be awarded to community-based nonprofit incorporated agencies and public agencies. Grants shall be awarded to facilitate the establishment of regional resource and referral agencies throughout the state, based upon the distribution of the child population in the state.

2. The department shall provide oversight of and annually evaluate an agency which is awarded a grant to provide resource and referral services to a region.

3. An agency which receives a grant to provide resource and referral services shall perform both of the following functions:

a. Organize assistance to family and group day care homes utilizing training levels based upon the homes' degrees of experience and interest.

b. Operate in partnership with both public and private interests and coordinate resource and referral services with existing community services.

4. An agency, to be eligible to receive a grant to provide resource and referral services, must match the grant with financial resources equal to at least twenty-five percent of the amount of the grant. The financial resources may include a private donation, an in-kind contribution, or a public funding source other than a separate state grant for child care service improvement.

5. An agency, to be eligible to receive a grant to provide resource and referral services, must have a board of directors if the agency is an incorporated nonprofit agency or must have an advisory board if the agency is a public agency, to oversee the provision of resource and referral services. The board shall include providers, consumers, and other persons interested in the provision or delivery of child day care services.

6. An agency which receives a child care resource and referral grant shall provide all of the following services:

a. Assist families in selecting quality child care. The agency must provide referrals to registered and licensed child day care facilities, and to persons providing care, supervision, or guidance of a child which is not defined as child day care under section 237A.1 and may provide referrals to unregistered providers.

b. Assist child day care providers in adopting appropriate program and business practices to provide quality child care services.

c Provide information to the public regarding the availability of child day care services in the communities within the agency's region.

d Actively encourage the development of new and expansion of existing child day care facilities in response to identified community needs.

e. Provide specialized services to employers, including the provision of resource and referral services to employee groups identified by the employer and the provision of technical assistance to develop employer-supported child day care programs.

f. Refer eligible child day care facilities to the federal child care food programs.

g. Loan toys, other equipment, and resource materials to child day care facilities.

h. Administer funding designated within the grant to provide a substitute caregiver program for registered family and group day care homes to provide substitute care in a home when the home provider is ill, on vacation, receiving training, or is otherwise unable to provide the care.

7. The department may contract with an agency receiving a child day care resource and referral grant to perform any of the following functions relating to publicly funded services providing care, supervision, or guidance of a child:

a. Determine an individual's eligibility for the services in accordance with income requirements.

b. Administer a voucher, certificate, or other system for reimbursing an eligible provider of the services.

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