Section 200.703 - Duties of Early Childhood Advisory Council - Implementation of programs - Plan for identification of early childhood development funding priorities - Disbanding or suspension of councils - Expiration of authority, councils, and initiatives - Requests for proposals(1) The Early Childhood Advisory Council is responsible for the following: (a) Promoting the vision for Kentucky's early childhood system;(b) Advocating for improved quality of early childhood services;(c) Promoting the definition of school readiness and the expanded and appropriate use of the early childhood standards;(d) Strengthening state, regional, and local level coordination and collaboration among the various sectors and settings of early childhood programs in the state;(e) Identifying opportunities and strategies to reduce barriers to coordination and collaboration among existing private, federal, and state-funded early childhood programs;(f) Developing and implementing recommendations for:1. Increasing overall participation of children in existing federal, state, and local child care and early education programs, including outreach to underrepresented and special populations;2. Establishing or improving core elements of the state early childhood system;3. Enhancing the professional development system and career ladder for early childhood educators and caregivers; and4. Promoting high-quality state early learning standards and undertaking efforts to ensure the development and use of high-quality comprehensive early learning standards, as appropriate;(g) Assessing the capacity and effectiveness of institutes of higher education in the state toward supporting the development of early childhood educators;(h) Facilitating the development or enhancement of high-quality systems of early childhood care and education designed to improve school readiness through one (1) or more of the following activities:1. Promoting school preparedness of children from birth through school entry;2. Supporting professional development, recruitment, and retention initiatives for early childhood educators and caregivers;3. Enhancing existing early childhood education and development programs and services;4. Carrying out other activities consistent with the state's plan and application; and5. Establishing priorities for programs and the expenditure of funds that include but are not limited to the following: a. Implementation of public health initiatives identified by the General Assembly, including those listed in KRS 211.690 and 199.8945;b. Provision of preconception and prenatal vitamins, with priority for folic acid for the prevention of neural tube defects;c. Voluntary immunization for children not covered by public or private health insurance;d. Expanding availability of high-quality, affordable early child-care and education options; ande. Increasing public awareness of the importance of the early childhood years for the well-being of all of Kentucky's citizens;(i) Requesting reports and issuing progress updates on state and federally funded services that impact the quality of Kentucky's early childhood system;(j) Receiving, requesting, and utilizing, consistent with this section, federal, state, and private funds, including from philanthropic sources;(k) Involving the corporate community, county judge/executives, and mayors in supporting issues of importance to working families with young children in the Commonwealth;(l) Collecting and disseminating information about the various ways business and local government can become involved in supporting early childhood; and(m) Other duties and responsibilities as designated by the Governor.(2) The council shall develop a state plan on a biennial basis that identifies early childhood development funding priorities. Every two (2) years the council shall review its priorities and make necessary adjustments to its state plan. The state plan shall incorporate priorities included in the final report and recommendations of the Governor's Task Force on Early Childhood Development and Education, November 2010, and recommendations identified by the community early childhood councils. The council shall file a report on the state plan with the Governor and the Legislative Research Commission by July 15 of odd-numbered years.(3) Programs funded by the council shall be implemented by the appropriate agencies within the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, the Education and Labor Cabinet, the Finance and Administration Cabinet, or other appropriate administrative agency.(4) The council shall assure that a public hearing is held on the expenditure of funds. Advertisement of the public hearing shall be published at least once but may be published two (2) more times, if one (1) publication occurs not less than seven (7) days nor more than twenty-one (21) days before the scheduled date of the public hearing.(5) The council shall promulgate administrative regulations in accordance with KRS Chapter 13A to: (a) Coordinate and improve early childhood development services, outcomes, and policies;(b) Establish procedures that relate to its governance;(c) Designate service areas of the Commonwealth where the community early childhood councils may be established to identify and address the early childhood development needs of young children and their families for the communities that they serve;(d) Establish procedures that relate to the monitoring of grants, services, and activities of the community early childhood councils and their governance;(e) Establish procedures for accountability and measurement of the success of programs that receive funds from the council; and(f) Establish standards for the payment of funds to a designated service provider and grantee of a community early childhood council. These standards shall include requirements relating to:1. The financial management of funds paid to grantees;2. The maintenance of records; and3. An independent audit of the use of grant funds.(6) The council may disband or suspend a community early childhood council, and may remove one (1) or more members for nonperformance or malfeasance. The council may also recover funds that have been determined by the council to have been misappropriated or misspent in relation to a grant award.(7) An appeal to the council may be made by a community early childhood council as to a decision made by the council on the disbanding or suspension of a community early childhood council, service provider, or grantee on a determination that funds have been misappropriated or misspent and are subject to recovery. The appeal shall be conducted in accordance with KRS Chapter 13B.(8) The council, community early childhood councils established by the council, and initiatives funded by the council with expenditures from the early childhood development fund shall expire when: (a) Funds are no longer designated to the Commonwealth from the master settlement agreement signed on November 22, 1998, between the participating tobacco manufacturers and the forty (40) settling states or related federal legislation; or(b) Funds are no longer designated to the early childhood development fund from gifts, grants, or federal funds to fund the council, the community early childhood councils established by the council, or any programs that had been funded by the council with expenditures from the early childhood development fund.(9) The council shall develop a request for proposal process by which local early childhood councils may request any funding appropriated to the council for use by the councils.Amended by 2022 Ky. Acts ch. 236,§ 100, eff. 7/1/2022.Amended by 2013 Ky. Acts ch. 57,§ 7, eff. 6/24/2013.Effective:6/25/2009
Amended 2009, Ky. Acts ch. 11, sec. 62, effective6/25/2009. -- Amended 2006, Ky. Acts ch. 211, sec. 120, effective 7/12/2006. -- Amended 2005, Ky. Acts ch. 99, sec. 50, effective 6/20/2005; ch. 127, sec. 7, effective 3/18/2005. --Created 2000, Ky. Acts ch. 308, sec. 2, effective 7/14/2000.