Authority: Title 63.1, Chapters 1, 3, 6, 6.2, 6.5, and 12.1, Code of Virginia; P.L. 100-435, P.L. 100-485, P.L. 101-508, P.L. 104-193, as amended, Federal Code.
A. The amount for Financial Assistance for Individual and Family Services shall be expended under regulations of the Board of Social Services to reimburse county and city welfare/social services boards pursuant to § 63.2-401, Code of Virginia, and subject to the same percentage limitations for other administrative services performed by county and city public welfare/social services boards and superintendents of public welfare/social services pursuant to other provisions of the Code of Virginia.
B. Out of the total appropriation for day care, $11,540,911 from the general fund and $51,015,773 from federal funds the first year and $11,540,911 from the general fund and $51,015,773 from federal funds the second year will support state day care programs which will be administered on a sliding scale basis to income eligible families. The sliding fee scale and eligibility criteria are to be set according to the rules and regulations of the State Board of Social Services, except that the income eligibility thresholds for day care assistance shall account for variations in the local cost of living index by metropolitan statistical areas. The Department of Social Services shall report on the sliding fee scale and eligibility criteria adopted by the Board of Social Services by December 15 of each year. The Department of Social Services shall make the necessary amendments to the Child Care and Development Funds Plan to accomplish this intent. Funds shall be targeted to families who are most in need of assistance with day care costs. Localities may exceed the standards established by the state by supplementing state funds with local funds.
C. Included in this appropriation are funds to reimburse local social service agencies for social workers who deliver program services which include but are not limited to: child and adult protective services complaint investigations; foster care and adoption services; and adult services.
D. Notwithstanding § 4-1.03 of this act, general fund and nongeneral fund appropriations for the Child Day Care Fee System At-risk and At-risk Pass-thru programs shall not be transferred to support other child day care programs or for any other purpose.
E. Included in this Item is funding to carry out the former responsibilities of the Virginia Council on Child Day Care and Early Childhood Programs. Nongeneral fund appropriations allocated for uses associated with the Head Start program shall not be transferred for any other use until eligible Head Start families have been fully served. Any remaining funds may be used to provide services to enrolled low-income families in accordance with federal and state requirements. Families, who are working or in education and training programs, with income at or below the poverty level, whose children are enrolled in Head Start wraparound programs paid for with the federal block grant funding in this Item shall not be required to pay fees for these wraparound services.
F.1. Out of this appropriation shall be provided $105,871 from the general fund and $755,665 from the federal trust fund the first year and $105,871 from the general fund and $755,665 from the federal trust fund the second year to support the statewide Information and Referral System, provide resource and referral information on many of the specialized health and human resource services available in the Commonwealth, including child day care availability and providers in localities throughout the state, and publish consumer-oriented materials for those interested in learning the location of child day care providers .
2. The Department of Social Services, in conjunction with the Virginia Information and Technologies Agency and the Virginia Information and Referral providers, shall review Virginia's current Information and Referral System webpage and propose a plan to make it more comprehensive and user-friendly. This plan shall be submitted by November 30, 2005, to the Chairmen of the Senate Finance and House Appropriations Committees, and the Virginia Commission on Youth.
3. The Department of Social Services shall work with the Information and Referral providers and other public and private partners to develop strategies to market and promote Virginia's Information and Referral System, along with the 2-1-1 phone campaign currently under development. A report on these activities shall be submitted by November 1, 2005, to the Chairmen of the Senate Finance and House Appropriations Committees as well as to the Chairman of the Virginia Commission on Youth.
4. The Department of Social Services shall request that all state and local child-serving agencies within the Commonwealth be included in the Virginia Statewide Information and Referral System as well as any agency or entity that receives state general fund dollars and provides services to families and youth. The Secretary of Health and Human Resources, the Secretary of Education, and the Secretary of Public Safety shall assist in this effort by requesting all affected agencies within their Secretariats to submit information to the statewide Information and Referral System and ensure that such information is accurate and updated annually. Agencies shall also notify the Virginia Information and Referral System of any changes in services that may occur throughout the year.
5. The Department of Social Services shall communicate with child-serving agencies within the Commonwealth about the availability of the statewide Information and Referral System. This information shall also be communicated via the Department of Social Services' broadcast system on their agency-wide Intranet so that all local and regional offices can be better informed about the Statewide Information and Referral System. Information on the Statewide Information and Referral System shall also be included within the Department's electronic mailings to all local and regional offices at least biannually.
G. Included in this Item is funding in the amount of $600,000 the first year and $600,000 the second year from nongeneral funds for scholarships for students in early childhood education and related majors who plan to work in the field, or already are working in the field, whether in public schools, child care or other early childhood programs, and who enroll in a state community college or a state supported senior institution of higher education. Also included in this Item is funding in the amount of $505,000 the first year and $505,000 the second year from nongeneral funds for training of individuals in the field of early childhood education.
H. To the extent permitted by federal law, the eligibility for social services of an alien who is a qualified alien (as defined in the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, Public Law 104-193) shall be determined without regard to alienage.
I. Out of appropriations in this Item shall be provided $300,000 the first year and $300,000 the second year from nongeneral funds for child care assistance provided to children in homeless and domestic violence shelters.
J. It is the intent of the General Assembly that the Department of Social Services automate day care assistance programs. The Department shall report to the Governor and the General Assembly by October 15 of each year regarding the status of such automation, system adequacy, and needed action.
K. Out of this nongeneral fund appropriation, $6,501,894 the first year and $6,501,894 in the second year from the federal Social Services Block Grant shall be allocated to provide adult companion services for low-income elderly and disabled adults.
L. Out of this appropriation, $650,000 the first year and $650,000 the second year from the general fund shall be provided for services to victims of domestic violence pursuant to Chapter 375 of the Acts of the Assembly of 2004.
M. Out of the amount for Financial Assistance for Individual and Family Services, $125,000 from the general fund and $1,062,500 from the federal TANF grant the first year and $125,000 from the general fund and $1,062,500 from the federal TANF grant the second year, shall be provided as a grant to local domestic violence programs for purchase of crisis and core services for victims of domestic violence, including 24-hour hotlines, emergency shelter, emergency transportation, and other crisis services as a first priority.
N. Out of this appropriation shall be provided $350,000 the first year and $350,000 the second year from the Child Care Development Fund to contract with a network of child care resource and referral agencies to provide assistance to working parents in locating and identifying child care programs and to collect, maintain and disseminate information about child care in accordance with the 2002/2003 Child Care Development Fund Plan for Virginia.
O. Out of this appropriation, $9,300,000 each year from the federal Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) block grant shall be allocated for foster care and adoption workers in local Department of Social Services offices.
P. Out of this appropriation, $3,604,908 from the general fund and $1,046,341 from nongeneral funds the second year shall be used to enhance the provision of child welfare services pursuant to the federal Performance Improvement Plan. Funds appropriated under this item shall be provided to local departments of social services for the direct provision of child and family services. Local departments of social services may use funds appropriated under this item for the purchase of child and family services. The allocation of this appropriation under this item shall be jointly determined by the Department of Social Services and the Virginia League of Social Services Executives.