H97 - 2015 Appropriations Act, Sec. 12B.7: Early Childhood Education and Development Initiatives Enhancements (SL 2015-241)

Overview: Sec. 12B.7 of S.L. 2015-241 directs the North Carolina Partnership for Children, Inc. (Partnership), and its Board to ensure policies focus on the Partnership's mission of improving child care for children from birth to five years old. The Partnership's activities must include assisting child care facilities with (i) improving quality, including increasing star ratings of facilities and (ii) implementing prekindergarten programs. This section authorizes State funding for local partnerships that use evidence-based or evidence-informed programs that increase children's literacy, the parent's ability to raise healthy successful children, improve children's health, and assist 4- and 5-star rated facilities in improving and maintaining quality.

This section limits administrative costs for all local partnerships to an average of 8% of the total statewide allocation and the Partnership must continue to use a single statewide contract management system that incorporates the features of the standard fiscal accountability plan articulated by statute. In addition, this section prescribes the conditions and criteria for the salary schedule and the amount of State funds that the Partnership may use for the salaries of the Executive Director and the directors of the local partnerships. Nothing prohibits a local partnership from using non-State funds to supplement an individual's salary in excess of the amount set by the schedule.

The Partnership and all local partnerships, in the aggregate, must match 100% of the total amount budgeted for the program in each fiscal year of the 2015-2017 biennium. Failure to match certain amounts will result in a dollar-for-dollar reduction in the appropriation in the subsequent fiscal year. The Partnership must submit a report to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Services on the private and in-kind contributions.

This section requires the Partnership and all local partnerships to use certain competitive bidding practices in contracting goods and services and provides that the Partnership may not reduce the allocation with less than 35,000 in population below the 2012-2013 funding level.

Lastly, this section prohibits the Department of Health and Human Services' and the Partnership's use of allocated funds for Early Childhood Education and Development Initiatives for the 2015-2017 fiscal biennium for certain capital improvement expenditures and funding advertising and promotional activities.

This section became effective July 1, 2015.