Subtitle 5C. Early Childhood Education and Child Care

child care capacity in the County has been declining in recent years, down five percent (5%) between 2022 and 2025;

the cost of child care in the County has been increasing, going up over 20% between 2017 and 2025

duplicative State and County inspection requirements can prove challenging for operators of child care programs and before and after-school care programs, delaying or preventing the addition of new child care capacity in the County;

public buildings can efficiently provide desirable and affordable locations for child care programs and after-school care programs;

early childhood education in child care is critical in fostering holistic development, establishing a foundation for lifelong learning, and nurturing essential social, emotional, and cognitive skills before kindergarten;

access to affordable child care boosts local economic stability by enabling parents to join or remain in the workforce, supports healthy childhood development and school readiness while reducing family stress; and

County investment in expanding the availability of child care will yield high returns through increased productivity and future economic contributions.

Before and after-school care program means an operation that provides care before and after, or before or after, the customary school day and during school holidays, for at least two hours a day, three days a week, to children who attend prekindergarten through grade six.

Child means an individual who is younger than 13 years old who is not disabled, or an individual younger than 19 years old who is disabled.

Child care.

Child care center means a facility providing child care that is:

Child care program means:

Eligible child care expenses means expenses for receiving child care within a child care center or family child care home located in Prince George's County;

Department means the Department of Social Services.

Family.

Family Child Care Home.

assist child care providers with matters related to licensing and inspection of facilities used for child care programs in the County;

promote coordination and collaboration among County agencies and departments to expand child care opportunities throughout the County;

serve as a liaison between County government and the public on child care-related issues;

prepare and maintain the inventory of County properties suitable for use as child care established in Section 5A-105; and

prepare a Strategic Plan for Child Care that includes:

the Navigator's activities, accomplishments, plans, and objectives; and

steps taken to implement the Strategic Plan for Child Care, Early Care, and Education in the preceding year.

coordinate with the appropriate County agencies and other public entities in the County to facilitate the use of County-owned buildings and other public facilities, including but not limited to schools, recreation centers, libraries, and community centers, for child care programs and before and after school care programs;

develop standardized memoranda-of-understanding (MOUs) to allow child care programs and before and after school care programs to operate in County facilities without site-by-site negotiation; and

work with the Department of Permitting, Inspections, and Enforcement to ensure a streamlined inspection process for operators of child care programs and before and after school care programs operating in public spaces.

local availability of and demand for child care in the area of the project; and

the compatibility of child care with existing uses of the property;

the condition and accessibility of the property;

the cost associated with any modifications to the property necessary for use as child care;

conformity of child care facilities to applicable zoning and land use plans; and

any additional criteria deemed useful in making the assessment.

the feasibility of including child care facilities in the project; and

what capital or operating budget modifications, if any, would be needed to include child care facilities in the project.

compatibility of child care with the underlying project;

local availability of and demand for child care in the area of the project; and

conformity of child care facilities to applicable zoning and land use plans.

increase the number of children served;

help a center or home begin operation; or

keep in operation a center or home that otherwise is likely to stop operating.

establish, or increase the capacity of, the center or home; or

meet licensing, zoning, building, or other government-imposed requirements.

buying land or a building;

building, repairing or renovating all or part of a building;

buying furniture or equipment with a useful life of at least 3 years; and

fees for architects, engineers, accountants, lawyers or other professional services needed to buy, build, repair or renovate a building.

grant standards and priorities;

application procedures, and ways to document need;

procedures for referring applicants to other sources of funds, and for cooperating with other public and private sources of funds;

procedures to request reconsideration any denial of a grant; and

procedures for recovering grant funds upon a grantee's failure to:

the names and locations of Program grant recipients;

the uses of the grant funds; and

the number of additional children served.

Income eligibility. A family shall only be eligible to receive a child care scholarship authorized by this Division to compensate for eligible child care expenses if the family has a household income of less than 30% of the median family income for the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Area, as published annually by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Child eligibility. A child for which a family receives a child care scholarship shall be no older than 3 years of age. A family is only eligible to receive a child care scholarship for a maximum of two children per household.

Application and approval. A family shall only be eligible to receive a child care scholarship to compensate for eligible child care expenses if the family successfully completes an application process prescribed by the Department for a child care scholarship for the child for which the family is incurring or will incur eligible child care expenses.

Administration. The Early Start Child Care Scholarship Program shall be administered by the Department and disbursements shall be made by the Office of Finance in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Department and approved by the County Council as set forth in Subsection (d), below.

The Prince George's County Early Start Child Care Scholarship Fund is hereby established as a nonlapsing fund that shall not revert to the County fund balance at the end of each fiscal year and shall solely be used for the purpose of awarding child care scholarships to eligible families for eligible child care expenses pursuant to this Division.

Scholarship amount determination and duration. Each child care scholarship award shall be for the duration of a 12-month period and must be applied for annually. The maximum 12-month amount per child that the Department is authorized to award for a child care scholarship authorized by this Division is $3000 per child. The precise amount of each award shall be determined in accordance with a formula established by the Department and prescribed in regulations authorized and mandated pursuant to Subsection (d), below. The award determination of child care scholarships shall be based on a need-based scale of higher amounts awarded to families with lower proportionate median household income levels.

Child care provider means a person or entity licensed by the State of Maryland to provide childcare services, including before- and/or after-school care services, and who operates within Prince George's County.

Enrollment contract means any written agreement between a child care provider and a parent governing the provision of child care services in exchange for tuition or fees that includes a provision for penalties or other payment beyond that for services rendered in the event of early withdrawal or termination.

Hardship event means one of the following events affecting a parent of a child enrolled under the enrollment contract:

Legal guardian means a person legally authorized to make decisions for a minor child, including a court-appointed guardian or other individual with lawful custodial responsibility.

Parent means the biological or adoptive parent or the legal guardian or custodian of a child.

Penalty means any early termination fee, forfeiture of prepaid tuition for future services not yet rendered, or liquidated damages beyond a reasonable notice period as provided in this Section.

Each child care provider operating within Prince George's County shall include in any enrollment contract executed on or after the effective date of this Section a hardship withdrawal provision permitting termination of the contract by a parent of an enrolled child without penalty upon the occurrence of a hardship event.

The hardship withdrawal provision may only require:

Acceptable documentation of a hardship event shall include, but is not limited to:

retain payment for services rendered prior to the effective date of withdrawal;

require payment for services provided during the notice period; provided that:

a child care provider may not impose any additional financial consequence, penalty, or fee solely due to termination from the exercise of a hardship withdrawal provision.

This Section applies only to private-pay enrollment contracts and does not alter or supersede:

This Section shall be construed as a consumer protection measure regulating contract terms and not as a licensing or operational requirement. Nothing in this Section shall be interpreted to impair obligations under contracts executed prior to the effective date of this Section.

The Prince George's County Office of Human Rights is authorized to:

The County Attorney is authorized to seek injunctive relief to enforce compliance.