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<section article="ged" article_name="Education" number="9.5-113" title_number="9.5" title_name="Division of Early Childhood Development" subtitle_number="1" subtitle_name="Established">
  <level label="a">
    <text>In this section, “Program” means the Child Care Scholarship Program.</text>
  </level>
  <level label="b">
    <text>The Department shall administer the Program in accordance with federal law.</text>
  </level>
  <level label="c">
    <text>The Department shall:</text>
    <level label="1">
      <text>Provide to Program applicants information on income–based government assistance programs and tax credits for which the applicants may be eligible; and</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>Incorporate the framework of the Youth Transitioning From Foster Placement to Successful Adulthood Program as established under § 9.5–113.2 of this subtitle.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="d">
    <level label="1">
      <text>The Department shall award a scholarship under the Program in an amount sufficient to ensure that an individual will not be required to pay a copay for child care if the individual provides proof, as determined by the Department, of:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <level label="1">
          <text>Participation in one of the following programs:</text>
        </level>
        <level label="A">
          <text>Federal Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children;</text>
        </level>
        <level label="B">
          <text>Federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program;</text>
        </level>
        <level label="C">
          <text>Federal Housing Act Housing Choice Voucher Program;</text>
        </level>
        <level label="D">
          <text>Supplemental Security Income benefits; or</text>
        </level>
        <level label="E">
          <text>Temporary cash assistance; and</text>
        </level>
        <level label="2">
          <text>Employment or enrollment in an education or career training program; or</text>
        </level>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>Participation in the Youth Transitioning From Foster Placement to Successful Adulthood Program established under § 9.5–113.2 of this subtitle.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>The Department shall award a scholarship under the Program in an amount sufficient to ensure that an individual who has an annual household income at or below the federal poverty line is not required to pay a copay for child care.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <text>The Department may award partial scholarships under the Program through a sliding fee scale for copayments that:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>Applies to an individual who:</text>
        <level label="1">
          <text>Has an annual household income above the federal poverty line; and</text>
        </level>
        <level label="2">
          <text>Is not described under paragraph (1)(i) of this subsection;</text>
        </level>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>Is based on an individual’s annual household income above the federal poverty line;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iii">
        <text>Requires an individual to provide an increased percentage of the individual’s annual household income as a copay as the individual’s income increases;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iv">
        <text>Increases copay percentages gradually between household income categories, culminating in a maximum copay not exceeding 7% of an individual’s annual household income for an individual with the highest income category under the Program;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="v">
        <text>Includes a sufficient number of household income categories to minimize significant increases in copay amounts for an individual who moves from one household income category to another; and</text>
      </level>
      <level label="vi">
        <text>Requires a copay for each child in a family receiving a partial scholarship, but requires a lower copay amount for each subsequent child.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="4">
      <level label="i">
        <text>Subject to subparagraph (i) of this paragraph, the Department may set a minimum copay amount for a partial scholarship award under the Program.</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>A minimum copay amount may not be more than $10 each month.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="e">
    <text>An individual is eligible to continue to receive a scholarship under the Program:</text>
    <level label="1">
      <text>For at least 90 days in a year if the individual is unemployed and seeking employment; and</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>If the individual meets any other eligibility criteria determined by the Department.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="f">
    <text>The Department may not require an individual to pursue or receive child support payments or apply for services from a child support agency to be eligible for a scholarship under the Program.</text>
  </level>
  <level label="g">
    <level label="1">
      <text>The Department shall notify the Comptroller within 10 days after the date on which the Department receives an invoice from a child care provider.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>The Comptroller shall pay a child care provider within 5 days after the date on which the Comptroller receives a notice under paragraph (1) of this subsection.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="h">
    <text>The Department shall adopt regulations to implement the provisions of this section.</text>
  </level>
</section>
