N.Y. Social Services Law § 410-q: Child care resource and referral program services

§ 410-q. Child care resource and referral program services. 1. Each

agency approved to receive funding pursuant to this title shall, to the

extent funds are available for such purposes, provide the following:

(a) Information and referral services directed at educating parents

who contact the agency regarding early childhood services options and

methods of selecting the best option for his or her child; referring

parents or guardians to early childhood services providers; informing

parents about the availability of financial assistance and tax credits;

referral for parents in coordinating part-day early childhood services

providers and programs to meet the full-day care needs of parents;

referrals for parents of preschool children with handicapping conditions

pursuant to section forty-four hundred ten of the education law and

section twenty-five hundred forty-two of the public health law;

providing written information to those who contact the agency seeking

information about early childhood services; maintaining a provider

resource file and a file of parents currently seeking early childhood

services; and publicizing child care resource and referral services as

necessary to assure that the availability of those services are known to

the community;

(b) Services directed at expanding the number of available family day

care providers and recruiting potential providers; providing information

on licensing and registration requirements and available funding sources

to potential early childhood services providers and programs; and

assisting individuals or organizations to qualify as legal early

childhood services providers or programs by providing information on

applicable laws and regulations relating to zoning, taxes, insurance,

government licensing or registration, and other matters of concern to

new providers;

(c) Services directed at maintaining and providing information and

resources on early childhood training and other relevant programs for

prospective and current providers, including educating child care

providers not requiring a license or registration pursuant to section

three hundred ninety of this article with information on available

training opportunities at the time of enrollment and re-enrollment;

(d) Services directed at developing and maintaining provider data

bases to determine service utilization and unmet needs for additional

early childhood services;

(e) Assuring access to the United States department of agriculture

child care food program for providers in the service area;

(f) Services directed at providing written materials and conducting

outreach to employers to encourage their support of child care resource

and referral services and other early childhood services; and

(g) Each agency funded herein shall provide services in a manner

responsive to the cultural, linguistic and economic characteristics of

the community served.

2. Enhanced services which an agency agrees to provide pursuant to a

contract may include one or more of the following:

(a) Services directed at expanding the supply of regulated care in

areas where such care is not readily available;

(b) Services directed at enhancing the availability and quality of

early childhood services which serve families with particular language,

ethnic and cultural backgrounds;

(c) Services directed at meeting the early childhood services needs of

children with special needs;

(d) Training or technical assistance services targeted to meet

specific local early childhood services needs; and

(e) Services directed at promoting, coordinating and assisting

collaborative efforts between early childhood services providers and

programs to meet the local need for full-day early childhood services.