{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-199.883","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 199.883","heading":"Employee Child Care Assistance Partnership Program -- Cabinet to","body":"regulate program -- Powers and duties of third -party administrator --\nPublication of reports.\n(1) The Employee Child Care Assistance Partnership Program is hereby established\nunder the cabinet. To administer the program, the cabinet may:\n(a) Delegate authority to a subsidiary department; and\n(b) Coordinate and share information with other executive branch agencies.\n(2) The cabinet shall oversee and regulate the program, and a pri vate entity contracted\nby the cabinet shall administer the program.\n(3) (a) By December 1, 2026, the cabinet shall enter into a contract with a private\nentity to administer the program as the third -party administrator. The cabinet\nmay utilize administrativ e funding from the fund, in accordance with KRS\n199.885, to carry out this contract.\n(b) To provide incentives for a third-party administrator to enroll more employers\nand employees in the program, the cabinet shall enter into an agreement in\nwhich a third -party administrator is allowed to retain a percentage of the\nemployer contribution or state match, or some combination thereof, for each\nadministered contract, as determined by the cabinet. The cabinet may offer\nadditional incentives tied to specific performance metrics.\n(c) The cabinet shall routinely audit any third -party administrator responsible for\nadministering the program to ensure compliance with state laws and\nadministrative regulations.\n(d) The cabinet shall establish a transition plan for employ ers already\nparticipating in the program at the time of selecting a third-party administrator\nto ensure a smooth transition for providers, employers, and employees.\n(4) The cabinet shall partner with a nonprofit entity serving communities in each of the\nfifteen (15) area development districts established in KRS 147A.050 to promote and\nraise awareness of the program. This work shall be conducted in coordination with\nthe th ird-party administrator. Partnerships shall be voluntary and optional for\ndesignated nonprofits. The cabinet may use administrative funds in accordance with\nKRS 199.885, or other funds, for the purposes of this subsection.\n(5) In accordance with a contract  entered into with the cabinet under this section, the\nthird-party administrator shall be responsible for:\n(a) Creating and making available via a digital dashboard an accessible and easy -\nto-use standardized application and contract for participation in the program;\n(b) Using technology and digital tools to process applications and contracts\nbetween an employer, employee, and child -care provider that is submitted to\nthe third-party administrator;\n(c) Notifying the parties of their enrollment status in the program;\n(d) Managing and administering the program funds under the cabinet's\nsupervision and direction;\n(e) Securing third-party subcontractors in accordance with all applicable federal\nand state procurement regulations, if deemed necessary;\n(f) Verifying the eligibility of the respective employee, employer, and child -care\nprovider as parties to a contract for participation in the program prior to\ndisbursement of a state match;\n(g) Collecting and verifying household income information from eligible\nemployees and determining the amount of the state match for which the\nemployee is eligible;\n(h) Distributing educational materials about the program's objectives, benefits,\nand eligibility requirements to employers, employees, and child -care\nproviders;\n(i) Ensuring that application and reapplication processes under this program for\nemployers and employees are simple and efficient;\n(j) Ensuring that compliance with and utilization of the program is simple and\nefficient for all parties;\n(k) Ensuring that application and reapplication processes and contracts for this\nprogram are accessible and available in multiple formats, including but not\nlimited to digital and paper formats, and that applications and contracts are\nallowed to be submitted by various means, including  but not limited to digital\nplatforms, first-class mail, and email;\n(l) Responding to inquiries and requests for assistance from all parties in a timely\nand efficient manner;\n(m) Providing routine updates to all parties on the status of contracts and\npayments;\n(n) Issuing state matches from the fund to child-care providers in a timely manner\nand in accordance with individual contracts;\n(o) Receiving contributions from employers and dispersing them to child -care\nproviders in a timely manner and in accordance with individual contracts;\n(p) Creating an efficient preapproval process for employers, employees, and\nchild-care providers interested in participation in the program; and\n(q) Creating a streamlined reapplication process for existing contracts which\nparties are requesting to renew.\n(6) The third -party administrator shall review the completed contract after it is\nsubmitted by the employer and within ten (10) business days, notify the parties of\napproval, disapproval, or request additional information. If the employee, employer,\nand the proposed child -care provider meet program eligibility requirements, the\nthird-party administrator shall agree to match, from the fund, the contribution made\nby the employer up to one hundred percent (100%) of the cost of the e mployee's\neligible child-care costs. Any denial of a contract shall include an explanation of the\nexact reasoning for why the contract was denied.\n(7) The third-party administrator shall only become party to a proposed contract under\nthis program if the fund reflects a positive balance based on both:\n(a) Existing contractual obligations already accrued under this program; and\n(b) Additional financial obligation imposed by the proposed contract under this\nprogram.\n(8) The third-party administrator shall not agree to become party to a proposed contract\npursuant to this program if the corresponding financial obligation would cause the\nfund to accrue a negative balance.\n(9) The third-party administrator shall maintain a waitlist of contracts submitted after\navailable funds were committed. The third -party administrator shall become party\nto a proposed contract from the waitlist as new funds become available and\naccording to the order in which it was received.\n(10) The third -party administrator shall issue a state match directly to the child -care\nprovider for the duration of the contract.\n(11) The third-party administrator shall not disclose an employee's personal information\nwithout that individual's express written consent.\n(12) Beginning in 2026 and every year th ereafter, the third -party administrator shall\nbegin accepting proposed contracts under this program from employers, employees,\nand child-care providers for the next fiscal year according to the following:\n(a) Ninety (90) calendar days before July 1 for employers with existing approved\ncontracts pursuant to the program; and\n(b) Forty-five (45) calendar days before July 1 for all other employers.\n(13) The cabinet shall publish reports detailing the efficacy of th e program by July 15\nand January 15 of each year and shall submit the report to the Legislative Research\nCommission for referral to the Interim Joint Committee on Families and Children.\nThe report shall include at least the following information about the program:\n(a) Any appropriation made in the past fiscal year to the fund;\n(b) The total number of standardized contracts submitted by employers;\n(c) The total amount of state matches paid out of the fund by the cabinet;\n(d) The breakdown of the state matches paid by county;\n(e) Information on the size, geographical location, and industry type of employers\nwho participated in the program;\n(f) The number, license type, quality rating, and geographical distribution of\nparticipating child-care providers;\n(g) The average cost for services charged by child -care providers participating in\nthe program and information on how these costs have increased or decreased\nduring the most recent reporting period and previous reporting periods;\n(h) The number and total dollar value of contracts not approved by the cabinet;\n(i) The demographic information of employees participating in the program;\n(j) The number of employers participating in the program; and\n(k) Recommendations for improving the program and how to give employers\nmore options to utilize the program in order to support access to affordable\nchild care services in the Commonwealth.","path":["KRS Chapter 199"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=56908","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:51:55Z","sha256":"8829fda233e0ac9b62be32834ef1b64de4edde45b62bd381413ccd194311a2ba","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-199.882","next":"us-ky/krs-199.884"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}