{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-199.8911","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 199.8911","heading":"Definitions for section -- Legislative intent for licensed child -care","body":"microcenters -- Kentucky Child-Care Microcenter Program -- Administrative\nregulations -- Standards for operation -- Required reporting.\n(1) As used in this section:\n(a) \"Child-care microcenter\" means a category of regulated child care supervised\nby the cabinet that serves between four (4) and twenty -four (24) children in a\nnonresidential setting for more than three (3) hours per day;\n(b) \"Eligible applicant\" means a provider of a child-care program that:\n1. Has been licensed or certified by the cabinet for at least three (3) years\nat the time of application;\n2. Is in good standing with the cabinet; and\n3. Participates in the quality -based graduated early care and education\nrating system established under KRS 199.8943;\n(c) \"Nontraditional work hours\" means hours of employment that generally but\nnot exclusively occur between 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. Monday to Friday, or between\n7 p.m. on Friday to 5 a.m. on Monday;\n(d) \"Opportunity zones\" means a population census tract that is a low -income\ncommunity and designated as a qualified opportunity zone under Sections\n1400Z-1 and 1400Z-2 of the Internal Revenue Code; and\n(e) \"Rural areas\" means a county with a population of less than fifty thousand\n(50,000) residents.\n(2) It is the intent of the General Assembly to allow for licensed child -care\nmicrocenters in order to encourage innovative child-care services in high-need areas\nand underserved populations, including but not limited to rural areas, workers with\nnontraditional hours, opportunity zones, parents in need of emergency or drop -in\nservices, and postsecondary students and campuses. Child -care microcenters shall\nprovide quality services, operate under setting -aligned health and safety standards,\nand be permitted to request and receive special variances from established standards\nand administrative regulations at the discretion of the cabinet.\n(3) The Kentucky Child -Care M icrocenter Program is hereby established within the\ncabinet to regulate the standards and operations of child -care microcenters. To\nadminister the program, the cabinet may enter into contracts with third parties to\nadminister the program or specific parts of the program.\n(4) The cabinet shall promulgate administrative regulations in accordance with KRS\nChapter 13A by July 1, 2027, to implement this section and determine appropriate\nstandards under which child -care microcenters may be licensed and operated i n\nKentucky.\n(5) The cabinet shall establish standards for operations, including but not limited to\nstaff background checks, adult -to-child ratios, health and safety standards, facility\nrequirements, teacher and director training, and required paperwork for  employees\nand enrolled children. In developing these standards, the cabinet shall solicit\nfeedback from key stakeholders, including licensed and certified child -care\nproviders, early childhood experts, local child care resource and referral agencies,\nthe Kentucky Child Care Advisory Council, and other relevant stakeholders.\n(6) (a) The cabinet shall establish a process by which a child -care microcenter\nprovider may apply for and receive a variance from established standards and\nadministrative regulations f or child -care microcenters. Applications shall\ndemonstrate that the requested variance will not, in any way, jeopardize the\nhealth and safety of children receiving care at the child-care microcenter.\n(b) Approved variances shall only apply to the specific child-care microcenter for\nwhich a variance is requested.\n(c) Denials of applications for variances are not contestable.\n(d) An eligible applicant for the program may request a variance in its initial\nprogram application.\n(e) An approved child -care microce nter provider or eligible applicant may\nrequest a variance only once in a calendar year and shall not be allowed to\noperate with more than one (1) approved variance in place at a time.\n(7) Child-care microcenters shall not be required to provide meals or t ransportation to\nchildren enrolled in the program.\n(8) Playgrounds shall be optional for child -care microcenters, but a program shall have\na plan for gross motor activity.\n(9) Child-care microcenters may utilize mixed age group child care, but the licensed\ncapacity of the child -care microcenter shall be based on the youngest child served\nin the center.\n(10) The cabinet shall ensure that the application and approval process for child -care\nmicrocenters is efficient and streamlined, and the application fee for  a child -care\nmicrocenter shall be cost-effective.\n(11) Only eligible applicants may be approved to operate a child-care microcenter.\n(12) The cabinet shall begin accepting and approving child -care microcenter\napplications from eligible applicants no earlier than July 1, 2027.\n(13) The cabinet shall approve or deny an application within ninety (90) days of receipt.\nIf an application is denied, the cabinet shall notify the applicant and explain its\nreasoning.\n(14) In reviewing and approving applications, the  cabinet shall prioritize applications\nfrom eligible applicants that:\n(a) Seek to provide services in an opportunity zone or rural area;\n(b) Seek to provide services to parents of children with nontraditional work\nhours; or\n(c) Involve community partnershi ps with entities including but not limited to\nemployers, schools, or faith-based organizations.\n(15) The cabinet shall authorize no more than ten (10) child-care microcenters to operate\nin the state at one (1) time, with no more than two (2) child -care mic rocenters\nallowable within a single county.\n(16) The cabinet shall develop an outreach plan to raise awareness of the program. This\nplan shall include partnerships with nonprofits and local child care resource and\nreferral agencies in different parts of the state.\n(17) (a) By December 1, 2027, the cabinet shall submit a report to the Legislative\nResearch Commission for referral to the Interim Joint Committee on Families\nand Children detailing the number of applications received, the number of\napplications approved, the locations of approved and denied applications, the\nnumber of children being served, and the number and nature of approved and\ndenied variances.\n(b) By December 1, 2028, the cabinet shall submit a report to the Legislative\nResearch Commission for referral to the Interim Joint Committee on Families\nand Children containing updated information on all components in paragraph\n(a) of this subsection, and also include commentary from the cabinet on the\nefficacy of the program in achieving the legislati ve intent of the program\noutlined in this section.","path":["KRS Chapter 199"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=56901","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:51:55Z","sha256":"a00e73a5b235c020372e1e3e21e6ff187284f21888c481801758ba1fa8ead637","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-199.891","next":"us-ky/krs-199.8912"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}