A. The out-of-school time grant program is established in the department to expand out-of-school time care for school-age children who are at least five years of age and eligible for or enrolled in kindergarten and not older than eighteen years of age and who require out-of-school time care either when the children are out-of-school or during periods of time when school instruction is not being conducted.
B. The grant program shall:
1. Increase the number of eligible pupils with access to out-of-school time care before school, after school or during periods of time when school instruction is not being conducted.
2. Increase access to and the affordability of out-of-school time care for children and their families.
3. Enable employers to attract and retain a talented workforce.
4. Reduce the cost of out-of-school time care to participating families or expand out-of-school time care at no cost to participating families.
C. The department shall do all of the following:
1. Develop an annual grant application process.
2. Provide grants to assist with the costs of out-of-school time care to eligible grantees who participate in the grant program.
3. Monitor eligible grantees to ensure grant program and fiscal compliance.
4. Develop metrics to measure the success of the grant program.
5. Allocate at least thirty percent of grant monies for eligible grantees in rural communities, which may be used in any location in this state if there are insufficient grant applications from rural communities.
D. The out-of-school time grant program fund is established consisting of legislative appropriations. The department may not use more than five percent of the monies deposited in the fund to administer the fund. Monies in the fund are continuously appropriated and are exempt from the provisions of section 35-190 relating to lapsing of appropriations.
E. On or before August 1, 2026 and each year thereafter, the department shall submit an annual report to the governor, the president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives and shall provide a copy of this report to the secretary of state. The report shall include all of the following:
1. The total number of children who are served by the out-of-school time grant program, categorized by age of the child and the county where the child is served. The information provided pursuant to this paragraph may not include any information that identifies or can be used to identify a child.
2. The locations of programs, categorized by county.
3. The number of children newly enrolled in out-of-school time care programs.
F. The department may develop policies and procedures that are necessary to implement this section.
G. For the purposes of this section:
1. "Eligible grantee" means a nonprofit organization, public school and public or private child care provider that:
(a) Operates primarily during after school, before school or in the summer or at times when school is not normally in session.
(b) Has demonstrated experience providing out-of-school time care before school, after school or during periods of time when school instruction is not being conducted.
(c) Serves only eligible pupils.
(d) Is organized to promote expanded childhood learning, enrichment, child and youth development or educational, recreational or character-building activities.
2. "Eligible pupils" means school-age children who are at least five years of age and eligible for or enrolled in kindergarten and not older than eighteen years of age and who come from a household earning $150,000 or less per year.