Assurances and Certifications
The applicant Tribe or Tribal consortium assures that:
(1) Upon approval, it will have in effect a program that complies
with the provisions of the Plan printed herein, and is administered
in accordance with the Child Care and Development Block Grant
Act of 1990, as amended (the Act), Section 418 of the Social
Security Act, and all other applicable Federal laws and regulations
(658D(b) of the Act, 658E(a) of the Act, 45 CFR 98.15(a)(1)).
(2) The parent(s) of each eligible child within the Tribe
or Tribal service area who receives or is offered child care
services for which financial assistance is provided is given
the option either to enroll such child with a child care provider
that has a grant or contract for the provision of the service
or to receive a child care certificate (658E(c)(2)(A)(i) of
the Act, 45 CFR 98.2, 45 CFR 98.30, 45 CFR 98.15(a)(2)). (Exempt
Tribal Lead Agencies are not required to operate certificate
programs.)
(3) In cases in which the parent(s) elect(s) to enroll the
child with a provider that has a grant or contract with the
Lead Agency, the child will be enrolled with the eligible provider
selected by the parent to the maximum extent practicable (658E(c)(2)(A)(ii)
of the Act, 45 CFR 98.15(a)(3), 45 CFR 98.30).
(4) The child care certificate offered to parents shall be
of a value commensurate with the subsidy value of child care
services provided under a grant or contract (658E(c)(2)(A)(iii)
of the Act, 45 CFR 98.15(a)(4), 45 CFR 98.30). (Exempt
Tribal Lead Agencies are not required to operate certificate
programs.)
(5) The Tribe, or Tribal consortium, will coordinate, to the
maximum extent feasible, with the Lead Agency(ies) in the State(s)
in which the child care programs or activities will be carried
out (45 CFR 98.12, 45 CFR 98.14(a)&(b), 45 CFR 98.81(b)(3)(i),
45 CFR 98.82).
(6) Tribal Child Care and Development Fund programs and activities
will be carried out for the benefit of Indian children on an
Indian reservation (except for Programs located in Alaska, California
or Oklahoma) (45 CFR 98.81(b)((3)(ii), 45 CFR 98.83(b)).
(7) With respect to State and local regulatory requirements
(or Tribal regulatory requirements), health and safety requirements,
payment rates and registration requirements, State or local
(or Tribal) rules, procedures or other requirements promulgated
for the purpose of the Child Care and Development Fund will
not significantly restrict parental choice from among categories
of care or types of providers ((658E(c)(2)(A) of the Act, 45
CFR 98.15(a)(5), 45 CFR 98.15(p), 45 CFR 98.30(e)&(f), 45
CFR 98.40(b)(2), 45 CFR 98.41(b), 45 CFR 98.43(d), 45 CFR 98.45(d)).
The applicant Tribe or Tribal consortium also certifies that:
(1) It has procedures in place to ensure that providers of
child care services for which assistance is provided under the
Child Care and Development Fund afford parents unlimited access
to their children and to the providers caring for their children
during the normal hours of operation and whenever such children
are in the care of such providers (658E(c)(2)(B) of the Act,
45 CFR 98.15(b)(1), 45 CFR 98.31).
(2) It maintains a record of substantiated parental complaints
and makes information regarding such complaints available to
the public on request (658E(c)(2)(C) of the Act, 45 CFR 98.15(b)(2),
45 CFR 98.32).
(3) It will collect and disseminate to parents of eligible
children and the general public, consumer education information
that will promote informed child care choices (658E(c)(2)(D)
of the Act, 45 CFR 98.15(b)(3), 45 CFR 98.33).
(4) There are in effect licensing requirements applicable
to child care services provided within the State (or area served
by the Tribal Lead Agency), pursuant to 45 CFR 98.40 (45 CFR
98.15(b)(4), 45 CFR 98.40).
(5) There are in effect, under Tribal, local or State law,
requirements designed to protect the health and safety of children;
these requirements are applicable to child care providers that
provide services for which assistance is made available under
the Child Care and Development Fund (658E(c)(2)(F) of the Act,
45 CFR 98.15(b)(5), 45 CFR 98.41).
(6) Procedures are in effect to ensure that child care providers
that provide services for which assistance is provided under
the Child Care and Development Fund comply with all applicable
health and safety requirements (658E(c)(2)(G) of the Act, 45
CFR 98.15(b)(6), 45 CFR 98.41).
(7) Payment rates under the Child Care and Development Fund
for the provision of child care services will be sufficient
to ensure equal access for eligible children to comparable child
care services in the Tribe or Tribal service area that are provided
to children whose parents are not eligible to receive assistance
under this program or under any other Federal or State child
care assistance programs (658E(c)(4)(A) of the Act, 45 CFR 98.15(b)(7),
45 CFR 98.43).
(8) By the end of each three-year funding period (expenditure
period for each Federal fiscal year’s grant funding),
the Tribe must have expenditures that are equal to grant funds
received for that that Fiscal Year (45 CFR 98.67(c)).
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