For a child care provider rate reserve to sustain reimbursement rate increases from prior fiscal years and to further increase such rates for subsidized early education and care providers; provided, that rate increases funded from this reserve shall support salaries, benefits and stipends for professional development of early educators, as well as increase access to care for families; provided further, that funds appropriated in this item may be used to increase the reimbursement rate for all such providers using a methodology established by the department; provided further, that funds may be expended for increasing the daily add-on rate for comprehensive early education services for children with active cases at the department of children and families; provided further, that the commissioner of early education and care may transfer funds between this item and items
3000-3060 and
3000-4060, as necessary, for this purpose, under an allocation plan that shall detail, by object class, the distribution of the funds to be transferred and which shall be submitted to the house and senate committees on ways and means not less than 30 days before any such transfer; provided further, that $45,000,000 shall be used to annualize rate increases implemented in fiscal year 2024; and provided further, that $20,000,000 shall be used to fund additional rate increases for center-based and family child care providers in fiscal year 2025
| | Education and Transportation Fund | ............... | 100% |
