Article 7. Children’s Center Construction Law Of 1968 of California Education Code >> Division 1. >> Title 1. >> Part 10. >> Chapter 6. >> Article 7.

This article shall be known as the Children's Center Construction Law of 1968.

The Legislature hereby declares that it is in the interest of the state and of the people thereof for the state to provide assistance to school districts and to county superintendents of schools for the construction of children's center facilities. Children's centers are of general concern and interest to all the people of the state, and the education and care of children of working parents are a joint obligation of both the state and local agencies operating children's centers. In enacting this article, the Legislature considers that the greatest need is to provide children's center facilities for the education and care of children during the time the sole parent is at work making the family economically self-sufficient, or is in school or in training to gain economic self-responsibility. The Legislature recognizes the need to encourage the provision of additional children' s center facilities to permit more families to become economically self-sufficient.

The following terms, whether used or referred to in this article, have the following meanings, unless a different meaning clearly appears from the context:
  (a) "Local agency" means a school district or a county superintendent of schools operating or authorized to operate a children's center pursuant to this chapter.
  (b) "Board" means the State Allocation Board.
  (c) "Project" means the purposes for which a local agency has applied for assistance. A project may include the acquisition and improvement of sites, the planning and construction of permanent facilities, and the acquisition of equipment for children's centers.
  (d) "Construction of facilities" means construction of permanent facilities which may include leased portable buildings.

This article shall be administered by the State Allocation Board. The board shall adopt any rules and regulations that it deems necessary to carry out the purposes of this article. The rules and regulations of the board shall establish a system of priorities to determine the relative necessity to establish children's center facilities by a local agency. In establishing priorities with regard to the outlay of capital funds for the construction of new children's centers, or with regard to the rental or leasing of facilities for new centers, the board shall give special consideration to school districts as described under subdivision (a) of Section 54425 which are also certified by the State Department of Health as containing substantial numbers of families who are recipients of aid to families with dependent children or who are former or potential recipients of the aid and who might reasonably be expected to improve their ability to be self-supporting if child care services are made available. The Department of Benefit Payments shall provide the State Department of Health with any information in its possession necessary for the administration of this section.

No local agency shall receive an initial allocation from any appropriation made for the purposes of this article more than an amount to be known as the local agency entitlement. This amount shall be computed as follows:
  (a) Determine the percentage that the amount apportioned to the local agency in the previous fiscal year for operation purposes pursuant to Section 8380, as amended by Section __ of Chapter ___ of the Statutes of ____, bears to the total amount allocated to all local agencies under the same section.
  (b) Determine the percentage that the statewide modified assessed valuation per average daily attendance for the grade level involved in the previous fiscal year bears to the assessed valuation per unit of average daily attendance of the local agency. Local agencies other than school districts shall use a percentage of 1.00.
  (c) Determine the local agency eligibility factor by multiplying the percentage derived in (a) by that derived in (b).
  (d) Determine the local agency entitlement by multiplying the district eligibility factor derived in (c) by the amount appropriated for this purpose. Amounts of the appropriation initially unallocated may be allocated subsequently without regard to the limitation of the local agency entitlement. Amounts of local agency entitlement not applied for within 90 days of the notification of entitlement, and amounts approved pursuant to Section 16268 but not allocated pursuant to Section 16269, and not made available on an extended basis after one year from the date of the original approval, may also be allocated without regard to the limitation of local agency entitlement.

Any local agency operating or authorized to operate a children's center may apply for assistance under this article to undertake one or more projects. Any local agency not operating a children's center in the prior fiscal year shall have its eligibility and other factors determined by a method similar to that in Section 16264. Reasonable estimates may be used.

Applications for assistance under this article shall be made on forms prescribed and furnished by the board. The applications shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following data and information:
  (a) An outline and general description of the project to be undertaken.
  (b) An estimate of the cost of the project to be undertaken and the anticipated source of funds to complete the project.
  (c) The estimated number of children to be served by the project.
  (d) The waiting list of the local agency for children's centers.
  (e) The amount expended by the local agency from local sources during the past five years for the provision of children's center facilities.

Not more than 25 percent of any funds available under this article for allocation to local agencies under this article shall be allocated for the reconstruction or rehabilitation of existing children's center facilities. Not less than 75 percent of the funds shall be allocated for the planning and construction of new permanent facilities, including acquisition and improvement of sites and acquisition of equipment for the facilities.

The board shall notify a local agency when a preliminary approval of project has been given, and shall reserve from the appropriation made a sum in the amount of the approval given.

Funds allocated for a project shall be disbursed to the local agency upon certification to the Controller when the executive officer of the board has determined both of the following:
  (a) All required approvals of the projects have been granted.
  (b) The local agency has subsequent to the effective date of this section, committed the expenditure through the granting of a contract or the authorization of an agreement which requires the payment of funds.

In administering this article, the board shall approve the application. The executive officer of the board shall (a) prescribe and furnish application forms and (b) certify to the Controller the allocation of funds to which a local agency is eligible.

All sites, plans, and specifications of the proposed facilities shall be approved by the State Department of Education. Prior to the approval, the local agency shall certify to the State Department of Education the unavailability of adequate, alternate facilities in the area to be served by the proposed facilities. The facilities shall include but not be limited to vacant classrooms, auditoriums, multipurpose rooms, church or recreation facilities.

For each one dollar ($1) of money allocated to a local agency which is expended for a project, the local agency shall expend local funds for the project in an amount which bears the same percentage to the one dollar ($1) as the modified assessed valuation per unit of the average daily attendance of the local agency bears to the statewide modified assessed valuation per average daily attendance of all local agencies. Local agencies other than school districts shall use a percentage of 1.00.