43-536.

Child care reimbursement; assessment; adjustment of rate; participation in quality rating and improvement system; effect.

In determining the rate of reimbursement for child care, the Department of Health and Human Services shall assess the market rates and costs for provision of services of the child care providers in the state, utilizing an approved methodology in accordance with 45 C.F.R. 98.45, as such section existed on January 1, 2024. The department shall adjust the reimbursement rate for child care every odd-numbered year at a rate not less than the seventy-fifth percentile of the current market rate, except that (1) nationally accredited child care providers may be reimbursed at higher rates and (2) an applicable child care or early childhood education program, as defined in section 71-1954, that is participating in the quality rating and improvement system and has received a rating of step three or higher under the Step Up to Quality Child Care Act may be reimbursed at higher rates based upon the program's quality scale rating under the quality rating and improvement system.