1. (a) Local public transferred funds and local private donated funds, as provided in §809.20 of this subchapter, as well as child care funds allocated to the Boards in Chapter 800, Subchapter B of this title, to the extent used for nondirect care quality improvement activities, shall only be used for the following:

   1. (1) Collaborative reading initiatives
   2. (2) School readiness, early learning, and literacy
   3. (3) Local-level support to promote child care consumer education provided by 2-1-1 Texas

2. (b) Allowable activities may include the following to support the quality improvement activities described in subsection (a) of this section:

   1. (1) Professional development and training for child care providers
   2. (2) Purchase of curriculum and curriculum-related support resources for child care providers
3. (c) Activities in subsection (a) of this section may be designed to meet the needs of children in any age group eligible for Commission-funded child care, as well as children with disabilities.

4. (d) In funding quality activities allowable under this section, a Board may give priority to child care facilities:

   1. (1) participating in the integrated school readiness models developed by the State Center for Early Childhood Development at the University of Texas Health Science Center;
   2. (2) implementing components of school readiness curricula as approved by the State Center; or
   3. (3) participating in or voluntarily pursuing participation in Texas Rising Star Provider certification, pursuant to Texas Government Code §2308.316.
5. (e) Expenditures certified by a public entity, as provided in §809.20 of this subchapter, may include expenditures for any quality improvement activity described in 45 C.F.R. §98.51.

Source Note:The provisions of this §809.15 adopted to be effective February 11, 1999, 24 TexReg 800; amended to be effective September 3, 2001, 26 TexReg 6724; amended to be effective May 1, 2006, 31 TexReg 3589.