(a) The Commissioner of Human Services shall be responsible for a program for stimulating efforts by private persons or organizations to provide suitable day care facilities for children of working mothers and for supervising the operation of such facilities. For this purpose, he shall be authorized, to the extent that funds are appropriated therefor, to provide subsidy payments for care furnished by private day care facilities to children whose parents are unable, because of lack of financial resources, to pay the minimum rates established for care in such facilities for cases not receiving a subsidy. The subsidy payments shall equal the difference between the established minimum rates of the facility, or such lower rate as the Commissioner and Board of Social Welfare may determine to be reasonable, and the responsible relatives of the child can afford to pay, as determined by the Department of Human Services on the basis of the resources and needs of the family on eligibility standards approved by the Commissioner and Board of Social Welfare.
(b) In any area in the Virgin Islands where there is clear and special need for day care facilities for children of working mothers and it proves impossible to stimulate the development of private facilities adequate to the need, the Commissioner of Human Services shall be authorized to establish, as an activity of the Department of Human Services, such day care facilities as the Governor may approve and as may be operated within appropriations available therefore.
(c) For day care facilities operated by the Department of Human Services under the authorization contained in subsection (b) of this section, the Commissioner and Board of Social Welfare shall determine the normal rates to be charged, and shall establish the standards on the basis of which the Department shall determine eligibility and the amount of contribution which shall be required from responsible relatives unable to pay the normal rates in full.
(d) The Commissioner of Human Services shall be authorized to accept such Federal contribution as may be made available for any part or parts of the day care program authorized by this section.