; (V) providing technical assistance to child care providers throughout the child care licensing process; (VI) recruiting child care providers and staff; (VII) supporting the training and professional development of the child care workforce including through apprenticeships, partnerships with labor unions or labor-management partnerships, and partnerships with public and nonprofit institutions of higher education to provide comprehensive scholarships that support equitable access to, and completion of, credentials and degrees in early childhood education; (VIII) attracting and maintaining an effective and diverse early care workforce by increasing total compensation, providing wage supplements or bonuses, or offering wage and retention rewards and ensuring adequate wages for staff of child care providers, including sole proprietors and independent contractors, that, at a minimum— (aa) provide a living wage for all staff of such child care providers; and (bb) are adjusted on an annual basis for cost of living increases to ensure payment rates remain sufficient to meet the requirements of this subsection; (IX) subject to subparagraph (C), providing financial support (without regard to limitations on expenditures imposed under section 658F(b) of the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990) for projects involving the purchase or improvement of land, a major renovation, repurposing facilities, the purchase, acquisition, construction, or permanent improvement of any building or facility, including major renovation and minor remodeling, indoor or outdoor modifications, including such modifications to support accessibility for children with disabilities, predevelopment or soft costs, and for projects to upgrade child care facilities to assure that providers meet State and local child care standards, including applicable health, safety, and quality requirements