To increase the supply of quality child care.

February 13, 2003

Mr. ROBERTS (for himself, Ms. Collins, and Mr. Jeffords) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance

To increase the supply of quality child care.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Caring for Children Act'.

TITLE I--DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION ABOUT QUALITY CHILD CARE

SEC. 101. COLLECTION AND DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION.

(a) COLLECTION AND DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION- The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall, directly or through a contract awarded on a competitive basis to a qualified entity, collect and disseminate--

(1) information concerning health and safety in various child care settings that would assist in--

(A) the provision of safe and healthful environments by child care providers; and

(B) the evaluation of child care providers by parents; and

(2) relevant findings in the field of early childhood learning and development.

(b) INFORMATION AND FINDINGS TO BE GENERALLY AVAILABLE-

(1) SECRETARIAL RESPONSIBILITY- The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall make the information and findings described in subsection (a) generally available to States, units of local governments, private nonprofit child care organizations (including resource and referral agencies), employers, child care providers, and parents.

(2) DEFINITION OF GENERALLY AVAILABLE- In paragraph (1), the term `generally available' means that the information and findings shall be distributed through resources that are used by, and available to, the public, including such resources as brochures, Internet web sites, toll-free telephone information lines, and public and private resource and referral organizations.

SEC. 102. GRANTS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A CHILD CARE TRAINING INFRASTRUCTURE.

(a) AUTHORITY TO AWARD GRANTS- The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall award grants to eligible entities to develop distance learning child care training technology infrastructures and to develop model technology-based training courses for child care providers and child care workers, to be provided through distance learning programs made available through the infrastructure. The Secretary shall, to the maximum extent possible, ensure that such grants are awarded in those regions of the United States with the fewest training opportunities for child care providers.

(b) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS- To be eligible to receive a grant under subsection (a), an entity shall--

(1) develop the technological and logistical aspects of the infrastructure described in this section and have the capability of implementing and maintaining the infrastructure;

(2) to the maximum extent possible, develop partnerships with secondary schools, institutions of higher education, State and local government agencies, and private child care organizations for the purpose of sharing equipment, technical assistance, and other technological resources, including--

(A) developing sites from which individuals may access the training;

(B) converting standard child care training courses to programs for distance learning; and

(C) promoting ongoing networking among program participants; and

(3) develop a mechanism for participants to--

(A) evaluate the effectiveness of the infrastructure, including the availability and affordability of the infrastructure, and the training offered through the infrastructure; and

(B) make recommendations for improvements to the infrastructure.

(c) APPLICATION- To be eligible to receive a grant under subsection (a), an entity shall submit an application

to the Secretary at such time and in such manner as the Secretary may require, and that includes--

(1) a description of the partnership organizations through which the distance learning programs will be made available;

(2) the capacity of the infrastructure in terms of the number and type of distance learning programs that will be made available;

(3) the expected number of individuals to participate in the distance learning programs; and

(4) such additional information as the Secretary may require.

(d) LIMITATION ON FEES- No entity receiving a grant under this section may collect fees from an individual for participation in a distance learning program funded in whole or in part under this section that exceed the pro rata share of the amount expended by the entity to provide materials for the program and to develop, implement, and maintain the infrastructure (minus the amount of the grant awarded under this section).

(e) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION- Nothing in this section shall be construed as requiring a child care provider to subscribe to or complete a distance learning program made available under this section.

SEC. 103. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this title $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2003 through 2007.

TITLE II--REMOVAL OF BARRIERS TO INCREASING THE SUPPLY OF QUALITY CHILD CARE

SEC. 201. SMALL BUSINESS CHILD CARE GRANT PROGRAM.

(a) ESTABLISHMENT- The Secretary of Health and Human Services (referred to in this section as the `Secretary') shall establish a program to award grants to States, on a competitive basis, to assist States in providing funds to encourage the establishment and operation of employer operated child care programs.

(b) APPLICATION- To be eligible to receive a grant under this section, a State shall prepare and submit to the Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require, including an assurance that the funds required under subsection (e) will be provided.

(c) AMOUNT OF GRANT- The Secretary shall determine the amount of a grant to a State under this section based on the population of the State as compared to the population of all States receiving grants under this section.

(d) USE OF FUNDS-

(1) IN GENERAL- A State shall use amounts provided under a grant awarded under this section to provide assistance to small businesses located in the State to enable the small businesses to establish and operate child care programs. Such assistance may include--

(A) technical assistance in the establishment of a child care program;

(B) assistance for the startup costs related to a child care program;

(C) assistance for the training of child care providers;

(D) scholarships for low-income wage earners;

(E) the provision of services to care for sick children or to provide care to school aged children;

(F) the entering into of contracts with local resource and referral or local health departments;

(G) assistance for care for children with disabilities; or

(H) assistance for any other activity determined appropriate by the State.

(2) APPLICATION- To be eligible to receive assistance from a State under this section, a small business shall prepare and submit to the State an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the State may require.

(3) PREFERENCE-

(A) IN GENERAL- In providing assistance under this section, a State shall give priority to applicants that desire to form a consortium to provide child care in a geographic area within the State where such care is not generally available or accessible.

(B) CONSORTIUM- For purposes of subparagraph (A), a consortium shall be made up of 2 or more entities that may include businesses, nonprofit agencies or organizations, local governments, or other appropriate entities.

(4) LIMITATION- With respect to grant funds received under this section, a State may not provide in excess of $100,000 in assistance from such funds to any single applicant.

(e) MATCHING REQUIREMENT- To be eligible to receive a grant under this section a State shall provide assurances to the Secretary that, with respect to the costs to be incurred by an entity receiving assistance in carrying

out activities under this section, the entity will make available (directly or through donations from public or private entities) non-Federal contributions to such costs in an amount equal to--

(1) for the first fiscal year in which the entity receives such assistance, not less than 50 percent of such costs ($1 for each $1 of assistance provided to the entity under the grant);

(2) for the second fiscal year in which the entity receives such assistance, not less than 66 2/3 percent of such costs ($2 for each $1 of assistance provided to the entity under the grant); and

(3) for the third fiscal year in which the entity receives such assistance, not less than 75 percent of such costs ($3 for each $1 of assistance provided to the entity under the grant).

(f) REQUIREMENTS OF PROVIDERS- To be eligible to receive assistance under a grant awarded under this section a child care provider shall comply with all applicable State and local licensing and regulatory requirements and all applicable health and safety standards in effect in the State.

(g) ADMINISTRATION-

(1) STATE RESPONSIBILITY- A State shall have responsibility for administering a grant awarded for the State under this section and for monitoring entities that receive assistance under such grant.

(2) AUDITS- A State shall require each entity receiving assistance under the grant awarded under this section to conduct an annual audit with respect to the activities of the entity. Such audits shall be submitted to the State.

(3) MISUSE OF FUNDS-

(A) REPAYMENT- If the State determines, through an audit or otherwise, that an entity receiving assistance under a grant awarded under this section has misused the assistance, the State shall notify the Secretary of the misuse. The Secretary, upon such a notification,

may seek from such an entity the repayment of an amount equal to the amount of any such misused assistance plus interest.

(B) APPEALS PROCESS- The Secretary shall by regulation provide for an appeals process with respect to repayments under this paragraph.

(h) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS-

(1) 2-YEAR STUDY-

(A) IN GENERAL- Not later than 2 years after the date on which the Secretary first awards grants under this section, the Secretary shall conduct a study to determine--

(i) the capacity of entities to meet the child care needs of communities within States;

(ii) the kinds of partnerships that are being formed with respect to child care at the local level to carry out programs funded under this section; and

(iii) who is using the programs funded under this section and the income levels of such individuals.

(B) REPORT- Not later than 28 months after the date on which the Secretary first awards grants under this section, the Secretary shall prepare and submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report on the results of the study conducted in accordance with subparagraph (A).

(2) 4-YEAR STUDY-

(A) IN GENERAL- Not later than 4 years after the date on which the Secretary first awards grants under this section, the Secretary shall conduct a study to determine the number of child care facilities funded through entities that received assistance through a grant awarded under this section that remain in operation and the extent to which such facilities are meeting the child care needs of the individuals served by such facilities.

(B) REPORT- Not later than 52 months after the date on which the Secretary first awards grants under this section, the Secretary shall prepare and submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report on the results of the study conducted in accordance with subparagraph (A).

(i) DEFINITION- In this section, the term `small business' means an employer who employed an average of at least 2 but not more than 50 employees on business days during the preceding calendar year.

(j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS-

(1) IN GENERAL- There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section, $60,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2004 through 2006.

(2) EVALUATIONS AND ADMINISTRATION- With respect to the total amount appropriated for such period in accordance with this subsection, not more than $5,000,000 of that amount may be used for expenditures related to conducting evaluations required under, and the administration of, this section.

(k) TERMINATION OF PROGRAM- The program established under subsection (a) shall terminate on September 30, 2007.

END