110th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 228
To establish a small business child care grant program, and for
other purposes.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
January 9, 2007
Mr. ROBERTS (for himself, Mr. STEVENS, and Mr. ALEXANDER) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions
A BILL
To establish a small business child care grant program, and for
other purposes.
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 `Small Business Child Care Act'.
SEC. 2. 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 and Period 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. The Secretary shall make the grant for a period of 3 years.
(1) IN GENERAL- A State shall use amounts provided under a grant awarded
under this section to provide assistance to small businesses (or consortia
formed in accordance with paragraph (3)) located in the State to enable
the small businesses (or consortia) 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
organizations or local health departments;
(G) assistance for care for children with disabilities;
(H) payment of expenses for renovation or operation of a child care
facility; or
(I) assistance for any other activity determined appropriate by the
State.
(2) APPLICATION- In order for a small business or consortium to be eligible
to receive assistance from a State under this section, the small business
involved shall prepare and submit to the State an application at such
time, in such manner, and containing such information as the State may
require.
(A) IN GENERAL- In providing assistance under this section, a State
shall give priority to an applicant that desires 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 shall include small businesses
and that may include large businesses, nonprofit agencies or organizations,
local governments, or other appropriate entities.
(4) LIMITATIONS- With respect to grant funds received under this section,
a State may not provide in excess of $500,000 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 a covered entity receiving assistance in carrying
out activities under this section, the covered 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 covered entity receives such
assistance, not less than 50 percent of such costs ($1 for each $1 of
assistance provided to the covered entity under the grant);
(2) for the second fiscal year in which the covered entity receives such
assistance, not less than 66 2/3 percent of such costs ($2 for each $1
of assistance provided to the covered entity under the grant); and
(3) for the third fiscal year in which the covered entity receives such
assistance, not less than 75 percent of such costs ($3 for each $1 of
assistance provided to the covered 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--
(1) who receives assistance from a State shall comply with all applicable
State and local licensing and regulatory requirements and all applicable
health and safety standards in effect in the State; and
(2) who receives assistance from an Indian tribe or tribal organization
shall comply with all applicable regulatory standards.
(g) State-Level Activities- A State may not retain more than 3 percent of
the amount described in subsection (c) for State administration and other
State-level activities.
(1) STATE RESPONSIBILITY- A State shall have responsibility for administering
a grant awarded for the State under this section and for monitoring covered
entities that receive assistance under such grant.
(2) AUDITS- A State shall require each covered entity receiving assistance
under the grant awarded under this section to conduct an annual audit
with respect to the activities of the covered entity. Such audits shall
be submitted to the State.
(A) REPAYMENT- If the State determines, through an audit or otherwise,
that a covered 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 a covered 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.
(i) Reporting Requirements-
(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 covered entities to meet the child care needs
of communities within States;
(ii) the kinds of consortia 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).
(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 that are funded
through covered entities that received assistance through a grant awarded
under this section and 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).
(j) Definitions- In this section:
(1) COVERED ENTITY- The term `covered entity' means a small business or
a consortium formed in accordance with subsection (d)(3).
(2) INDIAN COMMUNITY- The term `Indian community' means a community served
by an Indian tribe or tribal organization.
(3) INDIAN TRIBE; TRIBAL ORGANIZATION- The terms `Indian tribe' and `tribal
organization' have the meanings given the terms in section 658P of the
Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858n).
(4) SMALL BUSINESS- The term `small business' means an employer who employed
an average of at least 2 but not more than 50 employees on the business
days during the preceding calendar year.
(5) STATE- The term `State' has the meaning given the term in section
658P of the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C.
9858n).
(k) Application to Indian Tribes and Tribal Organizations- In this section:
(1) IN GENERAL- Except as provided in subsection (f)(1), and in paragraphs
(2) and (3), the term `State' includes an Indian tribe or tribal organization.
(2) GEOGRAPHIC REFERENCES- The term `State' includes an Indian community
in subsections (c) (the second and third place the term appears), (d)(1)
(the second place the term appears), (d)(3)(A) (the second place the term
appears), and (i)(1)(A)(i).
(3) STATE-LEVEL ACTIVITIES- The term `State-level activities' includes
activities at the tribal level.
(l) Authorization of Appropriations-
(1) IN GENERAL- There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this
section, $50,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2008 through 2012.
(2) STUDIES AND ADMINISTRATION- With respect to the total amount appropriated
for such period in accordance with this subsection, not more than $2,500,000
of that amount may be used for expenditures related to conducting studies
required under, and the administration of, this section.
(m) Termination of Program- The program established under subsection (a)
shall terminate on September 30, 2012.
END
