S 2980
110th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2980
To amend the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of
1990 to improve access to high-quality early learning and child care
for low-income children and working families, and for other purposes.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 6, 2008
Mr. CASEY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred
to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
A BILL
To amend the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of
1990 to improve access to high-quality early learning and child care
for low-income children and working families, 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 `Starting Early Starting Right Act'.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) Findings- Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Children in child care learn and develop skills they need to succeed
in school and in life. Child care is also fundamental to helping families
get ahead by giving parents the support and peace of mind they need
to be productive at work.
(2) Child care teachers and providers carry the responsibility of
providing a safe, nurturing, and stimulating setting for children
entrusted to them each day.
(3) In 2006, the average wage for a child care worker was $9.05 per
hour or $18,820 annually. For full-time, full-year work this is only
slightly above the 2006 poverty guidelines of $16,600 for a mother
with 2 children.
(4) As a result of low wages and limited benefits, many child care
providers do not work for long periods in the child care field. Only
65 percent of those employed in the child care field in 2005 were
still working in child care in 2006. Such high turnover rates deny
children consistent and stable relationships with their teachers.
(5) Current reimbursement rates for child care providers receiving
Federal funds are insufficient to recruit and retain qualified child
care providers and to ensure high-quality early care and education
services for children.
(6) Research shows that high-quality child care helps low-income children
enter school ready to succeed. One study found that children who had
enrolled in high-quality child care demonstrated greater mathematical
ability and thinking and attention skills, and experienced fewer behavior
problems than other children in second grade. Effects were particularly
strong for low-income children.
(7) Millions of low-income children could benefit from high-quality
child care. In 2007, 10,500,000 children under age 6 (43 percent)
lived in low-income families (families with incomes below 200 percent
of poverty).
(8) Inadequate funding has reduced the number of children with access
to child care. Only about 1 in 7 eligible children receives Federal
child care assistance.
(9) Many women work in low-wage jobs and cannot cover the cost of
child care. For example, two-thirds of working poor families headed
by single mothers who paid for child care spent at least 40 percent
of their cash income on child care.
(10) Problems with child care can make it difficult for parents, particularly
low-income parents, to work, causing them to lose wages, be denied
a promotion, or lose their jobs.
(11) Research shows that single mothers and former welfare recipients
who received child care assistance were much more likely to remain
employed after 2 years than those who did not receive child care assistance.
(b) Purpose- The purpose of this Act is to improve--
(1) access to high-quality early learning and child care for low-income
children and working families; and
(2) the quality of child care and the number of high-quality child
care providers.
SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO THE CHILD CARE AND DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT ACT
OF 1990.
(a) Establishment of Program- Section 658C of the Child Care and Development
Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858a) is amended to read as follows:
`SEC. 658C. ESTABLISHMENT OF BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM AND OFFICE OF CHILD
CARE.
`(a) In General- The Secretary is authorized to make grants to States
in accordance with the provisions of this subchapter.
`(b) Office of Child Care-
`(1) IN GENERAL- There shall be established within the Administration
for Children and Families, an Office of Child Care to serve as the
principal advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Children and Families
on issues regarding State funded child care programs.
`(2) PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES- The Office of Child Care shall have
primary responsibility for the operation of all child care programs
authorized or funded under part A of title IV of the Social Security
Act.
`(3) ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES- The Office of Child Care shall have
the following responsibilities:
`(A) Developing legislative, regulatory, and budgetary proposals
for the Secretary.
`(B) Presenting operational planning objectives and initiatives
related to child care to the Secretary.
`(C) Overseeing the progress of approved activities.
`(D) Providing leadership and coordination for child care, early
childhood development, and school-age programs within the Administration
for Children and Families.
`(E) Providing leadership and linkages with other agencies on child
care issues including agencies within the Department of Health and
Human Services, relevant agencies across the Federal, State, local
governments and tribal governments, and non-government organizations
at the Federal, State and local levels.'.
(b) Application and Plan- Section 658E(c) of the Child Care and Development
Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858c(c)) is amended--
(A) in subparagraph (E)--
(i) redesignating clause (ii) as clause (iii); and
(ii) by inserting after clause (i), the following:
`(ii) SITE VISITS- Certify that the State has in effect licensing
requirements applicable to child care providers within the State
that include one annual announced and one annual unannounced visit
to each site at which the provider provides child care services.
Nothing in the preceding sentence shall be construed to require
that licensing requirements be applied to specific types of providers
of child care services.
`(iii) TRAINING- Certify that the State has in effect licensing
or registration requirements applicable to child care providers
within the State that require, within 3 years of the date of enactment
of the Starting Early Starting Right Act, that every lead teacher
or aide of the provider, and each family child care provider--
`(I) have at least 40 hours of appropriate health, safety, and
child development training prior to their employment with or
operation as a provider (as determined in accordance with guidelines
to be issued by the Secretary); and
`(II) have at least 24 hours of annual training in appropriate
health, safety, and child development training (as determined
in accordance with guidelines to be issued by the Secretary).
`(iv) OTHER TRAINING- Certify that the State has a plan to implement,
within 3 years of the date of enactment of the Starting Early
Starting Right Act, pre- and in-service training requirements
applicable to child care providers that provide services for which
assistance is made available under this subchapter.
`(v) TRAINING FOR LIMITED-ENGLISH-PROFICIENT (LEP) PROVIDERS-
Certify that the State has a plan to provide for the training
of child care service providers with limited-English proficiency
to provide high-quality child care services.';
(B) in subparagraph (H)--
(i) by striking `Demonstrate the manner' and inserting the following:
`(i) IN GENERAL- Demonstrate the manner'; and
(ii) by adding at the end the following:
`(iii) SPECIFIC NEEDS- Demonstrate the manner in which the State
will meet the specific child care needs of low-income and working
families, including--
`(I) the outreach strategies to be used to reach hard-to-serve
children, including low-income children, English language learners,
children with special needs, and children in rural areas;
`(II) the use of contracts with child care centers, family child
care homes, and organizations that manage and support family
child care networks to reach hard-to-serve children and underserved
communities;
`(III) the use of pilot or demonstration projects to increase
the supply of high-quality child care in underserved communities;
`(IV) the use of pilot or demonstration projects that demonstrate
effective techniques and approaches of specialized training
for child care service providers with limited-English proficiency
to improve their ability to provide high-quality child care
services; and
`(V) the use of pilot or demonstration projects that demonstrate
effective techniques and approaches of specialized training
for child care providers working with children with developmental
disabilities.'; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
`(I) CONTINUOUS CARE- Demonstrate how the State is implementing
practices and procedures to help ensure that children receive continuous
care from the same provider, including through--
`(i) the use of contracts with child care centers, family child
care homes, and organizations that manage and support family child
care networks for underserved populations;
`(ii) extending periods of redetermination for all families to
1 year;
`(iii) extending periods of job search eligibility; and
`(iv) informing families and providers that eligibility is ending
in a timely manner and in multiple formats.'; and
(A) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as subparagraph (D); and
(B) by inserting after subparagraph (A), the following:
`(B) IN GENERAL- The State plan shall provide information demonstrating
that the State is ensuring that payment rates for the provision
of child care services for which assistance is provided under this
subchapter are equal to or exceed the 75th percentile of the current
market rate for all types of child care, based on a research-based
market rate survey that includes variations for geography, age of
children, and provider type.
`(C) CHILD CARE FOR SPECIAL POPULATIONS- The State plan shall describe
efforts to address the need for child care for special populations,
including care in low-income and rural areas, care for infants and
toddlers, care for children with special needs, care for other populations,
and care during nonstandard hours, such as paying rates for the
provision of child care services for which assistance is provided
under this subchapter that exceed the 75th percentile of a current
market rate for all types of care (based on the survey under subparagraph
(B).'.
(c) Activities To Improve the Quality of Child Care- Section 658G of
the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858e)
is amended to read as follows:
`SEC. 658G. ACTIVITIES TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF CHILD CARE.
`(a) In General- A State that receives funding to carry out this subchapter
for a fiscal year, shall use not less than 15 percent of the amount
of such funds for activities that are designed to improve the quality
of child care, including the implementation of 1 or more of the following:
`(1) Developing and implementing a Quality Rating and Improvement
System (referred to in this section as the `QRIS') for child care
centers and family child care homes, including criteria appropriate
for each age group eligible for assistance under this Act with levels
that lead to nationally recognized high standards.
`(2) Providing assistance for education, training, and compensation
initiatives to assist child care providers in meeting and maintaining
the criteria for achieving progressively higher rating levels under
the QRIS.
`(3) Providing grants and other types of assistance, including mentoring,
to assist child care providers in meeting and maintaining the criteria
for achieving progressively higher rating levels under the QRIS.
`(4) Maintaining a Statewide network of child care resource and referral
programs.
`(5) Inspecting and monitoring child care programs.
`(6) Providing grants to assist child care providers, including those
who are limited-English-proficient, in becoming licensed or regulated
and in meeting pre-service and ongoing training requirements.
`(7) Offering other assistance to child care providers to strengthen
the quality of child care, including support for education and training
initiatives tied to compensation.
`(8) Providing grants to assist child care providers who are not required
to be licensed or registered in receiving appropriate training and
support.
`(9) Developing and implementing technological resources to assist
low-income families in applying for child care assistance as well
as to educate families concerning the range of and quality ratings
of various child care providers.
`(b) Extension for Full-Day Care- A State that receives funding to carry
out this subchapter for a fiscal year, shall use not less than 5 percent
of the amount of such funds for activities that are designed to fund
activities to extend the day or year for those children who are eligible
for child care services and attend part-day or year programs.
`(c) High-Quality Care for Infants and Toddlers- A State that receives
funding to carry out this subchapter for a fiscal year, shall use not
less than 30 percent of the amount of such funds for activities that
are designed to fund initiatives to improve the quality and expand the
availability of high-quality care for infants and toddlers.'.
(d) Reporting Requirements- Section 658K(a) of the Child Care and Development
Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858i(a)) is amended by adding at
the end the following:
`(3) BI-ANNUAL REPORTS- Not later than December 31, 2008, and every
2 years thereafter, a State that operates a Quality Rating and Improvement
System (referred to in this section as the `QRIS') shall prepare and
submit to the Secretary a report that includes aggregate data concerning--
`(A) the number of licensed center and family child care providers
in the State;
`(B) the number of child care providers in each level of the State
QRIS, listed by type, race and ethnicity, geographic area of the
State, and number of children that each such provider is licensed
to serve;
`(C) the disaggregated number and percentages of children receiving
child care assistance under this subchapter in each level of the
State QRIS;
`(D) whether any change occurred in the number and percentage of
child care providers in each level of the State QRIS, listed by
type, geographic area of the State, and number of children each
such provider is licensed to serve;
`(E) the disaggregated number and percentage of children receiving
child care assistance under this subchapter who are receiving care
from child care providers in a higher-quality level (as determined
under the State QRIS) as compared to the previous 12-month period;
`(F) the disaggregated number of child care providers in low-income
communities who have moved up to a higher-quality level of child
care (as determined under the State QRIS) as compared to the previous
12-month period; and
`(G) the average child care reimbursement rate under this subchapter
at each level of the State QRIS, listed by provider type, race and
ethnicity, and geographic area of the State.
`(4) 5-year REPORT- Not later than December 31, 2013, and every 5
years thereafter, a State described in paragraph (1)(A) shall prepare
and submit to the Secretary a report that includes aggregate data
concerning the average individual compensation paid for each of the
following in all licensed child care programs, disaggregated by race,
ethnicity, credentials, and program type in the State:
`(B) Classroom assistant or aide.
`(C) Family child care provider.
`(D) Family child care assistant.'.
SEC. 4. AMENDMENT TO THE TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE TO NEEDY FAMILIES PROGRAM
UNDER PART A OF TITLE IV OF THE SOCIAL SECURITY ACT.
Section 418(a)(3) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 618(a)(3)) is
amended--
(1) in subparagraph (G), by striking `through 2010.' and inserting
`through 2008; and'; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
`(H) the amount appropriate for fiscal year 2008 increased by $10,000,000,000
for each of fiscal years 2009 through 2014.'.
END
