[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1697 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 1697

  To amend the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to 
improve the availability of child care and development services during 
      periods outside normal school hours, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 2, 1998

     Mr. Kennedy (for himself, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Akaka, and Mr. Reed) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
                 Committee on Labor and Human Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to 
improve the availability of child care and development services during 
      periods outside normal school hours, 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 ``America After School Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) children spend less than 20 percent of their waking 
        hours in school, and their activities during the remaining 80 
        percent of these hours have a critical impact on their long-
        term success in school and work;
            (2) approximately 24,000,000 children require care after 
        school while their parents work;
            (3) during 1991--
                    (A) there were 36,700,000 school-age children in 
                the United States;
                    (B) approximately 21,200,000 of the children 
                described in subparagraph (A) lived with working 
                mothers (including mothers seeking employment) and 
                999,000 lived with mothers who were enrolled in school; 
                and
                    (C) approximately 912,000 of the children described 
                in subparagraph (A) lived with single working fathers, 
                61,000 with single unemployed fathers, and 9,000 with 
                single fathers who were enrolled in school;
            (4) the General Accounting Office estimates that the 
        current supply of child care for school-age children will meet 
        as little as 25 percent of the demand in some urban areas by 
        2002;
            (5) children who attend quality after-school programs while 
        their parents work--
                    (A) experience positive effects on their 
                development;
                    (B) have better peer relations, emotional 
                adjustment, grades, and conduct in school than their 
                peers in other care arrangements;
                    (C) have more learning opportunities and enrichment 
                activities than their peers in other care arrangements; 
                and
                    (D) are less likely to engage in juvenile 
                delinquent activity;
            (6)(A) most juvenile delinquent activity occurs between 3 
        p.m. and 8 p.m.; and
            (B) from 1988 to 1992, juvenile arrests for violent acts 
        increased by 50 percent;
            (7) survey data confirms public support for expansion of 
        programs to assist school-age children, as evidenced by the 
        fact that the need for child care, including before- and after-
        school care, was rated as one of the most pressing needs for 
        children and families by 92 percent of respondents to a 1995 
        National League of Cities survey, ranking as the highest rated 
        need in the survey, which inquired about crime prevention, 
        welfare reform, education, housing, family stability, drug and 
        alcohol abuse prevention, and a host of other issues;
            (8) 1996 survey data indicate that parents overwhelmingly 
        support using school-based after-school programs for learning 
        and enrichment programs, but 70 percent of all public 
        elementary schools do not offer such programs; and
            (9) parents want more than babysitting from after-school 
        programs, and computer classes, art and music courses, 
        tutoring, and community service activities rank high among 
        parental choices for activities for after-school programs.

              TITLE I--CHILD CARE AND DEVELOPMENT SERVICES

SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS.

    The Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 
9858 et seq.) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating section 658P (42 U.S.C. 9858n) as 
        section 658T;
            (2) by moving such section 658T to the end of such Act; and
            (3) in such section 658T--
                    (A) in paragraph (4), by adding at the end the 
                following:
        ``The term `eligible child', used with respect to child care 
        and development services, means a school age child.''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(15) Child care; child care services.--The terms `child 
        care' and `child care services' include child care and 
        development services.
            ``(16) Child care and development services.--The term 
        `child care and development services' means services described 
        in section 658H(f).
            ``(17) Child with a disability.--The term `child with a 
        disability' has the meaning given the term in section 602 of 
        the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 
        1401).
            ``(18) Elementary school; secondary school.--The terms 
        `elementary school' and `secondary school' have the meanings 
        given the terms in section 14101 of the Elementary and 
        Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8801).
            ``(19) School age child.--The term `school age child' means 
        an individual who--
                    ``(A)(i) is not less than 5 and not more than 15 
                years of age; or
                    ``(ii) at the election of the State involved, is 
                less than 5 years of age; and
                    ``(B) meets the requirements of subparagraphs (B) 
                and (C) of paragraph (4).''

SEC. 102. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    Section 658B of the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 
1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``There is'' and inserting ``(a) In 
        General.--There is'';
            (2) by striking ``this subchapter'' and inserting ``this 
        subchapter (other than section 658H)''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(b) Programs for Child Care and Development Services.--There is 
authorized to be appropriated and there is appropriated to carry out 
section 658H, $1,000,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1999 through 
2003.''

SEC. 103. STATE PLAN.

    Section 658E(c) of the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act 
of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858c(c)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (2)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (A)--
                            (i) in clause (i)(II), by striking 
                        ``section 658P(2)'' and inserting ``section 
                        658T(2)''; and
                            (ii) in clause (ii), by striking ``eligible 
                        provider'' and inserting ``eligible child care 
                        provider (or, in the case of child care and 
                        development services, an entity described in 
                        section 658H(c))''; and
                    (B) in the first sentence of subparagraph (E)(i)--
                            (i) by inserting after ``within the State'' 
                        the following ``(or, in the case of child care 
                        and development services, other appropriate 
                        requirements)''; and
                            (ii) by striking ``such requirements'' each 
                        place it appears and inserting ``such licensing 
                        or appropriate requirements''; and
            (2) in paragraph (3)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``(D)'' and 
                inserting ``(E)''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(E) Programs for child care and development 
                services.--
                            ``(i) In general.--The State plan shall 
                        provide that the State will reserve the portion 
                        described in clause (ii) of the State allotment 
                        under section 658O for each fiscal year to 
                        carry out activities under section 658H.
                            ``(ii) Portion.--For each fiscal year, the 
                        portion referred to in clause (i) is the amount 
                        that bears the same relationship to the State 
                        allotment for that year as the amount 
                        appropriated under section 658B(b) for that 
                        year bears to the total amount appropriated 
                        under section 658B for that year.''.

SEC. 104. CHILD CARE AND DEVELOPMENT SERVICES.

    The Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 
9858 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 658G the following:

``SEC. 658H. CHILD CARE AND DEVELOPMENT SERVICES.

    ``(a) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this section to fund quality 
child care and development services, including direct services provided 
outside of normal school hours, to promote the health and academic 
achievement of school age children, and assist the children in avoiding 
high risk behaviors.
    ``(b) In General.--Each State that receives funds to carry out this 
subchapter for a fiscal year shall use the funds reserved as described 
in section 658E(c)(3)(E) to make grants to eligible entities to carry 
out programs to expand the availability and affordability of quality 
child care and development services, including direct services provided 
outside of normal school hours (including before- and after-school care 
and weekend, holiday, and summer care) for school age children.
    ``(c) Eligible entities.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
this section, an entity shall be--
            ``(1) an elementary school or secondary school; or
            ``(2) a community-based organization, including a 
        community-based entity that operates a child care center or 
        youth center or is a family child care provider, that meets 
        such requirements of the type described in subparagraphs (E) 
        and (F) of section 658E(c)(3) as the State and local 
        governments involved may prescribe.
    ``(d) Application.--To be eligible to receive a grant under this 
section, an entity shall submit an application to the State at such 
time, in such manner, and containing such information as the State may 
require. At a minimum, each application shall contain--
            ``(1) information demonstrating the manner in which the 
        entity will carry out a program described in subsection (b) in 
        a manner that meets the needs, of the community to be served, 
        for child care and development services, including direct 
        services provided outside of normal school hours;
            ``(2) an assurance that the entity will carry out direct 
        services provided through the program during--
                    ``(A) at least 3 days in each week that the program 
                operates, and for at least 3 hours on each day that the 
                program operates; or
                    ``(B) at least 10 hours in each week that the 
                program operates;
            ``(3) information demonstrating the manner in which the 
        entity will serve children with disabilities; and
            ``(4) information demonstrating the manner in which the 
        entity will carry out the planning, establishment, 
        implementation, and evaluation of the program, and provide 
        staff training for the program, in coordination with other 
        entities carrying out programs for children or public 
        transportation programs in the community.
    ``(e) Preference.--In making grants under this section, a State 
shall give preference to entities that--
            ``(1) serve communities with--
                    ``(A) a high rate of poverty, as determined in 
                accordance with criteria established by the Secretary; 
                and
                    ``(B) a high incidence of at-risk children; and
            ``(2) propose programs that make transportation services 
        available to the children served, if needed to enable the 
        children to receive other services described in this section, 
        using transportation provided under other public programs in 
        the community, such as transportation provided under the Head 
        Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.), or under programs providing 
        services to older individuals, educational programs, or public 
        transportation programs.
    ``(f) Use of Funds.--
            ``(1) In general.--An entity that receives a grant under 
        this section shall use the funds made available through the 
        grant to provide--
                    ``(A) direct services outside of normal school 
                hours;
                    ``(B) quality services; and
                    ``(C) indirect services.
            ``(2) Direct services and related quality services.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The entity shall use not less 
                than 75 percent of the funds described in paragraph (1) 
                to provide two or more of the direct services described 
                in subparagraph (B) to school age children and to carry 
                out related quality services.
                    ``(B) Direct services.--The direct services 
                referred to in subparagraph (A) consist of--
                            ``(i) recreational activities;
                            ``(ii) community-based service programs 
                        that provide for meaningful human, educational, 
                        environmental, or public safety service;
                            ``(iii) academic assistance and tutoring;
                            ``(iv) mentoring;
                            ``(v) conflict management;
                            ``(vi) health and nutrition services, 
                        including disease and injury prevention 
                        services;
                            ``(vii) literacy services;
                            ``(viii) child care (other than another 
                        service described in this subsection); and
                            ``(ix) transportation of school age 
                        children between--
                                    ``(I) school or home; and
                                    ``(II) the facility in which the 
                                services are provided.
                    ``(C) Quality services.--The quality services 
                referred to in subparagraph (A) consist of--
                            ``(i) provision of community-based 
                        training, related to the provision of direct 
                        services, for staff of the entity, at times and 
                        in locations that are accessible to the staff;
                            ``(ii) provision of financial assistance to 
                        the staff to attend courses at an institution 
                        of higher education that are related to the 
                        provision of direct services;
                            ``(iii) provision of financial assistance 
                        to staff to promote staff retention;
                            ``(iv) provision of financial assistance to 
                        enable the child care and development services 
                        program provided by the entity to obtain 
                        accreditation by a nationally recognized 
                        accreditation organization;
                            ``(v) data collection relating to direct 
                        services, including the collection of data 
                        described in paragraphs (1)(B) and (2) of 
                        section 658K(a) for family units receiving 
                        assistance under this section, and submission 
                        of the data to the State for inclusion in the 
                        reports described in section 658K(a)(2); and
                            ``(vi) evaluation of the child care and 
                        development services provided by the entity in 
                        accordance with criteria determined by the 
                        State, and participation in audits described in 
                        section 658K(b).
            ``(3) Indirect services.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The entity shall use not more 
                than 25 percent of the funds described in paragraph (1) 
                to provide indirect services that support the 
                sustainability of the direct services and the 
                accountability of entities carrying out the direct 
                services.
                    ``(B) Services.--The indirect services referred to 
                in subparagraph (A) may include--
                            ``(i) carrying out activities to provide 
                        increased compensation to staff who provide the 
                        direct services to school age children outside 
                        of normal school hours and who participate in 
                        appropriate training;
                            ``(ii) developing and maintaining 
                        electronic databases of providers who provide 
                        the direct services outside of normal school 
                        hours, and making the information in the 
                        databases available to the public through 
                        arrangements with elementary schools, secondary 
                        schools, public libraries, community-based 
                        agencies, and other public agencies;
                            ``(iii) conducting community needs 
                        assessments to determine the need for direct 
                        services outside of normal school hours; and
                            ``(iv) constructing, maintaining, and 
                        improving facilities, and purchasing equipment 
                        for facilities, in which school age children 
                        receive direct services outside of normal 
                        school hours.
    ``(g) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Direct services.--The term `direct services' means 
        the services described in subsection (f)(2)(B).
            ``(2) Indirect services.--The term `indirect services' 
        means the services described in subsection (f)(3).
            ``(3) Quality services.--The term `quality services' means 
        the services described in subsection (f)(2)(C).''.

SEC. 105. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

    (a) Facilities.--Section 658F(b) of the Child Care and Development 
Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858d(b)(1)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``section 658O(c)(6)'' 
        and inserting ``section 658H or 658O(c)(6)''; and
            (2) in paragraph (2), by inserting before ``except'' the 
        following: ``except as provided in section 658H and''.
    (b) Quality Activities.--Section 658G of the Child Care and 
Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858e) is amended by 
striking ``this subchapter'' and inserting ``this subchapter (other 
than section 658H)''.
    (c) Redesignation.--Section 658K of the Child Care and Development 
Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C 9858i) is amended, in subsection 
(a)(2)(A), by striking ``section 658P(5)'' and inserting ``section 
658T(5)''.
    (d) Construction.--Section 658O(c)(6) of the Child Care and 
Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858m(c)(6)) is amended 
by inserting ``(other than the amounts provided to carry out section 
658H)'' after ``this subsection'' each place it appears.

TITLE II--STRENGTHENING THE 21ST CENTURY COMMUNITY LEARNING CENTERS ACT

SEC. 201. PROGRAM AUTHORIZATION.

    Section 10903 of the 21st Century Community Learning Centers Act 
(20 U.S.C. 8243) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) in the subsection heading, by inserting ``to 
                Local Educational Agencies for Schools'' after 
                ``Secretary''; and
                    (B) by striking ``rural and inner-city public'' and 
                all that follows through ``or to'' and inserting 
                ``local educational agencies for the support of public 
                elementary schools or secondary schools, including 
                middle schools, that serve communities with substantial 
                needs for expanded learning opportunities for children 
                and youth in the communities, to enable the schools to 
                establish or''; and
                    (C) by striking ``a rural or inner-city community'' 
                and inserting ``the communities'';
            (2) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) by striking ``States, among'' and inserting 
                ``States and among''; and
                    (B) by striking ``United States,'' and all that 
                follows through ``a State'' and inserting ``United 
                States''; and
            (3) in subsection (c), by striking ``3'' and inserting 
        ``5''.

SEC. 202. APPLICATIONS.

    Section 10904(a) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 8244(a)) is amended--
            (1) in the first sentence, by striking ``an elementary or 
        secondary school or consortium'' and inserting ``a local 
        educational agency'';
            (2) in paragraph (1), by striking ``or consortium'';
            (3) in paragraph (2), by striking ``and'' after the 
        semicolon;
            (4) in paragraph (3)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (D), by striking ``or 
                consortium''; and
                    (B) in subparagraph (E)--
                            (i) in the matter preceding clause (i), by 
                        striking ``or consortium''; and
                            (ii) in clause (ii), by striking the period 
                        and inserting a semicolon;
            (5) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(4) information demonstrating that the local educational 
        agency will--
                    ``(A) provide not less than 50 percent of the 
                annual cost of the activities assisted under the 
                project from sources other than funds provided under 
                this part, which contribution may be provided in cash 
                or in kind, fairly evaluated;
                    ``(B) provide not more than 25 percent of the 
                annual cost of the activities assisted under the 
                project from funds provided by the Secretary under 
                other Federal programs that permit the use of those 
                other funds for activities assisted under the project; 
                and
                    ``(C) subject to subparagraph (B), in the fourth 
                and fifth years of a local educational agency's 
                project, increase the percentage of the annual cost of 
                activities assisted under the project that is paid for 
                from sources other than the funds provided under this 
                part; and
            ``(5) an assurance that the local educational agency, in 
        each year of the project, will maintain the agency's fiscal 
        effort, from non-Federal sources, from the preceding fiscal 
        year for the activities the local educational agency provides 
        with funds provided under this part.''; and
            (6) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking 
        ``Each such'' and inserting the following:
    ``(b) Contents.--Each such''.

SEC. 203. USES OF FUNDS.

    Section 10905 of such Act (20 U.S.C. 8245) is amended by striking 
``may be used'' and all that follows through ``four'' and inserting 
``shall be used to establish or expand community learning centers that 
provide activities which offer expanded learning opportunities for 
children and youth in the community (such as activities conducted 
before or after school) and which may include any''.

SEC. 204. CONTINUATION AWARDS UNDER CURRENT STATUTE.

    Such Act (20 U.S.C. 8241 et seq.) is further amended--
            (1) by redesignating sections 10906 and 10907 as sections 
        10907 and 10908, respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after section 10906 the following:

``SEC. 10907. CONTINUATION AWARDS.

    ``Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary may use 
funds appropriated under this part to make payments under this part for 
projects that were funded under this part for fiscal year 1998, under 
the terms and conditions that applied to the original grants for the 
projects.''.

SEC. 205. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    Section 10908 of such Act (as redesignated by section 204(1)) (20 
U.S.C. 8247) is amended by striking ``$20,000,000 for fiscal year 
1995'' and inserting ``$200,000,000 for fiscal year 1999''.

SEC. 206. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This title, and the amendments made by this title, shall take 
effect on October 1, 1998.

                  TITLE III--CRIME PREVENTION PROGRAM

SEC. 301. GRANTS TO PUBLIC AND PRIVATE AGENCIES.

    Title II of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 
1974 (42 U.S.C. 5611 et seq.) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating the second part designated as part I 
        as part K; and
            (2) by inserting after the first part designated as part I 
        the following:

                ``PART J--AFTER SCHOOL CRIME PREVENTION

``SEC. 292. GRANTS TO PUBLIC AND PRIVATE AGENCIES FOR EFFECTIVE AFTER 
              SCHOOL CRIME PREVENTION PROGRAMS.

    ``(a) In General.--Subject to the availability of appropriations, 
the Administrator shall make grants in accordance with this section to 
public and private agencies to fund effective after school juvenile 
crime prevention programs.
    ``(b) Matching Requirement.--The Administrator may not make a grant 
to a public or private agency under this section unless that agency 
agrees that, with respect to the costs to be incurred by the agency in 
carrying out the program for which the grant is to be awarded, the 
agency will make available non-Federal contributions in an amount that 
is not less than a specific percentage of Federal funds provided under 
the grant, as determined by the Administrator.
    ``(c) Priority.--In making grants under this section, the 
Administrator shall give priority to funding programs that--
            ``(1) are targeted to high crime neighborhoods or at-risk 
        juveniles;
            ``(2) operate during the period immediately following 
        normal school hours;
            ``(3) provide educational or recreational activities 
        designed to encourage law-abiding conduct, reduce the incidence 
        of criminal activity, and teach juveniles alternatives to 
        crime; and
            ``(4) coordinate with State or local juvenile crime control 
        and juvenile offender accountability programs.
    ``(d) Funding.--There are authorized to be appropriated for grants 
under this section $250,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1999, 2000, 
2001, 2002, and 2003.''.
                                 <all>