[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1390 Introduced in House (IH)]
107th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1390
To establish a child care provider scholarship program.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 4, 2001
Mr. DeFazio introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Education and the Workforce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish a child care provider scholarship program.
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 ``Child Care Worker Incentive Act of
2001''.
SEC. 2. NATIONAL CHILD CARE PROVIDER SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM.
(a) Establishment of Program.--Section 658G of the Child Care and
Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858e) is amended--
(1) by inserting ``(a) In General.--'' before ``A State'';
and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(b) Child Care Provider Scholarship Program.--
``(1) State plan requirement.--In order to be eligible for
funds under section 658J(a)(2), a State shall include in its
plan under section 658E a child care provider scholarship
program plan, meeting the requirements of this subsection,
designed to further the goals of child care provider
recruitment, training, credentialing, and retention.
``(2) Eligibility criteria for scholarship applicants.--The
State plan shall provide that, in order for an individual to be
eligible for a scholarship grant under this subsection, the
following requirements shall be met:
``(A) Demonstrated commitment to child care
career.--The individual--
``(i) shall be a child care worker who is
(or is employed by) a licensed or registered
child care provider, or has a commitment for
employment from a licensed or registered child
care provider; and
``(ii) shall agree in writing to continue
to be employed in the field of child care for
at least one year after receiving the training
for which assistance is provided.
``(B) Cost sharing by applicant.--
``(i) In general.--The individual (either
as provided in clause (ii) or otherwise) shall
provide for payment, in cash or in kind, of a
share of the cost of the education or training.
``(ii) Application for pell grants.--In the
case of an application for a scholarship
intended for use in an educational institution
participating in the Pell Grant program under
title IV of the Higher Education Act, the
individual shall apply for a grant under such
program for which the individual is eligible.
``(C) Employer requirements.--In the case of an
individual employed by (or who has a commitment for
employment from) a licensed or registered child care
provider the individual's employer shall--
``(i) pay a share of the cost of the
education or training; and
``(ii) agree to provide increased financial
incentives to the individual, such as a salary
increase or bonus, when the individual
completes the education or training.
``(3) Qualifying educational institutions.--The State plan
shall specify the types of educational and training programs
for which scholarships granted under the State program may be
used, which shall be limited to (but may include any or all)
programs that--
``(A) are administered by institutions of higher
education that are eligible to participate in student
financial assistance programs under title IV of the
Higher Education Act of 1965; and
``(B) lead to a State or national credential in
child care or early childhood or early childhood
special education, or to an associate or bachelor's
degree in child development or early childhood
education.
``(4) Annual maximum scholarship grant amount.--The maximum
amount of a scholarship awarded to an eligible individual under
this section may not exceed $1,500 per year.
``(5) Supplementation of other funding.--The State plan
shall contain assurances that Federal funds provided to the
State under this subsection will not be used to supplant
Federal or non-Federal funds for existing services and
activities that promote the purposes of this subsection.''.
(b) 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 inserting ``(a) In General.--'' before ``There'';
and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(b) Child Care Provider Scholarship Program.--There is authorized
to be appropriated to carry out section 658G(b) $50,000,000 for each of
fiscal years 2002 through 2006.''.
(c) Allotment.--Section 658O of the Child Care and Development
Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858m) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) in paragraph (1) by striking ``this
subchapter'' and inserting ``each subsection of section
658B''; and
(B) in paragraph (2) by striking ``section 658B''
and inserting ``section 658B(a)'';
(2) in subsection (b)(1) in the matter preceding
subparagraph (A), by inserting ``each subsection of'' before
``section 658B''; and
(3) in subsection (e)(1) by striking ``the allotment under
subsection (b)'' and inserting ``an allotment under subsection
(b)''.
(d) Payments.--Section 658J(a) of the Child Care and Development
Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858h) is amended--
(1) by inserting ``(1)'' before ``Subject''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(2) A State described in paragraph (1) whose plan under section
658E provides for a child care scholarship program under section
658G(b) shall be entitled to payment under this section in an amount
equal to the lesser of its allotment under section 658O or 80 percent
of expenditures by the State for such program.''.
(e) Annual Report.--Section 658K(a)(2) of the Child Care and
Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858i) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (D) by striking ``and'' at the end;
(2) in subparagraph (E) by adding ``and'' at the end; and
(3) by inserting after subparagraph (E) the following:
``(F) the child care scholarship program,
including--
``(i) the number of child care workers
receiving scholarship grants;
``(ii) the amount of each scholarship
grant;
``(iii) the number of course credits or
credentials completed by individuals receiving
scholarships;
``(iv) the number and percentage of child
care workers receiving scholarship grants in
the previous year who fulfilled their 1-year
commitment; and
``(v) such other data as the Secretary may
require.''.
SEC. 3. APPLICATION OF AMENDMENTS.
The amendments made by this Act shall not apply with respect to
fiscal years beginning before the date of the enactment of this Act.
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