[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2671 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2671

  To amend the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to 
     provide for child care quality improvements for children with 
      disabilities or other special needs, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 24, 2002

   Mr. Edwards (for himself, Mr. DeWine, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Dodd, Ms. 
  Collins, and Mrs. Clinton) 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 
     provide for child care quality improvements for children with 
      disabilities or other special needs, 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 ``Nurturing Special Kids Act of 
2002''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) In 2000, there were 70,400,000 children under age 18 in 
        the United States, and children made up 26 percent of the 
        United States population. The percentage of the population that 
        consists of children is expected to be stable. Children are 
        expected to comprise 24 percent of the population by 2020.
            (2) There are 11,400,000 infants and toddlers and 
        12,000,000 preschool-age children in the United States.
            (3) Nationwide, at least 200,000 infants and toddlers, 
        600,000 preschool-age children, 2,700,000 children age 6 
        through 11, and 2,300,000 children age 12 through 17 are served 
        under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
            (4)(A) Child health often varies by family income. Children 
        in families with incomes below the poverty line (referred to in 
        this Act as ``low-income families'') are less likely than 
        children in other families (referred to in this Act as 
        ``higher-income families'') to be in very good or excellent 
        health.
            (B) Children from low-income families are more likely to 
        have disabilities or other special needs. They are twice as 
        likely to have a significant disability, nearly twice as likely 
        have serious mental or physical disabilities, and 1.3 times as 
        likely to have learning disabilities, as children from higher-
        income families.
            (5)(A) Children (including youth) in low-income families 
        have significantly higher rates of activity limitation than 
        children in higher-income families.
            (B) In 1998, 11 percent of children age 5 through 17 in 
        low-income families had activity limitations due to chronic 
        conditions. By comparison, 7 percent of such children in 
        higher-income families had such limitations. Children under age 
        5 in low-income families had a higher rate of activity 
        limitation than such children in higher-income families.
            (6) Child care can easily cost more than $4,000 a year per 
        child, and high quality child care typically costs much more. 
        The cost of child care is a significant part of a working 
        family's budget, and can force a family to compromise on the 
        quality of care. The expense of child care, relative to income, 
        often keeps family members from being able to afford to work.
            (7) Forty-five percent of mothers with an infant who is a 
        child with a disability or other special needs do not work 
        outside the home because they cannot find child care. Those 
        mothers are less likely to reenter the labor force by the time 
        their children reach age 1, and those mothers work fewer hours, 
        than mothers with typically developing children.
            (8) The vast majority of working families who are 
        struggling to afford the high cost of child care are not 
        getting any help in covering that cost. Only 1 out of 10 
        children who are eligible for child care assistance through the 
        program carried out under the Child Care and Development Block 
        Grant Act of 1990 are receiving any help through that program.
            (9) A survey found that parents who were using paid child 
        care and whose children had emotional or behavioral 
        disabilities had great difficulty making child care 
        arrangements. Those parents were 20 times more likely than 
        other parents to report that their caregivers had quit or 
        otherwise stopped serving their children, because of those 
        disabilities.
            (10) The General Accounting Office, the Institute of 
        Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, and the National 
        Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences have all 
        documented the national shortage of child care options for 
        children with disabilities or other special needs.
            (11)(A) In a national survey of families who have children 
        with disabilities, \1/5\ of the respondents indicated that a 
        family member had to quit working or work fewer hours because 
        of a child's health.
            (B) In a Florida survey of a similar group of families, 40 
        percent of the respondents reported that a family member does 
        not work, 33 percent reported that a family member turned down 
        a job, and 20 percent reported that a family member works fewer 
        hours, because of the need to care for a child's special needs.
            (C) The shortage of specialized child care is 1 major 
        factor that makes it difficult for parents of children with 
        disabilities to work.
            (12) In a survey by the General Accounting Office, 6 out of 
        7 States surveyed indicated a shortage of child care suitable 
        for children with disabilities or other special needs.
            (13) Research shows that providing support to children with 
        disabilities or other special needs in their early years 
        reduces their need for special education and support later in 
        life.

SEC. 3. CHILD CARE QUALITY IMPROVEMENTS FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES 
              OR OTHER SPECIAL NEEDS.

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

``SEC. 658H. ACTIVITIES TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF CHILD CARE FOR 
              CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES OR OTHER SPECIAL NEEDS.

    ``(a) Definition.--In this section:
            ``(1) Child with a disability or other special needs.--The 
        term `child with a disability or other special needs' means a 
        child who is--
                    ``(A) eligible for early intervention services 
                under part C of the Individuals with Disabilities 
                Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.);
                    ``(B) eligible for services under part B of the 
                Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 
                1411 et seq.); or
                    ``(C) a child with special health care needs, 
                within the meaning of title V of the Social Security 
                Act (42 U.S.C. 701 et seq.), who is an individual with 
                a disability, as defined in section 7(20)(B) of the 
                Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 705(20)(B)).
            ``(2) Covered amount.--The term `covered amount', used with 
        respect to a State and a fiscal year, means an amount equal to 
        the total of--
                    ``(A) 5 percent of the allotment received by that 
                State under section 658O for that fiscal year; and
                    ``(B) 96 percent of the allotment received by that 
                State under section 658O for fiscal year 2002.
    ``(b) Activities.--For any fiscal year in which a State receives an 
allotment under section 658O that exceeds the covered amount, the State 
shall reserve and use the excess--
            ``(1)(A) to support child care programs that accept 
        children with disabilities or other special needs;
            ``(B) to provide higher reimbursement rates to eligible 
        child care providers who serve children with disabilities or 
        other special needs through higher subsidies that reflect the 
        real costs of caring for a child with a disability or other 
        special needs; and
            ``(C) to support training for eligible child care providers 
        in the care of children with disabilities or other special 
        needs;
            ``(2) to fund consultations for eligible child care 
        providers by competent, licensed professionals--
                    ``(A) to improve the eligible child care providers' 
                ability to identify children with disabilities or other 
                special needs, including mental and emotional 
                disorders; and
                    ``(B) to strengthen their ability to care for such 
                children; and
            ``(3) to provide--
                    ``(A) a comprehensive system of ongoing training 
                and technical assistance, consisting of--
                            ``(i) training for eligible child care 
                        providers, State licensing and regulatory 
                        agencies responsible for licensing and 
                        regulating child care providers, special 
                        education and related services personnel, and 
                        parents and other family members on how to 
                        collaborate with each other to help ensure 
                        appropriate implementation of the Americans 
                        with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 
                        et seq.), the Individuals with Disabilities 
                        Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.), and 
                        section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 
                        (29 U.S.C. 794);
                            ``(ii) technical assistance to assist 
                        eligible child care providers who are center-
                        based child care providers, group home child 
                        care providers, or family child care providers, 
                        to enable the eligible child care providers to 
                        include appropriately children with 
                        disabilities or other special needs with other 
                        children in child care settings;
                            ``(iii) training for child care facility 
                        directors and staff on the use of assistive 
                        technology for children with disabilities or 
                        other special needs;
                            ``(iv) training to develop leadership 
                        skills for directors of child care facilities 
                        to operate inclusive child care programs, 
                        including training concerning leadership skills 
                        in financial development, program development, 
                        parent education, and community development; 
                        and
                            ``(v) assistance to State and local child 
                        care resource and referral agencies on 
                        compliance with the Americans with Disabilities 
                        Act of 1990, the Individuals with Disabilities 
                        Education Act, and section 504 of the 
                        Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794); and
                    ``(B) grants for recruitment and retention of 
                qualified staff, consisting of--
                            ``(i) grants for scholarships, for eligible 
                        child care providers who work with children 
                        with disabilities or other special needs, and 
                        other children, to obtain--
                                    ``(I) associate's, bachelor's, or 
                                master's degrees in child development 
                                or special education; or
                                    ``(II) training in child 
                                development;
                            ``(ii) grants to increase salaries of 
                        eligible child care providers who obtain--
                                    ``(I) associate's, bachelor's, or 
                                master's degrees in child development; 
                                or
                                    ``(II) training in child 
                                development or special education; and
                            ``(iii) grants to promote retention of 
                        eligible child care providers in the child care 
                        field.''.

SEC. 4. STATE PLAN REQUIREMENTS.

    Section 658E(c)(2) of the Child Care and Development Block Grant 
Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858c(c)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the 
following new subparagraphs:
                    ``(I) Reimbursement for special needs care.--
                Certify that the State is taking the cost of 
                specialized care for children with disabilities or 
                other special needs (as defined in section 658H) into 
                account when determining reimbursement rates for child 
                care for which assistance is provided under this 
                subchapter.
                    ``(J) Compliance with disability laws.--Certify 
                that the State will ensure that all eligible child care 
                providers within the State are informed about the 
                requirements associated with the Americans with 
                Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.), the 
                Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 
                1400 et seq.), and section 504 of the Rehabilitation 
                Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794), and describe how the State 
                will assist eligible child care providers by providing 
                the training, technical assistance, and resources 
                necessary to assist the providers in complying with 
                those Acts.
                    ``(K) Coordination with other applicable 
                activities.--Certify and describe the State's efforts 
                to coordinate--
                            ``(i) training, services, and other 
                        assistance provided under section 658H with 
                        respect to children with disabilities or other 
                        special needs; and
                            ``(ii) similar activities supported under 
                        section 619, part C, or part D of the 
                        Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 
                        U.S.C. 1419, 1431 et seq., or 1451 et seq.), or 
                        title V of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
                        701 et seq.).''.

SEC. 5. GRANTS AND LOANS FOR CERTAIN CHILD CARE PROGRAMS.

    (a) In General.--The Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 
1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858) is amended--
            (1)(A) by redesignating section 658P as section 658T; and
            (B) by inserting section 658T (as so redesignated) after 
        section 658S; and
            (2) by inserting after section 658O the following:

``SEC. 658P. GRANTS AND LOANS FOR CERTAIN CHILD CARE PROGRAMS.

    ``(a) Definition.--In this section:
            ``(1) Child with a disability or other special needs.--The 
        term `child with a disability or other special needs' has the 
        meaning given the term in section 658H.
            ``(2) Inclusive child care program.--The term `inclusive 
        child care program' means a child care program--
                    ``(A) that serves children with disabilities or 
                other special needs, and other children, together in a 
                setting; and
                    ``(B) in which not more than 50 percent of the 
                children enrolled are children with disabilities or 
                other special needs.
    ``(b) Grants and Loans.--Subject to appropriations, the Secretary 
shall make grants and low-interest loans to public agencies and 
nonprofit organizations (including States, local governments, and 
community-based organizations) for projects that increase the 
availability of inclusive child care programs. Such projects may 
support inclusive child care programs that target low-income 
populations.
    ``(c) Applications.--To be eligible to receive a grant or loan 
under this section, an agency or organization shall submit an 
application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and 
containing such information as the Secretary may require.
    ``(d) Relationship to Other Law.--In this subchapter, other than 
this section, a provision that refers to this subchapter shall not be 
considered to refer to this section.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--
            (1) Sections 658B and 658G of the Child Care and 
        Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858, 9858e) are 
        amended by striking ``this subchapter'' and inserting ``this 
        subchapter (other than section 658P)''.
            (2) Section 658O(a)(1) of the Child Care and Development 
        Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858m(a)(1)) is amended by 
        striking ``this subchapter'' and inserting ``section 658B''.

SEC. 6. APPROPRIATE OR UNSUITABLE CHILD CARE.

    Section 407(e) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 607(e)) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) Appropriate or unsuitable child care.--In determining 
        whether child care is appropriate or unsuitable for purposes of 
        paragraph (2), a State shall not consider child care to be 
        appropriate, and shall consider the child care to be 
        unsuitable, for a child unless the State determines that the 
        child care meets the physical, developmental, emotional, 
        behavioral, and cultural needs of the child.''.
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