1.This Act may be cited as the
Child Care Quality Incentive Act of
2005
.
2.
(a)Congress
makes the following findings:
(1)Recent research
on early brain development reveals that much of a child’s growth is determined
by early learning and nurturing care. Research also shows that quality early
care and education leads to increased cognitive abilities, positive classroom
learning behavior, increased likelihood of long-term school success, and
greater likelihood of long-term economic and social self-sufficiency.
(2)Each day an
estimated 13,000,000 children, including 6,000,000 infants and toddlers, spend
some part of their day in child care. However, a study in 4 States found that
only 1 in 7 child care centers provide care that promotes healthy development,
while 1 in 8 child care centers provide care that threatens the safety and
health of children.
(3)Full-day child
care can cost $4,000 to $12,000 per year.
(4)Although Federal
assistance is available for child care, funding is severely limited. Even with
Federal subsidies, many families cannot afford child care. For families with
young children and a monthly income under $1,200, the cost of child care
typically consumes 25 percent of their income.
(5)Payment (or
reimbursement) rates, which determine the maximum the State will reimburse a
child care provider for the care of a child who receives a subsidy, are too low
to ensure that quality care is accessible to all families.
(6)Low payment rates
directly affect the kind of care children get and whether families can find
quality child care in their communities. In many instances, low payment rates
force child care providers serving low-income children to cut corners in ways
that impact the quality of care for the children, including reducing the number
of staff, eliminating professional development opportunities, and cutting
enriching educational activities and services.
(7)Children in
low-quality child care are more likely to have delayed reading and language
skills, and display more aggression toward other children and adults.
(8)Increased payment
rates lead to higher quality child care as child care providers are able to
attract and retain qualified staff, provide salary increases and professional
training, maintain a safe and healthy environment, and purchase basic supplies,
children’s literature, and developmentally appropriate educational
materials.
(b)The
purpose of this Act is to improve the quality of, and access to, child care by
increasing child care payment rates.
3.Section 658E(c)(4) of
the Child Care and Development Block Grant
Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858c(c)(4)) is
amended—
(1)by redesignating
subparagraph (B) as subparagraph (C);
(2)in subparagraph
(A), by striking to comparable child care services
and inserting
to child care services that are comparable (in terms of quality and
types of services provided) to child care services
; and
(3)by inserting
after subparagraph (A) the following:
(B)
(i)In
order to provide the certification described in subparagraph (A), the State
shall conduct statistically valid and reliable market rate surveys (that
reflect variations in the cost of child care services by locality), in
accordance with such methodology standards as the Secretary shall issue. The
State shall conduct the surveys not less often than at 2-year intervals, and
use the results of such surveys to implement, not later than 1 year after
conducting each survey, payment rates described in subparagraph (A) that ensure
equal access to comparable services as required by subparagraph (A).
(ii)Cost of living
adjustmentsThe State shall adjust the payment rates at intervals
between such surveys to reflect increases in the cost of living, in such manner
as the Secretary may specify.
(iii)Rates for
different ages and types of careThe State shall ensure that the
payment rates reflect variations in the cost of providing child care services
for children of different ages and providing different types of care.
(iv)The State shall, not later than 30 days after the
completion of each survey described in clause (i), make the results of the
survey widely available through public means, including posting the results on
the Internet.
.
4.Incentive grants
to improve the quality of child care
(a)Section 658B of
the Child Care and Development Block Grant
Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858) is amended—
(1)by striking
There
and inserting the following:
(a)Authorization
of appropriationsThere
;
(2)in subsection
(a), by inserting (other than section 658H)
after this
subchapter
; and
(3)by adding at the
end the following:
(b)Appropriation
of funds for grants to improve the quality of child careOut of
any funds in the Treasury that are not otherwise appropriated, there is
authorized to be appropriated and there is appropriated $500,000,000 for each
of fiscal years 2006 through 2010, for the purpose of making grants under
section 658H.
.
(b)Section 658E(c)(3) of the
Child Care and Development Block Grant Act
of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858c(c)(3)) is
amended—
(1)in subparagraph
(B), by striking under this subchapter
and inserting
under this subchapter (other than section 658B(b))
; and
(2)in subparagraph
(D), by inserting (other than section 658H)
after under
this subchapter
.
(c)Section 658G of the
Child Care and Development Block Grant Act
of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858e) is amended by
inserting (other than section 658H)
after this
subchapter
.
(d)Grants to
improve the quality of child careThe
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:
658H.Grants to
improve the quality of child care
(a)
(1)The Secretary shall use the amount appropriated under
section 658B(b) for a fiscal year to make grants to eligible States, and Indian
tribes and tribal organizations, in accordance with this section.
(2)The Secretary shall make an annual payment for such a
grant to each eligible State, and for Indian tribes and tribal organizations,
out of the corresponding payment or allotment made under subsections (a), (b),
and (e) of section 658O from the amount appropriated under section
658B(b).
(b)
(1)In this section, the term eligible State
means a State that—
(A)has conducted a
statistically valid survey of the market rates for child care services in the
State within the 2 years preceding the date of the submission of an application
under paragraph (2); and
(B)submits an
application in accordance with paragraph (2).
(2)
(A)To be eligible to receive a grant under this section, a
State shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such
manner, and accompanied by such information, in addition to the information
required under subparagraph (B), as the Secretary may require.
(B)Each application submitted for a grant under this
section shall—
(i)detail the
methodology and results of the State market rates survey conducted pursuant to
paragraph (1)(A);
(ii)describe the
State’s plan to increase payment rates from the initial baseline determined
under clause (i);
(iii)describe how
the State will increase payment rates in accordance with the market survey
results, for all types of child care providers who provide services for which
assistance is made available under this subchapter;
(iv)describe how
payment rates will be set to reflect the variations in the cost of providing
care for children of different ages and different types of care;
(v)describe how the
State will prioritize increasing payment rates for—
(I)care of
higher-than-average quality, such as care by accredited providers or care that
includes the provision of comprehensive services;
(II)care for
children with disabilities and children served by child protective services;
or
(III)care for
children in communities served by local educational agencies that have been
identified for improvement under section 1116(c)(3) of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 6316(c)(3));
(vi)describe the
State’s plan to assure that the State will make the payments on a timely basis
and follow the usual and customary market practices with regard to payment for
child absentee days; and
(vii)describe the
State’s plans for making the results of the survey widely available through
public means.
(3)Continuing
eligibility requirement
(A)Second and
subsequent paymentsA State shall be eligible to receive a second
or subsequent annual payment under this section only if the Secretary
determines that the State has made progress, through the activities assisted
under this subchapter, in maintaining increased payment rates.
(B)Third and
subsequent paymentsA State shall be eligible to receive a third
or subsequent annual payment under this section only if the State has
conducted, at least once every 2 years, an update of the survey described in
paragraph (1)(A).
(4)Requirement of
matching funds
(A)To be eligible to receive a grant under this section, the
State shall agree to make available State contributions from State sources
toward the costs of the activities to be carried out by the State pursuant to
subsection (c) in an amount that is not less than 20 percent of such
costs.
(B)Determination
of State contributionsSuch State contributions shall be in cash.
Amounts provided by the Federal Government may not be included in determining
the amount of such State contributions.
(c)
(1)An eligible State that receives a grant under this section
shall use the funds received to significantly increase the payment rate for the
provision of child care assistance in accordance with this subchapter up to the
100th percentile of the market rate determined under the market rate survey
described in subsection (b)(1)(A).
(2)An eligible State that demonstrates to the Secretary that
the State has achieved a payment rate of the 100th percentile of the market
rate determined under the market rate survey described in subsection (b)(1)(A)
may use funds received under a grant made under this section for any other
activity that the State demonstrates to the Secretary will enhance the quality
of child care services provided in the State.
(3)Amounts paid to a State under this section shall be used
to supplement and not supplant other Federal, State, or local funds provided to
the State under this subchapter or any other provision of law.
(d)
(1)Each eligible State shall submit to the Secretary, at
such time and in such form and manner as the Secretary may require, information
regarding the State’s efforts to increase payment rates and the impact
increased payment rates are having on the quality of child care in the State
and the access of parents to high-quality child care in the State.
(2)The Secretary shall submit biennial reports to Congress
on the information described in paragraph (1). Such reports shall include data
from the applications submitted under subsection (b)(2) as a baseline for
determining the progress of each eligible State in maintaining increased
payment rates.
(e)Indian tribes
and tribal organizationsThe Secretary shall determine the manner
in which and the extent to which the provisions of this section apply to Indian
tribes and tribal organizations.
(f)In this section, the term payment rate means
the rate of reimbursement to providers for subsidized child care.
.
(e)Section
658J(a) of the Child Care
and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C.
9858h(a)) is amended by inserting from funds
appropriated under section 658B(a)
after section
658O
.
(f)Section 658O of
the Child Care and Development Block Grant
Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858m) is
amended—
(1)in subsection
(b)(1), in the matter preceding subparagraph (A)—
(A)by striking
section 658B
and inserting section 658B(a)
;
and
(B)by inserting
and from the amounts appropriated under section 658B(b) for each fiscal
year remaining after reservations under subsection (a),
before
the Secretary shall allot
; and
(2)in subsection
(e)—
(A)in paragraph (1),
by striking the allotment under subsection (b)
and inserting
an allotment made under subsection (b)
; and
(B)in paragraph (3),
by inserting corresponding
before
allotment
.