[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2980 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







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--
            (1) in paragraph (2)--
                    (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
            (2) in paragraph (4)--
                    (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:
                    ``(A) Lead teacher.
                    ``(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.''.
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