1.This Act may be cited as the
Starting Early Starting Right
Act
.
2.
(a)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 2008, the national average wage for a
child care worker was $9.79 per hour or $20,350 annually. For full-time,
full-year work, this is not much above the 2008 poverty guidelines of $17,600
for a mother with two 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 2008, 11,100,000 children under age 6
(44 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.
(12)Quality affordable child care is essential
to creating and preserving jobs. First, it maintains and increases employment
opportunities for child educators. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics,
3 occupations—preschool teachers, teacher assistants, and child care
workers—account for 77 percent of all wage and salary jobs in the United
States. Second, child care enables parents to keep and maintain their jobs
while ensuring that their children can access educational opportunities. A 2008
study showed that, by making it possible for parents to work, the licensed
child care sector allows Americans to earn more than $100,000,000,000
annually.
(b)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.
3.Amendments to the
child care and development block grant act of 1990
(a)Authorization of
appropriationsSection 358B of the Child Care and Development
Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858) is amended by striking
is
and all that follows through 2002
, and
inserting are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subchapter
$4,127,181,000 for fiscal year 2010 and such sums as may be necessary for each
of fiscal years 2011 through 2014
.
(b)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 (vi); and
(ii)by
inserting after clause (i), the following:
(ii)Certify that the State has in effect licensing
requirements applicable to all licensed and regulated 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)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, in a
licensed and regulated setting—
(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)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) providersCertify 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)Demonstrate the
manner
;
and
(ii)by
adding at the end the following:
(ii)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)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)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
underserved populationsThe 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 CareSection 658G of the Child Care
and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858e) is amended to read as
follows:
658G.Activities to
improve the quality of child care
(a)For
the purposes of this section, the term Quality Rating and Improvement
System
means a system with no less than 3 levels for benchmarking
quality, designated and implemented in collaboration with community and
statewide partners, for rating and improving licensed or regulated child care
and other early childhood education programs and providers (including
after-school programs and providers), for providing families with better
information about the quality of child care and early education programs and
providers, for improving the quality of early care and education (including
after-school programs) throughout the State, and for providing financial and
other incentives, assistance, and rewards to programs and providers to meet and
sustain higher levels of quality.
(b)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 2 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.
(c)Extension for
Full-Day CareA 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.
(d)High-Quality
Care for Infants and ToddlersA 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)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)Not later than December 31, 2009, 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)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.
.