[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3298 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3298

  To establish a pilot program to reduce the increasing prevalence of 
     overweight/obesity among 0-5 year-olds in child care settings.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 4, 2010

  Mr. Udall of Colorado (for himself and Mr. Franken) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To establish a pilot program to reduce the increasing prevalence of 
     overweight/obesity among 0-5 year-olds in child care settings.

    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 ``Healthy Kids from Day One Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Life-long food preferences, eating habits, and activity 
        levels develop early in childhood.
            (2) Preschool years are a critical time for determining 
        whether or not an individual will develop obesity later in 
        life.
            (3) Aerobic fitness and healthy eating patterns support 
        enhanced behavioral, emotional, and academic performance in 
        school.
            (4) Recent studies indicate that children who are 
        overweight at age 5 are more likely to be more overweight at 
        age 9.
            (5) Obese preschool children already exhibit signs of 
        cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
            (6) According to a 2007 Centers for Disease Control and 
        Prevention study, 12.4 percent of children in the United States 
        ages 2 through 6 are obese.
            (7) The 2001 National Household Education Survey found that 
        74 percent of children in the United States ages 3 through 6 
        are in some form of non-parental child care, and 56 percent are 
        in center-based child care.
            (8) According to a 2009 analysis of child care center 
        licensing regulations, only 12 States have a policy prohibiting 
        or limiting foods of low nutritional value in child care 
        centers, only 8 States require vigorous or moderate physical 
        activity, only one of which has a policy quantifying a required 
        number of minutes of physical activity by day or week, and only 
        7 States quantify a maximum amount of time for media 
        (television and electronic) each day or week.
            (9) In 2009, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
        released recommended community strategies and measures to 
        prevent obesity in the United States that includes child care 
        specific policy and environmental initiatives to achieve 
        healthy eating and active living among children from birth to 5 
        years of age.
            (10) In 2009, The Institute of Medicine released findings 
        supporting local governments' ability to play a crucial role in 
        creating environments that make it easier for children to eat 
        healthy diets and remain active.
            (11) States should strive to adopt nutrition standards, 
        practices, and policies for child care centers that are 
        consistent with the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
            (12) Child care centers and family child care homes should 
        serve as settings where children adopt healthy eating habits, 
        have opportunities for age appropriate physical activity, and 
        set screen time limits.
            (13) Rates of obesity are higher for Black and Latino 
        children than the overall population of children in the United 
        States.
    (b) Purposes.--It is the purpose of this Act to--
            (1) establish a 3-year pilot program in 5 States that will 
        focus on reducing the increasing prevalence of overweight/
        obesity among children between birth and 5 years of age in 
        child care settings;
            (2) enhance the focus of child care centers and family 
        child care homes serving the birth to 5 years of age population 
        on children's healthy development through evidence-based or 
        data-informed practices to improve healthy eating, physical 
        activity, and screen time limits; and
            (3) identify emerging and expand existing evidence-based 
        practices and understanding of healthy eating, physical 
        activity, and screen time limits, as appropriate, as well as 
        replicate curricula, interventions, practices, and policy 
        changes that are most effective in promoting nutrition and 
        physical activity among the birth to 5 years of age population 
        in the child care setting.

SEC. 3. HEALTHY KIDS PROGRAM.

    Title III of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 241 et seq.) 
is amended by adding at the end the following:

                     ``PART W--HEALTHY KIDS PROGRAM

``SEC. 399OO. DEFINITIONS.

    ``In this part:
            ``(1) Child care center.--The term `child care center' 
        means a center licensed or otherwise authorized to provide 
        child care services for fewer than 24 hours per day per child 
        in a non-residential setting, unless care in excess of 24 hours 
        is due to the nature of the parents' work.
            ``(2) Early learning council.--The term `early learning 
        council' means an early childhood assembly that is established 
        to advise governors, State legislators, or State agency 
        administrators on how best to meet the needs of young children 
        and their families specifically through improvement of programs 
        and services.
            ``(3) Family child care home.--The term `family child care 
        home' means a private family home where home-based child care 
        is provided for a portion of the day, unless care in excess of 
        24 hours is due to the nature of the parents' work, and that is 
        certified, registered, or licensed in the State in which it is 
        located.
            ``(4) Screen time limits.--The term `screen time limits' 
        means policies or guidelines, such as those developed by the 
        American Academy of Pediatrics, designed to reduce the daily 
        amount of time that children spend watching or looking at 
        digital monitors or displays, including television sets, 
        computer monitors, or hand-held gaming devices.
            ``(5) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means the Secretary 
        of Health and Human Services.

``SEC. 300OO-1. GRANTS.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary, in consultation with appropriate 
entities within the Department of Health and Human Services, shall 
award 3-year competitive grants to 5 State health departments (or other 
appropriate child care licensing entities within such States) to help 
reduce and prevent obesity among the birth to 5 year old population of 
the State in child care settings outside a child's place of residence.
    ``(b) Use of Funds.--State grantees shall use amounts received 
under a grant under this subsection to--
            ``(1) provide, or enter into contracts to provide, training 
        (that meets the requirements of subsection (c)) to the staff of 
        national, State, or community-based organizations with networks 
        of child care centers, or a consortium of child care centers 
        and family child care homes consisting of at least 10 centers, 
        for the purpose of implementing evidence-based or data-informed 
        healthy eating and physical activity policies and practices, 
        including curricula and other interventions; and
            ``(2) provide grants to child care centers and family child 
        care homes, whose staff received the training described in 
        paragraph (1), to implement practice, curricula, and policy 
        changes (that meet the requirements of subsection (d)) that 
        promote healthy eating and physical activity among the birth to 
        5 years of age population.
Preference in awarding grants shall be given to those States that 
demonstrate collaboration between relevant State entities related to 
child care and health and with key stakeholders, such as State early 
learning councils and other community-based organizations working with 
child care centers or family child care homes.
    ``(c) Training Requirements.--
            ``(1) In general.--Training provided under subsection (b) 
        shall--
                    ``(A) include the provision of information 
                concerning age-appropriate healthy eating and physical 
                activity interventions and culturally competent 
                curricula for the birth to 5 years of age population in 
                the State involved, which at a minimum shall include--
                            ``(i) a handbook that includes 
                        recommendations, guidelines, and best practices 
                        for child care centers and family child care 
                        homes relating to healthy eating, physical 
                        activity, and screen time reduction;
                            ``(ii) information about the availability 
                        of and services provided by child care health 
                        consultants; and
                            ``(iii) health and wellness resources 
                        available through the Child Care Bureau and the 
                        Maternal and Child Health Bureau;
                    ``(B) identify, improve upon, and expand nutrition 
                and physical activity best practices targeted to the 
                birth to 5 years of age population in the State 
                involved and identify strategies for incorporating 
                parental education and other parental involvement; and
                    ``(C) provide instruction on how to appropriately 
                model, direct, and encourage child care staff behavior 
                to apply the best practices and strategies identified 
                under subparagraph (B).
            ``(2) Training entities.--A grantee may conduct the 
        training required under this section directly, or may provide 
        such training through a contract with--
                    ``(A) an appropriate national, State, or community 
                organization with relevant expertise;
                    ``(B) a health care provider or professional 
                organization with relevant expertise;
                    ``(C) a university or research center that employs 
                faculty with relevant expertise; or
                    ``(D) any other entity determined appropriate by 
                the State and approved by the Secretary.
            ``(3) Requirement of contract.--If a grantee elects to 
        provide the training under this section through a contract, the 
        grantee shall ensure that a consistent healthy eating and 
        physical activity curriculum is being developed for all child 
        care entities participating in the pilot program in the State.
    ``(d) Practice, Curricula, and Policy Changes.--After training is 
provided as required under subsection (c), a State grantee shall ensure 
that the organizations and consortium involved--
            ``(1) implement, in child care settings, evidence-based or 
        data-informed policy changes that promote healthy eating, 
        physical activity, and appropriate screen time limits among the 
        birth to 5 years of age population;
            ``(2) utilize an evidence-based or data-informed, 
        culturally competent healthy eating and physical activity 
        curriculum in child care settings focusing on such birth to age 
        5 population;
            ``(3) implement programs, activities, and procedures for 
        incorporating parental education and involvement of parents in 
        programs, including disseminating a written parental 
        involvement policy, and coordinating and integrating parental 
        involvement strategies under this section, to the extent 
        feasible and appropriate, with parental involvement strategies 
        under other programs, such as the Head Start program and the 
        Early Head Start Program; and
            ``(4) find innovative ways to remove barriers that exist to 
        providing opportunities for healthy eating and physical 
        activity.
All activities described in this paragraph shall be evidence-based and 
data-informed and be consistent with the curriculum presented through 
training activities described in subsection (c).

``SEC. 399OO-2. GRANTS FOR THE EVALUATION OF PILOT PROGRAMS.

    ``The Secretary shall award competitive grants to Prevention 
Research Centers or universities to evaluate the programs carried out 
with grants under section 399OO-1, including baseline, process, and 
outcome measurements.

``SEC. 399OO-3. COORDINATION.

    ``(a) Interagency Coordination.--To the extent practicable, the 
Secretary shall coordinate activities conducted under this part with 
activities undertaken by the National Prevention, Health Promotion and 
Public Health Council established under section 4001 of the Patient 
Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111-148). Where 
practicable, such coordination shall--
            ``(1) include the sharing of current and emerging best 
        practices concerning healthy eating, physical activity, and 
        screen time limits that have a population-level impact in 
        promoting nutrition and physical activity in child care 
        settings;
            ``(2) promote the effective implementation and 
        sustainability of such programs; and
            ``(3) avoid unnecessary duplication of effort.
    ``(b) Pilot Coordination.--The Secretary shall designate an 
individual (directly or through contract) to provide technical 
assistance to States and pilot centers in the development, 
implementation, and evaluation of activities and dissemination of 
information described in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of subsection 
(a).

``SEC. 399OO-4. EVALUATION AND REPORTING.

    ``(a) Technical Assistance and Information.--The Secretary shall--
            ``(1) provide technical assistance to grantees and other 
        entities providing training under a grant under this part; and
            ``(2) disseminate to health departments and trainers under 
        grants under this part information concerning evidence-based or 
        data-informed approaches, including dissemination of existing 
        toolkits, curricula, and existing or emerging best practices 
        that can be expanded or improved upon through a program 
        conducted under this part.
    ``(b) Evaluation Requirements.--With respect to evaluations 
conducted under section 399OO-2, the Secretary shall ensure that--
            ``(1) evaluation metrics are consistent across all programs 
        funded under this part;
            ``(2) interim outcomes are measured by the number of 
        centers that have implemented policy and environmental 
        strategies that support use of curricula and practices 
        supporting healthy eating, physical activity, and screen time 
        limits;
            ``(3) interim outcomes are measured, to the extent 
        possible, by behavior changes in healthy eating, physical 
        activity, and screen time; and
            ``(4) upon completion of the program, the evaluation shall 
        include an identification of best practices relating to 
        behavior change and reductions in the increasing prevalence of 
        overweight and obesity that could be replicated in other 
        settings.
    ``(c) Dissemination of Information.--Upon the conclusion of the 
programs carried out under this part, the Secretary shall disseminate 
to all appropriate agencies within the Department of Health and Human 
Services evidence, best practices, and lessons learned from grantees. 
Such agencies shall encourage the adoption of the best practices.
    ``(d) Report to Congress.--Not later than 6 months after the 
completion of the pilot program under this part, the Secretary shall 
submit to Congress a report concerning the evaluation of the pilot 
programs, including recommendations as to how lessons learned from such 
programs can be incorporated into future guidance documents developed 
and provided by the Secretary and other Federal agencies, as 
appropriate.

``SEC. 399OO-5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    ``There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this part, 
$2,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2011, 2012 and 2013.''.
                                 <all>