[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3436 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3436

  To amend the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to 
            improve the quality of infant and toddler care.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 25, 2012

Mr. Franken (for himself, Mrs. Murray, and Mr. Sanders) 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 the quality of infant and toddler care.

    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 ``Infant and Toddler Care Improvement 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) The brain undergoes its most dramatic development 
        during a child's first 3 years of life, with 700 new 
        neurological connections being formed every second based on 
        early experience. During this time, the brain's foundational 
        capacities for thinking, language, emotion, and self-regulation 
        are formed.
            (2) Economic deprivation can also affect the development of 
        the brain and impair all aspects of development. Children in 
        families below the poverty line are at risk for prolonged 
        ``toxic'' stress, which can change the shape of the brain's 
        structure. Twenty-five percent of children younger than 3 years 
        of age live in families with incomes below the poverty level.
            (3) Child care is second only to the family setting as the 
        place in which early development takes place for many infants 
        and toddlers. Sixty-one percent of mothers with children 
        younger than 3 years of age are in the labor force and over 
        6,000,000 children younger than 3 years of age are cared for by 
        someone other than their parents for some part or all of the 
        day. Therefore, the relationship between the child and the 
        child care provider often plays a significant role in child 
        development.
            (4) Research shows that high-quality child care can 
        mitigate some of the effects of adverse experiences caused by 
        poverty and that low-income children can benefit particularly 
        well from high-quality child care. Yet, at-risk children 
        younger than 3 years of age often receive low-quality child 
        care that can lead to poor developmental outcomes.
            (5) High-quality child care has been shown to promote 
        positive cognitive, language, and social and emotional 
        development, and contribute to academic success. High-quality 
        child care can also help improve a child's communication 
        skills, cognitive skills, behavioral skills, math and language 
        assessment scores, and verbal intelligence.
            (6) Providing training and technical assistance to family 
        child care providers who are infant and toddler care providers, 
        through family child care networks, has been shown to improve 
        the quality of caregivers.
            (7) Twenty-seven States use infant and toddler specialist 
        networks as the structure for providing training and technical 
        assistance, using research-based training and techniques such 
        as mentoring and on-site coaching, to all types of providers of 
        child care for infants or toddlers.
            (8) Preparation for early childhood educators often does 
        not include training specific to infants and toddlers. Only 21 
        States have infant and toddler credential requirements that 
        define the particular knowledge and skills needed to work with 
        children younger than 3 years of age.
            (9) Infants and toddlers have unique needs that differ from 
        those of older children in areas such as health and safety, 
        interaction with teachers and caregivers, and learning, yet not 
        all States recognize those differences in licensing regulations 
        or in their Quality Rating and Improvement Systems. Just 20 
        States have infant and toddler quality indicators in their 
        Quality Rating and Improvement Systems and only 3 States have 
        separate categories of child care regulations related to 
        infants and toddlers.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to improve the overall 
quality of child care programs serving infants or toddlers.

SEC. 3. HIGH-QUALITY INFANT AND TODDLER CARE PROGRAM.

    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. HIGH-QUALITY INFANT AND TODDLER CARE PROGRAM.

    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Eligible infant or toddler care provider.--The term 
        `eligible infant or toddler care provider' means an eligible 
        child care provider, consistent with section 658P, who provides 
        care to an infant or toddler.
            ``(2) Infant or toddler.--The term `infant or toddler' 
        means an individual under 3 years of age.
            ``(3) Infant or toddler with a developmental delay or 
        disability.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The term `infant or toddler with 
                a developmental delay or disability' has the meaning 
                given the term `infant or toddler with a disability' in 
                section 632 of the Individuals with Disabilities 
                Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1432).
                    ``(B) Plural form.--The term `infants and toddlers 
                with developmental delays or disabilities' means more 
                than 1 infant or toddler with a developmental delay or 
                disability.
            ``(4) Limited english proficient.--The term `limited 
        English proficient' has the meaning given the term in section 
        637 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9832).
            ``(5) Low-income community.--The term `low-income 
        community' shall be defined by the Secretary.
            ``(6) Low-income family.--The term `low-income family' 
        means a family with a family income described in section 
        658P(4)(B).
    ``(b) Grants.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall make grants to 
        eligible States, from allotments described in paragraph (2), to 
        enable the States to improve the quality of care for infants 
        and toddlers.
            ``(2) Allotments.--
                    ``(A) Amounts reserved.--
                            ``(i) Territories and possessions.--The 
                        Secretary shall reserve an amount not to exceed 
                        0.5 percent of the amount appropriated under 
                        this section for each fiscal year for payments 
                        to Guam, American Samoa, the United States 
                        Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the 
                        Northern Mariana Islands, to be allotted in 
                        accordance with their respective needs.
                            ``(ii) Indian tribes.--The Secretary shall 
                        reserve not less than 1 percent, and not more 
                        than 2 percent, of the amount appropriated 
                        under this section for each fiscal year for 
                        payments to Indian tribes and tribal 
                        organizations with applications approved under 
                        section 658O(c).
                    ``(B) Allotments to states.--After making 
                reservations under subparagraph (A), the Secretary 
                shall use the remainder of the amount appropriated 
                under this section for a fiscal year to allot to each 
                State an amount that bears the same relationship to 
                that remainder as the amount allotted to the State 
                under section 658O for that fiscal year bears to the 
                amount allotted to all States under section 658O for 
                that fiscal year.
                    ``(C) State.--In this paragraph, the term `State' 
                does not include Guam, American Samoa, the United 
                States Virgin Islands, or the Commonwealth of the 
                Northern Mariana Islands.
    ``(c) Amendment to State Plans.--A State that receives a grant 
under this section shall include in the State's plan under section 
658E, a description of how the State will use funds provided under this 
section to improve the quality of infant and toddler care.
    ``(d) Use of Funds.--
            ``(1) In general.--A State that receives a grant under this 
        section shall use the funds made available through the grant to 
        carry out 1 or more of the activities described in paragraphs 
        (2) through (7).
            ``(2) Increasing high-quality infant and toddler care.--
                    ``(A) In general.--A State may use the funds 
                described in paragraph (1) to make grants to eligible 
                entities to be resources for eligible infant and 
                toddler care providers, to improve the quality of early 
                care and development services provided to infants and 
                toddlers in the community from low-income families and 
                to help such providers serving low-income families 
                improve their capacity to offer high-quality care to 
                such families.
                    ``(B) Eligible entity.--To be eligible to receive a 
                grant under this paragraph, an entity shall be an 
                eligible child care provider that--
                            ``(i) serves infants and toddlers from low-
                        income families; and
                            ``(ii)(I) is ranked at the top level of the 
                        State's Quality Rating and Improvement System 
                        or similar rating system or accredited by a 
                        national accrediting body recognized, before 
                        the date of enactment of the Infant and Toddler 
                        Care Improvement Act, for high-quality program 
                        standards that are valid and reliable; or
                            ``(II) is an Early Head Start agency under 
                        section 645A of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 
                        9840a) that is in full compliance with the 
                        performance standards applicable to such an 
                        agency under the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 
                        et seq.).
                    ``(C) Priority.--In making grants under this 
                paragraph, a State--
                            ``(i) shall give priority to entities that 
                        will serve significant populations of low-
                        income families; and
                            ``(ii) may give priority to entities that--
                                    ``(I) are located in low-income 
                                communities;
                                    ``(II) will serve communities with 
                                significant populations of families 
                                with limited English proficiency; or
                                    ``(III) will increase the ability 
                                of caregivers to provide appropriate 
                                services and coordinate activities with 
                                State and local systems providing 
                                services under part C of the 
                                Individuals with Disabilities Education 
                                Act (20 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.) for 
                                children with developmental delays or 
                                disabilities, including such children 
                                in the child welfare system of the 
                                State.
            ``(3) Staffed family child care networks or systems.--
                    ``(A) In general.--A State may use the funds 
                described in paragraph (1) to make grants to 
                organizations with expertise in providing child care 
                and related technical assistance, to establish and 
                operate staffed family child care networks or systems 
                that offer, to family child care providers who are 
                eligible infant and toddler care providers, technical 
                assistance, training, administrative support, or direct 
                services including monitoring visits to providers.
                    ``(B) Priority.--In making grants under this 
                paragraph, a State--
                            ``(i) shall give priority to organizations 
                        described in paragraph (2)(C)(i); and
                            ``(ii) may give priority to organizations 
                        that have 1 or more of the 3 characteristics 
                        described in paragraph (2)(C)(ii).
            ``(4) Statewide network of infant and toddler 
        specialists.--
                    ``(A) In general.--A State may use the funds 
                described in paragraph (1) to support, or to make a 
                grant to an organization with expertise in providing 
                child care technical assistance to support, a statewide 
                network of specialists who are eligible infant and 
                toddler care providers, that shall--
                            ``(i) provide individual or group training 
                        and intensive consultation services to eligible 
                        infant and toddler care providers, including 
                        relative caregivers, on strategies to improve 
                        the quality of care for infants and toddlers; 
                        and
                            ``(ii) assist eligible infant and toddler 
                        care providers in coordinating activities with 
                        other offices responsible for child care, 
                        including Early Head Start programs and Head 
                        Start programs carried out under the Head Start 
                        Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.).
                    ``(B) Priority.--In delivering services or making 
                grants under this paragraph, a State--
                            ``(i) shall give priority to networks that 
                        deliver support to providers described in 
                        paragraph (2)(C)(i); and
                            ``(ii) may give priority to networks that 
                        deliver support to providers that have 1 or 
                        more of the 3 characteristics described in 
                        paragraph (2)(C)(ii).
            ``(5) State workforce quality initiatives.--
                    ``(A) In general.--A State may use the funds 
                described in paragraph (1) to support initiatives to 
                improve the quality of the workforce of eligible infant 
                and toddler care providers, such as--
                            ``(i) providing relevant training, 
                        professional development, or mentoring to 
                        eligible infant and toddler care providers, 
                        including linking the training, development, or 
                        mentoring to career pathways for eligible 
                        infant and toddler care providers;
                            ``(ii) providing scholarships or other 
                        financial support to eligible infant and 
                        toddler care providers to advance their 
                        education and training;
                            ``(iii) coordinating activities with the 
                        State's higher education system to expand the 
                        availability and quality of coursework for 
                        infant and toddler care providers, including 
                        developing career pathways for eligible infant 
                        and toddler care providers; or
                            ``(iv) improving the State credentialing of 
                        eligible infant and toddler care providers.
            ``(6) Systems quality.--A State may use the funds described 
        in paragraph (1) to--
                    ``(A) develop infant and toddler components for the 
                State's Quality Rating and Improvement System or 
                similar rating system, child care licensing 
                regulations, or voluntary early learning guidelines;
                    ``(B) improve the ability of parents to obtain 
                information about high-quality infant and toddler care; 
                or
                    ``(C) assist eligible infant and toddler care 
                providers seeking to improve the quality of their 
                infant and toddler care by increasing their ranking on 
                the State's Quality Rating and Improvement System or 
                similar rating system, meeting performance standards 
                applicable to an Early Head Start agency under the Head 
                Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.), or becoming 
                accredited by a national accrediting body described in 
                paragraph (2)(B)(ii).
            ``(7) Other high-quality initiatives.--A State may use the 
        funds described in paragraph (1) to carry out other activities 
        determined by the State to improve the quality of infant and 
        toddler care provided in the State and for which there is 
        evidence that the activities will lead to improved infant and 
        toddler safety, infant and toddler development, or infant and 
        toddler well-being.
    ``(e) Reporting.--A State that receives a grant under subsection 
(b) shall submit in the State's annual reports required under section 
658K(a)(2), information on how the State is using the funding provided 
under subsection (b) to improve the quality of infant and toddler care 
and the effect such funding is having on the quality of infant and 
toddler care in the State.
    ``(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section such sums as may be necessary 
for fiscal year 2013 and each subsequent fiscal year.''.

SEC. 4. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

    (a) Authorization.--Section 658B of the Child Care and Development 
Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858) is amended by inserting 
``(other than section 658H)'' after ``subchapter''.
    (b) Allotment.--Section 658O(a)(1) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
9858m(a)(1)) is amended by striking ``this subchapter'' and inserting 
``section 658B''.
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