[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1494 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1494

  To amend the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to 
  improve child safety and reduce the incidence of preventable infant 
                     deaths in child care settings.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 11, 2013

 Mrs. Feinstein (for herself, Ms. Collins, and Mrs. Hagan) 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 child safety and reduce the incidence of preventable infant 
                     deaths 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 ``Child Care Infant Mortality 
Prevention Act of 2013''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) For millions of today's working families, child care is 
        an essential ingredient of their success. Child care helps 
        children, families, and communities prosper, and helps the 
        Nation maintain its competitive edge.
            (2) Close to 12,000,000 children under age 5, and 
        10,000,000 over the age of 5, are in some type of child care 
        setting each day.
            (3) More than 60 percent of children are cared for 
        regularly in a child care setting.
            (4) Recent polls of working parents found that parents are 
        primarily concerned about safety and quality of care, followed 
        by cost.
            (5) Nationally, the most common form of death among post-
        neonatal infants under age 1 is death occurring during sleep, 
        as a result of incorrect sleeping practices.
            (6) According to the Centers for Disease Control and 
        Prevention, each year in the United States, more than 4,500 
        infants die suddenly of no immediately obvious cause. Half of 
        these sudden unexpected infant deaths are due to Sudden Infant 
        Death Syndrome, the leading cause of sudden unexpected infant 
        deaths and all deaths among infants who are not younger than 1 
        month but younger than 12 months.
            (7) Researchers estimate that child care settings account 
        for at least 20 percent of sudden unexpected infant deaths in 
        the United States.
            (8) In its 2011 report on child care center licensing 
        regulations, Child Care Aware of America, formerly known as the 
        National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral 
        Agencies, noted that--
                    (A) extensive research and recommendations from 
                organizations like the American Academy of Pediatrics 
                and the National Centers for Disease Control and 
                Prevention favor simple life-saving safe sleep 
                strategies to eliminate serious risk factors for Sudden 
                Infant Death Syndrome and sudden unexpected infant 
                death; and
                    (B) the strategies noted in subparagraph (A) are 
                not universally required under the Child Care and 
                Development Block Grant Act of 1990 nor in the majority 
                of State child care regulations.

SEC. 3. GOALS.

    Section 658A(b)(5) of the Child Care and Development Block Grant 
Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858 note) is amended to read as follows:
            ``(5) to ensure the health, safety, development and well-
        being of children in programs supported under this subchapter 
        and to assist States in improving the overall quality of child 
        care services and programs by implementing the health, safety, 
        licensing, and oversight standards established in State law 
        (including regulations).''.

SEC. 4. APPLICATION AND PLAN.

    Section 658E(c)(2)(F) of the Child Care and Development Block Grant 
Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 6858c(c)(2)(F)) is amended by striking clause 
(iii) and all that follows and inserting the following:
                            ``(iii) minimum health and safety training 
                        appropriate to the provider setting, including 
                        training on cardiopulmonary resuscitation, 
                        first aid, safe sleep practices and other 
                        sudden unexpected infant death prevention 
                        strategies.''.

SEC. 5. ACTIVITIES TO PROMOTE CHILD SAFETY AND 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--
            (1) by striking ``choice, and'' and inserting ``choice,''; 
        and
            (2) by striking the period and inserting ``training 
        (including training in safe sleep practices, first aid, and 
        cardiopulmonary resuscitation), and other activities designed 
        to ensure and improve the health and safety of children 
        receiving child care services under this subchapter.''.

SEC. 6. DISSEMINATION OF MATERIALS AND INFORMATION ON SAFE SLEEP AND 
              OTHER SUDDEN UNEXPECTED INFANT DEATH PREVENTION 
              STRATEGIES.

    Section 658K of the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 
1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858i) is amended--
            (1) by striking the section header and inserting the 
        following:

``SEC. 658K. REPORTS, AUDITS, AND INFORMATION.'';

        and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(c) Information on Sudden Unexpected Infant Death Prevention 
Strategies.--The Secretary, working with the Director of the Centers 
for Disease Control and Prevention and the Director of the Eunice 
Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human 
Development, shall--
            ``(1) update training, instructional materials, and other 
        information on safe sleep practices and other sudden unexpected 
        infant death prevention strategies; and
            ``(2) widely distribute the training, materials, and 
        information to parents, child care providers, pediatricians, 
        home visitors, community colleges, and other individuals and 
        entities.''.
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