[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4864 Engrossed in House (EH)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4864
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To develop and implement policies to advance early childhood
development, to provide assistance for orphans and other vulnerable
children in developing countries, 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 ``Global Child Thrive Act of 2020''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) According to a 2019 report from the United Nations
Inter-Agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation entitled
``Levels & Trends in Child Mortality'', the annual number of
deaths among children younger than 15 years of age dropped by
56 percent between 1990 and 2018, from approximately 14,200,000
to approximately 6,200,000.
(2) According to a 2016 article published in The Lancet
entitled ``Early childhood development: the foundation of
sustainable development''--
(A) an estimated 250,000,000 children in low-income
and middle-income countries suffer suboptimal
development due to poverty and stunting alone; and
(B) children who do not meet developmental
milestones are expected to lose about 25 percent of
their average yearly income once they become adults.
(3) According to a report from the United Nations
Children's Fund (UNICEF), entitled ``The State of the World's
Children 2016: A fair chance for every child'', nearly
250,000,000 of the world's 650,000,000 primary school age
children do not master basic literacy and numeracy.
(4) According to a 2018 report from the World Health
Organization entitled ``Nurturing Care for early childhood
development''--
(A) the environment in which a child grows has a
profound impact on future learning, behavior, and
health; and
(B) a country's economic diversity and growth could
be improved by investment in early childhood
development.
(5) According to a 2017 UNICEF report entitled ``UNICEF's
Programme Guidance for Early Childhood Development'', nurturing
care, which is key to early childhood development, consists of
a core set of interrelated components, including--
(A) behaviors, attitudes, and knowledge about
caregiving, including health, hygiene care, and
feeding;
(B) stimulation, such as talking, singing, and
playing;
(C) responsiveness, such as early bonding, secure
attachment, trust, and sensitive communication; and
(D) safety, including routines, protection from
violence, abuse, neglect, harm, and environmental
pollution.
(6) According to a 2016 report published in The Lancet
entitled ``Advancing Early Childhood Development: From Science
to Scale''--
(A) nurturing care from parents, relatives, and
other caregivers and services are formative experiences
for young children;
(B) programs promoting nurturing care can improve
early childhood development outcomes; and
(C) children who do not receive nurturing care
display negative development outcomes, such as greater
sensitivity to the effects of stress or behavioral
problems, especially children who do not receive
nurturing care before their second birthday.
(7) According to the ``Advancing Protection and Care for
Children in Adversity 2019-2023: A U.S. Government Strategy for
International Assistance'', children who live without
protective family care, in abusive households, on the streets,
or in institutions, or who are trafficked, are participating in
armed groups, or are being exploited for their labor are more
likely to be exposed to violence, exploitation, abuse, and
neglect.
(8) According to a 2017 UNICEF report entitled ``Early
Moments Matter for every child'', violence, abuse, neglect, and
traumatic experiences produce toxic stress that limits neural
connectivity in developing brains.
(9) According to a 2014 working paper from the National
Scientific Council on the Developing Child at Harvard
University entitled ``Excessive Stress Disrupts the
Architecture of the Developing Brain''--
(A) situations that produce toxic stress increase
the production of cortisol in a child's brain, which
disrupts its healthy development; and
(B) chronic stress can potentially affect the
expression of genes that regulate the stress response
across the life course.
(10) According to a 2018 article in the North Carolina
Medical Journal entitled ``Adverse Childhood Experiences
(ACEs): An Important Element of a Comprehensive Approach to the
Opioid Crisis'', adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are
traumatic or stressful experiences, including emotional,
physical, or sexual abuse, domestic violence, household
substance abuse, household mental illness, parental separation
or divorce, and the incarceration of a household family member.
(11) According to a 2016 report in Development and
Psychopathology entitled ``Childhood Adversity and Epigenetic
Regulation of Glucocorticoid Signaling Genes: Associations in
Children and Adults''--
(A) children and adults are at risk of developing
psychiatric disorders and other medical conditions if
they have had an adverse childhood experience; and
(B) adults who have had numerous ACEs die nearly 20
years earlier, on average, than adults who have not had
numerous ACEs.
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the United States Government should continue efforts to
reduce child mortality rates and increase attention on
prevention efforts and early childhood development programs;
(2) investments in early childhood development ensure
healthy and well-developed future generations that contribute
to a country's stability, security and economic prosperity;
(3) efforts to provide training and education on nurturing
care could result in improved early childhood development
outcomes and support healthy brain development; and
(4) integration and cross-sector coordination of early
childhood development programs is critical to ensure the
efficiency, effectiveness, and continued implementation of such
programs.
SEC. 4. ASSISTANCE TO IMPROVE EARLY CHILDHOOD OUTCOMES GLOBALLY.
(a) Authorization of Assistance.--Amounts authorized to be
appropriated to carry out section 135 in chapter 1 of part 1 of the
Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) for each of the
fiscal years 2021 through 2025 are authorized to be made available to
support early childhood development activities in conjunction with
relevant, existing programming, such as water, sanitation and hygiene,
maternal and child health, basic education, nutrition and child
protection.
(b) Assistance To Improve Early Childhood Outcomes Globally.--
Chapter 1 of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C.
2151 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 137. ASSISTANCE TO IMPROVE EARLY CHILDHOOD OUTCOMES GLOBALLY.
``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
`appropriate congressional committees' means--
``(A) the Committee on Appropriations of the
Senate;
``(B) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the
Senate;
``(C) the Committee on Appropriations of the House
of Representatives; and
``(D) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House
of Representatives.
``(2) Early childhood development.--The term `early
childhood development' means the development and learning of a
child younger than 8 years of age, including physical,
cognitive, social, and emotional development and approaches to
learning that allow a child to reach his or her full
developmental potential.
``(3) Early childhood development program.--The term `early
childhood development program' means a program that ensures
that every child has the conditions for healthy growth,
nurturing family-based care, development and learning, and
protection from violence, exploitation, abuse, and neglect,
which may include--
``(A) a health, clean water, sanitation, and
hygiene program that serves pregnant women, children
younger than 5 years of age, and the parents of such
children;
``(B) a nutrition program, combined with
stimulating child development activity;
``(C) age appropriate cognitive stimulation,
especially for newborns, infants, and toddlers,
including an early childhood intervention program for
children experiencing at-risk situations, developmental
delays, disabilities, and behavioral and mental health
conditions;
``(D) an early learning (36 months and younger),
preschool, and basic education program for children
until they reach 8 years of age or complete primary
school; or
``(E) a child protection program, with an emphasis
on the promotion of permanent, safe, and nurturing
families, rather than placement in residential care or
institutions, including for children with disabilities.
``(4) Federal departments and agencies.--The term `Federal
departments and agencies' means--
``(A) the Department of State;
``(B) the United States Agency for International
Development;
``(C) the Department of the Treasury;
``(D) the Department of Labor;
``(E) the Department of Education;
``(F) the Department of Agriculture;
``(G) the Department of Defense;
``(H) the Department of Health and Human Services,
including--
``(i) the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention; and
``(ii) the National Institutes of Health;
``(I) the Millennium Challenge Corporation;
``(J) the Peace Corps; and
``(K) any other department or agency specified by
the President for the purposes of this section.
``(5) Residential care.--The term `residential care' means
care provided in any non-family-based group setting, including
orphanages, transit or interim care centers, children's homes,
children's villages or cottage complexes, group homes, and
boarding schools used primarily for care purposes as an
alternative to a children's home.
``(b) Statement of Policy.--It is the policy of the United States--
``(1) to support early childhood development in relevant
foreign assistance programs, including by integrating evidence-
based, efficient, and effective interventions into relevant
strategies and programs, in coordination with partner
countries, other donors, international organizations,
international financial institutions, local and international
nongovernmental organizations, private sector partners, civil
society, and faith-based and community-based organizations; and
``(2) to encourage partner countries to lead early
childhood development initiatives that include incentives for
building local capacity for continued implementation and
measurable results, by--
``(A) scaling up the most effective, evidence-
based, national interventions, including for the most
vulnerable populations and children with disabilities
and developmental delays, with a focus on adaptation to
country resources, cultures, and languages;
``(B) designing, implementing, monitoring, and
evaluating programs in a manner that enhances their
quality, transparency, equity, accountability,
efficiency and effectiveness in improving child and
family outcomes in partner countries; and
``(C) utilizing and expanding innovative public-
private financing mechanisms.
``(c) Implementation.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
the enactment of this section, the Administrator of the United
States Agency for International Development, in coordination
with the Secretary of State, shall direct relevant Federal
departments and agencies--
``(A) to incorporate, to the extent practical and
relevant, early childhood development into foreign
assistance programs to be carried out during the
following 5 fiscal years; and
``(B) to promote inclusive early childhood
development in partner countries.
``(2) Elements.--In carrying out paragraph (1), the
Administrator, the Secretary, and the heads of other relevant
Federal departments and agencies as appropriate shall--
``(A) build on the evidence and priorities outlined
in `Advancing Protection and Care for Children in
Adversity: A U.S. Government Strategy for International
Assistance 2019-2023', published in June 2019 (referred
to in this section as `APCCA');
``(B) to the extent practicable, identify evidence-
based strategic priorities, indicators, outcomes, and
targets, particularly emphasizing the most vulnerable
populations and children with disabilities and
developmental delays, to support inclusive early
childhood development;
``(C) support the design, implementation, and
evaluation of pilot projects in partner countries, with
the goal of taking such projects to scale;
``(D) support inclusive early childhood development
within all relevant sector strategies and public laws,
including--
``(i) the Global Water Strategy required
under section 136(j);
``(ii) the whole-of-government strategy
required under section 5 of the Global Food
Security Act of 2016 (22 U.S.C. 9304 note);
``(iii) the Basic Education Strategy set
forth in section 105(c);
``(iv) the U.S. Government Global Nutrition
Coordination Plan, 2016-2021; and
``(v) APCCA; and others as appropriate;
``(E) improve coordination with foreign governments
and international and regional organizations with
respect to official country policies and plans to
improve early childhood development, maternal, newborn,
and child health and nutrition care, basic education,
water, sanitation and hygiene, and child protection
plans which promote nurturing, appropriate, protective,
and permanent family care, while reducing the
percentage of children living in residential care or on
the street; and
``(F) consult with partner countries, other donors,
international organizations, international financial
institutions, local and international nongovernmental
organizations, private sector partners and faith-based
and community-based organizations, as appropriate.
``(d) Annual Report on the Implementation of the Strategy.--The
Special Advisor for Children in Adversity shall include, in the annual
report required under section 5 of the Assistance for Orphans and Other
Vulnerable Children in Developing Countries Act of 2005 (22 U.S.C.
2152g), which shall be submitted to the appropriate congressional
committees and made publicly available, a description of--
``(1) the progress made toward integrating early childhood
development interventions into relevant strategies and
programs;
``(2) the efforts made by relevant Federal departments and
agencies to implement subsection (c), with a particular focus
on the activities described in such subsection;
``(3) the progress achieved during the reporting period
toward meeting the goals, objectives, benchmarks, described in
subsection (c); and
``(4) the progress achieved during the reporting period
toward meeting the goals, objectives, benchmarks, and
timeframes described in subsection (c) at the program level,
along with specific challenges or gaps that may require shifts
in targeting or financing in the following fiscal year.
``(e) Interagency Task Force.--The Special Advisor for Assistance
to Orphans and Vulnerable Children should regularly convene an
interagency task force, to coordinate--
``(1) intergovernmental and interagency monitoring,
evaluation, and reporting of the activities carried out
pursuant to this section;
``(2) early childhood development initiatives that include
children with a variety of needs and circumstances; and
``(3) United States Government early childhood development
programs, strategies, and partnerships across relevant Federal
departments and agencies.''.
SEC. 5. SPECIAL ADVISOR FOR ASSISTANCE TO ORPHANS AND VULNERABLE
CHILDREN.
Section 135(e)(2) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C.
2152f(e)(2)) is amended--
(1) by amending subparagraph (A) to read as follows:
``(A) Coordinate assistance to orphans and other
vulnerable children among the relevant Executive branch
agencies and officials.''; and
(2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``the various offices,
bureaus, and field missions within the United States Agency for
International Development'' and inserting ``the relevant
Executive branch agencies and officials''.
SEC. 6. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.
Nothing in the amendments made by this Act may be construed to
restrict or abrogate any other authorization for United States Agency
for International Development activities or programs.
Passed the House of Representatives September 22, 2020.
Attest:
Clerk.
116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4864
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To develop and implement policies to advance early childhood
development, to provide assistance for orphans and other vulnerable
children in developing countries, and for other purposes.