[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8409 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8409

   To assist parents in locating and utilizing child care that meets 
                        individual family needs.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 15, 2024

  Mr. Nickel introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To assist parents in locating and utilizing child care that meets 
                        individual family needs.

    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 ``Helping Our Parents Enroll (HOPE) in 
Child Care Act''.

SEC. 2. NATIONAL CHILD CARE NAVIGATOR GRANTS.

    (a) In General.--Title XX of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
1397 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

       ``Subtitle D--National Child Care Navigator Grant Program

``SEC. 2071. GRANTS.

    ``The Secretary may make grants to eligible local partners for the 
purpose of providing free access to information, counseling, and 
assistance with respect to locating, enrolling in, and paying for child 
care, including through programs funded under section 418 of this Act 
or the Child Care and Development Block Grant of 1990, and through the 
provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 under which child care 
expenditures may be subsidized.

``SEC. 2072. GRANT APPLICATION AND PLAN REQUIREMENTS.

    ``(a) In General.--To be eligible for a grant under this subtitle, 
an eligible local partner shall submit an application to the Secretary, 
at such time and in such manner as the Secretary may provide, that 
includes a plan to establish a program to provide free access to the 
information, counseling, and assistance referred to in section 2071. As 
a condition of the grant, the eligible local partner must demonstrate, 
to the satisfaction of the Secretary--
            ``(1) an ability to adequately provide the information, 
        counseling, and assistance; and
            ``(2) commitment to operating a program that satisfies the 
        requirements of subsection (d).
    ``(b) Duration.--Each grant under this subtitle shall be awarded 
for a period of 5 years, except that the grantee may reapply for 
another 5-year period at the end of each grant period, and the 
Secretary may terminate such a grant for noncompliance with data 
reporting requirements or failure to provide promised services or 
comply with any grant condition.
    ``(c) Amount.--The Secretary shall determine the amount of any 
grant under this subtitle so as to maximize the number of parents with 
access to navigators referred to in subsection (d)(1).
    ``(d) Program Requirements.--A program satisfies the requirements 
of this subsection if the program--
            ``(1) establishes a system of staff members, including 
        navigators, to provide information on--
                    ``(A) navigating child care systems, including 
                information on--
                            ``(i) applying for subsidized child care;
                            ``(ii) consumer education and information 
                        about types of child care settings;
                            ``(iii) navigating the child care resource 
                        and referral system funded under the Child Care 
                        and Development Block Grant Act of 1990; and
                            ``(iv) center-based and home based child 
                        care;
                    ``(B) accessing such systems in languages other 
                than English and protections against non-discrimination 
                on the basis of limited English proficiency under title 
                VI of the Civil Rights Act, accommodations and 
                protections against non-discrimination under the 
                Americans with Disabilities Act and section 504 of the 
                Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and protections against 
                non-discrimination under other Federal civil rights 
                laws in child care settings; and
                    ``(C) any other information specified by the 
                Secretary;
            ``(2) in conjunction with the system established under 
        paragraph (1), establishes a system of referral to appropriate 
        departments or agencies within the State in which the eligible 
        local partner is located and, when appropriate, the Federal 
        Government, for other issues related to obtaining assistance 
        (including legal aid), as determined by the Secretary; and
            ``(3) establishes a community-based system of education and 
        outreach to raise public awareness of and increase access to 
        the resources described in section 2071 and the availability of 
        information, counseling, and assistance provided by the system 
        of staff members described in paragraph (1) and the system of 
        referrals described in paragraph (2), including by--
                    ``(A) engaging in a robust program of culturally 
                and linguistically competent education and outreach;
                    ``(B) creating visual and written content using 
                clear and plain language;
                    ``(C) tailoring materials to members of underserved 
                areas or populations;
                    ``(D) working with employers and child care 
                providers to promote the awareness and distribution of 
                information to employees and parents in the community; 
                and
                    ``(E) partnering with governmental and non-
                governmental organizations serving working parents or 
                child care providers;
            ``(4) provides for a sufficient number of staff positions 
        (which may include but may not consist entirely of volunteer 
        positions) necessary to provide the services of the program;
            ``(5) provides for training programs for staff members 
        (including volunteer staff members) and allows for continuous 
        improvement processes for community-based strategies to ensure 
        maximum outreach and engagement with underserved areas or 
        populations;
            ``(6) provides for the collection and dissemination of 
        timely, impartial, and accurate programmatic information to 
        staff members (including volunteer staff members);
            ``(7) maintains confidentiality of all personal information 
        provided to navigators or program staff (including volunteer 
        staff), including by following procedures set by the Secretary 
        for destroying personally identifiable information and 
        preventing it from being shared with any other government 
        entity;
            ``(8) collects non-personally identifiable data to measure 
        equitable access to the program, as described in section 
        2073(2); and
            ``(9) provides data to the Secretary, upon request, 
        regarding how individuals are being served by the program, 
        including--
                    ``(A) data and details on the number of individuals 
                served, as well as the type and number of services such 
                individuals are receiving;
                    ``(B) data and details on the problems that 
                individuals may encounter, including a lack of timely 
                payment of benefits or child care availability; and
                    ``(C) data and details on improvements that could 
                be made at the State or Federal level to promote 
                equitable access to child care.
    ``(e) Guaranteed Number of Grantees Per State.--For each grant 
cycle, the Secretary shall award a grant under this subtitle to at 
least 2 eligible local partners in each State that is not Puerto Rico, 
Guam, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, or the Northern Mariana 
Islands, to the extent there are a sufficient number of applications 
submitted by the entities that meet the requirements applicable with 
respect to the grant.
    ``(f) Maintenance of Effort.--Funds awarded to a State or county 
under this subtitle shall be used to supplement, not supplant, State 
and Federal funds, and may not be used to replace any personnel 
selected on a merit basis.

``SEC. 2073. CRITERIA FOR MAKING GRANTS.

    ``In determining whether to make a grant under this subtitle to an 
eligible local partner, the Secretary shall consider the commitment of 
the eligible local partner to--
            ``(1) carrying out the program described in section 2072; 
        and
            ``(2) promoting equitable access to the program in the 
        State in which the eligible local partner is located, including 
        as the equitable access pertains to--
                    ``(A) race, ethnicity, sex, gender, sexual 
                orientation, disability, economic status, religion, 
                citizenship, or age;
                    ``(B) geographic area; and
                    ``(C) other factors as determined by the Secretary, 
                in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury and 
                the Secretary of Labor.

``SEC. 2074. LIMITATIONS ON AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    ``(a) Grants.--For grants under this subtitle, there is authorized 
to be appropriated to the Secretary not more than $500,000,000 for each 
of fiscal years 2025 through 2029.
    ``(b) Federal Administration.--For the provision of administrative 
support and technical assistance for grants awarded under this 
subtitle, there is authorized to be appropriated for each of fiscal 
years 2025 through 2029 $5,000,000 to the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services.

``SEC. 2075. DEFINITIONS.

    ``In this subtitle:
            ``(1) Eligible local partner.--The term `eligible local 
        partner' means a State, county, Indian tribe, tribal 
        organization, or non-profit organization (including a labor 
        organization) with a presence within a State, a history of 
        knowledge of the resources described in section 2071, and a 
        demonstrated commitment to helping workers and families.
            ``(2) Indian tribe; tribal organization.--The terms `Indian 
        tribe' and `tribal organization' have the meanings give the 
        terms in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and 
        Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).
            ``(3) State.--The term `State' means the 50 States, the 
        District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, 
        American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall 
take effect on October 1, 2024.
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