[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 158 (Monday, November 10, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12447-S12448]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               CHILD CARE

  Mr. JOHNSON. I was extremely pleased that recently President Clinton 
and Mrs. Clinton hosted a White House Conference on Child Care. The 
conference was not only informative, but also very effective, I 
believe, in drawing nationwide attention to the widespread difficulties 
that most parents have in finding child care that is both affordable 
and of high quality.
  It is estimated that each and every day 3 million children under the 
age of 6 will spend time being cared for by someone other than their 
parents, including one-half of all babies younger than 12 months of 
age. We all know that these early years are critical years for child 
development and that we need to be concerned about the quality of care 
that these children are receiving. Unfortunately, for too many 
children, the quality is simply not high enough.
  One national study, which was published in 1994, rated the majority 
of child care centers as mediocre or poor.
  One out of eight child care centers were found to actually jeopardize 
children's safety and development. Not surprisingly, Mr. President, 
children in substandard care have delayed language and reading skills, 
they are more aggressive than other children their age, and we should, 
therefore, recognize that raising the quality of care has long-term 
benefits not only for these kids but for our society as a whole. 
Clearly, strong families and strong parenting comes first, but we need 
to complement that with a greater emphasis on quality, affordable child 
care.
  We understand and we recognize that child care can be extremely 
expensive, costing thousands of dollars per year for each child, and 
over $8,000 a year in some parts of our country. Many parents struggle 
with paying these bills, which are frequently larger than their rent, 
mortgage, or car payment. In the case of middle- and lower-income 
families--especially single-parent families--child care costs can 
easily consume more than one-quarter of a family's annual income.
  I have been holding a series of meetings with child care providers in 
my State of South Dakota. We face some special challenges in our State. 
Among these challenges is the fact that we have the highest percentage 
of working mothers in America. For more than 70 percent of the children 
in South Dakota, both parents work; or in the case of a single-parent 
family, the sole parent works.
  Another item discussed at these meetings was the negative impact of 
cuts in the child and adult care food program that were part of the 
Welfare Reform Act of 1996. Many child care providers have relied on 
this assistance to provide affordable care, and many families now face 
increasing costs and reduced access to child care. One of the 
consequences of the change in the nutrition program was to actually 
create a disincentive for child care providers to remain licensed and 
certified.
  Mr. President, I believe that the evidence is abundantly clear that 
we need to do more to provide more affordable and higher quality child 
care. This can be accomplished, I believe, without the creation of some 
new bureaucracy. Instead, working in partnership with the States, local 
governments, and nonprofit organizations, the Federal Government, 
working in Federal-State-local and a public-private partnership can 
achieve a great deal.
  In an effort to seek constructive solutions, I have recently 
cosponsored two bills, the CIDCARE Act and the Early Childhood 
Development Act. These bills would work together in a complementary 
fashion.
  I would like to congratulate Senators Jeffords and Dodd for their 
efforts in authoring the CIDCARE Act, S. 1037. I am pleased to join 
them as a cosponsor. The bill contains several provisions that would be 
a very positive step forward for all forms of child care.
  First, the bill would refocus the existing child and dependent care 
tax credit by making it refundable for low-income families and by 
increasing the credit for families with incomes under $55,000. These 
steps will provide much-needed assistance to families with the costs of 
whichever kind of quality care they choose.
  Second, the bill contains a number of provisions to encourage child 
care providers to offer higher quality care by boosting training 
levels. Child care providers would be eligible for more generous tax 
deductions for education and training that helps them receive 
professional credentials. Additionally, States would receive grant 
funding to operate training programs and to offer scholarships to 
providers who receive training.
  One aspect of the child care quality problem is the extremely high 
turnover among child care workers, which is not surprising when one 
realizes that most child care center workers make barely more than the 
minimum wage. The CIDCARE Act approaches this problem in creative ways.
  First, the bill would create a problem for student loan forgiveness 
of child care workers who earn degrees in early childhood education, or 
who receive professional care credentials. Additionally, grant money 
would be made available to the States under this bill, which could be 
used for programs to provide salary increases for providers, who 
receive professional credentials.
  We should do all we can to encourage more private sector businesses 
to offer child care benefits. The CIDCARE Act would provide tax credits 
to employers to reduce the costs of starting up a child care center, 
for the professional development expenses of child care staff, and for 
cost also related to getting a child care facility accredited.
  All in all, the CIDCARE Act contains a number of innovative 
nonbureaucratic provisions, and I believe it would be a great step 
forward in increasing child care quality and in making it more 
affordable.
  The second piece of legislation that I have cosponsored is the Early 
Childhood Development Act, S. 1309. I became an original cosponsor of 
this legislation when it was introduced just 2 weeks ago. I 
congratulate Senator John Kerry and Senator Bond for their work on this 
bill.

  One of the more critical needs in my State of South Dakota is for 
after-school programs. More than half the school-age children in my 
State have no parent at home in the hours after school lets out. From 
nationwide statistics, we know that juvenile crime is at its highest 
between the hours of 3 p.m. and 6 p.m., the hours between when kids get 
out of school and before parents, all too often, get home from work.
  The Early Childhood Development Act contains provisions to expand 
Federal financial assistance to innovative programs that target at-risk 
children by providing constructive activities and care after school 
lets out. The bill does not create some new Federal bureaucracy. 
Instead, it offers grant money to States who will, in turn,

[[Page S12448]]

make grants to local after-school programs that are typically run by 
nonprofit organizations, such as the Boys and Girls Clubs. We need more 
of these after-school programs, and we need more resources to expand 
the number of children that these programs can reach.
  The Early Childhood Development Act would also strengthen programs 
that offer care to our youngest kids, aged 0 to 6. The more we learn 
about early childhood development, the more we realize how critically 
important it is that these children receive quality care. This bill 
would supplement the Federal child care and development block grant for 
at-risk infants, toddlers, and preschoolers.
  Along the same lines, the bill would increase funding for the new 
Early Head Start Program, which provides comprehensive child 
development and family support services to infants and toddlers. This 
program not only offers a high-quality educational component for young 
children, but also parent education, parent-child activities, and 
health services.
  Mr. President, I believe that these two important bills--the CIDCARE 
Act and the Early Childhood Development Act--will go a long, long way 
toward addressing the critical child care needs that we have throughout 
America today. I look forward to working on them in a bipartisan 
fashion during this next session of the 105th Congress.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. CHAFEE. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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