[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 147 (Thursday, October 15, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2198-E2199]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             THE CHILD CARE QUALITY IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 1998

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. FORTNEY PETE STARK

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 15, 1998

  Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to introduce the Child Care 
Quality Improvement Act of 1998. This bill creates Quality Improvement 
Grants as incentives for states to improve the quality of child care 
for young children in licensed facilities. Each state can use the 
Quality Improvement Grants for state and local activities designed to 
enhance the quality of child care available to its citizens.
  In recent decades, the number of working women with children, 
especially those with children under 6 years of age, has increased 
dramatically. In 1975, 39 percent of women with children under the age 
of 6 were in the labor force. By contrast, 65 percent were in the labor 
force in 1997. Good quality child care is critical for millions of 
working families.
  Currently, there is a patchwork of private arrangements used to care 
for more than 10 million children. This patchwork includes relatives, 
neighbors, child care centers, and neighborhood child care homes. Child 
care centers care for the largest proportion--almost 30 percent--of 
children with working mothers.
  Researchers state clearly that high quality child care has a positive 
impact on the social, emotional, cognitive, and physical development of 
all children. This is particularly true for at-risk families. 
Researchers and best professional practices have shown that there are 
identifiable features of child care settings that are associated with 
high quality care. These include a safe and healthy environment; 
caregivers who are nurturing and knowledgeable about children's 
development, and a stable presence in children's lives; and low numbers 
of children per caregiver to ensure that each child receives personal 
attention.
  Child care shapes the way children think, learn, and behave for the 
rest of their lives. While quality child care promotes children's 
healthy developments and early learning, lower quality care can hinder 
their development and, ultimately, their success in school. When 
parents can't afford quality care and child care providers can't access 
help to improve their services, children suffer. Children in lower 
quality child care have delayed language and reading skills and are 
more aggressive toward other children.
  Yet little public attention is being paid to the quality of child 
care experiences. Recent studies have found that much of the child care 
in the United States is poor to mediocre. One study found fully 40 
percent of the rooms serving infants in child care centers to be of 
such poor quality as to jeopardize children's health, safety, or 
development.
  State and local governments are responsible for the oversight of 
child care providers that operate in their state. Each state 
establishes its own child care standards, determining the areas that 
standards will cover and the specific measures against which provider 
compliance will be determined. Recent work by the General Accounting 
Office found a clear consensus about which standards appear to be good 
predictors of high quality child care. These standards focus on 
caregiver education and training, child-to-staff ratios, group size, 
and safety and health.

[[Page E2199]]

  The Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) helps states make 
child care more affordable for working parents and supports 
improvements in the quality of child care and after-school programs. 
Under the CCDBG, each state is able to set its own goals and priorities 
for the funds, and can fund a wide range of activities, including 
direct service, resource and referral, licensing and monitoring, grants 
and loans to help providers meet licensing standards, and funds to 
improve compensation.
  The Child Care Quality Improvement Act of 1998 will enhance a state's 
ability to improve the quality of child care. The Child Care Quality 
Improvement Act increases the CCDBG and designates those funds for 
quality initiatives. Quality Improvement Grants would be available to 
states that establish quantifiable goals for child care improvements in 
six areas: increased caregiver training, expanded licensing standards, 
reduced numbers of unlicensed facilities, increased monitoring and 
enforcement, reduced caregiver turnover, and higher levels of facility 
accreditation. Quality Improvement Grant funds can be used for state 
and local activities that help realize state goals for improvement in 
each of those areas.
  The Child Care Quality Improvement Act also establishes an Advisory 
Commission on Quality Child Care to examine issues affecting child care 
quality and develop and make recommendations for feasible goals and 
targets for state child care programs and national standards for 
quality of care. In addition, it requires the Department of Health and 
Human Services to conduct a consumer education campaign to promote 
informed child care choices.
  The need for quality, affordable child care is a daily reality for 
millions of America's working families. Every child has incredible 
potential, and there is nothing more satisfying than seeing a child 
learn and develop. Parents need safe, reliable care for their children 
while they are at work. Children need quality early learning 
experiences that help them develop to their full potential and enter 
school ready to learn.
  I urge my fellow Members of Congress to join me in support of the 
Child Care Quality Improvement Act of 1998. We must seize the 
opportunity to make an important investment in America's children by 
ensuring and improving the quality of child care.

                          ____________________