[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 178 (Thursday, December 20, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2344]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  INTRODUCTION OF CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND FAMILY EMPLOYMENT ACT OF 2002

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. GEORGE MILLER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 19, 2001

  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join my 
colleagues Mr. Andrews, Mr. Owens, Mr. Moran, Mr. Hinojosa, Ms. Lee, 
Mr. Frank, Ms. Woolsey, Mr. Green, Mr. Kildee, Ms. McCollum, Mr. 
Abercrombie, Mr. McGovern, Ms. DeLauro, and Mr. Nadler in introducing 
the Child Development and Family Employment Act. This legislation 
reauthorizes the Child Care and Development Block Grant to better meet 
the child care and after-school care needs of low-income children and 
families.
  Science conclusively demonstrates that children's experiences in 
their first 5 years of life have major and lasting effects on learning 
and academic success. Parents undoubtedly are the most significant and 
important influence on a child's growth. But with 65% of mothers in the 
labor force raising children under age 6, child care often provides 
important secondary influences that also greatly affect a child's 
development. Child care simply is not just babysitting. Early care is 
an important early learning period and if parents cannot afford to 
provide their children with high quality care, it is a missed 
opportunity to help develop a child's school-readiness. Kindergarten 
teachers report many of their students begin kindergarten cognitively 
and behaviorally unprepared to learn. For all our youth to achieve in 
school, we must ensure that they arrive at kindergarten with the skills 
needed to succeed in school. To do that, parents need to be able to 
choose quality child care that meets the needs of their children.
  Child care assistance must allow eligible families to meet those 
needs. Since welfare reform passed in 1996, CCDBG has been a critical 
work support for many low-income families moving off welfare and many 
other working poor struggling to remain self-sufficient. Reliable, 
accessible, and affordable child care is important for families to 
continue their employment and remain off welfare and for sustaining the 
economic strength of this country. Poor families who are unable to 
secure child care assistance pay up to one-third of their income for 
child care, creating an incredible burden for families struggling to 
make ends meet and marginalizing the value of going to work or 
remaining employed. Indeed, families often cite problems with child 
care as a major reason for leaving employment.
  Yet today, CCDBG does not do enough to meet children's developmental 
needs or parents' employment-related needs. CCDBG only requires states 
use 4% of its dollars to promote improved quality in child care, an 
insufficient amount since evaluations indicate that the quality of most 
care ranges from mediocre to poor. CCDBG also leads to subsidy rates 
that frequently prohibit parents from choosing or affording child care 
that meets their children's needs and their own employment needs. Care 
for infants and toddlers, care for children with special needs, 
accredited care, non-standard hour care, and quality care in low-income 
and rural communities can be particularly difficult for parents to 
choose and afford.
  Moreover, CCDBG funding only served 12% of eligible children in 1999. 
Many states have waiting lists of thousands of families. And though 
States have use some TANF block grants on child care, budgetary 
shortfalls and rising welfare caseloads are leading many states to cut 
their child care and early education budgets at the very time that many 
parents--who are leaving welfare or struggling to hold Jobs in the 
recession--desperately need child care services.
  My bill will improve CCDBG by strengthening child care quality and 
resources and providing parents greater freedom to choose the type of 
care they want and need for their child and their family. This bill 
increases the quality set-aside from 4% to 16%, creates a competitive 
grant program for States to improve payment rates to providers, and 
requires child care providers to have pre-service training in child 
development. This bill also provides money for states to provide 
stipends to qualified child care providers to boost training, reduce 
staff turnover, and attract and retain staff--all key goals in 
improving child care quality. And this bill allocates additional 
resources so that CCDBG can be expanded to reach one-third of the 
families for which it was intended.
  In conclusion, Mr. Speaker, until we have a quality and affordable 
child care program, we will continue to miss the opportunity to 
maximize the early development of young children and get them ready for 
learning in school. Child care assistance can make the difference in a 
child's reaching school age ready to learn, and it can make the 
difference in a family remaining employed and off welfare. The 
reauthorization of CCDBG provides Congress with a timely opportunity to 
achieve this urgent goal and meet our commitment to help meet the needs 
of low-income children and families. Mr. Speaker, I urge Members of the 
House to join me and co-sponsor the Child Development and Family 
Employment Act.

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