[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 165 (Monday, October 29, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H12106-H12107]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     ANTHONY DeJUAN BOATWRIGHT ACT

  Mr. BARROW. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 1473) to amend the Child Care and Development Block Grant 
Act of 1990 to require child care providers to provide to parents 
information regarding whether such providers carry current liability 
insurance, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 1473

       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 ``Anthony DeJuan Boatwright 
     Act''.

     SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS.

        Section 658e(c)(2) of the Child Care and Development Block 
     Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858c(c)(2)) is amended--
       (1) in subparagraph (E)(i) by adding at the end the 
     following: ``The State shall include as part of its 
     regulatory process for issuance and renewal of licenses to 
     providers of child care services, a recommendation to each 
     provider that it carry current liability insurance covering 
     the operation of its child care business.'', and
       (2) in subparagraph (F)--
       (A) in clause (ii) by striking ``and'' at the end,
       (B) in clause (iii) by striking the period at the end and 
     inserting a semicolon,
       (C) by inserting after clause (iii) the following:
       ``(iv) a requirement that each licensed child care 
     provider--

       ``(I) post publicly and conspicuously in the service area 
     of its premises a notice specifying whether or not such 
     provider carries current liability insurance covering the 
     operation of its child care business;
       ``(II) provide to parents of children to whom it provides 
     child care services a written notice stating whether or not 
     such provider carries current liability insurance covering 
     the operation of its child care business, including the 
     amount of any such coverage;
       ``(III) obtain the signature of at least 1 parent of each 
     such child on such written notice acknowledging that such 
     parent has received such notice; and
       ``(IV) maintain such notice (or a copy of such notice) as 
     signed by such parents (or a copy of the signed notice) in 
     such provider's records during the period in which the child 
     receives such services.'', and

       (D) in the last sentence by inserting ``clauses (i), (ii), 
     or (iii) of'' after ``Nothing in''.

     SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.

        This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall take 
     effect on October 1 of the 1st fiscal year that begins more 
     than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlemen from 
Georgia (Mr. Barrow) and the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. David Davis) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Georgia.


                             General Leave

  Mr. BARROW. Mr. Speaker, I request 5 legislative days during which 
Members may revise and extend their remarks and insert material 
relevant to H.R. 1473, as amended, into the Record.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Georgia?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BARROW. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, back home in Augusta, Georgia, there's a little 7\1/2\-
year-old boy named Anthony DeJuan Boatwright, who is in a semicomatose 
state and hooked up to a ventilator. He wasn't born that way, but that 
is how he ended up. He ended up that way because of an accident, 
negligence, really, that never would have happened if his mother had 
been given the information that this bill requires.
  Back in 2001, Juan's mother, Jacqueline Boatwright, was doing what 
millions of mothers all over the country do every day: she placed her 
child in day care so that she could work to improve her life and that 
of her child. She was a sophisticated consumer. She had done her 
homework and she shopped around and found a day care center. It was 
licensed by the State; it was clean and it complied with all sorts of 
Federal regulations under the Child Care Development Block Grant Act 
governing such things as the prevention and control of infectious 
diseases, building safety, premises access, and mental health and 
safety training for staff.
  But there was one thing that Jackie Boatwright did not know: that 
these folks could take her money, they could take her child, they could 
harm her child, and they would not be financially responsible for any 
of the harm that they could do. That is because they had no liability 
insurance and there was no law, State or Federal, that required them to 
tell her that.
  Mr. Speaker, sure enough, that is what happened. They ignored little 
Juan long enough for him to find a bucket of water. Like every child 
that age, he had just enough strength to pull himself up and to look 
over inside and to fall inside, head first, but not enough upper body 
strength to push or pull himself back up. It was a death trap, and 
little Juan fell into it. Well, Juan survived, but his life and that of 
his family have been ruined and changed forever.
  This bill would have prevented all of this from happening. It would 
not have done it by creating a whole new bureaucracy of day care 
inspectors to watch the watchers. It would have done it in the least 
expensive and most efficient way possible, by simply requiring the day 
care center to tell Jackie Boatwright what they knew but did not tell 
her, that they were willing to accept the moral responsibility of 
taking care of her baby, but they were going to accept none of the 
financial responsibility for failing to do so.
  That would have prevented this from happening, because that is all it 
would have taken to prevent this tragedy from happening. Because if 
Jackie had known that, she would have done what any other parent would 
do: she would have taken her business someplace else, someplace where 
they accept some degree of financial responsibility for the 
consequences of their negligence and incorporate the cost in the cost 
of doing business, just like every other financially responsible 
business does.
  Jackie has tried to make something positive out of this. She has 
determined to prevent this from happening to anybody else. Thanks to 
her efforts, financial responsibility disclosure laws are now on the 
books in four States: Georgia, California, Virginia and New Hampshire. 
This bill will close the gap by requiring financial responsibility 
disclosure for licensed day care facilities in the rest of the country.
  In 2005, there were literally millions of kids in this country 
receiving day care in facilities that are governed by the Child Care 
and Development Block Grant Act. Only a fraction of these kids live in 
the four States that have now stepped forward to enact financial 
responsibility disclosure laws. That means that millions of kids still 
go to licensed day care facilities all around the country today whose 
parents have no idea that their day care centers can harm their child 
and accept none of the financial consequences of doing so.
  This bill will give the parents of these millions of children the 
same information that parents are entitled to as a matter of law in the 
States of Georgia, California, Virginia, and New Hampshire. These 
parents have just as much need to know about the financial 
responsibility of the folks they give their kids to, and this bill will 
give them the same information.
  This bill does not require any day care facilities to go out and get 
liability insurance. It merely requires licensed day care centers to 
tell parents

[[Page H12107]]

whether or not they have insurance, and, if so, how much. That is all. 
It then leaves it up to the parents to do what Jackie Boatwright would 
have done if only she had had this information, and that is to decide 
for themselves whether or not to leave their child with someone who 
wants to accept the responsibility for caring for your child, wants to 
take your money for doing so, but is unwilling and unable to accept any 
of the financial consequences for failing to fulfill this 
responsibility.
  Indirectly, Mr. Speaker, this bill actually does more than that. By 
giving parents the information that they have a right to know, it 
places a powerful economic incentive on all day care centers to do what 
all of the responsible day care centers are already doing, and that is 
to assume the financial responsibility and to incorporate the costs of 
that into the cost of doing business that goes along with the moral 
responsibility to take care of the children in their care. Anyone who 
wants to do business without doing that will be at a competitive 
disadvantage compared to those who do.
  This approach gives the invisible hand of self-interest the 
opportunity to do some good in the marketplace; the interests of day 
care centers to do the right thing or compete at a disadvantage 
compared to those who do, and the interests of parents in placing their 
children in day care centers that are ready, willing and able to do the 
right thing if and when they mess up.
  We have truth in labeling; we have truth in lending and truth in 
advertising. This is truth in day care. The States have led the way, 
and now it is time for the Federal Government to follow their lead. The 
families that end up being harmed because they are kept in the dark 
deserve no less.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DAVID DAVIS of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time 
as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1473, to amend the Child 
Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to require child care 
providers to provide to parents information regarding whether such 
providers carry current liability insurance.
  Working parents depend on child care so they can earn an income 
needed to support their families, as well as ensure that their children 
are well cared for in a safe environment while they are working. As 
such, child care is an integral part of the daily routine of millions 
of American families with young children. Research clearly shows us 
that the quality of child care has a lasting impact on a child's well-
being and ability to learn.
  Children in poor quality child care have been found to be delayed in 
language and reading skills and display more aggression toward other 
children and adults. School-age children's academic performance is 
enhanced by attending formal child care programs of at least adequate 
quality, according to several studies.
  The bill before us today does not reauthorize the Child Care and 
Development Block Grant. Rather, it amends current law to do several 
things. Most importantly, it requires each provider to openly post 
whether or not they have current liability insurance covering the 
operation of the child care business, and it requires each provider to 
supply parents with a written notice stating whether or not the 
provider carries liability insurance, including the amount of such 
coverage.
  This legislation does not supersede any State regulations regarding 
facility licensure or insurance requirements. We as the Federal 
Government are simply asking providers to inform parents whether or not 
they hold liability insurance. While we have not utilized the normal 
process of committee consideration through hearings and markup of this 
legislation, we do support the purpose of this legislation in providing 
notification of insurance to parents. I hope to see the Child Care and 
Development Block Grant come before this committee for reauthorization 
during the 110th session of Congress. As we move forward reauthorizing 
this program, we must consider policy that makes way for learning 
environments to exist where children can obtain the cognitive skills or 
other skills needed for them to succeed socially and academically.

                              {time}  1415

  Federalizing child care is not the purpose of this bill, but rather 
properly and consistently informing parents of whether or not the child 
care center has liability insurance. In the future, we must ensure that 
Federal policy continues to provide States maximum flexibility in 
developing child care programs and policies as well as parental choice 
so the parents are able to decide the best-suited care for their 
children. I thank Representative Barrow for introducing this bill, and 
ask my colleagues to support the bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BARROW. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Tennessee for his 
remarks in support of the bill, and I yield such time as he may consume 
to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hinojosa).
  Mr. HINOJOSA. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1473, the 
Anthony DeJuan Boatwright Act. It is named in honor of Anthony DeJuan 
Boatwright who suffered a terrible tragedy at a licensed child care 
facility in Georgia.
  In the wake of her son's accident, Anthony's mother, Jackie, has 
become a child care advocate who has worked tirelessly to help provide 
better information to parents navigating the child care system.
  This important legislation is modeled after laws in the States of 
Georgia and Virginia. H.R. 1473 amends the Child Care and Development 
Block Grant Program in order to help parents receive more information 
about potential child care providers. The Child Care and Development 
Block Grant is a very important Federal program providing almost $5 
billion to States to help low-income families afford child care.
  Almost 2 million children receive child care subsidies through this 
child care program, and it has enabled millions of families to enter or 
remain in the workforce. H.R. 1473 strengthens the Child Care and 
Development Block Grant by adding a safety standard. H.R. 1473 requires 
licensed child care providers to give written notice to parents about 
whether or not they have liability insurance and requires child care 
providers to post publicly whether or not they have liability 
insurance.
  H.R. 1473 also requires States to recommend to licensed child care 
providers that they carry liability insurance.
  Child care quality can influence whether a child arrives at 
kindergarten ready to succeed. Providing parents with additional 
information about the child care providers in their communities will 
help parents make the right choice for their children and for their 
families.
  I would like to thank my friend and colleague the gentleman from 
Georgia (Mr. Barrow) for bringing this legislation forward. In moving 
this bill forward, we can help other families avoid the terrible loss 
suffered by Anthony DeJuan Boatwright's family.
  I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 1473.
  Mr. DAVID DAVIS of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance 
of my time.
  Mr. BARROW. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Barrow) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 1473, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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