[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 131 (Monday, September 15, 2014)]
[House]
[Pages H7465-H7481]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           CHILD CARE AND DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT ACT OF 2014

  Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(S. 1086) to reauthorize and improve the Child Care and Development 
Block Grant Act of 1990, and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                S. 1086

       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 ``Child Care and Development 
     Block Grant Act of 2014''.

     SEC. 2. SHORT TITLE AND PURPOSES.

       Section 658A of the Child Care and Development Block Grant 
     Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9801 note) is amended to read as 
     follows:

     ``SEC. 658A. SHORT TITLE AND PURPOSES.

       ``(a) Short Title.--This subchapter may be cited as the 
     `Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990'.
       ``(b) Purposes.--The purposes of this subchapter are--
       ``(1) to allow each State maximum flexibility in developing 
     child care programs and policies that best suit the needs of 
     children and parents within that State;
       ``(2) to promote parental choice to empower working parents 
     to make their own decisions regarding the child care services 
     that best suit their family's needs;
       ``(3) to encourage States to provide consumer education 
     information to help parents make informed choices about child 
     care services and to promote involvement by parents and 
     family members in the development of their children in child 
     care settings;
       ``(4) to assist States in delivering high-quality, 
     coordinated early childhood care and education services to 
     maximize parents' options and support parents trying to 
     achieve independence from public assistance;
       ``(5) to assist States in improving the overall quality of 
     child care services and programs by implementing the health, 
     safety, licensing, training, and oversight standards 
     established in this subchapter and in State law (including 
     State regulations);
       ``(6) to improve child care and development of 
     participating children; and
       ``(7) to increase the number and percentage of low-income 
     children in high-quality child care settings.''.

     SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       Section 658B of the Child Care and Development Block Grant 
     Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858) is amended by striking 
     ``subchapter'' and all that follows through the period at the 
     end, and inserting ``subchapter $2,360,000,000 for fiscal 
     year 2015, $2,478,000,000 for fiscal year 2016, 
     $2,539,950,000 for fiscal year 2017, $2,603,448,750 for 
     fiscal year 2018, $2,668,534,969 for fiscal year 2019, and 
     $2,748,591,018 for fiscal year 2020.''.

     SEC. 4. LEAD AGENCY.

       (a) Designation.--Section 658D(a) of the Child Care and 
     Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858b(a)) is 
     amended--
       (1) by striking ``chief executive officer'' and inserting 
     ``Governor''; and
       (2) by striking ``designate'' and all that follows and 
     inserting ``designate an agency (which may be an appropriate 
     collaborative agency), or establish a joint interagency 
     office, that complies with the requirements of subsection (b) 
     to serve as the lead agency for the State under this 
     subchapter.''.
       (b) Collaboration With Tribes.--Section 658D(b)(1) of the 
     Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 
     9858b(b)(1)) is amended--

[[Page H7466]]

       (1) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``and'' at the end;
       (2) in subparagraph (D), by striking the period and 
     inserting ``; and''; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(E) at the option of an Indian tribe or tribal 
     organization in the State, collaborate and coordinate with 
     such Indian tribe or tribal organization in the development 
     of the State plan in a timely manner.''.

     SEC. 5. APPLICATION AND PLAN.

       (a) Period.--Section 658E(b) of the Child Care and 
     Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858c(b)) is 
     amended by striking ``2-year'' and inserting ``3-year''.
       (b) Policies and Procedures.--Section 658E(c) of the Child 
     Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 
     9858c(c)) is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``or established'' after 
     ``designated'';
       (2) in paragraph (2)--
       (A) in subparagraph (B), by inserting a comma after ``care 
     of such providers'';
       (B) by striking subparagraphs (D) through (H); and
       (C) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(D) Monitoring and inspection reports.--The plan shall 
     include a certification that the State, not later than 1 year 
     after the State has in effect the policies and practices 
     described in subparagraph (K)(i), will make public by 
     electronic means, in a consumer-friendly and easily 
     accessible format, organized by provider, the results of 
     monitoring and inspection reports, including those due to 
     major substantiated complaints about failure to comply with 
     this subchapter and State child care policies, as well as the 
     number of deaths, serious injuries, and instances of 
     substantiated child abuse that occurred in child care 
     settings each year, for eligible child care providers within 
     the State. The results shall also include information on the 
     date of such an inspection, and, where applicable, 
     information on corrective action taken.
       ``(E) Consumer and provider education information.--The 
     plan shall include a certification that the State will 
     collect and disseminate (which dissemination may be done, 
     except as otherwise specified in this subparagraph, through 
     resource and referral organizations or other means as 
     determined by the State) to parents of eligible children, the 
     general public, and, where applicable, providers--
       ``(i) information about the availability of the full 
     diversity of child care services that will promote informed 
     child care choices and that concerns--

       ``(I) the availability of child care services provided 
     through programs authorized by this subchapter and, if 
     feasible, other child care services and other programs 
     provided in the State for which the family may be eligible, 
     as well as the availability of financial assistance to obtain 
     child care services in the State;
       ``(II) if available, information about the quality of 
     providers, as determined by the State, that can be provided 
     through a Quality Rating and Improvement System;
       ``(III) information, made available through a State Web 
     site, describing the State process for licensing child care 
     providers, the State processes for conducting background 
     checks, and monitoring and inspections, of child care 
     providers, and the offenses that prevent individuals and 
     entities from serving as child care providers in the State;
       ``(IV) other programs for which families that receive child 
     care services for which financial assistance is provided 
     under this subchapter may be eligible, including the program 
     of block grants to States for temporary assistance for needy 
     families established under part A of title IV of the Social 
     Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), Head Start and Early 
     Head Start programs carried out under the Head Start Act (42 
     U.S.C. 9831 et seq.), the program carried out under the Low-
     Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8621 et 
     seq.), the supplemental nutrition assistance program 
     established under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 
     U.S.C. 2011 et seq.), the special supplemental nutrition 
     program for women, infants, and children established under 
     section 17 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 
     1786), the child and adult care food program established 
     under section 17 of the Richard B. Russell National School 
     Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1766), and the Medicaid and State 
     children's health insurance programs under titles XIX and XXI 
     of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq., 1397aa et 
     seq.);
       ``(V) programs carried out under section 619 and part C of 
     the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 
     1419, 1431 et seq.);
       ``(VI) research and best practices concerning children's 
     development, including social and emotional development, 
     early childhood development, and meaningful parent and family 
     engagement, and physical health and development (particularly 
     healthy eating and physical activity); and
       ``(VII) the State policies regarding the social-emotional 
     behavioral health of young children, which may include 
     positive behavioral intervention and support models, and 
     policies on expulsion of preschool-aged children, in early 
     childhood programs receiving assistance under this 
     subchapter; and

       ``(ii) information on developmental screenings, including--

       ``(I) information on existing (as of the date of submission 
     of the application containing the plan) resources and 
     services the State can deploy, including the coordinated use 
     of the Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment 
     program under the Medicaid program carried out under title 
     XIX of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.) and 
     developmental screening services available under section 619 
     and part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 
     (20 U.S.C. 1419, 1431 et seq.), in conducting developmental 
     screenings and providing referrals to services, when 
     appropriate, for children who receive assistance under this 
     subchapter; and
       ``(II) a description of how a family or eligible child care 
     provider may utilize the resources and services described in 
     subclause (I) to obtain developmental screenings for children 
     who receive assistance under this subchapter who may be at 
     risk for cognitive or other developmental delays, which may 
     include social, emotional, physical, or linguistic delays.

       ``(F) Compliance with state licensing requirements.--
       ``(i) In general.--The plan shall include a certification 
     that the State involved has in effect licensing requirements 
     applicable to child care services provided within the State, 
     and provide a detailed description of such requirements and 
     of how such requirements are effectively enforced.
       ``(ii) License exemption.--If the State uses funds received 
     under this subchapter to support a child care provider that 
     is exempt from the corresponding licensing requirements 
     described in clause (i), the plan shall include a description 
     stating why such licensing exemption does not endanger the 
     health, safety, or development of children who receive 
     services from child care providers who are exempt from such 
     requirements.
       ``(G) Training and professional development requirements.--
       ``(i) In general.--The plan shall describe the training and 
     professional development requirements that are in effect 
     within the State designed to enable child care providers to 
     promote the social, emotional, physical, and cognitive 
     development of children and to improve the knowledge and 
     skills of the child care workforce. Such requirements shall 
     be applicable to child care providers that provide services 
     for which assistance is provided in accordance with this 
     subchapter.
       ``(ii) Requirements.--The plan shall provide an assurance 
     that such training and professional development--

       ``(I) shall be conducted on an ongoing basis, provide for a 
     progression of professional development (which may include 
     encouraging the pursuit of postsecondary education), reflect 
     current research and best practices relating to the skills 
     necessary for the child care workforce to meet the 
     developmental needs of participating children, and improve 
     the quality of, and stability within, the child care 
     workforce;
       ``(II) shall be developed in consultation with the State 
     Advisory Council on Early Childhood Education and Care 
     (designated or established pursuant to section 
     642B(b)(1)(A)(i) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 
     9837b(b)(1)(A)(i))), and may engage training providers in 
     aligning training opportunities with the State's training 
     framework;
       ``(III) incorporates knowledge and application of the 
     State's early learning and developmental guidelines (where 
     applicable), the State's health and safety standards, and 
     incorporates social-emotional behavior intervention models, 
     which may include positive behavior intervention and support 
     models;
       ``(IV) shall be accessible to providers supported through 
     Indian tribes or tribal organizations that receive assistance 
     under this subchapter; and
       ``(V) to the extent practicable, are appropriate for a 
     population of children that includes--

       ``(aa) different age groups;
       ``(bb) English learners;
       ``(cc) children with disabilities; and
       ``(dd) Native Americans, including Indians, as the term is 
     defined in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and 
     Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b) (including Alaska 
     Natives within the meaning of that term), and Native 
     Hawaiians (as defined in section 7207 of the Elementary and 
     Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7517)).
       ``(iii) Information.--The plan shall include the number of 
     hours of training required for eligible providers and 
     caregivers to engage in annually, as determined by the State.
       ``(iv) Construction.--The Secretary shall not require an 
     individual or entity that provides child care services for 
     which assistance is provided in accordance with this 
     subchapter to acquire a credential to provide such services. 
     Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit a 
     State from requiring a credential.
       ``(H) Child-to-provider ratio standards.--
       ``(i) Standards.--The plan shall describe child care 
     standards for child care services for which assistance is 
     made available in accordance with this subchapter, 
     appropriate to the type of child care setting involved, to 
     provide for the safety and developmental needs of the 
     children served, that address--

       ``(I) group size limits for specific age populations, as 
     determined by the State;
       ``(II) the appropriate ratio between the number of children 
     and the number of providers, in terms of the age of the 
     children in child care, as determined by the State; and
       ``(III) required qualifications for such providers, as 
     determined by the State.

[[Page H7467]]

       ``(ii) Construction.--The Secretary may offer guidance to 
     States on child-to-provider ratios described in clause (i) 
     according to setting and age group, but shall not require 
     that the State maintain specific group size limits for 
     specific age populations or child-to-provider ratios for 
     providers who receive assistance in accordance with 
     subchapter.
       ``(I) Health and safety requirements.--The plan shall 
     include a certification that there are in effect within the 
     State, under State or local law, requirements designed to 
     protect the health and safety of children that are applicable 
     to child care providers that provide services for which 
     assistance is made available in accordance with this 
     subchapter. Such requirements--
       ``(i) shall relate to matters including health and safety 
     topics consisting of--

       ``(I) the prevention and control of infectious diseases 
     (including immunization) and the establishment of a grace 
     period that allows homeless children and children in foster 
     care to receive services under this subchapter while their 
     families (including foster families) are taking any necessary 
     action to comply with immunization and other health and 
     safety requirements;
       ``(II) prevention of sudden infant death syndrome and use 
     of safe sleeping practices;
       ``(III) the administration of medication, consistent with 
     standards for parental consent;
       ``(IV) the prevention of and response to emergencies due to 
     food and allergic reactions;
       ``(V) building and physical premises safety, including 
     identification of and protection from hazards that can cause 
     bodily injury such as electrical hazards, bodies of water, 
     and vehicular traffic;
       ``(VI) prevention of shaken baby syndrome and abusive head 
     trauma;
       ``(VII) emergency preparedness and response planning for 
     emergencies resulting from a natural disaster, or a man-
     caused event (such as violence at a child care facility), 
     within the meaning of those terms under section 602(a)(1) of 
     the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
     Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5195a(a)(1));
       ``(VIII) the handling and storage of hazardous materials 
     and the appropriate disposal of biocontaminants;
       ``(IX) for providers that offer transportation, if 
     applicable, appropriate precautions in transporting children;
       ``(X) first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation; and
       ``(XI) minimum health and safety training, to be completed 
     pre-service or during an orientation period in addition to 
     ongoing training, appropriate to the provider setting 
     involved that addresses each of the requirements relating to 
     matters described in subclauses (I) through (X); and

       ``(ii) may include requirements relating to nutrition, 
     access to physical activity, or any other subject area 
     determined by the State to be necessary to promote child 
     development or to protect children's health and safety.
       ``(J) Compliance with state and local health and safety 
     requirements.--The plan shall include a certification that 
     procedures are in effect to ensure that child care providers 
     within the State, that provide services for which assistance 
     is made available in accordance with this subchapter, comply 
     with all applicable State and local health and safety 
     requirements as described in subparagraph (I).
       ``(K) Enforcement of licensing and other regulatory 
     requirements.--
       ``(i) Certification.--The plan shall include a 
     certification that the State, not later than 2 years after 
     the date of enactment of the Child Care and Development Block 
     Grant Act of 2014, shall have in effect policies and 
     practices, applicable to licensing or regulating child care 
     providers that provide services for which assistance is made 
     available in accordance with this subchapter and the 
     facilities of those providers, that--

       ``(I) ensure that individuals who are hired as licensing 
     inspectors in the State are qualified to inspect those child 
     care providers and facilities and have received training in 
     related health and safety requirements, and are trained in 
     all aspects of the State's licensure requirements;
       ``(II) require licensing inspectors (or qualified 
     inspectors designated by the lead agency) of those child care 
     providers and facilities to perform inspections, with--

       ``(aa) not less than 1 prelicensure inspection, for 
     compliance with health, safety, and fire standards, of each 
     such child care provider and facility in the State; and
       ``(bb) not less than annually, an inspection (which shall 
     be unannounced) of each such child care provider and facility 
     in the State for compliance with all child care licensing 
     standards, which shall include an inspection for compliance 
     with health, safety, and fire standards (inspectors may 
     inspect for compliance with all 3 standards at the same 
     time);

       ``(III) require the ratio of licensing inspectors to such 
     child care providers and facilities in the State to be 
     maintained at a level sufficient to enable the State to 
     conduct inspections of such child care providers and 
     facilities on a timely basis in accordance with Federal, 
     State, and local law; and
       ``(IV) require licensing inspectors (or qualified 
     inspectors designated by the lead agency) of child care 
     providers and facilities to perform an annual inspection of 
     each license-exempt provider in the State receiving funds 
     under this subchapter (unless the provider is an eligible 
     child care provider as described in section 658P(6)(B)) for 
     compliance with health, safety, and fire standards, at a time 
     to be determined by the State.

       ``(ii) Construction.--The Secretary may offer guidance to a 
     State, if requested by the State, on a research-based minimum 
     standard regarding ratios described in clause (i)(III) and 
     provide technical assistance to the State on meeting the 
     minimum standard within a reasonable time period, but shall 
     not prescribe a particular ratio.
       ``(L) Compliance with child abuse reporting requirements.--
     The plan shall include a certification that child care 
     providers within the State will comply with the child abuse 
     reporting requirements of section 106(b)(2)(B)(i) of the 
     Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 
     5106a(b)(2)(B)(i)).
       ``(M) Meeting the needs of certain populations.--The plan 
     shall describe how the State will develop and implement 
     strategies (which may include alternative reimbursement rates 
     to child care providers, the provision of direct contracts or 
     grants to community-based organizations, offering child care 
     certificates to parents, or other means determined by the 
     State) to increase the supply and improve the quality of 
     child care services for--
       ``(i) children in underserved areas;
       ``(ii) infants and toddlers;
       ``(iii) children with disabilities, as defined by the 
     State; and
       ``(iv) children who receive care during nontraditional 
     hours.
       ``(N) Protection for working parents.--
       ``(i) Minimum period.--

       ``(I) 12-month period.--The plan shall demonstrate that 
     each child who receives assistance under this subchapter in 
     the State will be considered to meet all eligibility 
     requirements for such assistance and will receive such 
     assistance, for not less than 12 months before the State or 
     designated local entity redetermines the eligibility of the 
     child under this subchapter, regardless of a temporary change 
     in the ongoing status of the child's parent as working or 
     attending a job training or educational program or a change 
     in family income for the child's family, if that family 
     income does not exceed 85 percent of the State median income 
     for a family of the same size.
       ``(II) Fluctuations in earnings.--The plan shall 
     demonstrate how the State's or designated local entity's 
     processes for initial determination and redetermination of 
     such eligibility take into account irregular fluctuations in 
     earnings.

       ``(ii) Redetermination process.--The plan shall describe 
     the procedures and policies that are in place to ensure that 
     working parents (especially parents in families receiving 
     assistance under the program of block grants to States for 
     temporary assistance for needy families under part A of title 
     IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.)) are 
     not required to unduly disrupt their employment in order to 
     comply with the State's or designated local entity's 
     requirements for redetermination of eligibility for 
     assistance provided in accordance with this subchapter.
       ``(iii) Period before termination.--At the option of the 
     State, the plan shall demonstrate that the State will not 
     terminate assistance provided to carry out this subchapter 
     based on a factor consisting of a parent's loss of work or 
     cessation of attendance at a job training or educational 
     program for which the family was receiving the assistance, 
     without continuing the assistance for a reasonable period of 
     time, of not less than 3 months, after such loss or cessation 
     in order for the parent to engage in a job search and resume 
     work, or resume attendance at a job training or educational 
     program, as soon as possible.
       ``(iv) Graduated phaseout of care.--The plan shall describe 
     the policies and procedures that are in place to allow for 
     provision of continued assistance to carry out this 
     subchapter, at the beginning of a new eligibility period 
     under clause (i)(I), for children of parents who are working 
     or attending a job training or educational program and whose 
     family income exceeds the State's income limit to initially 
     qualify for such assistance, if the family income for the 
     family involved does not exceed 85 percent of the State 
     median income for a family of the same size.
       ``(O) Coordination with other programs.--
       ``(i) In general.--The plan shall describe how the State, 
     in order to expand accessibility and continuity of care, and 
     assist children enrolled in early childhood programs to 
     receive full-day services, will efficiently, and to the 
     extent practicable, coordinate the services supported to 
     carry out this subchapter with programs operating at the 
     Federal, State, and local levels for children in preschool 
     programs, tribal early childhood programs, and other early 
     childhood programs, including those serving infants and 
     toddlers with disabilities, homeless children, and children 
     in foster care.
       ``(ii) Optional use of combined funds.--If the State elects 
     to combine funding for the services supported to carry out 
     this subchapter with funding for any program described in 
     clause (i), the plan shall describe how the State will 
     combine the multiple sets of funding and use the combined 
     funding.
       ``(iii) Rule of construction.--Nothing in clause (i) shall 
     be construed to affect the priority of children described in 
     clause (i) to receive full-day prekindergarten or Head Start 
     program services.
       ``(P) Public-private partnerships.--The plan shall 
     demonstrate how the State encourages partnerships among State 
     agencies,

[[Page H7468]]

     other public agencies, Indian tribes and tribal 
     organizations, and private entities, including faith-based 
     and community-based organizations, to leverage existing 
     service delivery systems (as of the date of the submission of 
     the application containing the plan) for child care and 
     development services and to increase the supply and quality 
     of child care services for children who are less than 13 
     years of age, such as by implementing voluntary shared 
     services alliance models.
       ``(Q) Priority for low-income populations.--The plan shall 
     describe the process the State proposes to use, with respect 
     to investments made to increase access to programs providing 
     high-quality child care and development services, to give 
     priority for those investments to children of families in 
     areas that have significant concentrations of poverty and 
     unemployment and that do not have such programs.
       ``(R) Consultation.--The plan shall include a certification 
     that the State has developed the plan in consultation with 
     the State Advisory Council on Early Childhood Education and 
     Care designated or established pursuant to section 
     642B(b)(1)(A)(i) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 
     9837b(b)(1)(A)(i)).
       ``(S) Payment practices.--The plan shall include--
       ``(i) a certification that the payment practices of child 
     care providers in the State that serve children who receive 
     assistance under this subchapter reflect generally accepted 
     payment practices of child care providers in the State that 
     serve children who do not receive assistance under this 
     subchapter, so as to provide stability of funding and 
     encourage more child care providers to serve children who 
     receive assistance under this subchapter; and
       ``(ii) an assurance that the State will, to the extent 
     practicable, implement enrollment and eligibility policies 
     that support the fixed costs of providing child care services 
     by delinking provider reimbursement rates from an eligible 
     child's occasional absences due to holidays or unforseen 
     circumstances such as illness.
       ``(T) Early learning and developmental guidelines.--
       ``(i) In general.--The plan shall include an assurance that 
     the State will maintain or implement early learning and 
     developmental guidelines (or develop such guidelines if the 
     State does not have such guidelines as of the date of 
     enactment of the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act 
     of 2014) that are appropriate for children from birth to 
     kindergarten entry, describing what such children should know 
     and be able to do, and covering the essential domains of 
     early childhood development for use statewide by child care 
     providers. Such guidelines shall--

       ``(I) be research-based, developmentally appropriate, and 
     aligned with entry to kindergarten;
       ``(II) be implemented in consultation with the state 
     educational agency and the State Advisory Council on Early 
     Childhood Education and Care (designated or established 
     pursuant to section 642B(b)(I)(A)(i) of the Head Start Act 
     (42 U.S.C. 9837b(b)(1)(A)(i)); and
       ``(III) be updated as determined by the State.

       ``(ii) Prohibition on use of funds.--The plan shall include 
     an assurance that funds received by the State to carry out 
     this subchapter will not be used to develop or implement an 
     assessment for children that--

       ``(I) will be the sole basis for a child care provider 
     being determined to be ineligible to participate in the 
     program carried out under this subchapter;
       ``(II) will be used as the primary or sole basis to provide 
     a reward or sanction for an individual provider;
       ``(III) will be used as the primary or sole method for 
     assessing program effectiveness; or
       ``(IV) will be used to deny children eligibility to 
     participate in the program carried out under this subchapter.

       ``(iii) Exceptions.--Nothing in this subchapter shall 
     preclude the State from using a single assessment as 
     determined by the State for children for--

       ``(I) supporting learning or improving a classroom 
     environment;
       ``(II) targeting professional development to a provider;
       ``(III) determining the need for health, mental health, 
     disability, developmental delay, or family support services;
       ``(IV) obtaining information for the quality improvement 
     process at the State level; or
       ``(V) conducting a program evaluation for the purposes of 
     providing program improvement and parent information.

       ``(iv) No federal control.--Nothing in this section shall 
     be construed to authorize an officer or employee of the 
     Federal Government to--

       ``(I) mandate, direct, control, or place conditions 
     (outside of what is required by this subchapter) around 
     adopting a State's early learning and developmental 
     guidelines developed in accordance with this section;
       ``(II) establish any criterion that specifies, defines, 
     prescribes, or places conditions (outside of what is required 
     by this subchapter) on a State adopting standards or measures 
     that a State uses to establish, implement, or improve such 
     guidelines, related accountability systems, or alignment of 
     such guidelines with education standards; or
       ``(III) require a State to submit such guidelines for 
     review.

       ``(U) Disaster preparedness.--
       ``(i) In general.--The plan shall demonstrate the manner in 
     which the State will address the needs of children in child 
     care services provided through programs authorized under this 
     subchapter, including the need for safe child care, for the 
     period before, during, and after a state of emergency 
     declared by the Governor or a major disaster or emergency (as 
     such terms are defined in section 102 of the Robert T. 
     Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 
     U.S.C. 5122)).
       ``(ii) Statewide child care disaster plan.--Such plan shall 
     include a statewide child care disaster plan for coordination 
     of activities and collaboration, in the event of an emergency 
     or disaster described in clause (i), among the State agency 
     with jurisdiction over human services, the agency with 
     jurisdiction over State emergency planning, the State lead 
     agency, the State agency with jurisdiction over licensing of 
     child care providers, the local resource and referral 
     organizations, the State resource and referral system, and 
     the State Advisory Council on Early Childhood Education and 
     Care as provided for under section 642B(b) of the Head Start 
     Act (42 U.S.C. 9837b(b)).
       ``(iii) Disaster plan components.--The components of the 
     disaster plan, for such an emergency or disaster, shall 
     include--

       ``(I) evacuation, relocation, shelter-in-place, and lock-
     down procedures, and procedures for communication and 
     reunification with families, continuity of operations, and 
     accommodation of infants and toddlers, children with 
     disabilities, and children with chronic medical conditions;
       ``(II) guidelines for the continuation of child care 
     services in the period following the emergency or disaster, 
     which may include the provision of emergency and temporary 
     child care services, and temporary operating standards for 
     child care providers during that period; and
       ``(III) procedures for staff and volunteer emergency 
     preparedness training and practice drills.

       ``(V) Business technical assistance.--The plan shall 
     describe how the State will develop and implement strategies 
     to strengthen the business practices of child care providers 
     to expand the supply, and improve the quality of, child care 
     services.'';
       (3) in paragraph (3)--
       (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``as required under'' 
     and inserting ``in accordance with'';
       (B) in subparagraph (B)--
       (i) by striking ``The State'' and inserting the following:
       ``(i) In general.--The State'';
       (ii) by striking ``and any other activity that the State 
     deems appropriate to realize any of the goals specified in 
     paragraphs (2) through (5) of section 658A(b)'' and inserting 
     ``activities that improve access to child care services, 
     including the use of procedures to permit enrollment (after 
     an initial eligibility determination) of homeless children 
     while required documentation is obtained, training and 
     technical assistance on identifying and serving homeless 
     children and their families, and specific outreach to 
     homeless families, and any other activity that the State 
     determines to be appropriate to meet the purposes of this 
     subchapter (which may include an activity described in clause 
     (ii))''; and
       (iii) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(ii) Report by the assistant secretary for children and 
     families.--

       ``(I) In general.--Not later than September 30 of the first 
     full fiscal year after the date of enactment of the Child 
     Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2014, and September 
     30 of each fiscal year thereafter, the Secretary (acting 
     through the Assistant Secretary for Children and Families of 
     the Department of Health and Human Services) shall prepare a 
     report that contains a determination about whether each State 
     uses amounts provided to such State for the fiscal year 
     involved under this subchapter in accordance with the 
     priority for services described in clause (i).
       ``(II) Penalty for noncompliance.--For any fiscal year that 
     the report of the Secretary described in subclause (I) 
     indicates that a State has failed to give priority for 
     services in accordance with clause (i), the Secretary shall--

       ``(aa) inform the State that the State has until the date 
     that is 6 months after the Secretary has issued such report 
     to fully comply with clause (i);
       ``(bb) provide the State an opportunity to modify the State 
     plan of such State, to make the plan consistent with the 
     requirements of clause (i), and resubmit such State plan to 
     the Secretary not later than the date described in item (aa); 
     and
       ``(cc) if the State does not fully comply with clause (i) 
     and item (bb), by the date described in item (aa), withhold 5 
     percent of the funds that would otherwise be allocated to 
     that State in accordance with this subchapter for the first 
     full fiscal year after that date.

       ``(III) Waiver for extraordinary circumstances.--
     Notwithstanding subclause (II) the Secretary may grant a 
     waiver to a State for one year to the penalty applied in 
     subclause (II) if the Secretary determines there are 
     extraordinary circumstances, such as a natural disaster, that 
     prevent the State from complying with clause (i). If the 
     Secretary does grant a waiver to a State under this section, 
     the Secretary shall, within 30

[[Page H7469]]

     days of granting such waiver, submit a report to the 
     appropriate congressional committees on the circumstances of 
     the waiver including the stated reason from the State on the 
     need for a waiver, the expected impact of the waiver on 
     children served under this program, and any such other 
     relevant information the Secretary deems necessary.

       ``(iii) Child care resource and referral system.--

       ``(I) In general.--A State may use amounts described in 
     clause (i) to establish or support a system of local or 
     regional child care resource and referral organizations that 
     is coordinated, to the extent determined appropriate by the 
     State, by a statewide public or private nonprofit, community-
     based or regionally based, lead child care resource and 
     referral organization.
       ``(II) Local or regional organizations.--The local or 
     regional child care resource and referral organizations 
     supported as described in subclause (I) shall--

       ``(aa) provide parents in the State with consumer education 
     information referred to in paragraph (2)(E) (except as 
     otherwise provided in that paragraph), concerning the full 
     range of child care options (including faith-based and 
     community-based child care providers), analyzed by provider, 
     including child care provided during nontraditional hours and 
     through emergency child care centers, in their political 
     subdivisions or regions;
       ``(bb) to the extent practicable, work directly with 
     families who receive assistance under this subchapter to 
     offer the families support and assistance, using information 
     described in item (aa), to make an informed decision about 
     which child care providers they will use, in an effort to 
     ensure that the families are enrolling their children in the 
     most appropriate child care setting to suit their needs and 
     one that is of high quality (as determined by the State);
       ``(cc) collect data and provide information on the 
     coordination of services and supports, including services 
     under section 619 and part C of the Individuals with 
     Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1431, et seq.), for 
     children with disabilities (as defined in section 602 of such 
     Act (20 U.S.C. 1401));
       ``(dd) collect data and provide information on the supply 
     of and demand for child care services in political 
     subdivisions or regions within the State and submit such 
     information to the State;
       ``(ee) work to establish partnerships with public agencies 
     and private entities, including faith-based and community-
     based child care providers, to increase the supply and 
     quality of child care services in the State; and
       ``(ff) as appropriate, coordinate their activities with the 
     activities of the State lead agency and local agencies that 
     administer funds made available in accordance with this 
     subchapter.'';
       (C) in subparagraph (D)--
       (i) by striking ``1997 through 2002)'' and inserting ``2015 
     through 2020''; and
       (ii) by striking ``other than families described in 
     paragraph (2)(H)'' and inserting ``including or in addition 
     to families with children described in clause (i), (ii), 
     (iii), or (iv) of paragraph (2)(M)''; and
       (D) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(E) Direct services.--From amounts provided to a State 
     for a fiscal year to carry out this subchapter, the State 
     shall--
       ``(i) reserve the minimum amount required to be reserved 
     under section 658G, and the funds for costs described in 
     subparagraph (C); and
       ``(ii) from the remainder, use not less than 70 percent to 
     fund direct services (provided by the State) in accordance 
     with paragraph (2)(A).'';
       (4) by striking paragraph (4) and inserting the following:
       ``(4) Payment rates.--
       ``(A) In general.--The State plan shall certify that 
     payment rates for the provision of child care services for 
     which assistance is provided in accordance with this 
     subchapter are sufficient to ensure equal access for eligible 
     children to child care services that are comparable to child 
     care services in the State or substate area involved that are 
     provided to children whose parents are not eligible to 
     receive assistance under this subchapter or to receive child 
     care assistance under any other Federal or State program, and 
     shall provide a summary of the facts relied on by the State 
     to determine that such rates are sufficient to ensure such 
     access.
       ``(B) Survey.--The State plan shall--
       ``(i) demonstrate that the State has, after consulting with 
     the State Advisory Council on Early Childhood Education and 
     Care designated or established in section 642B(b)(1)(A)(i) of 
     the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9837b(b)(1)(A)(i)), local child 
     care program administrators, local child care resource and 
     referral agencies, and other appropriate entities, developed 
     and conducted (not earlier than 2 years before the date of 
     the submission of the application containing the State plan) 
     a statistically valid and reliable survey of the market rates 
     for child care services in the State (that reflects 
     variations in the cost of child care services by geographic 
     area, type of provider, and age of child) or an alternative 
     methodology, such as a cost estimation model, that has been 
     developed by the State lead agency;
       ``(ii) demonstrate that the State prepared a detailed 
     report containing the results of the State market rates 
     survey or alternative methodology conducted pursuant to 
     clause (i), and made the results of the survey or alternative 
     methodology widely available (not later than 30 days after 
     the completion of such survey or alternative methodology) 
     through periodic means, including posting the results on the 
     Internet;
       ``(iii) describe how the State will set payment rates for 
     child care services, for which assistance is provided in 
     accordance with this subchapter--

       ``(I) in accordance with the results of the market rates 
     survey or alternative methodology conducted pursuant to 
     clause (i);
       ``(II) taking into consideration the cost of providing 
     higher quality child care services than were provided under 
     this subchapter before the date of enactment of the Child 
     Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2014; and
       ``(III) without, to the extent practicable, reducing the 
     number of families in the State receiving such assistance to 
     carry out this subchapter, relative to the number of such 
     families on the date of enactment of that Act; and

       ``(iv) describe how the State will provide for timely 
     payment for child care services provided under this 
     subchapter.
       ``(C) Construction.--
       ``(i) No private right of action.--Nothing in this 
     paragraph shall be construed to create a private right of 
     action if the State acted in accordance with this paragraph.
       ``(ii) No prohibition of certain different rates.--Nothing 
     in this subchapter shall be construed to prevent a State from 
     differentiating the payment rates described in subparagraph 
     (B)(iii) on the basis of such factors as--

       ``(I) geographic location of child care providers (such as 
     location in an urban or rural area);
       ``(II) the age or particular needs of children (such as the 
     needs of children with disabilities and children served by 
     child protective services);
       ``(III) whether the providers provide child care services 
     during weekend and other nontraditional hours; or
       ``(IV) the State's determination that such differentiated 
     payment rates may enable a parent to choose high-quality 
     child care that best fits the parent's needs.''; and

       (5) in paragraph (5), by inserting ``(that is not a barrier 
     to families receiving assistance under this subchapter)'' 
     after ``cost sharing''.
       (c) Technical Amendment.--Section 658F(b)(2) of the Child 
     Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 
     9858d(b)(2)) is amended by striking ``section 658E(c)(2)(F)'' 
     and inserting ``section 658E(c)(2)(I)''.

     SEC. 6. ACTIVITIES TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF CHILD CARE.

       Section 658G of the Child Care and Development Block Grant 
     Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858e) is amended to read as follows:

     ``SEC. 658G. ACTIVITIES TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF CHILD CARE.

       ``(a) Reservation.--
       ``(1) Reservation for activities relating to the quality of 
     child care services.--A State that receives funds to carry 
     out this subchapter for a fiscal year referred to in 
     paragraph (2) shall reserve and use a portion of such funds, 
     in accordance with paragraph (2), for activities provided 
     directly, or through grants or contracts with local child 
     care resource and referral organizations or other appropriate 
     entities, that are designed to improve the quality of child 
     care services and increase parental options for, and access 
     to, high-quality child care, and is in alignment with a 
     Statewide assessment of the State's needs to carry out such 
     services and care, provided in accordance with this 
     subchapter.
       ``(2) Amount of reservations.--Such State shall reserve and 
     use--
       ``(A) to carry out the activities described in paragraph 
     (1), not less than--
       ``(i) 7 percent of the funds described in paragraph (1), 
     for the first and second full fiscal years after the date of 
     enactment of the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act 
     of 2014;
       ``(ii) 8 percent of such funds for the third and fourth 
     full fiscal years after the date of enactment; and
       ``(iii) 9 percent of such funds for the fifth and each 
     succeeding full fiscal year after the date of enactment; and
       ``(B) in addition to the funds reserved under subparagraph 
     (A), 3 percent of the funds described in paragraph (1) 
     received not later than the second full fiscal year after the 
     date of enactment and received for each succeeding full 
     fiscal year, to carry out the activities described in 
     paragraph (1) and subsection (b)(4), as such activities 
     relate to the quality of care for infants and toddlers.
       ``(3) State reservation amount.--Nothing in this subsection 
     shall preclude the State from reserving a larger percentage 
     of funds to carry out the activities described in paragraph 
     (1) and subsection (b).
       ``(b) Activities.--Funds reserved under subsection (a) 
     shall be used to carry out no fewer than one of the following 
     activities that will improve the quality of child care 
     services provided in the State:
       ``(1) Supporting the training and professional development 
     of the child care workforce through activities such as those 
     included under section 658E(c)(2)(G), in addition to--
       ``(A) offering training and professional development 
     opportunities for child care providers that relate to the use 
     of scientifically-based, developmentally-appropriate and age-
     appropriate strategies to promote the social, emotional, 
     physical, and cognitive development of children, including 
     those related to

[[Page H7470]]

     nutrition and physical activity, and offering specialized 
     training for child care providers caring for those 
     populations prioritized in section 658E(c)(2)(Q), and 
     children with disabilities;
       ``(B) incorporating the effective use of data to guide 
     program improvement;
       ``(C) including effective behavior management strategies 
     and training, including positive behavior interventions and 
     support models, that promote positive social and emotional 
     development and reduce challenging behaviors, including 
     reducing expulsions of preschool-aged children for such 
     behaviors;
       ``(E) providing training and outreach on engaging parents 
     and families in culturally and linguistically appropriate 
     ways to expand their knowledge, skills, and capacity to 
     become meaningful partners in supporting their children's 
     positive development;
       ``(F) providing training corresponding to the nutritional 
     and physical activity needs of children to promote healthy 
     development;
       ``(G) providing training or professional development for 
     child care providers regarding the early neurological 
     development of children; and
       ``(H) connecting child care staff members of child care 
     providers with available Federal and State financial aid, or 
     other resources, that would assist child care staff members 
     in pursuing relevant postsecondary training.
       ``(2) Improving upon the development or implementation of 
     the early learning and developmental guidelines described in 
     section 658E(c)(2)(T) by providing technical assistance to 
     eligible child care providers that enhances the cognitive, 
     physical, social and emotional development, including early 
     childhood development, of participating preschool and school-
     aged children and supports their overall well-being.
       ``(3) Developing, implementing, or enhancing a tiered 
     quality rating system for child care providers and services, 
     which may--
       ``(A) support and assess the quality of child care 
     providers in the State;
       ``(B) build on State licensing standards and other State 
     regulatory standards for such providers;
       ``(C) be designed to improve the quality of different types 
     of child care providers and services;
       ``(D) describe the safety of child care facilities;
       ``(E) build the capacity of State early childhood programs 
     and communities to promote parents' and families' 
     understanding of the State's early childhood system and the 
     ratings of the programs in which the child is enrolled;
       ``(F) provide, to the maximum extent practicable, financial 
     incentives and other supports designed to expand the full 
     diversity of child care options and help child care providers 
     improve the quality of services; and
       ``(G) accommodate a variety of distinctive approaches to 
     early childhood education and care, including but not limited 
     to, those practiced in faith-based settings, community-based 
     settings, child-centered settings, or similar settings that 
     offer a distinctive approach to early childhood development.
       ``(4) Improving the supply and quality of child care 
     programs and services for infants and toddlers through 
     activities, which may include--
       ``(A) establishing or expanding high-quality community or 
     neighborhood-based family and child development centers, 
     which may serve as resources to child care providers in order 
     to improve the quality of early childhood services provided 
     to infants and toddlers from low-income families and to help 
     eligible child care providers improve their capacity to offer 
     high-quality, age-appropriate care to infants and toddlers 
     from low-income families;
       ``(B) establishing or expanding the operation of community 
     or neighborhood-based family child care networks;
       ``(C) promoting and expanding child care providers' ability 
     to provide developmentally appropriate services for infants 
     and toddlers through training and professional development; 
     coaching and technical assistance on this age group's unique 
     needs from statewide networks of qualified infant-toddler 
     specialists; and improved coordination with early 
     intervention specialists who provide services for infants and 
     toddlers with disabilities under part C of the Individuals 
     with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.);
       ``(D) if applicable, developing infant and toddler 
     components within the State's quality rating system described 
     in paragraph (3) for child care providers for infants and 
     toddlers, or the development of infant and toddler components 
     in a State's child care licensing regulations or early 
     learning and development guidelines;
       ``(E) improving the ability of parents to access 
     transparent and easy to understand consumer information about 
     high-quality infant and toddler care; and
       ``(F) carrying out other activities determined by the State 
     to improve the quality of infant and toddler care provided in 
     the State, and for which there is evidence that the 
     activities will lead to improved infant and toddler health 
     and safety, infant and toddler cognitive and physical 
     development, or infant and toddler well-being, including 
     providing health and safety training (including training in 
     safe sleep practices, first aid, and cardiopulmonary 
     resuscitation) for providers and caregivers.
       ``(5) Establishing or expanding a statewide system of child 
     care resource and referral services.
       ``(6) Facilitating compliance with State requirements for 
     inspection, monitoring, training, and health and safety, and 
     with State licensing standards.
       ``(7) Evaluating and assessing the quality and 
     effectiveness of child care programs and services offered in 
     the State, including evaluating how such programs positively 
     impact children.
       ``(8) Supporting child care providers in the voluntary 
     pursuit of accreditation by a national accrediting body with 
     demonstrated, valid, and reliable program standards of high 
     quality.
       ``(9) Supporting State or local efforts to develop or adopt 
     high-quality program standards relating to health, mental 
     health, nutrition, physical activity, and physical 
     development.
       ``(10) Carrying out other activities determined by the 
     State to improve the quality of child care services provided 
     in the State, and for which measurement of outcomes relating 
     to improved provider preparedness, child safety, child well-
     being, or entry to kindergarten is possible.
       ``(c) Certification.--Beginning with fiscal year 2016, at 
     the beginning of each fiscal year, the State shall annually 
     submit to the Secretary a certification containing an 
     assurance that the State was in compliance with subsection 
     (a) during the preceding fiscal year and a description of how 
     the State used funds received under this subchapter to comply 
     with subsection (a) during that preceding fiscal year.
       ``(d) Reporting Requirements.--Each State receiving funds 
     under this subchapter shall prepare and submit an annual 
     report to the Secretary, which shall include information 
     about--
       ``(1) the amount of funds that are reserved under 
     subsection (a);
       ``(2) the activities carried out under this section; and
       ``(3) the measures that the State will use to evaluate the 
     State's progress in improving the quality of child care 
     programs and services in the State.
       ``(e) Technical Assistance.--The Secretary shall offer 
     technical assistance, in accordance with section 658I(a)(3), 
     which may include technical assistance through the use of 
     grants or cooperative agreements, to States for the 
     activities described in subsection (b) at the request of the 
     State.
       ``(f) Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be 
     construed as providing the Secretary the authority to 
     regulate, direct, dictate, or place conditions (outside of 
     what is required by this subchapter) on a State adopting 
     specific State child care quality activities or progress in 
     implementing those activities.''.

     SEC. 7. CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECKS.

       The Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 
     U.S.C. 9858 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 
     658G the following:

     ``SEC. 658H. CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECKS.

       ``(a) In General.--A State that receives funds to carry out 
     this subchapter shall have in effect--
       ``(1) requirements, policies, and procedures to require and 
     conduct criminal background checks for child care staff 
     members (including prospective child care staff members) of 
     child care providers described in subsection (c)(1); and
       ``(2) licensing, regulation, and registration requirements, 
     as applicable, that prohibit the employment of child care 
     staff members as described in subsection (c).
       ``(b) Requirements.--A criminal background check for a 
     child care staff member under subsection (a) shall include--
       ``(1) a search of the State criminal and sex offender 
     registry or repository in the State where the child care 
     staff member resides, and each State where such staff member 
     resided during the preceding 5 years;
       ``(2) a search of State-based child abuse and neglect 
     registries and databases in the State where the child care 
     staff member resides, and each State where such staff member 
     resided during the preceding 5 years;
       ``(3) a search of the National Crime Information Center;
       ``(4) a Federal Bureau of Investigation fingerprint check 
     using the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification 
     System; and
       ``(5) a search of the National Sex Offender Registry 
     established under the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety 
     Act of 2006 (42 U.S.C. 16901 et seq.).
       ``(c) Prohibitions.--
       ``(1) Child care staff members.--A child care staff member 
     shall be ineligible for employment by a child care provider 
     that is receiving assistance under this subchapter if such 
     individual--
       ``(A) refuses to consent to the criminal background check 
     described in subsection (b);
       ``(B) knowingly makes a materially false statement in 
     connection with such criminal background check;
       ``(C) is registered, or is required to be registered, on a 
     State sex offender registry or repository or the National Sex 
     Offender Registry established under the Adam Walsh Child 
     Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (42 U.S.C. 16901 et seq.); 
     or
       ``(D) has been convicted of a felony consisting of--
       ``(i) murder, as described in section 1111 of title 18, 
     United States Code;
       ``(ii) child abuse or neglect;
       ``(iii) a crime against children, including child 
     pornography;

[[Page H7471]]

       ``(iv) spousal abuse;
       ``(v) a crime involving rape or sexual assault;
       ``(vi) kidnapping;
       ``(vii) arson;
       ``(viii) physical assault or battery; or
       ``(ix) subject to subsection (e)(4), a drug-related offense 
     committed during the preceding 5 years; or
       ``(E) has been convicted of a violent misdemeanor committed 
     as an adult against a child, including the following crimes: 
     child abuse, child endangerment, sexual assault, or of a 
     misdemeanor involving child pornography.
       ``(2) Child care providers.--A child care provider 
     described in subsection (i)(1) shall be ineligible for 
     assistance provided in accordance with this subchapter if the 
     provider employs a staff member who is ineligible for 
     employment under paragraph (1).
       ``(d) Submission of Requests for Background Checks.--
       ``(1) In general.--A child care provider covered by 
     subsection (c) shall submit a request, to the appropriate 
     State agency designated by a State, for a criminal background 
     check described in subsection (b), for each child care staff 
     member (including prospective child care staff members) of 
     the provider.
       ``(2) Staff members.--Subject to paragraph (4), in the case 
     of an individual who became a child care staff member before 
     the date of enactment of the Child Care and Development Block 
     Grant Act of 2014, the provider shall submit such a request--
       ``(A) prior to the last day described in subsection (j)(1); 
     and
       ``(B) not less often than once during each 5-year period 
     following the first submission date under this paragraph for 
     that staff member.
       ``(3) Prospective staff members.--Subject to paragraph (4), 
     in the case of an individual who is a prospective child care 
     staff member on or after that date of enactment, the provider 
     shall submit such a request--
       ``(A) prior to the date the individual becomes a child care 
     staff member of the provider; and
       ``(B) not less than once during each 5-year period 
     following the first submission date under this paragraph for 
     that staff member.
       ``(4) Background check for another child care provider.--A 
     child care provider shall not be required to submit a request 
     under paragraph (2) or (3) for a child care staff member if--
       ``(A) the staff member received a background check 
     described in subsection (b)--
       ``(i) within 5 years before the latest date on which such a 
     submission may be made; and
       ``(ii) while employed by or seeking employment by another 
     child care provider within the State;
       ``(B) the State provided to the first provider a qualifying 
     background check result, consistent with this subchapter, for 
     the staff member; and
       ``(C) the staff member is employed by a child care provider 
     within the State, or has been separated from employment from 
     a child care provider within the State for a period of not 
     more than 180 consecutive days.
       ``(e) Background Check Results and Appeals.--
       ``(1) Background check results.--The State shall carry out 
     the request of a child care provider for a criminal 
     background check as expeditiously as possible, but not to 
     exceed 45 days after the date on which such request was 
     submitted, and shall provide the results of the criminal 
     background check to such provider and to the current or 
     prospective staff member.
       ``(2) Privacy.--
       ``(A) In general.--The State shall provide the results of 
     the criminal background check to the provider in a statement 
     that indicates whether a child care staff member (including a 
     prospective child care staff member) is eligible or 
     ineligible for employment described in subsection (c), 
     without revealing any disqualifying crime or other related 
     information regarding the individual.
       ``(B) Ineligible staff member.--If the child care staff 
     member is ineligible for such employment due to the 
     background check, the State will, when providing the results 
     of the background check, include information related to each 
     disqualifying crime, in a report to the staff member or 
     prospective staff member.
       ``(C) Public release of results.--No State shall publicly 
     release or share the results of individual background checks, 
     except States may release aggregated data by crime as listed 
     under subsection (c)(1)(D) from background check results, as 
     long as such data is not personally identifiable information.
       ``(3) Appeals.--
       ``(A) In general.--The State shall provide for a process by 
     which a child care staff member (including a prospective 
     child care staff member) may appeal the results of a criminal 
     background check conducted under this section to challenge 
     the accuracy or completeness of the information contained in 
     such member's criminal background report.
       ``(B) Appeals process.--The State shall ensure that--
       ``(i) each child care staff member shall be given notice of 
     the opportunity to appeal;
       ``(ii) a child care staff member will receive instructions 
     about how to complete the appeals process if the child care 
     staff member wishes to challenge the accuracy or completeness 
     of the information contained in such member's criminal 
     background report; and
       ``(iii) the appeals process is completed in a timely manner 
     for each child care staff member.
       ``(4) Review.--The State may allow for a review process 
     through which the State may determine that a child care staff 
     member (including a prospective child care staff member) 
     disqualified for a crime specified in subsection 
     (c)(1)(D)(ix) is eligible for employment described in 
     subsection (c)(1), notwithstanding subsection (c). The review 
     process shall be consistent with title VII of the Civil 
     Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.).
       ``(5) No private right of action.--Nothing in this section 
     shall be construed to create a private right of action if a 
     provider has acted in accordance with this section.
       ``(f) Fees for Background Checks.--Fees that a State may 
     charge for the costs of processing applications and 
     administering a criminal background check as required by this 
     section shall not exceed the actual costs to the State for 
     the processing and administration.
       ``(g) Transparency.--The State must ensure that the 
     policies and procedures under section 658H are published on 
     the Web site (or otherwise publicly available venue in the 
     absence of a Web site) of the State and the Web sites of 
     local lead agencies.
       ``(h) Construction.--
       ``(1) Disqualification for other crimes.--Nothing in this 
     section shall be construed to prevent a State from 
     disqualifying individuals as child care staff members based 
     on their conviction for crimes not specifically listed in 
     this section that bear upon the fitness of an individual to 
     provide care for and have responsibility for the safety and 
     well-being of children.
       ``(2) Rights and remedies.--Nothing in this section shall 
     be construed to alter or otherwise affect the rights and 
     remedies provided for child care staff members residing in a 
     State that disqualifies individuals as child care staff 
     members for crimes not specifically provided for under this 
     section.
       ``(i) Definitions.--In this section--
       ``(1) the term `child care provider' means a center-based 
     child care provider, a family child care provider, or another 
     provider of child care services for compensation and on a 
     regular basis that--
       ``(A) is not an individual who is related to all children 
     for whom child care services are provided; and
       ``(B) is licensed, regulated, or registered under State law 
     or receives assistance provided under this subchapter; and
       ``(2) the term `child care staff member' means an 
     individual (other than an individual who is related to all 
     children for whom child care services are provided)--
       ``(A) who is employed by a child care provider for 
     compensation; or
       ``(B) whose activities involve the care or supervision of 
     children for a child care provider or unsupervised access to 
     children who are cared for or supervised by a child care 
     provider.
       ``(j) Effective Date.--
       ``(1) In general.--A State that receives funds under this 
     subchapter shall meet the requirements of this section for 
     the provision of criminal background checks for child care 
     staff members described in subsection (d)(1) not later than 
     the last day of the second full fiscal year after the date of 
     enactment of the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act 
     of 2014.
       ``(2) Extension.--The Secretary may grant a State an 
     extension of time, of not more than 1 fiscal year, to meet 
     the requirements of this section if the State demonstrates a 
     good faith effort to comply with the requirements of this 
     section.
       ``(3) Penalty for noncompliance.--Except as provided in 
     paragraphs (1) and (2), for any fiscal year that a State 
     fails to comply substantially with the requirements of this 
     section, the Secretary shall withhold 5 percent of the funds 
     that would otherwise be allocated to that State in accordance 
     with this subchapter for the following fiscal year.''.

     SEC. 8. REPORTS AND INFORMATION.

       (a) Administration.--Section 658I(a) of the Child Care and 
     Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858g(a)) is 
     amended--
       (1) in paragraph (2)--
       (A) by inserting a comma after ``publish''; and
       (B) by striking ``and'' at the end;
       (2) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the following:
       ``(3) provide technical assistance, such as business 
     technical assistance, as described in section 658E(c)(2)(V), 
     to States (which may include providing assistance on a 
     reimbursable basis) which shall be provided by qualified 
     experts on practices grounded in scientifically valid 
     research, where appropriate, to carry out this subchapter;''; 
     and
       (3) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(4) disseminate, for voluntary informational purposes, 
     information on practices that scientifically valid research 
     indicates are most successful in improving the quality of 
     programs that receive assistance with this subchapter; and
       ``(5) after consultation with the heads of any other 
     Federal agencies involved, issue guidance and disseminate 
     information on best practices regarding the use of funding 
     combined by States as described in section 658E(c)(2)(O)(ii), 
     consistent with laws other than this subchapter.''.
       (b) Request For Relief.--Section 658I of the Child Care and 
     Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858g), as 
     amended by

[[Page H7472]]

     subsection (a), is further amended by adding at the end of 
     the following:
       ``(c) Request for Relief.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Secretary may waive for a period of 
     not more than three years any provision under this subchapter 
     or sanctions imposed upon a State in accordance with 
     subsection (b)(2) upon the State's request for such a waiver 
     if the Secretary finds that--
       ``(A) the request describes one or more conflicting or 
     duplicative requirements preventing the effective delivery of 
     child care services to justify a waiver, extraordinary 
     circumstances, such as natural disaster or financial crisis, 
     or an extended period of time for a State legislature to 
     enact legislation to implement the provisions of this 
     subchapter;
       ``(B) such circumstances included in the request prevent 
     the State from complying with any statutory or regulatory 
     requirements of this subchapter;
       ``(C) the waiver will, by itself, contribute to or enhance 
     the State's ability to carry out the purposes of this 
     subchapter; and,
       ``(D) the waiver will not contribute to inconsistency with 
     the objectives of this law.
       ``(2) Contents.--Such request shall be provided to the 
     Secretary in writing and will--
       ``(A) detail each sanction or provision within this 
     subchapter that the State seeks relief from;
       ``(B) describe how a waiver from that sanction or provision 
     of this subchapter will, by itself, improve delivery of child 
     care services for children in the State; and
       ``(C) certify that the health, safety, and well-being of 
     children served through assistance received under this 
     subchapter will not be compromised as a result of the waiver.
       ``(3) Approval.--Within 90 days after the receipt of a 
     State's request under this subsection, the Secretary shall 
     inform the State of approval or disapproval of the request. 
     If the plan is disapproved, the Secretary shall, at this 
     time, inform the State, the Committee on Education and the 
     Workforce of the House of Representatives, and the Committee 
     on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate of 
     the reasons for the disapproval and give the State the 
     opportunity to amend the request. In the case of approval, 
     the Secretary shall, within 30 days of granting such waiver, 
     notify and submit a report to the Committee on Education and 
     the Workforce of the House of Representatives and the 
     Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the 
     Senate on the circumstances of the waiver including each 
     specific sanction or provision waived, the reason as given by 
     the State of the need for a waiver, and the expected impact 
     of the waiver on children served under this program.
       ``(4) External conditions.--The Secretary shall not require 
     or impose any new or additional requirements in exchange for 
     receipt of a waiver if such requirements are not specified in 
     this subchapter.
       ``(5) Duration.--The Secretary may approve a request under 
     this subsection for a period not to exceed three years, 
     unless a renewal is granted under paragraph (7).
       ``(6) Termination.--The Secretary shall terminate approval 
     of a request for a waiver authorized under this subsection if 
     the Secretary determines, after notice and opportunity for a 
     hearing, that the performance of a State granted relief under 
     this subsection has been inadequate, or if such relief is no 
     longer necessary to achieve its original purposes.
       ``(7) Renewal.--The Secretary may approve or disapprove a 
     request from a State for renewal of an existing waiver under 
     this subchapter for a period no longer than one year. A State 
     seeking to renew their waiver approval must inform the 
     Secretary of this intent no later than 30 days prior to the 
     expiration date of the waiver. The State shall re-certify in 
     its extension request the provisions in paragraph (2) of this 
     subchapter, and shall also explain the need for additional 
     time of relief from such sanction(s) or provisions approved 
     under this law as provided in this subchapter.
       ``(8) Restrictions.--Nothing in this subchapter shall be 
     construed as providing the Secretary the authority to permit 
     States to alter the eligibility requirements for eligible 
     children, including work requirements, job training, or 
     educational program participation, that apply to the parents 
     of eligible children under this subchapter. Nothing in this 
     subsection shall be construed to allow the Secretary to waive 
     anything related to his or her authority under this 
     subchapter.''.
       (c) Reports.--Section 658K(a) of the Child Care and 
     Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858i(a)) is 
     amended--
       (1) in paragraph (1)(B)--
       (A) in clause (ix), by striking ``and'' at the end;
       (B) in clause (x), by striking the semicolon at the end and 
     inserting ``; and''; and
       (C) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(xi) whether the children receiving assistance under this 
     subchapter are homeless children;''; and
       (2) in paragraph (2)--
       (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking 
     ``December 31, 1997'' and all that follows through 
     ``thereafter'', and inserting ``1 year after the date of the 
     enactment of the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act 
     of 2014, and annually thereafter,'';
       (B) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``section 658P(5)'' 
     and inserting ``section 658P(6)'';
       (C) in subparagraph (E) by striking the period at the end 
     and inserting ``; and''; and
       (D) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(F) the number of child fatalities occurring among 
     children while in the care and facility of child care 
     providers receiving assistance under this subchapter, listed 
     by type of child care provider and indicating whether the 
     providers (excluding child care providers described in 
     section 658P(6)(B)) are licensed or license-exempt.''.
       (d) Report by Secretary.--Section 658L of the Child Care 
     and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858j) is 
     amended--
       (1) by striking the section heading and inserting the 
     following:

     ``SEC. 658L. REPORTS, HOTLINE, AND WEB SITE.'';

       (2) by striking ``Not later'' and inserting the following:
       ``(a) Report by Secretary.--Not later'';
       (3) by striking ``1998'' and inserting ``2016'';
       (4) by striking ``to the Committee'' and all that follows 
     through ``of the Senate'' and inserting ``to the Committee on 
     Education and the Workforce of the House of Representatives 
     and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 
     of the Senate'';
       (5) by inserting after ``States.'' the following:

     ``Such report shall contain a determination around whether 
     each State that uses amounts provided under this subchapter 
     has complied with the priority for services described in 
     sections 658E(c)(2)(Q) and 658E(c)(3)(B).''; and
       (6) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(b) National Toll-Free Hotline and Web Site.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall operate, directly or 
     through the use of grants or contracts, a national toll-free 
     hotline and Web site, to--
       ``(A) develop and disseminate publicly available child care 
     consumer education information for parents and help parents 
     access safe and quality child care services in their 
     community, with a range of price options, that best suits 
     their family's needs; and
       ``(B) to allow persons to report (anonymously if desired) 
     suspected child abuse or neglect, or violations of health and 
     safety requirements, by an eligible child care provider that 
     receives assistance under this subchapter or a member of the 
     provider's staff.
       ``(2) Requirements.--The Secretary shall ensure that the 
     hotline and Web site meet the following requirements:
       ``(A) Referral to local child care providers.--The Web site 
     shall be hosted by `childcare.gov'. The Web site shall enable 
     a child care consumer to enter a zip code and obtain a 
     referral to local child care providers described in 
     subparagraph (B) within a specified search radius.
       ``(B) Information.--The Web site shall provide to 
     consumers, directly or through linkages to State databases, 
     at a minimum--
       ``(i) a localized list of all eligible child care 
     providers, differentiating between licensed and license-
     exempt providers;
       ``(ii) any provider-specific information from a Quality 
     Rating and Improvement System or information about other 
     quality indicators, to the extent the information is publicly 
     available and to the extent practicable;
       ``(iii) any other provider-specific information about 
     compliance with licensing, and health and safety requirements 
     to the extent the information is publicly available and to 
     the extent practicable;
       ``(iv) referrals to local resource and referral 
     organizations from which consumers can find more information 
     about child care providers; and
       ``(v) State information about child care subsidy programs 
     and other financial supports available to families.
       ``(C) Nationwide capacity.--The Web site and hotline shall 
     have the capacity to help families in every State and 
     community in the Nation.
       ``(D) Information at all hours.--The Web site shall 
     provide, to parents and families, access to information about 
     child care services 24 hours a day.
       ``(E) Services in different languages.--The Web site and 
     hotline shall ensure the widest possible access to services 
     for families who speak languages other than English.
       ``(F) High-quality consumer education and referral.--The 
     Web site and hotline shall ensure that families have access 
     to easy-to-understand child care consumer education and 
     referral services.
       ``(3) Prohibition.--Nothing in this subsection shall be 
     construed to allow the Secretary to compel States to provide 
     additional data and information that is currently (as of the 
     date of enactment of the Child Care and Development Block 
     Grant Act of 2014) not publicly available, or is not required 
     by this subchapter, unless such additional data are related 
     to the purposes and scope of this subchapter, and are subject 
     to a notice and comment period of no less than 90 days.''.
       (e) Protection of Information.--Section 658K(a)(1) of the 
     Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 
     9858i(a)(1)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(E) Prohibition.--Reports submitted to the Secretary 
     under subparagraph (C) shall not contain personally 
     identifiable information.''.

     SEC. 9. RESERVATION FOR TOLL-FREE HOTLINE AND WEB SITE; 
                   PAYMENTS TO BENEFIT INDIAN CHILDREN; TECHNICAL 
                   ASSISTANCE AND EVALUATION.

       Section 658O of the Child Care and Development Block Grant 
     Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858m) is amended--

[[Page H7473]]

       (1) in subsection (a)--
       (A) in paragraph (2)--
       (i) by striking ``The Secretary'' and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(A) In general.--The Secretary'';
       (ii) by striking ``1 percent, and not more than 2 
     percent,'' and inserting ``2 percent''; and
       (iii) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(B) Limitations.--Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), the 
     Secretary shall only reserve an amount that is greater than 2 
     percent of the amount appropriated under section 658B, for 
     payments described in subparagraph (A), for a fiscal year 
     (referred to in this subparagraph as the `reservation year') 
     if --
       ``(i) the amount appropriated under section 658B for the 
     reservation year is greater than the amount appropriated 
     under section 658B for fiscal year 2014; and
       ``(ii) the Secretary ensures that the amount allotted to 
     States under subsection (b) for the reservation year is not 
     less than the amount allotted to States under subsection (b) 
     for fiscal year 2014.''; and
       (B) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(3) National toll-free hotline and web site.--The 
     Secretary shall reserve up to $1,500,000 of the amount 
     appropriated under this subchapter for each fiscal year for 
     the operation of a national toll-free hotline and Web site, 
     under section 658L(b).
       ``(4) Technical assistance.--The Secretary shall reserve up 
     to \1/2\ of 1 percent of the amount appropriated under this 
     subchapter for each fiscal year to support technical 
     assistance and dissemination activities under paragraphs (3) 
     and (4) of section 658I(a).
       ``(5) Research, demonstration, and evaluation.--The 
     Secretary may reserve \1/2\ of 1 percent of the amount 
     appropriated under this subchapter for each fiscal year to 
     conduct research and demonstration activities, as well as 
     periodic external, independent evaluations of the impact of 
     the program described by this subchapter on increasing access 
     to child care services and improving the safety and quality 
     of child care services, using scientifically valid research 
     methodologies, and to disseminate the key findings of those 
     evaluations widely and on a timely basis.''; and
       (2) in subsection (c)--
       (A) in paragraph (2), by adding at the end the following:
       ``(D) Licensing and standards.--In lieu of any licensing 
     and regulatory requirements applicable under State or local 
     law, the Secretary, in consultation with Indian tribes and 
     tribal organizations, shall develop minimum child care 
     standards that shall be applicable to Indian tribes and 
     tribal organizations receiving assistance under this 
     subchapter. Such standards shall appropriately reflect Indian 
     tribe and tribal organization needs and available resources, 
     and shall include standards requiring a publicly available 
     application, health and safety standards, and standards 
     requiring a reservation of funds for activities to improve 
     the quality of child care services provided to Indian 
     children.''; and
       (B) in paragraph (6), by striking subparagraph (C) and 
     inserting the following:
       ``(C) Limitation.--
       ``(i) In general.--Except as provided in clause (ii), the 
     Secretary may not permit an Indian tribe or tribal 
     organization to use amounts provided under this subsection 
     for construction or renovation if the use will result in a 
     decrease in the level of child care services provided by the 
     Indian tribe or tribal organization as compared to the level 
     of child care services provided by the Indian tribe or tribal 
     organization in the fiscal year preceding the year for which 
     the determination under subparagraph (B) is being made.
       ``(ii) Waiver.--The Secretary shall waive the limitation 
     described in clause (i) if--

       ``(I) the Secretary determines that the decrease in the 
     level of child care services provided by the Indian tribe or 
     tribal organization is temporary; and
       ``(II) the Indian tribe or tribal organization submits to 
     the Secretary a plan that demonstrates that after the date on 
     which the construction or renovation is completed--

       ``(aa) the level of child care services will increase; or
       ``(bb) the quality of child care services will improve.''.

     SEC. 10. DEFINITIONS.

       Section 658P of the Child Care and Development Block Grant 
     Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858n) is amended--
       (1) by striking paragraph (4) and inserting the following:
       ``(3) Child with a disability.--The term `child with a 
     disability' means--
       ``(A) a child with a disability, as defined in section 602 
     of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 
     1401);
       ``(B) a child who is eligible for early intervention 
     services under part C of the Individuals with Disabilities 
     Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.);
       ``(C) a child who is less than 13 years of age and who is 
     eligible for services under section 504 of the Rehabilitation 
     Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794); and
       ``(D) a child with a disability, as defined by the State 
     involved.
       ``(4) Eligible child.--The term `eligible child' means an 
     individual--
       ``(A) who is less than 13 years of age;
       ``(B) whose family income does not exceed 85 percent of the 
     State median income for a family of the same size, and whose 
     family assets do not exceed $1,000,000 (as certified by a 
     member of such family); and
       ``(C) who--
       ``(i) resides with a parent or parents who are working or 
     attending a job training or educational program; or
       ``(ii) is receiving, or needs to receive, protective 
     services and resides with a parent or parents not described 
     in clause (i).'';
       (2) by redesignating paragraphs (5) through (9) as 
     paragraphs (6) through (10), respectively;
       (3) by inserting after paragraph (4), the following:
       ``(5) English learner.--The term `English learner' means an 
     individual who is limited English proficient, as defined in 
     section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
     1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801) or section 637 of the Head Start Act 
     (42 U.S.C. 9832).'';
       (4) in paragraph (6)(A), as redesignated by paragraph (2)--
       (A) in clause (i), by striking ``section 658E(c)(2)(E)'' 
     and inserting ``section 658E(c)(2)(F)''; and
       (B) in clause (ii), by striking ``section 658E(c)(2)(F)'' 
     and inserting ``section 658E(c)(2)(I)'';
       (5) in paragraph (9), as redesignated by paragraph (2), by 
     striking ``designated'' and all that follows and inserting 
     ``designated or established under section 658D(a).'';
       (6) in paragraph (10), as redesignated by paragraph (2), by 
     inserting ``, foster parent,'' after ``guardian'';
       (7) by redesignating paragraphs (11) through (14) as 
     paragraphs (12) through (15), respectively; and
       (8) by inserting after paragraph (10), as redesignated by 
     paragraph (2), the following:
       ``(11) Scientifically valid research.--The term 
     `scientifically valid research' includes applied research, 
     basic research, and field-initiated research, for which the 
     rationale, design, and interpretation are soundly developed 
     in accordance with principles of scientific research.''.

     SEC. 11. PARENTAL RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES.

       Section 658Q of the Child Care and Development Block Grant 
     Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858o) is amended--
       (1) by inserting before ``Nothing'' the following:
       ``(a) In General.--''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(b) Parental Rights To Use Child Care Certificates.--
     Nothing in this subchapter shall be construed in a manner--
       ``(1) to favor or promote the use of grants and contracts 
     for the receipt of child care services under this subchapter 
     over the use of child care certificates; or
       ``(2) to disfavor or discourage the use of such 
     certificates for the purchase of child care services, 
     including those services provided by private or nonprofit 
     entities, such as faith-based providers.''.

     SEC. 12. STUDIES ON WAITING LISTS.

       (a) Study.--The Comptroller General of the United States 
     shall conduct studies to determine, for each State, the 
     number of families that--
       (1) are eligible to receive assistance under the Child Care 
     and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858 et 
     seq.);
       (2) have applied for the assistance, identified by the type 
     of assistance requested; and
       (3) have been placed on a waiting list for the assistance.
       (b) Report.--The Comptroller General shall prepare a report 
     containing the results of each study and shall submit the 
     report to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and 
     Pensions of the Senate, and the Committee on Education and 
     the Workforce of the House of Representatives--
       (1) not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of 
     this Act; and
       (2) every 2 years thereafter.
       (c) Definition.--In this section, the term ``State'' has 
     the meaning given the term in section 658P of the Child Care 
     and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858n).

     SEC. 13. REVIEW OF FEDERAL EARLY LEARNING AND CARE PROGRAMS.

       (a) In General.--The Secretary of Health and Human 
     Services, in conjunction with the Secretary of Education, 
     shall conduct an interdepartmental review of all early 
     learning and care programs for children less than 6 years of 
     age in order to--
       (1) develop a plan for the elimination of overlapping 
     programs, as identified by the Government Accountability 
     Office's 2012 annual report (GAO-12-342SP); and
       (2) make recommendations to Congress for streamlining all 
     such programs.
       (b) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human 
     Services, in consultation with the Secretary of Education and 
     the heads of all Federal agencies that administer Federal 
     early learning and care programs, shall submit to the 
     Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the 
     Senate and the Committee on Education and the Workforce of 
     the House of Representatives, a detailed report that outlines 
     the efficiencies that can be achieved by, as well as specific 
     recommendations for, eliminating overlap and fragmentation 
     among all Federal early learning and care programs.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Minnesota (Mr. Kline) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Minnesota.


                             General Leave

  Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may

[[Page H7474]]

have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on S. 1086.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Minnesota?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of S. 1086, the Child 
Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2014.
  Mr. Speaker, across the country countless men and women are trying to 
build a better life for their families. Some are working more for less 
in order to make ends meet; others are pursuing a degree at a local 
university or improving their skills at a nearby community college.
  Whether going to work or school, most parents face a difficult 
question: Who will care for my child? Is there a trusted child care 
provider who will keep my son or daughter safe? And if there is, can I 
afford it?
  For nearly two decades, the Child Care and Development Block Grant 
program has helped low-income families answer these tough questions. 
The program funds State efforts to provide vulnerable families access 
to child care. Parents receive assistance in the form of a voucher or 
certificate to pay the child care provider of their choice.
  Approximately 1.5 million children under the age of 13 are in a child 
care arrangement funded through the program, including over 25,000 
children in my home State of Minnesota. It is a vital safety net for 
moms and dads trying to lift their families out of poverty.
  At a hearing held earlier this year, one witness told the story of a 
woman named Rita. Speaking of the Child Care and Development Block 
Grant program, Rita said: ``These Federal investments were quite a 
serious lifeline for me. I know where I came from, and I do not want to 
go back.''
  Rita's experience is shared by many Americans. Yet despite the 
importance of the program, it has been almost 20 years since Congress 
reformed the law. As with any Federal program left on autopilot, 
problems will emerge, and this program is no different.
  Poor coordination across related services and a lack of information 
make it difficult for parents looking for the best provider to know the 
full range of options. Perhaps most troubling, a patchwork of State 
licensing, monitoring, and related safety requirements means some 
children aren't protected like they should be.
  These families deserve better, which is why I am proud to support 
this important legislation. The bill before us includes a number of 
commonsense reforms that will strengthen the program and our support of 
these at-risk families.
  For example, the legislation requires all participating child care 
providers to undergo, at a minimum, an annual inspection to ensure 
compliance with health, safety, and fire standards. The bill enhances 
existing training for providers and their workers; so every child is 
under the care of a well-trained professional.
  The legislation also reins in the authority of the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services to prevent this and future administrations 
from writing onerous rules that would limit access to this important 
service.
  Mr. Speaker, we have a long way to go before every American enjoys 
the opportunity and prosperity they and their family deserve. By 
supporting this bipartisan legislation, we have a chance to help these 
families succeed and set their children on the path to a bright future.
  Before closing, I would like to recognize a number of my colleagues 
who helped make this legislative achievement possible, including 
Senators Tom Harkin and Lamar Alexander, the chairman and senior 
Republican on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 
Committee.
  I would also like to thank the senior Democrat on the Education and 
the Workforce Committee, George Miller, and Representatives Todd Rokita 
and David Loebsack.
  Last, but certainly not least, Senators Richard Burr and Barbara 
Mikulski laid the foundation for the bipartisan, bicameral agreement we 
are discussing today, and we are all grateful for their years of 
dedication to this really important issue.
  Finally, Mr. Speaker, we would not be here today were it not for the 
hard work and dedication of our staff. I wish time permitted an 
opportunity to recognize each and every one of them. We are forever 
grateful for their service.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I 
reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the motion to pass S. 1086, as 
amended. This bill represents a bipartisan, bicameral agreement to 
reauthorize the Child Care and Development Block Grant, or CCDBG, which 
is the largest funding source for child care programs. It has been 
almost 20 years since this CCDBG was reauthorized, and working families 
and young children should not have to wait any longer.
  This block grant provides Federal resources to States to help low-
income families pay for child care while a parent works or is in an 
educational or job training program. This program supports self-
sufficiency and promotes workforce stability.
  Just as important, this funding offers children vital early learning 
experiences that set them on a path toward success in school, in the 
workforce, and the rest of their lives. However, the current law, 
besides being outdated, has some limitations in ensuring low-income 
children access to this important program.
  For example, the law currently has very few specific requirements on 
the quality of child care, and States have significant latitude to set 
quality standards. This results in a great deal of low-quality child 
care being funded. Recent research has found that about only one-third 
of child care programs funded by the block grant is actually of good 
quality.

                              {time}  1645

  Access is another concern. Only one in six children eligible for the 
program is actually enrolled.
  This reauthorization seeks to address these problems by improving 
child care access, making critical new investments, and helping to 
ensure that children are safe and receive quality care.
  For example, this bill increases the number of funds that States must 
spend on activities to improve the quality of child care, including 
care for infants and toddlers. It also requires States to conduct a 
statewide assessment of their needs for quality improvement and to 
align their quality initiatives with the results of that assessment.
  The bill provides States with nearly a dozen proven initiatives that 
they can deploy to improve quality, ranging from training and 
professional development to quality rating systems and health and 
nutrition policies.
  The bill also adds State requirements on training and professional 
development for child care providers, for child-to-staff ratios, annual 
inspections for providers that receive Federal assistance, coordination 
with other federally funded early childhood programs, the development 
and maintenance of early learning and development guidelines, and 
background checks to keep violent and sexual offenders away from our 
Nation's children.
  This bill expands the requirements for health and safety, and 
consumer education, including funding for a toll free hotline and a Web 
site to report suspected child abuse or safety violations.
  This legislation also improves access to care by expanding the 
eligibility of participating families to at least a year, regardless of 
changes in their income or work schedules or training or educational 
status. It prioritizes services for families with the lowest incomes. 
It eases enrollment requirements for homeless children. It helps 
families connect with quality programs and reduces expulsions from 
early childhood learning programs by training providers about positive 
behavior supports and interventions with young children. Finally, it 
enhances the transparency of the cost of care.
  This important legislative update to the CCDBG is long overdue. 
Improvements made by this legislation are critical for millions of 
children and their families, and for the future of our Nation.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 2 minutes to the 
gentlewoman from Washington (Mrs.

[[Page H7475]]

McMorris Rodgers), the chairwoman of the Republican Conference and a 
member of our leadership team.
  Mrs. McMORRIS RODGERS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, the ranking members, 
and everyone on both sides for their tremendous work on this important 
legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, right before the August recess the Republican women of 
the House joined together to highlight a family empowerment package, of 
which this bill is a critical piece, and I am proud to stand here and 
say that we are passing another bill in that agenda that empowers women 
and families.
  Women now make up nearly half of our workforce, and in many cases 
they are the primary breadwinners and the heads of their households. 
Yet so many of our labor laws and workplace laws were written at a 
different time--at a time when very few women worked. As moms and dads 
are seeking their way to get back to where they were after a stagnant 
economic time, work and job training programs are so important. Moms 
and dads across the country are still worried about paying their bills, 
affording the costs needed at home, and securing their kids' futures. 
They need help, and that is what this bill does.
  It empowers and supports families who are seeking better lives for 
their families. It allows them peace of mind about their children's 
safety and well-being while they are at work, allowing parents to focus 
on securing a better future. I urge my colleagues to support this 
important legislation.
  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes 
to the gentleman from California (Mr. George Miller), the ranking 
member of the Committee on Education and the Workforce.
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of Chairman Kline's amendment 
in the nature of a substitute to S. 1086.
  The Child Care and Development Block Grant, or the CCDBG, is an 
indispensable resource for millions of children and families 
nationwide. This enables parents to send their kids to safe, high-
quality, and affordable child care so they can work or attend training 
programs or provide for their families. Meanwhile, the program helps 
place children in the sorts of environments they need for healthy 
growth and development.
  However, it has been almost 20 years since last we updated this 
program. In that time, we have learned that we need to do more to 
ensure that children receive high-quality care in safe settings. That 
is why this vote is so very important. That is why I am so pleased to 
have reached bipartisan-bicameral consensus on this legislation.
  I would like to thank all of the organizations for their support of 
this legislation in the process of finalizing this legislation, which 
has been done over the last several weeks. This bill is not on 
suspension because it is unimportant; it is on suspension because we 
recognize the urgency of getting this done this year, and we also 
recognize a growing national bipartisan consensus about the value of 
children being placed in high-quality, safe environments during their 
early learning years.
  I would like to include letters from the following organizations: 
Save the Children; Child Care Aware of America; the National Women's 
Law Center; the Center For Law and Social Policy; Zero to Three; the 
Early Care and Education Consortium; the National Association for the 
Education of Young Children; the Children's Defense Fund; the National 
Education Association; and the American Federation of Teachers.

                              American Federation of Teachers,

                               Washington, DC, September 15, 2014.
     House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Representative: On behalf of the more than 1.6 million 
     members of the American Federation of Teachers--including 
     approximately 90,000 early childhood education professionals 
     who work in diverse settings, such as preschool classrooms, 
     family child care, child care centers, Head Start and Early 
     Head Start--I urge you to support, as amended, S. 1086, the 
     bipartisan Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 
     2014.
       The CCDBG helps low-income parents pay for child care so 
     they can work or pursue an education. S. 1086 guarantees a 
     family's child care eligibility for at least 12 months, 
     regardless of any fluctuation in income, job or education. 
     This offers a vital lifeline and a path to the middle class 
     for millions of families across the nation.
       It has been nearly 20 years since the CCDBG was last 
     reauthorized. Since that time, early childhood education and 
     child care programs have been transformed by research on 
     child development. This bill reflects the advancement of this 
     knowledge and will truly modernize the program.
       S. 1086 brings child care standards into this century by 
     focusing on the health and safety of children, and by giving 
     parents more confidence that their child is being well cared 
     for while they are at work or school. In addition, the bill 
     ensures our youngest and most vulnerable are safe by making 
     inspections annual and requiring that all providers and 
     employees obtain background checks and training before they 
     care for children. S. 1086 also makes all this information 
     more transparent and available to the public, especially to 
     parents and family members.
       This bill acknowledges that a component of a high-quality 
     child care program includes having a workforce that is well-
     prepared and well-trained. This bill requires states to 
     establish a professional development progression and dedicate 
     more funding for training, professional development and 
     advancement of the child care workforce. In particular, the 
     bill, as amended, also addresses the latest data on 
     expulsions from early education programs by requiring that 
     part of the staff training focuses on child behavioral 
     supports. The training and professional development 
     requirements not only will benefit educators and staff 
     working in child care, but also will have lasting, positive 
     effects for the children in their care and those children's 
     families.
       However, while this bill is a significant first step toward 
     providing every child in our nation with a high-quality early 
     learning and care program, we know we can't do it right on 
     the cheap. Without the necessary federal resources to 
     implement these important health and safety standards and 
     trainings, states either will be unable to increase the 
     quality of child care and education or will simply have to 
     cut access to high-quality child care to children and 
     families that need it the most. States should not have to 
     choose between quality and access. We look forward to working 
     with Congress to pass this legislation and secure the 
     resources needed for its successful implementation.
       Finally, we are equally committed to partnering with 
     Congress to expand high-quality early education for all 
     children from birth to kindergarten.
       Thank you for your consideration of our views on this 
     matter. The AFT urges you to vote yes when S. 1086 comes to 
     the House floor.
           Sincerely,
                                                 Randi Weingarten,
     President.
                                  ____



                                            Save the Children,

                                               September 14, 2014.
     Hon. John Kline,
     Hon. George Miller,
     House Committee on Education and the Workforce, Washington, 
         DC.
       Dear Chairman Kline and Ranking Member Miller: On behalf of 
     Save the Children, the leading independent organization 
     dedicated to creating real and lasting change in the lives of 
     children in need in the United States and around the world, 
     we are proud to support your efforts to improve the safety, 
     health and quality of child care through the Child Care and 
     Development Block Grant Act of 2014. As you well know, Save 
     the Children has dedicated nearly a century of service in 
     America to helping children affected by disasters. And we 
     have valued our tremendous partnership with you to make sure 
     children's safety in emergencies remains a priority--
     particularly in the child care setting.
       We support the proposed CCDBG improvements focused on 
     safety, health and quality improvements. In particular, with 
     69 million children separated from their parents every work 
     day, we support and commend your inclusion of the disaster 
     preparedness section and disaster plan components 
     Sec. 5(u)(iii) which are in line with the recommendations 
     from the National Commission on Children and Disasters which 
     serve as the basis for Save the Children's annual report card 
     on children and disasters, now in its seventh year.
       We applaud your leadership on keeping children safe in 
     emergencies and thank you for all you have done and continue 
     to do to create lasting positive change in the lives of 
     children.
           Sincerely,

                                                Richard Bland,

                             National Director, Policy & Advocacy,
                                 U.S. Programs, Save the Children.

[[Page H7476]]

                                  Child Care Aware of America,

                                Arlington, VA, September 15, 2014.
     Hon. Tom Harkin,
     Chairman, Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and 
         Pensions, Washington, DC.
     Hon. Barbara Mikulski,
     U.S. Senate,
     Washington, DC.
     Hon. Lamar Alexander,
     Ranking Member, Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor 
         and Pensions, Washington, DC.
     Hon. Richard Burr,
     U.S. Senate,
     Washington, DC.
     Hon. John Kline,
     Chairman, House Education and the Workforce Committee, 
         Washington, DC.
     Hon. George Miller,
     Ranking Member, House Education and the Workforce Committee, 
         Washington, DC.
     Hon. Todd Rokita,
     U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
     Hon. Dave Loebsack,
     U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman Harkin, Ranking Member Alexander, Senator 
     Mikulski, and Senator Burr, Chairman Kline, Ranking Member 
     Miller, Representative Rokita, and Representative Loebsack: I 
     am writing on behalf of Child Care Aware' of 
     America (formerly the National Association of Child Care 
     Resource & Referral Agencies, NACCRRA) to express support for 
     your legislation, the Child Care & Development Block Grant 
     Act of 2014, which would reauthorize the Child Care and 
     Development Block Grant and would better protect the health 
     and improve safety of children in child care settings across 
     America.
       Families want their children to be safe in child care. They 
     reasonably assume that a child care license means the state 
     has approved some minimum level of protection for children 
     and that the program will promote their healthy development. 
     Our nationwide polling shows that parents also believe there 
     is oversight by the state. However, most state licensing 
     requirements are weak and oversight is weaker.
       For over 15 years, reauthorization of the Child Care and 
     Development Block Grant has been Child Care Aware' 
     of America's top legislative priority and we have been 
     working on both the federal and state levels to improve the 
     quality of child care.
       Child Care Aware' of America has issued seven 
     licensing studies that show state laws regarding child care 
     settings vary greatly. The most recent report, We Can Do 
     Better: 2013 Update, scored and ranked the states on their 
     child care center program requirements and oversight 
     policies. The average score was 92 out of a total possible 
     score of 150--for a grade of 61 percent.
       Children's early years are proven to be the most impactful 
     time to create strong learners. This reauthorization bill is 
     a huge step to move the nation forward ensuring children are 
     safe and receiving the best early learning experiences while 
     in child care. This bill sets the standard all families 
     expect for their children by requiring providers to undergo 
     comprehensive background checks, annual and pre-licensure 
     inspections, and training.
       This bill includes significant measures to improve the 
     quality of child care and ensure that all children in child 
     care settings are safe.
       Child Care Aware' of America looks forward to 
     working with you to pass this legislation into law. Thank you 
     for your continued leadership in support of our nation's 
     children.
           Sincerely,
     Lynette M. Fraga, Ph.D.,
       Executive Director.
     L. Carol Scott, Ph.D.,
       President, Board of Directors.
     Michelle Noth McCready,
       Director of Policy.
     Nicholas P. Vucic,
       Senior Government Affairs Associate.
                                  ____



                                  ChildCare Aware of Virginia,

                                 Richmond, VA, September 15, 2014.
     Hon. George Miller,
     Ranking Member, U.S. House Education and the Workforce 
         Committee, Washington, DC.
       Dear Representative Miller: As Executive Director of Child 
     Care Aware of Virginia, a nonprofit statewide child care 
     resource and referral network, I am writing to thank you and 
     to express full support for the bipartisan, bicameral 
     legislation to reauthorize the Child Care and Development 
     Block Grant (CCDBG).
       As an organization that works every day to assist parents 
     in finding child care and to assist child care providers in 
     offering quality child care settings, I see first-hand both 
     the demand for and the need for quality child care. Over 
     Labor Day weekend, the Washington Post ran several stories 
     about the deaths of 60 children in child care in Virginia, 43 
     in unlicensed care over the past several years. When any 
     child dies it is certainly a tragedy, but it is a double 
     tragedy when you know that the deaths could be prevented by 
     better training for child care providers and more oversight 
     from states.
       The bicameral, bipartisan, Child Care and Development Block 
     Grant Reauthorization Act will combine important safety 
     protections for children in child care with more 
     accountability for the expenditure of public dollars.
       I commend your leadership and the efforts of Chairman John 
     Kline, Representative Todd Rokita, and Representative David 
     Loebsack as well as the leadership of the Senate Health, 
     Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee for setting 
     aside partisan politics and reaching agreement on CCDBG 
     reauthorization to ensure that children are safe in child 
     care. Parents want quality child care. The reauthorization 
     bill is the right policy to both ensure children's safety and 
     strengthen the quality of the workforce.
       Choices among quality child care settings is critical for 
     working parents. This legislation is an important milestone 
     in support of working families. Thank you for all that you do 
     in support of working families with children.
           Sincerely,
                                                    Sharon Veatch,
     Executive Director.
                                  ____



                                  National Women's Law Center,

                               Washington, DC, September 12, 2014.
     Hon. George Miller,
     House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Ranking Member Miller: The National Women's Law Center 
     is pleased that the U.S. House of Representatives is moving 
     forward with the reauthorization of the Child Care and 
     Development Block Grant Act of 2014. Your leadership has 
     resulted in a reauthorization bill that would improve the 
     safety, quality, and accessibility of child care and after-
     school care for children from birth to age 13. High-quality, 
     well-funded child care helps families work and children 
     learn--both of which are important goals for the nation.
       Since the last reauthorization of the Child Care and 
     Development Block Grant in 1996, we have learned much about 
     how to improve the quality of child care and after-school 
     care and how to make child care assistance more accessible to 
     families. Research on the importance of quality has spurred 
     greater efforts to support providers in promoting children's 
     positive development from birth. State initiatives have shown 
     ways to encourage quality improvements through incentives and 
     well-designed reimbursement policies. This bill incorporates 
     these lessons from the research and state innovations in an 
     effort to better protect the health and safety of children in 
     care, improve the quality of care overall and for infants and 
     toddlers in particular, facilitate children and families' 
     sustained access to help in paying for care and more stable 
     child care arrangements, and support providers serving 
     families receiving child care assistance.
       We strongly support the goals of this legislation. We will 
     work with you to obtain the funding needed to make these 
     improvements and to allow more children to benefit from these 
     improvements. Between 2006 and 2012, 260,000 fewer eligible 
     children received assistance through the Child Care and 
     Development Block Grant. In addition, most states' payment 
     rates for child care providers are too low to support high-
     quality care. To reverse the decline in children served and 
     to successfully implement the much-needed improvements 
     included in this legislation, we urge Congress to increase 
     mandatory and discretionary child care funding.
       Thank you for all your work on this reauthorization, which 
     is so important for our country's children and families.
       Sincerely,
     Helen Blank,
       Director of Child Care and Early Learning.
     Joan Entmacher,
       Vice President for Family Economic Security.

  Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Indiana (Mr. Rokita), the chairman of the Early Childhood, Elementary, 
and Secondary Education Subcommittee.
  Mr. ROKITA. Thank you, Chairman Kline, for your leadership on this 
issue.
  I also want to thank Ranking Member Miller, Ranking Member Loebsack, 
our colleagues across the rotunda, and, of course, the staff, who put 
so much effort into this pro-work, pro-family bill today.
  Mr. Speaker, the reauthorization of the Child Care and Development 
Block Grant Program is an example of what both parties and Houses of 
Congress can do when we are working together to find commonsense 
solutions to national issues.
  I came to Congress to help all people build better lives for 
themselves and their families, and now, here with this bill, on this 
floor today, we get a chance to do that. We work together to protect 
children's early development and safety, as well as their parents' 
employment, by preserving State control over a Federal program that 
serves over a million and a half young Americans. This agreement 
prevents the administration from imposing early learning guidelines on 
our States, and it also limits the collection of unnecessary data on 
our children. At the same time, we have strengthened oversight and 
accountability at multiple levels of government.
  Early childhood care quality will improve because we are enhancing 
families' access to provider information

[[Page H7477]]

while maintaining choice of provider. Families can choose between 
public and private providers, including religious providers. They can 
choose larger institutional settings or smaller, or even in-home 
operations.
  As a Member of Congress and as a parent, I know that parents, not the 
Federal Government, are best positioned to choose child care providers, 
and this legislation ensures parents will have power over Federal 
bureaucracies, which are no substitute for a family. We are holding 
providers to strict safety standards, making sure child care 
professionals have the most up-to-date training. Parents who must 
either be working or seeking employment in order to take advantages of 
this program will have better information to guide their decisions.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. KLINE. I yield the gentleman an additional 1 minute.
  Mr. ROKITA. Mr. Speaker, I certainly didn't learn about these 
improvements before working on the legislation from the ether. The day 
nursery in Avon, Indiana, was one of my first stops, and we were able 
to incorporate a lot of what we learned that day and every day after in 
our work and into this bill.
  I thank those whom I met with in the Fourth District of Indiana, 
where commonsense solutions are part of everyday life, for their help 
in getting this legislation and the content of it crafted.
  As chairman of the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and 
Secondary Education, it is not only my duty to vote for good 
legislation but for results. Mr. Speaker, I am simply here today to ask 
my colleagues to vote for this legislation because it will get results. 
It is one of the things that we can do around here in a bipartisan-
bicameral way to show the American people that we are worth our 
paychecks.
  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes 
to the gentlewoman from Massachusetts (Ms. Clark).
  Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, 3 weeks ago I held a policy 
panel on Women's Economic Equality in my district, and when the 
audience was asked how many of you have worried about the cost of child 
care, nearly every hand shot up in the air.
  While the skyrocketing cost of quality child care in Massachusetts is 
among the most expensive in the country, with an average annual cost 
above $16,000, the problem is not limited to my home State. Across our 
country, millions of American families report child care as their 
highest expense--higher than rent or a college education for their 
children. Without a doubt, the cost of quality child care is now one of 
the biggest barriers to economic success facing women and families.
  Knowing how critical child care is to American families, I am so 
heartened to see the House take action to reauthorize the Child Care 
Development Block Grant program, which provides grants to States to 
offer quality child care that is accessible to low- and moderate-income 
families. I am grateful that the quality child care provisions of my 
bill, the Infant and Toddler Care Improvement Act, have been 
incorporated into this reauthorization.
  As a working mom of three, I understand that parents want nothing 
more than when their children are in child care they are happy, 
learning, safe, and healthy. Millions of moms and dads across the 
country, however, are faced with impossible choices because of the lack 
of access to quality child care. More than 6 million children under the 
age of 3 are in care of someone other than their parents each week, and 
46 percent of the children under 3 live in low-income families.
  The Child Care and Development Block Grant and the quality provisions 
of the Infant and Toddler Care Improvement Act offer a vital lifeline 
and a path to the middle class for millions of families across the 
Nation. It is a necessary step towards true economic equality for 
women, and it gives our kids a great start.
  Today's compromised bill is a strong first step, and I look forward 
to working together to strengthen access to quality child care. This 
vote is not controversial, nor is it partisan. It is a win for American 
families. I urge my colleagues to support the Child Care and 
Development Block Grant Act of 2014, S. 1086, as amended, and I submit 
for the Record some support letters.


                                                        CLASP,

                                               September 12, 2014.
     Hon. John Kline,
     Hon. George Miller,
     House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Representative Kline and Representative Miller: The 
     Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) is pleased that the 
     House is considering the Child Care and Development Block 
     Grant Act of 2014. The Center for Law and Social Policy 
     (CLASP) seeks to improve the lives of low-income people by 
     advocating for policies that deliver results that matter.
       Child care assistance is an essential work support for low-
     income parents who struggle to find and keep employment to 
     provide for their families. The Child Care and Development 
     Block Grant (CCDBG) is unique among many federal programs in 
     that its two-generation focus has the ability to support both 
     parents' economic success and children's healthy development.
       The CCDBG Act of 2014 is an important step forward for 
     improving the health and safety of child care. It also would 
     make crucial improvements to the program that would allow 
     children to have more sustained access to child care 
     assistance, which helps parents stay in their jobs and move 
     up and supports children's development by providing more 
     continuity in their child care arrangement. The Act seeks to 
     improve the quality of child care overall, with a particular 
     focus on infants and toddlers. Quality infant-toddler child 
     care is rare and particularly out of reach for low-income 
     families. Given the robust body of research on the importance 
     of the earliest years of life for children's growth and 
     success, CLASP supports this effort to improve the quality 
     and availability of infant-toddler care.
       While we are pleased to lend our support to this 
     legislation, we note that increasing resources for child care 
     must also be a top Congressional priority. Our most recent 
     analysis shows spending on child care assistance at a 10-year 
     low. Insufficient federal funds have led states to make 
     reductions in their child care programs, with the number of 
     children served falling to a 14-year low. States will need 
     additional resources to meet the goals of the legislation and 
     to ensure that low-income families are able to retain access 
     to this vital program. Expanding economic opportunity for 
     low-income adults today and strengthening the foundation for 
     their children's success in school and in life are worthy 
     investments.
       Thank you for your efforts in moving forward this 
     important, bipartisan legislation.
           Sincerely,
                                                    Olivia Golden,
     Executive Director.
                                  ____

         Zero to Three, National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and 
           Families,
                                               September 15, 2014.
     Hon. John Kline,
     Chairman, Committee on Education and the Workforce, 
         Washington, DC.
     Hon. Todd Rokita,
     Chairman, Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and 
         Secondary Education, Committee on Education and the 
         Workforce, Washington, DC.
     Hon. George Miller,
     Ranking Member, Committee on Education and the Workforce, 
         Washington, DC.
     Hon. David Loebsack,
     Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, 
         and Secondary Education, Committee on Education and the 
         Workforce, Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman Kline, Ranking Member Miller, Chairman 
     Rokita, and Ranking Member Loebsack: ZERO TO THREE 
     appreciates your leadership in forging a bipartisan agreement 
     that will allow the Child Care and Development Block Grant 
     Act of 2014 to move forward in the House of Representatives 
     and be enacted before the end of the 113th Congress. Your 
     efforts will have a positive impact on a program critical not 
     only to working parents but to the 6 million infants and 
     toddlers who currently spend some portion of their days in 
     child care.
       I commend you for the attention paid to ensuring the health 
     and safety of young children in child care as well as to 
     improving providers' ability to support positive development 
     of the children in their care. We know from research that the 
     quality of child care--whether excellent or poor--is 
     influential in shaping early brain development.
       ZERO TO THREE lauds your inclusion of a statutory funding 
     set-aside specifically directed toward improving the quality 
     of care for infants and toddlers. Creating these targeted 
     resources explicitly recognizes what we have long known: the 
     first three years of life are of critical importance to 
     preparing children for success in school and in life. Many of 
     the infants and toddlers in families receiving child care 
     subsidies are the same ones we speak of having a ``word gap'' 
     and development undermined by toxic stress. High-quality care 
     can help them overcome these obstacles. The set-aside will be 
     a clear signal to states that quality services for infants 
     and toddlers are an essential part of the early learning 
     continuum needed to prevent children from falling behind long 
     before they reach prekindergarten age.

[[Page H7478]]

       ZERO TO THREE strongly supports the goals of this 
     legislation to increase oversight, safety assurances, and 
     quality initiatives for child care programs. To help realize 
     the improvements in this bill, and in order to build the 
     early learning system necessary to put our children on the 
     path to school readiness, starting from birth, a greater 
     infusion of resources is needed. As the real purchasing power 
     of child care funding has eroded over the past few years, 
     many fewer children have been served and provider payments 
     have fallen to such levels that, in most states, high-quality 
     care is largely out of reach of families whose children could 
     most benefit.
       We urge you to work with your colleagues in Congress to 
     fulfill the promise of this bipartisan agreement by making 
     additional investments in child care through both the annual 
     appropriations process and through mandatory funding streams 
     in order to provide stability in meeting the needs of the 
     nation's families today and in the years to come.
           Sincerely,
                                                   Matthew Melmed,
     Executive Director, ZERO TO THREE.
                                  ____

                                                    Early Care and


                                         Education Consortium,

                               Washington, DC, September 15, 2014.
     Representative John Kline,
     Washington, DC.
     Representative Todd Rokita,
     Washington, DC.
     Senator Barbara Mikulski,
     Washington, DC.
     Senator Tom Harkin,
     Washington, DC.
     Representative George Miller,
     Washington, DC.
     Representative David Loebsack,
     Washington, DC.
     Senator Richard Burr,
     Washington, DC.
     Senator Lamar Alexander,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Representatives Kline, Miller, Rokita, and Loebsack, 
     and Senators Mikulski, Burr, Harkin and Alexander, The Early 
     Care and Education Consortium (ECEC) strongly supports the 
     reauthorization of S. 1086, the Child Care & Development 
     Block Grant (CCDBG). We thank you for your leadership in this 
     bipartisan effort to reauthorize the Act. Reauthorizing CCDBG 
     this year will allow states to allocate increased FY2014 
     funding to improve access to high-quality early care and 
     education programs for low-income children and families.
       High-quality care and learning programs provide 
     opportunities for healthy growth and development that produce 
     positive educational achievement and high economic returns on 
     investment through adulthood. Additionally, CCDBG serves as 
     essential support to working families who need to ensure 
     their children are cared for and learning in a safe and high-
     quality setting during parents' hours of employment, which 
     often exceed the regular school day and extend into the 
     evening.
       As the nation's leading trade association of high-quality, 
     non-profit and tax-paying, licensed child care centers, state 
     child care associations, and educational services 
     organizations, ECEC members share a commitment to high 
     quality, meeting the needs of children from infants through 
     school age, and supporting working families in communities 
     across the country. Representing the voice of more than 8,200 
     centers operating in all 50 states and the District of 
     Columbia, ECEC is also the largest organized alliance of 
     licensed child care centers in the country. A substantial 
     proportion of the children served by ECEC providers are able 
     to access high-quality care because of the support of CCDBG 
     subsidy dollars.
       CCDBG has not been reauthorized since 1996. We strongly 
     urge Congressional action to enact important reforms that 
     will directly addresses quality improvement, affordability, 
     continuity of care, and cost stabilization measures that will 
     benefit families and support providers, including:
       Stronger health and safety standards for all child care 
     programs that receive federal funding, including required 
     annual inspections of all licensed providers, and annual 
     fire, health and safety inspections of license-exempt, non-
     family providers.
       Technical assistance given to providers on effective 
     business practices;
       De-linking provider reimbursement from absence policies 
     that destabilize the cost of care for both families and 
     providers;
       Extended subsidy eligibility redetermination periods (12 
     months);
       A new emphasis on technical assistance to providers around 
     effective business practices, and
       Increased investment in program quality, with additional 
     activities that include wage incentives, tiered 
     reimbursement, Quality Rating and Improvement Systems, 
     accreditation, and focus on school readiness.
       Additionally, this bill will help ensure that low income 
     families can access high quality care by benefiting from a 
     mixed delivery model, and choosing high-quality options 
     within their own community.
       We thank you for your leadership in this bipartisan effort 
     to reauthorize the Act, which provides a critical pathway to 
     the middle class for serving as a highly productive workforce 
     of today and the becoming the prepared and productive 
     workforce of tomorrow.
           Sincerely,
                                                      M.-A. Lucas,
     Executive Director.
                                  ____



                             Early Learning Policy Group, LLC,

                                               September 15, 2014.
     Hon. George Miller,
     Ranking Member, U.S. House Education and the Workforce 
         Committee, Washington, DC.
       Dear Representative Miller, As President of the Early 
     Learning Policy Group, I am writing to express my strong 
     support for the bipartisan, bicameral legislation to 
     reauthorize the Child Care and Development Block Grant 
     (CCDBG).
       The reality of today's economy is that working parents 
     depend on child care in order to support their families. 
     Nearly 11 million children under age 5 with working mothers 
     spend time every week in some type of child care setting. 
     Families, regardless of income, have trouble finding quality 
     child care.
       Child care policies vary greatly by state and until this 
     legislation, there were no minimum health and safety 
     protections for children. The CCDBG Reauthorization Act is 
     truly historic. For the first time, federal policy will 
     support the safety of children in child care by ensuring that 
     licensed providers and those receiving a subsidy to care for 
     low income children will be subject to a comprehensive 
     background check, that programs will be inspected at least 
     once a year, and that parents will have choices among quality 
     settings through a stronger child care workforce and greater 
     focus on activities that improve the quality of child care.
       Children should be safe in child care. Parents should feel 
     comfortable that when they choose child care for their 
     children, providers have the training they need to offer 
     settings that will promote the healthy development of 
     children. The federal government should expect accountability 
     from states that set child care policy so that federal money 
     is not used to support unsafe or potentially harmful settings 
     for low income children.
       I wholeheartedly commend your efforts and dedication as 
     well as the efforts of Chairman John Kline, Representative 
     Todd Rokita, and Representative David Loebsack along with the 
     efforts of the Senate HELP Committee leadership--Chairman Tom 
     Harkin, Senator Lamar Alexander, Senator Barbara Mikulski, 
     and Senator Richard Burr, for putting aside partisan ideology 
     and politics to agree to common sense public policy 
     improvements to support working families who need child care.
       The CCDBG Reauthorization Act is a historic policy marker 
     to enable parents to have quality child care choices in their 
     community. Thank you for supporting working families with 
     children.
           Sincerely,
                                                       Grace Reef,
     President, Early Learning Policy Group, LLC.
                                  ____



                                           Knowledge Universe,

                                               September 15, 2014.
     Hon. John Kline,
     Chairman, Committee on Education & the Workforce, Washington, 
         DC.
       Dear Chairman Kline: Knowledge Universe enthusiastically 
     offers its support for The Child Care and Development Block 
     Grant Act of 2014 (S. 1086). The Child Care and Development 
     Block Grant (CCDBG) plays a critical role in ensuring working 
     parents have access to a quality provider of their choice.
       Knowledge Universe is honored to provide high-quality 
     education and care to over 150,000 children across the United 
     States who range in age from six weeks to 12 years of age. We 
     are proud of the diverse group of children whom we serve. 
     Approximately one-third of our children are from low-income 
     working families who receive assistance under CCDBG. The core 
     focus of Knowledge Universe is the quality of each child's 
     educational experience. When parents choose our KinderCare 
     centers, in addition to wanting their child to be safe and 
     well-cared for, they also expect their child to receive the 
     highest-quality educational experience possible.
       In the almost two decades since Congress last reauthorized 
     CCDBG, we as a nation have learned much more about the 
     importance of health and safety and quality educational 
     programming, especially for low-income children. The Child 
     Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2014 makes important 
     changes to the current CCDBG statute that support quality 
     improvements in the early developmental and educational 
     experiences children will receive through the program.
       One of the most important changes The Child Care and 
     Development Block Grant Act of 2014 makes to current law 
     relates to continuity of care. For children of low-income 
     working families, the 12-month determination period for 
     eligibility will serve as a critical element for ensuring 
     greater consistency and better kindergarten readiness 
     outcomes. Further, the legislation's health and safety 
     standards requiring all programs, including those that are 
     license-exempt, to undergo annual health, safety, and tire 
     inspections are critical for raising the quality of care 
     provided through CCDBG. Finally, the legislation's focus on 
     the importance of teacher training and professional 
     development to promote children's development and 
     kindergarten readiness, as well as provisions that support 
     Quality Rating and Improvement Systems, national 
     accreditation, and tiered reimbursement are all essential 
     elements for enabling working families to access a high-
     quality child care provider of their choice.

[[Page H7479]]

       Knowledge Universe and the families whom we serve thank you 
     for your hard work and dedication to this important CCDBG 
     reauthorization. The quality improvements included in The 
     Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2014 will work 
     to ensure that more children of low-income working families 
     have access to a high-quality early care and learning 
     experience that best meets their needs.
           Sincerely,
                                               Celia Hartman Sims,
     Vice President, Government Relations.
                                  ____

                                               September 15, 2014.
     Hon. George Miller,
     Ranking Member, U.S. House Education and the Workforce 
         Committee, Washington, DC.
       Dear Representative Miller, As President and Chief 
     Executive Officer of First Children's Finance in Minneapolis, 
     Minnesota, I am writing to express full support for the 
     bipartisan, bicameral legislation to reauthorize the Child 
     Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG).
       Working families with young children depend on child care 
     so that they can obtain and retain a job. At the same time, 
     children need a safe place to be. In too many communities, 
     quality child care is hard to find. The Child Care and 
     Development Block Grant Reauthorization Act will combine 
     important safety protections for children in child care with 
     more accountability for the expenditure of public dollars.
       As you know, child care programs are small businesses. From 
     my on the ground experience in working with child care 
     programs, I know that many child care directors have 
     experience in child development but have not had training in 
     best business practices. The inclusion of business technical 
     assistance in the reauthorization bill will lead to more 
     programs operating in an efficient and cost effective manner. 
     No program can offer families a quality setting unless it is 
     fiscally sound.
       I commend you as well as Chairman John Kline, 
     Representative Todd Rokita, and Representative David Loebsack 
     for your hard work and dedication on behalf of working 
     families who need child care.
       The Child Care and Development Block Grant Reauthorization 
     Act is a giant step toward ensuring that parents have quality 
     choices in their community. Thank you for supporting working 
     families with children.
           Sincerely,

                                              Gerald M. Cutts,

                                               Presidednt and CEO,
     First Children's Finance.
                                  ____



                                          Childcare resources,

                                               September 15, 2014.
     Hon. George Miller,
     Ranking Member, U.S. House Education and the Workforce 
         Committee, Washington, DC.
       Dear Representative Miller, As President of Child Care 
     Resources Inc. (CCRI), a nonprofit child care resource and 
     referral agency in Charlotte, North Carolina, I am writing to 
     express my strong support of the bicameral, bipartisan Child 
     Care and Development Block Grant Reauthorization Act.
       On July 26, 2012, I testified before the Senate Health, 
     Education, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee on Children about 
     the need to reauthorize the Child Care and Development Block 
     Grant. My testimony focused on the need to improve children's 
     safety in child care programs (through both requiring 
     fingerprint background checks for child care providers and 
     requiring minimum health and safety protections for 
     children), increasing the quality set-aside, strengthening 
     the child care workforce, conducting at least annual 
     inspections of child care programs, as well as addressing 
     shortcomings of the market rate survey in setting subsidy 
     rates. I am thrilled to see that the child care 
     reauthorization bill addresses each of these areas!
       I have been in the child care resource and referral field 
     for 30 years. For more than half of that time, I have been 
     working to reauthorize this measure. Your efforts, along with 
     those of Chairman John Kline, Representative Todd Rokita, and 
     David Loebsack, and your Senate counterparts--Senate HELP 
     Committee Chairman Tom Harkin, Ranking Member Lamar 
     Alexander, Senator Barbara Mikulski, and Senator Richard 
     Burr, to reach a bipartisan agreement on good policy for 
     children in child care are truly to be commended.
       Working families with young children need child care, and 
     children need a place to be safe and a setting that promotes 
     their healthy development. Thank you for your continuous 
     efforts over many years on behalf of working families.
           Sincerely,
                                                  Janet Singerman,
                              President, Child Care Resources Inc.

  Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Before we close, I want to thank my colleagues in both the House and 
the Senate for their hard work on this legislation. In the Senate, I am 
particularly grateful to Chairman Harkin, Ranking Member Alexander, 
Senator Mikulski, Senator Burr, and their staffs.
  I want to thank Ranking Member Miller and our committee staff members 
who have helped to steer the passage of this bill, particularly Scott 
Groginski, Jamie Fasteau, John Hammond, and Brian Levin.
  I would like to thank Chairman Kline and his staff members who worked 
hard on this bill, including Cristin Kumar, Mandy Shaumburg, and 
Kathlyn Ehl.
  I also want to thank the gentleman from Illinois, Congressman Danny 
Davis, for his strong efforts to reduce early childhood expulsions, and 
the many advocates and stakeholders who weighed in on the legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I enter for the Record additional letters of support.

                                          Results for America,

                                               September 15, 2014.

         Results for America Statement on CCDBG Reauthorization


 RFA's Michele Jolin Hails Effort to Set Aside Funds for Research and 
Evaluation, Bipartisan Support for Using Data, Evidence and Evaluation 
                          to Improve Outcomes

       Washington.--Today, following the passage of the Child Care 
     and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Act in the House of 
     Representatives, Results for America managing partner Michele 
     Jolin issued the following statement. Jolin praised a 
     provision in the legislation that would set aside .5% of 
     funds for evaluating programs to improve the access to, 
     quality, and safety of childcare services, calling it a 
     ``Moneyball'' approach to government that improves outcomes 
     for young people, their families, and communities.
       Results for America applauds the passage of the Child Care 
     and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Act by the House, 
     following the passage of a similar bill in the Senate earlier 
     this year. The inclusion of dedicated funds for research and 
     evaluation will provide vital information for improving the 
     effectiveness of childcare. The strong bipartisan support for 
     this bill shows that lawmakers across the aisle support 
     leveraging less than a penny on the dollar to improve how the 
     rest of the dollar is spent.
       ``Congress and the Administration are increasingly using 
     data, evidence and evaluation to improve the lives of 
     children, their families and communities, what we call a 
     Moneyball approach to government. Today's reauthorization of 
     CCDB shows that investing in what works is clearly a 
     bipartisan way to address long-term challenges and is another 
     positive step toward improving outcomes,'' said Michele 
     Jolin, Managing Partner, Results for America.
                                  ____



                               National Education Association,

                               Washington, DC, September 15, 2014.
     House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC 20515.
       Dear Representative: On behalf of the three million members 
     of the National Education Association and the students they 
     serve, we urge you to vote YES on the Child Care and 
     Development Block Grant (S. 1086 as amended), which is on the 
     suspension calendar for today. Votes associated with this 
     bill may be included in the NEA Legislative Report Card for 
     the 113th Congress.
       The Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) program 
     helps low-income working families and parents transitioning 
     from welfare to work find safe, supportive, caring 
     environments for their children. It is impossible to have 
     successful early childhood education without good childcare 
     options. Moreover, quality childcare options help ensure that 
     children enter school ready to learn.
       S. 1086 incorporates lessons learned from research and the 
     states, improving the likelihood that more children will 
     enter school ready to succeed, by:
       Investing in the early childhood workforce. The bill 
     promotes workforce competency, training, and a progression of 
     professional development designed to promote the social, 
     emotional, physical, and cognitive development of children.
       Focusing on early learning. States would be required to 
     develop or implement research-based, developmentally 
     appropriate early learning and developmental guidelines for 
     children.
       Ensuring the health and safety of children served by the 
     program. The bill strengthens health and safety guidelines 
     for child care providers.
       S. 1086 is a good first step towards providing more 
     comprehensive early learning opportunities for low-income 
     children. We urge you to support it.
           Sincerely,
                                                      Mary Kusler,
     Director, Government Relations.
                                  ____

                                      National Association for the


                                  Education of Young Children,

                               Washington, DC, September 15, 2014.
     Hon. John Kline,
     House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
     Hon. George Miller,
     House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman Kline and Ranking Member Miller: On behalf of 
     the National Association for the Education of Young Children 
     (NAEYC), the nation's leading early childhood professional 
     association for quality learning from birth through age 8, I 
     want to thank you for the improvements for access and quality 
     in the reauthorization legislation for the Child Care and 
     Development Block Grant.

[[Page H7480]]

       When families look for child care for their children, they 
     have two questions in mind: What programs offer the high-
     quality approach best for my child, and what can we afford to 
     pay? Each day, millions of families wonder how they will pay 
     for child care and will their children be safe and learning 
     in the child care that they select. Employers know that child 
     care is important to a stable and productive workforce. Child 
     care providers want training and professional development to 
     serve children well, and a subsidy system that will support 
     the cost of quality and continuity of care.
       NAEYC is the nation's largest early childhood program 
     accreditor, setting standards for high-quality programs. Many 
     child care centers and schools seek NAEYC early childhood 
     program accreditation and the U.S. military child care 
     centers also strive to meet our standards. We are pleased to 
     see more attention to the quality of children's experiences 
     and ways to help providers meet and sustain standards for 
     health, safety and children's learning. The promise of early 
     childhood education depends on using the research we know 
     about how children learn and develop and providing access to 
     those early learning experiences for all young children. Your 
     bill makes advances in delivering on that promise, and with 
     the resources to implement these changes and to serve more 
     children, we will come closer to our shared goal of healthy, 
     learning children who are ready for success in school and 
     life.
       NAEYC is particularly pleased to see in the bill: Support 
     for quality and compensation improvements for the early 
     childhood workforce; more focus on quality care for infants 
     and toddlers at that crucial period of neurological 
     development; consistency of care and assistance over a 12-
     month period; the use of child assessments in appropriate 
     ways and explicit prohibition on inappropriate uses; more 
     attention to health and safety in licensed and legally exempt 
     from licensing providers; and an explicit mention of the use 
     of the quality set aside funds for helping programs meet 
     national accreditation standards of quality.
       We look forward to working with you for the additional 
     discretionary and mandatory funding that will be needed to 
     make high-quality programs affordable to a larger share of 
     families and to help more early-childhood programs provide 
     superior experiences.
       Thank you again for your leadership.
           Sincerely,
                                               Rhian Evans Allvin,
     Executive Director.
                                  ____



                                                 Easter Seals,

                               Washington, DC, September 15, 2014.
       Dear Representative: Easter Seals urges you to support the 
     Child Care and Development Block Grant Act. Easter Seals 
     believes this legislation includes many policies that will go 
     a long way to help families of children with disabilities to 
     contribute to their family's financial well-being by creating 
     more opportunities for young children to access quality child 
     care services.
       The bill recognizes the national need to expand training 
     supports to child care providers on how to meet the unique 
     needs of children with disabilities. This training will 
     increase the quality of services available to all children. 
     The National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine, From 
     Neurons to Neighborhoods landmark report validated the 
     overwhelming need in this area:
       ``Like all families with young children, those whose 
     children have a disability or other special health care need 
     are faced with the challenges of finding good-quality, 
     affordable child care. But the inability or unwillingness of 
     many child-care providers to accept children with 
     disabilities (Berk and Berk, 1982; Chang and Teramoto 1987), 
     transportation and other logistical problems, difficulties 
     with coordinating early intervention and child care services, 
     and the scarcity of appropriately trained caregivers (Kelly 
     and Booth, 1999; Klein and Sheehan, 1987, make the effort to 
     find any child care a tremendous challenge for these 
     families. One multisite student reported that 45 percent of 
     mothers of an infant with a disability reported they were not 
     planning to work because they could not find child care, and 
     31 percent indicated that they could not find affordable 
     child care (Booth and Kelly 1998, 1999). The severity of the 
     child's disability or illness greatly compounds these 
     problems. (Breslau et al., 1982; Warfield and Hauser-Cram, 
     1996). Page 324''
       Easter Seals affiliates across the country operate nearly 
     100 full-day, full-year child care programs that meet the 
     needs of children with and without disabilities. These high 
     quality programs are designed to foster the development of 
     all children and support their families. There are simply too 
     few quality choices available to working families. This bill 
     will help increase their options.
       Thank you for considering our views.
           Sincerely,
                                                     Katy Beh Neas
     Senior Vice President, Government Relations.
                                  ____



                              American Federation of Teachers,

                               Washington, DC, September 15, 2014.
     House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Representative: On behalf of the more than 1.6 million 
     members of the American Federation of Teachers--including 
     approximately 90,000 early childhood education professionals 
     who work in diverse settings, such as preschool classrooms, 
     family child care, child care centers, Head Start and Early 
     Head Start--I urge you to support, as amended, S. 1086, the 
     bipartisan Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 
     2014.
       The CCDBG helps low-income parents pay for child care so 
     they can work or pursue an education. S. 1086 guarantees a 
     family's child care eligibility for at least 12 months, 
     regardless of any fluctuation in income, job or education. 
     This offers a vital lifeline and a path to the middle class 
     for millions of families across the nation.
       It has been nearly 20 years since the CCDBG was last 
     reauthorized. Since that time, early childhood education and 
     child care programs have been transformed by research on 
     child development. This bill reflects the advancement of this 
     knowledge and will truly modernize the program.
       S. 1086 brings child care standards into this century by 
     focusing on the health and safety of children, and by giving 
     parents more confidence that their child is being well cared 
     for while they are at work or school. In addition, the bill 
     ensures our youngest and most vulnerable are safe by making 
     inspections annual and requiring that all providers and 
     employees obtain background checks and training before they 
     care for children. S. 1086 also makes all this information 
     more transparent and available to the public, especially to 
     parents and family members.
       This bill acknowledges that a component of a high-quality 
     child care program includes having a workforce that is well-
     prepared and well-trained. This bill requires states to 
     establish a professional development progression and dedicate 
     more funding for training, professional development and 
     advancement of the child care workforce. In particular, the 
     bill, as amended, also addresses the latest data on 
     expulsions from early education programs by requiring that 
     part of the staff training focuses on child behavioral 
     supports. The training and professional development 
     requirements not only will benefit educators and staff 
     working in child care, but also will have lasting, positive 
     effects for the children in their care and those children's 
     families.
       However, while this bill is a significant first step toward 
     providing every child in our nation with a high-quality early 
     learning and care program, we know we can't do it right on 
     the cheap. Without the necessary federal resources to 
     implement these important health and safety standards and 
     trainings, states either will be unable to increase the 
     quality of child care and education or will simply have to 
     cut access to high-quality child care to children and 
     families that need it the most. States should not have to 
     choose between quality and access. We look forward to working 
     with Congress to pass this legislation and secure the 
     resources needed for its successful implementation.
       Finally, we are equally committed to partnering with 
     Congress to expand high-quality early education for all 
     children from birth to kindergarten.
       Thank you for your consideration of our views on this 
     matter. The AFT urges you to vote yes when S. 1086 comes to 
     the House floor.
           Sincerely,
                                                 Randi Weingarten,
     President.
                                  ____



                                            Save the Children,

                                               September 14, 2014.
     Hon. John Kline,
     Hon. George Miller,
     House Committee on Education and the Workforce, Washington, 
         DC.
       Dear Chairman Kline and Ranking Member Miller: On behalf of 
     Save the Children, the leading independent organization 
     dedicated to creating real and lasting change in the lives of 
     children in need in the United States and around the world, 
     we are proud to support your efforts to improve the safety, 
     health and quality of child care through the Child Care and 
     Development Block Grant Act of 2014. As you well know, Save 
     the Children has dedicated nearly a century of service in 
     America to helping children affected by disasters. And we 
     have valued our tremendous partnership with you to make sure 
     children's safety in emergencies remains a priority--
     particularly in the child care setting.
       We support the proposed CCDBG improvements focused on 
     safety, health and quality improvements. In particular, with 
     69 million children separated from their parents every work 
     day, we support and commend your inclusion of the disaster 
     preparedness section and disaster plan components 
     Sec. 5(u)(iii) which are in line with the recommendations 
     from the National Commission on Children and Disasters which 
     serve as the basis for Save the Children's annual report card 
     on children and disasters, now in its seventh year.
       We applaud your leadership on keeping children safe in 
     emergencies and thank you for all you have done and continue 
     to do to create lasting positive change in the lives of 
     children.
           Sincerely,

                                                Richard Bland,

                             National Director, Policy & Advocacy,
     U.S. Programs, Save the Children.
                                  ____



                                   National Women's Law Center

                               Washington, DC, September 12, 2014.
     Hon. George Miller,
     House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Ranking Member Miller: The National Women's Law Center 
     is pleased that the U.S. House of Representatives is moving 
     forward with the reauthorization of the Child Care and 
     Development Block Grant Act of 2014. Your leadership has 
     resulted in a

[[Page H7481]]

     reauthorization bill that would improve the safety, quality, 
     and accessibility of child care and after-school care for 
     children from birth to age 13. High-quality, well-funded 
     child care helps families work and children learn--both of 
     which are important goals for the nation.
       Since the last reauthorization of the Child Care and 
     Development Block Grant in 1996, we have learned much about 
     how to improve the quality of child care and after-school 
     care and how to make child care assistance more accessible to 
     families. Research on the importance of quality has spurred 
     greater efforts to support providers in promoting children's 
     positive development from birth. State initiatives have shown 
     ways to encourage quality improvements through incentives and 
     well-designed reimbursement policies. This bill incorporates 
     these lessons from the research and state innovations in an 
     effort to better protect the health and safety of children in 
     care, improve the quality of care overall and for infants and 
     toddlers in particular, facilitate children and families' 
     sustained access to help in paying for care and more stable 
     child care arrangements, and support providers serving 
     families receiving child care assistance.
       We strongly support the goals of this legislation. We will 
     work with you to obtain the funding needed to make these 
     improvements and to allow more children to benefit from these 
     improvements. Between 2006 and 2012, 260,000 fewer eligible 
     children received assistance through the Child Care and 
     Development Block Grant. In addition, most states' payment 
     rates for child care providers are too low to support high-
     quality care. To reverse the decline in children served and 
     to successfully implement the much-needed improvements 
     included in this legislation, we urge Congress to increase 
     mandatory and discretionary child care funding.
       Thank you for all your work on this reauthorization, which 
     is so important for our country's children and families.
           Sincerely,
     Helen Blank,
       Director of Child Care and Early Learning.
     Joan Entmacher,
       Vice President for Family Economic Security.
                                  ____



                                  Child care Aware of America,

                                Arlington, VA, September 15, 2014.
     Hon. Tom Harkin,
     Chairman, Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and 
         Pensions, Washington, DC.
     Hon. Barbara Mikulski,
     U.S. Senate,
     Washington, DC.
     Hon. Lamar Alexander,
     Ranking Member, Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor 
         and Pensions, Washington, DC.
     Hon. Richard Burr,
     U.S. Senate,
     Washington, DC.
     Hon. John Kline,
     Chairman, House Education and the Workforce Committee, 
         Washington, DC.
     Hon. George Miller,
     Ranking Member, House Education and the Workforce Committee, 
         Washington, DC.
     Hon. Todd Rokita,
     House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
     Hon. Dave Loebsack,
     House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman Harkin, Ranking Member Alexander, Senator 
     Mikulski, and Senator Burr, Chairman Kline, Ranking Member 
     Miller, Representative Rokita, and Representative Loebsack: I 
     am writing on behalf of Child Care Aware' of 
     America (formerly the National Association of Child Care 
     Resource & Referral Agencies, NACCRRA) to express support for 
     your legislation, the Child Care & Development Block Grant 
     Act of 2014, which would reauthorize the Child Care and 
     Development Block Grant and would better protect the health 
     and improve safety of children in child care settings across 
     America.
       Families want their children to be safe in child care. They 
     reasonably assume that a child care license means the state 
     has approved some minimum level of protection for children 
     and that the program will promote their healthy development. 
     Our nationwide polling shows that parents also believe there 
     is oversight by the state. However, most state licensing 
     requirements are weak and oversight is weaker.
       For over 15 years, reauthorization of the Child Care and 
     Development Block Grant has been Child Care Aware' 
     of America's top legislative priority and we have been 
     working on both the federal and state levels to improve the 
     quality of child care.
       Child Care Aware' of America has issued seven 
     licensing studies that show state laws regarding child care 
     settings vary greatly. The most recent report, We Can Do 
     Better: 2013 Update, scored and ranked the states on their 
     child care center program requirements and oversight 
     policies. The average score was 92 out of a total possible 
     score of 150--for a grade of 61 percent.
       Children's early years are proven to be the most impactful 
     time to create strong learners. This reauthorization bill is 
     a huge step to move the nation forward ensuring children are 
     safe and receiving the best early learning experiences while 
     in child care. This bill sets the standard all families 
     expect for their children by requiring providers to undergo 
     comprehensive background checks, annual and pre-licensure 
     inspections, and training.
       This bill includes significant measures to improve the 
     quality of child care and ensure that all children in child 
     care settings are safe.
       Child Care Aware' of America looks forward to 
     working with you to pass this legislation into law. Thank you 
     for your continued leadership in support of our nation's 
     children.
           Sincerely,
     Lynette M. Fraga, Ph.D.,
       Executive Director.
     Michelle Noth McCready,
       Director of Policy.
     L. Carol Scott, Ph.D.
       President, Board of Directors.
     Nicholas P. Vucic,
       Senior Government Affairs Associate.
  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Finally, I would like to thank all of the 
Members of the House Education and the Workforce Committee and their 
staffs for their continued commitment to the well-being of American 
families.
  Mr. Speaker, both Chambers and both parties have come together on a 
bipartisan basis to improve the Child Care and Development Block Grant. 
This bill is a strong example of what Congress can achieve by working 
together. The critical updates in the program will give American 
families the more support that they need and will better prepare our 
children for the future.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. KLINE. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I want to thank my colleagues here on both sides of the aisle. It is 
not every day on this floor that we get to do that, but I thank them 
for their remarks and for the debate today.
  I want to reiterate my appreciation for the work done on the other 
side of the Capitol. Again, it is not something we get to talk about 
every day, but this is an example of a time when we saw a need. Some 
could argue that we are a little overdue, since it has been 20 years 
since this has been reauthorized, but as the ranking member, Mr. 
Miller, said, this is on the suspension calendar because we recognize 
that it needs to be done and because we have come together in a 
bipartisan-bicameral way to address this need.
  So I urge my colleagues to support S. 1086, as amended, the Child 
Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2014, and I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. SABLAN. Mr. Speaker, I support S. 1086, reauthorizing the Child 
Care and Development Block Grant program.
  We all talk about jobs bills.
  Well, in my district, the Northern Mariana Islands, mothers and 
fathers in 200 families can go to their jobs every day because their 
children are being cared for through this program.
  That's why it is important to reauthorize Child Care, because it 
helps people who want to work.
  Especially in the Northern Marianas, where we are replacing foreign 
workers with U.S. workers, we need good child care to make that 
transition.
  And the bill accounts for sudden changes of income, so even when the 
minimum wage increases in the Marianas this month--as I am glad to say 
it will--families will keep getting child care--and parents will keep 
working.
  Lastly, S. 1086 improves standards, because all parents want to work 
without worry, knowing their children are well cared for and safe.
  I urge passage of the bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Kline) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, S. 1086, 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.

                          ____________________