[Senate Report 108-37]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 72
108th Congress Report
1st Session SENATE 108-37
======================================================================
CARING FOR CHILDREN ACT OF 2003
_______
April 10, 2003.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Gregg, from the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and
Pensions, submitted the following
R E P O R T
together with
ADDITIONAL VIEWS
[To accompany S. 880]
The Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, to
which was referred the original bill (S. 880) to amend the
Caring for Children Act of 2003 to reauthorize the Act, to
improve early learning opportunities and promote school
preparedness, and for other purposes, having considered the
same, reports favorably thereon without amendment and
recommends that the bill do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
I. Purpose and Summary of the bill..................................1
II. Background and need for legislation..............................2
III. Legislative history and committee action.........................4
IV. Explanation of Legislation and Committee Views...................4
V. Cost estimate...................................................14
VI. Regulatory impact statement.....................................16
VII. Legislative Impact..............................................17
VIII.Section-by-section analysis.....................................17
IX. Additional views................................................27
X. Changes in existing law.........................................36
I. Purpose and Summary of the Bill
It is the purpose of the Caring for Children Act of 2003 to
renew, improve, and strengthen the Child Care and Development
Block Grant Act of 1990 for the next five years. The Caring for
Children Act of 2003 is designed to maintain state flexibility
and improve access to high quality child care for low income
working families.
II. Background and Need for Legislation
The current system of child care assistance, which is
supported by Federal, State, and local funds, is largely a
result of Federal legislative activity over the last 14 years.
In 1988, the Family Support Act, which at the time represented
groundbreaking legislation to reform the Aid to Families with
Dependent Children (AFDC) program, for the first time provided
a child care entitlement for families on welfare. Originated by
the Senate Finance Committee, the Family Support Act created a
child care entitlement for AFDC parents who were working,
enrolled in job training, or enrolled in an educational
program, and for parents needing transitional child care
assistance for 12 months after leaving welfare (Transitional
Child Care or TCC).
In 1990, two more child care programs were created: the
Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) program under
the jurisdiction of the Senate Labor Committee (now renamed the
Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee), and
the Title IV-A At Risk Child Care program under the
jurisdiction of the Senate Finance Committee. Both of these
programs were designed to help low income working families and
CCDBG was designed to improve the quality of child care as
well. Unlike the Family Support Act child care programs, these
two new programs were block grants to the States (not
individual entitlements) and were not designed to assist
welfare families.
In 1996, the four Federal child care programs (the AFDC
child care entitlement, the Transitional Child Care
entitlement, the IV-A at Risk child care program and the Child
Care and Development Block Grant) were consolidated under the
Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act
(PRWORA). The act eliminated the entitlement to child care
assistance for parents receiving welfare and for those
transitioning from welfare to work. The three Finance Committee
programs were consolidated into one funding stream referred to
as (mandatory funding) because the funding is specified in law
and does not need to compete against other funding in the
regular appropriations process. Funding for the Child Care and
Development Block Grant (CCDBG) remained under the jurisdiction
of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP)
Committee and was retained as a discretionary program.
Child care funding
Since 1988, funding for child care has grown dramatically.
Federal child care spending through the CCDF has increased by
over 175 percent since 1996. Discretionary funding for the
Child Care and Development Block Grant has more than doubled in
the last five years to $2.1 billion in fiscal year 2003.
Mandatory funding currently is set at $2.7 billion, for a total
of $4.8 billion.
In addition to Federal dollars provided through mandatory
and discretionary funding, States currently may transfer up to
30 percent of their TANF block grant to the Child Care and
Development Block Grant. In FY2001 and FY2002, States
transferred a total of $3.8 billion of TANF funds to CCDBG.
States also may spend additional TANF money directly on
child care services outside of the CCDBG. In fiscal year 2000,
States spent $1.4 billion of their TANF grants directly on
child care. In fiscal years 2001 and 2002, TANF direct
expenditures on child care reached $1.6 billion in each year.
Expenditure data show that in fiscal year 2001, States
spent more than $7.95 billion in Federal and State money from
the Child Care and Development Block Grant (this amount
includes spending from the TANF transfers to the CCDBG). In
addition, States spent over $1.7 billion on child care within
the TANF system. Therefore, in total, over $9.66 billion was
spent on child care through the CCDBG and TANF in fiscal year
2001, of which $7.6 billion were Federal funds. As a result of
CCDBG, TANF, and State funding of child care, over 2 million
children receive child care assistance today.
In addition to the CCDBG, TANF and Social Services Block
Grants, which States may use to support child care for low-
income families, other Federal programs provide funds for child
care and early childhood development. These include Head Start
(funded at $6.5 billion in fiscal year 2002), the Child and
Adult Care Food Program ($1.9 billion), the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act preschool and infant/toddler grants
($807 million), and, for after-school and weekend activities
for school age children, the 21st Century Community Learning
Centers ($1 billion). In total, combined current funding for
child care and early education programs is estimated by the
Department of Health and Human Services to exceed $17 billion.
Assistance for low-income working families
Between 1996 and June 2000, the welfare caseload dropped by
2.3 million families. The majority of welfare leavers are now
employed. The share of TANF families working or participating
in work-related activities while receiving TANF has soared to
nearly 900,000 in fiscal year 1999. Between 1996 and 1999, the
number of employed single mothers grew from 1.8 million to 2.7
million. And, according to the Congressional Research Service,
there has been a marked increase in single mothers working--
from 63.5 percent in 1996 to 73 percent in 2001. Many of these
parents need child care assistance to stay employed.
The committee believes that the challenge for Congress this
year is to build on the success of the 1996 welfare reform
law--and put even more Americans on the path to self reliance
and improve the quality of child care. The dramatic increase in
the number of women participating in the labor force, and the
number of these women who are the sole or primary financial
supporters of their children are the most important factors
affecting the demand for child care.
Increasingly, the effect of child care on children also has
become a significant public issue. Research in the field of
child development demonstrates that low-income children can
benefit from child care with an early childhood development
focus. Therefore, the quality of child care available is
important so that all young children are developmentally
prepared to enter and succeed in school. The Caring for
Children Act strengthens the Federal commitment to foster
quality environments and early learning experiences for young
children.
Concerns about the supply, quality and affordability of
child care for many low income families led to a national
debate over the nature and extent of the Nation's child care
problems. Federal lawmakers recognized the need to address the
accessibility and affordability of child care so that parents
could participate in the workforce.
III. Legislative History and Committee Action
EXECUTIVE SESSION
On April 2, 2003, the committee met in Executive Session to
consider the Caring for Children Act of 2003. Three amendments
were offered. A technical amendment by Senator Dodd was agreed
to on a voice vote; an amendment by Senator Jeffords was
offered on his behalf by Senator Dodd. It was later modified
and subsequently accepted on a voice vote. An amendment by
Senator Edwards to create a $100 million set aside for children
with special needs was defeated on a recorded vote of 10 yeas,
11 nays. The bill as amended was subsequently approved on a
voice vote.
IV. Explanation of Legislation and Committee Views
TITLE I--CHILD CARE AND DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT
Overview
The Caring for Children Act of 2003 reauthorizes the Child
Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) through 2008 at a
level of $2.3 billion for fiscal year 2004, $2.5 billion for
fiscal year 2005, $2.7 billion for fiscal year 2006, $2.9
billion for fiscal year 2007, and $3.1 billion for fiscal year
2008. The current 2003 appropriation is $2.1 billion.
Program goals
The Caring for Children Act amends the existing goals to
emphasize that the Block grant is intended to serve both low
income working families who receive cash assistance and those
who do not. It continues to provide states maximum flexibility
in developing child care programs and policies and promotes
parental choice so that parents can select the type of child
care and setting that they prefer.
The legislation creates three new goals: (1) to assist
States in improving the quality of child care available to
families; (2) to promote school preparedness by encouraging
children, families and caregivers to engage in developmentally
and age appropriate activities in child care settings that will
improve children's social, emotional and behavioral skills and
foster their early cognitive, prereading and language
development; and (3) to promote parental and family involvement
in the education of their young children in child care
settings.
The new goals that have been added to encourage States to
improve the quality of child care and to promote cognitive
development and school readiness are consistent with the
President's new early childhood education initiative, Good
Start, Grow Smart, designed to address the cognitive and other
developmental needs of young children so that they are prepared
to enter and succeed in school.
Lead agency
The committee bill amends the act to let States designate a
collaborative agency or establish a joint interagency office to
serve as the lead agency responsible for administering the
program.
State plan requirements
The Caring for Children Act modifies the State plan in
several ways. The legislation asks States to collect and
disseminate information to both parents of eligible children
and child care providers about: the quality and availability of
child care services; resources to assist families in obtaining
child care; research and best practices on children's
development; and, other programs and services for which
families may be eligible, including the food stamp, WIC,
Medicaid and SCHIP programs.
This legislation requires States to describe partnerships
between public and private entities that will increase the
supply and quality of child care services, and coordination of
child care services provided by this act with other child care
and early childhood education programs, such as Head Start,
Early Reading First, Even Start, and State-sponsored
prekindergarten.
Beginning in 2004, State plans will contain the outline of
the state's strategy to address the quality of child care
available to children in that State. States will report on the
use of quantifiable, objective measures for evaluating the
quality of child care services and progress in improving child
care quality.
Finally, States are asked to address factors that can make
finding care difficult for some parents. States will report how
the state is working to meet the child care needs of parents
eligible for assistance who have children with special needs,
work non-traditional hours, or require infant and toddler care.
The intent of the language in this section is to ensure
that state re-determination policies do not interfere with
parents' ability to maintain employment while maintaining their
eligibility for assistance. The committee encourages States to
explore approaches to eligibility redetermination that support
the work schedules of families receiving assistance, such as:
the provision of extended office hours (including office hours
before 8 a.m., after 6 p.m., or on the weekend); and the use of
postal mail or electronic communications such as communications
by telephone, fax, or electronic mail, and provision of a
receipt providing confirmation that required documents have
been submitted.
Application and State plan requirements
Under current law, each State that applies for a Federal
block grant is required to submit a State plan to the Secretary
of the Department of Health and Human Services. The State plan
is designed to ensure that States are complying with minimal
Federal guidelines before receiving their grant. States are
asked to certify that parents have unlimited access to their
children while in care and the ability to choose their child's
care provider and setting. States also must assure compliance
with State licensing, health and safety requirements, address
the child care needs of certain population groups, and
substantiate that payment rates for child care services are
sufficient to ensure equal access to services available to
children not eligible for subsidized care.
The Caring for Children Act enhances the State plan in
several ways to improve the quality of child care services
provided to eligible families. This includes encouraging states
to: (1) collect and disseminate information to parents to
assist them in making informed child care choices; (2) put in
place procedures and policies to protect working parents such
as providing assistance for eligible families for not at least
6 months before redetermining eligibility; (3) coordinate this
program with other Federal, State and local programs (including
Head Start, Early Head Start, Early Reading First, Title I
preschool program, Part C of IDEA, State prekindergarten
programs and other early childhood education programs); (4)
describe any training requirements that are in effect that are
designed to enable childcare providers to promote the social,
emotional, physical, and cognitive development of children; (5)
encourage partnerships with private and other public entities
to leverage existing service delivery systems of early
childhood and increase the supply and quality of childcare
services; (6) address the child care needs of parents eligible
for child care services who have children with special needs,
work nontraditional hours, or require child care services for
infants or toddlers; and (7) inform parents receiving
assistance under a program funded under part A of Title IV of
the Social Security Act and low-income parents about
eligibility for assistance under this subchapter.
Beginning in 2004, State plans will contain the outline of
the State's strategy to address the quality of child care
available to children in that State. States will report on the
use of quantifiable, objective measures for evaluating the
quality of child care services and its progress in improving
child care quality. The committee does not intend or desire to
create any Federal standards for quality of child care and
intends for states to have broad discretion in fulfilling these
provisions.
Child care resource and referral system
The Caring for Children Act allows States to use block
grant funds to support child care resource and referral
organizations. State and local child care resource and referral
agencies (CCR&R) are often a community's vital link between
parents and child care providers. Most States have in place a
comprehensive child care resource and referral network that
supports families in finding child care; compiles, analyzes and
shares information with parents, providers and communities on
the supply, cost, and quality of child care and the
availability of child care subsidies; and, supports individuals
and programs providing care for children. Child care resource
and referral organizations can be a costeffective resource
because of their ability to leverage public dollars with
contributions from private sources.
Payment rates and market rate surveys
Under current law, States are required to set payment rates
that are sufficient to ensure equal access for eligible
children to comparable child care services in the State for
children who are not eligible for assistance with Federal
guidelines suggesting a goal of reaching the 75th percentile of
the market rate.
States use a variety of means to determine and establish
reimbursement and payment rates for subsidized child care.
According to the General Accounting Office most States report
using the results of market rate surveys to help set these
rates but also report considering other factors such as
budgets, the age group of the child needing care, and the
geographic location of the care. The committee recognizes and
intends to maintain the flexibility that States currently have
to design and implement payment and reimbursement rates in ways
that reflect their particular circumstances.
The Caring for Children Act requires States to conduct a
statistically valid and reliable survey of the market rates for
child care services in the State within two years preceding the
date of submission of the application, although the committee
encourages States to conduct their survey as close as possible
to the development of the State plan. States must also describe
how the State will set payment rates to reflect the results of
the market rates survey without reducing the number of families
served as of the date of introduction of this act.
The committee bill further requires States to publish the
results of the survey within 30 days. Additionally, if in a
fiscal year a State receives funds in an amount that exceeds
the funds it received in fiscal year 2003 to carry out the
CCDBG, the State is encouraged to consider using a portion of
the excess to increase payment rates, support the establishment
of tiered payment rates or to support payment rate increases
for child care for children in communities served by elementary
and secondary schools in need of improvement. In addition, the
committee encourages States to examine the usual and customary
practices with regard to payment for child absentee days.
The committee bill preserves the equal access standard that
State payment rates be sufficient to provide children receiving
CCDBG funded assistance equal access to comparable child care
services available to families which are not financially
eligible to receive subsidy assistance. The committee reminds
States that a key factor of equal access is determined by the
degree to which low income families have access to care that is
of comparable quality to other families.
The provision on payment rates differentiation clarifies
that nothing in the CCDBG statute is intended to prohibit
States from having differentiated payment rates using such
factors as geographic location of child care providers, age or
particular needs of children (such as children with special
needs and children served by child protective services), and
care provided during weekends and other nontraditional hours.
This provision is not intended to prevent States from
developing and implementing differential rates for other
appropriate reasons, such as a tiered rate structure which
permits higher payments for care with specific quality
standards.
The committee intends to maintain flexibility in the ways
in which the State gathers information used to inform the
process as they set payment and reimbursement rates. The
committee recognizes that there are multiple ways States
actually survey the child care market. Some do telephone or
mailed surveys to a sample of providers, others rely on the
data collected by resource and referral agencies in the course
of maintaining an accurate data base. Research indicates that
both of these approaches can be statistically valid.
Additionally, child care markets vary across States based on
population demographics and density, culture, licensing and
subsidy policies, provider practices and parent preferences, to
name a few. A market rate survey that works in New York may not
work in a rural State such as Idaho or Utah. Similarly, in a
rural State, there may be little variation in the cost of care
across geographic areas and types of care, while in other
States, child care center care may cost twice as much in
metropolitan as rural areas. In one case, the cost of a more
complex survey may be justified, in another case not. Because
of these variances, the committee has asked the Secretary to
provide technical assistance to States on the design and
implementation of statistically valid market rate surveys.
Child care quality
The Caring for Children Act of 2003 increases from four to
six percent the amount of the total block grant that a State
must spend on activities to improve the quality of child care
provided to eligible families in that State, and establishes
permissible uses for those funds. The quality set-aside may be
used to support: programs that provide training, education, and
other professional development activities to enhance the skills
of the child care workforce, including informal caregivers;
activities to enhance early learning and foster school
readiness; initiatives to increase the retention and
compensation of child care providers; and, other activities
deemed by the States to improve the quality of child care
services (for children up to age 13) provided in the State.
In recognition of the importance of the quality of child
care on all aspects of child development, including cognitive
development, the bill seeks to emphasize the importance of
early childhood development and encourages States to improve
the quality of child care.
Knowledge about children's learning has expanded greatly
during the past two decades. Research in the neurobiological
and behavioral sciences related to young children suggests the
importance of the first years of life for healthy brain
development. From birth through age five, children rapidly
develop the capabilities on which subsequent development
builds. In addition to linguistic and cognitive gains, children
exhibit dramatic progress in their emotional and social
capacities. According to child development expert Dr. T. Berry
Brazelton:
A child's experiences in the first months and years
of life determine whether he or she will enter school
eager to learn or not. By school age, family and
caregivers have already prepared the child for success
or failure. The community has already helped or
hindered the family's capacity to nurture the child's
development.
High quality child care involves much more than the
essential ingredients of love, nurture, and care. The committee
included school preparedness activities as a permissible use to
encourage States to invest in initiatives that will help foster
children's social and cognitive skills. These skills provide
the foundation for school readiness and are easily attainable
when young children are exposed to language-rich environments
with caregivers who engage them in interactive activities,
promote curiosity and challenge children to develop self-
confidence and problem-solving skills.
While many of a State's school preparedness activities are
likely to be directed at preschool children, such activities
also concern younger or older children. A State's
responsibilities under CCDBG include providing child care
services for children up to age 13 (or, at State option,
nineteen when the child is physically or mentally incapable of
caring for himself or herself or under court supervision).
School preparedness is a continuing process and does not stop
simply because a child has entered school.
There is also general agreement among experts that the ways
that parents, families and other caregivers relate and respond
to a young child directly affect cognitive development.
Research suggests that the quality of child care and early
education is ultimately dependent on the quality of the
relationship between the caregiver and child. Studies indicate
that children are more advanced in all realms of development
when their parents, teachers or caregivers provide regular
verbal and cognitive stimulation, are sensitive and responsive,
and give generous amounts of attention and support in safe and
healthy environments.
Based on this research, the Caring for Children Act
stipulates permissible uses for the quality set-aside to help
ensure that States spend their quality allocation on activities
that have been proven to improve the quality of child care.
Beginning in 2004, States are asked to report how these funds
are used.
The committee notes the importance of States evaluating and
assessing child care programs in order to ensure their
continued high quality and identify and correct weaknesses and
has authorized such evaluations and assessments as allowable
uses. However, nothing in this section should be construed to
require formal testing of pre-school age children.
The committee has allowed States to exercise broad
discretion in additional quality activities (such as enforcing
compliance with State licensing requirements and State and
local health and safety standards) so long as those activities
can be directly linked to improving child safety, child-well
being, or school preparedness and are capable of being measured
for outcomes. This requirement is intended to ensure that
States consider the connection between a proposed activity and
desired outcome goals, but it is not intended to require States
to establish, track, or determine child outcomes in order for a
particular activity to be allowable; it is sufficient that the
State has determined that measurement of outcomes is possible
in relation to child safety, child well-being, or school
preparedness. The committee does not require States to actually
measure or produce such outcomes in order to support its
discretionary quality activities.
Data collection and reporting requirements
Under current law, lead State agencies are required to
collect and submit data regarding the children, families, and
child care providers participating in the program on both a
quarterly and annual basis. The quarterly report collects
disaggregate data for each family receiving child care
assistance, and the annual report collects aggregate numbers
over the course of a fiscal year.
The committee bill streamlines data requirements so that
lead agencies are only required to submit quarterly reports.
The fourth quarterly report each year would preserve some of
the data elements formerly required in the annual report. For
any new requirements, States would need to begin submitting
data 2 years from the date of enactment of the act. The bill
provides the Secretary with the authority to grant waivers from
the 2 year requirement if a State can show that it has plans to
procure a data system.
The bill deletes reporting elements that have proven to be
unnecessary: receipt of housing assistance, receipt of food
stamps; receipt of ``other'' assistance programs; and length of
subsidy receipt. The bill requires a single data element
regarding whether a family receives assistance under TANF or
separate maintenance of effort State programs, and clarifies
that the cost of child care data element should require both a
statement about the amount of the State's subsidy payment and a
separate statement of the amount of the family's copayment. The
bill clarifies that data on the type of care provided to a
family should include all those types listed in the
subchapter's definition of eligible child care provider.
New data elements are added: household size, whether the
parent reports that the child has an Individualized Education
Plan or an Individualized Family Services Plan under the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and case closure
codes for each family that no longer receives child care
assistance under the subchapter.
States will no longer have to report an annualized
unduplicated count of the number of children and families
served. A requirement to submit data on the manner and number
of parents receiving consumer education information is moved to
the biennial State plan. In the fourth quarterly report of the
year, lead agencies will be required to submit some annual
information formerly required in the annual report: the annual
number and type of child care providers receiving payments
under the subchapter, and the annual number of those payments
made by type of child care provider through vouchers, under
contracts, or by payment to parent.
The bill would also require States to collect monthly data
on the number of children and families that receive child care
assistance, submit this information in their quarterly reports,
and to post this information on their websites.
Reporting requirements
Current law requires the Secretary of HHS to file biennial
reports to Congress summarizing and analyzing the disaggregate
and aggregate data reports that States submit, as well as other
relevant information.
The committee bill updates the current requirements for the
Secretary to summarize and analyze State collected data on
children and families, requiring that starting in April 2004,
and then on an annual basis, the Secretary submit reports
summarizing and analyzing State data provided on children and
families, with regard to activities to improve the quality of
child care, and in State plans. The language adds a requirement
that the Secretary include information on the supply, demand,
and quality of child care, early education, and nonschool-hour
programs, and a progress report that describes State progress
in meeting the new data requirements, plans for technical
assistance to help States meet these requirements, and the
explanation of any barriers States are facing in meeting the
timeline for reporting on these new requirements. The Secretary
must post these reports on the Department of Health and Human
Services website no later than 30 days after submitting them to
the relevant congressional committees.
National activities: Infants and toddlers and child care hotline
Many States are experiencing problems with access to
quality, affordable infant and toddler care. This, combined
with the increase in the number of mothers with babies and
toddlers in the workforce, makes the need for quality child
care even more critical. Approximately 60 percent of mothers
with children under age three are in the workforce, at least on
a part-time basis.
The committee has included an authorization for a $100
million set-aside, subject to the availability of
appropriations for this purpose. With this authorization, the
committee intends that States maintain the flexibility that
they have had under appropriations bills since FY 2000, to
coordinate activities to enhance infant and toddler child care.
States are encouraged to continue to support activities under
the set aside that are designed to protect the health and well-
being of infants and toddlers; offer specialized training for
such providers that emphasizes the unique developmental needs
of infants and toddlers; create statewide networks of
specialists on infants and toddlers, to provide training and
consultations for such providers who are center-based child
care providers, group home child care providers, or relatives
of the infants and toddlers; and establish local networks of
support for family child care home providers and other
activities to improve the quality and availability of infant
care.
Research indicates that the strongest effects of quality
child care are found with at-risk children--children from
families with the fewest resources and under the greatest
stress. Yet, at-risk babies and toddlers receive some of the
poorest quality care that exists in communities across the
United States resulting in poorer cognitive, social, and
emotional developmental outcomes. Research confirms that most
child care centers do not meet infants and toddlers needs for
health, safety, nurturing relationships, and learning. A
child's first three 3 are a critical time for child
development. Numerous studies show that high quality care
improves school readiness and prevents crime in the long-term.
It is especially critical that access to high quality infant
and toddler care be expanded to allow more parents who must
work to leave their children in a safe and nurturing
environment while they work.
The committee recognizes the need for a toll free hotline
that is assisting families nationwide in accessing local
information on child care options and providing consumer
education and has authorized $1 million, subject to the
availability of appropriations for such purposes.
Federal eligibility guidelines and direct services
The Caring for Children Act eliminates the Federal income
limit for eligibility, previously set at 85 percent of the
State median income, which included families at both the lowest
and more moderate income levels. Across all States 85 percent
of SMO for a family of three ranged from $53,940 a year in
Connecticut to $30,156 in Mississippi for a family of the same
size.
Some advocates and lawmakers contend that many potentially
eligible children do not receive subsidies due to limited
resources. However, program officials in five of seven States
interviewed by the General Accounting Office reported that all
families eligible under the State's income criteria who applied
for child care assistance were being served.
Additionally, the demand for child care services and the
number of eligible families in need of subsidies may be
overestimated because not all low-income parents need
subsidized child care. In fact, not all parents who receive
welfare or are transitioning off welfare are working, and many
parents make in-home or other informal care arrangements with
friends or relatives instead of applying for child care
assistance through the block grant.
Estimates of subsidies needed by children through the Child
Care and Development Block Grant and TANF might be reduced
further by taking into account the availability of other
programs and funding sources serving children, including State-
funded pre-kindergarten programs and Head Start. Sixty-five
percent of all 3 and 4 year olds eligible for Head Start are
enrolled, and it is estimated that 62,000 toddlers are served
under the Early Head Start program.
The committee received comments that States might interpret
the elimination of a Federal eligibility limit as a suggestion
that assistance provided through the block grant should be
targeted to TANF families only. This is not the intent of the
committee. The legislation amends the CCDBG goals to clarify
the congressional intent to provide assistance to low-income
working families, not exclusively those on or transitioning off
TANF. States and territories must spend 70 percent of their
mandatory child care money to subsidize child care for TANF
families, families transitioning off TANF, and families at risk
of becoming dependent on public assistance.
The Caring for Children Act has included a new requirement
that States also must ensure that 70 percent of the State grant
is used to provide direct services to low-income working
families. Though these services will be defined by the States,
the committee intends at a minimum, to include services that
are designed to assist families with the purchase of child care
from an eligible child care provider such as vouchers for
families and contracts and grants with child care providers in
the definition of direct services.
Children with special needs
Families with children with disabilities often have
difficulty finding high quality child care for their children.
This problem is compounded for many low-income families. Early
intervention services for pre-school age children can help
identify, address, and sometimes prevent cognitive, physical
and emotional disabilities at a young age. Unfortunately, many
child care professionals have no experience with disabled
children making accessing quality child care for children with
special needs a challenge for many families. The committee
notes that in addition to the Child Care and Development Block
Grant there are several Federal programs that have been
designed specifically to respond to the needs of children with
special needs. The committee recommends greater collaboration
between the CCDBG and these other programs.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prevents
discrimination against children with disabilities by child care
providers and requires providers to make reasonable
accommodations to ensure their participation. The Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) has two main programs
that provide for specialized services (which may include child
care) for young children with disabilities (Part C Early
Intervention Program for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities
and Section 619 Pre-School Program). IDEA's Part C supports
developmental services for infants and toddlers, up to age
three, and their families. More than 230,000 children
participated in Part C in 2001. Most of the children who
received Part C supports in 2001 were served in their homes or
in a child care setting.
IDEA's Section 619 pre-school program provides special
education and related services to preschool-aged children with
disabilities. More than 598,000 children participated in the
IDEA 619 preschool program in 2001, receiving services in
public schools, child care, Head Start, or other settings. A
child between the ages of three and five is eligible for
Section 619 services if he or she has a disability and needs
special education and related services.
To further respond to the child care needs of families with
children who have special needs, the committee has included
language requiring States to demonstrate how they are
addressing the child care needs of parents who have children
who have special needs. Additionally, the committee has
authorized States to use funds under the quality set-aside to
offer training professional development, and educational
opportunities for child care providers, and specifically
providers who care for children with special needs. The
committee recognizes the need of providers to be equipped to
offer quality child care services to children with special
needs, and believes additional opportunities for specialized
training will assist in this effort.
TITLE II--ENHANCING SECURITY AT CHILD CARE CENTERS IN FEDERAL
FACILITIES
The committee bill includes new requirements to ensure that
Federal child care facilities have safe plans of action for
children in the case of an emergency. The committee bill
directs the Administrator of General Services, the Chief
Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives, the
Librarian of Congress, the head of a designated entity in the
Senate, and the Director of the Administrative Office of the
United States Courts to issue regulations for child occupant
emergency plans and evacuation procedures, for their respective
Federal child care facilities.
The committee feels that administrators of Federal
facilities should consider different types of emergencies in
designing their action plans and should encourage an informed
parent body. Further, the committee feels that it is important
to inform parents of children in Federal child care facilities
about evacuation procedures and relocation sites, and to ensure
that directors of Federal facilities regularly update parental
contact information.
TITLE III--REMOVAL OF BARRIERS TO INCREASING THE SUPPLY OF QUALITY
CHILD CARE
The committee bill includes a short-term, flexible grant
program to encourage small businesses to work with other local
agencies to provide child care services for employees. The
committee recognizes that small businesses play a critical role
in providing child care options to millions of working parents.
Unfortunately, small businesses generally do not have the
resources required to start up and support a child care center.
This grant program takes the necessary steps to ensuring small
businesses and other local organizations are able to work
together to provide child care for employees.
A consortium of small businesses and other organizations
will be eligible for grants for start-up costs, training,
scholarships, or other related activities. Businesses will be
required to match Federal funds to encourage self-sustaining
facilities well into the future. Business must continue to meet
State quality and health standards.
V. Cost Estimate
CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE
Caring for Children Act of 2003
Summary: The Caring for Children Act would amend and
reauthorize the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG)
Act of 1990. The Child Care and Development Block Grant program
was authorized through 2002 by the CCDBG and is currently
authorized through 2003 by the Consolidated Appropriations
Resolution, 2003 (Public Law 108-7). The bill also would create
one new demonstration grant program and increase set-asides for
quality improvements and other activities.
If enacted, the bill would authorize appropriations
totaling $2.3 billion in 2004. Total authorizations under the
Caring for Children Act would be $13.5 billion over the 2004-
2008 period. CBO estimates that appropriations of these amounts
would result in additional outlays of $12.2 billion over the
2004-2008 period. Enacting the bill would not affect direct
spending or receipts.
The bill contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA).
It would increase the authorization of funds for the Child Care
and Development Block Grant and increase some of the
requirements for using those funds. The bill also would
establish a new grant program for states to provide assistance
to small business consortia and other entities to increase the
availability of child care. The requirements associated with
these programs would be conditions of assistance resulting from
the state's voluntary participation in the program, and thus,
not intergovernmental mandates as defined by UMRA.
Estimated cost to the Federal Government: The estimated
budgetary impact for the various components of each title under
the Caring for Children Act is shown in the following table.
The costs of this legislation fall within budget function 600
(income security).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
-----------------------------------------------
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION
Spending Under Current Law:
Budget Authority............................................ 2,086 0 0 0 0 0
Estimated Outlays........................................... 2,165 819 130 21 0 0
Proposed Changes:
Title I--Child Care and Development Block Grant Program:
Authorization Level..................................... 0 2,300 2,500 2,700 2,900 3,100
Estimated Outlays....................................... 0 1,472 2,290 2,593 2,814 3,014
Title III--Small Business Child Care Grant Program:
Authorization Level..................................... 0 30 0 0 0 0
Estimated Outlays....................................... 0 2 12 9 6 2
Total Proposed Changes:
Authorization Level......................................... 0 2,330 2,500 2,700 2,900 3,100
Estimated Outlays........................................... 0 1,474 2,302 2,602 2,820 3,016
Total Spending Under the Bill:
Authorization Level \1\..................................... 2,086 2,330 2,500 2,700 2,900 3,100
Estimated Outlays........................................... 2,165 2,292 2,432 2,623 2,820 3,016
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The 2003 level is the amount appropriated for that year.
Notes.--Components may not sum to totals because of rounding.
Basis of estimate: The Caring for Children Act would
authorize funding for the CCDBC program (title I) at specific
levels in all years, 2004 through 2008. The Small Business
Child Care Grant program (title III) would be authorized at $30
million total over the five years.
The bill would authorize total appropriations of $2.3
billion in 2004 and $13.5 billion over the 2004-2008 period. If
the authorized amounts are appropriated, outlays would increase
by $1.5 billion in the first year and by $12.2 billion over the
five-year period. The estimated outlays reflect historical
rates of spending for the affected programs or the historical
rates of similar programs.
Title I--Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990
Title I of the bill would reauthorize the CCDBG program
currently authorized under the Child Care and Development Block
Grant Act. The bill would authorize $2.3 billion in 2004, $2.5
billion in 2005, $2.7 billion in 2006, $2.9 billion in 2007,
and $3.1 billion in 2008. Funding in 2003 was $2.086 billion.
The CCDBG program provides funding to states for child care
subsidies to low-income families, quality improvement, and
other activities. It is one of the two federal funding programs
for child care subsidies within a program grouping often
referred to as the Child Care and Development Fund. The other
program is the Child Care Entitlement to States, a mandatory
program that is not affected by the bill.
Title II--Enhancing security at child care centers in Federal
facilities
Title II would direct certain federal officials to develop
regulations for enhancing the security and fostering effective
disaster plans in child care facilities operated by the federal
government. CBO does not expect the regulations would have any
significant effects on federal costs. Many of these facilities
already have similar security procedures in place, while others
are anticipated to implement such measures in the future even
without the enactment of further legislation.
Title III--Removal of barriers to increasing the supply of quality
child care
Title III would authorize a total of $30 million over the
2004-2008 period to create a small business child care
demonstration grant program. The program would encourage small
businesses to establish and operate child care programs by
providing grants to cover part of the costs of the programs.
The grants would go to eligible consortia of small businesses.
CBO estimates that outlays would be around $2 million in 2004
and $30 million over the 2004-2008 period. The bill specifies
that the program would be terminated September 30, 2009.
Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: The bill
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as
defined in UMRA. It would increase the authorization of funds
for the Child Care and Development Block Grant and increase
some of the requirements for using those funds. The bill also
would establish a new grant program for states to provide
assistance to small business consortia and other entities to
increase the availability of child care. The requirements
associated with these programs would be conditions of
assistance resulting from the state's voluntary participation
in the program and thus not intergovernmental mandates as
defined by UMRA.
Estimate prepared by: Federal Costs: Donna Wong; Impact on
State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Leo Lex; and Impact on
the Private Sector: Kate Bloniarz.
Estimate approved by: Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
VI. Regulatory Impact Statement
A. REGULATORY IMPACT
In accordance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the committee has determined that
there will be minimal increases in the regulatory burden
imposed by this bill.
Impact on individuals and businesses
In general, the bill provides grants to States to provide
child care assistance to low-income working parents.
Regulations may be needed to implement these grants in
specified areas but do not affect individuals or businesses,
unless they choose to participate in providing services under
this act.
Impact on personal privacy and paperwork
The bill provides grants to States to provide child care
assistance to low-income working parents, to improve the
quality of child care, early learning opportunities and promote
school preparedness, and for other purposes. The bill should
not increase the amount of personal information and paperwork
required.
B. UNFUNDED MANDATES STATEMENT
According to the Congressional Budget Office, the bill
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as
defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA). It would
increase the authorization of funds for the Child Care and
Development Block Grant and increase some of the requirements
for using those funds. The bill also would establish a new
grant program for States to provide assistance to small
business consortia and other entities to increase the
availability of child care. The requirements associated with
these programs would be conditions of assistance resulting from
the State's voluntary participation in the program, and thus,
not intergovernmental mandates as defined by UMRA. The bill
places several new requirements and limitations on State
programs as conditions of receiving assistance.
VII. Legislative Impact
The committee has determined that there is no legislative
impact.
VIII. Section-by-Section Analysis
Section 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the ``Caring for Children Act of
2003''.
Section 2. Table of contents
Sec. 101. Short title and goals
This Section modifies the goals of the Child Care and
Development Block Grant (CCDBG) in Section 658A(b) to add three
new goals: (1) to assist states in improving the quality of
child care available to families; (2) to promote school
preparedness by encouraging children, families, and caregivers
to engage in developmentally appropriate and age-appropriate
activities in child care settings that will--(A) improve the
children's social, emotional, and behavioral skills; and (B)
foster their early cognitive, pre-reading, and language
development; and (3) to promote parental and family involvement
in the education of young children in child care settings.
Sec. 102. Authorization of appropriations
This Section amends Section 658B to authorize
$2,300,000,000 for fiscal year 2004, $2,500,000,000 for fiscal
year 2005, $2,700,000,000 for fiscal year 2006, $2,900,000,000
for fiscal year 2007, and $3,100,000,000 for fiscal year 2008.
Sec. 103. Lead agency
This Section amends Section 658D of CCDBG by allowing a
State receiving funds under this act to designate an agency
(which may be an appropriate collaborative agency), or
establish a joint interagency office to serve as the lead
agency for the State under this Act.
Sec. 104. State plan
Section 658E of CCDBG is amended to require a State
receiving funds under this act to collect and disseminate,
through resource and referral services and other means, to
parents of eligible children, child care providers, and the
general public, information regarding (I) the promotion of
informed child care choices, including information about the
quality and availability of services; (II) research and best
practices concerning children's development, including early
cognitive development; (III) the availability of assistance to
obtain child care services; and (IV) other programs for which
families may be eligible, eligible, including the food stamp
program, the special supplemental nutrition program for women,
infants, and children, the child and adult care food program,
and the Medicaid and State children's health insurance
programs. The State must also report to the Secretary the
manner in which the consumer education information described
was provided to parents and the number of parents to whom such
consumer education information was provided. This Section also
requires the State to inform parents receiving assistance under
TANF and low-income parents about eligibility for child care
assistance.
This Section requires that a State has procedures and
policies in place to ensure that working parents are not
required to unduly disrupt their employment in order to comply
with the State's requirements for eligibility re-determination,
and requires that each child that receives assistance will
receive such assistance for not less than 6 months before re-
determination. This Section also gives states the option to not
terminate child care assistance based on a parent's loss of
work or cessation of attendance at a job training or
educational program without continuing the assistance for not
less than 1 month.
This Section requires the State to describe how it will
coordinate early child education activities assisted under this
act with programs such as Head Start, Early Head Start, Early
Reading First, Even Start, Title I preschool, section 619 and
part C of IDEA, and other early childhood education programs. A
State must also describe any training requirements in effect
designed to enable providers under this act to promote the
social, emotional, physical, and cognitive development of
children. A State must describe how it is encouraging
partnerships between states and other public agencies, and
private entities, to leverage existing service delivery systems
and to increase the supply and quality of services for children
ages 0-13. A State must describe how it is addressing the child
care needs of eligible parents, who have children with special
needs, work nontraditional hours, or require child care
services for infants and toddlers.
This Section allows the State to use funds to establish or
support a system of local child care resource and referral
organizations coordinated by a statewide private, nonprofit,
community-based lead child care resource and referral
organization to provide parents with information, and consumer
education concerning should concern the full range of child
care options (including care provided during nontraditional
hours and through emergency child care centers). This network
may also collect and analyze data on the supply of and demand
for child care in political subdivisions within the State;
submit reports to the State containing the data and analysis;
and work to establish partnerships with public agencies and
private entities to increase the supply and quality of child
care services.
From amounts provided to a State for a fiscal year, the
State shall reserve the minimum amount required for the quality
set aside, administration, and other set asides, and from the
remainder, use not less than 70% to fund direct services (as
defined by the State).
This Section requires the State to develop and conduct a
statistically valid and reliable survey of the market rates for
child care services in the State (reflecting variations in the
cost of child care services by geographic area, type of
provider, and age of child) within the 2 years preceding the
date of the submission of the application containing the State
plan. The State should also detail the results of the market
rates survey; describe how the State will provide for timely
payment for child care services, and set payment rates for
child care services in accordance with the results of the
market rates survey without reducing the number of families in
the State receiving assistance (as of the date of introduction
of the Caring for Children Act of 2003). The State shall make
the results of the survey available to the public no later than
30 days after the completion of the survey. The State plan
shall include a certification that the payment rates are
sufficient to ensure equal access for eligible children to
child care services comparable to child care services in the
State or sub-state area provided to children not eligible to
receive such child care assistance.
This section includes a rule of construction stating that
nothing shall prevent a State from differentiating the payment
rates to providers on the basis of geographic location, the age
or particular needs of children, and whether the providers
provide child care during weekend and other nontraditional
hours.
Sec. 105. Activities to improve the quality of child care
Section 658G of CCDBG is amended to require each state
receiving funds under this act to reserve not less than 6% of
the funds provided directly, or through grants or contracts
with resource and referral organizations or other appropriate
entities that are designed to improve the quality of child care
services. This Section requires that funds be used only for:
(A) to develop and implement voluntary guidelines on
pre-reading and language skills and activities, that
are aligned with State standards for kindergarten
through grade 12 or the State's general goals for
school preparedness;
(B) support activities and provide technical
assistance in Federal, State, and local child care
settings to enhance early learning for young children,
to promote literacy, and to foster school preparedness;
(C) offer training, professional development, and
educational opportunities for child care providers that
relate to the use of developmentally appropriate and
age-appropriate curricula, and early childhood teaching
strategies, that are scientifically based and aligned
with the social, emotional, physical, and cognitive
development of children, including--(i) developing and
operating distance learning child care training
infrastructures; (ii) developing model technology-based
training courses; (iii) offering training for
caregivers in informal child care settings; and (iv)
offering training for child care providers who care for
infants and toddlers and children with special needs;
(D) engage in programs designed to increase the
retention and improve the competencies of child care
providers, including wage incentive programs and
initiatives that establish tiered payment rates for
providers that meet or exceed child care services
guidelines, as defined by the State;
(E) evaluate and assess the quality and effectiveness
of child care programs and services offered in the
State to young children on improving overall school
preparedness; and
(F) carry out other activities determined by the
State to improve the quality of child care services for
which measurement of outcomes relating to improved
child safety, child well-being, or school preparedness
is possible.
This Section also requires that beginning with FY2004, the
State shall submit an annual certification to the Secretary
that the State was in compliance with the quality activities
described above and describes how the State used quality during
that preceding fiscal year. Beginning with FY2004, the State is
required to submit an annual report to the Secretary that
outlines the strategy the State will use to address the quality
of child care in the State, including a description of
quantifiable, objective measures that the State will use to
evaluate the State's progress in improving the quality of the
child care services and a list of State-developed child care
services quality targets quantified for such measures. This
section requires that beginning with FY2005, the State shall
submit a report on its progress in achieving targets for the
preceding fiscal year. A State failing to make progress in
quality improvements shall submit an improvement plan to the
Secretary, and that State shall comply with the improvement
plan within 1 year.
Nothing in this act shall be construed to require that the
State apply measures for evaluating quality of child care
services to specific types of child care providers.
Sec. 106. Optional priority use of additional funds
This Section amends Section 658G of CCDBG to require a
State receiving funds under this act to consider using a
portion of any funds exceeding the amount of funds the State
received to carry out this act for FY2003 to support payment
rate increases in accordance with the market rate survey
results; to support the establishment of tiered payment rates
for providers; and to support payment rate increases for care
for children in communities served by local educational
agencies that have been identified for improvement under
section 1116(c)(3) of the Elementary and Secondary Education
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6316(c)(3)).
This Section also states that nothing in Section 106 shall
be construed to require a State to take an action that the
State determines would result in a reduction of child care
services to families of eligible children.
This Section also defines ``payment rate'' to mean the rate
of State payment or reimbursement to providers for subsidized
child care.
Sec. 107. Reporting requirements
This Section amends Section 658K to require a State
receiving funds under this act to collect, with respect to a
family unit receiving assistance under this act, information
concerning family income; county of residence; the gender,
race, and age of children receiving such assistance; whether
the head of the family unit is a single parent; the sources of
family income (including employment, including self-employment
and assistance under a State program funded under part A of
title IV of the Social Security Act and a State program for
which states spending is counted toward the maintenance of
effort requirement under section 409(a)(7) of the Social
Security Act); the type, amount and cost of child care;
household size; whether the parent involved reports that the
child has an individualized education plan under IDEA and the
reason for any termination of benefits under this act
(including the child's age exceeding the allowable limit; the
family income exceeding the State eligibility limit; the State
recertification or administrative requirements not being met;
parent work, training, or education status no longer meeting
State requirements; a non income related change in status).
A State shall, on a quarterly basis, submit to the
Secretary the information required to be collected and the
number of children and families receiving assistance.
Information on the number of families receiving the assistance
shall also be posted on the website of the State. In the fourth
quarterly report of each year, a State shall also submit to the
Secretary information on the annual number and type of child
care providers that received funding under this act and the
annual number of payments made by the State through vouchers,
under contracts, or by payment to parents reported by type of
child care provider.
A State may comply with the requirement to collect the
information through the use of disaggregated case record
information on a sample of families selected through the use of
scientifically acceptable sampling methods approved by the
Secretary. The Secretary shall provide the states with such
case sampling plans and data collection procedures as the
Secretary determines necessary to produce statistically valid
samples of the information. The Secretary may develop and
implement procedures for verifying the quality of data
submitted by the states.
This Section requires states to comply with the changes in
data collection and reporting requirement within 2 years from
the date of enactment of this Act. The Secretary of Health and
Human Services may grant a waiver to states with plans to
procure data systems.
Sec. 108. National activities
This Section amends Section 658L to require the Secretary
to no later than April 30, 2004, and annually thereafter,
prepare and submit 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, and, not
later than 30 days after the date of such submission, post on
the Department of Health and Human Services website, a report
containing a summary and analysis of the data and information
provided to the Secretary in the State reports submitted under
sections 658E, 658G(c), and 658K; aggregated statistics on and
an analysis of the supply of, demand for, and quality of child
care, early education, and non-school hour programs; an
assessment and, where appropriate, recommendations for Congress
concerning efforts that should be undertaken to improve the
access of the public to quality and affordable child care in
the United States; and a progress report describing the
progress of the states in streamlining data reporting, the
Secretary's plans and activities to provide technical
assistance to states, and an explanation of any barriers to
getting data in an accurate and timely manner.
This Section also allows the Secretary to make arrangements
with resource and referral organizations, to utilize the child
care data system of the resource and referral organizations at
the national, State, and local levels, to collect the
information required by paragraph (1)(B).
This Section also directs the Secretary to provide
technical assistance to states on developing and conducting the
State market rates survey.
Under this section, the Secretary is instructed to award
grants to states, to improve the quality of and access to child
care for infants and toddlers, subject to the availability of
appropriations for this purpose. The Secretary shall also award
a grant or contract, or enter into a cooperative agreement for
the operation of a national toll-free hotline to assist
families in accessing local information on child care options
and providing consumer education materials, subject to the
availability of appropriations for this purpose.
Sec. 109. Grants and hotline
This Section amends Section 658O(a) of the Child Care and
Development Block Grant Act to require the Secretary to reserve
an amount not to exceed $100,000,000 for each fiscal year to
carry out activities designed to improve the quality of and
access to child care for infants and toddlers. The section also
requires the Secretary to reserve an amount not to exceed
$1,000,000 to carry out operation of a national toll-free
hotline to assist families in accessing local information on
child care options and providing consumer education materials.
Sec. 110. Definitions
This Section amends Section 658P of the Child Care and
Development Block Grant Act by allowing states to set the
income eligibility level for families, with priority given by
need as defined by the State. The term `child with special
needs' was defined in section 602 of the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1401); and 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.) Section 658P is also amended by redefining ``Native
Hawaiian organization'' as it is defined in section 7207 of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7517)
Sec. 111. Rules of construction
Section 658P is amended to include a rule of construction
stating that nothing in this act shall be construed to require
a State to impose State child care licensing requirements on
any type of early childhood provider, including any such
provider who is exempt from State child care licensing
requirements on the date of enactment of the Caring for
Children Act of 2003.
TITLE II--ENHANCING SECURITY AT CHILD CARE CENTERS IN FEDERAL
FACILITIES
Sec. 201. Definitions
This Section defines the term ``Administrator'' as the
Administrator of General Services. The term ``corresponding
child care facility'', used with respect to the Chief
Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives, the
Librarian of Congress, or the head of a designated entity in
the Senate, means a child care facility operated by, or under a
contract or licensing agreement with, an office of the House of
Representatives, the Library of Congress, or an office of the
Senate, respectively. The term ``entity sponsoring'', used with
respect to a child care facility, means a Federal agency that
operates, or an entity that enters into a contract or licensing
agreement with a Federal agency to operate, a child care
facility primarily for the use of Federal employees.
This section defines the term ``Executive agency'' as
defined in section 105 of title 5, United States Code, except
that the term--(A) does not include the Department of Defense
and the Coast Guard; and (B) includes the General Services
Administration, with respect to the administration of a
facility described in paragraph (5)(B). The term ``executive
facility''--(A) means a facility that is owned or leased by an
Executive agency; and (B) includes a facility that is owned or
leased by the General Services Administration on behalf of a
judicial office. The term ``Federal agency'' means an Executive
agency, a legislative office, or a judicial office.
This section also defines the term ``judicial facility''
means a facility that is owned or leased by a judicial office
(other than a facility that is also a facility described in
paragraph (5) (B)). The term ``judicial office'' means an
entity of the judicial branch of the Federal Government.
Lastly, this section defines the term ``legislative
facility'' means a facility that is owned or leased by a
legislative office. The term ``legislative office'' means an
entity of the legislative branch of the Federal Government.
Sec. 202. Enhancing security
This section (1) directs the Administrator of General
Services to issue regulations for child care facilities, and
entities sponsoring child care facilities, in executive
facilities; (2) directs the Chief Administrative Officer of the
House of Representatives, the Librarian of Congress, and the
head of a designated entity in the Senate to issue the
regulations for corresponding child care facilities, and
entities sponsoring the corresponding child care facilities, in
legislative facilities; and (3) the Director of the
Administrative Office of the United States Courts to issue the
regulations described in subsection for child care facilities,
and entities sponsoring child care facilities, in judicial
facilities.
This Section directs the officers described above to issue
regulations that concern matters relating to an occupant
emergency plan and evacuations, such as providing for building
security Committee membership for each director of a child care
facility; establishing a separate section in an occupant
emergency plan for a facility; promoting familiarity with
procedures and evacuation routes for different types of
emergencies; strengthening onsite relationships between
security personnel and the personnel of such a facility;
providing specific, clear, and concise evacuation instructions
for a facility; providing for good evacuation equipment,
especially cribs; and promoting the ability to evacuate without
outside assistance; and
This Section also directs the above officers to issue
regulations that concern matters relating to relocation sites,
such as promoting an informed parent body that is knowledgeable
about evacuation procedures and relocation sites; providing
regularly updated parent contact information (regarding matters
such as names, locations, electronic mail addresses, and cell
phone and other telephone numbers); establishing remote
telephone contact for parents, to and from areas that are not
less than 10 miles from such a facility; and providing for an
alternate site (in addition to regular sites) in the event of a
catastrophe, which site may include--(i) a site that would be
an unreasonable distance from the facility under normal
circumstances; and (ii) a facility with 24-hour operations,
such as a hotel or law school library.
TITLE III--REMOVAL OF BARRIERS TO INCREASING THE SUPPLY OF QUALITY
CHILD CARE
Sec. 301. Small business child care grant program
This section requires the Secretary of Health and Human
Services to establish a program to award grants to states, on a
competitive basis, to assist states in providing funds to
encourage the establishment and operation of employer-operated
child care programs. The Secretary shall determine the amount
of a grant to a State under this section based on the
population of the State as compared to the population of all
states receiving grants under this section.
This section allows a State to use awarded funds to provide
assistance to a consortium of a small business and other
appropriate entities located in the State to enable the small
businesses to establish and operate child care programs. Such
assistance may include the acquisition, construction,
renovation, and operation of child care facilities and
equipment; technical assistance in the establishment of a child
care program; assistance for the startup costs related to a
child care program; assistance for the training of child care
providers; scholarships for low-income wage earners; the
provision of services to care for sick children or to provide
care to school-aged children; the entering into of contracts
with local resource and referral or local health departments;
assistance for care for children with disabilities; or
assistance for any other activity determined appropriate by the
State (including loans, grants, investment guarantees, interest
subsidies, or other mechanisms to expand the availability of,
and improve the quality of, employer-operated child care in the
State).
A consortium is required by this section to apply to the
State for grants. A State is required to give priority to a
consortium that desires to provide child care in a geographic
area within the State where such care is not generally
available or accessible. A State may not provide in excess of
$500,000 in assistance from such funds to any single applicant.
To be eligible to receive a grant under this section, a
State shall provide assurances to the Secretary that, with
respect to the costs to be incurred by a consortium receiving
assistance from the State to carry out activities under this
section--the consortium will make available non-Federal
contributions to such costs in an amount equal to--(A) for the
first fiscal year in which the consortium receives such
assistance, not less than 50 percent of such costs; (B) for the
second fiscal year in which the consortium receives such
assistance, not less than 662.3 percent of such costs; and (C)
for the third fiscal year in which the consortium receives such
assistance, not less than 75 percent of such costs; and
(2) the consortium will make the contributions available--
(A) directly or through donations from public or private
entities; and (B) as determined by the State, in cash or in
kind, fairly evaluated, including plant, equipment, or
services.
To be eligible to receive assistance under a grant awarded
under this section, a child care provider shall comply with all
applicable State and local licensing and regulatory
requirements and all applicable health and safety standards in
effect in the State.
A State may not retain more than 3 percent of awarded funds
for State administration and other State-level activities. The
Secretary requires that the State has responsibility for
administering the awarded grant under this section and for
monitoring consortia that receive assistance under such grant.
Each State shall require each consortium receiving assistance
under the grant awarded to conduct an annual audit with respect
to the activities of the consortium. Such audits shall be
submitted to the State. If the State determines, through an
audit or otherwise, that a consortium has misused the
assistance, the State shall notify the Secretary of the misuse.
The Secretary, upon such a notification, may seek from such a
consortium the repayment of an amount equal to the amount of
any such misused assistance plus interest.
This section requires the Secretary to by regulation
provide for an appeals process with respect to repayments under
this paragraph.
This section requires the Secretary to conduct a study not
later than 2 years after the date on which the Secretary first
awards grants under this section to determine the capacity of
consortia to meet the child care needs of communities within
states; the kinds of consortia that are being formed with
respect to child care at the local level to carry out programs
funded under this section; and who is using the programs funded
under this section and the income levels of such individuals.
This Section requires the Secretary to prepare and submit
to the appropriate Committees of Congress not later than 28
months after the date on which the Secretary first awards
grants under this section, a report on the results of the study
conducted in accordance with subparagraph (A).
This Section requires that not later than 4 years after the
date on which the Secretary first awards grants under this
section, the Secretary shall conduct a study to determine the
number of child care facilities that are funded through
consortia that received assistance through a grant awarded
under this section and that remain in operation and the extent
to which such facilities are meeting the child care needs of
the individuals served by such facilities.
This Section requires that not later than 52 months after
the date on which the Secretary first awards grants under this
section, the Secretary shall prepare and submit to the
appropriate Committees of Congress a report on the results of
the study conducted in accordance with subparagraph (A).
As defined by this section, the term ``consortium'' means 2
or more entities that--include at least 1 small business; and
may include other small businesses, nonprofit agencies or
community development corporations, local governments, or other
appropriate entities. The term ``small business'' as defined by
this section is an employer who employed an average of at least
2 but not more than 50 employees on business days during the
preceding calendar year.
This section authorizes $30,000,000 for the period of
fiscal years 2004 through 2008 to carry out the grant program.
With respect to the total amount appropriated for such period
in accordance with this subsection, not more than $2,500,000 of
that amount may be used for expenditures related to conducting
evaluations required under, and the administration of, this
section. The grant program established by this section shall
terminate on September 30, 2009.
IX. ADDITIONAL VIEWS
While we support the Caring for Children Act and were
pleased to work with the majority in drafting bipartisan
legislation, there are a few areas in the report where we would
like to clarify the basis of our views and support.
Federal funds for child care and early education
It is true that $17 billion is currently spent by the
federal government on child care and early child development,
however, many of the programs mentioned in the report do not
provide child care services. In short, they are simply not
child care, they are not designed to meet the needs of working
parents, and they are services provided regardless of a
parent's work status. Head Start, the Child and Adult Care Food
Program, IDEA preschool and Part C infant and toddler grants,
and the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program do not
fund child care services. These programs provide critical
services, but each of these programs targets different children
for different purposes. None pay for the cost of child care.
Head Start is not child care. There is no requirement for
Head Start parents to be working. Assistant Secretary Wade Horn
said before the Senate Finance Committee in March of 2002, ``I
agree that Head Start is not child care.'' In response to
questions, Dr. Horn agreed that of the 800,000 or so children
in Head Start, about 450,000 of them needed child care in
addition to Head Start. Most Head Start programs and state pre-
kindergarten programs are part day. The short hours of part-day
programs can be a challenge for working poor families who work
full-time. For families working part-time, the hours of
operation may not correspond to parent work schedules. The
Congressional Budget Office estimates that an additional $500
million per year would be necessary to meet the needs of
current Head Start parents who report that they need child
care, but are not provided assistance.
While it is true that during the time a child spends in
Head Start, child care services are not needed, it is also true
that only if the hours in which a child spends in Head Start
perfectly correspond with a parent's work schedule, is there an
overall reduction in hours of child care that a particular
family may need. Since the majority of Head Start programs are
part-day, many parents require child care assistance in
addition to Head Start.
The IDEA preschool and Part C infant and toddler grant
programs provide critical services for children with
disabilities. However, the provision of services for a few
hours a week is not child care. With regard to the Section 619
preschool grants program, most of the programs are 2\1/2\ hours
a day. Again, this can be a challenge to working families who
work longer than 2\1/2\ hours a day.
What the list of programs (excluding child care) has in
common is that these programs are designed to meet the needs of
children, not working parents. On the otherhand, child care is
designed to meet the needs of working parents and their
children. Since the intent of the Caring for Children Act is to
meet the child care needs of parents while promoting quality
care for children, the fact that there is $17 billion available
for child care and early education is irrelevant. Funding for
intervention programs is not a substitute for child care
funding.
More mothers, particularly single mothers, are working now
than in years past, which makes juggling part-day programs,
child care needs, and work that much more challenging. Among
children under age 18 living in families headed by a single
mother, the proportion whose mother was working full-time,
year-round, increased from 38 percent in 1995 to 50 percent in
2000. For children under age 6, the percentage with a single
mother working full-time, year-round, increased from 24 percent
in 1995 to 37 percent in 2000. The proportion of employed
single mothers with children under 6 rose from 44 percent in
1992 to 65 percent in 2000.
In addition, while $17 billion is currently spent on child
care and early education, such spending is subject to the
annual appropriations process. For fiscal year 2004, the
President has proposed a $400 million cut in the 21st Century
program, freezes in program spending for IDEA preschool grants
and child care. A modest but below inflation adjustment was
proposed for IDEA Part C (grants for infants and toddlers. If
one assumes that program costs increase with inflation,
particularly the salaries needed to attract and retain quality
teachers, then budget freezes in these programs could have the
effect of reducing the number of children served. The President
proposed a modest inflation adjustment for Head Start (which
will not create new Head Start programs in communities or
extend the hours of operation of existing Head Start centers).
Children with special needs
While we recognize that efforts have been made in this
legislation to expand access and improve the quality of care
for disabled children, in too many states, parents with
children with disabilities have a great deal of difficulty
finding child care. Forty-five percent of mothers of infants
with disabilities do not work outside the home for pay because
they cannot find child care, according to the Institute of
Medicine at the National Academies. Mothers are less likely to
re-enter the labor force by the time their child is one and
those who do enter the workforce work fewer hours than mothers
of typically developing children. For these reasons, despite
the improvements in the bill, we will continue to work to see
how we can further address the child care needs of families
with children who have disabilities.
We want to allay any misconception that programs under IDEA
pay for child care for disabled children. They do not. Under
IDEA Part C, the infant and toddler grant program, and Part
619, the preschool grant program, funds are provided for
therapeutic services to address specific disabilities or
developmental delays in children. These services are not child
care. For example, IDEA Part C provides infants and toddlers
with occupational and physical therapy, and other services to
enhance disabled infants and toddlers' functioning (such as
physical therapy for a child with cerebral palsy). To be
eligible for special education services, children must be
classified by the state as having a disability and being in
need of services to address the disability; in no way does
eligibility relate to whether a parent works or needs child
care. In fact, for working families, the hours of services
provided can be a challenge in finding ``wrap-around'' child
care. Or, too often, parents can't work because not only do
their children require special services, but then the parents
can't find a child care provider to care for a disabled child.
Special education services under IDEA Part C can take place
across a variety of settings (e.g., within the infant or
toddler's home, in day care, etc), and often require the
presence of a family member (for training, etc.). IDEA Part C
monies pay for these therapeutic and other services; families
do not receive these IDEA funds directly. In addition, IDEA
Part C services may be 30 minutes a day, 30 minutes a week, it
depends on the disability of the child and the services needed.
But, these are intervention services, for the most part with
the parent present, not child care for working parents.
While it is true that while a child is receiving a service,
like physical therapy, the child may not need supervision by a
parent, that doesn't make the service child care. Saying
otherwise, would mean that pediatric surgery for ear tubes (a
common procedure for infants and toddlers) is child care since
parents don't need to supervise such children while they are in
the operating room. But, we feel everyone would agree that the
time a child spends in the operating room is not child care.
The same is true with IDEA intervention programs.
Payment rates and access to quality care
We are particularly concerned about state payment rates for
child care. Low payment rates directly affect the kind of care
children receive and whether families can find quality child
care in their communities. Low rates can also compromise the
quality of care offered by providers who are unable to attract
and retain qualified staff or invest in curriculum
enhancements.
We are strongly concerned that the suggestion of state
flexibility could lead to even lower payment rates; the clear
intent of the bill's provisions on rates are to encourage
states to improve their market rate surveys and raise rates
when needed to reflect the findings from those surveys. Indeed,
requiring states to develop and conduct a representative market
rates survey and set payment rates based on its results is
critically important to address problems that stem from low
payment rates and help states set payment rates that keep pace
with the marketplace.
Current law requires states to set rates that ensure equal
access to comparable child care services provided to those who
are not eligible for assistance. The Department of Health and
Human Services recommends that states set payment rates at or
above the 75th percentile of market rates in order to meet the
equal access requirements, and we believe that nothing in this
bill is intended to modify that guidance. However, nearly half
the states set rates below this level, leaving parents with few
choices among child care providers.
The survey requirement is not intended to preclude a state
from raising payment rates if the state has previously found it
necessary to reduce the number of families assisted for other
programmatic or fiscal reasons. In addition to encouraging
states to conduct their survey as close as possible to the
development of the state plan so that the findings are not
outdated, we hope that states will make adjustments between
survey intervals as necessary to reflect increases in the cost
of living.
Yet, we believe the bill does not go far enough. The bill
retains the requirement that rates be sufficient to provide for
equal access, but does not set out a quantified, objective
payment level that states must reach. Setting the bar at the
HHS recommended level of the 75th percentile would improve the
situation that exists in half the states that have not yet
reached this level. But, even the 75th percentile means that
rates are too low to pay for 25% of care in a community, so
that low-income parents lack choice among the full range of
care and may be unable to access high quality care for their
children. We should be setting the bar higher than the 75th
percentile to ensure that states strive to do better to improve
access to high quality child care, so children have safe,
healthy child care that prepares them for school.
The Committee's recognition of the importance of rates-
related expenditures to improve parental access to higher
quality child care is underscored by the inclusion of a
provision to encourage states to spend funds in excess of
amounts received for fiscal year 2003 on supporting payment
rate increases, establishing tiered reimbursement rates, and
increasing payment rates for care in communities identified for
improvement under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
We believe that states should set their payment rates so all
parents have the option of high quality care.
However, we also believe that states need resources to
ensure higher rates and increased quality of care, and we
regret that there are no actual funds devoted for this much
needed purpose. Indeed, little or nothing will come of our
efforts to improve child care quality and ensure children are
ready for school and not left behind, if states merely maintain
the current strategy of pushing more and more children into
inadequately supported child care settings. The serious issue
of affordable high quality child care merits specific
requirements and dedicated funding for increased payment rates.
Otherwise, we will not see improved payment rates and real,
high quality choices for parents in child care. We will seek to
address these issues as this bill moves forward.
Federal eligibility guidelines and direct services
The majority says, ``program officials in five of seven
states interviewed by the General Accounting Office reported
that all families eligible under the state's income criteria
who applied for child care assistance were being served.'' This
data is out of date, pre-dates the impact of the recession on
states, and will soon be replaced by a new GAO study reflecting
more current information, including the impact of the
recession.
The majority of states are currently not able to provide
child care assistance to all eligible families who need help--
even under state criteria. Studies repeatedly support this
conclusion. Many states have very long waiting lists for child
care assistance. Most states cannot serve all eligible families
(even under state criteria). Over 200,000 eligible children are
on the waiting list in California, more than 50,000 children in
Florida, more than 22,000 families in Georgia, 12,000 families
in Indiana, and 17,000 in Massachusetts. Several states
including Connecticut, Tennessee, and Maryland as well as the
District of Columbia--each with existing waiting lists--have
stopped taking new applications for assistance from some
eligible families.
Many states choose not to keep waiting lists, which does
not mean that the demand is not there for child care
assistance. In other cases, this may have more to do with weak
state efforts to advertise child care assistance or to perform
outreach activities to let eligible families know about the
availability of assistance. Recent reports found that some
states do not perform aggressive outreach because it would
increase demand at a time when states don't have the resources.
Twenty-one states said that most low-income families do not
know that they could receive assistance and another eight
states reported that they were uncertain about whether or not
most eligible families know about child care assistance.
In more than a quarter of the states, a family of three
earning just $25,000 does not qualify for assistance. This
includes four states where a family of three earning $20,000
per year would not qualify for assistance. Families with low
earnings cannot afford the cost of care on their own. Full-day
care in a center can easily cost $4,000 to $10,000 per year--at
least as much as college tuition at a public university. Child
care ranks among the largest expenses for young families,
rivaling what even middle-income families spend on rent or
food. Other programs such as Head Start and state pre-
kindergarten programs provide support to low-income families
who are eligible for child care assistance. However, the
majority of these programs operate on a part day schedule. This
requires parents who work full time to also have access to
child care assistance to supplement these part-day programs.
What is clear is that by eliminating the 85% state median
income eligibility threshold, on a national level we would not
be able to say what percentage of eligible children receive
assistance.
The majority contends, ``the demand for child care services
and the number of eligible families in need of subsidies may be
overestimated because not all low-income parents need
subsidized child care.'' While informal care may be the choice
of care for some families, for others it is a default. If state
subsidy rates (or payment vouchers) are too low, families are
limited in their child care choices. If families work
nontraditional hours, there may be few nontraditional hour
child care providers in their community. Increasingly, relative
care is not free. With increasing economic pressure on
relatives, many parents find that they have to pay relatives so
that relatives can forgo other employment. Last, in an
increasingly transient society, many families simply do not
have close geographic access to relatives.
The majority also contends that ``estimates of subsidies
needed by children through the Child Care and Development Block
Grant and TANF might be reduced further by taking into account
the availability of other programs and funding sources serving
children, including state funded pre-kindergarten programs and
Head Start.'' As already mentioned, the short hours of these
part-time programs can be a challenge to working parents and
may not correspond to parent work schedules. According to a
nationwide study released in 2000, more than 25 percent of low
income working families primarily work evening or overnight
shifts. In contrast, 83 percent of higher-income working
families work traditional daytime hours, with only 17 percent
primarily working evening or overnight shifts. An even higher
percentage (42 percent) of working women earning less than
$25,000 a year had nontraditional schedules (nights and
weekends).
A study of mothers participating in welfare-to-work
programs in California, Connecticut, and Florida found that
nearly one-third worked evening shifts and four out of ten
worked weekends. A study of 207 Illinois families receiving
transitional child care assistance after leaving welfare for
work found that nearly 75 percent were working nontraditional
hours.
We want to be clear on current law. States have complete
flexibility to set income eligibility at whatever level they
choose. New Mexico is a prime example of this recently reducing
eligibility to the poverty level. Eliminating the federal
maximum income level could lead to a race to the bottom.
Already, Connecticut, Tennessee, D.C., Maryland, and Colorado
have restricted child care assistance to families on welfare.
The child care block grant, authored by this committee, has
long been designed to address the needs of low income and
working families. The Finance Committee child care money has
historically been used for welfare recipients and those most
at-risk of welfare receipt. We are very concerned that the
removal of the 85 percent state median income threshold will
send a signal to the states that child care assistance is for
welfare recipients alone. It is not. That's not the history of
this committee action and not the record of the Congress.
Child care in nearly every state costs as much if not more
than public college tuition. If we truly care about the quality
of care that children receive, we need to ensure that all low
income and working families who need child care assistance have
access to it, not just families on welfare.
State supplantation
An issue that was not addressed in this bill and one that
we will seek to address on the floor is the issue of state
supplanting. We have worked very hard on this bill to improve
the quality of care and the child care subsidy system and we
are concerned that states could undercut our efforts by using
any new child care funds to supplant state budget cuts.
According to the National Governors Association, state
budgets are in the worst shape since World War II. For fiscal
year 2004, states are facing budget deficits of between $70
billion and $85 billion. Last year, 13 states (Alabama,
Arizona, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri,
Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, and
Utah) cut child care funding. Seven states (Alabama, Indiana,
Kansas, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Utah, and Wyoming) were not able
to provide state matching funds to draw down all their
available federal child care funding.
Several states have cut state pre-kindergarten funds, with
the threat of further cuts this year. Recent budget cuts in
Ohio will mean 18,500 children will lose child care by
September. Connecticut's Governor has proposed cutting child
care by $40 million over the next 3 years, which will drop
30,000 children from child care assistance. Maryland's Governor
has proposed a 25 percent reduction in child care.
A large number of states are cutting TANF funding
transferred to child care and also TANF funding spent directly
on child care. States are reducing eligibility for child care,
reducing payment rates for child care vouchers, and increasing
parent co-pays. North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Kansas are
cutting funds for infant and toddler care. Some states, like
Tennessee and Arizona, are even cutting funds used to ensure
child care safety. Nothing will come of our efforts to improve
the quality of child care and expand access to child care if
states merely use new child care money to supplant state child
care cuts.
School-age children
The term ``school-age children'' is not specifically
mentioned in the Caring for Children Act, but it is clear in
the bill that children through age 12 are eligible for child
care assistance. The capacity of child care to foster
children's social, emotional, physical and cognitive
development must continue when children enter school. Improved
access to, and quality of, school-age care is critical for the
at least 2.4 million children ages 5 to 11, and the 24 percent
and 33 percent of 11 and 12 year old children, respectively,
who are regularly left alone or unsupervised when they are out
of school and their parents are away from the home.
School-age children also face multiple child care
arrangements that vary sometimes by day and week. Access to
programs, like those supported by 21st Century Community
Learning Centers funds, is limited. Moreover, traditional
before and after school program hours may not correspond to
parent work schedules. For instance, a typical 21st Century
middle school program runs for two and a half hours a day, from
2:30 to 5 pm, after which time children typically go home on
buses. Census data show that working parents (or parents in
school) with children aged 5 to 14, on average, must piece
together multiple child care arrangements per week to meet
their needs for child care during non-school hours.
According to Census data, nearly 7 million children between
the ages of 5 and 14 go home alone unsupervised each week.
Those home alone include: two percent of 5 year-olds, three
percent of 6 year-olds, 4 percent of 7 year-olds, 8 percent of
8 year-olds, 10 percent of 9 year-olds, and 14 percent of 10
year-olds. It could very well be that a far greater number of
children are home alone each week, but 7 million represents the
data collected by the Census Bureau. Many people believe that
the number of children home alone is much greater, but parents
don't like to admit that their children, particularly young
children, are home alone.
Unsupervised time is a significant factor that affects
children's safety, well being, and school performance;
therefore, enhancing the quality of, and access to, child care
for school-aged populations is a critical component of this
bill.
National activities: (child care hotline and infants and toddler
setaside)
The Appropriations Act for the Departments of Labor, HHS,
and Education has set aside funds for infants and toddlers
since FY2000. The President's budget has also recognized the
importance of this funding for infants and toddlers by
requesting $100 million for this purpose for the last 3 years.
With the funds made available through the Appropriations
Committee, all states already have activities in place to
improve the quality of care for infants and toddlers. This
legislation encourages the Appropriations Committee to continue
to fully fund this proven effective initiative. Maintaining
these targeted funds is especially important in light of recent
state cut backs in initiatives that support infant and toddler
care.
We want to highlight Child Care Aware as a very good model
for a national toll free hotline currently assisting families
nationwide in accessing local information on child care options
and providing consumer education. It is important for families
to continue to have national access to the same level of
services, and we agree with the President's FY 2004 budget
request which would continue support for this project.
Furthermore, we are aware of the Child Care Aware quality
assurance program that has been developed to ensure families
receive the highest quality local services possible, and
encourage the Secretary to continue this initiative.
Funding
The Caring for Children Act authorizes $2.1 billion in
FY2004, increasing to $3.1 billion in FY2008, an increase of $1
billion over current CCDBG discretionary funding over the next
five years. We are hopeful that the appropriations process will
result in increases to match the authorized levels. At the same
time, we will work to increase funding for child care through
the mandatory child care funding stream during consideration of
welfare reform.
About 16 million children under the age of 13 live in
families with incomes below 200% of poverty where someone works
and no one receives welfare. These are our primary target
families, yet only 2 million children receive child care
assistance. These are the families we are concerned have the
least amount of choice in child care providers.
We believe that funding for child care must be adjusted for
inflation to ensure that current assistance retains its
purchasing power in the market, particularly given the already
low subsidy rates for child care used by many states. The
Congressional Budget Office estimated last year that adjusting
assistance for 2 million children would cost $4.5 billion over
the next 5 years. Some argue that it is not Congressional
policy to adjust block grants for inflation. Congressional
policy is whatever the Congress supports; there is no written
policy prohibiting the adjustment of block grants for
inflation. By not providing inflation adjustments, states will
bear the burden by reducing the number of children served,
reducing eligibility levels, reducing subsidies for care
(voucher levels), or increasing parent co-payments. The fact
is, if we want to maintain current services without reducing
the number of children served, some one must pick up the cost
of care. If the federal government does not adjust its
contribution for inflation, then either states or low income
parents will be left to make up the shortfall.
Beyond adjusting current assistance, we also believe that
any child care funding made available this year (and through
CCDBG and TANF reauthorization) must also reflect any increased
TANF work requirements for parents (as estimated by the
Congressional Budget Office), sufficient funds to invest in
improving the quality of child care, and sufficient funds to
expand access to child care for more working poor families.
Edward M. Kennedy.
Tom Harkin.
James Jeffords.
Patty Murray.
John Edwards.
Christopher Dodd.
Barbara A. Mikulski.
Jeff Bingaman.
Jack Reed.
Hillary Rodham Clinton.
X. Changes in Existing Law
In compliance with rule XXVI paragraph 12 of the Standing
Rules of the Senate, the following provides a print of the
statute or the part or section thereof to be amended or
replaced (existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in
black brackets, new matter is printed in italic, existing law
in which no change is proposed is shown in roman):
* * * * * * *
CHILD CARE AND DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT ACT OF 1990
* * * * * * *
[SEC. 658A. SHORT TITLE AND GOALS.]
SEC. 658A. SHORT TITLE AND GOALS.
(a) Short Title.--This subchapter may be cited as the
``Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990''.
(b) Goals.--The goals 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 such
State;
(2) to promote parental choice to empower working
parents to make their own decisions on the child care
that best suits their family's needs;
(3) to [encourage] assist States to provide consumer
education information to help parents make informed
choices about child care;
(4) to assist States to provide child care to
[parents trying to achieve independence from public
assistance; and] low-income and working parents;
(5) to assist States in improving the quality of
child care available to families;
(6) to promote school preparedness by encouraging
children, families, and caregivers to engage in
developmentally appropriate and age-appropriate
activities in child care setting that will--
(A) improve the children's social, emotional,
and behavioral skills; and
(B) foster their early cognitive, pre-reading
and language development;
(7) to promote parental and family involvement in the
education of young children in child care settings; and
[(5)] (8) to assist States in implementing the
health, safety, licensing, and registration standards
established in State regulations.
* * * * * * *
SEC. 658B. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this
[subchapter $1,000,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 1996
through 2002.] subchapter $2,300,000,000 for fiscal year 2004,
$2,500,000,000 for fiscal year 2005, $2,700,000,000 for fiscal
year 2006, $2,900,000,000 for fiscal year 2007, and
$3,100,000,000 for fiscal year 2008.
* * * * * * *
SEC. 658D. LEAD AGENCY.
(a) Designation.--The chief executive officer of a State
desiring to receive a grant under this subchapter shall
[designate, in an application submitted to the Secretary under
section 658E, an appropriate State agency that complies with
the requirements of subsection (b) to act as the lead agency.]
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.
* * * * * * *
SEC. 658E. APPLICATION AND PLAN.
(a) Application.--* * *
* * * * * * *
(c) Requirements of a Plan.--
(1) Lead agency.--The State plan shall identify the
lead agency [designated] designated or established
under section 658D.
(2) Policies and procedures.--The State plan shall:
(A) Parental choice of providers.--Provide
assurances that--
(i) the parent or parents of each
eligible child within the State who
receives or is offered child care
services for which financial assistance
is provided under this subchapter are
given the option either--
(I) to enroll such child with
a child care provider that has
a grant or contract for the
provision of such services; or
(II) to receive a child care
certificate as defined in
[section 658P(2)] section
658T(2);
(ii) in cases in which the parent
selects the option described in clause
(i)(I), the child will be enrolled with
the eligible provider selected by the
parent to the maximum extent
practicable; and
(iii) child care certificates offered
to parents selecting the option
described in clause (i)(II) shall be of
a value commensurate with the subsidy
value of child care services provided
under the option described in clause
(i)(I);
and provide a detailed description of the
procedures the State will implement to carry
out the requirements of this subparagraph.
(B) Unlimited parental access.--* * *
* * * * * * *
[(D) Consumer education information.--Certify
that the State will collect and disseminate to
parents of eligible children and the general
public, consumer education information that
will promote informed child care choices.]
(D) Consumer and child care provider
education information.--Certify that the State
will--
(i) collect and disseminate, through
resource and referral services and
other means as determined by the State,
to parents of eligible children, child
care providers, and the general public,
information regarding--
(I) the promotion of informed
child care choices, including
information about the quality
and availability of child care
services;
(II) research and best
practices concerning children's
development, including early
cognitive development;
(III) the availability of
assistance to obtain child care
services; and
(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
food stamp program established
under the Food Stamp Act of
1977 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.),
the special supplemental
nutrition program for women,
infants, and children
established by 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. and 1397aa et seq.); and
(ii) report to the Secretary the
manner in which the consumer education
information described in clause (i) was
provided to parents and the number of
parents to whom such consumer education
information was provided, during the
period of the previous State plan.
(E) Compliance with state licensing
requirements.--
(i) In general.--* * *
* * * * * * *
(H) Meeting the needs of certain
populations.--* * *
* * * * * * *
(I) Protection for working parents.--
(i) Redetermination process.--
Describe the procedures and policies
that are in place to ensure that
working parents (especially parents in
families receiving assistance under a
State program funded 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
requirements for redetermination of
eligibility for assistance under this
subchapter.
(ii) Minimum period.--Demonstrate
that each child that receives
assistance under this subchapter in the
State will receive such assistance for
not less than 6 months before the State
redetermines the eligibility of the
child under this subchapter, except as
provided in clause (iii).
(iii) Period before termination.--At
the option of the State, demonstrate
that the State will not terminate
assistance under this subchapter based
on a parent's loss of work or cessation
of attendance at a job tranining 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 1 month, after such loss or
cessation in order for the parent to
engage in a job search and resume work,
or resume attendance of a job training
or educational program, as soon as
possible.
(J) Coordination with other programs.--
Describe how the State, in order to expand
accessibility and continuity of quality early
care and early education, will coordinate the
early childhood education activities assisted
under this subchapter with--
(i) programs carried out under the
Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et
seq.), including the Early Head Start
programs carried out under section 645A
of that Act (42 U.S.C. 9840a);
(ii)(I) Early Reading First and Even
Start programs carried out under
subparts 2 and 3 of prt B of title I of
the Elementary and Secondary Education
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6371 et seq.,
6381 et seq.); and
(II) other preschool programs carried
out under title I of that Act (20
U.S.C. 6301 et seq.);
(iii) programs carried out under
section 619 and part C of the
Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act (20 U.S.C. 1419, 1431 et seq.);
(iv) State prekindergarten programs;
and
(v) other early childhood education
programs.
(K) Training in early learning and childhood
development.--Describe any training
requirements that are in effect within the
State that are designed to enable child care
providers to promote the social, emotional,
physical, and cognitive development of children
and that are applicable to child care providers
that provide services for which assistance is
made available under this subchapter in the
State.
(L) Public-private partnerships.--Demonstrate
how the State is encouraging partnerships among
State agencies, other public agencies, and
private entities, to leverage existing service
delivery systems (as of the date of submission
of the State plan) for early child-hood
education and to increase the supply and
quality of child care services for children who
are less than 13 years of age.
(M) Access to care for certain populations.--
Demonstrate how the State is addressing the
child care needs of parents eligible for child
care services for which assistance is provided
under this subchapter, who have children with
special needs, work nontraditional hours, or
require child care services for infants and
toddlers.
(N) Coordination with title iv of the social
security act.--Describe how the State will
inform parents receiving assistance under a
State program funded under part A of title IV
of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et
seq.) and low-income parents about eligibility
for assistance under this subchapter.
(3) Use of block grant funds.--
(A) General requirement.--The State plan
shall provide that the State will use the
amounts provided to the State for each fiscal
year under this subchapter [as required under]
in accordance with subparagraphs (B) through
[(D)] (E).
(B) Child care services and related
activities.--[The State]
(i) In general.--The State shall use
amounts provided to the State for each
fiscal year under this subchapter for
child care services on a sliding fee
scale basis, activities that improve
the quality or availability of such
services, and 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)] appropriate (which may include
an activity described in clause (ii))
to realize any of the goals specified
in paragraphs (2) through (8) of
section 658A(b), with priority being
given for services provided to children
of families with very low family
incomes (taking into consideration
family size) and to children with
special needs.
(ii) Child care resource and referral
system.--A State may use amounts
described in clause (i) to establish or
support a system of local child care
resource and referral organizations
coordinated by a statewide private,
nonprofit, community-based lead child
care resource and referral
organization. The local child care
resource and referral organizations
shall--
(I) provide parents in the
State with information, and
consumer education, concerning
the full range of child care
options, including child care
provided during nontraditional
hours and through emergency
child care centers, in their
communities;
(II) collect and analyze data
on the supply of and demand for
child care in political
subdivisions within the State;
(III) submit reports to the
State containing data and
analysis described in clause
(II); and
(IV) work to establish
partnerships with public
agencies and private entities
to increase the supply and
quality of child care services.
(C) Limitation on administrative costs.--* *
*
(D) Assistance for certain families.--* * *
(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
(as defined by the State).
(4) Payemnt rates.--
(A) In general.--[The State plan shall
certify that payment rates for the provision of
child care services for which assistance is
provided under this subchapter are sufficient
to ensure equal access for eligible children to
comparable child care services in the State or
substate area that are provided to children
whose parents are not eligible to receive
assistance under this subchapter or for child
care assistance under any other Federal or
State programs and shall provide a summary of
the facts relied on by the State to determine
that such rates are sufficient to ensure such
access.]
(i) Survey.--The State plan shall--
(I) demonstrate that the
State has, after consulting
with local area child care
program administrators,
developed and conducted 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) within the 2 years
preceding the date of the
submission of the application
containing the State plan;
(II) detail the results of
the State market rates survey
conducted pursuant to subclause
(I);
(III) describe how the State
will provide for timely payment
for child care services, and
set payment rates for child
care services, for which
assistance is provided under
this subchapter in accordance
with the results of the market
rates survey conducted pursuant
to subclause (I) without
reducing the number of families
in the State receiving such
assistance under this
subchapter, relative to the
number of such families on the
date of introduction of the
Caring for Children Act of
2003; and
(IV) describe how the State
will, not later than 30 days
after the completion of the
survey described in subclause
(I), make the results of the
survey widely available through
public means, including posting
the results on the Internet.
(ii) Equal access.--The State plan
shall include a certification that the
payment rates are sufficient to ensure
equal access for eligible children to
child care services comparable to child
care services in the State or substate
area that are provided to children
whose parents are not eligible to
receive child care assistance under any
Federal or State program.
(B) Construction.--[Nothing]
(i) No private right of action.--
Nothing in this paragraph shall be
construed to create a private right of
action.
(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 (A) on the basis of--
(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
children with special needs and
children served by child
protective services); and
(III) whether the providers
provide child care during
weekend and other
nontraditional hours.
* * * * * * *
[SEC. 658G. ACTIVITIES TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF CHILD CARE.
[A State that receives funds to carry out this subchapter
for a fiscal year, shall use not less than 4 percent of the
amount of such funds for activities that are designed to
provide comprehensive consumer education to parents and the
public, activities that increase parental choice, and
activities designed to improve the quality and availability of
child care (such as resource and referral services).]
SEC. 658G. ACTIVITIES TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF CHILD CARE.
(a) In General.--
(1) Reservation.--Each State that receives funds to
carry out this subchapter for a fiscal year shall
reserve and use not less than 6 percent of the funds
for activities provided directly, or through grants or
contracts with resource and referral organizations or
other appropriate entities, that are designed to
improve the quality of child care services.
(2) Activities.--The funds reserved under paragraph
(1) may only be used to--
(A) develop and implement voluntary
guidelines on pre-reading and language skills
and activities, for child care programs in the
State, that are aligned with State standards
for kindergarten through grade 12 or the
State's general goals for school preparedness;
(B) support activities and provide technical
assistance in Federal, State, and local child
care settings to enhance early learning for
young children, to promote literacy, and to
foster school preparedness;
(C) offer training, professional development,
and educational opportunities for child care
providers that relate to the use of
developmentally appropriate and age-appropriate
curricula, and early childhood teaching
strategies, that are scientifically based and
aligned with the social, emotional, physical,
and cognitive development of children,
including--
(i) developing and operating distance
learning child care training
infrastructures;
(ii) developing model technology-
based training courses;
(iii) offering training for
caregivers in informal child care
settings; and
(iv) offering training for child care
providers who care for infants and
toddlers and children with special
needs.
(D) engage in programs designed to increase
the retention and improve the competencies of
child care providers, including wage incentive
programs and initiatives that establish tiered
payment rates for providers that meet or exceed
child care services guidelines, as defined by
the State;
(E) evaluate and assess the quality and
effectiveness of child care programs and
services offered in the State to young children
on improving overall school preparedness; and
(F) carry 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
child safety, child well-being, or school
preparedness is possible.
(b) Certification.--Beginning with fiscal year 2004, the
State shall annually submit to the Secretary a certification in
which the State certifies that the State was in compliance with
subsection (a) during the preceding fiscal year and describes
how the State used funds made available to carry out this
subchapter to comply with subsection (a) during that preceding
fiscal year.
(c) Strategy.--The State shall annually submit to the
Secretary--
(1) beginning with fiscal year 2004, an outline of
the strategy the State will implement during that
fiscal year to address the quality of child care
services for which financial assistance is made
available under this subchapter, including--
(A) a statement specifying how the State will
address the activities carried out under
subsection (a);
(B) a description of quantifiable, objective
measures that the State will use to evaluate
the State's progress in improving the quality
of the child care services (including measures
regarding the impact, if any, of State efforts
to improve the quality by increasing payment
rates, as defined in section 658II(c)),
evaluating separately the impact of the
activities listed in each of such subparagraphs
on the quality of the child care services; and
(C) a list of State-developed child care
services quality targets quantified for such
fiscal year for such measures; and
(2) beginning with fiscal year 2005, a report on the
State's progress in achieving such targets for the
preceding fiscal year.
(d) Improvement Plan.--If the Secretary determines that a
State failed to make progress as described in subsection (c)(2)
for a fiscal year--
(1) the State shall submit an improvement plan that
describes the measures the State will take to make that
progess; and
(2) the State shall comply with the improvement plan
by a date specified by the Secretary but not later than
1 year after the date of the determination.
(e) Construction.--Nothing in this subchapter shall be
construed to require that the State apply measures for
evaluating quality of child care services to specific types of
child care providers.
* * * * * * *
SEC. 658H. OPTIONAL PRIORITY USE OF ADDITIONAL FUNDS.
(a) In General.--If a State receives funds to carry out
this subchapter for a fiscal year, and the amount of the funds
exceeds the amount of funds the State received to carry out
this subchapter for fiscal year 2003, the State shall consider
using a portion of the excess--
(1) to support payment rate increases in accordance
with the market rate survey conducted pursuant to
section 658E(c)(4);
(2) to support the establishment of tiered payment
rates as described in section 658G(a)(2)(D); and
(3) to support payment rate increases for care for
children in communities served by local educational
agencies that have been identified for improvement
under section 1116(e)(3) of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6316(c)(3)).
(b) No Requirement To Reduce Child Care Services.--
Nothing in this section shall be construed to require a State
to take an action that the State determines would result in a
reduction of child care services to families of eligible
children.
(c) Payment Rate.--In this section, the term payment rate
means the rate of State payment or reimbursement to providers
for subsidized child care.
* * * * * * *
[SEC. 658K. REPORTS AND AUDITS.]
SEC. 658K. REPORTS AND AUDITS.
[(a) Reports.--
[(1) Collection of information by states.--
[(A) In general.--A State that receives funds
to carry out this subchapter shall collect the
information described in subparagraph (B) on a
monthly basis.
[(B) Required information.--The information
required under this subparagraph shall include,
with respect to a family unit receiving
assistance under this subchapter information
concerning--
[(i) family income;
[(ii) county of residence;
[(iii) the gender, race, and age of
children receiving such assistance;
[(iv) whether the head of the family
unit is a single parent;
[(v) the sources of family income,
including--
[(I) employment, including
self-employment;
[(II) cash or other
assistance under--
[(aa) the temporary
assistance for needy
families program under
part A of title IV of
the Social Security Act
(42 U.S.C. 601 et
seq.); and
[(bb) a State program
for which State
spending is counted
toward the maintenance
of effort requirement
under section 409(a)(7)
of the Social Security
Act (42 U.S.C.
609(a)(7));
[(III) housing assistance;
[(IV) assistance under the
Food Stamp Act of 1977; and
[(V) other assistance
programs;
[(vi) the number of months the family
has received benefits;
[(vii) the type of child care in
which the child was enrolled (such as
family child care, home care, or
center-based child care);
[(viii) whether the child care
provider involved was a relative;
[(ix) the cost of child care for such
families; and
[(x) the average hours per month of
such care; during the period for which
such information is required to be
submitted.
[(C) Submission to secretary.--A State may
described in subparagraph (A) shall, on a
quarterly basis, submit the information
required to be collected under subparagraph (B)
to the Secretary.
[(D) Use or samples.--
[(i) Authority.--A State may comply
with the requirement to collect the
information described in subparagraph
(B) through the use of disaggregated
case record information on a sample of
families selected through the use of
scientifically acceptable sampling
methods approved by the Secretary.
[(ii) Sampling and other methods.--
The Secretary shall provide the States
with such case sampling plans and data
collection procedures as the Secretary
deems necessary to produce
statistically valid samples of the
information described in subparagraph
(B). The Secretary may develop and
implement procedures for verifying the
quality of data submitted by the
States.
[(2) Annual reports.--Not later than December 31,
1997, and every 12 months thereafter, a State described
in paragraph (1)(A) shall prepare and submit to the
Secretary a report that includes aggregate data
concerning--
[(A) the number of child care providers that
received funding under this subchapter as
separately identified based on the types of
providers listed in section 658P(5);
[(B) the monthly cost of child care services,
and the portion of such cost that is paid for
with assistance provided under this subchapter,
listed by the type of child care services
provided;
[(C) the number of payments made by the State
through vouchers, contracts, cash, and
disregards under public benefit programs,
listed by the type of child care services
provided;
[(D) the manner in which consumer education
information was provided to parents and the
number of parents to whom such information was
provided; and
[(E) the total number (without duplication)
of children and families served under this
subchapter;
during the period for which such report is required to
be submitted.]
(a) Reports.--
(1) In general.--A State that receives funds to carry
out this subchapter shall collect the information
described in paragraph (2) on a monthly basis.
(2) Required information.--The information required
under this paragraph shall include, with respect to a
family unit receiving assistance under this subchapter,
information concerning--
(A) family income;
(B) county of residence;
(C) the gender, race, and age of children
receiving such assistance;
(D) whether the head of the family unit is a
single parent;
(E) the sources of family income, including--
(i) employment, including self-
employment; and
(ii) assistance under a State program
funded under part A of title IV of the
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et
seq.) and a State program for which
State spending is counted toward the
maintenance of effort requirement under
section 409(a)(7) of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 609(a)(7));
(F) the type of child care in which the child
was enrolled (such as family child care, home
care, center-based child care, or other types
of child care described in section 658T(5));
(G) whether the child care provider involved
was a relative;
(H) the cost of child care for such family,
separately stating the amount of the subsidy
payment of the State and the amount of the co-
payment of the family toward such cost;
(I) the average hours per month of such care;
(J) household size;
(K) whether the parent involved reports that
the child has an individualized education
program or an individualized family service
plan described in section 602 or 636 of the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20
U.S.C. 1401 and 1436); and
(L) the reason for any termination of
benefits under this subchapter, including
whether the termination was due to--
(i) the child's age exceeding the
allowable limit;
(ii) the family income exceeding the
State eligibility limit;
(iii) the State recertification or
administrative requirements not being
met;
(iv) parent work, training, or
education status no longer meeting
State requirements;
(v) a nonincome related change in
status; or
(vi) other reasons;
during the period for which such information is
required to be submitted.
(3) Submission to secretary.--A State described in
paragraph (1) shall, on a quarterly basis, submit to
the Secretary the information required to be collected
under paragraph (2) and the number of children and
families receiving assistance under this subchapter
(stated on a monthly basis). Information on the number
of families receiving the assistance shall also be
posted on the website of such State. in the fourth
quarterly report of each year, a State described in
paragraph (1) shall also submit to the Secretary
information on the annual number and type of child care
providers (as described in section 658T(5)) that
received funding under this subchapter and the annual
number of payments made by the State Through vouchers,
under contracts, or by payment to parents reported by
type of child care provider.
(4) Use of samples.--
(A) Authority.--A State may comply with the
requirement to collect the information
described in paragraph (20 through the use of
disaggregated ease record information on a
sample of families selected through the use of
scientifically acceptable sampling methods
approval by the Secretary.
(B) Sampling and other methods.--The
Secretary shall provide the State with such
case sampling plans and data collection
procedures as the Secretary determines
necessary to produce statistically valid
samples of the information described in
paragraph (2). The Secretary may develop and
implement procedures for verifying the quality
of data submitted by the States.
* * * * * * *
[SEC. 658L. REPORT BY SECRETARY.
[Not later than July 31, 1998, and biennially thereafter,
the Secretary shall prepare and submit to the Committee on
Economic and Educational Opportunities of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Labor and Human Resources
of the Senate a report that contains a summary and analysis of
the data and information provided to the Secretary in the State
reports submitted under section 658K. Such report shall include
an assessment, and where appropriate, recommendations for the
Congress concerning efforts that should be undertaken to
improve the access of the public to quality and affordable
child care in the United States.]
SEC. 658L. NATIONAL ACTIVITIES.
(a) Report.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall, not later than
April 30, 2004, and annually thereafter, prepare and
submit 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,
and, not later than 30 days after the date of such
submission, post on the Department of Health and Human
Services website, a report that contains the following:
(A) A summary and analysis of the data and
information provided to the Secretary in the
State reports submitted under sections 658E,
658G(c), and 658K.
(B) Aggregated statistics on and an analysis
of the supply of, demand for, and quality of
child care, early education, and nonschool-hour
programs.
(C) An assessment and, where appropriate,
recommendations for Congress concerning efforts
that should be undertaken to improve the access
of the public to quality and affordable child
care in the United States.
(D) A progress report describing the progress
of the States in streamlining data reporting,
the Secretary's plans and activities to provide
technical assistance to States, and an
explanation of any barriers to getting data in
an accurate and timely manner.
(2) Collection of information.--The Secretary may
make arrangements with resource and referral
organizations, to utilize the child care data system of
the resource and referral organizations at the
national, State, and local levels, to collect the
information required by paragraph (1)(B).
(b) Grants To Improve Quality and Access.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall award grants to
States, from allotments made under paragraph (2), to
improve the quality of and access to child care for
infants and toddlers, subject to the availability of
appropriations for this purpose.
(2) Allotments.--From funds reserved under section
658O(a)(3) for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall allot
to each State an amount that bears the same
relationship to such funds as the amount the State
receives for the fiscal year under section 658O bears
to the amount all States receive for the fiscal year
under section 658O.
(c) Toll-Free Hotline.--The Secretary shall award a grant
or a contract, or enter into a cooperative agreement for the
operation of a national toll-free hotline to assist families in
accessing local information on child care options and providing
consumer education materials, subject to the availability of
appropriations for this purpose.
(d) Technical Assistance.--The Secretary shall provide
technical assistance to States on developing and conducting the
State market rates survey described in section
658E(c)(4)(A)(i).
* * * * * * *
SEC. 6580. AMOUNTS RESERVED; ALLOTMENTS.
(a) Amounts Reserved.--
(1) Territories and possessions.--The Secretary shall
reserve not to exceed one half of 1 percent of the
amount appropriated under this subchapter in each
fiscal year for payments to Guam, American Samoa, the
Virgin Islands of the United States, and the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands to be
allotted in accordance with their respective needs.
(2) Indian tribes.--The Secretary shall reserve not
less than 1 percent, and not more than 2 percent, of
the amount appropriated under section 658B in each
fiscal year for payments to Indian tribes and tribal
organizations with applications approved under
subsection (c).
(3) Grants to improve quality and access.--The
Secretary shall reserve an amount not to exceed
$100,000,000 for each fiscal year to carry out section
658L(b), subject to the availability of appropriations
for this purpose.
(4) Toll-free hotline.--The Secretary shall reserve
an amount not to exceed $1,000,000 to carry out section
658L(c), subject to the availability of appropriations
for this purpose.
* * * * * * *
SEC. 658P. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.
Nothing in this subchapter shall be construed to require a
State to impose State child care licensing requirements on any
type of early childhood provider, including any such provider
who is exempt from State child care licensing requirements on
the date of enactment of the Caring for Children Act of 2003.
* * * * * * *
SEC. 658[P]T. DEFINITIONS.
As used in this subchapter:
(1) Caregiver.--The term ``caregiver'' means an
individual who provides a service directly to an
eligible child on a person-to-person basis.
(2) Child care certificate.--The term ``child care
certificate'' means a certificate (that may be a check
or other disbursement) that is issued by a State or
local government under this subchapter directly to a
parent who may use such certificate only as payment for
child care services or as a deposit for child care
services if such a deposit is required of other
children being cared for by the provider. Nothing in
this subchapter shall preclude the use of such
certificates for sectarian child care services if
freely chosen by the parent. For purposes of this
subchapter, child care certificates shall not be
considered to be grants or contracts.
(3) Child with special needs.--The term ``child with
special needs'' means--
(A) a child with a disability, as defined in
section 602 of the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1401);
and
(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.).
(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] an income level determined by
the State involved, with priority based on need
as defined by the State; 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).
* * * * * * *
(8) Lead agency.--The term ``lead agency'' means the
agency designated under [section 658B(a)] section
658D(a).
* * * * * * *
(14) Tribal organization.--
(A) In general.--The term ``tribal
organization'' has the meaning given it in
section 4(l) of the Indian Self-Determination
and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C.
450b(l)).
(B) Other organizations.--Such term includes
a [Native Hawaiian Organization, as defined in
section 4009(4) of the Augustus F. Hawkins-
Robert T. Stafford Elementary and Secondary
School Improvement Amendments of 1988 (20
U.S.C. 4909(4))] Native Hawaiian organization,
as defined in section 7207 of the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
7517) and a private nonprofit organization
established for the purpose of serving youth
who are Indians or Native Hawaiians.