[Senate Report 113-138]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 309
113th Congress Report
SENATE
2d Session 113-138
======================================================================
CHILD CARE AND DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT ACT
OF 2014
_______
February 25, 2014.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Harkin, from the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and
Pensions, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 1086]
The Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, to
which was referred the bill (S.1086) to amend the Child Care
and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to reauthorize and
improve the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990,
and for other purposes, having considered the same, reports
favorably thereon with an amendment in the nature of a
substitute and recommends that the bill (as amended) do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
I. Purpose and Summary..............................................1
II. Background of Legislation........................................2
III. Legislative History and Committee Consideration..................2
IV. Explanation of Legislation and Committee Views...................5
V. Cost Estimate...................................................15
VI. Application of Law to the Legislative Branch....................15
VII. Regulatory Impact Statement.....................................15
VIII.Section-by-Section Analysis.....................................15
IX. Changes in Existing Law.........................................25
I. Purpose and Summary
The purpose of S.1086, the Child Care and Development Block
Grant Act of 2014, is to renew, improve, and strengthen the
Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990. This Act is
designed to maintain State flexibility, promote the healthy
development of children, and protect the ability of parents and
families to choose the child care arrangement that best meets
their needs and those of their children.
II. Background of 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 25 years.
In 1988, the Family Support Act, legislation reforming 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 Committee on Finance, the
Family Support Act created a child care entitlement for AFDC
parents who were working, enrolled in job training or 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 Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions),
and the Title IV-A At Risk Child Care program under the
jurisdiction of the Senate Committee on Finance. 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, henceforth
referred to as mandatory funding. 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.
III. Legislative History and Committee Consideration
HEARINGS
During the 112th Congress, the Subcommittee on Children and
Families of the HELP Committee held three hearings on issues
related to early childhood education or child care. The
hearings offered many opportunities for the members of the
committee to hear from child care providers, parents,
beneficiaries of high-quality early education and care, and
other key stakeholders on critical issues related to child
care. A brief description of each hearing, including witnesses,
follows.
Getting the Most Bang for the Buck: Quality Early Education and Care
(06/09/2011)
This hearing highlighted the vast evidence and research
indicating that access to high-quality early childhood
education programs can have a dramatic, positive impact on the
lives of young children. Witnesses included:
Panel I
Joan Lombardi, Ph.D., Deputy Assistant Secretary and Inter-
Departmental Liaison for Early Childhood Development,
Administration for Children & Families, U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services (Washington, DC), who discussed
President Obama's proposed initiatives to improve the quality
of Federal early childhood programs including the Head Start
program and the Child Care and Development Block Grant.
Panel II
Dennis Hillian, family service coordinator, The Charles
County Judy Center (Waldorf, MD), who described the Judy
Centers that operate in the State of Maryland, which are
programs collocated or nearby title I elementary schools to
provide high-quality, comprehensive services to preschool-aged
children.
Linda K. Smith, executive director, National Association of
Child Care Resources & Referral Agencies (Arlington, VA), who
advocated for reforms in CCDBG similar to those taken by the
military through the Military Child Care Assistance Act passed
in 1989.
Arthur J. Rolnick, senior fellow and co-director of the
Human Capital Research Collaborative, Humphrey School of Public
Affairs, the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis (Minneapolis,
MN), who spoke to the strong evidence and research base behind
investing in high-quality early learning programs.
Eva Tansky Blum, senior vice president and director of
Community Affairs, PNC Bank (Pittsburgh, PA), who highlighted
the role that private industry could play in advancing the
growth of early childhood education programs.
Charlie Mills, III, founder and chief executive officer,
Salera Capital Management (Potomac Falls, VA), who described
his positive experiences in Head Start and how such experiences
contributed significantly to his development throughout
childhood and successes later in life.
Examining Quality and Safety in Child Care: Giving Working Families
Security, Confidence, and Peace of Mind (09/08/2011)
Eric Karolak, Ph.D., executive director, Early Care and
Education Consortium (Washington, DC), who represented the
interests of private child care providers to advance
recommendations to improve the health and safety conditions in
federally subsidized child care.
Donna Bryant, Ph.D., senior scientist, University of North
Carolina FPG Child Development Institute (Chapel Hill, NC), who
urged members of the committee to make high-quality care a part
of the foundation of the child care program, particularly by
making a concerted effort to improve the child care workforce
by supporting increased training opportunities, mentorship,
professional development, and programs to support educational
attainment.
Charlotte Brantley, president & chief executive officer,
Clayton Early Learning (Denver, CO), who described the role
that community-based providers play in providing access to
high-quality care for young children using CCDBG, Head Start,
and local preschool funding.
CCDBG Reauthorization: Helping to Meet the Child Care Needs of American
Families (07/26/2012)
Panel I
Linda K. Smith, Deputy Assistant Secretary and Inter-
Departmental Liaison for Early Childhood Development,
Administration for Children & Families, U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services (Washington, DC), who described the
Obama administration's principles for reauthorization,
including: improving quality; supporting increased access;
facilitating informed parental and family choice; promoting
continuity of care for children and families who benefit from
CCDBG; and ensuring program integrity.
Panel II
Janet Singerman, president, Child Care Resources, Inc.
(Charlotte, NC), who spoke of the numerous initiatives
undertaken in North Carolina to improve the quality of care for
children and families including Smart Start--a nationally
recognized initiative to improve the school readiness of
children by addressing early care and education, family support
and child health issues.
Rolf Grafwallner, Ph.D., Asst. State Supt., Early Childhood
Development, Maryland State Dept. of Education (Baltimore, MD),
who described how States could improve service delivery by
focusing on workforce improvements and pursuing other
initiatives to better subsidize early care and education
through mechanisms such as better integrating CCDBG with
existing Federal early learning programs to provide greater
access to subsidized care for young children.
Philip Acord, executive director, Children's Home
(Chattanooga, TN), who explained how the emergence of the child
care subsidy changed the way that child care operators provided
services to children in Chattanooga and throughout Tennessee
and recommended reforms to CCDBG, including requiring re-
determinations for eligibility on an annual basis.
Susana Coro, assistant teacher, Falls Church-McLean
Children's Center (Falls Church, VA), who spoke about how the
subsidy program had helped her provide care for her child with
a developmental disability and how the program could be
improved to ensure that families who earn moderate wage
increases are not removed from the subsidy system without some
form of continuing support.
COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION
On June 4, 2013, Senators Mikulski, Burr, Harkin, and
Alexander introduced S.1086, the Child Care and Development
Block Grant Act of 2014. On September 18, 2013, the committee
met in executive session to consider the Child Care and
Development Block Grant Act of 2014. Senator Harkin offered an
amendment as a complete substitute and it was agreed to
unanimously by all members present.
IV. Explanation of Legislation and Committee Views
OVERVIEW
The Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2014
reauthorizes CCDBG through 2019 at a level of discretionary
appropriations of such sums, as may be necessary, to carry out
the program. The current 2014 appropriation is approximately
$2.4 billion.
PROGRAM GOALS
The Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2014
amends the current goals of the program. The legislation
creates six new goals: (1) to assist States in providing high-
quality child care services to parents trying to achieve
independence from public assistance; (2) to assist States in
improving the overall quality of child care services and
programs by implementing the health, safety, licensing,
training and oversight standards established under the Act and
State law; (3) to improve school readiness by having children,
families, and caregivers engage in activities in child care
settings that are developmentally and age-appropriate and
promote children's language, literacy, and mathematics skills,
social and emotional development, physical health and
development, and approaches to learning; (4) to encourage
States to provide consumer education information to assist
parents in making informed choices about child care services;
(5) to increase the number and percentage of low-income
children in high-quality settings; and (6) to improve the
coordination and delivery of early childhood education and
care, including child care.
These new goals have been added to reinforce parental and
family choice in determining the best setting for children
while also placing a renewed focus on the quality of care.
LEAD AGENCY & STATE PLAN
The legislation amends the Act to allow Governors to
designate a collaborative agency or establish a joint
interagency office to serve as the lead agency responsible for
administering the program. It also extends the period for which
the State plan is designed to be implemented from 2 years to 3
years to provide States more time to carry out the improvements
contained in the legislation.
NUTRITION AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
The committee recognizes that over a quarter (27 percent)
of children aged 2-5 years are overweight and obese. Children
who are overweight between ages 2-5 years are five times more
likely to be overweight at age 12 years. Obesity is associated
with serious health problems in children, including
hypertension, type 2 diabetes, hip and joint problems, as well
as serious emotional stress, including low self-esteem,
depression and bullying. Nonetheless, the committee is
encouraged by recent findings from the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) that after decades of rising
rates, obesity among low-income preschoolers declined slightly
in 19 States and U.S. territories from 2008 through 2011. The
committee is aware that CDC identified helping child care
providers use best practices for improving nutrition,
increasing physical activity, and decreasing computer and
television time as among strategies that the Federal Government
is pursuing to prevent obesity. CDC also noted that population-
level changes in behavior such as increases in breastfeeding
might have contributed to declines in obesity.
Recognizing that a large and growing body of research has
found that nutrition and physical activity are important
determinants in children's academic success, the committee
encourages States to include requirements in their State plans
related to nutrition and access to physical activity, which
could include best practices for early infant feeding and
screen time reduction strategies (time spent viewing non-
educational television, smart phones, videos, computers, video
games or other screens).
Educating caregivers on appropriate nutrition and physical
activity is essential to prevent long-term negative health and
developmental implications associated with obesity. Currently,
19 States have pre-service training related to nutrition for
child care centers while only 15 States have the same
requirement for home-based caregivers. Addressing obesity
prevention is of particular concern in child care settings as
it is critical for children in their early years to develop
healthy behaviors relating to nutrition and physical activity.
Furthermore, early obesity can track to adulthood, leading to
lifelong consequences. For these reasons, the committee
encourages States to target investments toward this type of
training so that caregivers are aware of the appropriate
nutrition and physical activity needs of the children they
serve.
HEALTH AND SAFETY
The committee believes that the law in its current form is
inadequate to ensure the basic health and safety of children
supported through CCDBG. National polling indicates that the
majority of parents who benefit from the CCDBG program believe
that the providers who took care of their children have
undergone comprehensive criminal history checks, have training
in health and safety, and are regularly inspected and
monitored. However, the procedures implemented by States to
ensure the health and safety of children in CCDBG-supported
settings vary and are simply not in-line with the common
perception of what a family will receive when they send their
child to a subsidized child care provider.
For instance, while 30 States report having training
requirements specifically for providers serving infants and
toddlers, such training has a tendency to be limited in scope
and duration. The committee believes that there are certain
precautionary measures States and providers should undertake to
better protect children. For instance, 20 percent of the deaths
related to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) occur in child
care settings. According to the Centers for Disease Control and
the American Academy of Pediatrics, half of the fatalities
associated with SIDS would be entirely preventable with
effective training and correct sleep practices. The committee
hopes to stem the prevalence of these fatalities in child care
settings by instituting health and safety requirements that
include mandatory pre-service training in safe sleep practices
to ensure that providers are aware of the dangers of SIDS and
may take proactive steps to avoid it.
In recognition of the growing need to adequately prepare
for emergencies and disasters, the legislation also includes a
requirement that child care providers receive training and take
adequate precautionary measures in preparation for emergencies
and disasters. The National Commission on Children and
Disasters, established in 2007, provided recommendations to the
States including standards essential to disaster preparedness
and safety in settings serving children. They include: the
development of an evaluation and relocation plan, which
includes the designation of a relocation site and evacuation
route; the development of a family-child reunification plan,
including procedures for notifying parents or other caregivers
of the relocation; a plan to address the needs of individual
children, including children with special needs; procedures for
the reassignment of staff duties, as appropriate; and
procedures for communicating with local emergency management
officials or other appropriate State or local authorities. As
of 2013, a number of States meet these standards for emergency
preparedness and response planning. The committee recognizes
that the Administration for Children and Families has
disseminated helpful resource guides to the States on emergency
and disaster preparedness and that the Federal Emergency
Management Agency has communicated vital information on the
same topic to Governors. The committee encourages the
Department of Health and Human Services' and the Federal
Emergency Management Agency's continued efforts to provide
States with appropriate guidance as they develop these plans
for the child care providers in their States.
Another critical component to the legislation is the
inclusion of ongoing inspection and monitoring for child care
providers in licensed settings. Currently, States vary to a
great degree in the frequency of monitoring and inspection of
child care facilities. In some States, child care facilities
will not receive a pre-licensure inspection until they reach a
certain threshold of children. In others, facilities receive
pre-licensure inspections as soon as they begin serving a child
and can expect an inspection every 4 months. The committee
believes that regular and ongoing inspections of child care
providers and facilities are necessary to ensure that children
remain safe and healthy. The legislation requires that licensed
child care providers receive at least one pre-licensure
inspection and that they undergo at least one unannounced
annual inspection for each fiscal year in which they receive
support through CCDBG. While the legislation does not require a
similar procedure for unlicensed providers, which serve nearly
1 in every 5 children who receive care through CCDBG, it does
require States to describe how exempting certain providers or
facilities from licensure will not endanger the health, safety
or development of children in such settings. Beyond the
expectations set forth in the legislation, the decision of the
intensity and frequency of pre-licensure and ongoing
inspections should certainly rest with the States, as they are
the best suited to understand the needs of the children and
families in their jurisdictions and have an acute understanding
of State and Federal resources at hand to carry out meaningful
inspection and monitoring activities.
CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECKS
Another critical safeguard included in the legislation is
the requirement of mandatory criminal history checks for
prospective and current child care providers who receive
support through CCDBG. In 2011, a report from the Government
Accountability Office (GAO) stated that child care providers at
Federal child care facilities must undergo criminal history
checks and that all States currently conduct criminal history
checks on licensed child care providers and employees. However,
the report also mentioned that some States do not require such
checks for providers and employees in unlicensed settings. The
GAO also stated that, at the time of the writing of the report,
only three States required criminal history checks for all
licensed and unlicensed child care providers and that several
States exempted certain providers associated with schools or
religious organizations from criminal history check
requirements. Unfortunately, even in licensed settings, the GAO
found that individuals convicted of sex offenses, including
those against minors, had been allowed access to child care
facilities either as a result of employment by a relative or
acquaintance or simply through a failure to perform pre-
employment criminal history checks.
The legislation includes a requirement that all child care
providers and their employees must undergo comprehensive
criminal background checks prior to employment or to maintain
current employment. While the committee believes that these
checks will go further to ensure the safety of children and
promote peace of mind among families, it also believes that
these checks must be performed in accordance with existing
Federal and State laws. Throughout the course of the long
legislative process leading up to the committee passage of this
legislation, many expressed concerns about the potential
negative consequences that these checks may carry with them.
Chief among these concerns was that these checks could have a
disproportionately negative impact on certain communities where
criminal violations for drug use are more pronounced. It is
certainly not the intention of the committee that these checks
have a disparate impact on any particular population, or
populations. Furthermore, the legislation allows, at the
State's election, that individuals who have received a felony
criminal conviction for drug-use may receive an individualized
review from the State consistent with Title VII of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis
of race, color, religion, sex or national origin.
Another concern of the committee relates to individuals'
privacy and ensuring that personal information was not released
through the administration of criminal history checks. In
response, the committee takes steps to ensure that an
individual's privacy is guarded by restricting employers from
obtaining information beyond an individual's employment
eligibility. Further, the legislation disallows the State from
publishing information related to an individual's criminal
history check, or any other information that would lead to the
identification of an individual who had undergone a criminal
history check.
Because this requirement will require some States to make
statutory changes, the legislation provides States 2 years from
the date of enactment of the legislation to comply with the
background checks requirement. Should a State require more
time, that State may petition the Secretary of Health and Human
Services for a delay of no greater than 1 year. If the State is
unable to establish or enhance an infrastructure to allow for
these criminal history checks to be carried out according to
the legislation, the Secretary must withhold 5 percent of the
funds, in the aggregate, that the State would have otherwise
received to carry out CCDBG.
CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS
The committee believes that all children should have access
to high-quality child care services, including those that
provide early learning experiences. For this reason, the
committee took great care in ensuring that child care programs
supported through CCDBG would be well-suited for children with
special needs and their families. The Act asks States to
explain how they will meet the needs of children with special
needs, through means which include, but are not limited to,
targeting assistance to families whose children are diagnosed
with a disability or delay. Further, the legislation asks
States to keep in mind the unique needs of children with
disabilities when developing a framework for professional
development. These initiatives can be supported through the
general or infant and toddler quality expenditures States must
reserve. States must also ensure that consumer education
information is publicly available so that families can be aware
of the services offered through the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) part B program, preschool
program, and infant and toddler services under part C.
The committee views these changes, and others incorporated
in the legislation, as significant and meaningful improvements
to the child care delivery system that will enable low-income
parents of young children with disabilities a chance to work
while ensuring children with disabilities have access to child
care programs that will meet their special needs.
CONTINUITY OF CARE
The primary goal of this legislation is to develop and
foster high-quality child care programs that best suit the
needs of families as they pursue the dual goals of financial
self-sufficiency and promoting the healthy development and
school success of their children. With those two goals in mind,
the committee believes it is important for States to emphasize
continuity of care when developing eligibility policies.
Continuity of care supports financial self-sufficiency by
offering working families stability to establish a strong
financial foundation while also preparing children for school
by creating stable conditions necessary for healthy child
development and, for young children, early learning.
Many families receive CCDBG assistance for only short
periods of time and have frequent periods of cycling on and off
the program. For example, a five-State study from 2002 showed
that the median length of child care subsidy receipt is often
very short, ranging from 3 to 7 months. Short periods of care
can be the result of a variety of factors, but developing
eligibility policies that provide increased continuity for
families that continue to need child care assistance would
offer valuable support and relief to families working toward
long-term stability.
Research has shown that children have better educational
and developmental outcomes when they have continuity in their
child care arrangements. For young children, safe, stable
environments provide the opportunity to develop the
relationships and trust necessary to comfortably explore and
learn from their surroundings. Concurrently, research has shown
that frequent changes in care arrangements are associated with
higher levels of distress and negative behavior in infants and
toddlers.
For these reasons, the legislation establishes a minimum
initial eligibility period of 12 months prior to re-
determination for families who receive CCDBG benefits through
grants, contracts, or certificates, consistent with practices
that exist in a majority of States. Children will remain
eligible for CCDBG benefits throughout the 12-month period
regardless of a temporary change in the ongoing status of the
child's parent as working or attending a job training program
as long as the parent or family's income does not exceed 85
percent of the State's median income. Furthermore, States must
account for irregular fluctuations in income that may occur
during initial or re-determination. The committee believes this
is particularly important for families who rely on work that is
unpredictable or seasonal in nature, such as agriculture work
or work associated with tourism industries. However, CCDBG
requirements for eligibility are not changed in this
legislation.
The legislation also requires States to make meaningful
efforts to ensure that re-determination processes will not
unduly disrupt the employment, education, or participation in
job-training of parents. Many States currently implement re-
determination strategies to accomplish this by verifying income
and employment by electronic means as opposed to more onerous
practices such as asking parents and families to assemble at a
certain place at a specific day and time, without which a
parent or family cannot benefit from the subsidy.
At the option of a State, it may discontinue assistance for
families within the 12-month period if there is demonstrated
evidence of prolonged cessation in work, education, or training
activities. While the legislation grants States a great degree
of flexibility in administering their programs, the committee
also strongly discourages States from exercising this option if
the intended effect is to abruptly discontinue assistance if
there are brief periods when a parent is not engaged in work,
education, or training activities during the 12-month period
for which parents' children are eligible for assistance. If a
State chooses to exercise this option, it must demonstrate that
it will continue to provide financial assistance to parents for
a period of not less than 3 months to allow such parents to
engage in job search, resume work, or to attend an education or
training program as soon as possible.
At the end of an eligibility period of not less than 12
months, if a parent's income exceeds the maximum income
required for eligibility, a State must allow for the provision
of continued assistance to these parents as long as they are
still engaged in work, education, or training activities and
their income does not exceed 85 percent of the State's median
income. The committee does not want to discourage families
engaged in work from pursuing greater opportunities in the form
of increased wages or earnings. During the third and final
hearing the subcommittee on children and families held on the
CCDBG program, a parent described how she became ineligible for
assistance due to her increase in income, though she was only
in marginally better circumstances and was employed by the same
child care provider her young son attended. The committee
believes that this type of practice runs counter to the intent
of the program and does a great disservice to the adults who
rely on child care assistance to seek employment or remain
employed, and also to their children who may benefit
tremendously from the provision of high-quality care.
The committee strongly believes that if families are truly
to achieve self-sufficiency that CCDBG cannot perversely
incentivize families to forgo modest raises or bonuses for fear
of losing assistance under the CCDBG program. Many States have
pursued creative methods to ensure that families who experience
increases in earnings are not unduly affected during re-
determination. Some States accomplish this by having tiered
eligibility systems wherein families may become initially
eligible for assistance at a certain percentage of the State's
median income but will not become ineligible for assistance if
their earnings increase within a certain range over the course
of their eligibility period.
The legislation is by no means exhaustive in its
description of policies to promote continuity of care for
children and the committee encourages States to develop and
explore other policies or practices that promote stability for
families receiving CCDBG, such as policies that take into
account the developmental needs of children, timely eligibility
determination and processing of applications, and policies that
promote employment and income advancement for parents.
Furthermore, the committee recognizes the unique needs of
homeless families and was pleased to make changes to address
certain challenges experienced by homeless children. Homeless
families often are not able to maintain vital documents. Many
families become homeless in circumstances that do not allow
them to gather and preserve documents, such as domestic
violence, eviction and natural disasters. Mobility and extreme
poverty can lead to loss of documents families do maintain.
Therefore, it is the intent of the committee that homeless
children's access to child care subsidies and child care
services not be delayed due to their inability to provide
required documentation. Children must be allowed to receive
child care services while their families compile documentation.
States should develop and adopt policies and procedures to
permit immediate enrollment of homeless children, similar to
those provided under Subtitle VIIB of the McKinney-Vento
Homeless Assistance Act. Once enrolled and receiving child
care, families can continue to request and obtain necessary
documents from the appropriate authorities.
PARENTAL CHOICE
The legislation reasserts that a primary goal of CCDBG is
``to promote parental choice to empower working parents to make
their own decisions regarding the child care that best suits
their family's needs.'' This was stated in the original 1990
legislation and its reiteration here is meant to emphasize that
parental choice remains a guiding principle of the program.
Congress clearly intended to meet this objective by maximizing
child care options through the introduction of the ``child care
certificate,'' which affords parents the flexibility to choose
among the widest range of child care providers and services,
including both sectarian and non-sectarian in nature. Grants
and contracts will continue to remain an option for States to
provide direct services to children. These methods are
particularly helpful in meeting the needs of specific
populations of children and are well-suited to provide services
in specific geographical areas. This, however, in no way
detracts from the ability of States to maintain the use of
certificates, which offer eligible parents the broadest array
of options and afford parents maximum choice. Recent data from
the Department of Health and Human Services indicates that
approximately 90 percent of children receiving child care
assistance were served through certificates.
CHILD CARE QUALITY
When the CCDBG program was initially created in 1990, and
then reauthorized in 1996, it was primarily seen as a work
support program for low-income working families, particularly
mothers. In addition to this critical feature, significant
developments in the realm of brain research and child
development compel the committee to orient the program as one
that is equally, if not more, committed to the healthy
physical, cognitive, social, and emotional development of
children, especially those in the first several years of life.
In 2000, the National Research Council (``the council'')
released its groundbreaking report From Neurons to
Neighborhoods, which detailed the nature of early development
and the role of early experiences on a child's life. The
council stated that,
``[f]rom the time of conception to the first day of
kindergarten, development proceeds at a pace exceeding
that of any subsequent stage of life . . . [w]hat
happens during the first months and years of life
matters a lot, not because this period of development
provides an indelible blueprint for adult well-being,
but because it sets either a sturdy or fragile stage
for what follows.''
The council went on to describe that young children rapidly
develop foundational capabilities on which subsequent
development builds. Further, the council stated that
disparities in what children know and can do present themselves
well before kindergarten entry. These disparities are highly
predictive of future academic performance and are strongly
associated with social and economic circumstances.
Subsequent research has borne out and reinforced much of
what the council distilled in its report which is why the
committee views the reauthorization of CCDBG as a critical
opportunity to place a greater emphasis on improving the level
of quality in subsidized child care settings. According to data
from 2011, well over half of the children who benefit from
CCDBG subsidies are infants, toddlers, and preschool-aged
children. However, the States operating and administering CCDBG
vary to a great degree in the emphasis they place on providing
children access to environments that nurture their healthy
development. This reauthorization attempts to set a base level
of quality expectations and guidelines that are currently
implemented by a growing number of States.
For the foregoing reasons, the legislation increases the
percentage of the total block grant (including mandatory
funding) a State must spend on activities to improve the
quality of child care provided to eligible families in the
State and also provides a list of 11 allowable activities for
these funds, from which the State must choose no fewer than
two. The allowable activities enumerated in the legislation are
in-line with current efforts in the States and should serve to
either complement the work currently done by States or to
enhance their ability to perform additional activities that
will benefit the children and families they serve.
Improvements in the workforce are embedded throughout the
legislation, but are prominently highlighted as an activity
where States may direct their quality reservation funding. As
stated by the chair of the Institute of Medicine's Committee on
Early Childhood Education and Care Workforce,
``[t]he research picture is clear--quality of care
and education matters to the lives of young children,
and teachers and caregivers are central to providing
that quality.''
And as the National Academy of Sciences noted in a 2012
report, the ``interactions, behaviors, and teaching practices''
of adults are influenced by such factors as the attitudes,
education, training or professional development, compensation
of teachers and caregivers.
The committee recognizes that the varying levels of quality
in child care can be directly linked to the quality of the
workforce delivering that care. For that reason, the committee
placed a particular emphasis on States providing caregivers and
teachers the necessary support to increase their knowledge and
skills through training, which may include the acquisition of a
credential. Research highlights the benefits a skilled
workforce can have on education attainment in child care
settings. Furthermore, the committee applauds the efforts of
certain States that have linked the attainment of a degree or
credential relevant to child care work to higher wages for
those workers. One promising program utilized in many States--
called the Teacher Education and Compensation Helps Grants--
provides scholarships to child care workers to complete course
work in early childhood education and to increase their
compensation. However, the committee does not intend, nor does
it imply, that this legislation requires the attainment of a
credential to receive support through CCDBG.
The committee acknowledges these changes can have a
positive impact on children served but also on building the
professional child care workforce. To that end, the committee
encourages States, particularly in section 6, to further their
efforts in this regard.
The legislation also makes a number of additions to the law
to focus on the provision of high-quality care to infants and
toddlers. Data from the Department of Health and Human Services
show that nearly a third of the children who benefit from CCDBG
are infants and toddlers. In some States, such as Louisiana,
nearly half of the children benefiting from CCDBG are below the
age of 3. As stated previously, the most remarkable period of
growth for children occurs in their first few years of life and
it is therefore critical that our youngest children are in
settings that encourage their positive cognitive, physical,
social and emotional development. For this reason, it has been
the longstanding practice of the Committee on Appropriations to
reserve approximately $100 million in each year's funding bills
strictly for the purposes of improving the quality of care
provided to infants and toddlers.
Through the legislation, the committee augments and makes
permanent the reservation for infant and toddler quality
activities in recognition of the great importance of directing
investments to this particular age population. The legislation
requires a reservation of no less than 3 percent of the funding
that State receives, in the aggregate (including mandatory
funds), specifically for quality improvement activities for
infants and toddlers. This is in addition to the reservation
for quality activities referred to above. Using funding
provided for CCDBG for fiscal year 2013, this reservation would
amount to approximately $150 million.
The committee provides a list of allowable activities for
States to pursue that are reflective of the current practices
of many States that have devoted significant attention and
resources to improving care for infants and toddlers. For
example, the legislation allows States to support a network of
infant and toddler child care specialists who can help child
care providers increase their knowledge and skills related to
the provision of care for very young children. This is a
practice supported in a majority of States and one that could
serve as an invaluable resource to child care providers serving
infants and toddlers. The legislation also allows States to use
funds to target professional development and improve training
for providers who serve infants and toddlers. To accomplish
this, a State could choose to provide financial supports to
providers to help cover the high costs of training or
education. This is a practice currently undertaken in 39
States.
The legislation also requests that States describe in their
State plans how they will prioritize providing care for infants
and toddlers, which can be demonstrated by prioritizing infants
and toddlers through their certificate programs or through
establishment or expansion of direct contracts and grants to
providers that provide high-quality care to infants and
toddlers.
REGULATORY FLEXIBILITY
CCDBG, by virtue of being a block grant program, has
traditionally promoted flexibility at the State and local level
to approach the issue of affordable, safe child care. Because
several other Federal programs and their attendant requirements
are oftentimes applied in the same settings where CCDBG funds
are used, practitioners in the field urged the committee to
address sometimes contradictory Federal requirements. The
committee included language providing for a waiver process by
which States may seek relief from certain Federal laws that
might prove unworkable on the local level. In return, the
legislation instructs the Secretary of Health and Human
Services to work within HHS, but also other agencies, to
provide relief from those State-identified provisions only to
the extent relief from those laws would not endanger the well-
being of children. The committee believes this provision will
provide clarity as well as provide States the freedom from
conflicting requirements in the delivery of services to
children served under the CCDBG program.
It is the intention of the committee that States exercise
this provision in an attempt to maximize the effective
administration and delivery of federally subsidized child care,
and not for purposes that have a minor effect on child care.
This provision was not intended, nor should it be interpreted,
as one that can be used to undermine the goals and purposes of
other laws. It is the expectation of the committee that if a
State should ever request relief under this provision that it
would only be done in cases where the relief sought was
necessary to improve the delivery of services to children and
families and that, in the absence of relief, the State's
ability to effectively administer the program would suffer.
Should a State present a request wherein certain actions could
be taken at the State or municipal level to reach the same
ameliorative or salutary effect, it would not fall within the
type of circumstance envisioned by the committee.
V. Cost Estimate
Pending response from the Congressional Budget Office.
VI. Application of Law to the Legislative Branch
Section 102(b)(3) of Public Law 104-1, the Congressional
Accountability Act, requires a description of the application
of this bill to the legislative branch. S.1086 reauthorizes the
child care and development block grant to the States and does
not amend any act that applies to the legislative branch.
VII. Regulatory Impact Statement
Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the committee has
determined that the bill will not have a significant regulatory
impact.
VIII. Section-by-Section Analysis
Section 1. Short title
This section designates the bill as the ``Child Care and
Development Block Grant Act of 2014.''
Section 2. Short title and purposes
This section lays out the purposes of the CCDBG program.
Section 3. Authorization of appropriations
This section authorizes such sums as may be necessary for
each of the fiscal years 2014 through 2019.
Section 4. Lead agency
This section requires the Governor of a State interested in
receiving CCDBG funding to designate an agency, or establish a
joint interagency office, to serve as the lead agency for the
State with respect to CCDBG. Also provides Indian tribes or
organizations an option to work with the State in development
of State plan.
Section 5. Application & plan
Period covered by a plan
This section requires that State plans be implemented in a
3-year period.
Monitoring & inspection reports
This section requires States, not later than 1 year after
coming into compliance with the licensing and regulatory
requirements required under this law (could not exceed 3 years
after enactment of law), to make public by electronic means the
results of monitoring and inspection reports, including those
due to major, substantiated complaints, about failure to comply
with this Act and State child care policies. Further, States
must publish the number of deaths, serious injuries, and
instances of substantiated child abuse that occurred in child
care settings each year. Finally, States must make public
information on the date inspections occurred and, where
applicable, information on the corrective action taken.
Consumer education information
This section requires States to collect and disseminate
information to help promote informed child care choices,
including information regarding: (1) the quality and
availability of child care services provided through CCDBG; (2)
quality of providers (if available); (3) the State processes
for licensing child care providers, conducting background
checks, and monitoring of providers; (4) the availability of
assistance to obtain child care services both at Federal and
State level; (5) other financial assistance programs that
families may be eligible for; and (6) research and best
practices concerning children's development. This section
further requires States to collect and disseminate information
on developmental screenings and how families can utilize State
and local resources to access such screenings.
Compliance with State licensing requirements
This section requires States to certify that they have in
effect licensing requirements applicable to child care services
provided within the State. It also requires States to provide a
detailed description of such requirements and how they are
effectively enforced. Further, States that use CCDBG funding to
support license-exempt care must describe, in their State plan,
why such license-exempt care does not endanger the health,
safety, or development of children. A State may request relief
from a provision of Federal law if it conflicts with these
requirements.
Training requirements
This section requires States to describe their workforce
training requirements that are designed to enable child care
providers to promote the social, emotional, physical, and
cognitive development of children. States must provide an
assurance that their workforce training requirements (1)
include a set of workforce and competency standards for child
care providers; (2) are developed in consultation with the
State Advisory Council on Early Childhood Education and Care;
(3) include an evidence-based training framework designed to
promote children's learning, development, and school-readiness;
(4) incorporate knowledge and application of the State's early
learning and developmental guidelines and, where applicable,
the State's child development and health standards; and (5) to
the extent practicable, are appropriate for a population of
children that includes different age groups (infants, toddlers,
preschoolers), English learners, children with disabilities,
and Indians.
Progression of professional development
In developing their workforce training requirements, this
section requires States to develop a statewide progression of
professional development designed to improve the skills and
knowledge of the workforce, which may include the acquisition
of course credit in postsecondary education or of a credential
aligned with the framework, and shall be accessible to
providers supported through Indian tribes or tribal
organizations that receive CCDBG funding. The State shall
engage the State Advisory Council on Early Childhood Education
and Care--and may engage institutions of higher education and
other training providers--in aligning training opportunities
with the State's framework. This section prohibits the
Secretary of Health and Human Services from requiring
individuals who provide child care services through CCDBG to
acquire credentials. It further clarifies that nothing in this
section shall be construed to prohibit a State from requiring a
credential.
Child-to-provider ratio standards
This section requires States to describe their child care
standards regarding group size limits for specific age
populations, the appropriate ratio between the number of
children and the number of providers, and required
qualifications for providers. This section allows the Secretary
of Health and Human Services to offer guidance to States on
child-to-provider ratios, but does not require States to
maintain or establish specific child-to-provider ratios for
CCDBG.
Health & safety requirements
This section requires States to certify that they have in
effect requirements designed to protect the health and safety
of children in the CCDBG program. These requirements shall
include health and safety topics consisting of (1) the
prevention and control of infectious diseases and the
establishment of a grace period that allows homeless children
to receive services under this Act while their families are
taking any necessary action to comply with immunization and
other health and safety requirements; (2) hand-washing and
universal health precautions; (3) the administration of
medication, consistent with standards for parental consent; (4)
the prevention of and response to emergencies due to food and
other allergic reactions; (5) prevention of sudden infant death
syndrome and uses of safe sleeping practices; (6) sanitary
methods of food handling; (7) building and physical premises
safety; (8) emergency preparedness and response planning for
emergencies resulting from a natural disaster or a man-caused
event (such as violence at a child care facility); (9) the
handling and storage of hazardous materials and the appropriate
disposal of bio-contaminants; (10) identification of and
protection from hazards that can cause bodily injury
(electrical hazards, bodies of water, vehicular traffic); (11)
precautions for transporting children, if applicable: (12)
first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation; and (13) minimum
health and safety training appropriate to the provider setting
involved that addresses each of the matters described above.
States may also establish requirements related to physical
activity and nutrition. Nothing in this section is intended to
require a State to repeal or amend laws or regulations that
allow children who have not been immunized to be enrolled in
child care.
Compliance with State & local health & safety requirements
This section requires States to certify that procedures are
in place to ensure that CCDBG providers within their State
comply with all applicable State or local health and safety
requirements.
Enforcement of licensing & other regulatory requirements
This section requires States, within 2 years of enactment
of this Act, to certify that they have in effect policies and
practices to ensure that individuals who are hired as licensing
inspectors in the State are qualified to inspect those child
care providers and facilities and have received training in
related health and safety requirements, child abuse prevention
and detection, program management, child development, and
relevant law enforcement. In addition, States must ensure that
licensing inspectors (or a qualified inspector designated by
the lead agency) perform (1) not less than one pre-licensure
health, safety, and fire inspection of each child care provider
and facility in the State; and (2) not less than annually, a
health, safety, and fire inspection (which shall be
unannounced) of each child care provider and facility
(inspections can occur all at once or at multiple times).
Further, the ratio of licensing staff to such child care
providers and facilities in the State must be maintained at a
level sufficient to enable the State to conduct inspections of
providers and facilities in a timely manner and must be
consistent with research findings and best practices.
Compliance with child abuse reporting requirements
This section requires States to certify that child care
providers within the State will comply with the child abuse
reporting requirements of the Child Abuse Prevention and
Treatment Act (CAPTA).
Meeting the needs of certain populations
This section requires States to describe how they will
develop and implement strategies (which may include the
provision of compensation at higher payment rates and bonuses
to child care providers) to increase the supply and improve the
quality of child care for: (1) children in underserved areas,
including rural areas; (2) infants and toddlers; (3) children
with disabilities as defined by the State; and (4) children who
receive care during non-traditional hours.
Protection for working parents
This section requires States to describe the 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 redetermination of
eligibility for assistance through CCDBG. States shall ensure
that each child that receives assistance through CCDBG will
receive assistance for not less than 12 months (regardless of
changes in family income so long as family income does not
exceed 85 percent of the State median income for a family of
the same size) before the State re-determines the eligibility
of the child. States will be required to demonstrate how their
initial determination and redetermination processes take into
account irregular fluctuations in earnings. States will also be
required to describe the policies and procedures in place to
allow for provision of continued assistance (for a period not
to exceed 12 months) to children of working parents who become
ineligible for assistance during the redetermination process
due to a modest increase in the parents' income.
Coordination with other programs
In order to expand accessibility and continuity of quality
childhood education and care, and assist children enrolled in
kindergarten, Early Head Start, or Head Start programs to
receive full-day services, this section requires States to
coordinate with Head Start; Early Head Start; ESEA; the
Individuals with Disabilities Act; Maternal, Infant, and Early
Childhood Home Visiting programs; State, tribal, and locally
funded early childhood education and care programs; programs
serving homeless children; and other Federal programs
supporting early childhood education and care activities
including child care programs funded through State veterans
affairs offices (where applicable).
Public-private partnerships
This section requires States to demonstrate how they are
encouraging partnerships among State agencies, other public
agencies, Indian tribes and tribal organizations, and private
entities, to leverage existing service delivery systems and to
increase the supply and quality of child care services for
children who are less than 13 years of age.
Priority for low-income populations
This section requires States to describe the process by
which they propose to give priority to children of families in
areas that have significant concentrations of poverty and
unemployment.
Consultation
This section requires certification that State plans have
been developed in consultation with the State Advisory Council
on Early Childhood Education and Care (established pursuant to
the Head Start Act).
Payment practices
So as to provide stability of funding and encourage more
child care providers to serve children through the CCDBG
program, this section requires States to certify that their
payment practices for child care providers that serve children
who receive assistance through CCDBG reflect generally accepted
payment practices of child care providers in the State that
serve children who do not receive assistance through CCDBG.
Early learning and developmental guidelines
This section requires States to provide an assurance that
they will develop or implement early learning and developmental
guidelines that are appropriate for children from birth through
entry into kindergarten, describing what such children should
know and be able to do, and covering the essential domains of
early childhood education and care and early childhood
development for use statewide by child care providers. These
will apply to child care providers who are licensed or
regulated by the State and not a relative of all children for
whom the provider provides child care services. The guidelines
shall be research-based, developmentally appropriate, and
aligned with State standards for kindergarten through grade 3.
States must provide an assurance that CCDBG dollars will not be
used to develop or implement an assessment that will be the
sole basis in a child care provider being determined to be
ineligible to participate in the program, will not be used as
the primary or sole basis to provide a reward or sanction for
an individual provider, will not be used as the primary or sole
method for assessing program effectiveness, or will not be used
to deny eligibility to participate in the program. However,
nothing in this section shall preclude a State from using a
single assessment (if appropriate) for children for supporting
learning or improving classroom environment; targeting
professional development to a provider; determining the need
for health, mental health, disability, developmental delay, or
family support services; obtaining information for the quality
improvement process; or conducting a program evaluation for the
purposes of providing program improvement and parental
involvement. Finally, nothing in this section shall be
construed to authorize the Federal Government to mandate,
direct, or control a State's early learning guidelines.
Direct services
This section requires States to use at least 70 percent of
CCDBG funding to pay for direct services (funding for access to
eligible families for child care services).
Payment rates
This section requires States to certify that payment rates
for the provision of child care services for which assistance
is provided through CCDBG are sufficient to ensure equal access
for eligible children to child care services in the State that
are provided to children whose parents are not eligible to
receive CCDBG assistance. Nothing in this section shall be
construed to prevent a State from differentiating payment rates
on the basis of geography, age or particular needs of children,
whether the providers provide child care during weekends and
other non-traditional hours, or the State's determination that
different payment rates are needed to enable a parent to choose
high quality child care.
Section 6. Activities to improve the quality of child care
Reservation
This section requires that States spend a certain
percentage of their CCDBG funding on improving the quality of
child care (the ``quality set-aside''): no less than 6 percent
of such funds in first 2 fiscal years after date of enactment
of law; no less than 8 percent of such funds in third and
fourth fiscal years after date of enactment; and no less than
10 percent of such funds in the fifth fiscal year after date of
enactment and each succeeding year. In addition, States are
required to spend at least another 3 percent of funds in the
first fiscal year after enactment, and each succeeding year, to
improve the quality of child care for infants and toddlers.
Allowable activities
This section lays out allowable activities with which
``quality set-aside'' dollars must be spent. States are
required to use this money to carry out no less than two of the
below activities, provided directly or through grants or
contracts with appropriate entities such as child care resource
and referral organizations, to improve the quality of child
care:
1. Support the training, professional development, and
professional advancement of the child care workforce through
such activities as:
Offering child care providers training and
professional development that is intentional and sequential and
leads to a higher level of skill or certification;
Establishing or supporting 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;
Offering 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
offering specialized training for child care providers who care
for infants and toddlers, children who are English learners,
and children with disabilities;
Providing training concerning the State early
learning and developmental guidelines, where applicable,
including training concerning early mathematics and early
language and literacy development and effective instructional
practices to support mathematics and language and literacy
development in young children;
Incorporating effective use of data to guide
instruction and program improvement;
Including effective behavior management strategies
and training, such as positive behavioral interventions and
supports, that promote positive social and emotional
development and reduce challenging behaviors;
At the option of the State, incorporating feedback
from experts at the State's institutions of higher education
and other early learning and development experts and early
childhood experts;
Providing training corresponding to the
nutritional and physical activity needs of children to promote
their healthy development;
Providing training or professional development for
child care providers to serve and support children with
disabilities;
Providing training and outreach on engaging
parents and families in culturally and linguistically
appropriate ways to expand their knowledge, skills, and
capacity to become meaningful partners in supporting their
children's learning and development; and
Providing training or professional development for
child care providers regarding the early neurological
development of children.
2. Support the use of early learning guidelines by:
Developing and implementing the State's early
learning and developmental guidelines; and
Providing technical assistance to enhance early
learning for preschool and school-aged children, to promote
language and literacy skills, to foster school readiness, and
to support later school success.
3. Developing and implementing a tiered quality rating
system for child care providers which shall:
Support and assess the quality of child care
providers in the State;
Build on licensing standards and other State
regulatory standards for such providers;
Be designed to improve the quality of different
types of child care providers;
Describe the quality of early learning facilities;
Build the capacity of State early learning
programs and communities to promote parents' and families'
understanding of the State's early learning system and the
ratings of the programs in which the child is enrolled; and
Provide, to the maximum extent practicable,
financial incentives and other supports designed to achieve and
sustain higher levels of quality.
4. Improving the supply and quality of child care programs
and services for infants and toddlers through activities which
may include:
Establishing or expanding neighborhood-based high-
quality comprehensive family and child development centers,
which may serve as resources to child care providers in order
to improve the quality of early care and development services
provided to infants and toddlers from low-income families and
to help eligible child care providers improve their capacity to
offer high-quality care to infants and toddlers from low-income
families;
Establishing or expanding the operation of
community or neighborhood-based family child care networks;
Supporting statewide networks of infant and
toddler child care specialists, including specialists who have
knowledge regarding infant and toddler development and
curriculum and program implementation, as well as the ability
to coordinate services with early intervention specialists who
provide services for infants and toddlers with disabilities
under Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act;
Carrying out initiatives to improve the quality of
the infant and toddler child care workforce, such as providing
relevant training, professional development or mentoring
opportunities and linking such opportunities to career
pathways, developing career pathways for such providers, and
improving the State credentialing of eligible providers caring
for infants and toddlers; and
If applicable, developing infant and toddler
components within the State's quality rating system described
in paragraph (2)(F) for child care providers for infants and
toddlers, or development of infant and toddler components in a
State's child care licensing regulations or early childhood
guidelines;
Improving the ability of parents to access
information about high-quality infant and toddler care; and
Carrying out other activities determined by the
State to improve the quality of infant and toddler care
provided in the State and for which there is evidence that the
activities will lead to improved infant and toddler health and
safety, infant and toddler development, or infant and toddler
well-being, including providing training (including training in
safe sleeping practices, first aid, and cardiopulmonary
resuscitation).
5. Promoting broad child care provider participation in the
Quality Rating System;
6. Establishing or expanding a statewide system of child
care resource and referral services;
7. Facilitating compliance with State requirements for
inspection, monitoring, training, health and safety, and with
State licensing standards;
8. Evaluating and assessing the quality and effectiveness
of child care programs and services offered in the State,
including evaluating how such programs and services may improve
the overall school readiness of young children;
9. Supporting child care providers in their pursuit of
accreditation by an established national accrediting body with
demon-
strated, valid, and reliable program standards of high quality;
10. Supporting State or local efforts to develop or adopt
high-quality program standards relating to health, mental
health, nutrition, physical activity, and physical development
and/or provide resources to enable eligible child care
providers to meet, exceed, or sustain success in meeting or
exceeding such standards; and
11. Carrying out other activities determined by the State
to improve the quality of child care services provided in the
State, and for which measurement of outcomes relating to
improved provider preparedness, child safety, child well-being,
or school readiness is possible.
Certification
Beginning with fiscal year 2014, this section requires
States to annually submit a certification to the Secretary
containing an assurance that they were in compliance with the
quality set-aside requirements and describes how the State
complied with these requirements in the preceding year.
Reporting requirements
This section requires each State to annually submit a
report, which shall include information regarding: (1) the
amount of funds that are used to carry out quality-related
activities; (2) the types of quality-related activities the
State uses funding for; and (3) the measures that the State
will use to evaluate progress in improving the quality of child
care programs and services.
Technical assistance
This section directs the Secretary of HHS to use its
administrative funds to offer technical assistance to States.
Construction
Nothing in this section shall be construed to provide the
Secretary with the authority to regulate, direct, or dictate
State child care quality activities or progress in implementing
those activities.
Section 7. Criminal background checks
This section requires States that receive funds under the
Child Care and Development and Block Grant (CCDBG) program to
conduct comprehensive background checks (State and Federal
fingerprint checks, sex offender registry check, and check of
the child abuse and neglect registry) for all licensed,
regulated, or registered providers.
Further, this section makes individuals ineligible to be
employed by a child care provider, operate a family child care
home, or receive child care subsidies if such individual:
Refuses to consent to a criminal background check;
Makes false statements in connection with a
background check;
Is registered or required to be registered on a
State sex offender registry; or
Has been convicted of a violent crime (murder; a
crime against children, including child pornography; spousal
abuse; a crime involving rape or sexual assault; kidnapping;
arson; or physical assault, battery, or a drug-related offense
committed within the past 5 years and subject to an individual
review, at the choice of the State, for extenuating
circumstances).
This section requires that background checks be processed
as expeditiously as possible, but not to exceed 45 days, and
restricts fees to the actual cost (or less) to the State for
the administration of background checks. Complete background
checks are required to be repeated every 5 years and States
must have an appeals process in place by which a child care
staff member may appeal the results of a criminal background
check, to challenge the accuracy or completeness of the
information contained in the individual's criminal background
report.
Section 8. Reports & information
National toll-free hotline & Web site
This section requires the Secretary to operate a national
toll-free hotline and Web site to develop and disseminate
information to help parents access safe, affordable, and
quality child care in their community and to allow persons to
report suspected child abuse or neglect or safety violations by
an eligible child care provider that receives assistance
through CCDBG.
Request for relief
Allows States to submit to the Secretary of HHS a request
for relief from any provision of Federal law that might
conflict with requirements outlined in this law (request must
detail provision of Federal law that is in conflict, describe
how modifying compliance with Federal law will improve delivery
of services for children in the State, and certify that the
health, safety, and well-being of children served will not be
compromised as a result). The Secretary of HHS shall consult
with the State and head of each Federal agency with
responsibility for administering the Federal law detailed in
the State's request. After this consultation, the head of the
Federal agency involved shall have the authority to waive any
statutory provision unless they determine that such a waiver is
inconsistent with the objectives of this law.
Section 9. Reservation for toll-free hotline & Web site; payment to
benefit Indian children
Authorization for toll-free hotline & Web site
This section requires the Secretary to reserve at least $1
million annually for the operation of the national toll-free
hotline and Web site.
Licensing and standards for Indian children
This section requires the Secretary of HHS, in consultation
with Indian tribes or tribal organizations, to develop minimum
child care standards that shall be applicable to Indian tribes
and tribal organizations receiving assistance through the CCDBG
program. Such standards shall include standards requiring a
publicly available application, health and safety standards,
and standards requiring a reservation of funds for activities
to improve the quality of child care provided to Indian
children.
Section 10. Definitions
This section includes new definitions for the following
terms:
``Child with a disability'';
``English learner''; and
``Scientifically valid research''.
Section 11. Studies on waiting lists
This section requires the GAO to conduct studies to
determine, for each State, the number of families that: (1) are
eligible to receive assistance through CCDBG; (2) have applied
for CCDBG assistance; and (3) have been placed on a waiting
list for CCDBG assistance. The study shall be submitted to
Congress within 2 years of enactment of this law and every 2
years thereafter.
IX. Changes in Existing Law
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by
the bill as reported are shown as follows: 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.]
[(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 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
[(5) to assist States in implementing the health,
safety, licensing, and registration standards
established in State regulations.]
SEC. 658A. SHORT TITLE AND PURPOSES.
(a) Short Title.--This subchapter may be cited as the ``Child
Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990''.
(b) Purposes.--The purposes of this subchapter are--
(1) to allow each State maximum flexibility in
developing child care programs and policies that best
suit the needs of children and parents within that
State;
(2) to promote parental choice to empower working
parents to make their own decisions regarding the child
care that best suits their family's needs;
(3) to assist States in providing high-quality child
care services to parents trying to achieve independence
from public assistance;
(4) to assist States in improving the overall quality
of child care services and programs by implementing the
health, safety, licensing, training, and oversight
standards established in this subchapter and in State
law (including regulations);
(5) to improve school readiness by having children,
families, and child care providers engage in
activities, in child care settings, that are
developmentally appropriate and age-appropriate for the
children and that promote children's language and
literacy and mathematics skills, social and emotional
development, physical health and development, and
approaches to learning;
(6) to encourage States to provide consumer education
information to help parents make informed choices about
child care services and to promote involvement by
parents and family members in the education of their
children in child care settings;
(7) to increase the number and percentage of low-
income children in high-quality child care settings;
and
(8) to improve the coordination and delivery of early
childhood education and care (including child care).
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, such sums as may be necessary for
each of fiscal years 2015 through 2020.
* * * * * * *
SEC. 658D. LEAD AGENCY.
(a) Designation.--The [chief executive officer]Governor 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.
(b) Duties.--
(1) In general.--The lead agency shall--
(A) * * *
* * * * * * *
(C) in conjunction with the development of
the State plan as required under subparagraph
(B), hold at least one hearing in the State
with sufficient time and Statewide distribution
of the notice of such hearing, to provide to
the public an opportunity to comment on the
provision of child care services under the
State plan; [and]
(D) coordinate the provision of services
under this subchapter with other Federal, State
and local child care and early childhood
development programs[.]; and
(E) at the option of an Indian tribe or
tribal organization in the State, collaborate
and coordinate with such Indian tribe or tribal
organization in the development of the State
plan.
* * * * * * *
SEC. 658E. APPLICATION AND PLAN.
(a) Application.-- * * *
* * * * * * *
(b) Period Covered by Plan.--The State plan contained in the
application under subsection (a) shall be designed to be
implemented during a [2-year]3-year period.
(c) Requirements of a Plan.--
(1) Lead agency.--The State plan shall identify the
lead agency designated or established under section
658D.
(2) Policies and procedures.--The State plan shall:
(A) Parental choice of providers.--Provide
assurances that--
(i) * * *
* * * * * * *
(B) Unlimited parental access.--Certify that
procedures are in effect within the State to
ensure that child care providers who provide
services for which assistance is made available
under this subchapter afford parents unlimited
access to their children and to the providers
caring for their children, during the normal
hours of operation of such providers and
whenever such children are in the care of such
providers, and provide a detailed description
of such procedures.
* * * * * * *
[(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.
[(E) Compliance with state licensing
requirements.--
[(i) In general.--Certify that the
State has in effect licensing
requirements applicable to child care
services provided within the State, and
provide a detailed description of such
requirements and of how such
requirements are effectively enforced.
Nothing in the preceding sentence shall
be construed to require that licensing
requirements be applied to specific
types of providers of child care
services.
[(ii) Indian tribes and tribal
organizations.--In lieu of any
licensing and regulatory requirements
applicable under State and local law,
the Secretary, in consultation with
Indian tribes and tribal organizations,
shall develop minimum child care
standards (that appropriately reflect
tribal needs and available resources)
that shall be applicable to Indian
tribes and tribal organizations
receiving assistance under this
subchapter.
[(F) Establishment of health and safety
requirements.--Certify that there are in effect
within the State, under State or local law,
requirements designed to protect the health and
safety of children that are applicable to child
care providers that provide services for which
assistance is made available under this
subchapter. Such requirements shall include--
[(i) the prevention and control of
infectious diseases (including
immunization);
[(ii) building and physical premises
safety; and
[(iii) minimum health and safety
training appropriate to the provider
setting.
[Nothing in this subparagraph shall be
construed to require the establishment of
additional health and safety requirements for
child care providers that are subject to health
and safety requirements in the categories
described in this subparagraph on the date of
enactment of this subchapter under State or
local law.
[(G) Compliance with state and local health
and safety requirements.--Certify that
procedures are in effect to ensure that child
care providers within the State that provide
services for which assistance is provided under
this subchapter comply with all applicable
State or local health and safety requirements
as described in subparagraph (F).
[(H) Meeting the needs of certain
populations.--Demonstrate the manner in which
the State will meet the specific child care
needs of families who are receiving assistance
under a State program under part A of title IV
of the Social Security Act, families who are
attempting through work activities to
transition off of such assistance program, and
families that are at risk of becoming dependent
on such assistance program.]
(D) Monitoring and inspection reports.--The
plan shall include a certification that the
State, not later than 1 year after the State
has in effect the policies and practices
described in subparagraph (K)(i), will make
public by electronic means, in a consumer-
friendly and easily accessible format,
organized by provider, the results of
monitoring and inspection reports, including
those due to major substantiated complaints
about failure to comply with this subchapter
and State child care policies, as well as the
number of deaths, serious injuries, and
instances of substantiated child abuse that
occurred in child care settings each year, for
eligible child care providers within the State.
The results shall also include information on
the date of such an inspection and, where
applicable, information on corrective action
taken.
(E) Consumer education information.--The plan
shall include a certification that the State
will collect and disseminate (which
dissemination may be done, except as otherwise
specified in this subparagraph, through
resource and referral organizations or other
means as determined by the State) to parents of
eligible children and the general public--
(i) information that will promote
informed child care choices and that
concerns--
(I) the availability of child
care services provided through
programs authorized under this
subchapter and, if feasible,
other child care services and
other programs provided in the
State for which the family may
be eligible;
(II) if available,
information about the quality
of providers, including
information from a Quality
Rating and Improvement System;
(III) information, made
available through a State Web
site, describing the State
process for licensing child
care providers, the State
processes for conducting
background checks, and
monitoring and inspections, of
child care providers, and the
offenses that prevent
individuals and entities from
serving as child care providers
in the State;
(IV) the availability of
assistance to obtain child care
services;
(V) other programs for which
families that receive child
care services for which
financial assistance is
provided in accordance with
this subchapter may be
eligible, including the program
of block grants to States for
temporary assistance for needy
families established under part
A of title IV of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et
seq.), Head Start and Early
Head Start programs carried out
under the Head Start Act (42
U.S.C. 9831 et seq.), the
program carried out under the
Low-Income Home Energy
Assistance Act of 1981 (42
U.S.C. 8621 et seq.), the
supplemental nutrition
assistance program established
under the Food and Nutrition
Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et
seq.), the special supplemental
nutrition program for women,
infants, and children
established under section 17 of
the Child Nutrition Act of 1966
(42 U.S.C. 1786), the child and
adult care food program
established under section 17 of
the Richard B. Russell National
School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C.
1766), and the Medicaid and
State children's health
insurance programs under titles
XIX and XXI of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et
seq., 1397aa et seq.);
(VI) programs carried out
under section 619 and part C of
the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (20
U.S.C. 1419, 1431 et seq.); and
(VII) research and best
practices concerning children's
development, including language
and cognitive development,
development of early language
and literacy and mathematics
skills, social and emotional
development, meaningful parent
and family engagement, and
physical health and development
(particularly healthy eating
and physical activity);
(ii) information on developmental
screenings, including--
(I) information on existing
(as of the date of submission
of the application containing
the plan) resources and
services the State can deploy,
including the coordinated use
of the Early and Periodic
Screening, Diagnosis, and
Treatment program under the
Medicaid program carried out
under title XIX of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et
seq.) and developmental
screening services available
under section 619 and part C of
the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (20
U.S.C. 1419, 1431 et seq.), in
conducting developmental
screenings and providing
referrals to services, when
appropriate, for children who
receive assistance under this
subchapter; and
(II) a description of how a
family or eligible child care
provider may utilize the
resources and services
described in subclause (I) to
obtain developmental screenings
for children who receive
assistance under this
subchapter who may be at risk
for cognitive or other
developmental delays, which may
include social, emotional,
physical, or linguistic delays;
and
(iii) information, for parents
receiving assistance under the program
of block grants to States for temporary
assistance for needy families under
part A of title IV of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.)
and low-income parents, about
eligibility for assistance provided in
accordance with this subchapter.
(F) Compliance with state licensing
requirements.--
(i) In general.--The plan shall
include a certification that the State
involved has in effect licensing
requirements applicable to child care
services provided within the State, and
provide a detailed description of such
requirements and of how such
requirements are effectively enforced.
(ii) License exemption.--If the State
uses funding received under this
subchapter to support a child care
provider that is exempt from the
corresponding licensing requirements
described in clause (i), the plan shall
include a description stating why such
licensing exemption does not endanger
the health, safety, or development of
children who receive services from
child care providers who are exempt
from such requirements.
(iii) Requests for relief.--As
described in section 658I(d), a State
may request relief from a provision of
Federal law other than this subchapter
that might conflict with a requirement
of this subchapter, including a
licensing requirement.
(G) Training requirements.--
(i) In general.--The plan shall
describe the 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
provided in accordance with this
subchapter in the State.
(ii) Requirements.--The plan shall
provide an assurance that such training
requirements--
(I) provide a set of
workforce and competency
standards for child care
providers that provide services
described in clause (i);
(II) are developed in
consultation with the State
Advisory Council on Early
Childhood Education and Care
(designated or established
pursuant to section
642B(b)(1)(A)(i) of the Head
Start Act (42 U.S.C.
9837b(b)(1)(A)(i)));
(III) include an evidence-
based training framework that
is designed to promote
children's learning and
development and school
readiness and to improve child
outcomes, including school
readiness;
(IV) incorporate knowledge
and application of the State's
early learning and
developmental guidelines (where
applicable), and the State's
child development and health
standards; and
(V) to the extent
practicable, are appropriate
for a population of children
that includes--
(aa) different age
groups (such as
infants, toddlers, and
preschoolers);
(bb) English
learners;
(cc) children with
disabilities; and
(dd) Native
Americans, including
Indians, as the term is
defined in section 4 of
the Indian Self-
Determination and
Education Assistance
Act (25 U.S.C. 450b)
(including Alaska
Natives within the
meaning of that term),
and Native Hawaiians
(as defined in section
7207 of the Elementary
and Secondary Education
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
7517)).
(iii) Progression of professional
development.--In developing the
requirements, the State shall develop a
statewide progression of professional
development designed to improve the
skills and knowledge of the workforce--
(I) which may include the
acquisition of course credit in
postsecondary education or of a
credential, aligned with the
framework; and
(II) which shall be
accessible to providers
supported through Indian tribes
or tribal organizations that
receive assistance under this
subchapter.
(iv) Alignment.--The State shall
engage the State Advisory Council on
Early Childhood Education and Care, and
may engage institutions of higher
education (as defined in section 102 of
the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 1002)), and other training
providers in aligning training
opportunities with the State's training
framework.
(v) Credentials.--The Secretary shall
not require an individual or entity
that provides child care services for
which assistance is provided in
accordance with this subchapter to
acquire a credential to provide such
services. Nothing in this section shall
be construed to prohibit a State from
requiring a credential.
(H) Child-to-provider ratio standards.--
(i) Standards.--The plan shall
describe child care standards, for
child care for which assistance is made
available in accordance with this
subchapter, appropriate to the type of
child care setting involved, that
address--
(I) group size limits for
specific age populations;
(II) the appropriate ratio
between the number of children
and the number of providers, in
terms of the age of the
children in child care, as
determined by the State; and
(III) required qualifications
for such providers.
(ii) Construction.--The Secretary may
offer guidance to States on child-to-
provider ratios described in clause (i)
according to setting and age group but
shall not require that States maintain
specific child-to-provider ratios for
providers who receive assistance under
this subchapter.
(I) Health and safety requirements.--The plan
shall include a certification that there are in
effect within the State, under State or local
law, requirements designed to protect the
health and safety of children that are
applicable to child care providers that provide
services for which assistance is made available
in accordance with this subchapter. Such
requirements--
(i) shall relate to matters including
health and safety topics (including
prevention of shaken baby syndrome and
abusive head trauma) consisting of--
(I) the prevention and
control of infectious diseases
(including immunization) and
the establishment of a grace
period that allows homeless
children to receive services
under this subchapter while
their families are taking any
necessary action to comply with
immunization and other health
and safety requirements;
(II) handwashing and
universal health precautions;
(III) the administration of
medication, consistent with
standards for parental consent;
(IV) the prevention of and
response to emergencies due to
food and other allergic
reactions;
(V) prevention of sudden
infant death syndrome and use
of safe sleeping practices;
(VI) sanitary methods of food
handling;
(VII) building and physical
premises safety;
(VIII) emergency preparedness
and response planning for
emergencies resulting from a
natural disaster, or a man-
caused event (such as violence
at a child care facility),
within the meaning of those
terms under section 602(a)(1)
of the Robert T. Stafford
Disaster Relief and Emergency
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C.
5195a(a)(1));
(IX) the handling and storage
of hazardous materials and the
appropriate disposal of
biocontaminants;
(X) identification of and
protection from hazards that
can cause bodily injury such as
electrical hazards, bodies of
water, and vehicular traffic;
(XI) for providers that offer
transportation, if applicable,
appropriate precautions in
transporting children;
(XII) first aid and
cardiopulmonary resuscitation;
and
(XIII) minimum health and
safety training, to be
completed pre-service or during
an orientation period,
appropriate to the provider
setting involved that addresses
each of the requirements
relating to matters described
in subclauses (I) through
(XII); and
(ii) may include requirements
relating to nutrition, access to
physical activity, or any other subject
area determined by the State to be
necessary to promote child development
or to protect children's health and
safety.
(J) Compliance with state and local health
and safety requirements.--The plan shall
include a certification that procedures are in
effect to ensure that child care providers
within the State, that provide services for
which assistance is made available in
accordance with this subchapter, comply with
all applicable State and local health and
safety requirements as described in
subparagraph (I).
(K) Enforcement of licensing and other
regulatory requirements.--
(i) Certification.--The plan shall
include a certification that the State,
not later than 2 years after the date
of enactment of the Child Care and
Development Block Grant Act of 2014,
shall have in effect policies and
practices, applicable to licensing or
regulating child care providers that
provide services for which assistance
is made available in accordance with
this subchapter and the facilities of
those providers, that--
(I) ensure that individuals
who are hired as licensing
inspectors in the State are
qualified to inspect those
child care providers and
facilities and have received
training in related health and
safety requirements, child
development, child abuse
prevention and detection,
program management, and
relevant law enforcement;
(II) require licensing
inspectors (or qualified
inspectors designated by the
lead agency) of those child
care providers and facilities
to perform inspections, with--
(aa) not less than 1
prelicensure inspection
for compliance with
health, safety, and
fire standards, of each
such child care
provider and facility
in the State; and
(bb) not less than
annually, an inspection
(which shall be
unannounced) of each
such child care
provider and facility
in the State for
compliance with all
child care licensing
standards, which shall
include an inspection
for compliance with
health, safety, and
fire standards
(although inspectors
may or may not inspect
for compliance with all
3 standards at the same
time); and
(III) require the ratio of
licensing inspectors to such
child care providers and
facilities in the State to--
(aa) be maintained at
a level sufficient to
enable the State to
conduct inspections of
such child care
providers and
facilities on a timely
basis in accordance
with Federal and State
law; and
(bb) be consistent
with research findings
and best practices.
(ii) Construction.--The Secretary may
offer guidance to a State, if requested
by the State, on a research-based
minimum standard regarding ratios
described in clause (i)(III) and
provide technical assistance to the
State on meeting the minimum standard
within a reasonable time period, but
shall not prescribe a particular ratio.
(L) Compliance with child abuse reporting
requirements.--The plan shall include a
certification that child care providers within
the State will comply with the child abuse
reporting requirements of section
106(b)(2)(B)(i) of the Child Abuse Prevention
and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C.
5106a(b)(2)(B)(i)).
(M) Meeting the needs of certain
populations.--The plan shall describe how the
State will develop and implement strategies
(which may include the provision of
compensation at higher payment rates and
bonuses to child care providers, the provision
of direct contracts or grants to community-
based organizations, or other means determined
by the State) to increase the supply and
improve the quality of child care for--
(i) children in underserved areas;
(ii) infants and toddlers;
(iii) children with disabilities, as
defined by the State; and
(iv) children who receive care during
nontraditional hours.
(N) Protection for working parents.--
(i) Minimum period.--
(I) 12-month period.--The
plan shall demonstrate that
each child who receives
assistance under this
subchapter in the State will be
considered to meet all
eligibility requirements for
such assistance and will
receive such assistance, for
not less than 12 months before
the State redetermines the
eligibility of the child under
this subchapter, regardless of
a temporary change in the
ongoing status of the child's
parent as working or attending
a job training or educational
program or a change in family
income for the child's family,
if that family income does not
exceed 85 percent of the State
median income for a family of
the same size.
(II) Fluctuations in
earnings.--The plan shall
demonstrate how the State's
processes for initial
determination and
redetermination of such
eligibility take into account
irregular fluctuations in
earnings.
(ii) Redetermination process.--The
plan shall describe the procedures and
policies that are in place to ensure
that working parents (especially
parents in families receiving
assistance under the program of block
grants to States for temporary
assistance for needy families under
part A of title IV of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.))
are not required to unduly disrupt
their employment in order to comply
with the State's requirements for
redetermination of eligibility for
assistance provided in accordance with
this subchapter.
(iii) Period before termination.--At
the option of the State, the plan shall
demonstrate that the State will not
terminate assistance provided to carry
out this subchapter based on a factor
consisting of a parent's loss of work
or cessation of attendance at a job
training or educational program for
which the family was receiving the
assistance, without continuing the
assistance for a reasonable period of
time, of not less than 3 months, after
such loss or cessation in order for the
parent to engage in a job search and
resume work, or resume attendance at a
job training or educational program, as
soon as possible.
(iv) Graduated phaseout of care.--The
plan shall describe the policies and
procedures that are in place to allow
for provision of continued assistance
to carry out this subchapter, at the
beginning of a new eligibility period
under clause (i)(I), for children of
parents who are working or attending a
job training or educational program and
whose family income exceeds the State's
income limit to initially qualify for
such assistance, if the family income
for the family involved does not exceed
85 percent of the State median income
for a family of the same size.
(O) Coordination with other programs.--
(i) In general.--The plan shall
describe how the State, in order to
expand accessibility and continuity of
quality early childhood education and
care, and assist children enrolled in
prekindergarten, Early Head Start, or
Head Start programs to receive full-day
services, will coordinate the services
supported to carry out 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) programs carried out
under part A of title I, and
part B of title IV, of the
Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 6311 et seq., 7171 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) the maternal, infant,
and early childhood home
visiting programs authorized
under section 511 of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 711),
as added by section 2951 of the
Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act (Public Law
111-148);
(V) State, Indian tribe or
tribal organization, and
locally funded early childhood
education and care programs;
(VI) programs serving
homeless children and services
of local educational agency
liaisons for homeless children
and youths designated under
subsection (g)(1)(J)(ii) of
section 722 of the McKinney-
Vento Homeless Assistance Act
(42 U.S.C. 11432(g)(1)(J)(ii));
and
(VII) other Federal programs
supporting early childhood
education and care activities,
and, where applicable, child
care programs funded through
State veterans affairs offices.
(ii) Rule of construction.--Nothing
in clause (i) shall be construed to
affect the priority of children
described in clause (i) to receive
full-day prekindergarten or Head Start
program services.
(P) Public-private partnerships.--The plan
shall demonstrate how the State encourages
partnerships among State agencies, other public
agencies, Indian tribes and tribal
organizations, and private entities to leverage
existing service delivery systems (as of the
date of the submission of the application
containing the plan) for early childhood
education and care and to increase the supply
and quality of child care services for children
who are less than 13 years of age, such as by
implementing voluntary shared services alliance
models.
(Q) Priority for low-income populations.--The
plan shall describe the process the State
proposes to use, with respect to investments
made to increase access to programs providing
high-quality early childhood education and
care, to give priority for those investments to
children of families in areas that have
significant concentrations of poverty and
unemployment and that do not have such
programs.
(R) Consultation.--The plan shall include a
certification that the State has developed the
plan in consultation with the State Advisory
Council on Early Childhood Education and Care
designated or established pursuant to section
642B(b)(1)(A)(i) of the Head Start Act (42
U.S.C. 9837b(b)(1)(A)(i)).
(S) Payment practices.--The plan shall
include a certification that the payment
practices of child care providers in the State
that serve children who receive assistance
under this subchapter reflect generally
accepted payment practices of child care
providers in the State that serve children who
do not receive assistance under this
subchapter, so as to provide stability of
funding and encourage more child care providers
to serve children who receive assistance under
this subchapter.
(T) Early learning and developmental
guidelines.--
(i) In general.--The plan shall
include an assurance that the State
will develop or implement early
learning and developmental guidelines
that are appropriate for children from
birth through entry into kindergarten,
describing what such children should
know and be able to do, and covering
the essential domains of early
childhood education and care and early
childhood development for use statewide
by child care providers. Such child
care providers shall--
(I) be licensed or regulated
under State law; and
(II) not be a relative of all
children for whom the provider
provides child care services.
(ii) Alignment.--The guidelines shall
be research-based, developmentally
appropriate, and aligned with State
standards for education in kindergarten
through grade 3.
(iii) Prohibition on use of funds.--
The plan shall include an assurance
that funds received by the State to
carry out this subchapter will not be
used to develop or implement an
assessment for children that--
(I) will be the sole basis
for a child care provider being
determined to be ineligible to
participate in the program
carried out under this
subchapter;
(II) will be used as the
primary or sole basis to
provide a reward or sanction
for an individual provider;
(III) will be used as the
primary or sole method for
assessing program
effectiveness; or
(IV) will be used to deny
eligibility to participate in
the program carried out under
this subchapter.
(iv) Exceptions.--Nothing in this
subchapter shall preclude the State
from using a single assessment (if
appropriate) for children for--
(I) supporting learning or
improving a classroom
environment;
(II) targeting professional
development to a provider;
(III) determining the need
for health, mental health,
disability, developmental
delay, or family support
services;
(IV) obtaining information
for the quality improvement
process at the State level; or
(V) conducting a program
evaluation for the purposes of
providing program improvement
and parent information.
(v) No federal control.--Nothing in
this section shall be construed to
authorize an officer or employee of the
Federal Government to--
(I) mandate, direct, or
control a State's early
learning and developmental
guidelines, developed in
accordance with this section;
(II) establish any criterion
that specifies, defines, or
prescribes the standards or
measures that a State uses to
establish, implement, or
improve--
(aa) early learning
and developmental
guidelines, or early
learning standards,
assessments, or
accountability systems;
or
(bb) alignment of
early learning and
developmental
guidelines with State
standards for education
in kindergarten through
grade 3; or
(III) require a State to
submit such standards or
measures for review.
(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).
(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 any other activity that
the State deems appropriate to realize
any of the goals specified in
paragraphs (2) through (5) of section
658A(b)]activities that improve access
to child care services, including use
of procedures to permit immediate
enrollment (after the initial
eligibility determination and after a
child is determined to be eligible) of
homeless children while required
documentation is obtained, training and
technical assistance on identifying and
serving homeless children and their
families, and specific outreach to
homeless families, and any other
activity that the State determines to
be appropriate to meet the purposes of
this subchapter (which may include an
activity described in clause (ii)),
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.--
(I) In general.--A State may
use amounts described in clause
(i) to establish or support a
system of local or regional
child care resource and
referral organizations that is
coordinated, to the extent
determined appropriate by the
State, by a statewide public or
private nonprofit, community-
based or regionally based, lead
child care resource and
referral organization.
(II) Local or regional
organizations.--The local or
regional child care resource
and referral organizations
supported as described in
subclause (I) shall--
(aa) provide parents
in the State with
consumer education
information referred to
in paragraph (2)(E)
(except as otherwise
provided in that
paragraph), concerning
the full range of child
care options, analyzed
by provider, including
child care provided
during nontraditional
hours and through
emergency child care
centers, in their
political subdivisions
or regions;
(bb) to the extent
practicable, work
directly with families
who receive assistance
under this subchapter
to offer the families
support and assistance,
using information
described in item (aa),
to make an informed
decision about which
child care providers
they will use, in an
effort to ensure that
the families are
enrolling their
children in high-
quality care;
(cc) collect and
analyze data on the
coordination of
services and supports,
including services
under section 619 and
part C of the
Individuals with
Disabilities Education
Act (20 U.S.C. 1419,
1431 et seq.), for
children with
disabilities (as
defined in section 602
of such Act (20 U.S.C.
1401));
(dd) collect and
analyze data on the
supply of and demand
for child care in
political subdivisions
or regions within the
State and submit such
data and analysis to
the State;
(ee) work to
establish partnerships
with public agencies
and private entities to
increase the supply and
quality of child care
services in the State;
and
(ff) as appropriate,
coordinate their
activities with the
activities of the State
lead agency and local
agencies that
administer funds made
available in accordance
with this subchapter.
(C) Limitation on administrative costs.--* *
*
(D) Assistance for certain families.--A State
shall ensure that a substantial portion of the
amounts available (after the State has complied
with the requirement of section 418(b)(2) of
the Social Security Act with respect to each of
the fiscal years [1997 through 2002]2015
through 2020) to the State to carry out
activities under this subchapter in each fiscal
year is used to provide assistance to low-
income working families other than [families
described in paragraph (2)(H)]families with
children described in clause (i), (ii), (iii),
or (iv) of paragraph (2)(M).
(E) Direct services.--From amounts provided
to a State for a fiscal year to carry out this
subchapter, the State shall--
(i) reserve the minimum amount
required to be reserved under section
658G, and the funds for costs described
in subparagraph (C); and
(ii) from the remainder, use not less
than 70 percent to fund direct services
(provided by the State) in accordance
with paragraph (2)(A).
[(4) Payment rates.--
[(A) In general.--The State plan shall
certify that payment rates for the provision of
child care services for which assistance is
provided 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.
[(B) Construction.--Nothing in this paragraph
shall be construed to create a private right of
action.]
(4) Payment rates.--
(A) In general.--The State plan shall certify
that payment rates for the provision of child
care services for which assistance is provided
in accordance with this subchapter are
sufficient to ensure equal access for eligible
children to child care services that are
comparable to child care services in the State
or substate area involved that are provided to
children whose parents are not eligible to
receive assistance under this subchapter or to
receive child care assistance under any other
Federal or State program and shall provide a
summary of the facts relied on by the State to
determine that such rates are sufficient to
ensure such access.
(B) Survey.--The State plan shall--
(i) demonstrate that the State has,
after consulting with the State
Advisory Council on Early Childhood
Education and Care designated or
established in section 642B(b)(1)(A)(i)
of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C.
9837b(b)(1)(A)(i)), local child care
program administrators, local child
care resource and referral agencies,
and other appropriate entities,
developed and conducted (not earlier
than 2 years before the date of the
submission of the application
containing the State plan) a
statistically valid and reliable survey
of the market rates for child care
services in the State (that reflects
variations in the cost of child care
services by geographic area, type of
provider, and age of child);
(ii) demonstrate that the State
prepared a detailed report containing
the results of the State market rates
survey conducted pursuant to clause
(i), and made the results of the survey
widely available (not later than 30
days after the completion of such
survey) through periodic means,
including posting the results on the
Internet;
(iii) describe how the State will set
payment rates for child care services,
for which assistance is provided in
accordance with this subchapter--
(I) in accordance with the
results of the market rates
survey conducted pursuant to
clause (i);
(II) taking into
consideration the cost of
providing higher quality child
care services than were
provided under this subchapter
before the date of enactment of
the Child Care and Development
Block Grant Act of 2014; and
(III) without, to the extent
practicable, reducing the
number of families in the State
receiving such assistance to
carry out this subchapter,
relative to the number of such
families on the date of
enactment of that Act; and
(iv) describe how the State will
provide for timely payment for child
care services provided in accordance
with this subchapter.
(C) Construction.--
(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 (B)(iii) on the basis of
such factors as--
(I) geographic location of
child care providers (such as
location in an urban or rural
area);
(II) the age or particular
needs of children (such as the
needs of children with
disabilities and children
served by child protective
services);
(III) whether the providers
provide child care during
weekend and other
nontraditional hours; or
(IV) the State's
determination that such
differentiated payment rates
are needed to enable a parent
to choose child care that is of
high quality.
(5) Sliding fee scale.--The State plan shall provide
that the State will establish and periodically revise,
by rule, a sliding fee scale that provides for cost
sharing (that is not a barrier to families receiving
assistance under this subchapter) by the families that
receive child care services for which assistance is
provided under this subchapter.
(d) Approval of Application.--* * *
* * * * * * *
SEC. 658F. LIMITATIONS ON STATE ALLOTMENTS.
(a) No Entitlement to Contract or Grant.--Nothing in this
subchapter shall be construed--
(1) * * *
* * * * * * *
(b) Construction of Facilities.--
(1) In general.--* * *
(2) Sectarian agency or organization.--In the case of
a sectarian agency or organization, no funds made
available under this subchapter may be used for the
purposes described in paragraph (1) except to the
extent that renovation or repair is necessary to bring
the facility of such agency or organization into
compliance with health and safety requirements referred
to in [section 658E(c)(2)(F)]section 658E(c)(2)(I).
[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) Reservation.--
(1) Reservation for activities relating to the
quality of child care services.--A State that receives
funds to carry out this subchapter for a fiscal year
referred to in paragraph (2) shall reserve and use a
portion of such funds, in accordance with paragraph
(2), for activities provided directly, or through
grants or contracts with local child care resource and
referral organizations or other appropriate entities,
that are designed to improve the quality of child care
services and increase parental options for, and access
to, high-quality child care, provided in accordance
with this subchapter.
(2) Amount of reservations.--Such State shall reserve
and use--
(A) to carry out the activities described in
paragraph (1), not less than--
(i) 6 percent of the funds described
in paragraph (1), for the first and
second full fiscal years after the date
of enactment of the Child Care and
Development Block Grant Act of 2014;
(ii) 8 percent of such funds, for the
third and fourth full fiscal years
after the date of enactment; and
(iii) 10 percent of such funds, for
the fifth full fiscal year after the
date of enactment and each succeeding
fiscal year; and
(B) in addition to the funds reserved under
subparagraph (A), 3 percent of the funds
described in paragraph (1), for the first full
fiscal year after the date of enactment and
each succeeding fiscal year, to carry out the
activities described in paragraph (1) and
subsection (b)(4), as such activities relate to
the quality of care for infants and toddlers.
(b) Activities.--Funds reserved under subsection (a) shall be
used to carry out not fewer than 2 of the following activities:
(1) Supporting the training, professional
development, and professional advancement of the child
care workforce through activities such as--
(A) offering child care providers training
and professional development that is
intentional and sequential and leads to a
higher level of skill or certification;
(B) establishing or supporting 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;
(C) offering 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 offering specialized training for
child care providers who care for infants and
toddlers, children who are English learners,
and children with disabilities (as defined in
section 602 of the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1401));
(D) providing training concerning the State
early learning and developmental guidelines,
where applicable, including training concerning
early mathematics and early language and
literacy development and effective
instructional practices to support mathematics
and language and literacy development in young
children;
(E) incorporating effective use of data to
guide instruction and program improvement;
(F) including effective behavior management
strategies and training, including positive
behavioral interventions and supports, that
promote positive social and emotional
development and reduce challenge behaviors;
(G) at the option of the State, incorporating
feedback from experts at the State's
institutions of higher education, as defined in
section 102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965
(20 U.S.C. 1002), and other early childhood
development experts and early childhood
education and care experts;
(H) providing training corresponding to the
nutritional and physical activity needs of
children to promote healthy development;
(I) providing training or professional
development for child care providers to serve
and support children with disabilities;
(J) providing training and outreach on
engaging parents and families in culturally and
linguistically appropriate ways to expand their
knowledge, skills, and capacity to become
meaningful partners in supporting their
children's learning and development; and
(K) providing training or professional
development for child care providers regarding
the early neurological development of children.
(2) Supporting the use of the early learning and
developmental guidelines described in section
658E(c)(2)(T) by--
(A) developing and implementing the State's
early learning and developmental guidelines;
and
(B) providing technical assistance to enhance
early learning for preschool and school-aged
children in order to promote language and
literacy skills, foster school readiness, and
support later school success.
(3) Developing and implementing a tiered quality
rating system for child care providers, which shall--
(A) support and assess the quality of child
care providers in the State;
(B) build on licensing standards and other
State regulatory standards for such providers;
(C) be designed to improve the quality of
different types of child care providers;
(D) describe the quality of early learning
facilities;
(E) build the capacity of State early
childhood education and care programs and
communities to promote parents' and families'
understanding of the State's early childhood
education and care system and the ratings of
the programs in which the child is enrolled;
and
(F) provide, to the maximum extent
practicable, financial incentives and other
supports designed to help child care providers
achieve and sustain higher levels of quality.
(4) Improving the supply and quality of child care
programs and services for infants and toddlers through
activities, which may include--
(A) establishing or expanding neighborhood-
based high-quality comprehensive family and
child development centers, which may serve as
resources to child care providers in order to
improve the quality of early childhood
education and care and early childhood
development services provided to infants and
toddlers from low-income families and to help
eligible child care providers improve their
capacity to offer high-quality care to infants
and toddlers from low-income families;
(B) establishing or expanding the operation
of community or neighborhood-based family child
care networks;
(C) supporting statewide networks of infant
and toddler child care specialists, including
specialists who have knowledge regarding infant
and toddler development and curriculum and
program implementation as well as the ability
to coordinate services with early intervention
specialists who provide services for infants
and toddlers with disabilities under part C of
the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
(20 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.);
(D) carrying out initiatives to improve the
quality of the infant and toddler child care
workforce, such as providing relevant training,
professional development, or mentoring
opportunities and linking such opportunities to
career pathways, developing career pathways for
providers in such workforce, and improving the
State credentialing of eligible providers
caring for infants and toddlers;
(E) if applicable, developing infant and
toddler components within the State's quality
rating system described in paragraph (3) for
child care providers for infants and toddlers,
or the development of infant and toddler
components in a State's child care licensing
regulations or early learning and developmental
guidelines;
(F) improving the ability of parents to
access information about high-quality infant
and toddler care; and
(G) carrying out other activities determined
by the State to improve the quality of infant
and toddler care provided in the State, and for
which there is evidence that the activities
will lead to improved infant and toddler health
and safety, infant and toddler development, or
infant and toddler well-being, including
providing training (including training in safe
sleep practices, first aid, and cardiopulmonary
resuscitation).
(5) Promoting broad child care provider participation
in the quality rating system described in paragraph
(3).
(6) Establishing or expanding a statewide system of
child care resource and referral services.
(7) Facilitating compliance with State requirements
for inspection, monitoring, training, and health and
safety, and with State licensing standards.
(8) Evaluating and assessing the quality and
effectiveness of child care programs and services
offered in the State, including evaluating how such
programs and services may improve the overall school
readiness of young children.
(9) Supporting child care providers in the pursuit of
accreditation by an established national accrediting
body with demonstrated, valid, and reliable program
standards of high quality.
(10) Supporting State or local efforts to develop or
adopt high-quality program standards relating to
health, mental health, nutrition, physical activity,
and physical development and providing resources to
enable eligible child care providers to meet, exceed,
or sustain success in meeting or exceeding, such
standards.
(11) Carrying out other activities determined by the
State to improve the quality of child care services
provided in the State, and for which measurement of
outcomes relating to improved provider preparedness,
child safety, child well-being, or school readiness is
possible.
(c) Certification.--Beginning with fiscal year 2015, at the
beginning of each fiscal year, the State shall annually submit
to the Secretary a certification containing an assurance that
the State was in compliance with subsection (a) during the
preceding fiscal year and a description of how the State used
funds received under this subchapter to comply with subsection
(a) during that preceding fiscal year.
(d) Reporting Requirements.--Each State receiving funds under
this subchapter shall prepare and submit an annual report to
the Secretary, which shall include information about--
(1) the amount of funds that are reserved under
subsection (a);
(2) the activities carried out under this section;
and
(3) the measures that the State will use to evaluate
the State's progress in improving the quality of child
care programs and services in the State.
(e) Technical Assistance.--The Secretary shall offer
technical assistance, in accordance with section 658I(a)(3),
which may include technical assistance through the use of
grants or cooperative agreements, to States for the activities
described in subsection (b).
(f) Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be construed
as providing the Secretary the authority to regulate, direct,
or dictate State child care quality activities or progress in
implementing those activities.
SEC. 658H. CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECKS.
(a) In General.--A State that receives funds to carry out
this subchapter shall have in effect--
(1) requirements, policies, and procedures to require
and conduct criminal background checks for child care
staff members (including prospective child care staff
members) of child care providers described in
subsection (c)(1); and
(2) licensing, regulation, and registration
requirements, as applicable, that prohibit the
employment of child care staff members as described in
subsection (c).
(b) Requirements.--A criminal background check for a child
care staff member under subsection (a) shall include--
(1) a search of each State criminal and sex offender
registry or repository in the State where the child
care staff member resides and each State where such
staff member resided during the preceding 10 years;
(2) a search of State-based child abuse and neglect
registries and databases in the State where the child
care staff member resides and each State where such
staff member resided during the preceding 10 years;
(3) a search of the National Crime Information
Center;
(4) a Federal Bureau of Investigation fingerprint
check using the Integrated Automated Fingerprint
Identification System; and
(5) a search of the National Sex Offender Registry
established under the Adam Walsh Child Protection and
Safety Act of 2006 (42 U.S.C. 16901 et seq.).
(c) Prohibitions.--
(1) Child care staff members.--A child care staff
member shall be ineligible for employment by a child
care provider that is licensed, regulated, or
registered by the State or for which assistance is
provided in accordance with this subchapter, if such
individual--
(A) refuses to consent to the criminal
background check described in subsection (b);
(B) knowingly makes a materially false
statement in connection with such criminal
background check;
(C) is registered, or is required to be
registered, on a State sex offender registry or
repository or the National Sex Offender
Registry established under the Adam Walsh Child
Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (42 U.S.C.
16901 et seq.); or
(D) has been convicted of a felony consisting
of--
(i) murder, as described in section
1111 of title 18, United States Code;
(ii) child abuse or neglect;
(iii) a crime against children,
including child pornography;
(iv) spousal abuse;
(v) a crime involving rape or sexual
assault;
(vi) kidnaping;
(vii) arson;
(viii) physical assault or battery;
or
(ix) subject to subsection (e)(4), a
drug-related offense committed during
the preceding 5 years.
(2) Child care providers.--A child care provider
described in paragraph (1) shall be ineligible for
assistance provided in accordance with this subchapter
if the provider employs a staff member who is
ineligible for employment under paragraph (1).
(d) Submission of Requests for Background Checks.--
(1) In general.--A child care provider covered by
subsection (c) shall submit a request, to the
appropriate State agency designated by a State, for a
criminal background check described in subsection (b),
for each child care staff member (including prospective
child care staff members) of the provider.
(2) Staff members.--Subject to paragraph (4), in the
case of an individual who became a child care staff
member before the date of enactment of the Child Care
and Development Block Grant Act of 2014, the provider
shall submit such a request--
(A) prior to the last day described in
subsection (i)(1); and
(B) not less often than once during each 5-
year period following the first submission date
under this paragraph for that staff member.
(3) Prospective staff members.--Subject to paragraph
(4), in the case of an individual who is a prospective
child care staff member on or after that date of
enactment, the provider shall submit such a request--
(A) prior to the date the individual becomes
a child care staff member of the provider; and
(B) not less often than once during each 5-
year period following the first submission date
under this paragraph for that staff member.
(4) Background check for another child care
provider.--A child care provider shall not be required
to submit a request under paragraph (2) or (3) for a
child care staff member if--
(A) the staff member received a background
check described in subsection (b)--
(i) within 5 years before the latest
date on which such a submission may be
made; and
(ii) while employed by or seeking
employment by another child care
provider within the State;
(B) the State provided to the first provider
a qualifying background check result,
consistent with this subchapter, for the staff
member; and
(C) the staff member is employed by a child
care provider within the State, or has been
separated from employment from a child care
provider within the State for a period of not
more than 180 consecutive days.
(e) Background Check Results and Appeals.--
(1) Background check results.--The State shall carry
out the request of a child care provider for a criminal
background check as expeditiously as possible, but in
not to exceed 45 days after the date on which such
request was submitted, and shall provide the results of
the criminal background check to such provider and to
the current or prospective staff member.
(2) Privacy.--
(A) In general.--The State shall provide the
results of the criminal background check to the
provider in a statement that indicates whether
a child care staff member (including a
prospective child care staff member) is
eligible or ineligible for employment described
in subsection (c), without revealing any
disqualifying crime or other related
information regarding the individual.
(B) Ineligible staff member.--If the child
care staff member is ineligible for such
employment due to the background check, the
State will, when providing the results of the
background check, include information related
to each disqualifying crime, in a report to the
staff member or prospective staff member.
(C) Public release of results.--No State
shall publicly release or share the results of
individual background checks, however, such
results of background checks may be included in
the development or dissemination of local or
statewide data related to background checks, if
such results are not individually identifiable.
(3) Appeals.--
(A) In general.--The State shall provide for
a process by which a child care staff member
(including a prospective child care staff
member) may appeal the results of a criminal
background check conducted under this section
to challenge the accuracy or completeness of
the information contained in such member's
criminal background report.
(B) Appeals process.--The State shall ensure
that--
(i) each child care staff member
shall be given notice of the
opportunity to appeal;
(ii) a child care staff member will
receive instructions about how to
complete the appeals process if the
child care staff member wishes to
challenge the accuracy or completeness
of the information contained in such
member's criminal background report;
and
(iii) the appeals process is
completed in a timely manner for each
child care staff member.
(4) Review.--The State may allow for a review process
through which the State may determine that a child care
staff member (including a prospective child care staff
member) disqualified for a crime specified in
subsection (c)(1)(D)(ix) is eligible for employment
described in subsection (c)(1), notwithstanding
subsection (c). The review process shall be consistent
with title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42
U.S.C. 2000e et seq.).
(5) No private right of action.--Nothing in this
section shall be construed to create a private right of
action if the provider is in compliance with State
regulations and requirements.
(f) Fees for Background Checks.--Fees that a State may charge
for the costs of processing applications and administering a
criminal background check as required by this section shall not
exceed the actual costs to the State for the processing and
administration.
(g) Construction.--
(1) Disqualification for other crimes.--Nothing in
this section shall be construed to prevent a State from
disqualifying individuals as child care staff members
based on their conviction for crimes not specifically
listed in this section that bear upon the fitness of an
individual to provide care for and have responsibility
for the safety and well-being of children.
(2) Rights and remedies.--Nothing in this section
shall be construed to alter or otherwise affect the
rights and remedies provided for child care staff
members residing in a State that disqualifies
individuals as child care staff members for crimes not
specifically provided for under this section.
(h) Definitions.--In this section--
(1) the term ``child care provider'' means a center-
based child care provider, a family child care
provider, or another provider of child care services
for compensation and on a regular basis that--
(A) is not an individual who is related to
all children for whom child care services are
provided; and
(B) is licensed, regulated, or registered
under State law or receives assistance provided
in accordance with this subchapter; and
(2) the term ``child care staff member'' means an
individual (other than an individual who is related to
all children for whom child care services are
provided)--
(A) who is employed by a child care provider
for compensation;
(B) whose activities involve the care or
supervision of children for a child care
provider or unsupervised access to children who
are cared for or supervised by a child care
provider; or
(C) who is a family child care provider.
(i) Effective Date.--
(1) In general.--A State that receives funds under
this subchapter shall meet the requirements of this
section for the provision of criminal background checks
for child care staff members described in subsection
(d)(1) not later than the last day of the second full
fiscal year after the date of enactment of the Child
Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2014.
(2) Extension.--The Secretary may grant a State an
extension of time, of not more than 1 fiscal year, to
meet the requirements of this section if the State
demonstrates a good faith effort to comply with the
requirements of this section.
(3) Penalty for noncompliance.--Except as provided in
paragraphs (1) and (2), for any fiscal year that a
State fails to comply substantially with the
requirements of this section, the Secretary shall
withhold 5 percent of the funds that would otherwise be
allocated to that State in accordance with this
subchapter for the following fiscal year.
SEC. 658I. ADMINISTRATION AND ENFORCEMENT.
(a) Administration.--The Secretary shall--
(1) * * *
(2) collect, publish, and make available to the
public a listing of State child care standards at least
once every 3 years; [and]
[(3) provide technical assistance to assist States to
carry out this subchapter, including assistance on a
reimbursable basis.]
(3) provide technical assistance to States (which may
include providing assistance on a reimbursable basis),
consistent with (as appropriate) scientifically valid
research, to carry out this subchapter; and
(4) disseminate, for voluntary informational
purposes, information on practices that scientifically
valid research indicates are most successful in
improving the quality of programs that receive
assistance under this subchapter.
(b) Enforcement.--
(1) Review of compliance with state plan.--* * *
* * * * * * *
(c) Prohibition.--Nothing in this subchapter shall be
construed as providing the Secretary the authority to permit
States to alter the eligibility requirements for eligible
children, including work requirements that apply to the parents
of eligible children.
(d) Request for Relief.--
(1) In general.--The State may submit to the
Secretary a request for relief from any provision of
Federal law (including a regulation, policy, or
procedure) affecting the delivery of child care
services with Federal funds, other than this
subchapter, that conflicts with a requirement of this
subchapter.
(2) Contents.--Such request shall--
(A) detail the provision of Federal law that
conflicts with that requirement;
(B) describe how modifying compliance with
that provision of Federal law to meet the
requirements of this subchapter will, by
itself, improve delivery of child care services
for children in the State; and
(C) certify that the health, safety, and
well-being of children served through
assistance received under this subchapter will
not be compromised as a result.
(3) Consultation.--The Secretary shall consult with
the State submitting the request and the head of each
Federal agency (other than the Secretary) with
responsibility for administering the Federal law
detailed in the State's request. The consulting parties
shall jointly identify--
(A) any provision of Federal law (including a
regulation, policy, or procedure) for which a
waiver is necessary to enable the State to
provide services in accordance with the
request; and
(B) any corresponding waiver.
(4) Waivers.--Notwithstanding any other provision of
law, and after the joint identification described in
paragraph (3), the head of the Federal agency involved
shall have the authority to waive any statutory
provision administered by that agency, or any
regulation, policy, or procedure issued by that agency,
that has been so identified, unless the head of the
Federal agency determines that such a waiver is
inconsistent with the objectives of this subchapter or
the Federal law from which relief is sought.
(5) Approval.--Within 90 days after the receipt of a
State's request under this subsection, the Secretary
shall inform the State of the Secretary's approval or
disapproval of the request. If the plan is disapproved,
the Secretary shall inform the State, in writing, of
the reasons for the disapproval and give the State the
opportunity to amend the request.
(6) Duration.--The Secretary may approve a request
under this subsection for a period of not more than 3
years, and may renew the approval for additional
periods of not more than 3 years.
(7) Termination.--The Secretary shall terminate
approval of a request for relief authorized under this
subsection if the Secretary determines, after notice
and opportunity for a hearing, that the performance of
a State granted relief under this subsection has been
inadequate, or if such relief is no longer necessary to
achieve its original purposes.
* * * * * * *
SEC. 658K. REPORTS AND AUDITS.
(a) Reports.--
(1) Collection of information by states.--
(A) In general.--* * *
(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) * * *
* * * * * * *
(ix) the cost of child care for such
families; [and]
(x) the average hours per month of
such care; and
(xi) whether the children receiving
assistance under this subchapter are
homeless children;
during the period for which such information is
required to be submitted.
(C) Submission to secretary.--* * *
* * * * * * *
(2) Annual reports.--Not later than December 31,
[1997]2014, 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)]section
658P(6);
(B) * * *
* * * * * * *
[SEC. 658L. REPORT BY SECRETARY.]SEC. 658L. REPORTS, HOTLINE, AND WEB
SITE.
[Not later](a) Report by Secretary.--Not later than July 31,
[1998]2016, 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]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 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.
(b) National Toll-Free Hotline and Web Site.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall operate a
national toll-free hotline and Web site, to--
(A) develop and disseminate publicly
available child care consumer education
information for parents and help parents access
safe, affordable, and quality child care in
their community; and
(B) to allow persons to report (anonymously
if desired) suspected child abuse or neglect,
or violations of health and safety
requirements, by an eligible child care
provider that receives assistance under this
subchapter.
(2) Requirements.--The Secretary shall ensure that
the hotline and Web site meet the following
requirements:
(A) Referral to local child care providers.--
The Web site shall be hosted by
``childcare.gov''. The Web site shall enable a
child care consumer to enter a zip code and
obtain a referral to local child care providers
described in subparagraph (B) within a
specified search radius.
(B) Information.--The Web site shall provide
to consumers, directly or through linkages to
State databases, at a minimum--
(i) a localized list of all State
licensed child care providers;
(ii) any provider-specific
information from a Quality Rating and
Improvement System or information about
other quality indicators, to the extent
the information is publicly available
and to the extent practicable;
(iii) any other provider-specific
information about compliance with
licensing, and health and safety,
requirements to the extent the
information is publicly available and
to the extent practicable;
(iv) referrals to local resource and
referral organizations from which
consumers can find more information
about child care providers, and a
recommendation that consumers consult
with the organizations when selecting a
child care provider; and
(v) State information about child
care subsidy programs and other
financial supports available to
families.
(C) Nationwide capacity.--The Web site and
hotline shall have the capacity to help
families in every State and community in the
Nation.
(D) Information at all hours.--The Web site
shall provide, to parents and families, access
to information about child care 24 hours a day.
(E) Services in different languages.--The Web
site and hotline shall ensure the widest
possible access to services for families who
speak languages other than English.
(F) High-quality consumer education and
referral.--The Web site and hotline shall
ensure that families have access to child care
consumer education and referral services that
are consistent and of high quality.
(3) Prohibition.--Nothing in this subsection shall be
construed to allow the Secretary to compel States to
provide additional data and information that is
currently (as of the date of enactment of the Child
Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2014) not
publicly available, or is not required by this
subchapter.
* * * * * * *
SEC. 658O. AMOUNTS RESERVED; ALLOTMENTS.
(a) Amounts Reserved.--
(1) Territories and possessions.--* * *
* * * * * * *
(3) National toll-free hotline and web site.--The
Secretary shall reserve not less than $1,000,000 of the
amount appropriated under this subchapter for each
fiscal year for the operation of a national toll-free
hotline and Web site, under section 658L(b).
* * * * * * *
(c) Payments for the Benefit of Indian Children.--
(1) General authority.--* * *
(2) Applications and requirements.--An application
for a grant or contract under this section shall
provide that:
(A) Coordination.--* * *
* * * * * * *
(D) Licensing and standards.--In lieu of any
licensing and regulatory requirements
applicable under State or local law, the
Secretary, in consultation with Indian tribes
and tribal organizations, shall develop minimum
child care standards that shall be applicable
to Indian tribes and tribal organizations
receiving assistance under this subchapter.
Such standards shall appropriately reflect
Indian tribe and tribal organization needs and
available resources, and shall include
standards requiring a publicly available
application, health and safety standards, and
standards requiring a reservation of funds for
activities to improve the quality of child care
provided to Indian children.
(3) Consideration of secretarial approval.--* * *
* * * * * * *
SEC. 658P. DEFINITIONS.
As used in this subchapter:
(1) Caregiver.--* * *
* * * * * * *
[(4) Eligible child.--The term ``eligible child''
means an individual--
[(A) who is less than 13 years of age;
[(B) whose family income does not exceed 85
percent of the State median income for a family
of the same size; and
[(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).]
(3) Child with a disability.--The term ``child with a
disability'' means--
(A) a child with a disability, as defined in
section 602 of the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1401);
(B) a child who is eligible for early
intervention services under part C of the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20
U.S.C. 1431 et seq.);
(C) a child who is less than 13 years of age
and who is eligible for services under section
504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29
U.S.C. 794); and
(D) a child with a disability, as defined by
the State involved.
(4) Eligible child.--The term ``eligible child''
means an individual--
(A) who is less than 13 years of age;
(B) whose family income does not exceed 85
percent of the State median income for a family
of the same size; and
(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).
(5) English learner.--The term ``English learner''
means an individual who is limited English proficient,
as defined in section 9101 of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801) or
section 637 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9832).
[(5)](6) Eligible child care provider.--The term
``eligible child care provider'' means--
(A) a center-based child care provider, a
group home child care provider, a family child
care provider, or other provider of child care
services for compensation that--
(i) is licensed, regulated, or
registered under State law as described
in [section 658E(c)(2)(E)]section
658E(c)(2)(F); and
(ii) satisfies the State and local
requirements, including those referred
to in [section 658E(c)(2)(F)]section
658E(c)(2)(I);
applicable to the child care services it
provides; or
(B) * * *
[(6)](7) Family child care provider.--* * *
[(7)](8) Indian tribe.--* * *
[(8)](9) Lead agency.--The term ``lead agency'' means
the agency [designated under section
658B(a).]designated or established under section
658D(a).
[(9)](10) Parent.--The term ``parent'' includes a
legal guardian, foster parent, or other person standing
in loco parentis.
(11) Scientifically valid research.--The term
``scientifically valid research'' includes applied
research, basic research, and field-initiated research,
for which the rationale, design, and interpretation are
soundly developed in accordance with principles of
scientific research.
[Paragraph 10 was repealed by section 614 of P.L. 104-193]
[(11)](12) Secretary.--* * *
[(12)](13) Sliding fee scale.--* * *
[(13)](14) State.--* * *
[(14)](15) Tribal organization.--
(A) In general.--* * *
* * * * * * *
PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE ACT
* * * * * * *
SEC. 319C-1. IMPROVING STATE AND LOCAL PUBLIC HEALTH SECURITY.
(a) In General.-- * * *
(b) Eligible Entities.--To be eligible to receive an award
under subsection (a), an entity shall--
(1)(A) * * *
* * * * * * *
(2) prepare and submit to the Secretary an
application at such time, and in such manner, and
containing such information as the Secretary may
require, including--
(A) an All-Hazards Public Health Emergency
Preparedness and Response Plan which shall
include--
(i) * * *
* * * * * * *
(vii) a description of how the
entity, as applicable and appropriate,
will coordinate with State emergency
preparedness and response plans in
public health emergency preparedness,
including State educational agencies
(as defined in section 9101(41) of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act
of 1965) and State child care lead
agencies (designated or established
under section 658D of the Child Care
and Development Block Grant Act of
1990);
* * * * * * *