What This Bill Does
This bill establishes a federal program to create universal child care and early learning services available to all young children in the United States. The government would provide financial assistance to state and local entities called "prime sponsors" to operate these programs and ensure families can access affordable, high-quality child care regardless of their income or circumstances.
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Who It Affects
- Young children not yet required to attend school in their state
- Families seeking child care and early learning services
- Low-income families and families with incomes up to 200 percent of the poverty line
- Children with disabilities
- Dual language learner children
- Homeless children
- Children of migrant and seasonal farmworkers
- Native American children and Native Hawaiian children
- Child care workers and early learning program staff
- State governments, local governments, and Indian Tribes designated as prime sponsors
- Teachers and child care providers
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Key Provisions
- The federal government shall pay at least 90 percent of the costs of providing child care and early learning programs for eligible children, except that it shall pay 100 percent of costs for children of migrant and seasonal farmworkers and Native American and Native Hawaiian children (Sec. 112(c)(2))
- Each eligible child is entitled to participate in a child care and early learning program that meets the bill's requirements, and this entitlement shall not be limited by a cap on total participants (Sec. 111(b))
- Prime sponsors must establish a Child Care and Early Learning Council to advise the sponsor and help coordinate program services, with representation from parents, program staff, and other stakeholders (Sec. 114(d)(1))
- Families with low incomes shall not be charged any fee for child care and early learning services, and families with higher incomes shall be charged fees based on a sliding scale not to exceed 7 percent of family income (Sec. 114(j))
- Prime sponsors must provide comprehensive services including health care, mental health services, nutrition services, education, and family support services based on each family's individual needs (Sec. 114(b)(2)(E))
- Prime sponsors must implement policies that prohibit or severely limit suspension of children due to behavior and prohibit expulsion from programs based on behavior (Sec. 114(b)(2)(I))
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What Changes
If this bill becomes law, the federal government would create and fund a new nationwide system of child care and early learning programs. Families earning below 200 percent of the poverty line would gain access to free or low-cost child care services. States, localities, and Indian Tribes would become "prime sponsors" responsible for administering these programs in their areas. Child care providers would receive federal funding to meet national quality standards. Families with income above certain thresholds would pay sliding scale fees rather than full costs. States and localities would be prohibited from reducing their existing child care spending because of this new federal program.
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Important Definitions
- **Child care and early learning program**: Any program providing child care and early learning services in centers (including schools) or in family child care homes (Sec. 102(1))
- **Covered child**: A child not yet required to attend school under state law and who meets requirements set by regulation (Sec. 102(4))
- **Low-income**: A person in a family with income not exceeding 200 percent of the poverty line (Sec. 102(16))
- **Dual language learner**: A child acquiring two or more languages at the same time or learning a second language while developing their first language (Sec. 102(5))
- **Full-working-day**: Not less than 10 hours per day (Sec. 102(8))
- **Prime sponsor**: A state, locality, Indian Tribe, Tribal organization, or public or private nonprofit entity designated by the Secretary to carry out child care and early learning programs (Sec. 113(a)(1))
- **Health**: Refers to both physical and mental health when describing services provided to children, parents, or siblings (Sec. 102(9))
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Effective Date
Not specified in bill text
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 953
To establish universal child care and early learning programs.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 9, 2023
Ms. SHERRILL (for herself, Ms. JACOBS, Mr. NADLER, Ms. MENG, Mr. BOW-
MAN, Ms. SCANLON, Ms. NORTON, Ms. BONAMICI, Ms. LEE of California,
Ms. TLAIB, Mr. CASAR, Ms. TOKUDA, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. CARTWRIGHT,
Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. LANDSMAN, Ms.
PRESSLEY, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. AUCHINCLOSS, Mr. JOHNSON of
Georgia, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, Ms. DEAN of Pennsylvania,
Ms. BUSH, Mr. EVANS, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr.
HUFFMAN, Mr. LYNCH, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. RASKIN, Mr. LIEU, Mr.
DESAULNIER, and Mr. GRIJALVA) introduced the following bill; which
was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce
A BILL
To establish universal child care and early learning programs.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Child Care for Every
4
Community Act’’.
5
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•HR 953 IH
TITLE I—CHILD CARE AND
1
EARLY LEARNING PROGRAMS
2
SEC. 101. STATEMENT OF PURPOSES.
3
The purposes of this title are—
4
(1) to provide all young children with a fair and
5
full opportunity to reach their full potential, by es-
6
tablishing and expanding programs, to create uni-
7
versal, comprehensive child care and early learning
8
programs that are available to all young children;
9
(2) to ensure that families can access afford-
10
able, high-quality child care and early learning pro-
11
grams regardless of circumstance;
12
(3) to promote the school readiness of all young
13
children by enhancing their cognitive, social, emo-
14
tional, and physical development—
15
(A) in a learning environment that sup-
16
ports children’s growth in language, literacy,
17
mathematics, science, cognitive abilities, social
18
and emotional functioning, creative arts, phys-
19
ical skills, and approaches to learning; and
20
(B) through the provision to children and
21
their families of health, educational, nutritional,
22
social, and other services that are determined,
23
based on family needs assessments, to be nec-
24
essary;
25
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•HR 953 IH
(4) to recognize and build upon the experience
1
and success gained through the Head Start pro-
2
gram, the military child care program, and similar
3
efforts;
4
(5) to provide that decisions on the nature of
5
such child care and early learning programs be made
6
at the community level with the full involvement of
7
parents, family members, and other individuals and
8
organizations in the community; and
9
(6) to establish the legislative framework for
10
child care and early learning services.
11
SEC. 102. DEFINITIONS.
12
For purposes of this title:
13
(1) CHILD CARE AND EARLY LEARNING PRO-
14
GRAM.—The term ‘‘child care and early learning
15
program’’ means any program that provides child
16
care and early learning services in child care and
17
early learning centers (including schools) or in fam-
18
ily child care homes.
19
(2) CHILD
WITH
A
DISABILITY.—The term
20
‘‘child with a disability’’ means—
21
(A) a child with a disability, as defined in
22
section 602(3) of the Individuals with Disabil-
23
ities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1401(3)); and
24
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•HR 953 IH
(B) an infant or toddler with a disability,
1
as defined in section 632(5) of such Act (20
2
U.S.C. 1432(5)).
3
(3)
COMMUNITY.—The
term
‘‘community’’
4
means a city, county, or multicity or multicounty
5
unit within a State, an Indian reservation (including
6
Indians in any nearby off-reservation area des-
7
ignated by an appropriate Tribal government in con-
8
sultation with the Secretary), or a neighborhood or
9
other area (irrespective of boundaries or political
10
subdivisions) that provides a suitable organizational
11
base and possesses the commonality of interest need-
12
ed to operate a child care and early learning pro-
13
gram.
14
(4) COVERED
CHILD.—The term ‘‘covered
15
child’’ means a child who—
16
(A) is not yet required to attend school,
17
under the laws of compulsory school attendance
18
of the State in which the child resides; and
19
(B) meets the requirements of regulations
20
issued under section 124.
21
(5) DUAL
LANGUAGE
LEARNER.—The term
22
‘‘dual language learner’’ means a child who is ac-
23
quiring two or more languages at the same time, or
24
a child who is learning a second language while con-
25
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•HR 953 IH
tinuing to develop the child’s first language, includ-
1
ing a child who may also be identified by a State or
2
locality as ‘‘bilingual’’, ‘‘an English language learn-
3
er’’, ‘‘limited English proficient’’, ‘‘an English learn-
4
er’’, or a child who speaks a ‘‘language other than
5
English’’.
6
(6) FAMILY
LITERACY
SERVICES.—The term
7
‘‘family literacy services’’ means services that—
8
(A) are family literacy services, as defined
9
in section 637 of the Head Start Act (42
10
U.S.C. 9832); and
11
(B) meet the requirements of section 641A
12
of such Act (42 U.S.C. 9836a).
13
(7) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—The term ‘‘finan-
14
cial assistance’’ includes assistance provided by
15
grant, agreement, or contract, for which payments
16
may be made in installments and in advance or by
17
way of reimbursement with necessary adjustments
18
on account of overpayments or underpayments.
19
(8) FULL-WORKING-DAY.—The term ‘‘full-work-
20
ing-day’’ means not less than 10 hours per day.
21
Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to re-
22
quire an entity to provide services to a child who has
23
not reached the age of compulsory school attendance
24
for more than the number of hours per day per-
25
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•HR 953 IH
mitted by State law (including regulation) for the
1
provision of services to such a child.
2
(9) HEALTH.—The term ‘‘health’’, when used
3
to refer to services or care provided to children en-
4
rolled in a child care and early learning program,
5
their parents, or their siblings, shall be interpreted
6
to refer to both physical and mental health.
7
(10) HOMELESS CHILD.—The term ‘‘homeless
8
child’’ means an individual described in section
9
725(2) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance
10
Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a(2)).
11
(11) INDIAN.—The term ‘‘Indian’’ means an in-
12
dividual who is—
13
(A) a member of an Indian Tribe or band,
14
as membership is defined by the Tribe or band,
15
including—
16
(i) any Tribe or band terminated since
17
1940; and
18
(ii) any Tribe or band recognized by
19
the State in which the Tribe or band re-
20
sides;
21
(B) a descendant of an individual de-
22
scribed in subparagraph (A);
23
(C) considered by the Secretary of the In-
24
terior to be an Indian for any purpose;
25
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•HR 953 IH
(D) an Eskimo, Aleut, or other Alaska Na-
1
tive; or
2
(E) a member of an organized Indian
3
group that received a grant under the Indian
4
Education Act of 1988 as in effect on October
5
19, 1994.
6
(12) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’
7
means the governing body of any individually identi-
8
fied and federally recognized Indian or Alaska Na-
9
tive Tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, or commu-
10
nity (including an affiliated Tribal group or compo-
11
nent reservation) included on the list published pur-
12
suant to section 104(a) of the Federally Recognized
13
Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5131(a)).
14
(13) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—
15
The term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the
16
meaning given the term in section 101(a) of the
17
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)).
18
(14) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term
19
‘‘local educational agency’’ has the meaning given
20
such term in section 8101 of the Elementary and
21
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
22
(15) LOCALITY.—The term ‘‘locality’’ means
23
any city, municipality, county, or other political sub-
24
division of a State having general governmental pow-
25
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•HR 953 IH
ers, or any combination of such political subdivi-
1
sions.
2
(16) LOW-INCOME.—The term ‘‘low-income’’,
3
used with respect to a child or other individual,
4
means an individual in a family with a family in-
5
come that is not more than 200 percent of the pov-
6
erty line.
7
(17) MIGRANT OR SEASONAL CHILD CARE AND
8
EARLY LEARNING PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘migrant or
9
seasonal child care and early learning program’’
10
means—
11
(A) with respect to services for migrant
12
farmworkers, a child care and early learning
13
program that serves families who are engaged
14
in agricultural labor and who have changed
15
their residence from one geographic location to
16
another in the preceding 2-year period; and
17
(B) with respect to services for seasonal
18
farmworkers, a child care and early learning
19
program that serves families who are engaged
20
primarily in seasonal agricultural labor and who
21
have not changed their residence to another ge-
22
ographic location in the preceding 2-year pe-
23
riod.
24
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•HR 953 IH
(18) MILITARY
CHILD
CARE
PROGRAM.—The
1
term ‘‘military child care program’’ means the pro-
2
gram carried out under subchapter II of chapter 88
3
of title 10, United States Code.
4
(19) NATIVE
HAWAIIAN.—The term ‘‘Native
5
Hawaiian’’ has the meaning given the term in sec-
6
tion 6207 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu-
7
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7517).
8
(20) POVERTY LINE.—The term ‘‘poverty line’’
9
means the official poverty line (as defined by the Of-
10
fice of Management and Budget) based on the most
11
recent data available from the Bureau of the Cen-
12
sus—
13
(A) adjusted to reflect the percentage
14
change in the Consumer Price Index For All
15
Urban Consumers, issued by the Bureau of
16
Labor Statistics, during the annual or other in-
17
terval immediately preceding the date on which
18
such adjustment is made; and
19
(B) adjusted for family size.
20
(21)
PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT.—The
21
term ‘‘professional development’’ means the career-
22
pathway aligned mechanisms that contribute to en-
23
suring that a member of the early care and edu-
24
cation workforce, in any setting, has or is working
25
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•HR 953 IH
towards obtaining the degrees and other credentials
1
needed to demonstrate the necessary knowledge and
2
competencies for quality provision of child care and
3
early learning services.
4
(22) SCIENTIFICALLY VALID RESEARCH.—The
5
term ‘‘scientifically valid research’’ includes applied
6
research, basic research, and field-initiated research,
7
in which the rationale, design, and interpretation are
8
soundly developed in accordance with principles of
9
scientific research.
10
(23)
SECRETARY.—The
term
‘‘Secretary’’
11
means the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
12
(24) STAKEHOLDER.—The term ‘‘stakeholder’’
13
means a community-based employer of child care
14
providers, a labor organization representing child
15
care providers, a joint labor-management partner-
16
ship advocating for child care standards, an entity
17
operating a trust fund that provides training and
18
education for child care providers, or a nonprofit or-
19
ganization that represents parents of children eligi-
20
ble for services in a program carried out under this
21
title.
22
(25) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means—
23
(A) a State, as defined in section 637 of
24
the Head Start Act; and
25
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•HR 953 IH
(B) the Republic of Palau—
1
(i) for each of fiscal years 2024
2
through 2028; and
3
(ii) (if legislation approving a new
4
agreement regarding United States assist-
5
ance for the Republic of Palau has not
6
been enacted by September 30, 2026), for
7
each subsequent fiscal year for which such
8
legislation has not been enacted.
9
(26) TRIBAL LAND.—The term ‘‘Tribal land’’
10
means a reservation, the land of an Indian Tribe, or
11
land designated by Hawaii as under the control of
12
Native Hawaiians for purposes of this title.
13
(27) TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘Trib-
14
al organization’’ means—
15
(A) the recognized governing body of any
16
Indian Tribe, and any legally established orga-
17
nization of Indians which is controlled, sanc-
18
tioned, or chartered by such governing body or
19
which is democratically elected by the adult
20
members of the Indian community to be served
21
by such organization and which includes the
22
maximum participation of Indians in all phases
23
of its activities, except that in any case where
24
a contract is let or grant made to an organiza-
25
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•HR 953 IH
tion to perform services benefitting more than
1
one Indian Tribe, the approval of each such In-
2
dian Tribe shall be a prerequisite to the letting
3
or making of such contract or grant; and
4
(B) includes a Native Hawaiian organiza-
5
tion, as defined in section 6207 of the Elemen-
6
tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20
7
U.S.C. 7517) and a private nonprofit organiza-
8
tion established for the purpose of serving
9
youth who are Indians or Native Hawaiians.
10
SEC. 103. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; APPRO-
11
PRIATIONS.
12
(a) APPROPRIATIONS.—There are authorized to be
13
appropriated and there are appropriated to carry out this
14
title (other than the activities described in subsection (b)),
15
includin
[Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]