Child Care for Working Families Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2817 To amend the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 and the Head Start Act to promote child care and early learning, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 22, 2021 Mr. SCOTT of Virginia (for himself, Mr. SABLAN, Mrs. HAYES, Ms. BONAMICI, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. CASTRO of Texas, Mrs. MCBATH, Mr. NORCROSS, Mr. MORELLE, Ms. WILD, Mr. COURTNEY, Mr. BOWMAN, Mr. DESAULNIER, Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ, Mr. YAR- MUTH, Ms. ADAMS, Mr. MRVAN, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Ms. STEVENS, Ms. DELAURO, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Ms. LOIS FRANKEL of Florida, Ms. KAPTUR, Ms. MENG, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. RASKIN, Mr. COHEN, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. SPEIER, Mr. CARBAJAL, Ms. BASS, Mr. KILMER, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Ms. BROWNLEY, Ms. TITUS, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Ms. JACOBS of California, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Ms. SCANLON, Mr. EVANS, Ms. NORTON, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Mr. CARSON, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illi- nois, Ms. HOULAHAN, Mr. TONKO, Ms. TLAIB, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Mrs. LAWRENCE, Ms. DEGETTE, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Mr. LIEU, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. SOTO, Mr. LANGEVIN, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Ms. STRICKLAND, Mr. VARGAS, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Ms. PINGREE, Mr. AUCHINCLOSS, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. DEFAZIO, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Mr. MFUME, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. KILDEE, Ms. UNDERWOOD, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. NEGUSE, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, Mr. SWALWELL, Ms. ROSS, Ms. SHERRILL, Mr. HORSFORD, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, and Ms. MCCOLLUM) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To amend the Child Care and Development Block Grant VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:58 Jun 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H2817.IH H2817 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2817 IH Act of 1990 and the Head Start Act to promote child care and early learning, and for other purposes. 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 Work- 4 ing Families Act’’. 5 TITLE I—CHILD CARE AND 6 DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE 7 SEC. 101. PURPOSES. 8 Section 658A(b) of the Child Care and Development 9 Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9801 note) is amend- 10 ed— 11 (1) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the 12 following: 13 ‘‘(1) to ensure that no low- to moderate-income 14 family pays more than 7 percent of its household in- 15 come on child care;’’; 16 (2) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the 17 following: 18 ‘‘(2) to support working parents in making 19 their own decisions regarding the child care services 20 that best suit their family’s needs;’’; 21 (3) in paragraph (4)— 22 (A) by striking ‘‘high-quality,’’ and insert- 23 ing ‘‘high-quality and inclusive, and’’; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:58 Jun 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2817.IH H2817 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2817 IH (B) by inserting ‘‘, as well as before- and 1 after-school and summer care for school-age 2 children,’’ after ‘‘services’’; 3 (4) in paragraph (5), by inserting before the 4 semicolon the following: ‘‘, and to help child care 5 programs meet evidence-based or national standards 6 to improve the quality of child care’’; 7 (5) in paragraph (6)— 8 (A) by inserting ‘‘, including children with 9 disabilities and infants and toddlers with dis- 10 abilities’’ before the semicolon; and 11 (B) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 12 (6) in paragraph (7)— 13 (A) by striking ‘‘high-quality’’ and insert- 14 ing ‘‘high-quality and inclusive’’; and 15 (B) by striking the period at the end and 16 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 17 (7) by adding at the end the following: 18 ‘‘(8) to support the development and improve- 19 ment of statewide systems to support the needs of 20 infants and toddlers with disabilities and children 21 with disabilities, better coordinate child care and 22 other services, and assist States in increasing the 23 number of child care providers that provide high- 24 quality and inclusive care to families of infants and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:58 Jun 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2817.IH H2817 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2817 IH toddlers with disabilities and families of children 1 with disabilities.’’. 2 SEC. 102. APPROPRIATIONS. 3 Section 658B of the Child Care and Development 4 Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858) is amended 5 to read as follows: 6 ‘‘SEC. 658B. APPROPRIATIONS. 7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be ap- 8 propriated and there are appropriated, out of any money 9 in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated— 10 ‘‘(1) to carry out this subchapter 11 $20,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2022, 12 $30,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2023, and 13 $40,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2024; and 14 ‘‘(2) to carry out this subchapter (other than 15 paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 658O(a)) such 16 sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2025 and 17 each subsequent fiscal year. 18 ‘‘(b) TERRITORIES, INDIAN TRIBES.—There are au- 19 thorized to be appropriated and there are appropriated, 20 out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appro- 21 priated to carry out paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 22 658O(a) such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 23 2025 and each subsequent fiscal year.’’. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:58 Jun 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2817.IH H2817 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2817 IH SEC. 103. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM. 1 Section 658C of the Child Care and Development 2 Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858a) is amended 3 to read as follows: 4 ‘‘SEC. 658C. ESTABLISHMENT OF CHILD CARE PROGRAM. 5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary is authorized to 6 administer a child care program under which families in 7 eligible States shall be provided an opportunity to obtain 8 child care for eligible children, subject to the requirements 9 of this subchapter. 10 ‘‘(b) ASSISTANCE FOR EVERY ELIGIBLE CHILD.— 11 Beginning on October 1, 2024, every family who applies 12 for assistance under this subchapter with respect to a child 13 who resides in a State with an approved application under 14 section 658E and who is determined, by a lead agency (or 15 other entity designated by a lead agency), to be an eligible 16 child as defined in section 658P, shall be offered assist- 17 ance in accordance with and subject to the requirements 18 and limitations of this subchapter.’’. 19 SEC. 104. LEAD AGENCY. 20 Section 658D of the Child Care and Development 21 Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858b) is amended— 22 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘a grant’’ and 23 inserting ‘‘payments’’; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:58 Jun 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2817.IH H2817 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2817 IH (2) in subsection (b)(1)(A), by inserting before 1 the semicolon the following: ‘‘, including by certi- 2 fying the eligibility of children’’. 3 SEC. 105. APPLICATION AND PLAN. 4 (a) PLAN REQUIREMENTS.—Section 658E(c) of the 5 Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 6 U.S.C. 9858c(c)) is amended— 7 (1) in paragraph (2)— 8 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 9 (i) by striking the matter preceding 10 clause (i) and inserting the following: 11 ‘‘(A) SUPPORTING WORKING PARENTS.— 12 Support working parents by providing assur- 13 ances that—’’; and 14 (ii) by striking clause (i)(II) and in- 15 serting the following: 16 ‘‘(II) to enroll such child with a 17 child care provider who has received a 18 child care certificate on behalf of such 19 parent or parents;’’; 20 (B) in subparagraph (E)— 21 (i) in clause (i)— 22 (I) by striking subclause (II) and 23 inserting the following: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:58 Jun 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2817.IH H2817 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2817 IH ‘‘(II) the State’s tiered and 1 transparent system for measuring the 2 quality of child care providers, de- 3 scribed in subparagraph (W)(i), in- 4 cluding— 5 ‘‘(aa) a description of the 6 national standards or other 7 equally rigorous and evidence- 8 based standards tied to child out- 9 comes that the State uses for 10 purposes of subparagraph 11 (W)(i)(II)(aa); 12 ‘‘(bb) the payment rates re- 13 ferred to in paragraph (4), for 14 providers at each tier of such 15 system; and 16 ‘‘(cc) the number and per- 17 centage of eligible providers at 18 each tier of such system, in total 19 and disaggregated by geographic 20 location, by provider race and 21 ethnicity, and by the race and 22 ethnicity of the children served, 23 unless the disaggregation in- 24 volved would reveal personally 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:58 Jun 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2817.IH H2817 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2817 IH identifiable information about an 1 individual provider or child;’’; 2 (II) in subclause (IV), by insert- 3 ing ‘‘the program carried out under 4 title II of the Child Care for Working 5 Families Act,’’ after ‘‘9831 et seq.),’’; 6 (III) in subclause (VI), by insert- 7 ing ‘‘(including for families who speak 8 languages other than English)’’ after 9 ‘‘family engagement’’; and 10 (IV) in subclause (VII), by strik- 11 ing ‘‘and’’ at the end; 12 (ii) in clause (ii), by striking the pe- 13 riod at the end and inserting a semicolon; 14 and 15 (iii) by adding at the end the fol- 16 lowing: 17 ‘‘(iii) information about the State’s 18 wage ladder described in subparagraph 19 (G)(iii); and 20 ‘‘(iv) information on opportunities for 21 staff of child care providers to improve 22 their skills and credentials, including infor- 23 mation about training opportunities and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:58 Jun 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2817.IH H2817 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2817 IH professional organizations that provide 1 such training.’’; 2 (C) in subparagraph (G)— 3 (i) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘and pro- 4 fessional development requirements’’ and 5 inserting ‘‘, professional development, and 6 compensation requirements’’; 7 (ii) in clause (ii)(V)— 8 (I) by redesignating item (dd) as 9 item (ee); 10 (II) in item (cc), by striking 11 ‘‘and’’; and 12 (III) by inserting after item (cc) 13 the following: 14 ‘‘(dd) infants and toddlers 15 with disabilities; and’’; 16 (iii) by redesignating clauses (iii) and 17 (iv) as clauses (v) and (vi), respectively; 18 and 19 (iv) by inserting after clause (ii) the 20 following: 21 ‘‘(iii) COMPENSATION.—The plan 22 shall provide a description of the State’s 23 wage ladder for staff of eligible child care 24 providers, and an assurance that wages for 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:58 Jun 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2817.IH H2817 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 2817 IH such staff will, at a minimum, meet the re- 1 quirements of paragraph (4)(B)(iii)(II). 2 ‘‘(iv) STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT.— 3 The plan shall demonstrate how the State 4 will facilitate participation of staff of eligi- 5 ble child care providers in organizations 6 that foster the professional development 7 and stakeholder engagement of the child 8 care workforce.’’; 9 (D) in subparagraph (I), by striking clause 10 (ii) and inserting the following: 11 ‘‘(ii) may include other requirements, 12 such as— 13 ‘‘(I) requirements relating to nu- 14 trition, access to physical activity, or 15 any other subject area determined by 16 the State to be necessary to promote 17 child development or to protect chil- 18 dren’s health and safety; and 19 ‘‘(II) a requirement to comply 20 with the standards recommended in 21 the Department of Health and 22 Human Services’ report entitled ‘Car- 23 ing for our Children Basics: Health 24 and Safety Foundations for Early 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:58 Jun 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2817.IH H2817 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 2817 IH Care and Education’ issued on June 1 25, 2015.’’; 2 (E) in subparagraph (K)(i), in the matter 3 preceding subclause (I), by striking ‘‘, not later 4 than 2 years after the date of enactment of the 5 Child Care and Development Block Grant Act 6 of 2014,’’; 7 (F) in subparagraph (M)— 8 (i) by adding ‘‘investment of quality 9 child care amounts described in section 10 658G(a)(1),’’ after ‘‘parents,’’; 11 (ii) by redesignating clause (iv) as 12 clause (vi); 13 (iii) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘, as 14 defined by the State; and’’ and inserting a 15 semicolon; and 16 (iv) by inserting after clause (iii) the 17 following: 18 ‘‘(iv) infants and toddlers with disabil- 19 ities; 20 ‘‘(v) children who are dual language 21 learners; and’’; 22 (G) in subparagraph (N)— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:58 Jun 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2817.IH H2817 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 2817 IH (i) in the subparagraph heading, by 1 adding at the end the following ‘‘AND CON- 2 TINUITY OF CARE’’; 3 (ii) in clause (i)— 4 (I) in subclause (I), by striking 5 ‘‘child’s parent’’ and all that follows 6 and inserting ‘‘child’s parent as par- 7 ticipating in an eligible activity (as de- 8 fined in section 658P), a change in 9 family income for the child’s family, 10 or a change in custody or guardian- 11 ship of the child.’’; and 12 (II) by adding at the end the fol- 13 lowing: 14 ‘‘(III) LONGER-TERM PERIOD.— 15 The plan shall demonstrate that each 16 child who, on the date the child is de- 17 termined to be an eligible child, is a 18 child in foster care or a homeless 19 child, and who receives assistance 20 under this subchapter prior to reach- 21 ing the age of compulsory school at- 22 tendance, shall remain eligible for 23 such assistance and shall receive such 24 assistance, if so desired by the child’s 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:58 Jun 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2817.IH H2817 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 2817 IH family, until such child reaches the 1 age of compulsory school attend- 2 ance.’’; 3 (iii) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘(espe- 4 cially parents in families receiving assist- 5 ance under the program of block grants to 6 States for temporary assistance for needy 7 families under part A of title IV of the So- 8 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et 9 seq.))’’; 10 (iv) in clause (iii)— 11 (I) by striking ‘‘At the option of 12 the State, the’’ and insertin [Text truncated for display. 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