Childcare Expansion for Military Families Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1967 To require the Secretary of Defense to establish a program to carry out minor military construction projects to construct child development cen- ters and to provide education and treatment services for infant and early childhood mental health, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 8, 2021 Ms. SINEMA introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services A BILL To require the Secretary of Defense to establish a program to carry out minor military construction projects to con- struct child development centers and to provide education and treatment services for infant and early childhood mental health, 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 ‘‘Childcare Expansion 4 for Military Families Act of 2021’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:33 Jun 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1967.IS S1967 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1967 IS SEC. 2. TEMPORARY PROGRAM TO USE MINOR MILITARY 1 CONSTRUCTION AUTHORITY FOR CONSTRUC- 2 TION OF CHILD DEVELOPMENT CENTERS. 3 (a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary of De- 4 fense shall establish a program to carry out minor military 5 construction projects under section 2805 of title 10, 6 United States Code, to construct child development cen- 7 ters. 8 (b) INCREASED MAXIMUM AMOUNTS APPLICABLE TO 9 MINOR CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS.—For the purpose of 10 any military construction project carried out under the 11 program under this section, the amount specified in sec- 12 tion 2805(a)(2) of title 10, United States Code, is deemed 13 to be $15,000,000. 14 (c) NOTIFICATION AND APPROVAL REQUIRE- 15 MENTS.— 16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The notification and ap- 17 proval requirements under section 2805(b) of title 18 10, United States Code, shall remain in effect for 19 construction projects carried out under the program 20 under this section. 21 (2) PROCEDURES.—The Secretary shall estab- 22 lish procedures for the review and approval of re- 23 quests from the Secretaries of military departments 24 to carry out construction projects under the program 25 under this section. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:33 Jun 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1967.IS S1967 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1967 IS (d) REPORT REQUIRED.— 1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 2 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec- 3 retary of Defense shall submit to the congressional 4 defense committees a report on the program under 5 this section. 6 (2) ELEMENTS.—The report required by para- 7 graph (1) shall include a list and description of the 8 construction projects carried out under the program 9 under this section, including the location and cost of 10 each project. 11 (e) EXPIRATION OF AUTHORITY.—The authority to 12 carry out a minor military construction project under the 13 program under this section expires on September 30, 14 2023. 15 (f) CONSTRUCTION OF AUTHORITY.—Nothing in this 16 section may be construed to limit any other authority pro- 17 vided by law for a military construction project at a child 18 development center. 19 (g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 20 (1) CHILD DEVELOPMENT CENTER.—The term 21 ‘‘child development center’’ includes a facility, and 22 the utilities to support such facility, the function of 23 which is to support the daily care of children aged 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:33 Jun 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1967.IS S1967 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1967 IS six weeks old through 12 years old for full-day, part- 1 day, and hourly service. 2 (2) CONGRESSIONAL DEFENSE COMMITTEES.— 3 The term ‘‘congressional defense committees’’ has 4 the meaning given that term in section 101(a)(16) 5 of title 10, United States Code. 6 SEC. 3. EDUCATION AND INFANT AND EARLY CHILDHOOD 7 MENTAL HEALTH CONSULTATION SERVICES 8 FOR INFANT AND EARLY CHILDHOOD MEN- 9 TAL HEALTH (IECMH). 10 (a) ASSESSMENT OF AVAILABILITY OF SERVICES.— 11 The Secretary of Defense shall conduct a comprehensive 12 assessment of the availability of Federal, State, and local 13 early childhood education and infant and early childhood 14 mental health (IECMH) consultation services on and in 15 the vicinity of a covered military installation for identi- 16 fying and addressing infant and early childhood mental 17 health needs of children of members of the Armed Forces. 18 This assessment shall include the following: 19 (1) The local availability of developmentally ap- 20 propriate services advancing social and emotional de- 21 velopment and infant and early childhood mental 22 health of infants, toddlers, and young children, in- 23 cluding certification or endorsement programs for 24 professionals serving as infant early childhood men- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:33 Jun 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1967.IS S1967 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1967 IS tal health consultants for early education programs 1 and centers. 2 (2) The local availability of adequate diagnostic 3 and non-medical intervention services for infants, 4 toddlers, or young children identified as requiring in- 5 fant and early childhood mental health treatment. 6 (3) The local availability of supplemental serv- 7 ices for infant and early childhood mental health 8 such as Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health 9 (IECMH) consultation by licensed professionals who 10 are also certified or endorsed in IECMH. 11 (4) The ease of access for individuals with iden- 12 tified infant and early childhood mental health needs 13 to adequate, comprehensive educational services, 14 such as the length of time on waiting lists. 15 (b) REVIEW OF BEST PRACTICES.—In preparing the 16 assessment under subsection (a), the Secretary of Defense 17 shall conduct a review of best practices of providing infant 18 and early childhood mental health consultation in the 19 United States in the provision of covered educational serv- 20 ices and support services for infant and early childhood 21 mental health, including an assessment of Federal and 22 State early education and mental health services for infant 23 and early childhood mental health in each State, with an 24 emphasis on locations where members of the Armed 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:33 Jun 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1967.IS S1967 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1967 IS Forces and their dependent children reside. The Secretary 1 of Defense shall conduct the review in coordination with 2 the Secretary of Education. 3 (c) DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.— 4 (1) PROJECTS AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary of 5 Defense may conduct one or more demonstration 6 projects to evaluate improved approaches to the pro- 7 vision of covered educational and infant and early 8 childhood mental health services to children of mem- 9 bers of the Armed Forces for the purpose of evalu- 10 ating and the efficacy of infant and early childhood 11 mental health consultation models to improve social- 12 emotional development outcomes for military chil- 13 dren enrolled in child development centers, reducing 14 incidents of behavioral issues and or need for inten- 15 sive treatment, and early identification of needs re- 16 quiring non-medical intervention as considered ap- 17 propriate by the Secretary. 18 (2) INFANT AND EARLY CHILDHOOD MENTAL 19 HEALTH CONSULTATION.— 20 (A) CONSULTATION.— 21 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of 22 Defense may authorize the development of 23 a comprehensive professional development 24 curricula for use in training non-medical 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:33 Jun 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1967.IS S1967 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1967 IS counselors in infant and early childhood 1 mental health and consultation to serve in 2 child development centers, and to allow for 3 the training of Department of Defense-con- 4 tracted child and youth behavioral-military 5 family life counselors as infant early child- 6 hood mental health consultants. 7 (ii) COMPETENCY GUIDELINES.— The 8 curricula developed under clause (i) shall 9 be based on a set of competency guidelines 10 designed to enhance culturally sensitive, 11 relationship-focused practice within the 12 framework of infant and early childhood 13 mental health recognized by authorizing 14 agencies such as the Alliance for the Ad- 15 vancement of Infant Mental Health for 16 purposes of certification or endorsement as 17 a IECMH practitioner. 18 (B) PERSONNEL.—The Secretary of De- 19 fense may utilize for purposes of the dem- 20 onstration projects personnel who are profes- 21 sionals with a level (as determined by the Sec- 22 retary) of post-secondary education that is ap- 23 propriate for the provision of safe and effective 24 services for infant and early childhood mental 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:33 Jun 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1967.IS S1967 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1967 IS health and who are from an accredited edu- 1 cational facility in the mental health, human 2 development, social work field to act as con- 3 sultation level providers of promotive, preven- 4 tive, and behavioral non-medical intervention 5 services within child development centers for in- 6 fant and early childhood mental health. Such 7 personnel may be authorized— 8 (i) to develop and monitor promotion, 9 prevention, and non-medical intervention 10 plans for military children within child de- 11 velopment centers who are participating in 12 the demonstration projects; 13 (ii) to provide appropriate training in 14 the provision of approved services to par- 15 ticipating children; 16 (iii) to provide non-medical counseling 17 services to children and their primary care- 18 givers outside of the child development 19 center as required; 20 (iv) to coordinate with other estab- 21 lished installation and community re- 22 sources to coordinate and collaborate re- 23 garding needed services, such as New Par- 24 ent Support Program, Behavioral Health, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:33 Jun 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1967.IS S1967 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1967 IS Tricare mental health providers, 1 HealthySteps, and early behavioral inter- 2 vention services; and 3 (v) to be endorsed, or work toward be- 4 coming endorsed, by a recognized infant 5 and early childhood mental health organi- 6 zation such as the Alliance for the Ad- 7 vancement of Infant Mental Health. 8 (3) EVALUATIONS OF OUTCOMES.—The Sec- 9 retary of Defense may authorize an evaluation of 10 outcomes from any demonstration project to deter- 11 mine the value of infant and early childhood mental 12 health consultation within child development centers. 13 (4) SERVICES UNDER CORPORATE SERVICES 14 PROVIDER MODEL.—In carrying out the demonstra- 15 tion projects, the Secretary of Defense may utilize a 16 corporate services provider model. Employees of a 17 provider under such a model shall include personnel 18 who implement special educational and behavioral 19 intervention plans for children of members of the 20 Armed Forces that are developed, reviewed, and 21 maintained by supervisory level providers approved 22 by the Secretary. In authorizing such a model, the 23 Secretary shall establish— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:33 Jun 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1967.IS S1967 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1967 IS (A) minimum education, training, and ex- 1 perience criteria required to be met by employ- 2 ees who provide services to children; 3 (B) requirements for IECMH consultation 4 personnel and supervision, including require- 5 ments for infant and early childhood mental 6 health credentials and for the frequency and in- 7 tensity of supervision; and 8 (C) such other requirements as the Sec- 9 retary considers appropriate to ensure the safe- 10 ty and protection of children who receive serv- 11 ices from such employees under the demonstra- 12 tion projects. 13 (5) PERIOD.—If the Secretary of Defense de- 14 termines to conduct demonstration projects under 15 this subsection, the Secretary shall commence such 16 demonstration projects not later than 180 days after 17 the date of the enactment of this Act. The dem- 18 onstration projects shall be conducted for not less 19 than 2 years. 20 (6) EVALUATION.—The Secretary of Defense 21 shall conduct an evaluation of each demonstration 22 project conducted under this section. The evaluation 23 shall include the following: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:33 Jun 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1967.IS S1967 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1967 IS (A) An assessment of the extent to which 1 the activities under the demonstration project 2 contributed to positive outcomes for children of 3 members of the Armed Forces. 4 (B) An assessment of the extent to which 5 the activities under the demonstration project 6 led to improvements in services and continuity 7 of care for such children. 8 (C) An assessment of the extent to which 9 the activities under the demonstration project 10 improved military family readiness and en- 11 hanced military retention. 12 (d) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER BENEFITS.—Nothing 13 in this section precludes the eligibility of members of the 14 Armed Forces and their dependents for extended benefits 15 under section 1079 of title 10, United States Code. 16 (e) REPORTS ON DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.—Not 17 later than 30 months after the commencement of any 18 demonstration project under subsection (e), the Secretary 19 of Defense shall submit to the Committees on Armed Serv- 20 ices of the Senate and the House of Representatives a re- 21 port on the demonstration project. The report shall in- 22 clude a description of the project, the results of the evalua- 23 tion under subsection (e)(5) with respect to the project, 24 and a description of plans for the further provision of serv- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:33 Jun 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1967.IS S1967 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •S 1967 IS ices for children of members of the Armed Forces under 1 the project. 2 (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 3 (1) CHILD.—The term ‘‘child’’ has the meaning 4 given that term in section 1072 of title 10, United 5 States Code. 6 (2) COVERED EDUCATIONAL AND TREATMENT 7 SERVICES.—The term ‘‘covered educational and 8 treatment services’’ means pro [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]