What This Bill Does
This bill creates a pilot program that awards grants to expand child care services for parents who work outside typical 9-to-5 hours, like evening, night, or weekend shifts. The program aims to help working parents stay employed, earn promotions and raises, and save money by accessing affordable child care during nontraditional work hours.
Who It Affects
Parents working nontraditional hours; child care providers and family child care providers; eligible entities applying for grants (including businesses, child care resource and referral organizations, and community development financial institutions); the Secretary of Health and Human Services; Congress.
Key Provisions
* The Secretary of Health and Human Services must establish a competitive grant pilot program within 90 days of the bill becoming law (Sec. 658U(c)(1))
* Eligible organizations can use grant money to expand existing child care programs, hire staff, improve facilities, establish onsite workplace child care, develop curricula, help providers meet health and safety requirements, and provide training on safe infant sleep practices (Sec. 658U(f))
* Grants last for 5 years and cannot be renewed, ranging from at least $25,000 to no more than $500,000 per grant (Sec. 658U(c)(2) and (3))
* Recipients must provide 25 percent of project costs themselves, while the federal government pays 75 percent (Sec. 658U(g))
* The Secretary must report to Congress every 2 years on the number of children served, parent employment status, and impact on child care availability (Sec. 658U(h))
What Changes
The Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 is amended to add a new section creating this grant program specifically for nontraditional hours child care. Certain references within the existing law are updated to reflect reorganized sections.
Important Definitions
Nontraditional work hours: Work where at least 25 percent of hours occur before 9 a.m. or after 5 p.m. on weekdays, on Saturday or Sunday, or are scheduled within 7 days before required work attendance (Sec. 658U(b)(2))
Child care program: The child care activities operated by an eligible child care provider (Sec. 658U(b)(1))
Effective Date
The Secretary must establish the pilot program within 90 days after the bill becomes law. Authorization for funding covers fiscal years 2024 through 2028 (Sec. 658U(c)(1) and (j)).
II
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
S. 976
To establish and expand child care programs for parents who work
nontraditional hours, and for other purposes.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
MARCH 27, 2023
Mr. YOUNG (for himself and Ms. HASSAN) introduced the following bill; which
was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education,
Labor, and Pensions
A BILL
To establish and expand child care programs for parents
who work nontraditional hours, 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 ‘‘After Hours Child
4
Care Act’’.
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SEC. 2. CHILD CARE AND DEVELOPMENT INNOVATION
6
FUND.
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(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Child Care and Develop-
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ment Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9857 et seq.)
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is amended—
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(1) by redesignating section 658P as section
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658T, and moving that section 658T to follow sec-
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tion 658S; and
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(2) by adding at the end the following:
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‘‘SEC. 658U. CHILD CARE AND DEVELOPMENT INNOVATION
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FUND.
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‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to—
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‘‘(1) improve child care access for parents
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working hours outside of traditional 9 to 5 work
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hours, such as parents working an evening, night, or
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weekend shift; and
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‘‘(2) address the needs of working parents with
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young children, so that the parents are able to stay
13
attached to the workforce, attain eligibility for pro-
14
motions and salary increases, and amass savings.
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‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
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‘‘(1) CHILD CARE PROGRAM.—The term ‘child
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care program’ means the child care activities of an
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eligible child care provider.
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‘‘(2) NONTRADITIONAL
WORK
HOURS.—The
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term ‘nontraditional work hours’ means work hours
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at least 25 percent of which—
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‘‘(A) are before 9 a.m. or after 5 p.m. on
23
a weekday;
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‘‘(B) are on a Saturday or Sunday; or
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‘‘(C) are scheduled within 7 days before re-
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quired attendance at work for those work
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hours.
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‘‘(3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means
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the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
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‘‘(4) STATE
EDUCATIONAL
AGENCY;
LOCAL
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EDUCATIONAL
AGENCY.—The terms ‘State edu-
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cational agency’ and ‘local educational agency’ have
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the meanings given the terms in section 8101 of the
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Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965
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(20 U.S.C. 7801 et seq.).
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‘‘(c) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—
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‘‘(1) GRANTS.—Not later than 90 days after
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the date of enactment of the After Hours Child Care
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Act, the Secretary shall establish a pilot program,
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through which the Secretary shall award grants on
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a competitive basis to eligible entities to pay for the
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Federal share of the cost of—
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‘‘(A) expanding capacity for an existing (as
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of January 1, 2024) child care program, includ-
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ing such a program of a family child care pro-
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vider to serve families in which a parent is
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working nontraditional work hours;
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‘‘(B) entering into an enrollment-based
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contract with—
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‘‘(i) an eligible child care provider to
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serve such families; or
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‘‘(ii) a fiscal intermediary such as a
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staffed network of family child care pro-
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viders, child care resource and referral or-
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ganization, or entity operating a child care
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facilities fund for the services of multiple
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eligible child care providers to serve such
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families;
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‘‘(C) planning activities, including con-
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ducting a needs assessment and outreach to ex-
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isting eligible child care providers (existing on
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the date of the outreach);
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‘‘(D) establishing an onsite child care pro-
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gram at a workplace to serve such families;
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‘‘(E) expanding capacity for an onsite child
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care program at a workplace to serve such fam-
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ilies; or
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‘‘(F) establishing a child care program, in-
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cluding a program of a family child care pro-
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vider with the primary goal of serving such
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families.
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‘‘(2) DURATION.—The Secretary shall award
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the grant for a period of 5 years. A grant awarded
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under this section may not be renewed.
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‘‘(3) AMOUNT.—The Secretary shall award the
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grant in an amount of not less than $25,000 and
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not more than $500,000.
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‘‘(d) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—To be eligible to receive
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a grant under this section, an entity shall be—
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‘‘(1) an eligible child care provider; or
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‘‘(2) a partnership of—
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‘‘(A) an eligible child care provider; and
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‘‘(B) a lead agency, business, child care re-
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source and referral organization, community de-
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velopment financial institution, staffed network
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of family child care providers, another inter-
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mediary with experience supporting child care
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providers, or another appropriate entity.
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‘‘(e) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant
15
under this section, an entity shall submit an application
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to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and con-
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taining such information as the Secretary may require.
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‘‘(f) USE OF FUNDS.—An entity that receives a grant
19
under this section may use the grant funds for activities
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that may include—
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‘‘(1) staffing the child care program involved;
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‘‘(2) improving the child care facility and re-
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lated equipment;
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‘‘(3) establishing or improving the curriculum
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of the child care program;
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‘‘(4) assisting eligible child care providers in
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meeting health and safety requirements, achieving li-
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censure or registration as a child care provider, or
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improving quality;
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‘‘(5) acquiring other items needed for the child
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care program; and
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‘‘(6) providing training in the prevention of
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sudden infant death syndrome and safe sleep prac-
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tices.
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‘‘(g) MATCH.—The non-Federal share of the cost de-
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scribed in subsection (c)(1) shall be 25 percent.
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‘‘(h) REPORT.—Not less often than every 2 years, the
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Secretary shall prepare and submit to Congress a report
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that includes information on the number of children served
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under this section, the employment status of their parents,
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general information to demonstrate the impact of activities
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carried out under grants under this section on child care
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availability, and other information relevant to the grants
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made under this section.
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‘‘(i) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER REQUIREMENTS.—
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None of the requirements of this subchapter, other than
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section 658T, shall apply to this section. No reference in
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this subchapter to ‘this subchapter’ shall be considered to
1
include this section.
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‘‘(j) AUTHORIZATION.—There is authorized to be ap-
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propriated to carry out this section $10,000,000 for the
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period of fiscal years 2024 through 2028.’’.
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(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—
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(1)
APPLICATION
PROVISIONS.—Section
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658E(c)(2) of the Child Care and Development
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Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858c(c)(2)) is
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amended—
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(A) in subparagraph (A)(i)(II), by striking
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‘‘658P(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘658T(2)’’; and
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(B) in subparagraph (K)(i)(IV), by strik-
13
ing ‘‘658P(6)(B)’’ and inserting ‘‘658T(6)(B)’’.
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(2) REPORT PROVISIONS.—Section 658K(a)(2)
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of the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act
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of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858i(a)(2)) is amended—
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(A) in subparagraph (A), by striking
18
‘‘658P(6)’’ and inserting ‘‘658T(6)’’; and
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(B) in subparagraph (F), by striking
20
‘‘658P(6)(B)’’ and inserting ‘‘658T(6)(B)’’.
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Æ
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