Global Child Thrive Act of 2020

IIB 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 4864 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES SEPTEMBER 23, 2020 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations AN ACT To develop and implement policies to advance early childhood development, to provide assistance for orphans and other vulnerable children in developing countries, 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:08 Sep 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4864.RFS H4864 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 HR 4864 RFS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Global Child Thrive 2 Act of 2020’’. 3 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 4 Congress finds the following: 5 (1) According to a 2019 report from the United 6 Nations Inter-Agency Group for Child Mortality Es- 7 timation entitled ‘‘Levels & Trends in Child Mor- 8 tality’’, the annual number of deaths among children 9 younger than 15 years of age dropped by 56 percent 10 between 1990 and 2018, from approximately 11 14,200,000 to approximately 6,200,000. 12 (2) According to a 2016 article published in 13 The Lancet entitled ‘‘Early childhood development: 14 the foundation of sustainable development’’— 15 (A) an estimated 250,000,000 children in 16 low-income and middle-income countries suffer 17 suboptimal development due to poverty and 18 stunting alone; and 19 (B) children who do not meet develop- 20 mental milestones are expected to lose about 25 21 percent of their average yearly income once 22 they become adults. 23 (3) According to a report from the United Na- 24 tions Children’s Fund (UNICEF), entitled ‘‘The 25 State of the World’s Children 2016: A fair chance 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:08 Sep 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4864.RFS H4864 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 HR 4864 RFS for every child’’, nearly 250,000,000 of the world’s 1 650,000,000 primary school age children do not 2 master basic literacy and numeracy. 3 (4) According to a 2018 report from the World 4 Health Organization entitled ‘‘Nurturing Care for 5 early childhood development’’— 6 (A) the environment in which a child grows 7 has a profound impact on future learning, be- 8 havior, and health; and 9 (B) a country’s economic diversity and 10 growth could be improved by investment in 11 early childhood development. 12 (5) According to a 2017 UNICEF report enti- 13 tled ‘‘UNICEF’s Programme Guidance for Early 14 Childhood Development’’, nurturing care, which is 15 key to early childhood development, consists of a 16 core set of interrelated components, including— 17 (A) behaviors, attitudes, and knowledge 18 about caregiving, including health, hygiene care, 19 and feeding; 20 (B) stimulation, such as talking, singing, 21 and playing; 22 (C) responsiveness, such as early bonding, 23 secure attachment, trust, and sensitive commu- 24 nication; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:08 Sep 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4864.RFS H4864 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 HR 4864 RFS (D) safety, including routines, protection 1 from violence, abuse, neglect, harm, and envi- 2 ronmental pollution. 3 (6) According to a 2016 report published in 4 The Lancet entitled ‘‘Advancing Early Childhood 5 Development: From Science to Scale’’— 6 (A) nurturing care from parents, relatives, 7 and other caregivers and services are formative 8 experiences for young children; 9 (B) programs promoting nurturing care 10 can improve early childhood development out- 11 comes; and 12 (C) children who do not receive nurturing 13 care display negative development outcomes, 14 such as greater sensitivity to the effects of 15 stress or behavioral problems, especially chil- 16 dren who do not receive nurturing care before 17 their second birthday. 18 (7) According to the ‘‘Advancing Protection and 19 Care for Children in Adversity 2019–2023: A U.S. 20 Government Strategy for International Assistance’’, 21 children who live without protective family care, in 22 abusive households, on the streets, or in institutions, 23 or who are trafficked, are participating in armed 24 groups, or are being exploited for their labor are 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:08 Sep 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4864.RFS H4864 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 HR 4864 RFS more likely to be exposed to violence, exploitation, 1 abuse, and neglect. 2 (8) According to a 2017 UNICEF report enti- 3 tled ‘‘Early Moments Matter for every child’’, vio- 4 lence, abuse, neglect, and traumatic experiences 5 produce toxic stress that limits neural connectivity 6 in developing brains. 7 (9) According to a 2014 working paper from 8 the National Scientific Council on the Developing 9 Child at Harvard University entitled ‘‘Excessive 10 Stress Disrupts the Architecture of the Developing 11 Brain’’— 12 (A) situations that produce toxic stress in- 13 crease the production of cortisol in a child’s 14 brain, which disrupts its healthy development; 15 and 16 (B) chronic stress can potentially affect 17 the expression of genes that regulate the stress 18 response across the life course. 19 (10) According to a 2018 article in the North 20 Carolina Medical Journal entitled ‘‘Adverse Child- 21 hood Experiences (ACEs): An Important Element of 22 a Comprehensive Approach to the Opioid Crisis’’, 23 adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are traumatic 24 or stressful experiences, including emotional, phys- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:08 Sep 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4864.RFS H4864 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 HR 4864 RFS ical, or sexual abuse, domestic violence, household 1 substance abuse, household mental illness, parental 2 separation or divorce, and the incarceration of a 3 household family member. 4 (11) According to a 2016 report in Develop- 5 ment and Psychopathology entitled ‘‘Childhood Ad- 6 versity and Epigenetic Regulation of Glucocorticoid 7 Signaling Genes: Associations in Children and 8 Adults’’— 9 (A) children and adults are at risk of de- 10 veloping psychiatric disorders and other medical 11 conditions if they have had an adverse child- 12 hood experience; and 13 (B) adults who have had numerous ACEs 14 die nearly 20 years earlier, on average, than 15 adults who have not had numerous ACEs. 16 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 17 It is the sense of Congress that— 18 (1) the United States Government should con- 19 tinue efforts to reduce child mortality rates and in- 20 crease attention on prevention efforts and early 21 childhood development programs; 22 (2) investments in early childhood development 23 ensure healthy and well-developed future generations 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:08 Sep 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4864.RFS H4864 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 HR 4864 RFS that contribute to a country’s stability, security and 1 economic prosperity; 2 (3) efforts to provide training and education on 3 nurturing care could result in improved early child- 4 hood development outcomes and support healthy 5 brain development; and 6 (4) integration and cross-sector coordination of 7 early childhood development programs is critical to 8 ensure the efficiency, effectiveness, and continued 9 implementation of such programs. 10 SEC. 4. ASSISTANCE TO IMPROVE EARLY CHILDHOOD OUT- 11 COMES GLOBALLY. 12 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF ASSISTANCE.—Amounts au- 13 thorized to be appropriated to carry out section 135 in 14 chapter 1 of part 1 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 15 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) for each of the fiscal years 2021 16 through 2025 are authorized to be made available to sup- 17 port early childhood development activities in conjunction 18 with relevant, existing programming, such as water, sani- 19 tation and hygiene, maternal and child health, basic edu- 20 cation, nutrition and child protection. 21 (b) ASSISTANCE TO IMPROVE EARLY CHILDHOOD 22 OUTCOMES GLOBALLY.—Chapter 1 of part I of the For- 23 eign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) is 24 amended by adding at the end the following: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:08 Sep 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4864.RFS H4864 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 HR 4864 RFS ‘‘SEC. 137. ASSISTANCE TO IMPROVE EARLY CHILDHOOD 1 OUTCOMES GLOBALLY. 2 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 3 ‘‘(1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT- 4 TEES.—The term ‘appropriate congressional com- 5 mittees’ means— 6 ‘‘(A) the Committee on Appropriations of 7 the Senate; 8 ‘‘(B) the Committee on Foreign Relations 9 of the Senate; 10 ‘‘(C) the Committee on Appropriations of 11 the House of Representatives; and 12 ‘‘(D) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 13 the House of Representatives. 14 ‘‘(2) EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT.—The 15 term ‘early childhood development’ means the devel- 16 opment and learning of a child younger than 8 years 17 of age, including physical, cognitive, social, and emo- 18 tional development and approaches to learning that 19 allow a child to reach his or her full developmental 20 potential. 21 ‘‘(3) EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT PRO- 22 GRAM.—The term ‘early childhood development pro- 23 gram’ means a program that ensures that every 24 child has the conditions for healthy growth, nur- 25 turing family-based care, development and learning, 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:08 Sep 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4864.RFS H4864 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 HR 4864 RFS and protection from violence, exploitation, abuse, 1 and neglect, which may include— 2 ‘‘(A) a health, clean water, sanitation, and 3 hygiene program that serves pregnant women, 4 children younger than 5 years of age, and the 5 parents of such children; 6 ‘‘(B) a nutrition program, combined with 7 stimulating child development activity; 8 ‘‘(C) age appropriate cognitive stimulation, 9 especially for newborns, infants, and toddlers, 10 including an early childhood intervention pro- 11 gram for children experiencing at-risk situa- 12 tions, developmental delays, disabilities, and be- 13 havioral and mental health conditions; 14 ‘‘(D) an early learning (36 months and 15 younger), preschool, and basic education pro- 16 gram for children until they reach 8 years of 17 age or complete primary school; or 18 ‘‘(E) a child protection program, with an 19 emphasis on the promotion of permanent, safe, 20 and nurturing families, rather than placement 21 in residential care or institutions, including for 22 children with disabilities. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:08 Sep 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4864.RFS H4864 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 HR 4864 RFS ‘‘(4) FEDERAL DEPARTMENTS AND AGEN- 1 CIES.—The term ‘Federal departments and agencies’ 2 means— 3 ‘‘(A) the Department of State; 4 ‘‘(B) the United States Agency for Inter- 5 national Development; 6 ‘‘(C) the Department of the Treasury; 7 ‘‘(D) the Department of Labor; 8 ‘‘(E) the Department of Education; 9 ‘‘(F) the Department of Agriculture; 10 ‘‘(G) the Department of Defense; 11 ‘‘(H) the Department of Health and 12 Human Services, including— 13 ‘‘(i) the Centers for Disease Control 14 and Prevention; and 15 ‘‘(ii) the National Institutes of 16 Health; 17 ‘‘(I) the Millennium Challenge Corpora- 18 tion; 19 ‘‘(J) the Peace Corps; and 20 ‘‘(K) any other department or agency spec- 21 ified by the President for the purposes of this 22 section. 23 ‘‘(5) RESIDENTIAL CARE.—The term ‘residen- 24 tial care’ means care provided in any non-family- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:08 Sep 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4864.RFS H4864 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 HR 4864 RFS based group setting, including orphanages, transit or 1 interim care centers, children’s homes, children’s vil- 2 lages or cottage complexes, group homes, and board- 3 ing schools used primarily for care purposes as an 4 alternative to a children’s home. 5 ‘‘(b) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It is the policy of the 6 United States— 7 ‘‘(1) to support early childhood development in 8 relevant foreign assistance programs, including by 9 integrating evidence-based, efficient, and effective 10 interventions into relevant strategies and programs, 11 in coordination with partner countries, other donors, 12 international organizations, international financial 13 institutions, local and international nongovernmental 14 organizations, private sector partners, civil society, 15 and faith-based and community-based organizations; 16 and 17 ‘‘(2) to encourage partner countries to lead 18 early childhood development initiatives that include 19 incentives for building local capacity for continued 20 implementation and measurable results, by— 21 ‘‘(A) scaling up the most effective, evi- 22 dence-based, national interventions, including 23 for the most vulnerable populations and chil- 24 dren with disabilities and developmental delays, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:08 Sep 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4864.RFS H4864 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 HR 4864 RFS with a focus on adaptation to country re- 1 sources, cultures, and languages; 2 ‘‘(B) designing, implementing, monitoring, 3 and evaluating programs in a manner that en- 4 hances their quality, transparency, equity, ac- 5 countability, efficiency and effectiveness in im- 6 proving child and family outcomes in partner 7 countries; and 8 ‘‘(C) utilizing and expanding innovative 9 public-private financing mechanisms. 10 ‘‘(c) IMPLEMENTATION.— 11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 12 the date of the enactment of this section, the Admin- 13 istrator of the United States Agency for Inter- 14 national Development, in coordination with the Sec- 15 retary of State, shall direct relevant Federal depart- 16 ments and agencies— 17 ‘‘(A) to incorporate, to the extent practical 18 and relevant, early childhood development into 19 foreign assistance programs to be carried out 20 during the following 5 fiscal years; and 21 ‘‘(B) to promote inclusive early childhood 22 development in partner countries. 23 ‘‘(2) ELEMENTS.—In carrying out paragraph 24 (1), the Administrator, the Secretary, and the heads 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:08 Sep 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4864.RFS H4864 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 13 HR 4864 RFS of other relevant Federal departments and agencies 1 as appropriate shall— 2 ‘‘(A) build on the evidence and priorities 3 outlined in ‘Advancing Protection and Care for 4 Children in Adversity: A [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]