Expanding Child Care Access Grants Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7778 To provide for grants to support access to child care through the establishment and operation of child care programs by businesses. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 24, 2020 Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To provide for grants to support access to child care through the establishment and operation of child care programs by businesses. 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 ‘‘Expanding Child Care 4 Access Grants Act of 2020’’. 5 SEC. 2. EXPANDING CHILD CARE ACCESS GRANTS. 6 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to sup- 7 port the recovery of the United States economy by pro- 8 viding grants to businesses to aid in opening child care 9 programs or establishing partnerships with existing pro- 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:13 Aug 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7778.IH H7778 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7778 IH viders to meet the demand for child care across the coun- 1 try as parents return to work. 2 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 3 (1) COVID–19 PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY.— 4 The term ‘‘COVID–19 public health emergency’’ 5 means the public health emergency declared by the 6 Secretary of Health and Human Services under sec- 7 tion 319 of the Public Health Service Act (42 8 U.S.C. 247d) on January 31, 2020, with respect to 9 COVID–19, including any renewal of such declara- 10 tion. 11 (2) ELIGIBLE BUSINESS.—The term ‘‘eligible 12 business’’ means a business that does not currently 13 provide child care services for the children of such 14 business’ employees, offer care or oversight for the 15 school age children of such employees, or partner 16 with an eligible child care provider for such services. 17 (3) ELIGIBLE CHILD CARE PROVIDER.—The 18 term ‘‘eligible child care provider’’ means— 19 (A) an eligible child care provider as de- 20 fined in section 658P(6)(A) of the Child Care 21 and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 22 U.S.C. 9858n(6)(A)); and 23 (B) a child care provider that— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:13 Aug 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7778.IH H7778 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7778 IH (i) is license-exempt and operating le- 1 gally in the State; 2 (ii) is not providing child care services 3 to relatives; and 4 (iii) satisfies State and local require- 5 ments, including those referenced in sec- 6 tion 658E(c)(2)(I) of the Child Care and 7 Development Block Grant Act of 1990 8 ((42 U.S.C. 9858c)(c)(2)(I)). 9 (4) INDIAN TRIBE; TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.— 10 The terms ‘‘Indian tribe’’ and ‘‘tribal organization’’ 11 have the meanings given the terms in section 658P 12 of the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act 13 of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858n). 14 (5) LEAD AGENCY.—The term ‘‘lead agency’’ 15 has the meaning given the term in section 658P of 16 the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 17 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858n). 18 (6) QUALIFIED BUSINESS.—The term ‘‘quali- 19 fied business’’ means an eligible business with an 20 application approved under subsection (g) for the 21 program involved. 22 (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 23 the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:13 Aug 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7778.IH H7778 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7778 IH (8) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean- 1 ing given the term in section 658P of the Child Care 2 and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 3 U.S.C. 9858n). 4 (c) GRANTS FOR BUSINESSES TO PROVIDE CHILD 5 CARE SERVICES.—From the funds appropriated to carry 6 out this Act, the Secretary shall make Expanding Child 7 Care Access grants to States, Indian tribes, and tribal or- 8 ganizations, that submit notices of intent to provide assur- 9 ances under subsection (d)(2). The grants shall provide 10 for subgrants to businesses for a transition period of not 11 more than 9 months to assist in paying for the establish- 12 ment and operation of child care services. 13 (d) PROCESS FOR ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.— 14 (1) NOTICE.—Not later than 7 days after funds 15 are appropriated to carry out this Act, the Secretary 16 shall provide to States, Indian tribes, and tribal or- 17 ganizations a notice of funding availability for Ex- 18 panding Child Care Access grants under subsection 19 (c) from allotments and payments under subsection 20 (e)(2). The Secretary shall issue a notice of the 21 funding allocations for each State, Indian tribe, and 22 tribal organization not later than 14 days after 23 funds are appropriated to carry out this Act. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:13 Aug 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7778.IH H7778 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 7778 IH (2) NOTICE OF INTENT.—Not later than 14 1 days after issuance of a notice of funding allocations 2 under paragraph (1), a State, Indian tribe, or tribal 3 organization that seeks such a grant shall submit to 4 the Secretary a notice of intent to provide assur- 5 ances for such grant. The notice of intent shall in- 6 clude a certification that the State, Indian tribe, or 7 tribal organization will repay the grant funds if such 8 State, Indian tribe, or tribal organization fails to 9 provide assurances that meet the requirements of 10 subsection (f) or to comply with such an assurance. 11 (3) GRANTS TO LEAD AGENCIES.—The Sec- 12 retary may make grants under subsection (c) to the 13 lead agency of each State, Indian tribe, or tribal or- 14 ganization, upon receipt of the notice of intent to 15 provide assurances for such grant. 16 (4) PROVISION OF ASSURANCES.—Not later 17 than 15 days after receiving the grant, the State, In- 18 dian tribe, or tribal organization shall provide assur- 19 ances that meet the requirements of subsection (f). 20 (e) FEDERAL RESERVATION; ALLOTMENTS AND PAY- 21 MENTS.— 22 (1) RESERVATION.—The Secretary shall reserve 23 not more than 1 percent of the amount appropriated 24 to carry out this Act to pay for the costs of the Fed- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:13 Aug 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7778.IH H7778 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 7778 IH eral administration of this section. The amount ap- 1 propriated to carry out this Act and reserved under 2 this paragraph shall remain available through fiscal 3 year 2021. 4 (2) ALLOTMENTS AND PAYMENTS.—The Sec- 5 retary shall use the remaining portion of such 6 amount to make allotments and payments, to States, 7 Indian tribes, and tribal organizations that submit 8 such a notice of intent to provide assurances, in ac- 9 cordance with paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection 10 (a), and subsection (b), of section 658O of the Child 11 Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 12 U.S.C. 9858m) for the grants described in sub- 13 section (c). 14 (f) ASSURANCES.—A State, Indian tribe, or tribal or- 15 ganization that receives a grant under subsection (c) shall 16 provide to the Secretary assurances that the lead agency 17 will— 18 (1) require as a condition of subgrant funding 19 under subsection (g) that each business applying for 20 a subgrant from the lead agency— 21 (A)(i) will use subgrant funds for the sole 22 purpose of establishing a child care program 23 and providing child care services for the chil- 24 dren of such business’ employees; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:13 Aug 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7778.IH H7778 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 7778 IH (ii) will operate in partnership with an eli- 1 gible child care provider serving children 2 through a child care program prior to March 1, 3 2020; 4 (B) agree to follow all applicable State, 5 local, and tribal health and safety requirements 6 and, if applicable, enhanced protocols for child 7 care services related to COVID–19 or another 8 health or safety condition; 9 (C) agree to comply with the documenta- 10 tion and reporting requirements under sub- 11 section (h); and 12 (D) certify in good faith that the child care 13 program of the business will remain open for 14 not less than 1 year after receiving such a 15 subgrant unless such program is closed due to 16 extraordinary circumstances, including a state 17 of emergency declared by the Governor or a 18 major disaster or emergency declared by the 19 President under section 401 or 501, respec- 20 tively, of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 21 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 22 5170, 5191); 23 (2) ensure eligible businesses in urban, subur- 24 ban, and rural areas can readily apply for and ac- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:13 Aug 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7778.IH H7778 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 7778 IH cess funding under this section, which shall include 1 the provision of technical assistance either directly 2 or through resource and referral agencies; 3 (3) through at least December 31, 2020, con- 4 tinue to expend funds provided under the Child Care 5 and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 6 U.S.C. 9857 et seq.) for the purpose of continuing 7 payments and assistance to qualified child care pro- 8 viders on the basis of tiered reimbursements prior to 9 March 2020; 10 (4) give priority for subgrant awards according 11 to geographically based child care service needs 12 across the State or tribal community; 13 (5) undertake a review of burdensome State, 14 local, and tribal regulations and requirements that 15 hinder the opening of new licensed child care pro- 16 grams to meet the needs of the working families in 17 the State or tribal community, as applicable; and 18 (6) make available to the public, which shall in- 19 clude, at a minimum, posting to an internet website 20 of the lead agency— 21 (A) notice of funding availability through 22 subgrants for qualified businesses under this 23 section; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:13 Aug 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7778.IH H7778 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 7778 IH (B) the criteria for awarding subgrants for 1 qualified businesses. 2 (g) LEAD AGENCY USE OF FUNDS.— 3 (1) IN GENERAL.—A lead agency that receives 4 an Expanding Child Care Access grant under this 5 section— 6 (A) shall use a portion that is not less 7 than 97 percent of the grant funds to award 8 subgrants to qualified businesses as described 9 in the lead agency’s assurances pursuant to 10 subsection (f); 11 (B) shall reserve not more than 3 percent 12 of the funds to— 13 (i) use not less than 1 percent of the 14 funds to provide technical assistance and 15 support in applying for and accessing 16 funding through such subgrants to eligible 17 businesses; and 18 (ii) use the remainder of the reserved 19 funds to— 20 (I) administer subgrants to quali- 21 fied businesses under paragraph (3), 22 which shall include monitoring the 23 compliance of qualified businesses 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:13 Aug 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7778.IH H7778 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 7778 IH with applicable State, local, and tribal 1 health and safety requirements; and 2 (II) comply with the reporting 3 and documentation requirements de- 4 scribed in subsection (h); and 5 (C)(i) shall not make more than 1 6 subgrant under paragraph (3) to a qualified 7 business. 8 (2) OBLIGATION AND RETURN OF FUNDS.— 9 (A) OBLIGATION.—The lead agency shall 10 obligate at least 80 percent of the grant funds 11 in the portion described in paragraph (1)(A) for 12 subgrants to qualified businesses by the date 13 that is 6 months after the date of enactment of 14 this Act. 15 (B) RETURN OF FUNDS.—Not later than 16 the date that is 12 months after a grant is 17 awarded to a lead agency in accordance with 18 this section, the lead agency shall return to the 19 Secretary any of the grant funds that are not 20 obligated by the lead agency by such date. The 21 Secretary shall return any funds received under 22 this subparagraph to the Treasury of the 23 United States. 24 (3) SUBGRANTS.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:13 Aug 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7778.IH H7778 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 7778 IH (A) IN GENERAL.—A lead agency that re- 1 ceives a grant under subsection (c) shall make 2 subgrants to qualified businesses to assist in 3 paying for the establishment and operation of 4 child care services, including fixed costs and op- 5 erating expenses, for a transition period of not 6 more than 9 months, so that parents have a 7 safe place for their children to receive child care 8 as the parents return to the workplace. 9 (B) USE OF FUNDS.—A qualified business 10 may use subgrant funds for carrying out activi- 11 ties related to establishing a child care program 12 or contracting with an eligible child care pro- 13 vider to offer child care services for the employ- 14 ees of such business. 15 (C) SUBGRANT APPLICATION.—To be 16 qualified to receive a subgrant under this para- 17 graph, an eligible business shall submit an ap- 18 plication to the lead agency in such form and 19 containing such information as the lead agency 20 may reasonably require, including— 21 (i) a plan for offering access to child 22 care services for the employees of such 23 business that includes— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:13 Aug 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7778.IH H7778 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 7778 IH (I) information describing how 1 the eligible business will use the 2 subgrant funds to cover slots for the 3 children of their employees; 4 (II) if applicable, the amount of 5 tuition or copayments employees will 6 be expected to pay; 7 (III) child care enrollment and 8 attendance projections; and 9 (IV) a demonstration of how the 10 eligible business will sustain its oper- 11 ations after the cessation of funding 12 under this section; 13 (ii) assurances that the eligible busi- 14 ness will— 15 (I) report to the lead agency data 16 on current average enrollment and at- 17 tendance; 18 (II) provide the necessary docu- 19 mentation under subsection (h) to the 20 lead agency, including providing docu- 21 mentation of expenditures of subgrant 22 funds; and 23 (III) implement all applicable 24 State, local, and tribal health and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:13 Aug 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7778.IH H7778 pamtmann [Text truncated for display. 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