Ensuring Children and Child Care Workers Are Safe Act of 2020

IIB 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7909 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES SEPTEMBER 17, 2020 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions AN ACT To facilitate access to child care services safely and securely during the COVID-19 pandemic. 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 03:42 Sep 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7909.RFS H7909 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 HR 7909 RFS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Ensuring Children and 2 Child Care Workers Are Safe Act of 2020’’. 3 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 4 Congress finds the following: 5 (1) Child care is an essential service that sup- 6 ports children’s early development and allows par- 7 ents to work. 8 (2) At least 1 out of 2 child care providers 9 closed at some point during the COVID–19 pan- 10 demic, and 2 out of 5 face the possibility of perma- 11 nent closure. 12 (3) The lack of access to child care services can 13 prevent parents from returning to work and can pre- 14 vent children from accessing critical services, includ- 15 ing meals. 16 (4) Ensuring the safe re-opening and operation 17 of child care service settings during periods of com- 18 munity transmission of COVID–19 will require child 19 care providers to adopt new measures and practices 20 in order to reduce the likelihood of COVID–19 21 transmission. 22 (5) Such measures and practices must ensure 23 the safety of children as well as child care workers, 24 who may be at high risk of infection. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:42 Sep 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7909.RFS H7909 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 HR 7909 RFS (6) Ensuring that working families have access 1 to safe child care service options is critical to sup- 2 porting young children’s development and to return- 3 ing the economy back to its pre-pandemic levels. 4 SEC. 3. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE ON THE SAFE PROVISION 5 OF CHILD CARE SERVICES. 6 (a) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO STATES.— 7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 8 Human Services (in this Act referred to as the Sec- 9 retary), in consultation with the Director of the Cen- 10 ters for Disease Control and Prevention, shall pro- 11 vide technical assistance to States, Indian Tribes, 12 and tribal organizations related to the safe provision 13 of child care services while there is community 14 transmission of COVID–19. Such technical assist- 15 ance shall include information about— 16 (A) the prevention of COVID–19 trans- 17 mission in child care provider settings, includ- 18 ing the use of face masks and other personal 19 protective equipment in such settings; 20 (B) training and professional development 21 on health and safety practices related to the 22 prevention of COVID–19 transmission in child 23 care provider settings; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:42 Sep 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7909.RFS H7909 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 HR 7909 RFS (C) the acquisition and use of personal 1 protective equipment; and 2 (D) modifications of child care provider 3 settings and services to prevent COVID–19 4 transmission, such as optimal staff-to-child ra- 5 tios across such settings and the use of mental 6 health supports. 7 (2) MATERIALS.—As part of such technical as- 8 sistance efforts, the Secretary shall— 9 (A) publish educational materials related 10 to the prevention of COVID–19 transmission in 11 child care provider settings, including by post- 12 ing such materials on a website; 13 (B) update any such materials as nec- 14 essary to reflect advancements in the science of 15 COVID–19; and 16 (C) provide a mechanism through which 17 States may exchange best practices relating to 18 the safe operation of child care providers. 19 (b) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO CHILD CARE PRO- 20 VIDERS.— 21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may make 22 grants to lead agencies designated under section 23 658D(a) of the Child Care and Development Block 24 Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858b(a)) to provide 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:42 Sep 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7909.RFS H7909 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 HR 7909 RFS guidance, technical assistance, and support to child 1 care providers, either directly or through resource 2 and referral agencies or staffed family child care 3 networks, regarding the safe operation of child care 4 providers while there is community transmission of 5 COVID–19. 6 (2) RESERVATION.—The Secretary shall reserve 7 2.75 percent of funds appropriated to carry out this 8 section to make payments to Indian Tribes, Tribal 9 organizations, or consortia of Indian Tribes and 10 Tribal organizations. 11 (3) ALLOTMENTS.—From amounts appro- 12 priated to carry out this section and not reserved 13 under paragraph (2), the Secretary shall allot to 14 Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands of the 15 United States, and the Commonwealth of the North- 16 ern Mariana Islands and to the remaining States 17 amounts in accordance with subsections (a)(1) and 18 subsection (b) of section 658O of the Child Care and 19 Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 20 9858m), except that none of such remaining States 21 shall receive an allotment of less than $10,000. 22 (4) REQUIREMENTS.—Each lead agency that 23 receives a grant under this section shall ensure 24 that— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:42 Sep 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7909.RFS H7909 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 HR 7909 RFS (A) guidance, technical assistance, and 1 support are available to child care providers re- 2 gardless of such providers’ settings, sizes, or 3 administrative capacities; and 4 (B) guidance, technical assistance, and 5 support are available in the languages most 6 commonly spoken in the State, Indian Tribe, or 7 Tribal organization. 8 (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 60 days 9 after funds are appropriated to carry out this Act, the Sec- 10 retary shall provide to the Committee on Education and 11 Labor of the House of Representatives and to the Com- 12 mittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the 13 Senate a report that includes— 14 (1) recommendations for how to ensure the safe 15 provision of child care services while there is commu- 16 nity transmission of COVID–19, including rec- 17 ommendations that address each of the issues de- 18 scribed in subparagraphs (A) through (D) of sub- 19 section (a)(1); 20 (2) recommendations for how to ensure the sup- 21 ply of child care services meets demand during peri- 22 ods when providers implement the recommendations 23 described in paragraph (1), including whether it will 24 be necessary to expand the number of child care pro- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:42 Sep 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7909.RFS H7909 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 HR 7909 RFS viders to meet such demand and, if so, recommenda- 1 tions for how to expand the number of child care 2 providers; and 3 (3) the estimated cost of implementing the rec- 4 ommendations described in paragraphs (1) and (2). 5 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 6 The terms ‘‘State’’, ‘‘Indian Tribe’’, and ‘‘Tribal or- 7 ganization’’ have the meanings given such terms in section 8 658P of the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act 9 of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858n). 10 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 11 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 12 this Act, $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2021. Funds appro- 13 priated to carry out this Act shall remain available until 14 expended. 15 Passed the House of Representatives September 16, 2020. Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, Clerk. VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:42 Sep 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7909.RFS H7909 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS