II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1354 To increase the quality and supply of child care and lower child care costs for families. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 27, 2023 Mrs. MURRAY (for herself, Mr. CASEY, Mr. KAINE, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. SCHU- MER, Mr. SANDERS, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. BENNET, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. BROWN, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. COONS, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mr. DURBIN, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. FETTERMAN, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Ms. HASSAN, Mr. HEINRICH, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. KING, Mr. LUJA´N, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. MURPHY, Mr. PADILLA, Mr. REED, Ms. ROSEN, Mr. SCHATZ, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Ms. SMITH, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. WELCH, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. WYDEN, and Ms. STABENOW) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pen- sions A BILL To increase the quality and supply of child care and lower child care costs for families. 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 ‘‘Child Care for Work- 4 ing Families Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:20 May 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1354.IS S1354 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •S 1354 IS TITLE I—CHILD CARE AND 1 EARLY LEARNING PROGRAM 2 SEC. 101. BIRTH THROUGH FIVE CHILD CARE AND EARLY 3 LEARNING PROGRAM. 4 (a) CHILD CARE DEFINITIONS.—The definitions in 5 section 658P of the Child Care and Development Block 6 Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858n) shall apply to this 7 section, except as provided in subsection (b) and as other- 8 wise specified. 9 (b) ADDITIONAL DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 10 (1) CHILD CARE CERTIFICATE.— 11 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘child care 12 certificate’’ means a certificate (that may be a 13 check or other disbursement) that is issued by 14 a State, Tribal, territorial, or local government 15 under this section directly to a parent who shall 16 use such certificate only as payment for child 17 care services or as a deposit for child care serv- 18 ices if such a deposit is required of other chil- 19 dren being cared for by the provider. 20 (B) RULE.—Nothing in this section shall 21 preclude the use of such certificates for sec- 22 tarian child care services if freely chosen by the 23 parent. For the purposes of this section, child 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:20 May 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1354.IS S1354 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •S 1354 IS care certificates shall be considered indirect 1 Federal financial assistance to the provider. 2 (2) CHILD EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS.— 3 The term ‘‘child experiencing homelessness’’ means 4 an individual who is a homeless child or youth under 5 section 725 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assist- 6 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a). 7 (3) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITY.—The term ‘‘eligible 8 activity’’, with respect to a parent, shall include, at 9 minimum, activities consisting of— 10 (A) full-time or part-time employment; 11 (B) self-employment; 12 (C) job search activities; 13 (D) job training; 14 (E) secondary, postsecondary, or adult 15 education, including education through a pro- 16 gram of high school classes, a course of study 17 at an institution of higher education, classes to- 18 wards an equivalent of a high school diploma 19 recognized by State law, or English as a second 20 language classes; 21 (F) health treatment (including mental 22 health and substance use treatment) for a con- 23 dition that prevents the parent from partici- 24 pating in other eligible activities; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:20 May 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1354.IS S1354 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •S 1354 IS (G) activities to prevent child abuse and 1 neglect, or family violence prevention or inter- 2 vention activities; 3 (H) employment and training activities 4 under the Workforce Innovation and Oppor- 5 tunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.); and 6 (I) taking leave under the Family and 7 Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2601 et 8 seq.) (or equivalent provisions for Federal em- 9 ployees), a State or local paid or unpaid leave 10 law, or a program of employer-provided leave. 11 (4) ELIGIBLE CHILD.— 12 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘eligible 13 child’’ means an individual— 14 (i) who is less than 6 years of age; 15 (ii) who is not yet in kindergarten; 16 and 17 (iii) who— 18 (I) resides with a parent or par- 19 ents who are participating in an eligi- 20 ble activity; 21 (II) is included in a population of 22 vulnerable children identified by the 23 lead agency involved, which at a min- 24 imum shall include children with dis- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:20 May 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1354.IS S1354 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •S 1354 IS abilities, infants and toddlers with dis- 1 abilities, children experiencing home- 2 lessness, children in foster care, chil- 3 dren in kinship care, children in a 4 family that is eligible for assistance 5 through the special supplemental nu- 6 trition program for women, infants, 7 and children established by section 17 8 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 9 (42 U.S.C. 1786), a household that is 10 eligible to receive assistance through 11 the supplemental nutrition assistance 12 program established under the Food 13 and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 14 2011 et seq.), or a family that is eligi- 15 ble to receive assistance through the 16 program of block grants to States for 17 temporary assistance for needy fami- 18 lies established under part A of title 19 IV of the Social Security Act (42 20 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), and children who 21 are receiving, or need to receive, child 22 protective services; or 23 (III) resides with— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:20 May 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1354.IS S1354 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •S 1354 IS (aa) a parent who is more 1 than 65 years of age; 2 (bb) a parent who is em- 3 ployed by an eligible child care 4 provider; or 5 (cc) a parent who is enrolled 6 in high school and has not ex- 7 ceeded the maximum age of en- 8 rollment in high school. 9 (B) LONGER-TERM PERIOD ELIGIBILITY.— 10 An individual who is determined to be an eligi- 11 ble child, and is a child in foster care or a child 12 experiencing homelessness, shall not be required 13 to reverify eligibility for purposes of this title 14 during the period after the determination and 15 before the individual becomes 6 years of age or 16 enters kindergarten, whichever occurs earlier. 17 (5) ELIGIBLE CHILD CARE PROVIDER.— 18 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘eligible child 19 care provider’’ means a center-based child care 20 provider, a family child care provider, or other 21 provider of child care services for compensation 22 that— 23 (i) is licensed to provide child care 24 services under State law applicable to the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:20 May 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1354.IS S1354 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •S 1354 IS child care services it provides or, in the 1 case of an Indian Tribe or Tribal organiza- 2 tion, meets the rules set by the Secretary; 3 (ii) participates in the State’s tiered 4 system for recognizing and supporting the 5 quality of child care services described in 6 subsection (f)(3)(B), or, in the case of an 7 Indian Tribe or Tribal organization, meets 8 the rules set by the Secretary— 9 (I) not later than 4 years after 10 the State first receives funds under 11 this section; and 12 (II) for the remainder of the pe- 13 riod for which the provider receives 14 funds under this section; and 15 (iii) satisfies the State and local re- 16 quirements, including those requirements 17 described in section 658E(c)(2)(I) of the 18 Child Care and Development Block Grant 19 Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858c(c)(2)(I)), 20 applicable to the child care services it pro- 21 vides. 22 (B) SPECIAL RULE.—A child care provider 23 who is eligible to provide child care services in 24 a State for children receiving assistance under 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:20 May 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1354.IS S1354 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •S 1354 IS the Child Care and Development Block Grant 1 Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9857 et seq.) on the 2 date the State submits an application for funds 3 under this section, and remains in compliance 4 with any licensing or registration standards, or 5 regulations, of the State, shall be deemed to be 6 an eligible child care provider under this section 7 for 3.5 years after the State first receives fund- 8 ing under this section. 9 (6) FMAP.—The term ‘‘FMAP’’ has the mean- 10 ing given the term ‘‘Federal medical assistance per- 11 centage’’ in the first sentence of section 1905(b) of 12 the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396d(b)). 13 (7) FAMILY CHILD CARE PROVIDER.—The term 14 ‘‘family child care provider’’ means one or more indi- 15 viduals who provide child care services, in a private 16 residence other than the residences of the children 17 involved, for less than 24 hours per day per child, 18 or for 24 hours per day per child due to the nature 19 of the work of the parent involved. 20 (8) INCLUSIVE CARE.—The term ‘‘inclusive’’, 21 with respect to care (including child care), means 22 care provided by an eligible child care provider— 23 (A) for whom the percentage of children 24 served by the provider who are children with 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:20 May 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1354.IS S1354 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •S 1354 IS disabilities or infants or toddlers with disabil- 1 ities reflects the prevalence of children with dis- 2 abilities and infants and toddlers with disabil- 3 ities (whichever the provider serves) among chil- 4 dren within the State involved; and 5 (B) that provides care and full participa- 6 tion for children with disabilities and infants 7 and toddlers with disabilities (whichever the 8 provider serves) alongside children who are— 9 (i) not children with disabilities; and 10 (ii) not infants and toddlers with dis- 11 abilities. 12 (9) INFANT OR TODDLER.—The term ‘‘infant 13 or toddler’’ means an individual who is less than 3 14 years of age. 15 (10) INFANT OR TODDLER WITH A DIS- 16 ABILITY.—The term ‘‘infant or toddler with a dis- 17 ability’’ has the meaning given the term in section 18 632 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education 19 Act (20 U.S.C. 1432). 20 (11) LEAD AGENCY.—The term ‘‘lead agency’’ 21 means the agency designated under subsection (e). 22 (12) PROVIDER TYPE.—The term ‘‘provider 23 type’’ means a type that is— 24 (A) a center-based child care provider; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:20 May 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1354.IS S1354 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •S 1354 IS (B) a family child care provider; or 1 (C) another non-center-based child care 2 provider. 3 (13) STAFFED FAMILY CHILD CARE NET- 4 WORK.—The term ‘‘staffed family child care net- 5 work’’ means a nonprofit organization— 6 (A) that may be a component of a child 7 care resource and referral organization; 8 (B) that has at least one paid staff mem- 9 ber; and 10 (C) that offers evidence-based professional 11 development, quality improvement support, 12 business support, and technical assistance, in- 13 cluding on achieving licensure as a child care 14 provider, to family child care providers. 15 (14) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means any of 16 the 50 States and the District of Columbia. 17 (15) TERRITORY.—The term ‘‘territory’’ means 18 the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Is- 19 lands of the United States, Guam, American Samoa, 20 and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is- 21 lands. 22 (c) APPROPRIATIONS.— 23 (1) ENTITLEMENT.—In addition to amounts 24 otherwise available, there is appropriated to the De- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:20 May 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1354.IS S1354 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •S 1354 IS partment of Health and Human Services, out of any 1 money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, 2 such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal 3 years 2024 through 2029, for payments to States, 4 territories, and Indian Tribes and Tribal organiza- 5 tions, and for carrying out this section (other than 6 carrying out activities described in paragraph (2) or 7 (3)). 8 (2) GRANTS TO LOCALITIES; AWARDS TO HEAD 9 START AGENCIES.—In addition to amounts otherwise 10 available, there is appropriated to the Department of 11 Health and Human Services for fiscal year 2024, 12 out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise ap- 13 propriated, $20,000,000,000, to remain available 14 until September 30, 2029, to carry out the programs 15 of grants to localities and awards to Head Start 16 agencies described in subsection (i). 17 (3) FEDERAL ADMINISTRATION.—In addition to 18 amounts otherwise available, there is appropriated to 19 the Department of Health and Human Services for 20 fiscal year 2024, out of any money in the Treasury 21 not otherwise appropriated, $1,300,000,000, to re- 22 main available until September 30, 2029, to carry 23 out subsections (k) and (l). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:20 May 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1354.IS S1354 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 12 •S 1354 IS (d) ESTABLISHMENT OF BIRTH THROUGH FIVE 1 CHILD CARE AND EARLY LEARNING ENTITLEMENT PRO- 2 GRAM.— 3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary is authorized 4 to administer a child care and early learning entitle- 5 ment program under which an eligible child, in a 6 State, territory, or Indian Tribe, or served by a 7 Tribal organization with an approved application 8 under subsection (f) or (g), shall be provided an op- 9 portunity to obtain high-quality child care services, 10 subject to the requirements of this section. 11 (2) ASSISTANCE FOR EVERY ELIGIBLE 12 CHILD.—Beginning on October 1, 2024, every child 13 who applies for assistance under this section, who is 14 in a State with an approved application under sub- 15 section (f), or in a territory or Indian Tribe or 16 served by a Tribal organization with an approved 17 application under subsection (g), and who is deter- 18 mined, by a lead agency (or other entity designated 19 by a lead agency) for the State, territory, Indian 20 Tribe, or Tribal organization involved, following 21 standards and procedures established by the Sec- 22 retary by rule, to be an eligible child, shall be offered 23 and shall be entitled to receive assist [Text truncated for display. 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