Working Families Child Care Act of 2014 - Amends part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) of title IV of the Social Security Act to create a supplemental state entitlement for child care assistance for families with infants or toddlers under age three.
Amends the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to make grants to enable eligible states (including Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands) to improve the quality of care for infants and toddlers, especially those from low-income families.
Authorizes the use of grant funds to: (1) make grants to organizations with expertise in providing child care and related technical assistance, to establish new staffed family child care networks or to operate existing staffed family child care networks or systems that offer, to eligible infant and toddler care providers, technical assistance, training, administrative support, or direct services including monitoring visits to providers; (2) support a statewide network of infant and toddler care specialists; and (3) support initiatives to improve the quality of the provider workforce.
Allows the use of such funds also to: (1) develop infant and toddler components for the state's Quality Rating and Improvement System or a similar rating system, child care licensing regulations, or voluntary early learning guidelines; (2) improve the ability of parents to obtain information about high-quality infant and toddler care; or (3) assist eligible infant and toddler care providers seeking to increase their ranking on the state's Quality Rating and Improvement System or similar rating system, meet performance standards applicable to an Early Head Start agency, or become accredited by a national accrediting body.
[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5000 Introduced in House (IH)]
113th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5000
To provide for child care services for families with infants or
toddlers, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 26, 2014
Ms. Frankel of Florida (for herself, Ms. Moore, Mr. Conyers, Ms. Brown
of Florida, Ms. Kaptur, Mrs. Negrete McLeod, Ms. Norton, Ms. Clark of
Massachusetts, Ms. Lee of California, Ms. Hanabusa, Mr. Nadler, Ms.
Matsui, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Ms. DeLauro, Mr. Meeks, Mr. Crowley,
Mr. Loebsack, Ms. McCollum, Mr. Honda, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Sablan, Mr.
Lowenthal, Ms. Schakowsky, Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas, Mr.
Langevin, Mr. Rush, Mr. Enyart, Mr. Butterfield, Mr. Rangel, Ms. Meng,
Ms. Titus, Mrs. Bustos, Ms. Chu, Mr. Hastings of Florida, Mr.
Cicilline, Mr. Grayson, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Yarmuth, Mr. Garamendi, Mr.
Deutch, Ms. Castor of Florida, Ms. Edwards, Ms. Brownley of California,
Ms. Pingree of Maine, Ms. Slaughter, Mr. Tonko, Ms. Bass, Ms. Hahn, Ms.
Wilson of Florida, Mrs. Kirkpatrick, Ms. Sewell of Alabama, Mr. Sean
Patrick Maloney of New York, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, Ms. Shea-Porter,
Ms. Clarke of New York, Mr. Vargas, Ms. Fudge, Mr. McGovern, Ms. Esty,
Mr. Ellison, Mr. Tierney, Mr. Keating, Mr. Carson of Indiana, Ms.
Lofgren, and Mrs. Lowey) introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in
addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration
of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee
concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide for child care services for families with infants or
toddlers, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Working Families Child Care Act of
2014''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Child care for infants and toddlers is often difficult
to access or afford. Only about a third of child care centers
serve infants. While 70 percent of centers serve toddlers, only
a third of teachers report that they care for children under
age 3. About half of all requests to child care resource and
referral agencies concern care for infants and toddlers.
(2) Child care is second only to the family as the setting
in which early development takes place for many infants and
toddlers. Sixty-one percent of mothers with children younger
than 3 years of age are in the labor force and over 6,000,000
children younger than 3 years of age are cared for by someone
other than their parents for some part or all of the day.
Therefore, the relationship between the child and the child
care provider often plays a significant role in child
development.
(3) Dramatic brain development in a child's first 3 years
of life, shaped by the quality of early experiences and
relationships with trusted adults, builds the foundational
architecture for thinking, reasoning, language, emotion, and
self-regulation.
(4) Early adverse experiences, such as economic hardship,
unstable housing, poor nutrition, abuse or neglect, or parental
mental health or substance abuse problems, affect brain
development, with effects on long-term productivity and health
that can last a life-time. Children with such hardships early
in life often experience high levels of chronic stress, which
can alter the brain's architecture and undermine developing
biological systems. Almost half of all infants and toddlers
live in low-income families, and 61 percent have at least one
risk factor for poor health or developmental outcomes.
(5) Teachers serving infants and toddlers receive wages
that are 28 percent lower than those of teachers serving 3-5
year olds. Some difference remains even when education is taken
into account. The median hourly wage for a teacher with a BA
degree serving infants and toddlers is $11.30 compared with
$15.50 for teachers serving 3-5 year-olds.
(6) Low reimbursement rates to providers make it extremely
challenging to offer high quality care to low-income children.
In 2013, just three states set their reimbursement rates at the
75th percentile of current market rates. Many states set their
rates substantially below the 75th percentile.
(7) Research shows that high-quality child care can
mitigate some of the effects of adverse experiences, including
poverty, and that low-income children in particular can benefit
from high-quality child care that provides nurturing, child-
centered teachers and a safe, predictable environment. Yet, at-
risk children younger than 3 years of age often receive low-
quality child care that can lead to poor developmental
outcomes.
(8) High-quality child care has been shown to promote
positive cognitive, language, and social and emotional
development, and contribute to academic success. Specifically,
high-quality child care can also help improve a child's
communication skills, behavioral skills, math and language
assessment scores, and verbal intelligence.
(9) Research has found strong connections between provider
education and training levels and child care quality, including
positive caregiving that can improve child outcomes. More than
a quarter of infant-toddler teachers have only a high school
education, twice the rate for teachers of preschool age
children. 19 percent of infant-toddler teachers have a
bachelor's degree compared with 45 percent of teachers of 3-5
year olds. Twenty-seven States have an infant-toddler
credential defining the particular knowledge and skills needed
to work with children younger than 3 years of age, but only 17
States require specific qualifications for infant-toddler
staff.
(10) Twenty-four percent of infants and toddlers receiving
CCDBG subsidies are cared for in family child care homes.
Family child care networks that create a supportive
relationship with a specially trained coordinator and provide
on-site training and mentoring have been shown to improve the
quality of family child care providers.
(11) Twenty-seven States use infant and toddler specialist
networks as the structure for providing training and technical
assistance, using research-based training and techniques such
as mentoring and on-site coaching, to all types of providers of
child care for infants or toddlers.
(12) Infants and toddlers have unique needs that differ
from those of older children in areas such as health and
safety, interaction with teachers and caregivers, and learning,
yet not all States recognize those differences in their Quality
Rating and Improvement Systems. Just 16 States have infant and
toddler standards in their Quality Rating and Improvement
Systems.
SEC. 3. MANDATORY CHILD CARE FUNDING FOR FAMILIES WITH INFANTS OR
TODDLERS.
Section 418 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 618) is amended
by adding at the end the following:
``(e) Supplemental Entitlement for Child Care Assistance for
Families With Infants or Toddlers.--
``(1) In general.--Each State to which an amount is
required to be paid under subsection (a)(2)(C) for a fiscal
year shall, for the purpose of providing child care assistance
for families with a child who has not attained 3 years of age,
be entitled to payments for the fiscal year under a grant made
under this subsection.
``(2) Federal matching of state expenditures.--The amount
of the grant payable to a State under this subsection for a
fiscal year shall be the lesser of--
``(A) the allotment of the State under paragraph
(3) for the fiscal year; or
``(B) the Federal medical assistance percentage for
the State for the fiscal year (as defined in section
1905(b), as such section was in effect on September 30,
1995) of the total amount of the State's expenditures
for child care in the fiscal year not taken into
account under subsection (a)(2) for the fiscal year.
``(3) Allotments to states.--The allotment of a State under
this paragraph for a fiscal year shall be--
``(A) the total amount available for payments to
States under this subsection for the fiscal year, after
making the reservation required by paragraph (6);
multiplied by
``(B)(i) the number of children who have not
attained 3 years of age who reside in the State;
divided by
``(ii) the total number of such children who reside
in all States.
``(4) Redistribution.--
``(A) In general.--The 1st sentence of subsection
(a)(2)(D)(i) shall apply with respect to amounts
appropriated under paragraph (5) of this subsection in
the same manner in which that sentence applies with
respect to amounts appropriated under subsection
(a)(3). The amounts available for redistribution by
reason of the preceding sentence shall be redistributed
to a State based on the formula set forth in paragraph
(3)(B) of this subsection.
``(B) Time of determination and distribution.--
Subsection (a)(2)(D)(ii) shall apply with respect to
amounts appropriated under paragraph (5) of this
subsection in the same manner in which subsection
(a)(2)(D)(ii) applies with respect to amounts
appropriated under subsection (a)(3).
``(5) Appropriation.--For grants under this subsection,
there are appropriated $2,000,000,000 for each fiscal year.
``(6) Indian tribes.--The Secretary shall reserve not less
than 1 percent, and not more than 2 percent, of the aggregate
amount appropriated to carry out this section in each fiscal
year for payments to Indian tribes and tribal organizations.
``(7) Use of funds.--Notwithstanding subsection (c),
subsection (b) shall apply with respect to amounts appropriated
under paragraph (5) of this subsection in the same manner in
which subsection (b) applies with respect to amounts
appropriated under subsection (a)(3), except that amounts
received by a State under this subsection shall be used--
``(A) to provide child care assistance only to
families described in paragraph (1) of this subsection
who are not otherwise receiving child care assistance
under this section; and
``(B) to increase reimbursement rates to providers
of child care services to such families.''.
SEC. 4. HIGH-QUALITY INFANT AND TODDLER CHILD CARE PROGRAM.
(a) High-Quality Infant and Toddler Care Program.--The Child Care
and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 is amended by inserting after
section 658G (42 U.S.C. 9858e) the following:
``SEC. 658H. HIGH-QUALITY INFANT AND TODDLER CARE PROGRAM.
``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Eligible infant or toddler care provider.--The term
`eligible infant or toddler care provider' means an eligible
child care provider, consistent with section 658P, who provides
care to an infant or toddler.
``(2) Infant or toddler.--The term `infant or toddler'
means an individual under 3 years of age.
``(3) Infant or toddler with a developmental delay or
disability.--
``(A) In general.--The term `infant or toddler with
a developmental delay or disability' has the meaning
given the term `infant or toddler with a disability' in
section 632 of the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1432).
``(B) Plural form.--The term `infants and toddlers
with developmental delays or disabilities' means more
than 1 infant or toddler with a developmental delay or
disability.
``(4) Dual language learner.--The term `dual language
learner' means an individual who is limited English proficient
as defined in section 637 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C.
9832).
``(5) Low-income community.--The term `low-income
community' shall be defined by the Secretary.
``(6) Low-income family.--The term `low-income family'
means a family with a family income described in section
658P(4)(B).
``(b) Grants.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall make grants to
eligible States, from allotments described in paragraph (2), to
enable the States to improve the quality of care for infants
and toddlers.
``(2) Allotments.--
``(A) Amounts reserved.--
``(i) Territories and possessions.--The
Secretary shall reserve an amount not to exceed
0.5 percent of the amount appropriated under
this section for each fiscal year for payments
to Guam, American Samoa, the United States
Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands, to be allotted in
accordance with their respective needs.
``(ii) Indian tribes.--The Secretary shall
reserve not less than 1 percent, and not more
than 2 percent, of the amount appropriated
under this section for each fiscal year for
payments to Indian tribes and tribal
organizations with applications approved under
section 658O(c).
``(B) Allotments to states.--After making
reservations under subparagraph (A), the Secretary
shall use the remainder of the amount appropriated
under this section for a fiscal year to allot to each
State an amount that bears the same relationship to
that remainder as the amount allotted to the State
under section 658O for that fiscal year bears to the
amount allotted to all States under section 658O for
that fiscal year.
``(C) State.--In this paragraph, the term `State'
does not include Guam, American Samoa, the United
States Virgin Islands, or the Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands.
``(c) Amendment to State Plans.--A State that receives a grant
under this section shall include in the State's plan under section
658E, a description of how the State will use funds provided under this
section to improve the quality of infant and toddler care.
``(d) Use of Funds.--
``(1) In general.--A State that receives a grant under this
section shall use the funds made available through the grant to
carry out 1 or more of the activities described in paragraphs
(2) through (7).
``(2) Increasing high-quality infant and toddler care.--
``(A) In general.--A State may use the funds
described in paragraph (1) to make grants to eligible
entities to be resources for eligible infant and
toddler care providers, to improve the quality of early
care and development services provided to infants and
toddlers in the community from low-income families and
to help such providers serving low-income families
improve their capacity to offer high-quality care to
such families.
``(B) Eligible entity.--To be eligible to receive a
grant under this paragraph, an entity shall be an
eligible child care provider that--
``(i) serves infants and toddlers from low-
income families; and
``(ii)(I) is ranked at the top level of the
State's Quality Rating and Improvement System
or similar rating system or accredited by a
national accrediting body recognized, before
the date of enactment of the Infant and Toddler
Care Improvement Act, for high-quality program
standards that are valid and reliable; or
``(II) is an Early Head Start agency under
section 645A of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C.
9840a) that is in full compliance with the
performance standards applicable to such an
agency under the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831
et seq.).
``(C) Priority.--In making grants under this
paragraph, a State--
``(i) shall give priority to entities that
will serve significant populations of low-
income families; and
``(ii) may give priority to entities that--
``(I) are located in low-income
communities;
``(II) will serve communities with
significant populations of families
with children who are dual language
learners; or
``(III) will increase the ability
of caregivers to provide appropriate
services and coordinate activities with
State and local systems providing
services under part C of the
Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act (20 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.) for
children with developmental delays or
disabilities, including such children
in the child welfare system of the
State.
``(3) Staffed family child care networks or systems.--
``(A) In general.--A State may use the funds
described in paragraph (1) to make grants to
organizations with expertise in providing child care
and related technical assistance, to establish new
staffed family child care networks (new as of the date
of amendment of the State plan under subsection (c)) or
to operate existing staffed family child care networks
or systems that offer, to family child care providers
who are eligible infant and toddler care providers,
technical assistance, training, administrative support,
or direct services including monitoring visits to
providers.
``(B) Priority.--In making grants under this
paragraph, a State--
``(i) shall give priority to organizations
described in paragraph (2)(C)(I); and
``(ii) may give priority to organizations
that have 1 or more of the 3 characteristics
described in paragraph (2)(C)(ii).
``(4) Statewide network of infant and toddler
specialists.--
``(A) In general.--A State may use the funds
described in paragraph (1) to support, or to make a
grant to an organization with expertise in providing
child care technical assistance to support, a statewide
network of specialists who are eligible infant and
toddler care providers, that shall--
``(i) provide individual or group training
and intensive consultation services to eligible
infant and toddler care providers, including
relative caregivers, on strategies to improve
the quality of care for infants and toddlers;
and
``(ii) assist eligible infant and toddler
care providers in coordinating activities with
other offices responsible for child care,
including Early Head Start programs and Head
Start programs carried out under the Head Start
Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.).
``(B) Priority.--In delivering services or making
grants under this paragraph, a State--
``(i) shall give priority to networks that
deliver support to providers described in
paragraph (2)(C)(i); and
``(ii) may give priority to networks that
deliver support to providers that have 1 or
more of the 3 characteristics described in
paragraph (2)(C)(ii).
``(5) State workforce quality initiatives.--
``(A) In general.--A State may use the funds
described in paragraph (1) to support initiatives to
improve the quality of the workforce of eligible infant
and toddler care providers, including activities that
are culturally and linguistically competent to support
a diverse workforce reflecting the race and ethnicity
of children served, such as--
``(i) providing relevant training,
professional development, or mentoring to
eligible infant and toddler care providers,
including linking the training, development, or
mentoring to career pathways for eligible
infant and toddler care providers;
``(ii) providing scholarships or other
financial support to eligible infant and
toddler care providers to advance their
education and training;
``(iii) coordinating activities with the
State's higher education system to expand the
availability and quality of coursework for
infant and toddler care providers, including
developing career pathways for eligible infant
and toddler care providers; or
``(iv) improving the State credentialing of
eligible infant and toddler care providers.
``(6) Systems quality.--A State may use the funds described
in paragraph (1) to--
``(A) develop infant and toddler components for the
State's Quality Rating and Improvement System or
similar rating system, child care licensing
regulations, or voluntary early learning guidelines;
``(B) improve the ability of parents to obtain
information about high-quality infant and toddler care;
or
``(C) assist eligible infant and toddler care
providers seeking to improve the quality of their
infant and toddler care by increasing their ranking on
the State's Quality Rating and Improvement System or
similar rating system, meeting performance standards
applicable to an Early Head Start agency under the Head
Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.), or becoming
accredited by a national accrediting body described in
paragraph (2)(B)(ii).
``(7) Other high-quality initiatives.--A State may use the
funds described in paragraph (1) to carry out other activities
determined by the State to improve the quality of infant and
toddler care provided in the State and for which there is
evidence that the activities will lead to improved infant and
toddler safety, infant and toddler development, or infant and
toddler well-being.
``(e) Reporting.--A State that receives a grant under subsection
(b) shall submit in the State's annual reports required under section
658K(a)(2), information on how the State is using the funding provided
under subsection (b) to improve the quality of infant and toddler care
and the effect such funding is having on the quality of infant and
toddler care in the State.
``(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section $500,000,000 for fiscal year
2015 and $500,000,000 for each subsequent fiscal year.''.
(b) Conforming Amendments.--
(1) Authorization.--Section 658B of the Child Care and
Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858) is amended
by inserting ``(other than section 658H)'' after
``subchapter''.
(2) Allotment.--Section 658O(a)(1) of such Act (42 U.S.C.
9858m(a)(1)) is amended by striking ``this subchapter'' and
inserting ``section 658B''.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education.
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