Bill > S568

Introduced Session

A bill to amend the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 and the Head Start Act to promote child care and early learning, and for other purposes. This bill provides funds and otherwise revises certain child care and early learning programs for low- to moderate-income families. Specifically, the bill provides funds for the Child Care and Development Block Grant program and reestablishes it as a child care and development assistance program. It also allocates program funds for states to provide services and supports to infants, toddlers, and children with disabilities. Further, it revises the program to require each state to, among other things create a tiered and transparent system for measuring the quality of child care providers, which must include evidence-based standards and payment rates that are based on a certain cost estimation model; assure that copayments are based on a sliding scale and that no family receiving assistance pays more than 7% of their household income on child care; and use quality child care amounts for certain activities, such as improving the supply of child care providers who provide care to infants, toddlers, and children with disabilities (e.g., professional development). It also provides funds and establishes grants for states to create preschool programs for low- to moderate-income children between the ages of three and five years. Finally, the Department of Health and Human Services must make grants to Head Start agencies to (1) provide children with access to full-school-year and full-school-day services, (2) provide access to additional service hours for migrant and seasonal agencies, or (3) enhance the quality of existing services.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

Patty Murray (D)*,  Tammy Baldwin (D),  Michael Bennet (D),  Richard Blumenthal (D),  Cory Booker (D),  Sherrod Brown (D),  Maria Cantwell (D),  Ben Cardin (D),  Bob Casey (D),  Chris Coons (D),  Catherine Cortez Masto (D),  Tammy Duckworth (D),  Dick Durbin (D),  Dianne Feinstein (D),  Kirsten Gillibrand (D),  Kamala Harris (D),  Maggie Hassan (D),  Martin Heinrich (D),  Mazie Hirono (D),  Amy Klobuchar (D),  Patrick Leahy (D),  Ed Markey (D),  Bob Menendez (D),  Jeff Merkley (D),  Chris Murphy (D),  Gary Peters (D),  Jack Reed (D),  Jacky Rosen (D),  Bernie Sanders (I),  Brian Schatz (D),  Chuck Schumer (D),  Tina Smith (D),  Tom Udall (D),  Chris Van Hollen (D),  Elizabeth Warren (D),  Sheldon Whitehouse (D),  Ron Wyden (D), 

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. (on 02/26/2019)

Official Document