To establish demonstration projects to provide at-home infant care benefits.

Summary: Choices in Child Care Act - Amends the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to five to seven states for demonstration projects to provide at-home infant care benefits to low-income families. Allows grants to Indian tribes. Requires the Secretary to seek to ensure geographic diversity among participants and to give priority to states that demonstrate a commitment to improving the quality of infant care and the choices available to parents of infants, that have relevant experience, and that have a shortage of infant care.

Requires states, to participate in the demonstration project, to certify to the Secretary that the state: (1) will not reduce expenditures for child care services while carrying out the project; (2) will not give priority or preference to low-income families seeking to receive at-home infant care benefits over other families on a waiting list for child care assistance through other state programs, but will select a combination of such families; and (3) will ensure that applicants are permitted to choose between receipt of at-home care subsidies and certificates for child care needed for employment.

Sets forth eligibility requirements for families seeking assistance, including having a parent who had a recent work history prior to the application for benefits. Requires states to permit two-parent families to participate in the project, but prohibits states from limiting participation in the project to such families.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Choices in Child Care Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Currently, child care assistance for children from low-
        income working families is severely underfunded, allowing only 
        1 in 7 eligible children to receive child care assistance for 
        children from birth to age 13.
            (2) Funding for the Child Care and Development Block Grant 
        Act of 1990 has remained relatively flat for 5 years, making it 
        more difficult for children from eligible families to receive 
        child care assistance.
            (3) In the majority of United States families, parents, 
        whether married or single, must work to provide economic 
        security for their families and, not the least, for the infants 
        newly welcomed into the families. Fifty-five percent of women 
        with children less than 1 year of age are part of the 
        workforce, while 73 percent of women with children 1 year of 
        age or older are in the workforce.
            (4) Research shows that the quality and nature of 
        caretaking in the first months and years of life are critical 
        to a young child's subsequent brain development, social 
        development, and well-being. Healthy early development depends 
        on nurturing and responsible relationships.
            (5) Research also shows that there is an extreme shortage 
        of quality, affordable child care for infants. Numerous studies 
        document lack of infant care and, in particular, affordable 
        care that meets basic health and safety standards, particularly 
        in rural areas. The current number of infant slots of licensed 
        child care providers can only meet 18 percent of the potential 
        need. The shortage is even more acute in rural areas, 
        especially those with a high percentage of low-wage residents.
            (6) For the well-being of United States children, and for 
        the economic security of the families on which the children 
        depend, working parents should be able to provide child care 
        for infants themselves without undermining family economic 
        stability.

SEC. 3. AT-HOME INFANT CARE.

    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. DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS TO PROVIDE AT-HOME INFANT CARE 
              BENEFITS.

    ``(a) Authority To Award Grants.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall award grants to not 
        less than 5 and not more than 7 States to enable such States to 
        carry out demonstration projects to provide at-home infant care 
        benefits to eligible low-income families.
            ``(2) Indian tribes.--The Secretary may award grants to 
        Indian tribes under this subsection. An Indian tribe that 
        receives a grant under this subsection shall carry out a 
        demonstration project to provide at-home infant care benefits 
        to eligible low-income families. The Indian tribe shall carry 
        out the demonstration project in the same manner, and to the 
        same extent, as a State that receives a grant under this 
        subsection, except that the Secretary may modify the 
        requirements of this section as appropriate with respect to the 
        Indian tribe.
            ``(3) Calculation.--Any grant awarded to an Indian tribe 
        under paragraph (2) shall not be counted in determining the 
        number of grants awarded to States under paragraph (1).
    ``(b) Demonstration Projects.--
            ``(1) Application for participation and selection of 
        states.--
                    ``(A) In general.--To be eligible to participate in 
                the program carried out under this section and receive 
                a grant under subsection (a) to carry out a 
                demonstration project, a State shall submit an 
                application to the Secretary at such time, in such 
                manner, and containing such information as the 
                Secretary may require.
                    ``(B) Notice.--Not later than 90 days after the 
                date of enactment of Choices in Child Care Act, the 
                Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register a 
                notice of opportunity to participate in the program and 
                receive such a grant, specifying the contents of an 
                application described in subparagraph (A). The notice 
                shall include a timeframe for States to submit such an 
                application, and shall provide that all such 
                applications shall be submitted not later than 270 days 
                after such date of enactment.
                    ``(C) Selection.--
                            ``(i) In general.--The Secretary shall 
                        review the applications and select the 
                        participating States not later than 1 year 
                        after such date of enactment.
                            ``(ii) Criteria.--In selecting the 
                        participating States, the Secretary shall--
                                    ``(I) seek to ensure geographic 
                                diversity; and
                                    ``(II) give priority to States--
                                            ``(aa) whose applications 
                                        demonstrate a strong commitment 
                                        to improving the quality of 
                                        infant care and the choices 
                                        available to parents of 
                                        infants;
                                            ``(bb) with experience 
                                        relevant to the operation of 
                                        at-home infant care programs; 
                                        and
                                            ``(cc) in which there are 
                                        demonstrable shortages of 
                                        infant care.
            ``(2) Required certifications.--A State selected to be a 
        participating State shall provide certifications to the 
        Secretary, with respect to the demonstration project to be 
        carried out by the State, that--
                    ``(A) during the period during which the State 
                carries out the demonstration project, the State will 
                not reduce expenditures for child care services below 
                the level of such expenditures made by the State in the 
                fiscal year preceding the fiscal year in which the 
                State began to carry out the project;
                    ``(B) the State, in carrying out the demonstration 
                project--
                            ``(i) will not give priority or preference 
                        to--
                                    ``(I) eligible low-income families 
                                seeking to receive at-home infant care 
                                benefits through the demonstration 
                                project; over
                                    ``(II) other eligible low-income 
                                families on a waiting list for child 
                                care assistance through another program 
                                in the State; but
                            ``(ii) will select a combination of 
                        families described in clause (i)(I) and 
                        families described in (i)(II) to receive at-
                        home infant care benefits;
                    ``(C) the State will--
                            ``(i) provide parents applying to receive 
                        at-home infant care benefits with in- formation 
                        on the range of options for child care 
                        available to the parents;
                            ``(ii) ensure that approved applicants for 
                        at-home infant care benefits are permitted to 
                        choose between receipt of at-home infant care 
                        benefit subsidies, and receipt of certificates 
                        that may be used with an eligible child care 
                        provider for child care needed for employment; 
                        and
                            ``(iii) provide that a family receiving at-
                        home infant care benefit subsidies may exchange 
                        the subsidies for certificates described in 
                        clause (ii) at any time during the family's 
                        participation in the demonstration project;
                    ``(D) the State will develop or update, and 
                implement, a plan to improve the quality of infant care 
                in the State, and provide parent education and support 
                services to participants in the demonstration project; 
                and
                    ``(E) the State will cooperate with information 
                collection and evaluations conducted by the Secretary.
            ``(3) Family eligibility.--
                    ``(A) In general.--To be eligible to receive at-
                home infant care benefits through a demonstration 
                project under this section, a family shall--
                            ``(i) have a family income that does not 
                        exceed the limit specified in section 
                        658P(4)(B);
                            ``(ii) include a child under the age of 12 
                        months (or, at the election of the State 
                        carrying out the demonstration project, under 
                        the age of 24 months);
                            ``(iii) include a parent who had a recent 
                        work history (as determined in accordance with 
                        the State's requirements for such a work 
                        history) prior to application for the at-home 
                        infant care benefits; and
                            ``(iv) meet such other eligibility 
                        requirements as the State may establish.
                    ``(B) Two-parent families.--A State selected to 
                carry out a demonstration project under this section 
                shall permit 2-parent families to participate in the 
                project but may not limit participation in the project 
                to such families.
            ``(4) Amount of assistance.--The amount of an at-home 
        infant care benefit provided to an eligible low-income family 
        under this section for a month shall not exceed the monthly 
        amount obtained by applying 100 percent of the State's maximum 
        rate for a licensed family child care provider for full-time 
        infant care.
            ``(5) TANF assistance.--The receipt of an at-home infant 
        care benefit under this section shall not be considered to be 
        assistance for any purpose under the program of block grants to 
        States for temporary assistance for needy families established 
        under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
        601 et seq.).
            ``(6) Benefit not treated as income.--Notwithstanding any 
        other provision of law, the value of an at-home infant care 
        benefit shall not be treated as income for purposes of any 
        Federal or federally-assisted program that bases eligibility, 
        or the amount of benefits or services provided, on need.
    ``(c) Evaluation and Report to Congress.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall conduct an 
        evaluation of the demonstration projects carried out under this 
        section and submit a report to Congress containing the results 
        of such evaluation not later than 4 years after the date of 
        enactment of Choices in Child Care Act.
            ``(2) Requirements.--In conducting the evaluation, the 
        Secretary shall examine the following:
                    ``(A) Implementation experiences of the States 
                carrying out the demonstration projects in developing 
                and operating projects providing at-home infant care 
                benefits, including design issues and issues in 
                coordinating at-home infant care benefits provided 
                under this section with benefits provided or funded 
                under another provision of this Act in the State.
                    ``(B) The characteristics of families seeking to 
                participate and participating in the demonstration 
                projects providing at-home infant care benefits funded 
                under this section.
                    ``(C) The length of participation by families in 
                such demonstration projects and the reasons for the 
                families ceasing to participate in the demonstration 
                projects.
                    ``(D) The prior and subsequent employment of the 
                participating families and the effect of the 
                demonstration project participation on subsequent 
                employment of the families.
                    ``(E) The costs and benefits of the demonstration 
                projects.
                    ``(F) The effectiveness of State efforts (including 
                tribal efforts) to improve the quality of infant care 
                during the periods in which the demonstration projects 
                are carried out.
            ``(3) Reservation of funds.--From the amount appropriated 
        under section 658B(b) for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall 
        reserve $1,000,000 for purposes of conducting the evaluation 
        required under this subsection.''.

SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

    (a) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 658B of the Child 
Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858) is 
amended--
            (1) by inserting: ``(a) In General.--'' before ``There 
        is'';
            (2) by inserting ``(other than section 658H)'' after ``this 
        subchapter''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(b) Demonstration Projects To Provide At-Home Infant Care 
Benefits.--There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out section 
658H $75,000,000 for fiscal year 2007 and each subsequent fiscal 
year.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--
            (1) Reservations.--Section 658O(a) of the Child Care and 
        Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858m(a)) is 
        amended--
                    (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``under this 
                subchapter'' and inserting ``under section 658B(a)''; 
                and
                    (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ``under section 
                658B'' and inserting ``under section 658B(a)''.
            (2) Allotments.--Section 658O(b)(1) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
        9858m(b)(1)) is amended by striking ``under section 658B'' and 
        inserting ``under section 658B(a)''.