A bill to amend the Social Security Act to enable States to carry out quality initiatives, and for other purposes.

Summary: Child Care Investment Act of 2008 - Amends part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) of title IV of the Social Security Act to increase appropriations for child care assistance grants for FY2009-FY2014.

Makes appropriations for FY2009-FY2014 for grants to states to establish: (1) a Quality Rating and Improvement System (or maintain such a system) for center-based child care providers, group home child care providers, family child care providers, and other early childhood education providers; (2) a statewide network of infant and toddler specialists to train such providers; (3) standards that require at least 40 hours of appropriate health, safety, and child development training for an individual before employment with or as a licensed or registered child care provider; and (4) requirements that licensed or registered providers are visited by monitoring staff at least twice a year.

Requires the use of such appropriations also to pay reimbursement rates at or above the 75th percentile of market rates for providers of child care services assisted under the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Child Care Investment Act of 2008''.

SEC. 2. FUNDING FOR CHILD CARE.

    (a) Main Program.--Section 418 of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 618) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) in paragraph (3)--
                            (i) in the matter preceding subparagraph 
                        (A), by striking ``section'' and inserting 
                        ``subsection'';
                            (ii) in subparagraph (G), by striking 
                        ``2010.'' and inserting ``2008; and''; and
                            (iii) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(H) $3,717,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 
                though 2014.''; and
            (2) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) by striking all that precedes paragraph (1) and 
                inserting the following:
            ``(6) Use of funds.--'';
                    (B) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as 
                subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively, and aligning 
                the margins of those subparagraphs with the margins of 
                section 418(a)(2)(C) of that Act;
                    (C) by striking ``this section'' each place it 
                appears and inserting ``this subsection''; and
                    (D) by striking ``subsection (a)(1)'' and inserting 
                ``paragraph (1)''.
    (b) Quality Initiatives.--Section 418 of the Social Security Act, 
as amended by subsection (a), is further amended by inserting after 
subsection (a) the following:
    ``(b) Quality Initiatives.--
            ``(1) Appropriation.--In addition to amounts appropriated 
        under subsection (a), there is appropriated to carry out this 
        subsection $300,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 through 
        2014.
            ``(2) Allotment.--The Secretary shall use the funds 
        appropriated under paragraph (1) to make grants to eligible 
        States, through allotments made to those States on the basis of 
        the formula described in subsection (a)(2)(B).
            ``(3) Application.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
        this subsection, a State shall submit an application to the 
        Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such 
        information as the Secretary may require, including an 
        assurance that the State will use the grant funds as described 
        in paragraph (4).
            ``(4) Use of funds.--A State that receives a grant under 
        this subsection shall use the grant funds to carry out 2 or 
        more activities consisting of--
                    ``(A) establishing and implementing, or 
                maintaining, a Quality Rating and Improvement System 
                for center-based child care providers, group home child 
                care providers, family child care providers, and other 
                early childhood education providers, as determined by 
                the State, which shall--
                            ``(i) include criteria appropriate for 
                        providers for each age group of the children 
                        involved, with initial and progressively higher 
                        levels that lead to standards that are 
                        consistent with nationally recognized high 
                        standards; and
                            ``(ii) provides assistance for education, 
                        training, and compensation initiatives to 
                        assist child care providers in meeting the 
                        initial and progressively higher levels for the 
                        criteria;
                    ``(B) establishing and supporting a statewide 
                network of infant and toddler specialists to provide 
                individual or group training, and intensive 
                consultation, to center-based child care providers, 
                group home child care providers, family child care 
                providers, and relative caregivers on strategies to 
                improve the quality of care for infants and toddlers, 
                especially infants and toddlers in families who are 
                eligible for federally funded child care assistance;
                    ``(C) establishing and implementing standards that 
                require at least 40 hours of appropriate health, 
                safety, and child development training for an 
                individual, prior to employment with or as a licensed 
                or registered child care provider;
                    ``(D) establishing and implementing requirements 
                that licensed or registered center-based child care 
                providers, group home child care providers, and family 
                child care providers are visited by monitoring staff at 
                least twice a year, with a minimum of 1 such visit a 
                year on an unannounced basis; and
                    ``(E) paying reimbursement rates, for providers of 
                child care services for which financial assistance is 
                made available under the Child Care and Development 
                Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858 et seq.), at or 
                above the 75th percentile of market rates for such 
                services as determined by a current (as of the date of 
                the payment) market rate survey.''.