To provide emergency child care in the Gulf Coast Region, and for other purposes.

Summary: Emergency Child Care for the Gulf Coast Region Act of 2006 - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish grant programs for: (1) businesses and consortia in the Gulf Coast Region to pay start-up costs and to provide additional child care services for employees; (2) nonprofit business organizations in the Region to provide technical assistance to such businesses for child care services; (3) entities to develop distance learning child care training technology infrastructures and model technology-based training courses for child care providers and workers in the Region; and (4) child care providers in the Region to improve the qualifications and promote the retention of such providers. Defines "Gulf Coast Region" to mean the area declared by the President to be a major disaster as a consequence of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make scholarship grants to child care providers to improve their educational qualifications to provide services.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Emergency Child Care for the Gulf 
Coast Region Act of 2006''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds as follows:
            (1) Studies have stated that reopening child care 
        facilities was crucial for helping parents get back to work and 
        businesses to recover.
            (2) Studies have shown that without available and 
        affordable child care economic recovery will be greatly impeded 
        and lead to a reduction in worker productivity.
            (3) In New Orleans before Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the 
        city had 1,912 day-care slots at 266 licensed centers, but now 
        80 percent of those centers and 75 percent of those slots are 
        gone.
            (4) The National Association of Child Care Resource and 
        Referral Agencies reported in a study published by the 
        Mississippi State University Early Childhood Institute that 
        between 62 to 94 percent of the licensed child care slots in 
        the three coastal counties hardest hit by Hurricanes Katrina 
        and Rita in Mississippi were lost.
            (5) In Jackson County, Mississippi, initial assessment 
        found that one-fourth of the county's licensed centers were 
        damaged beyond repair, representing 11 percent of the county's 
        licensed child care capacity. Another 39 percent of centers 
        needed repairs.

TITLE I--EMERGENCY CHILD CARE BUSINESS INCENTIVE GRANT PROGRAM FOR THE 
                           GULF COAST REGION

SEC. 101. ESTABLISHMENT.

    The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall establish a 
program to make grants to--
            (1) businesses and consortia in the Gulf Coast Region--
                    (A) to pay start-up costs incurred to provide child 
                care services; or
                    (B) to provide additional child care services 
                needed by the employees of such businesses; and
            (2) nonprofit business organizations in the Gulf Coast 
        Region to provide technical information and assistance to 
        enable businesses to provide child care services.

SEC. 102. ELIGIBILITY TO RECEIVE GRANTS.

    To be eligible to receive a grant under section 101, a business, 
nonprofit business organization, or consortium shall submit to the 
Secretary an application in accordance with section 103.

SEC. 103. APPLICATION.

    The application required by section 102 shall be submitted by a 
business, nonprofit business organization, or consortium at such time, 
in such form, and containing such information as the Secretary may 
require by rule, except that such application shall contain--
            (1) an assurance that the applicant shall expend, for the 
        purpose for which such grant is made, an amount not less than 
        10 percent of the amount of such grant;
            (2) an assurance that such applicant will expend such grant 
        for the use specified in paragraph (1) or (2) of section 101, 
        as the case may be;
            (3) an assurance that such applicant will employ strategies 
        to ensure that child care services provided by such applicant, 
        or provided with the technical information and assistance made 
        available by such applicant, are provided at affordable rates, 
        and on an equitable basis, to low- and moderate-income 
        employees;
            (4) an assurance that such applicant--
                    (A) in the case of a business or consortium, will 
                comply with all State and local licensing requirements 
                applicable to such business or consortium concerning 
                the provision of child care services; or
                    (B) in the case of a nonprofit business 
                organization, will employ procedures to ensure that 
                technical information and assistance provided under 
                this title by such business organization will be 
                provided only to businesses that provide child care 
                services in compliance with all State and local 
                licensing requirements applicable to child care 
                providers in such State; and
            (5) in the case of a business or consortium, an assurance 
        that if the employees of such applicant do not require all the 
        child care services for which such grant and the funds required 
        by paragraph (1) are to be expended by such applicant, the 
        excess of such child care services shall be made available to 
        families in the community in which such applicant is located.

SEC. 104. SELECTION OF GRANTEES.

    For purposes of selecting applicants to receive grants under this 
title, the Secretary shall give priority to businesses that have fewer 
than 200 full-time employees. To the extent practicable, the Secretary 
shall--
            (1) make grants equitably under this title to applicants 
        located in all geographical regions of the United States; and
            (2) give priority to applicants for grants under section 
        101(1).

SEC. 105. DEFINITIONS.

    As used in this title:
            (1) Business.--The term ``business'' means a person engaged 
        in commerce whose primary activity is not providing child care 
        services.
            (2) Child care services.--The term ``child care services'' 
        means care for a child that is--
                    (A) provided on the site at which a parent of such 
                child is employed or at a site nearby in the community; 
                and
                    (B) subsidized at least in part by the business 
                that employs such parent.
            (3) Consortium.--The term ``consortium'' means 4 or more 
        businesses acting jointly. A consortium may also include a 
        nonprofit private organization.
            (4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Health and Human Services.
            (5) Gulf coast region.--The term ``Gulf Coast Region'' 
        means the area in which the President has declared that a major 
        disaster exists, in accordance with section 401 of the Robert 
        T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 
        U.S.C. 5170), as a consequence of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

SEC. 106. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this title 
$1,500,000 for each of the fiscal years 2007 through 2009.

TITLE II--EMERGENCY DEVELOPMENT OF A CHILD CARE TRAINING INFRASTRUCTURE 
                        IN THE GULF COAST REGION

SEC. 201. GRANTS.

    (a) Authority.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall 
award grants to eligible entities to develop distance learning child 
care training technology infrastructures in the Gulf Coast Region and 
to develop model technology-based training courses for child care 
providers and child care workers in the Gulf Coast Region, to be 
provided through distance learning programs made available through the 
infrastructure. The Secretary shall, to the maximum extent possible, 
ensure that such grants are awarded in those areas of the Gulf Coast 
Region with the fewest training opportunities for child care providers.
    (b) Eligibility Requirements.--To be eligible to receive a grant 
under subsection (a), an entity shall--
            (1) develop the technological and logistical aspects of the 
        infrastructure described in this section and have the 
        capability of implementing and maintaining the infrastructure;
            (2) to the maximum extent possible, develop partnerships 
        with secondary schools, institutions of higher education, State 
        and local government agencies, and private child care 
        organizations for the purpose of sharing equipment, technical 
        assistance, and other technological resources, including--
                    (A) developing sites from which individuals may 
                access the training;
                    (B) converting standard child care training courses 
                to programs for distance learning; and
                    (C) promoting ongoing networking among program 
                participants; and
            (3) develop a mechanism for participants to--
                    (A) evaluate the effectiveness of the 
                infrastructure, including the availability and 
                affordability of the infrastructure, and the training 
                offered through the infrastructure; and
                    (B) make recommendations for improvements to the 
                infrastructure.
    (c) Application.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
subsection (a), an entity shall submit an application to the Secretary 
at such time and in such manner as the Secretary may require, and that 
includes--
            (1) a description of the partnership organizations through 
        which the distance learning programs will be made available;
            (2) the capacity of the infrastructure in terms of the 
        number and type of distance learning programs that will be made 
        available;
            (3) the expected number of individuals to participate in 
        the distance learning programs; and
            (4) such additional information as the Secretary may 
        require.
    (d) Limitation on Fees.--No entity receiving a grant under this 
section may collect fees from an individual for participation in a 
distance learning program funded in whole or in part under this section 
that exceed the pro rata share of the amount expended by the entity to 
provide materials for the program and to develop, implement, and 
maintain the infrastructure (minus the amount of the grant awarded 
under this section).
    (e) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be 
construed as requiring a child care provider to subscribe to or 
complete a distance learning program made available under this section.

SEC. 202. DEFINITION.

    In this title, the term ``Gulf Coast Region'' means the area in 
which the President has declared that a major disaster exists, in 
accordance with section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 
and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170), as a consequence of 
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

SEC. 203. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this title 
$1,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2007 through 2009.

  TITLE III--EMERGENCY CHILD CARE PROVIDER DEVELOPMENT AND RETENTION 
                 GRANT PROGRAM IN THE GULF COAST REGION

SEC. 301. GRANTS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall 
make grants available to eligible child care providers in the Gulf 
Coast Region in accordance with this section, to improve the 
qualifications and promote the retention of qualified child care 
providers.
    (b) Eligibility To Receive Grants.--To be eligible to receive a 
grant under this section, a child care provider shall--
            (1) have a child development associate credential (or 
        equivalent), an associate of the arts degree in the area of 
        child development or early child education, a baccalaureate 
        degree in the area of child development or early child 
        education, or a baccalaureate degree in an unrelated field; and
            (2) be employed as a child care provider for not less than 
        1 calendar year, or (if the provider is employed on the date of 
        the eligibility determination in a child care program that 
        operates for less than a full calendar year) the program 
        equivalent of 1 calendar year, ending on the date of the 
        application for such grant, except that not more than 3 months 
        of education related to child development or to early child 
        education obtained during the corresponding calendar year may 
        be treated as employment that satisfies the requirements of 
        this paragraph.
    (c) Preservation of Eligibility.--A State shall not take into 
consideration whether a child care provider is receiving, may receive, 
or may be eligible to receive any funds or benefits under any other 
provision of this Act for purposes of selecting eligible child care 
providers to receive grants under this section.

           TITLE IV--CHILD CARE PROVIDER SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

SEC. 401. SCHOLARSHIP GRANTS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall 
make scholarship grants available to eligible child care providers in 
accordance with this section to improve their educational 
qualifications to provide child care services.
    (b) Eligibility Requirement for Scholarship Grants.--To be eligible 
to receive a scholarship grant under this section, a child care 
provider shall be employed as a child care provider for not less than 1 
calendar year, or (if the provider is employed on the date of the 
eligibility determination in a child care program that operates for 
less than a full calendar year) the program equivalent of 1 calendar 
year, ending on the date of the application for such grant.
    (c) Selection of Grantees.--For purposes of selecting eligible 
child care providers to receive scholarship grants under this section 
and determining the amounts of such grants, a State shall not--
            (1) take into consideration whether a child care provider 
        is receiving, may receive, or may be eligible to receive any 
        funds or benefits under any other provision of this Act, or 
        under any other Federal or State law that provides funds for 
        educational purposes; or
            (2) consider as resources of such provider any funds such 
        provider is receiving, may receive, or may be eligible to 
        receive under any other provision of this Act, under any other 
        Federal or State law that provides funds for educational 
        purposes, or from a private entity.
    (d) Cost-Sharing Required.--The amount of a scholarship grant made 
under this section to an eligible child care provider shall be equal to 
or less than the cost of the educational or training program for which 
such grant is made.
    (e) Annual Maximum Scholarship Grant Amount.--The maximum aggregate 
dollar amount of a scholarship grant made to an eligible child care 
provider under this section in a fiscal year shall be $7,500.