I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 9901 

To enhance the supply of child care, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 1, 2024 

Mr. KHANNA introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, Agriculture, Energy and Commerce, and Financial Services, 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 enhance the supply of child care, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Child Care for America Act of 2024’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

7 this Act is the following: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—CHILD CARE FOR AMERICA 

Sec. 101. Definitions. 

Sec. 102. Funding. 


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Sec. 103. Child care for America grant program. 

TITLE II—STAY-AT-HOME PARENT CHILD CARE SUPPORT 

PROGRAM 

Sec. 201. Definitions. 

Sec. 202. Establishment of stay-at-home parent support benefit program. 

Sec. 203. Funding authorization and allocation. 

Sec. 204. Application process. 

Sec. 205. Responsibilities of the Secretary of the Treasury. 

Sec. 206. Responsibilities of the Secretary. 

Sec. 207. Coordination. 

Sec. 208. Waste, fraud, and abuse. 

Sec. 209. Outreach and education. 

Sec. 210. Evaluation metrics. 

Sec. 211. Sunset provision/reauthorization requirement. 

Sec. 212. Interaction with other benefits. 

Sec. 213. Benefit structure and payment mechanism. 

TITLE III—KIN CARE: FAMILY, FRIEND, AND NEIGHBOR (FFN) 

CARE PROGRAM 

Sec. 301. Definitions. 

Sec. 302. Authorization of appropriations. 

Sec. 303. Parent roles and responsibilities in the FFN Care Program. 

Sec. 304. FFN provider responsibilities in the Kin Care Program. 

Sec. 305. Child care practices for family, friend, and neighbor providers. 

Sec. 306. FFN provider verification procedures and ongoing monitoring. 

Sec. 307. FFN Provider Payment Process. 

Sec. 308. Data privacy and security measures. 

Sec. 309. Transition to licensed family child care. 

Sec. 310. Supports for serving children with special needs. 

Sec. 311. Collaboration with other early childhood programs. 

Sec. 312. Evaluation and research. 

Sec. 313. Community engagement for the Kin Care Program. 

1 TITLE I—CHILD CARE FOR 

2 AMERICA 

3 SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS. 

4 For purposes of this Act: 

5 (1) ELIGIBLE CHILD.—The term‘‘eligible child’’ 

6 means a child who is below the age of 6 and not yet 

7 in kindergarten, with no other eligibility conditions 

8 unless the context specifies otherwise. 


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1 (2) ELIGIBLE CHILD CARE PROVIDER.—Unless 

2 the context specifies otherwise, the term ‘‘eligible 

3 child care provider’’ is any program that provides 

4 child care which— 

5 (A) is not an individual who is related to 

6 all children from whom child care services are 

7 provided; 

8 (B) is licensed, regulated or registered 

9 under State law; and 

10 (C) agrees to requirements as laid out in 

11 this Act. 

12 (3) ELIGIBLE FAMILY.—The term ‘‘eligible 

13 family’’ means— 

14 (A) a married couple with a combined an15 nual income not exceeding $250,000; 

16 (B) an individual with an annual income 

17 not exceeding $125,000; or 

18 (C) a family under 85 percent State me19 dian income. 

20 (4) LOW-INCOME.—The term ‘‘low-income’’ 

21 means an eligible child with a family income that is 

22 not more than 85 percent of State median income. 

23 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

24 the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 


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1 (6) TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘Tribal 

2 organization’’ means the recognized governing body 

3 of any Native tribe, or any legally established orga4 nization of Natives, which is controlled, sanctioned 

5 or chartered by such governing body or which is 

6 democratically elected by the adult members of the 

7 Native community to be served by such organization 

8 and which includes the maximum participation of 

9 Natives in all phases of its activities. 

10 SEC. 102. FUNDING. 

11 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry 

12 out this title, there are authorized to be appropriated— 

13 (1) $78,000,000,000 for fiscal years 2024 

14 through 2028, and 

15 (2) $78,000,000,000 for fiscal years 2029 

16 through 2034. 

17 (b) USES OF FUNDS.— 

18 (1) FISCAL YEARS 2024 THROUGH 2028.—Funds 

19 appropriated for fiscal years 2024 through 2028 

20 shall be distributed to States under section 658O(b) 

21 of the Child care and Development Block Grant Act 

22 of 1990 (42 19 U.S.C. 9858m(b)). 

23 (2) REQUIREMENTS.— 

24 (A) MATCHING FUNDS.—To be eligible to 

25 received funds under this title— 


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1 (i) in fiscal years 2026 and 2027, a 

2 State shall agree to match at least 5 per3 cent of Federal funds; and 

4 (ii) in fiscal years 2028 through 2034, 

5 a State shall agree to match at least 10 

6 percent. 

7 (B) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.—To be el8 igible to receive funds under this title for a fis9 cal year a State shall— 

10 (i) agree spend at least as much as 

11 the average of its expenditures on child 

12 care services. over the previous 3 previous 

13 fiscal years; and 

14 (ii) use such funds to supplement not 

15 supplant other Federal, State, or local 

16 public funds to support child care services; 

17 (iii) continue spending its own funds 

18 on child care services, not just Federal 

19 funds. 

20 (c) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—To carry out this 

21 Act— 

22 (1) funds appropriated to carry out the section 

23 4 shall be allocated— 

24 (A) to carry out a child care program for 

25 low- and moderate- income parents, 


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1 (B) to carry out a Parent Fee Reduction 

2 Program with $20,000,000,000 annually every 

3 fiscal year from fiscal year 2024 through fiscal 

4 year 2034; and 

5 (C) to establish a Worker Wage Ladder; 

6 (2) to implement a Child care Facilities Fund 

7 with $250,000,000 annually every fiscal year from 

8 fiscal year 2024 through fiscal year 2034; 

9 (3) to implement a Homecare Fund with 

10 $250,000,000 annually every fiscal year from fiscal 

11 year 2024 through fiscal year 2034; and 

12 (4) to implement a Child Care Innovation Fund 

13 with $250,000,000 annually every fiscal year from 

14 fiscal year 2024 through fiscal year 2034. 

15 SEC. 103. CHILD CARE FOR AMERICA GRANT PROGRAM. 

16 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—The Secretary 

17 shall establish and carry out a grant program entitled the 

18 ‘‘Child care for America Grant Program’’ to make grants 

19 to States and Tribal organizations to provide child care 

20 services in accordance with this section. 

21 (b) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—Of the funds appro22 priated for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall— 

23 (1) reserve for Tribal organizations a portion of 

24 such funds based on the number of eligible children 

25 served by the Tribal organization and the demVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:20 Jan 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9901.IH H9901

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1 onstrated need for child care services in the Tribal 

2 community, and 

3 (2) allocate the remainder of such funds for 

4 grants to eligible States to provide child care serv5 ices. 

6 (c) ELIGIBILITY OF STATES.—To be eligible to re7 ceive a grant under this section, a State shall submit to 

8 the Secretary an application that includes— 

9 (1) identification of the lead agency and key 

10 contact information; 

11 (2) a description of the lead agency’s roles, re12 sponsibilities, and organizational structure for ad13 ministering the grant program; 

14 (3) a certification that the State will comply 

15 with all requirements of this section and applicable 

16 Federal laws and regulations; 

17 (4) an assurance that the State will administer 

18 the program in a manner that supports equal access 

19 and parental flexibility in child care services pursu20 ant to assurances States are making to receive such 

21 funds; 

22 (5) a detailed plan for conducting meaningful 

23 consultation with stakeholders, including parents, 

24 child care providers, employers, child care workers, 


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1 and local government representatives, in the develop2 ment and implementation of the program; and 

3 (6) a proposed time line for implementing key 

4 components of the program, including— 

5 (A) providing advance disbursement of 

6 parent fees and wage supplements, subgranting 

7 with eligible providers, and establishing a wage 

8 and benefits ladder; 

9 (B) a description of the State’s process for 

10 determining eligibility and prioritizing eligible 

11 child care providers for subgrants and funding; 

12 (C) the State’s proposed formula for allo13 cating subgrant amounts to eligible providers 

14 pursuant to section 103(m); 

15 (D) an outline of the State’s plan for es16 tablishing and implementing a wage and bene17 fits ladder for staff of eligible providers receiv18 ing assistance; 

19 (E) a plan for providing wage supplements 

20 to staff of eligible providers within 12 months 

21 of the program’s implementation; 

22 (F) a description of the State’s strategies 

23 for increasing access to high-quality child care 

24 services for underserved populations, including 

25 low-income families, children with disabilities, 


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1 and families in need of non-traditional hour 

2 care; 

3 (G) a plan for conducting data collection 

4 and reporting on the use of funds and the effec5 tiveness of the program; 

6 (H) any reasonable and relevant informa7 tion or assurances required by the Secretary of 

8 Health and Human Services; 

9 (I) the Secretary will review the applica10 tions and provide feedback or requests for addi11 tional information as needed; 

12 (J) funds allocated to States and Tribal 

13 organizations under this section shall be used in 

14 accordance with the requirements and priorities 

15 outlined in subsection (f); and 

16 (K) applications shall be approved by the 

17 Secretary of Health and Human Services before 

18 the State can receive grant funding. 

19 (d) ELIGIBILITY OF LEAD AGENCY.—To receive 

20 grant funding the lead agency shall agree to the following 

21 certifications and assurances— 

22 (1) all communities in their State or respective 

23 territory will be served; 

24 (2) establish and administer a system for sub25 granting with eligible child care providers to cover 


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1 annual operational expenses pursuant to subsection 

2 (i) of this section and subsection (m) of this section; 

3 (3) establish a wage and benefits ladder for 

4 staff of eligible child care providers receiving assist5 ance under this grant, including assurances that 

6 wage and benefits for such staff, at minimum will 

7 meet subsection (p) of this section; 

8 (4) within the first 12 months after the date of 

9 the enactment of this Act, the State will establish a 

10 system for providing wage supplements to all full 

11 time and part-time staff members of eligible child 

12 care providers pursuant to subsection (p) of this sec13 tion; 

14 (5) within the first 12 months after the date of 

15 the enactment of this Act, the State shall provide 

16 every eligible child care provider, who is accepted 

17 with— 

18 (A) 50 percent of their total parent fees 

19 charged in the previous fiscal year, 

20 (B) advance wage supplement disburse21 ments; and 

22 (C) an assurance that programs already 

23 offering free services shall continue doing so, 

24 pursuant to subsection (h) of this section; 


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1 (6) will provide necessary accommodations to 

2 ensure family child care, faith-based care, care dur3 ing non-traditional hours, and care for children with 

4 disabilities are available, equitable and viable options 

5 for families, including but not limited to offering an 

6 incentive for providers to expand care offerings dur7 ing non-traditional hours; 

8 (7) reserve no more than 5 percent of grants to 

9 administer subgrants, provide technical assistance 

10 and support for applicants to apply for and access 

11 the grant opportunity and to carry out the activities 

12 in this Act; 

13 (8) existing health and safety measures will be 

14 continued; 

15 (9) provide explanations to the Secretary as 

16 necessary; and 

17 (10) States may reserve up to 5 percent of their 

18 total grant allocation each fiscal year for administra19 tive costs associated with implementing this section, 

20 including activities such as developing and imple21 menting the State plan, providing technical assist22 ance to child care providers, conducting monitoring 

23 and oversight, and compensating parents for pro24 viding input to the lead agency. This compensation 

25 shall be used to ensure consumers are included in 


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1 the development of the State plan prior to submis2 sion and as an advisory body thereafter. 

3 (e) ELIGIBILITY OF TRIBAL ORGANIZATIONS.— 

4 (1) Tribal organizations are eligible to apply for 

5 and receive funding under this section. 

6 (2) The Secretary shall reserve a portion of the 

7 total appropriation for the program each fiscal year 

8 to be allocated to Tribal organizations based on the 

9 number of eligible children served by the Tribal or10 ganization and the demonstrated need for child care 

11 services in the Tribal community. 

12 (3) Tribal organizations that receive funding 

13 under this section shall comply with all the require14 ments outlined in the ‘‘Requirements for States Ad15 ministering Subgrants to Eligible Child care Pro16 viders’’ section except that they may use their own 

17 Tribal licensing, regulatory, or monitoring systems 

18 in lieu of State systems, provided that such Tribal 

19 systems meet minimum Federal standards as estab20 lished by the Secretary. 

21 (4) Tribal organizations that receive funding 

22 under the program established in this section are eli23 gible to apply for and receive additional funding 

24 under the Low-Moderate Income Fee Reduction Pro25 gram. Tribal organizations shall comply with all the 


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1 requirements outlined in subsection (n)(7) of this 

2 section, except that they may use their own median 

3 income data and eligibility criteria, provided that 

4 such criteria align with the overall goals and require5 ments of the program. 

6 (5) Tribal organizations that receive funding 

7 under this section may reserve up to 15 percent of 

8 their total grant allocation each fiscal year for ad9 ministrative costs, in recognition of the unique chal10 lenges and costs associated with administering child 

11 care programs in Tribal communities. 

12 (f) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds appropriated to carry 

13 out the program under this section shall be used to sup14 port the provision of high-quality, affordable child care 

15 services for eligible, children and families, in accordance 

16 with the requirements and priorities established in this 

17 section. 

18 (1) PARTICULAR USES.—State and Tribal orga19 nizations shall use the funds to— 

20 (A) expand access to child care services, 

21 especially for low-income families and under22 served populations; 

23 (B) improve the quality of child care serv24 ices through investments in workforce develop25 ment, facilities and other key areas; 


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1 (C) provide financial assistance to eligible 

2 families to help them access child care services; 

3 and 

4 (D) support the implementation and ad5 ministration of the grant received under this 

6 section and related initiatives. 

7 (2) SPECIFIC ALLOCATIONS.—States and Tribal 

8 organizations will allocate funds received under this 

9 section in accordance with the following require10 ments: 

11 (A) At least 70 percent of the funds shall 

12 be used to provide direct services to eligible 

13 children and families, including through grants 

14 and subgrants with eligible child care providers 

15 and other initiatives designed to expand access 

16 and affordability. 

17 (B) At least 10 percent of the funds shall 

18 be used for quality improvement activities that 

19 are defined and co-created with families and the 

20 child care workforce. 

21 (C) No more than 5 percent of the funds 

22 may be used for State or Tribal administrative 

23 costs, as outlined in subsections (i) and (e) of 

24 this section. 


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1 (D) Remaining funds may be used for 

2 other activities that support the goals and re3 quirements of this section, as approved by the 

4 Secretary. 

5 (3) PROHIBITED USES.—Funds appropriated 

6 under this section shall not be used for the fol7 lowing: 

8 (A) The purchase or improvement of land, 

9 or the purchase, construction, or permanent im10 provement of any building or facility, except as 

11 authorized under the Quality Child Care Facili12 ties Grant Program established in subsection 

13 (p)(9) of this section. 

14 (B) Any sectarian purpose or activity, in15 cluding religious worship or instruction. 

16 (C) Any lobbying or political activity, as 

17 defined by the Secretary. 

18 (D) Any other purpose or activity that is 

19 not consistent with the goals and requirements 

20 of this section, as determined by the Secretary. 

21 (4) REPORTING AND ACCOUNTABILITY.— 

22 (A) States and tribal organizations receiv23 ing funds under the child care for America 

24 Grant Program shall maintain detailed records 

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1 ports to the Secretary on the allocation and im2 pact of these funds. 

3 (B) The Secretary shall establish reporting 

4 requirements and performance measures to en5 sure that funds are being used effectively and 

6 in accordance with the requirements of this Act. 

7 (C) The Secretary shall have the authority 

8 to withhold or recapture funds from States or 

9 tribal organizations that fail to comply with the 

10 requirements of this Act or that do not dem11 onstrate adequate progress toward meeting the 

12 goals and priorities established in their State or 

13 tribal plans. 

14 (g) PREVENTING WASTE, FRAUD AND ABUSE.— 

15 (1) POLICY AND PRACTICES.— 

16 (A) States and tribal organizations receiv17 ing funds under this section will have in place 

18 policies and practices that reduce the risk of 

19 waste, fraud and abuse including: 

20 (i) Establish procedures for verifying 

21 the accuracy of the reported parent fees. 

22 Such procedures should be as streamlined 

23 as reasonably possible in order to minimize 

24 administrative burden on providers. 


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1 (ii) Monitoring child care providers to 

2 ensure compliance with program require3 ments, with a focus on supporting pro4 viders to meet these requirements rather 

5 than punitive measures. This monitoring 

6 shall be conducted in a manner that is cul7 turally responsive, minimizes administra8 tive burden, and prioritizes program qual9 ity and child well-being over strict proce10 dural compliance. 

11 (iii) Maintaining records sufficient to 

12 document compliance with program re13 quirements through appropriate measures, 

14 including investigating and recovering 

15 fraudulent payments and imposing sanc16 tions on clients or providers in response to 

17 fraud. 

18 (B) INTERNAL CONTROLS AND ACCOUNT19 ABILITY MEASURES.— 

20 (i) INTERNAL CONTROLS.—States and 

21 Tribal organizations receiving funds under 

22 this section shall have in place effective in23 ternal control procedures to ensure integ24 rity and accountability in the program, in25 cluding— 


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1 (I) fiscal controls and accounting 

2 procedures sufficient to permit the 

3 tracing of funds to a level of expendi4 ture adequate to establish that these 

5 funds have not been used in violation 

6 of the provisions of this Act or any 

7 other applicable Federal or State law; 

8 (II) record keeping requirements 

9 sufficient to ensure that all expendi10 tures and receipts are accounted for 

11 and available for audit and examina12 tion; and 

13 (III) regular monitoring and in14 spection of child care providers to en15 sure compliance with health, safety, 

16 and quality standards, as well as 

17 proper use of grant funds. 

18 (ii) GUIDANCE.—The Secretary will 

19 issue guidance and provide technical assist20 ance to States and Tribal organizations on 

21 implementing effective internal control pro22 cedures and will monitor compliance 

23 through regular reporting and oversight. 

24 (2) ELIGIBILITY DETERMINATION AND

25 VERIFICATION.— 


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1 (A) VERIFICATION.—States and Tribal or2 ganizations will have in place procedures for 

3 documenting and verifying the eligibility of chil4 dren and families for assistance under this sec5 tion, including— 

6 (i) verifying family income through 

7 automatic enrollment if already enrolled in 

8 another public assistance program or by 

9 pay stubs, tax returns or other reliable 

10 sources which can be submitted electroni11 cally (the State agency should make 

12 verification as simple and efficient to re13 duce the burden on families to prove their 

14 eligibility) or other reliable resources; 

15 (ii) establishing eligibility redeter16 mination periods of a minimum of 12 

17 months, with provisions for interim report18 ing of changes in income or employment 

19 status; and 

20 (iii) safeguarding the confidentiality 

21 and security of eligibility information and 

22 records, in accordance with applicable Fed23 eral and State privacy laws. 

24 (B) GUIDANCE.—The Secretary shall pro25 vide guidance and technical assistance to States 


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1 and Tribal organizations on implementing effec2 tive eligibility determination and verification 

3 procedures, and shall monitor compliance 

4 through regular reporting and oversight. 

5 (3) IDENTIFICATION OF RISK.—States and 

6 Tribal organizations will identify areas of risk for 

7 waste, fraud and abuse in their program under this 

8 sections, including conducting criminal background 

9 checks on child care providers, including prospective 

10 providers, in accordance with Federal requirements. 

11 (4) TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 

12 The Secretary will provide training and technical as13 sistance to States and Tribal organizations on effec14 tive policies and practices for preventing waste, 

15 fraud, and abuse, including— 

16 (A) conducting periodic training for State 

17 and Tribal staff on identifying and preventing 

18 fraud, 

19 (B) providing guidance on implementing 

20 risk assessment tools and procedures, and 

21 (C) developing and disseminating best 

22 practices for monitoring child care providers 

23 and enforcing program requirements. 

24 (5) REPORTING AND INVESTIGATION.— 


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1 (A) PROCEDURES.—States and Tribal or2 ganizations will have procedures in place for re3 porting and investigating suspected cases of 

4 waste, fraud and abuse including— 

5 (i) establishing mechanisms for the 

6 public to report suspected fraud, such as 

7 hotlines or online reporting systems; 

8 (ii) conducting prompt and thorough 

9 investigations of suspected fraud, in co10 ordination with law enforcement agencies 

11 and as appropriate; 

12 (iii) referring substantiated cases of 

13 fraud for criminal prosecution and taking 

14 steps to recover fraudulent payments; and 

15 (iv) reporting instances of waste, 

16 fraud and abuse to the Secretary, along 

17 with any actions taken in response. 

18 (B) TRANSPARENCY AND PUBLIC REPORT19 ING.—States and Tribal organization will make 

20 available to the public, in a consumer friendly 

21 and easily accessible format— 

22 (i) the results of monitoring and in23 spection reports for child care providers, 

24 including any violation of health, safety or 


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1 quality standards and any corrective ac2 tions taken; 

3 (ii) aggregate data on the number of 

4 serious injuries, deaths, and substantiated 

5 cases of child abuse or neglect occurring in 

6 child care settings, by provider type and li7 censing status; and 

8 (iii) information on the availability 

9 and quality of child care services in dif10 ferent geographic areas and for different 

11 age groups and populations. At minimum, 

12 such information should include gathering 

13 data from parents and practitioners in a 

14 way that is reasonably representative of 

15 the State. 

16 (C) ANNUAL REPORTS.—The Secretary 

17 will compile and publish annual reports on the 

18 implementation and outcomes of the program 

19 established in this section, including data on 

20 program enrollment, expenditures and service 

21 delivery, as well as any instance of waste, fraud 

22 or abuse identified and corrective actions taken. 

23 (6) PENALTIES AND SANCTIONS.— 

24 (A) PROCEDURES.—States and Tribal or25 ganizations shall have in place procedures for 


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1 imposing penalties and sanctions on child care 

2 providers or clients who engage in waste, fraud 

3 or abuse, including— 

4 (i) terminating the eligibility of clients 

5 who engage in fraud and disqualifying 

6 them from future participation in the pro7 gram; 

8 (ii) suspending or terminating the eli9 gibility of providers who engage in fraud 

10 and prohibiting them from receiving future 

11 payments under the program; and 

12 (iii) recovering fraudulent payments 

13 from providers or clients through repay14 ment plans or other means. 

15 (B) FRAUD DETECTION AND REPAY16 MENT.—States and Tribal organizations shall 

17 have in place for identifying and investigating 

18 possible instances of fraud by child care pro19 viders or recipients of assistance under the this 

20 section, including— 

21 (i) conducting regular audits and re22 views of provider records and claims for re23 imbursement, using risk-based sampling, 

24 and targeting methods; 


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1 (ii) establishing mechanism for report2 ing suspected fraud by the public, includ3 ing anomalously and for protecting whistle4 blowers from retaliation; and 

5 (iii) promptly referring substantiated 

6 cases of fraud to law enforcement for 

7 criminal investigation and prosecution. 

8 (C) PENALTY.—Any child care provider or 

9 recipient of assistance found to have engaged in 

10 fraud shall be subject to repayment of all mis11 used funds, plus interest and penalties, and 

12 shall be disqualified from future participation in 

13 the program for a period of not less than five 

14 years. 

15 (D) GUIDANCE AND TECHNICAL ASSIST16 ANCE.—The Secretary shall provide guidance 

17 and technical assistance to States and Tribal 

18 organizations on implementing effective fraud 

19 detection and repayment procedures and shall 

20 monitor compliance through regular reporting 

21 and oversight. 

22 (7) FEDERAL OVERSIGHT.—The Secretary will 

23 monitor State and Tribal compliance with the re24 quirements of this section through— 


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1 (A) reviewing and approving State and 

2 Tribal plans for preventing waste, fraud or 

3 abuse; 

4 (B) conducting periodic reviews and audits 

5 of State and Tribal programs to identify poten6 tial instances of waste, fraud, or abuse; and 

7 (C) investigating and taking enforcement 

8 action in response to substantiated cases of 

9 waste, fraud or abuse, including imposing pen10 alties on States or Tribal organizations that fail 

11 to comply with the program requirements. 

12 (h) INCOME ELIGIBILITY.— 

13 (1) Only eligible families, as defined in section 

14 101, may access the $10 per day child care program 

15 under this grant. 

16 (2) Families with incomes exceeding the thresh17 olds specified in section 101 are not eligible for the 

18 $10 per day program but may still access child care 

19 services at rates determined by the State, subject to 

20 the other provisions of this Act. 

21 (3) States shall establish procedures to verify 

22 family income annually and to adjust eligibility ac23 cordingly. 

24 (4) The Secretary shall adjust the income 

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1 tion, using the Consumer Price Index for All Urban 

2 Consumers (CPI–U) as published by the Bureau of 

3 Labor Statistics. 

4 (i) INITIAL FUNDING FOR ELIGIBLE CHILD CARE

5 PROVIDERS.— 

6 (1) AMOUNT OF FUNDS.—Within 12 months 

7 after the date of enactment of this Act, each State 

8 shall provide all eligible child care providers whose 

9 applications have been accepted with the sum of the 

10 following: 

11 (A) An amount equal to 50 percent of the 

12 total parent fees charged by the provider in the 

13 previous fiscal year. 

14 (B) Disbursements of wage supplements 

15 for the provider’s staff, as determined by the 

16 State’s wage and benefits ladder established 

17 under this Act. 

18 (2) BASE LEVEL OF FUNDS.—The amounts 

19 provided in this section will serve as the base level 

20 of funding for each eligible child care provider on an 

21 annual basis until the provider enters a permanent 

22 subgrant with the State under this Act. 

23 (3) DISBURSEMENT OF FUNDS.—States will 

24 disburse the funds described in subsection (a) to eli25 gible child care providers within 12 months of the 


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1 date of enactment of this Act, regardless of whether 

2 the provider’s application for a permanent subgrant 

3 is still pending review or approval amount. 

4 (4) AMOUNT.—In determining the amount of— 

5 (A) parent fees charged in the previous fis6 cal year, the State will— 

7 (i) require eligible child care providers 

8 to submit documentation or attestation of 

9 their total parent fees charged during the 

10 applicable fiscal year; 

11 (ii) establish procedures for verifying 

12 the accuracy of the reported parent fees; 

13 and 

14 (iii) provide guidance to providers on 

15 the calculation and reporting of parent 

16 fees, including any allowable deductions or 

17 adjustments; 

18 (B) in determining the advance disburse19 ments of wage supplements, the State will— 

20 (i) apply the wage and benefits ladder 

21 established in accordance with the require22 ments of this section; 

23 (ii) require eligible child care pro24 viders to submit information on their curVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:20 Jan 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9901.IH H9901

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1 rent staffing levels and compensation 

2 rates; and 

3 (iii) provide guidance to providers on 

4 the calculation and disbursement of wage 

5 supplements, including the frequency of 

6 payments and any necessary adjustments 

7 based on staffing changes or other factors; 

8 and 

9 (C) at minimum, States are required to es10 tablish procedures for eligible child care pro11 viders to appeal or seek reconsideration of the 

12 initial funding amounts determined under this 

13 section, in cases where the provider believes an 

14 error or miscalculation has occurred. 

15 (5) GUIDANCE.—The Secretary will issue regu16 lations and guidance as necessary to ensure con17 sistent and equitable implementation of this section 

18 by States, including standards for documentation, 

19 verification, and calculation of initial funding 

20 amounts. 

21 (j) REQUIREMENTS FOR STATES ADMINISTERING

22 SUBGRANTS TO ELIGIBLE CHILD CARE PROVIDERS.— 

23 (1) SUBGRANTS.—To receive funds under this 

24 subsection, each State will establish a program for 


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1 subgranting with eligible child care providers within 

2 3 years of enactment of this section. 

3 (2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this program is 

4 to ensure affordable, accessible, and high-quality 

5 child care options for families. 

6 (3) DEFINITION OF STATE.—For the purpose 

7 of this subsection the term ‘‘State’’ includes Tribal 

8 organizations. Tribal organizations that receive 

9 funding under this subsection shall comply with all 

10 requirements outlined in this subsection, except that 

11 they may use Tribal licensing, regulatory, or moni12 toring systems in lieu of State systems, provided 

13 that such Tribal systems meet minimum Federal 

14 standards as established by the Secretary. 

15 (4) FORMULA.—Within the first 12 months 

16 after the enactment of this Act, each State will de17 velop and publish a formula for allocating subgrant 

18 amounts to eligible child care providers. 

19 (5) SUBGRANTS PROGRAM.—To receive funds 

20 under this subsection, each State will establish a 

21 program for subgrants to eligible child care pro22 viders within 3 years of enactment of this Act. The 

23 purpose of this program is to ensure affordable, ac24 cessible, and high-quality child care options for fami25 lies. 


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1 (6) ALLOCATION OF SUBGRANTS.—Within the 

2 first 12 months after the enactment of this Act, 

3 each State will develop and publish a formula for al4 locating subgrant amounts to eligible child care pro5 viders. The formula will be used to calculate the 

6 operational costs necessary for providers to operate 

7 sustainably while maintaining high-quality stand8 ards. 

9 (7) GUIDANCE.—The Secretary will provide 

10 guidance and minimum standards for States to fol11 low in developing their subgrant allocation formulas. 

12 At a minimum these formulas will consider the fol13 lowing cost components: 

14 (A) Personnel costs, including wages, bene15 fits, and professional development. 

16 (B) Facility maintenance and improvement 

17 costs, including outdoor environments. 

18 (C) Curricular materials, educational re19 sources and other supplies. 

20 (D) Costs associate with meeting the needs 

21 of enrolled children with disabilities or special 

22 needs. 

23 (E) Food costs, if applicable. 

24 (F) Administrative and operational costs. 


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1 (8) SUBMISSION OF SUBGRANT FORMULA.— 

2 Each State will submit its proposed subgrant alloca3 tion formula to the Secretary of Health and Human 

4 Services for review and approval. The Secretary will 

5 ensure that formulas comply with the minimum 

6 standards and guidance provided. 

7 (k) PUBLICATION OF APPLICATION PROCESS FOR

8 SUBGRANTS.—The lead agency in each State will develop 

9 and make available on its website an application process 

10 for child care providers to apply for and receive subgrants 

11 under this program. States will accept, process, and dis12 burse funds for subgrants from eligible child care pro13 viders on a rolling and continuous basis pursuant to State 

14 Subgrants to Eligible Providers section of this Act. The 

15 application shall include at minimum the following: 

16 (1) The assurances outline in the State Sub17 grants to Eligible Providers section of this Act. 

18 (2) Process advance disbursement of funds pur19 suant to the Initial Funding for Child care Providers 

20 section of this Act. 

21 (l) PRIORITY.—States will establish a process to 

22 prioritize the disbursement of funds and the awarding of 

23 subgrants to eligible child care providers pursuant to the 

24 Low-Moderate Income section of this Act. 


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1 (m) MONITORING AND COMPLIANCE.—States will es2 tablish a monitoring and oversight system to ensure that 

3 subgranted child care providers maintain compliance with 

4 the terms of their subgrants, quality standards, and all 

5 applicable requirements under this section. 

6 (n) STATE SUBGRANTS TO ELIGIBLE CHILD CARE

7 PROVIDERS.— 

8 (1) To be eligible to receive a subgrant funded 

9 under this section, a child care provider shall— 

10 (A) be licensed, regulated or registered 

11 under State law to provide child care services; 

12 (B) submit an application to the State lead 

13 agency and agree to the provider requirements 

14 in section c; and 

15 (C) meet the quality standards established 

16 by the State. 

17 (2) CHILD CARE PROVIDER APPLICATION AND

18 SELECTION.—To receive funds from the State, the 

19 child care provider shall do the following: 

20 (A) make the following certifications, as21 surances: 

22 (i) When open and available, to pro23 vide child care services, implement policies 

24 in line with guidance from their State. 


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1 (ii) Implement all State health, safety 

2 and quality standards and policies. 

3 (iii) Use subgrant funds solely for al4 lowable expenses outlined in Allowable Use 

5 of Subgrant Funds. 

6 (iv) Limit annual increases in parent 

7 tuition fees to no more than 3 percent 

8 above the prior year. 

9 (v) Not charge mandatory parents an10 cillary fees expect as approved by the lead 

11 agency and after written approval from the 

12 Secretary. 

13 (vi) Cap total executive compensation 

14 at no more than 10 times the median em15 ployee wage. 

16 (vii) Not use funds for undue profit or 

17 to pay interest or dividends to investors. 

18 (viii) Maintain or increase wage and 

19 benefits in accordance with Wage Supple20 ment section of this Act. 

21 (ix) Meet lead teacher qualifications 

22 standards pursuant to Lead Teacher 

23 Qualifications subsection. 

24 (x) Prioritize serving low-income pop25 ulations pursuant to Low-Mod Income. 


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1 The eligible child care provider will pro2 vider relief from co-payments and tuition 

3 payments for the families enrolled in the 

4 providers program, to the extent possible, 

5 with the goal of fees not exceeding $10 a 

6 day for full-time care. If available funds do 

7 not allow for this goal to be met, providers 

8 shall prioritize relief for families struggling 

9 to make either type of payment pursuant 

10 to Low- to Moderate-Income section. 

11 (xi) not engage in a sale-leaseback 

12 transaction that leaves a provider site with 

13 more debt than it previously held. 

14 (xii) if a child care company or its af15 filiate brands holds more than 20 licenses 

16 across all States, agree to submit detailed 

17 annual financial reports to the Department 

18 of Health and Human Services, the spe19 cifics of which will be determined by the 

20 Secretary. 

21 (B) Subgrants will be for every 2 years, 

22 and renewable. 

23 (C) Funds provided to eligible child care 

24 providers through State subgrants shall be used 

25 to support the provision of high-quality child 


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1 care services and to meet the requirement out2 lined in the subgrant, such as improving com3 pensation for workers, reducing fees for families 

4 and meeting quality standards established by 

5 the State. 

6 (3) ALLOWABLE USE OF SUBGRANT FUNDS.— 

7 (A) Providers can use funds received under 

8 the subgrant, at minimum, for the following al9 lowable operational expenses: 

10 (i) Personnel costs (wages, benefits, 

11 professional development). 

12 (ii) Mortgage, rent, and facility main13 tenance and improvement. 

14 (iii) Educational materials, supplies 

15 and technology. 

16 (iv) Food service, if applicable. 

17 (v) Administrative and general oper18 ating expenses. 

19 (B) The Secretary will establish guidance 

20 for State on categories of additional allowable 

21 expenses. 

22 (C) The Secretary will establish procedures 

23 for regularly getting feedback from States, par24 ents, and providers and adjust the guidance as 

25 needed in response. 


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1 (4) SUBGRANT AMOUNT DETERMINATION.— 

2 (A) Within 12 months after the date of the 

3 enactment of this Act, each State lead agency 

4 will develop a formula to determine annual 

5 subgrant amounts for eligible providers. 

6 (B) The subgrant amount formula will 

7 consider at minimum: 

8 (i) Staffing and personnel costs based 

9 on enrollment. 

10 (ii) Facility, maintenance, and im11 provement costs. 

12 (iii) Costs of curricula, materials, and 

13 other quality inputs. 

14 (iv) Administrative and operating ex15 penses. 

16 (v) Regional cost of living adjust17 ments. 

18 (vi) Other factors identified by the 

19 Secretary. 

20 (C) States will submit formulas to the Sec21 retary for approval. 

22 (D) Subgrant amounts will be adjusted an23 nually based on the State’s formula. 

24 (i) For each employee, the eligible 

25 child care provider will not pay less than 


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1 the full compensation, including any bene2 fits, that was provided to the employee as 

3 of the date of their subgrant in the last 

4 full year prior to the subgrant application 

5 or date of the subgrant application (which6 ever was higher application submission of 

7 the application for the subgrant and will 

8 not take any action that reduces the week9 ly amount of the employee’s compensation, 

10 or that reduces the employee’s rate of full 

11 compensation, or that reduces the employ12 ee’s rate of full compensation in compli13 ance with subsection (p) of this section. 

14 (ii) The eligible child care provider 

15 will provider relief from co-payments and 

16 tuition payments for the families enrolled 

17 in the providers program, to the extent 

18 possible, with the goal of fees not exceed19 ing $10 a day for full-time care. If avail20 able funds do not allow for this goal to be 

21 met, providers shall prioritize relief for 

22 families struggling to make either type of 

23 payment pursuant to subsection (n)(7) of 

24 this section. 


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1 (E) The amount awarded in a subgrant to 

2 the eligible child care provider will be based on 

3 the providers current operating expenses for fis4 cal year 2024. This includes the costs associ5 ated with providing or preparing to provide 

6 child care services and to the extent practicable, 

7 cover sufficient operating expenses to ensure 

8 continuous operations for the intended part of 

9 the subgrant so that parent fees are signifi10 cantly reduced overtime. 

11 (5) MONITORING, ENFORCEMENT AND AP12 PEALS.— 

13 (A) The Secretary will establish monitoring 

14 requirements for State lead agencies to ensure 

15 provider compliance. 

16 (B) States shall implement enforcement 

17 mechanisms, including subgrant termination 

18 and funds recoupment for non-compliance. 

19 (C) States will provide an appeals process 

20 for providers to dispute subgrant amounts, ter21 mination or other adverse actions. 

22 (o) PARENT FEE REDUCTION PROGRAM.— 

23 (1) ESTABLISHMENT AND APPROPRIATIONS.— 

24 (A) The Secretary shall establish the par25 ent fee reduction program as a mandatory comVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:20 Jan 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00038 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9901.IH H9901

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1 ponent of the program under this section to as2 sist States in reducing parent fees for child care 

3 services. 

4 (B) The parent fee reduction program will 

5 be funded through the appropriations author6 ized for the program under this section, as out7 lined in section 102 of this Act. 

8 (C) From the total appropriations to carry 

9 out this section, the Secretary will allocate suf10 ficient funds each fiscal year to enable States to 

11 provide the initial 50 percent fee reduction to 

12 all eligible child care providers and to support 

13 ongoing fee reductions as needed. 

14 (D) The Secretary will work with States to 

15 determine the amount of funding needed for the 

16 parent fee reduction program based on the 

17 number of eligible child care providers, the total 

18 amount of parent fees collected by these pro19 viders, and other relevant factors. 

20 (E) If the appropriations authorized for 

21 the program under this section are insufficient 

22 to fully fund the parent fee reduction program, 

23 the Secretary will prioritize funding for this 

24 program, after the Low-Moderate Income Pro25 gram. 


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1 (2) ELIGIBILITY.— 

2 (A) Eligible Child care providers that meet 

3 the requirements for participation in the pro4 gram under this section, as outlined in the 

5 State Subgrants to Eligible Child care Pro6 viders section, shall be eligible to receive fund7 ing through the 50 percent fee reduction pro8 gram. 

9 (B) Eligible Child care Providers shall 

10 serve eligible children and shall agree to reduce 

11 fees by at least 50 percent for all families en12 rolled in their programs (since they would be 

13 receiving at least 50 percent of these parents 

14 fees through the program under this section to 

15 subsidize parent fees). 

16 (C) Eligible Child care Providers shall 

17 comply with all State and Federal health, safety 

18 and quality standards as established in these 

19 sections within this Act, as well as any addi20 tional requirements established by the State for 

21 participation in the parent fee reduction pro22 gram. 

23 (3) USE OF FUNDS.— 

24 (A) Funds provided to eligible child care 

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1 gram established in this section will be used 

2 solely for the purpose of reducing parent fees. 

3 (B) Eligible child care providers are not al4 lowed to use these funds to supplant other 

5 funding sources or to cover expenses not di6 rectly related to reducing parent fees. 

7 (C) Eligible child care provide shall main8 tain detailed records documenting the use of 

9 funds received through the 50 percent fee re10 duction program and shall make these records 

11 available to the State and the Secretary upon 

12 request. 

13 (D) Any funds not used for the purpose of 

14 reducing parent fees will be returned. The Sec15 retary will establish guidance on how returning 

16 excess funds will work. 

17 (4) SECRETARY REQUIREMENTS.— 

18 (A) The Secretary will provide guidance 

19 and technical assistance to States implementing 

20 the parent fee reduction program, including es21 tablishing guidelines for determining the 

22 amount of initial funding on ongoing support 

23 needed by eligible child care providers. 

24 (B) The Secretary will review and approve 

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1 ister the 50 percent fee reduction program, en2 suring that they comply with the requirement. 

3 (5) STATE REQUIREMENTS.— 

4 (A) States will be responsible for admin5 istering the 50 percent fee reduction program 

6 and disbursing funds to eligible child care pro7 viders in accordance with the requirements of 

8 this section. 

9 (B) Within their State plan, lead agencies 

10 will codify a process for implementing the par11 ent fee reduction program and disbursing funds 

12 to eligible child care providers in accordance 

13 with the requirements of this section. 

14 (C) States will require eligible child care 

15 providers to submit documentation verifying the 

16 total amount of parent fees collected in the pre17 vious fiscal year and will establish a process for 

18 reviewing and verifying this documentation. 

19 (D) States will disburse the initial funding 

20 for the parent fee reduction program to eligible 

21 child care providers within 3 months of receiv22 ing the necessary documentation and will estab23 lish a process for transferring these funds. 

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1 ed by each eligible child care providers to main2 tain reduced parent fees and will disburse this 

3 funding on a quarterly basis. 

4 (F) States will require eligible child care 

5 providers to submit quarterly reports docu6 menting the amount of parent fees collected, 

7 the number of families served, and the use of 

8 funds received for fee reductions, and will re9 view these reports and conduct periodic audits 

10 to ensure compliance with program require11 ments. 

12 (G) States will submit annual reports to 

13 the Secretary detailing the implementation and 

14 impact of the parent fee reduction program, in15 cluding the total amount of funds disbursed, 

16 the number of families benefitting from reduced 

17 fees and challenges, successes encountered. 

18 (H) States will prioritize fee reductions 

19 and waivers for families enrolled in the Low- to 

20 Moderate-Income Fee Reduction Program. 

21 (6) PROVIDER REQUIREMENTS.— 

22 (A) Eligible child care providers will sub23 mit documentation to the State verifying the 

24 total amount of parent fees collected in the pre25 vious fiscal year and shall cooperate with the 


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1 State in reviewing and verifying this docu2 mentation. 

3 (B) Eligible child care providers will work 

4 to use the funds received through the parent fee 

5 reduction program solely for the purpose of re6 ducing parent fees and shall maintain records 

7 documenting the use of these funds. 

8 (C) Eligible child care providers will co9 operate will submit quarterly reports to the 

10 State documenting the amount of parent fees 

11 collected, the number of families served and the 

12 use of funds received pursuant to this section. 

13 (D) Eligible child care providers will co14 operate with the State in any audits or reviews 

15 conducted to ensure compliance with the re16 quirement of the parent fee reduction program. 

17 (7) LOW-MODERATE INCOME FEE REDUCTION

18 PROGRAM.— 

19 (A) ESTABLISHMENT AND APPROPRIA20 TIONS.— 

21 (i) The Secretary shall establish the 

22 Low-Moderate Income Fee Reduction Pro23 gram as a mandatory component of the 

24 program under this section to assist States 


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1 in reducing child care fees for families with 

2 low to moderate incomes. 

3 (ii) For purposes of section, the term 

4 family with low to moderate income means 

5 a family with an income that is not more 

6 than 85 percent of State median income. 

7 (iii) Carve out $6 Billion annually 

8 from FY 2024 through FY 2026, $7 Bil9 lion from FY 2027 through FY 2029 and 

10 $8 Billion annually from FY 2030 through 

11 FY 2034 from the total new appropria12 tions funding established for the entire 

13 grant program in Funding for Entire Bill 

14 section of this Act. 

15 (B) STATE ELIGIBILITY AND REQUIRE16 MENTS.—States applying for the program 

17 under this section shall substantially agree to— 

18 (i) use the funding carve out in this 

19 section exclusively to cover 100 percent of 

20 parent fees for families making less than 

21 85 percent State median income; 

22 (ii) use the funds exclusively to cover 

23 all child care fees for families with— 

24 (I) incomes at or below 85 per25 cent of the State median income; and 


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1 (II) children enrolled in licensed, 

2 registered, or regulated child care pro3 grams; 

4 (iii) prioritize funding for eligible fam5 ilies with incomes at or below 50 percent 

6 of the State median income if funding is 

7 limited; 

8 (iv) collect and report annual data on 

9 the use of funds to the Secretary, as a 

10 mandatory condition for receiving future 

11 funds; 

12 (v) promote policy changes that maxi13 mize the availability of funds and stream14 line determination procedures to improve 

15 the customer experience; 

16 (vi) provide explanations to the Sec17 retary as needed; 

18 (vii) establish a process to prioritize 

19 disbursing funds to eligible child care pro20 viders serving underserved populations, as 

21 defined in this section and concurrently 

22 abiding by the requisites in section103(m) 

23 of this Act; 


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1 (viii) include their plan for imple2 menting this section in their grant applica3 tion; 

4 (ix) be responsible for determining 

5 family eligibility for the Low-Moderate In6 come Fee Reduction Program based on in7 come and other criteria established by the 

8 State in accordance with Federal guide9 lines; 

10 (x) develop and implement a stream11 lined application and eligibility determina12 tion process for the Low-Moderate Income 

13 Fee Reduction Program that minimizes the 

14 burden on families and providers; 

15 (xi) automatically deem families eligi16 ble for the Low-Moderate Income Fee Re17 duction Program if they are currently en18 rolled in other means-tested programs, 

19 such as WIC, SNAP, TANF, Section 8 

20 housing assistance, or Medicaid; No addi21 tional income verification is required for 

22 these families; 

23 (xii) for families not enrolled in 

24 means-tested programs, States shall use 

25 existing data sources, such as State income 


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1 records or eligibility determinations for 

2 other programs, to verify income whenever 

3 possible (when such data is not available 

4 States may use a simplified income 

5 verification process, such as self-attestation 

6 of income, with a random sample of appli7 cations selected for more rigorous 

8 verification); 

9 (xiii) States shall provide clear and 

10 timely communication to families and pro11 viders regarding eligibility determinations 

12 and any required documentation or 

13 verification; and 

14 (xiv) States will work with providers 

15 to establish a system to recertify parents 

16 every 12 months. 

17 (C) PROVIDER REQUIREMENTS.—Eligible 

18 child care providers receiving funds through the 

19 program under this section shall— 

20 (i) provide relief from co-payments 

21 and tuition for enrolled families pursuant 

22 to the parent fee reduction section; 

23 (ii) prioritize fee relief for low-mod24 erate income families; 


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1 (iii) assist families ‘‘or work with rel2 evant partner agencies and organizations 

3 to assist families,’’ in completing the appli4 cation for the Low-Moderate Income Fee 

5 Reduction Program and will provide any 

6 necessary documentation to the State to 

7 support eligibility determinations, as ap8 propriate; 

9 (iv) providers will not be responsible 

10 for determining family eligibility for the 

11 Low-Moderate Income Fee Reduction Pro12 gram but shall relay on eligibility deter13 minations made by the State; 

14 (v) comply with State reporting re15 quirements and provide necessary docu16 mentation to verify the use of funds; 

17 (vi) can provide parents with contin18 uous eligibility for 12 months following the 

19 determination, and at the conclusion of the 

20 12 months, be responsible for working with 

21 lead agencies to re-certify parents to en22 sure the provider is meeting their responsi23 bility to uphold the mandatory 

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1 viders subsection and to be eligible for con2 tinued grant funding; 

3 (vii) collect and report annual data on 

4 the use of funds to the State, as a manda5 tory condition for receiving future funds; 

6 and 

7 (viii) provide explanations to the State 

8 as needed. 

9 (D) SECRETARIAL REQUIREMENTS.— 

10 (i) The Secretary will review State 

11 plans for implementing, and approve or 

12 deny funding based on compliance with the 

13 requirements I outlined in this section. 

14 (ii) The Secretary will provide guid15 ance and technical assistance to States in 

16 developing and implementing their Low17 Moderate Income Fee Reduction Pro18 grams. 

19 (iii) The Secretary will compile and 

20 report to Congress annually on the out21 comes and effectiveness of this section, in22 cluding State-level data on the use of 

23 funds and the impact on families’ access to 

24 affordable child care. 


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1 (E) MANDATORY PRIORITIZATION OF LOW2 MODERATE INCOME PROVIDERS.— 

3 (i) States will prioritize awarding sub4 grants funded by program under this sec5 tion to providers serving families based on 

6 clause (ii). 

7 (ii) In each fiscal year, States will al8 locate all funds appropriate for the pro9 gram under this section to eligible child 

10 care providers based on the following pri11 ority order: 

12 (I) Providers serving high pro13 portions of families with incomes at or 

14 below 50 percent of the State median 

15 income then. 

16 (II) Providers serving families 

17 with incomes between 51 percent and 

18 85 percent of the State median in19 come then. 

20 (III) Providers serving families 

21 with incomes above 85 percent of the 

22 State median income, up to a max23 imum of 250 percent of the State me24 dian income (approximately $125,000 


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1 for single parents and $250,000 for 

2 married parents). 

3 (IV) All the funds carved out in 

4 this section, specifically, shall be given 

5 to families with low to moderate in6 comes to cover their parent fees and 

7 child care costs to ensure they pay $0 

8 for child care. 

9 (V) States will develop a mecha10 nism to ensure that providers serving 

11 the neediest populations receive pri12 ority funding and that funding pro13 gressively expands to serve higher-in14 come families over time. 

15 (iii) PRIORITY FOR LOW-INCOME FAM16 ILIES.—States will prioritize the use of 

17 funds allocated through the Low-Moderate 

18 Income Fee Reduction Program to reduce 

19 and waive fees for families at the lowest 

20 income levels first, before expanding. 

21 (8) MINIMUM REQUIREMENT FOR LEAD TEACH22 ERS.— 

23 (A) States retain the authority to set high24 er qualification standards for lead child care 

25 teachers if deemed necessary. 


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1 (B) Lead child care teachers employed by 

2 a eligible child care provider, at minimum, hold 

3 at least a certificate from an accredited institu4 tion related to child development within 3 years 

5 of the provider receiving funds. Employees with 

6 six years or more of full-time experience with a 

7 licensed child care provider this work experience 

8 is enough, an alternative to fulfill this require9 ment. 

10 (9) CHILD CARE FACILITIES GRANT PRO11 GRAM.— 

12 (A) ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSE.— 

13 (i) The Secretary will establish the 

14 Child care Facilities Grant Program to 

15 support the improvement, renovation, and 

16 construction of child care facilities. 

17 (ii) The purpose of the fund is to ad18 dress the need for facilities improvements 

19 in the child care sector and to expand ac20 cess to safe, healthy and high-quality 

21 learning environments for children. 

22 (B) FUNDING ALLOCATION AND GRANT

23 TYPES.— 

24 (i) $3,000,000,000 will be allocated 

25 annually for the Child Care Facilities 


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1 Grant Program from fiscal year 2024 

2 through fiscal year 2034. 

3 (ii) Funding will be awarded for no 

4 longer than 3 years. 

5 (iii) The funding will be allocated as 

6 follows: 

7 (I) 50 percent for renovation 

8 grants to support the repair, innova9 tion and modernization of existing 

10 child care facilities. 

11 (II) 40 percent for construction 

12 grants to support the construction of 

13 new child care facilities in under14 served areas. 

15 (III) 10 percent for planning 

16 grants to support the planning and 

17 re-development activities for child care 

18 facility projects. 

19 (iv) The Secretary may adjust these 

20 allocations based on the quality and quan21 tity of applications received, as well as the 

22 needs and priorities of the child care sec23 tor. 

24 (C) ELIGIBILITY AND APPLICATION PROC25 ESS.— 


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1 (i) The following entities are eligible 

2 to apply for grants from the Child Care 

3 Facilities Fund: States, Tribes, Territories, 

4 local governments and non-profit organiza5 tions. 

6 (ii) Applicants will submit a detailed 

7 application to the Secretary which should 

8 at minimum include. 

9 (I) A comprehensive project plan 

10 that describes the proposed facility 

11 improvements, including the need for 

12 the project, the target population to 

13 be served and the expected outcomes. 

14 (II) A detailed budget that out15 lines the costs associated with the pro16 posed project, including any matching 

17 funds or other sources of support. 

18 (III) A time line for completing 

19 the proposed project, including key 

20 milestones and deliverables. o Docu21 mentation of the applicant’s experi22 ence and expertise in developing or fi23 nancing child care facilities. 

24 (iii) Priority will be give to applica25 tions that do the following: 


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1 (I) Serve low-income communities 

2 or other underserved populations o 

3 Address urgent health and safety 

4 needs or other critical facility defi5 ciencies. 

6 (II) Demonstrate strong partner7 ships and collaboration with stake8 holders, including child care providers, 

9 community organizations and families. 

10 (III) Propose projects that will 

11 result in a significant expansion of 

12 child care capacity or improvement in 

13 the quality of child care facilities. 

14 (IV) Commit to use at least 30 

15 percent of their funding to improve 

16 home-based child care programs. 

17 (V) Grant funds may not be used 

18 for the following purposes:[(aa) [text 

19 is missing. 

20 (iv) Applicants shall make the fol21 lowing assurances to be eligible to receive 

22 funding: 

23 (I) Agree to prioritize child care 

24 facilities that primarily service eligible 

25 children in. 


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1 (II) Mainly serve families with 

2 low income. 

3 (III) Take care of children under 

4 6years old. 

5 (IV) Made significant changes for 

6 health and safety due to COVID–19 ? 

7 Are open during non-standard hours. 

8 (V) Are in rural areas or places 

9 that don’t have enough child care op10 tions. 

11 (VI) Are not owned by for-profit 

12 corporations, or corporate affiliates, 

13 with annual operating budgets above 

14 $1 million. 

15 (D) USE OF FUNDS.— 

16 (i) Grant funds may be used for the 

17 following purposes: 

18 (I) Renovation grants for repair, 

19 renovation, and modernization of ex20 isting child care facilities, including 

21 upgrades to meet the health and safe22 ty standards, improve energy effi23 ciency and enhance learning environ24 ments. 


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1 (II) Construction grant for new 

2 construction of child care facilities in 

3 underserved areas, including site ac4 quisition, design, engineering, and 

5 construction costs. 

6 (III) Planning grants for needs 

7 assessments to determine the demand 

8 for child care facilities in a given area, 

9 feasibility studies to assess viability of 

10 proposed facilities projects, and pre11 development activities such as site se12 lection and preliminary design. 

13 (ii) Grant funds may not be used for 

14 the following purposes: 

15 (I) Purchase of land or buildings, 

16 except as necessary for the construc17 tion of a new child care facility. 

18 (II) Debt service or retirement of 

19 bonds or other financing mechanisms. 

20 (III) Lobbying or political activi21 ties. 

22 (IV) Supplanting other Federal, 

23 State, or local funds. 


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1 (iii) No more than 10 percent of grant 

2 funds may be used for administrative ex3 penses. 

4 (iv) The maximum allowable grant 

5 amount is $15,000,000. 

6 (v) Any grant funded under this pro7 gram shall pay workers at least the pre8 vailing wage in the area, following the 

9 Davis-Bacon Act, which ensures fair wages 

10 for construction work. 

11 (E) Preference is to be given to those with 

12 a proven track record in financing child care, 

13 can help States and local governments develop 

14 child care places, and propose to focus on facili15 ties for children under 5, homecare-based pro16 grams and low-income families. 

17 (10) MATCHING REQUIREMENTS.— 

18 (A) Grantees will provide a match of at 

19 least 10 percent of the total project cost, which 

20 may include cash or in-kind contributions. 

21 (B) The Secretary may waive or reduce the 

22 matching requirement for applicants that dem23 onstrate significant financial hardship or service 

24 high-need communities. 

25 (11) REPORTING AND OVERSIGHT.— 


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1 (A) Grantees will submit quarterly 

2 progress reports to the Secretary, including fi3 nancial Statements, project milestones, and any 

4 challenges or delays encountered. 

5 (B) The Secretary or his designee may 

6 conduct periodic site visits and audits to mon7 itor grantee compliance and project perform8 ance. 

9 (C) The Secretary may withhold or recap10 ture funds from grantees that fail to comply 

11 with program requirements or demonstrate 

12 progress towards program completion. 

13 (12) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND DISSEMINA14 TION.— 

15 (A) States shall to tell the Secretary how 

16 they plan to use the money, including how they 

17 will report on what the funding achieved in the 

18 State plan. 

19 (B) A State may not receive more than 

20 $40,000,000 a year from this fund. 

21 (C) The government will prefer States 

22 that— 

23 (i) want to improve both in-home and 

24 center-based child care, including programs 

25 like Head Start, and 


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1 (ii) plan to address child care needs in 

2 different types of areas (urban, suburban, 

3 rural) together with local governments, 

4 other State agencies, non-profits, and com5 munity organizations. 

6 (p) HOME-BASED CHILD CARE TRAINING AND SUP7 PORT FUND.— 

8 (1) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.— 

9 (A) The Secretary will establish the Home10 Based Child Care Training and Support Fund 

11 to address the unique challenges faced by fam12 ily child care providers and to promote their 

13 success and sustainability. 

14 (B) Appropriate $750 million annually 

15 from FY 2024 through FY 2034. 

16 (2) ELIGIBILITY AND APPLICATION PROCESS.— 

17 (A) The following entities are eligible to 

18 apply for subgrants: 

19 (i) Institutions of higher education, 

20 with priority given to community colleges. 

21 (ii) Nonprofit organizations with ex22 pertise in supporting and advocating for 

23 FCC providers. 


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1 (iii) State and local government agen2 cies responsible for child care licensing and 

3 regulation. 

4 (B) Eligible entities will submit an applica5 tion to the Secretary that includes— 

6 (i) a description of the proposed ac7 tivities to support FCC providers, includ8 ing but not limited to coaching, mentoring 

9 and business training; 

10 (ii) a plan for engaging and recruiting 

11 FCC providers, particularly those from his12 torically underserved populations; 

13 (iii) partnership with relevant stake14 holders (such as local child care resources 

15 and referral agencies, business develop16 ment organization and other regulatory 

17 bodies); and 

18 (iv) a budget and sustainability plan 

19 for the subgrant activity. 

20 (3) USE OF FUNDS.—Grantees will use the 

21 funds to support the success and sustainability of 

22 FCC providers through activities like— 

23 (A) developing and implementing coaching 

24 and mentoring programs that provide individ25 ualized guidance and support to FCC providers; 


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1 (B) offering high-quality certificate and de2 gree programs aimed at enhancing child care 

3 educator training and preparation; 

4 (C) offering business training and classes 

5 on topics such as financial management, mar6 keting and record-keeping; 

7 (D) providing resources and technical as8 sistance to help FCC providers navigate licens9 ing and regulatory requirements; 

10 (E) creating online platforms and resource 

11 to connect FCC providers with relevant support 

12 services; 

13 (F) establishing networks or cooperative 

14 that offer shared services and benefits to FCC 

15 providers (such as retirement plans, insurance, 

16 and bulk purchasing); and 

17 (G) offering business training and classes 

18 to scale an FCC facilities. 

19 (4) GRANTEE RESPONSIBILITIES.—Grantees 

20 will— 

21 (A) design and implement high-quality pro22 grams and services that meet the unique needs 

23 of FCC providers; 


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1 (B) engage and recruit a diverse range of 

2 FCC providers, particularly those from histori3 cally underserved populations; 

4 (C) collaborate with relevant stakeholders, 

5 including parents and child care providers who 

6 participate in the child care assistance program, 

7 to leverage resources and expertise; 

8 (D) collect and report data on program 

9 outcomes and impact to the Secretary annually; 

10 (E) establish a 20-member advisory council 

11 consisting of 10 parents and 10 providers who 

12 participate in the Child Care for America pro13 gram to— 

14 (i) inform the lead agency of program 

15 improvements; 

16 (ii) provide feedback on program de17 velopment and new initiatives; and 

18 (iii) center their expertise in program 

19 decisions; and 

20 (F) compensate participants in the advi21 sory council using the quality set-aside funds. 

22 (5) SECRETARY RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Sec23 retary will— 

24 (A) establish an application process and 

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1 Based Child care and Training and Support 

2 Fund; 

3 (B) review and approve applications based 

4 on their alignment with the purposes and re5 quirements of this section; 

6 (C) provide guidance and technical assist7 ance to grantees in developing and imple8 menting their programs; 

9 (D) monitor grantee compliance and per10 formance and take appropriate action in cases 

11 of non-compliance or under-performance; 

12 (E) gather leading practices and lessons 

13 learned as a result of the subgrant on a publicly 

14 available website; 

15 (F) report to appropriate congressional 

16 committees annually on the outcomes and im17 pact of the subgrant; and 

18 (G) coordinate the subgrant with other 

19 Federal programs supporting child care pro20 viders within the Department of Health and 

21 Human Services and with the Administrator of 

22 Small Business, as appropriate. 

23 (q) CHILD CARE INNOVATIOIN FUND.— 

24 (1) ESTABLISHMENT AND APPROPRIATIONS.— 


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1 (A) The Secretary will establish the Child 

2 Care Innovatioin Fund to support the develop3 ment and implementation of innovative pilots, 

4 strategies and models that aim to improve the 

5 quality, accessibility, affordability and sustain6 ability of child care programs. 

7 (B) $250,000,000 million is appropriated 

8 annually for the Fund from fiscal year 2024 

9 through fiscal year 2034. 

10 (2) FUNDING ALLOCATION AND GRANT

11 TYPES.—60 percent of funds shall be allocated for 

12 grants to pilot innovative approaches to child care 

13 delivery that address one or more of the following 

14 key areas: 

15 (A) Improving the quality of child care 

16 services. 

17 (B) Increasing accessibility of child care, 

18 particularly in underserved areas. 

19 (C) Enhancing affordability of child care 

20 for families. 

21 (D) Supporting workforce development and 

22 retention in the child care sector. 

23 (E) Improving child care facilities and in24 frastructure. 

25 (3) ELIGIBILITY AND APPLICATION PROCESS.— 


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1 (A) The following entities are eligible to 

2 apply for the Child Care Innovatioin Fund: 

3 (i) Municipalities. 

4 (ii) State and local government agen5 cies. 

6 (iii) Tribal organizations 

7 (iv) Nonprofit organizations. 

8 (v) Institutions of higher education. 

9 (vi) For-profit organizations. 

10 (vii) Consortia of the above entities. 

11 (B) Eligible entities will submit an applica12 tion to the Secretary that includes— 

13 (i) a description of the proposed 

14 project, including its objectives, target pop15 ulation, and anticipated outcomes; 

16 (ii) a plan for implement the pilot, in17 cluding key activities, time lines, and 

18 partnering organizations; 

19 (iii) a description of how the pilot 

20 project addresses one or more of the fol21 lowing areas: 

22 (I) quality improvement; 

23 (II) accessibility; 

24 (III) affordability; 

25 (IV) workforce development; or 


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1 (V) facility improvement; 

2 (iv) evidence supporting the effective3 ness of the pilot, such as research findings 

4 or results from previous pilots; 

5 (v) a plan for evaluating the innova6 tion, including key metrics and data collec7 tion methods; and 

8 (vi) a budget proposal and sustain9 ability plan. 

10 (C) In selecting grant recipients, the Sec11 retary will consider the following factors: 

12 (i) The potential of the innovation to 

13 significantly improve the quality, accessi14 bility, affordability or sustainability of 

15 child care programs. 

16 (ii) The strength of the evidence base 

17 support the proposal. 

18 (iii) The capacity of the application to 

19 implement the innovation effectively and 

20 efficiently. 

21 (iv) The potential for the proposal to 

22 be scaled or replicated in other settings. 

23 (v) The extent to which the innovation 

24 addresses the needs of underserved popu25 lations or areas. 


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1 (vi) The level of collaboration and 

2 partnerships proposed. 

3 (4) USE OF FUNDS.— 

4 (A) Grantees will use the funds to develop, 

5 implement and evaluate innovative approaches 

6 to child care delivery that aims to improve— 

7 (i) access to child care, particularly 

8 for underserved populations and areas; 

9 (ii) affordability of child care for fami10 lies; and 

11 (iii) workforce development, com12 pensation, and retention in the child care 

13 sector o Child care Facilities and Infra14 structure. 

15 (B) Funds may be used for planning and 

16 design, training and professional development of 

17 child care providers, facility improvement and 

18 construction, technology and infrastructure de19 velopment, community outreach and engage20 ment, data collection, and evaluations. 

21 (C) Grant recipients shall not use more 

22 than 15 percent of their total award for admin23 istrative costs. 

24 (D) Examples of innovative approaches 

25 may include, but are not limited to— 


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1 (i) shared services models that help 

2 providers reduce costs and improve quality; 

3 (ii) technology solutions that stream4 line enrollment, pay and reporting proc5 esses; 

6 (iii) alternative financing mechanisms, 

7 such as pay-for-success or social impact 

8 bonds; and 

9 (iv) strategies for integrating child 

10 care with other family support services, 

11 such as health care or housing assistance. 

12 (E) GRANTEE RESPONSIBILITIES.—Grant13 ees shall— 

14 (i) design and implement their pro15 posal in according with the approved appli16 cation and time line; 

17 (ii) collect and report data on project 

18 outcomes and impact to the Secretary an19 nually; 

20 (iii) participate in knowledge-sharing 

21 activities and contribute to the ‘‘what 

22 works clearinghouse for early care and 

23 education; and 


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1 (iv) develop plans for scaling and sus2 taining successful approaches beyond the 

3 grant period. 

4 (F) SECRETARIAL RESPONSIBILITIES.— 

5 The Secretary shall— 

6 (i) establish an application process 

7 and criteria for awarding grants from the 

8 Child Care Innovatioin Fund; 

9 (ii) review and approve applications 

10 based on their alignment with the purposes 

11 and requirements of this subsection; 

12 (iii) provide guidance and technical 

13 assistance to grantees in developing and 

14 implementing their projects; 

15 (iv) monitor grantee compliance and 

16 performance and take appropriate action 

17 in cases of non-compliance or under-per18 formance; 

19 (v) compile and disseminate best prac20 tice and lesson learned from grantees; 

21 (vi) establish and maintain the ‘‘What 

22 Works Clearinghouse for Early Care and 

23 Education’’ to facilitate knowledge sharing 

24 and replication of successful approaches; 

25 and 


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1 (vii) report to Congress annually on 

2 the outcomes and impact of the Child Care 

3 Innovatioin Fund. 

4 (5) GENERAL SECTIONS.— 

5 (A) WORKFORCE SUPPORT AND COM6 PENSATION.— 

7 (i) A Wage and Benefits Ladder shall 

8 require as a condition of receiving funding 

9 under section that States shall establish a 

10 wage and benefits ladder for staff of eligi11 ble child care providers receiving assist12 ance. 

13 (ii) The Wage and Benefits Ladder 

14 will, at minimum— 

15 (I) provide a clear pathway for 

16 staff to increase their compensation 

17 and benefits based on factors such as 

18 education, training and experience 

19 and performance; 

20 (II) ensure that staff wages and 

21 benefits meet or exceed the minimum 

22 wage and benefit standards estab23 lished by the Secretary under this 

24 Act; 


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1 (III) be developed in consultation 

2 with early childhood education ex3 perts, labor organizations and other 

4 relevant stakeholders; 

5 (IV) require States to submit 

6 their proposed wage and benefits lad7 der to the Secretary for approval as 

8 part of their application for a grant 

9 under this section; and 

10 (V) require the Secretary to pro11 vide guidance and technical assistance 

12 to State in developing and imple13 menting their wage and benefits lad14 ders. 

15 (iii) Minimum wage requirements will 

16 require wage supplements for full-time 

17 staff members will be sufficient to ensure 

18 that— 

19 (I) the median wage for full-time 

20 workers employed by eligible child 

21 care providers is at least $24 per 

22 hour; and 

23 (II) full-time workers receive an 

24 additional wage supplement of at least 

25 $4 per hour. 


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1 (iv) Wage supplements for part-time 

2 staff members will be sufficient to ensure 

3 that— 

4 (I) the median wage for part5 time workers employed by eligible 

6 child care providers is at least $15 per 

7 hour; and 

8 (II) part-time workers receive a 

9 wage supplement of at least $2 per 

10 hour if the median hourly wage for 

11 part-time staff exceeds $15 per hour. 

12 (v) Eligible child care providers receiv13 ing assistance under this section will— 

14 (I) comply with the wage and 

15 benefits ladders established by their 

16 State; 

17 (II) provide documentation to the 

18 State demonstrating compliance with 

19 the minimum wage requirements out20 lined in this section; and 

21 (III) report data on staff wages, 

22 benefits and turnover to the State as 

23 required for program monitoring and 

24 evaluation. 

25 (vi) States will— 


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1 (I) disburse wage supplement 

2 funds to eligible child care providers 

3 within 12 months of the enactment of 

4 this Act; 

5 (II) monitor provider compliance 

6 with the wage and benefits ladder and 

7 minimum wage requirements and take 

8 appropriate action in cases of non9 compliance; and 

10 (III) report data on staff wages, 

11 benefits and turnover to the Secretary 

12 annually, as a condition of continued 

13 funding under the program under this 

14 section. 

15 (vii) The Secretary shall— 

16 (I) review and approve State 

17 wage and benefits ladders as part of 

18 the application process under this sec19 tion; 

20 (II) provide guidance and tech21 nical assistance to States in imple22 menting their wage and benefits lad23 ders and minimum wage require24 ments; and 


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1 (III) compile and report to Con2 gress annually on the impact of the 

3 workforce support and compensation 

4 provisions on staff wages, benefits and 

5 turnover in the child care sector. 

6 (B) LABOR STANDARDS AND WORKFORCE

7 PROTECTIONS.— 

8 (i) RIGHT TO ORGANIZE.—Providers 

9 receiving funds under this title shall in10 form their employees of their rights under 

11 the National Labor Relations Act (29 

12 U.S.C. 151 et seq.), including the right to 

13 organize and collectively bargain. 

14 (ii) NEUTRALITY.—No provider re15 ceiving funds under this title shall use any 

16 funds to deter union organizing or shall in 

17 any way interfere with employees’ rights to 

18 form, join, or assist labor organizations. 

19 (iii) EMPLOYEE CLASSIFICATION.— 

20 For purposes of this title and any other 

21 Federal labor laws, all individuals em22 ployed by providers receiving funds under 

23 this title shall be considered employees 

24 rather than independent contractors, un25 less they meet all criteria for independent 


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1 contractor status under applicable Federal 

2 law. 

3 (iv) ENFORCEMENT.—The Secretary 

4 of Labor shall have authority to investigate 

5 and enforce compliance with this section. 

6 Violations may result in civil penalties and 

7 ineligibility for funds under this title. 

8 (v) PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT.— 

9 The Secretary shall establish a comprehen10 sive professional development program for 

11 workers, developed in consultation with 

12 labor unions representing such workers. 

13 This program shall include: 

14 (I) Ongoing training opportuni15 ties. 

16 (II) Career ladder programs to 

17 support professional advancement; 

18 and (3) Mentoring and leadership de19 velopment initiatives. 

20 (vi) WHISTLEBLOWER PROTEC21 TIONS.—No provider receiving funds under 

22 this title may discharge or discriminate 

23 against any employee because such em24 ployee has filed any complaint or instituted 

25 or caused to be instituted any proceeding 


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1 under or related to this title, or has testi2 fied or is about to testify in any such pro3 ceeding. 

4 (r) NONDISCRIMINATION.—The nondiscrimination 

5 requirements applicable under following Act shall apply 

6 with respect to financial assistance provided under this 

7 section: 

8 (1) Title IX of the Education Amendments of 

9 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq) (2). 

10 (2) Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 

11 U.S.C. 2000Det seq.). 

12 (3) Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 

13 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794). 

14 (4) The Americans with Disabilities Act of 

15 1990 (42.U.S.C. 12101 et seq). 

16 (s) RESEARCH AND EVALUATION.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.— 

18 (A) The Secretary will conduct research, 

19 demonstrations and evaluations that are di20 rectly relevant to the program under this sec21 tion and the overall goals of expanding access 

22 to high-quality, affordable child care. 

23 (B) The Secretary may award grants or 

24 subgrants to eligible entities to conduct re25 search, demonstrations and evaluations. 


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1 (C) Eligible entities include State agencies, 

2 Tribal organizations, institutions of higher edu3 cation, and other nonprofit or for-profit organi4 zations with expertise in child care research and 

5 evaluation. 

6 (2) PRIORITY AREAS.—The Secretary will 

7 prioritize research, demonstrations and evaluations 

8 that focus on the following areas: 

9 (A) Identifying leading practices and strat10 egies for improving the quality of child care 

11 services, including those related to workforce 

12 development, curriculum and instruction, family 

13 engagement, and program administration. 

14 (B) Evaluating the impact of the child care 

15 policies, programs and mechanisms in this sec16 tion on child outcomes, family well-being, and 

17 the overall supply and quality of child care serv18 ices. 

19 (C) Examining the factors that contribute 

20 to the disparities in access to high-quality child 

21 care, particularly for low-income families, rural 

22 communities, and other underserved popu23 lations. 

24 (D) Analyzing the costs and benefits of 

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1 cluding the program under this section and 

2 other Federal, State, and local funding streams. 

3 (E) Explore the use of technology and data 

4 systems to improve the delivery, coordination, 

5 and evaluation of child care services. 

6 (3) DISSEMINATION.—The Secretary will make 

7 sure— 

8 (A) the results of research, demonstra9 tions, and evaluations conducted under this sec10 tion are publicly available through various 

11 means, such as websites, reports and con12 ferences; and 

13 (B) the results from the research, dem14 onstrations to inform the administration of the 

15 program under this section and provide tech16 nical support. The Secretary will provide assist17 ance to States, Tribal organizations, and other 

18 entities involved in the delivery of child care 

19 services. 

20 (4) COORDINATION.— 

21 (A) The Secretary will coordinate the re22 search, demonstrations and evaluations con23 ducted under this section with other relevant 

24 Federal research and evaluation activities, in25 cluding those carried out by the Department of 


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1 Education, the Department of Labor, and other 

2 agencies as appropriate. 

3 (B) The Secretary can use funds reserved 

4 under this section to support cross-agency re5 search and evaluation initiatives that align with 

6 the goals of the program under this section. 

7 (5) FUNDING.—The Secretary will reserve and 

8 use 1 percent of the total appropriation for the pro9 gram under this section each fiscal year to carry out 

10 the activities described in this subsection. 

11 (6) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds allocated for re12 search and evaluation activities under this sub13 section shall be used to support studies, assessments 

14 and other activities that inform the implementation, 

15 improvement, and impact of the program under this 

16 subsection and its various initiatives, as determined 

17 by the Secretary. 

18 (t) FEDERAL ADMINISTRATION.—The Secretary will 

19 reserve up to 1 percent of the total appropriation for the 

20 program under this section each fiscal year for Federal 

21 administrative costs, including activities such as providing 

22 technical assistance to States and Tribal organizations, 

23 conducting monitoring and oversight, and implementing 

24 the research and evaluation agenda. 


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1 (u) CHILD CARE AND DEVELOPMENT BLOCK

2 GRANT.—The Child care and Development Block Grant 

3 Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858n) shall apply to this section 

4 except as provided or as otherwise specified. 

5 (1) Child care and Development Block Grant 

6 Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858n) shall apply to this 

7 subsection except as provided in clause and as other8 wise specified. 

9 (2) Within 3 years after the date of the enact10 ment of this Act, the Secretary shall propose a plan 

11 to transition the Child care and Development Block 

12 Grant program to serve school aged children. 

13 (3) School aged children ages 6 through 13 and 

14 will not be eligible for any program in this Act. 

15 (v) HEAD START FUNDING.— 

16 (1) There is appropriated $18,000,000 a year 

17 for fiscal year 2024 through fiscal year 2034 to 

18 carry out the Head Start Act, which shall be in ad19 dition to existing funding already appropriated and 

20 shall be exempt from the requirements of this Act. 

21 (2) Funds appropriated under this subsection 

22 can be allocated by the Secretary as statutorily di23 rected in Public Law110–134 (121 Stat. 1363). 


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1 TITLE II—STAY-AT-HOME PAR2 ENT CHILD CARE SUPPORT 

3 PROGRAM 

4 SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS. 

5 For purposes of this title: 

6 (1) STAY-AT-HOME PARENT CHILD CARE STI7 PEND PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘stay-at-home parent 

8 child care stipend program’’, means the program es9 tablished under section 202. 

10 (2) SUPPORT PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘stipend 

11 program’’ means the stay-at-home parent child care 

12 support program. 

13 (3) BENEFIT.—The term ‘‘benefit’’ means a 

14 stay-at-home parent support benefit received under 

15 the support program. 

16 (4) ELIGIBLE CHILD.—The term ‘‘eligible 

17 child’’ means a child less than 3 years of age who 

18 does not participate in a child care program imple19 mented under title I or title III. 

20 (5) PARENT.—The term ‘‘parent’’ means a 

21 stay-at-home individual who— 

22 (A) is the biological parent or legal guard23 ian of an eligible child, 

24 (B) is the primary child care provider for 

25 an eligible child, and 


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1 (C) has a household income of not to ex2 ceed— 

3 (i) 75,000 for single individual, and 

4 (ii) $150,000 for married individual 

5 filing jointly. 

6 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

7 the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 

8 (7) SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY.—The term 

9 ‘‘Secretary of the Treasury’’ means the Secretary of 

10 the Treasury or the Secretary of the Treasury’s del11 egate. 

12 (8) STAY-AT-HOME PARENT.—The term ‘‘stay13 at-home parent’’ means a parent who chooses to di14 rectly care for an eligible child of such parent in 

15 such parent’s home. 

16 SEC. 202. ESTABLISHMENT OF STAY-AT-HOME PARENT SUP17 PORT BENEFIT PROGRAM. 

18 The Secretary shall establish the stay-at-home parent 

19 support program to provide financial assistance to parents 

20 who opt to directly care for their eligible children at home. 

21 SEC. 203. FUNDING AUTHORIZATION AND ALLOCATION. 

22 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

23 authorized to be appropriated $4,000,000,000 for each of 

24 the fiscal years 2024 through fiscal year 2034 to carry 

25 out this title. 


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1 (b) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Of the amount appro2 priated for a fiscal year— 

3 (1) 95 percent shall be available for allocation 

4 under subsection (c) for the payment benefits, 

5 (2) 3 percent shall be available to the Secretary 

6 of the Treasury for program administration, and 

7 (3) 2 percent should be allocated to Secretary 

8 for program support and evaluation. 

9 (c) ALLOCATION OF APPROPRIATIONS AMONG

10 STATES.—Funds shall be allocated among the States 

11 based on the proportion of children under age 3 in each 

12 State, adjusted for State median levels. 

13 SEC. 204. APPLICATION PROCESS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided in 

15 this Act, the stay-at-home parent child care stipend pro16 gram shall be administered in the same manner as the 

17 child tax credit. 

18 (b) SELF-CERTIFICATION.—Eligible applicants shall 

19 annually self-certify their eligibility through the Internal 

20 Revenue Service as part of the individual’s annual income 

21 tax return. 

22 (c) PENALTY OF PERJURY.—Eligible applicants shall 

23 attest under penalty of perjury that the applicants meets 

24 the eligibility criteria to receive the stipend. 


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1 SEC. 205. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE SECRETARY OF THE 

2 TREASURY. 

3 The Secretary of the Treasury shall, with respect to 

4 the stay-at-home parent child care stipend program— 

5 (1) modify relevant tax forms and systems to 

6 allow for claiming the stipend, 

7 (2) develop and implement systems for proc8 essing claims and distributing payments, 

9 (3) utilize existing programs and databases to 

10 verify eligibility based on income and dependent in11 formation, 

12 (4) distribute monthly advanced payments of 

13 the stipend using direct deposit, 

14 (5) verify eligible children and eligible parents, 

15 (6) process claims and distribute monthly pay16 ments, 

17 (7) conduct periodic audits to ensure program 

18 integrity, 

19 (8) establish procedures for handling overpay20 ments and underpayments, 

21 (9) implement a system for reconciliation of 

22 payments through annual income tax returns, and 

23 (10) develop a process for mid-year changes in 

24 eligibility including, but not limited to, the birth of 

25 a child or change in income status. 


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1 SEC. 206. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE SECRETARY. 

2 The Secretary shall— 

3 (1) develop and maintain education resources 

4 for parents, and 

5 (2) conduct research on the impact of the sup6 port program on child development and the well7 being of the families of eligible children whose par8 ents receive benefits, and coordinate the support 

9 program with other Federal early childhood pro10 grams. 

11 SEC. 207. COORDINATION. 

12 In carrying out the support program, the Secretary 

13 and the Secretary of the Treasury shall— 

14 (1) coordinate their activities, 

15 (2) work with the Social Security Administra16 tion, to verify the eligibility of children whose par17 ents receive benefits, and 

18 (3) ensure that the Social Security Administra19 tion or the Secretary of the Treasury, as appro20 priate, shall— (A) send notifications to parents via 

21 letter and email, two months prior to their child’s 

22 third birthday and one month prior to their child’s 

23 third birthday, informing them that their eligibility 

24 is ending; and (B) assume responsibility for pausing 

25 payments upon the child’s third birthday, 


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1 to verify the eligibility of children and parents partici2 pating in the support program so as to minimize waste, 

3 fraud, and abuse involving such program. 

4 SEC. 208. WASTE, FRAUD, AND ABUSE. 

5 (a) PAYMENT RECOUPMENT.— 

6 (1) ELIGIBILITY CHANGES.—Stipend recipients 

7 must report changes affecting eligibility within 30 

8 days of the occurrence of such change. Changes af9 fecting eligibility include enrollment in an eligible 

10 child care program, income exceeding threshold, and 

11 employment exceeding 10 hours per week. 

12 (2) NOTIFICATION PROCESS.—The Internal 

13 Revenue Service shall provide multiple notification 

14 methods, including an online portal, mail, and 

15 phone, for reporting changes. Failure to report 

16 changes may result in penalties, including program 

17 disqualification. 

18 (3) REPAYMENT PROCEDURES.— 

19 (A) INELIGIBILITY.—If ineligibility is de20 termined, the Internal Revenue Service will im21 mediately cease future payments. 

22 (B) METHODS OF RECOUPMENT.—Over23 payments will be recouped through the fol24 lowing methods: 

25 (i) Reduction of future tax refunds. 


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1 (ii) Establishment of a repayment 

2 plan, not exceeding 12 months. 

3 (iii) Deduction from other Federal tax 

4 benefits, subject to applicable laws. 

5 (C) HARDSHIP EXEMPTION.—Hardship ex6 emptions may be granted for repayment on the 

7 basis for criteria established by the Internal 

8 Revenue Service. 

9 (4) GRACE PERIOD.—A 90-day grace period will 

10 be granted for repayment without interest or pen11 alties if the parent voluntarily reports the change. 

12 (b) APPEALS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Stipend recipients may ap14 peal recoupment decisions through the existing In15 ternal Revenue Service appeals process. 

16 (2) GROUNDS FOR APPEAL.—Grounds for Ap17 peal include— 

18 (A) Denial of eligibility. 

19 (B) Disagreement with benefit amount. 

20 (C) Recoupment decisions. 

21 (D) Program disqualification. 

22 (3) TIMELINE.— 

23 (A) FILING OF APPEAL.—Stipend recipi24 ents must file an appeal within 60 days of re25 ceiving an adverse decision. 


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1 (B) ACKNOWLEDGMENT.—The Internal 

2 Revenue Service shall acknowledge receipt of 

3 appeals within 30 days. 

4 (C) DECISION.—A decision on the appeal 

5 shall be made within 90 days of receipt. 

6 (4) APPEAL SUBMISSION.—Appeals may be sub7 mitted online, by mail, or by fax. The appeal must 

8 at least include the taxpayers identification informa9 tion, specific reason for the appeal and supporting 

10 documentation. 

11 (5) REVIEW PROCESS.—An independent Inter12 nal Revenue Service appeals office will review each 

13 case. The officer may request additional information 

14 from the stipend recipient or relevant agencies. 

15 (6) FINAL DECISION.—Decisions of the Internal 

16 Revenue Service will be provided in writing, includ17 ing the rationale. If the appeal is denied, informa18 tion of further review options (including the Tax 

19 Court) shall be provided. 

20 (7) CONTINUED BENEFITS.—Benefits shall con21 tinue during the appeals process if the appeal is filed 

22 within 10 days of the adverse decision. If the appeal 

23 is denied, any benefits paid during the appeal proc24 ess may be subject to recoupment. 

25 (c) PRIVACY AND DATA PROTECTIONS.— 


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1 (1) DATA COLLECTION LIMITATIONS.—Only in2 formation necessary for determining eligibility and 

3 administering the program shall be collected. Social 

4 Security numbers will be collected and used in ac5 cordance with section 7 of the Privacy Act. 

6 (2) DATA USAGE.—Information collected shall 

7 be used solely for the administration of the stay-at8 home parent child care stipend program and related 

9 tax administration purposes. o Data sharing between 

10 the Internal Revenue Service, Department of Health 

11 and Human Service, and Social Security Adminis12 tration will be limited to information necessary for 

13 program administration and evaluation. 

14 (3) DATA RETENTION AND DISPOSAL.—Per15 sonal data will be retained only for the duration nec16 essary for program administration and in accordance 

17 with Internal Revenue Service records retention 

18 schedules. Secure data disposal methods will be used 

19 when destroying records. 

20 (4) TRANSPARENCY AND CONSENT.—Stipend 

21 recipients will provide informed consent for the col22 lection and use of their data when applying for the 

23 program. Stipend recipients will have the right to re24 quest access to their data and correct any inaccura25 cies. Any third-party contractors handling program 


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1 data will be contractually bound to the same privacy 

2 and security standards as Federal employees. 

3 SEC. 209. OUTREACH AND EDUCATION. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treasury, in 

5 collaboration with the Secretary of Health and Human 

6 Services, shall develop and implement a comprehensive 

7 outreach strategy within 6 months of the date of the en8 actment of this Act to inform families of options available 

9 for childcare. 

10 (b) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—At minimum, the 

11 strategy must include: 

12 (1) Targeted messaging for potentially eligible 

13 families. 

14 (2) Partnerships with State and local agencies, 

15 community organizations and tax preparation serv16 ices. 

17 (3) Multilingual materials and outreach effort 

18 including the use of multiple mediums of commu19 nication delivery including online, mail, and print. 

20 (c) EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES.— 

21 (1) INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE.—Pursuant 

22 to such strategy, the Internal Revenue Service shall 

23 develop and maintain— 


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1 (A) a dedicated website with program in2 formation, eligibility calculator, and answers to 

3 frequently asked questions (FAQ), 

4 (B) printed materials for distribution at 

5 Internal Revenue Service offices, community 

6 centers, and healthcare facilities, and 

7 (C) a toll-free help line for program inquir8 ies. 

9 (2) HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES.—The Sec10 retary shall develop— 

11 (A) resources on child development and ef12 fective home-based early learning practices, and 

13 (B) guides on transitioning children to for14 mal childcare (including the programs author15 ized in this Act) or preschool programs (includ16 ing making connections to relevant State agen17 cies so parents have more of a seamless experi18 ence during the transition). 

19 (3) TAX PREPARER TRAINING.—The Internal 

20 Revenue Service shall provide training materials and 

21 guidance to tax preparers on the program and its 

22 interaction with other tax credits. 

23 (4) ANNUAL AWARENESS CAMPAIGN.—The Sec24 retary of the Treasury shall conduct an annual 


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1 awareness campaign prior to tax filing season to re2 mind eligible parents about the program. 

3 SEC. 210. EVALUATION METRICS. 

4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF METRICS.—Not later than 

5 6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

6 Secretary of Secretary shall establish a set of evaluation 

7 metrics. 

8 (b) DATA COLLECTION.—The Secretary shall estab9 lish a data collection system to gather information on 

10 these metrics. 

11 (c) ANNUAL EVALUATION.—The Secretary of shall 

12 conduct an annual evaluation of the program using these 

13 metrics and submit a report to Congress. 

14 (d) LONGITUDINAL STUDY.—The Secretary of shall 

15 initiate a longitudinal study to track long-term outcome 

16 for child and families participating in the program. 

17 (e) INDEPENDENT REVIEW.—Every 3 years the Gov18 ernment Accountability Office shall conduct an inde19 pendent review of the program’s effectiveness based on 

20 these metrics. 

21 SEC. 211. SUNSET PROVISION/REAUTHORIZATION RE22 QUIREMENT. 

23 (a) Program Duration.—The stay-at-home parent 

24 support program is authorized for a period of 10 years 

25 from the date of enactment. 


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1 (b) REAUTHORIZATION PROCESS.—Not later than 18 

2 months prior to the program’s expiration, the Secretary 

3 of the Treasury and the Secretary shall jointly submit a 

4 report to Congress on the program’s effectiveness and rec5 ommendations for continuation, modification or termi6 nation. 

7 (c) CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW.—Congress shall review 

8 the program and vote on its reauthorization not later than 

9 6 months prior to its expiration date. 

10 (d) TRANSITION PLAN.—If Congress decides not to 

11 reauthorize the program, the Secretary in collaboration 

12 with relevant agencies shall develop and implement a tran13 sition plan to phase out benefits over a 12-month period. 

14 SEC. 212. INTERACTION WITH OTHER BENEFITS. 

15 (a) CHILD TAX CREDIT.—The stay-at-home parent 

16 support program benefit will be in addition to any child 

17 tax credit for which a family is eligible and not a sub18 stitute. Receipt of the stay-at-home parent child care sti19 pend shall not affect child tax credit eligibility or amount. 

20 (b) EARNED INCOME TAX CREDIT.—For the pur21 poses of calculating the earned income tax credit, the stay22 at-home parent support program stipend will not be con23 sidered earned income or counted as income for deter24 mining earned income tax credit eligibility. 


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1 (c) CHILD AND DEPENDENT CARE CREDIT.—Indi2 viduals receiving the stay-at-home parent support program 

3 stipend with respect to any child are not be eligible for 

4 the child and dependent care credit with respect to such 

5 child for any taxable year during which such stipend is 

6 received. 

7 (d) HEAD START AND EARLY HEAD START.—Head 

8 Start and Early Head Start.—Receipt of the benefit will 

9 not affect eligibility for Head Start or Early Head Start 

10 programs’’, although the decision to enroll in Head Start 

11 or Early Head Start for more than 10 hours a week will 

12 render a family ineligible for the benefit under this title. 

13 (e) TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE FOR NEEDY FAMI14 LIES.—States shall not take into account the stay-at-home 

15 parent support program stipend for purposes of deter16 mining TANF eligibility or benefit amounts. 

17 (f) SUPPLEMENTAL ASSISTANCE FOR NEEDY FAMI18 LIES.—The stay-at-home parent support program stipend 

19 shall not be counted as income for SNAP eligibility or ben20 efit calculation purposes. 

21 (g) MEDICAID AND CHIP.—The stay-at-home parent 

22 support program stipend shall not be counted as income 

23 for determining eligibility for Medicaid or the Children’s 

24 Health Insurance Program CHIP. 


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1 (h) HOUSING ASSISTANCE.—The stay-at-home par2 ent support program stipend shall not be counted as in3 come for determining eligibility for Federal housing assist4 ance programs. 

5 (i) ANNUAL REVIEW.—The Secretary of the Treas6 ury, the Secretary, and other relevant agency heads shall 

7 conduct an annual review of the program’s interaction 

8 with other Federal benefits and tax credits, and report to 

9 Congress any unintended consequences or recommended 

10 adjustments. 

11 SEC. 213. BENEFIT STRUCTURE AND PAYMENT MECHA12 NISM. 

13 (a) BENEFIT AMOUNT.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Eligible stay-at-home par15 ents will receive $300 per month per eligible child. 

16 (2) COST-OF-LIVING ADJUSTMENT.—The Sec17 retary of the Treasury shall have the authority to 

18 adjust the benefit amount annually based on cost-of19 living increases, subject to Congressional approval. 

20 (b) PAYMENT DISTRIBUTION.— 

21 (1) MONTHLY.—The Internal Revenue Service 

22 shall distribute payments monthly through accessible 

23 payment methods to families including but not lim24 ited to direct deposit to the bank account designated 

25 by the parent, prepaid debit cards for parents withVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:20 Jan 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00097 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9901.IH H9901

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1 out bank accounts, paper checks as a last report if 

2 neither of the above options is feasible. Payments 

3 shall be made on a set date each month, to be deter4 mined by the Secretary of the Treasury. 

5 (2) FIRST PAYMENT.—The first payment shall 

6 be made within 30 days of the eligibility determina7 tion or recertification. 

8 (c) DURATION OF BENEFITS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Benefits will continue until 

10 the eligible child reaches the age of 3 or enters an11 other childcare program funded by the Child Care 

12 for America Grant Program or the program under 

13 title III for more than 10 hours a week, whichever 

14 comes first. 

15 (2) ANNUAL RECERTIFICATION.—Annual recer16 tification shall be completed not later than the due 

17 date (determined without regard to any extensions) 

18 for the income tax return of the eligible recipient of 

19 the benefits. 

20 (d) RECERTIFCATION PROCESS.— 

21 (1) REMINDERS.—The Internal Revenue Serv22 ice shall provide multiple reminders to parents about 

23 the recertification requirement, including but not 

24 limited to the following: 


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1 (A) Notices with monthly benefit payments 

2 starting three months before the tax filing 

3 deadline. 

4 (B) Email and text message reminders if 

5 parents have opted in for such communications. 

6 (2) SUSPENSION OF BENEFITS.—Parents who 

7 fail to recertify by the deadline may have their bene8 fits suspended 30 days after the due date referred 

9 to in subsection (c)(2). 

10 (3) RECERTIFICATIONS WITHIN 90 DAYS OF

11 DEADLINE.—If recertification is completed within 90 

12 days after the deadline: 

13 (A) Benefits shall be reinstated prospec14 tively from the date of recertification. 

15 (B) Any missed payments due to late re16 certification shall be paid retroactively in a 

17 lump sum within one year after the original 

18 deadline. 

19 (4) METHODS OF RECERTIFICATION.—The In20 ternal Revenue Service shall provide multiple chan21 nels for recertification including but not limited to: 

22 (A) Automatic recertification on income 

23 tax returns other relevant tax documents during 

24 tax filing season. 


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1 (B) A process for recertification and dis2 closure of change of status that may make a 

3 parent ineligible throughout the calendar year 

4 in the form of a website or other accessible 

5 service delivery channel. 

6 (e) MID-YEAR CHANGES.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Benefits will continue until 

8 the eligible child reaches the age of 3 or enters an9 other childcare program funded by the Child Care 

10 for America Grant Program or the program under 

11 title III for more than 10 hours a week, whichever 

12 comes first: 

13 (A) Child enrolling in a childcare program 

14 for more than 10 hours a week that makes 

15 them ineligible for the benefit. 

16 (B) Changes in income affecting eligibility. 

17 (2) ON-LINE PORTAL AND DEDICATED PHONE

18 LINE.—The Internal Revenue Service shall provide 

19 an online portal and a dedicated phone line for re20 porting changes. 

21 (3) BENEFITS.—Benefits shall be adjusted or 

22 terminated as appropriate based on reported 

23 changes, effective from the month following the 

24 change. 

25 (f) APPEALS PROCESS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Benefit recipients will have 

2 the right to appeal decisions regarding benefit 

3 amounts, eligibility determinations or recoupment of 

4 overpayments. 

5 (2) DEADLINE.—Appeals must be filed within 

6 60 days of receiving notice of the decision. 

7 (3) EXPEDITED APPEALS.—The Internal Rev8 enue Service shall establish an expedited review 

9 process for such appeals. 

10 (g) PAYMENT SECURITY AND FRAUD PREVEN11 TION.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Internal Revenue Serv13 ice shall implement robust security measures to pre14 vent unauthorized access to payment information. 

15 (2) AUDITS.—The Internal Revenue Service 

16 shall conduct regular audits to identify and prevent 

17 fraudulent claims. 

18 (3) PENALTIES.—Penalties for fraudulent 

19 claims shall include repayment of benefits, fines and 

20 potential criminal prosecution. 

21 (h) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary of the 

22 Treasury shall submit an annual report to Congress de23 scribing the number of families receiving the benefit, total 

24 amount distributed and any significant issues or chal25 lenges in benefit distribution. 


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1 (i) PROGRAM EVALUATION.—The Secretary of the 

2 Treasury and the Secretary shall conduct an annual eval3 uation of the payment mechanism and benefit structure. 

4 The evaluation must also assess the efficiency of benefit 

5 distribution, impact on eligible families and any rec6 ommended improvements. 

7 TITLE III—KIN CARE: FAMILY, 

8 FRIEND, AND NEIGHBOR 

9 (FFN) CARE PROGRAM 

10 SEC. 301. DEFINITIONS. 

11 For purposes of this title— 

12 (1) the term ‘‘FFN provider’’ means an indi13 vidual who provides childcare services to eligible chil14 dren in a home setting and is not required to be li15 censed under State law; 

16 (2) the term ‘‘eligible FFN provider’’ means a 

17 FFN provider who meets the requirements set forth 

18 in this section and is registered with the State law; 

19 and 

20 (3) the term ‘‘FFN care’’ means child care 

21 services provided by an eligible FFN provider. 

22 SEC. 302. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

23 There is authorized to be appropriated 

24 $5,000,000,000 annually for fiscal years 2024 through 

25 2034 to carry out this title, to be allocated as follows: 


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1 (1) 75 percent for direct payments to verified 

2 FFN provider; 

3 (2) 15 percent for State-level program adminis4 tration and support services; 

5 (3) 8 percent for Federal administration, in6 cluding the development and maintenance of a na7 tional FFN database and verification system; and 

8 (4) 2 percent for research, evaluation, and con9 tinuous improvement initiatives. 

10 SEC. 303. PARENT ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES IN THE 

11 FFN CARE PROGRAM. 

12 (a) ELIGIBILITY AND INITIAL ENROLLMENT.— 

13 (1) ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA.—To be eligible for 

14 the FFN Care Program, a parent shall meet income 

15 eligibility requirements (up to 100 percent of State 

16 median income). 

17 (2) APPLICATION PROCESS.—An eligible parent 

18 shall— 

19 (A) complete the FFN care subsidy appli20 cation through the Kin Care Interface within 

21 30 days of seeking care; and 

22 (B) provide accurate and complete infor23 mation, including— 

24 (i) proof of income; 


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1 (ii) number and ages of children need2 ing care; and 

3 (iii) hours of care needed. 

4 (3) PROVIDER SELECTION.—An eligible parent 

5 shall— 

6 (A) nominate their FFN provider to the 

7 Interface for verification, after which time FFN 

8 providers may voluntarily join the Interface and 

9 seek verification as set out in the provider sec10 tion; and 

11 (B) confirm the care arrangement with the 

12 chosen provider through the Kin Care Interface 

13 within 5 days of selection. 

14 (b) CARE ARRANGEMENT CONFIRMATION AND DOC15 UMENTATION.— 

16 (1) WRITTEN AGREEMENT.—The parent 

17 shall— 

18 (A) enter into a standard consent agree19 ment with the FFN provider within 7 days of 

20 selection, outlining— 

21 (i) care schedule; and 

22 (ii) expectations for both parties; and 

23 (B) enter into a written agreement with 

24 the FFN provider within 7 days of selection, 

25 outlining— 


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1 (i) care schedule; 

2 (ii) compensation details; 

3 (iii) expectations for both parties; and 

4 (iv) upload the signed agreement to 

5 the Kin Care Interface within 3 days of 

6 signing. 

7 (2) CARE SETTING VERIFICATION.—For care in 

8 the child’s home, the parent shall— 

9 (A) provide written confirmation about the 

10 suitability of their home for childcare within 5 

11 days of provider selection; 

12 (B) complete a home safety checklist pro13 vided through the Kin Care Interface within 10 

14 days of provider selection; and 

15 (C) allow for virtual or in-person safety as16 sessments of the home environment as required 

17 by the State agency. 

18 (3) ONGOING RESPONSIBILITIES.— 

19 (A) ATTENDANCE VERIFICATION.—The 

20 parent shall verify child attendance through the 

21 Kin Care Interface on a weekly basis, within 2 

22 days of the end of each care week. 

23 (B) PROVIDER EVALUATION AND FEED24 BACK.—The parent shall— 


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1 (i) complete semi-annual care quality 

2 surveys through the Kin Care Interface; 

3 (ii) provide additional feedback or 

4 concerns as they arise, within 24 hours for 

5 urgent matters; and 

6 (iii) any major safety incidents while 

7 the child is in FFN care, with major safety 

8 incidents defined as hospitalization result9 ing from provider neglect, or any incident 

10 leading to suspicion of child abuse. 

11 (C) REPORTING CHANGES.—The parent 

12 shall report the following changes within 10 

13 days of occurrence— 

14 (i) income changes that may affect eli15 gibility; 

16 (ii) employment or education/training 

17 status changes; 

18 (iii) family size or composition 

19 changes; and 

20 (iv) relocation or contact information 

21 updates. 

22 (D) COOPERATION WITH MONITORING AND

23 INVESTIGATIONS.—The parent shall— 

24 (i) participate in annual re-certifi25 cation processes; 


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1 (ii) completing all required docu2 mentation within 30 days of request; 

3 (iii) cooperate with any investigations 

4 or follow-ups regarding reported incidents 

5 or concerns within the timeframe specified 

6 by the investigating agency; and 

7 (iv) allow for and facilitate visits by 

8 State agency representatives if care is pro9 vided in the child’s home. 

10 (E) TRAINING AND EDUCATION.—The par11 ent shall complete any required parent orienta12 tion or training modules within 30 days of en13 rollment in the FFN care program. 

14 (F) HEALTH AND SAFETY.—The parent 

15 shall— 

16 (i) provide up-to-date immunization 

17 records for the child to the provider within 

18 7 days of care commencement or any up19 dates; and 

20 (ii) inform the provider of any health 

21 concerns, allergies, or special needs of the 

22 child before care begins and as new infor23 mation arises. 

24 (G) PROGRAM COMPLIANCE.—The parent 

25 shall— 


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1 (i) adhere to all rules and regulations 

2 of the FFN care program as outlined in 

3 the parent handbook; and 

4 (ii) acknowledge that failure to comply 

5 with these responsibilities may result in 

6 termination from the program or repay7 ment of subsidies. 

8 SEC. 304. FFN PROVIDER RESPONSIBILITIES IN THE KIN 

9 CARE PROGRAM. 

10 (a) ELIGIBILITY AND INITIAL REGISTRATION.— 

11 (1) ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA.—To be eligible as 

12 an FFN provider, an individual shall— 

13 (A) be at least 18 years old as of the date 

14 of application; 

15 (B) be a grandparent, aunt or uncle of the 

16 child; 

17 (C) not have any criminal record involving 

18 violent offenses, nor prior credible child abuse 

19 findings, nor be present on any sex offender 

20 registry; and 

21 (D) after the first three years of the Kin 

22 Care program, the Secretary may, in consulta23 tion with relevant stakeholders, elect to extend 

24 eligibility to additional family members, trusted 

25 friends, and trusted neighbors. 


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1 (2) INTERACTION WITH CCDBG.— 

2 (A) TRANSITION FROM CCDBG.—A FFN 

3 caregiver currently registered as a subsidy-re4 ceiving provider via the Child Care and Devel5 opment Block Grant Act of 1990 shall dis6 continue their participation upon being verified 

7 to be part of the Kin Care program and begin8 ning to receive payments via the Kin Care pro9 gram. 

10 (B) CONTINUED CCDBG PARTICIPATION.— 

11 FFN caregivers who are not eligible for the Kin 

12 Care program but who are eligible for payment 

13 under CCDBG may continue to participate in 

14 that program. 

15 (C) POTENTIAL CCDBG REPEAL.—In the 

16 case that the Secretary elects to extend eligi17 bility for the Kin Care program to cover all 

18 those FFN providers eligible under CCDBG, 

19 the relevant sections of CCDBG are to be re20 pealed. 

21 (3) REGISTRATION PROCESS.—The provider 

22 shall— 

23 (A) complete the online registration form 

24 through the Kin Care Interface within 30 days 

25 of deciding to become an FFN provider; 


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1 (B) provide accurate and complete infor2 mation as required by the Kin Care Interface; 

3 and 

4 (C) submit to comprehensive background 

5 checks within 10 days of registration. 

6 (4) CARE SETTING VERIFICATION.—The pro7 vider shall— 

8 (A) for care in provider’s home— 

9 (i) submit clear, recent photos or a 

10 video tour of all areas used for child care 

11 within 7 days of registration; 

12 (ii) participate in a virtual safety as13 sessment within 14 days of registration; 

14 and 

15 (iv) allow for an in-person home visit 

16 within 30 days of approval. 

17 (B) for care in child’s home— 

18 (i) sign an agreement to maintain safe 

19 practices in the child’s home within 5 days 

20 of registration; and 

21 (ii) schedule a home familiarization 

22 visit with the family within 10 days of reg23 istration. 

24 (5) TRAINING AND EDUCATION.— 


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1 (A) INITIAL TRAINING.—The provider 

2 shall— 

3 (i) complete 20 hours of mandatory 

4 online health and safety training within 30 

5 days of registration; 

6 (ii) achieve a minimum score of 80 

7 percent on module quizzes to progress; and 

8 (iii) complete a standardized knowl9 edge assessment within 7 days of com10 pleting all training modules. 

11 (B) ONGOING EDUCATION.—The provider 

12 shall— 

13 (i) complete 10 hours of approved on14 going training annually; 

15 (ii) obtain and maintain certification 

16 in pediatric first aid and CPR; and 

17 (iii) submit certificates of completion 

18 for all training through the Kin Care 

19 Interface within 7 days of completion. 

20 (6) OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS.— 

21 (A) CHILD CARE PRACTICES.—The pro22 vider shall— 

23 (i) care for no more than 6 children at 

24 a time, including the provider’s own chil25 dren under age 13; 


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1 (ii) maintain a daily log of all children 

2 in care; 

3 (iii) maintain direct sight or sound su4 pervision of all children at all times; and 

5 (iv) make reasonable efforts to imple6 ment daily activities that support child’s 

7 development and early learning, including 

8 reading and outdoor play. 

9 (B) HEALTH AND SAFETY STANDARDS.— 

10 The provider shall— 

11 (i) maintain a smoke-free environment 

12 at all times during hours of operation; 

13 (ii) ensure all areas used for child 

14 care are free from visible safety hazards; 

15 (iii) implement safe sleep practices for 

16 infants and toddlers; 

17 (iv) store all medications and haz18 ardous materials in locked containers out 

19 of children’s reach; 

20 (v) maintain a fully stocked first aid 

21 kit and emergency preparedness plan; and 

22 (vi) have and maintain working car23 bon monoxide and smoke detectors and fire 

24 extinguisher(s). 


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1 (C) NUTRITION AND MEALS.—If providing 

2 meals, the provider shall— 

3 (i) develop weekly meal plans that 

4 meet USDA Child and Adult Care Food 

5 Program (CACFP) guidelines; 

6 (ii) maintain current food handler’s 

7 certification if preparing meals; and 

8 (iii) follow proper food safety and hy9 giene practices. 

10 (D) PROGRAM COMPLIANCE AND REPORT11 ING.— 

12 (i) KIN CARE INTERFACE UTILIZA13 TION.—The provider shall submit weekly 

14 care hours through the Kin Care Interface 

15 within 2 days of the end of each care week. 

16 (ii) FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES.— 

17 The provider shall report all income from 

18 child care services on annual tax returns. 

19 (iii) INCIDENT REPORTING.—The pro20 vider shall— 

21 (I) report any injuries requiring 

22 medical attention within 24 hours of 

23 occurrence; and 

24 (II) report any suspected child 

25 abuse or neglect immediately to the 


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1 appropriate authorities and the State 

2 agency. 

3 (iv) COOPERATION WITH MONI4 TORING.—The provider shall— 

5 (I) participate in annual re6 verification process, completing all re7 quirements within 30 days of notifica8 tion; 

9 (II) be available for random vir10 tual check-ins during declared hours 

11 of operation; and 

12 (III) allow for both announced 

13 and unannounced in-person visits by 

14 State agency representatives. 

15 SEC. 305. CHILD CARE PRACTICES FOR FAMILY, FRIEND, 

16 AND NEIGHBOR PROVIDERS. 

17 (a) CHILD-TO-PROVIDER RATIO.— 

18 (1) An FFN provider shall not care for more 

19 than 4children at any given time, including the pro20 vider’s own children under the age of 13. 

21 (2) The provider shall indicate via the Kin Care 

22 Interface the number, age, and initials of children 

23 cared for each day. 


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1 (3) The provider shall ensure that no more than 

2 2 children under the age of 2 are in care at any 

3 time. 

4 (4) For children with special needs, the pro5 vider shall adjust ratios as required by the child’s in6 dividual care plan, in consultation with the child’s 

7 parents and Kin Care Program administrators. 

8 SEC. 306. FFN PROVIDER VERIFICATION PROCEDURES AND 

9 ONGOING MONITORING. 

10 (a) DEVELOPMENT AND MAINTENANCE OF THE KIN

11 CARE INTERFACE.— 

12 (1) SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT.—The Secretary 

13 shall— 

14 (A) contract with a reputable software de15 velopment firm to create the Kin Care Interface 

16 within 100 days after the date of the enactment 

17 of this Act; 

18 (B) ensure the interface is web-based and 

19 includes a mobile application version; 

20 (C) incorporate robust security measures, 

21 including end-to-end encryption and multi-fac22 tor authentication; 

23 (D) develop user-friendly interfaces for 

24 providers, parents, and State administrators; 


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1 (E) be prepared to launch the Interface 

2 within one year of passage of this Act; 

3 (F) collect only minimum required data to 

4 meet the intent and requirements of this Act; 

5 and 

6 (G) ensure that at launch, the interface is 

7 available in at least English and Spanish, and 

8 that it is made available in all languages spoken 

9 by at least 1 percent of the U.S. population 

10 within one year of launch, and all languages 

11 spoken by at least 0.1 percent of the U.S. popu12 lation within two years of launch. 

13 (2) FUNCTIONALITY REQUIREMENTS.—The Kin 

14 Care Interface shall include— 

15 (A) provider registration and profile man16 agement capabilities; 

17 (B) document upload capabilities for ID’s, 

18 background check results, and training certifi19 cates; 

20 (C) a secure messaging system between 

21 providers, parents, and State administrators; 

22 (D) an automated alert system for expired 

23 documents or pending re-verifications; 

24 (E) integration with State and Federal 

25 databases for background check verificationl; 


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1 (F) a secure payment system, including a 

2 method for providing compensation to individ3 uals who, at registration, lack a bank account; 

4 (G) capabilities for States or the Depart5 ment to design or upload training modules, and 

6 for providers to complete said modules; and 

7 (H) all other functionalities as needed to 

8 carry out the provisions of this Act. 

9 (3) ONGOING MAINTENANCE.—The Secretary 

10 shall— 

11 (A) conduct quarterly system updates to 

12 address bugs and improve functionality; 

13 (B) perform annual security audits and 

14 penetration testing; and 

15 (C) maintain a 24/7 technical support 

16 helpline for users and State administrators. 

17 (4) ESTABLISHMENT OF FEDERAL GUIDE18 LINES.— 

19 (A) IDENTITY VERIFICATION STAND20 ARDS.—The Secretary shall— 

21 (i) specify acceptable forms of govern22 ment-issued photo ID; 

23 (ii) set requirements for third-party 

24 identity verification services; and 


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1 (iii) define acceptable documents for 

2 address confirmation, such as utility bills 

3 no older than 60 days. 

4 (B) BACKGROUND CHECK STANDARDS.— 

5 The Secretary shall— 

6 (i) establish a comprehensive list of 

7 disqualifying offenses; and 

8 (ii) set standards for an appeals proc9 ess for providers with concerning but non10 disqualifying results. 

11 (C) CARE SETTING ASSESSMENT STAND12 ARDS.—The Secretary shall— 

13 (i) develop a standardized checklist 

14 for virtual safety assessments which in15 cludes items necessary to ensure safety but 

16 do not present an undue burden to pro17 viders; 

18 (ii) establish means for providers to 

19 remedy any concerns and receive a timely 

20 re-assessment; and 

21 (iii) establish minimum photo/video 

22 documentation requirements for provider’s 

23 home assessments. 

24 (D) TRAINING AND EDUCATION STAND25 ARDS.—The Secretary shall— 


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1 (i) develop a mandatory online health 

2 and safety training curriculum; and 

3 (ii) require training to be available in 

4 at least 5 languages. 

5 (E) ONGOING MONITORING AND RE6 VERIFICATION STANDARDS.—The Secretary 

7 shall— 

8 (i) set a 30-day window for annual re9 verification completion; and 

10 (ii) establish required components of 

11 re-verification. 

12 (F) CONTINUOUS BACKGROUND CHECK

13 MONITORING.—The Secretary shall— 

14 (i) establish partnerships with State 

15 law enforcement agencies for real-time ar16 rest notifications for violent offenses, child 

17 abuse offenses, or offenses resulting in ad18 dition to sex offender registries. No such 

19 partnerships shall be construed by the Sec20 retary or States as means to provide law 

21 enforcement agencies with information out22 side the relevant scope of the Kin Care 

23 program, notwithstanding information 

24 sharing required under existing State and 

25 Federal law; 


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1 (ii) develop a system for providers to 

2 self-report new criminal charges or child 

3 protective services involvement within 48 

4 hours; and 

5 (iii) set a 3-year cycle for full back6 ground check renewals. 

7 (G) INCIDENT REPORTING AND INVESTIGA8 TION.—The Secretary shall— 

9 (i) develop a standardized incident re10 port form; and 

11 (ii) establish a tiered response system 

12 based on incident severity. 

13 (5) COMPLIANCE AND ENFORCEMENT.—The 

14 Secretary shall— 

15 (A) establish a graduated system of en16 forcement actions; and 

17 (B) develop an appeals process for pro18 viders facing adverse actions. 

19 (b) STATE AGENCY RESPONSIBILITIES.—Each State 

20 agency shall— 

21 (1) designate a State-level administrator to 

22 oversee the Kin Care Interface; 

23 (2) review all provider registrations within 10 

24 business days of submission; 


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1 (3) conduct identity verification processes with2 in specified timeframes; 

3 (4) administer background checks according to 

4 Federal guidelines; 

5 (5) conduct care setting verifications for both 

6 provider’s home and child’s home care settings; 

7 (6) verify completion of required training and 

8 education by providers; 

9 (7) manage the annual re-verification process 

10 for providers; 

11 (8) conduct random virtual check-ins with 5 

12 percent of approved providers each month; 

13 (9) maintain a system for continuous back14 ground check monitoring; 

15 (10) manage the parent feedback system and 

16 respond to concerns in a timely manner; 

17 (11) investigate and respond to reported inci18 dents according to the tiered response system; 

19 (12) implement compliance and enforcement ac20 tions as necessary; 

21 (13) provide quality improvement support to 

22 providers as needed; 

23 (14) submit required reports to the Secretary 

24 on program operations and outcomes; 


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1 (15) establish a localized schedule of payment 

2 rates, and ensure timely payment to providers (no 

3 more than five business days after the end of a pay4 ment period); 

5 (16) ensure all State Kin Care Interface mate6 rials and related materials are available in, at min7 imum, all languages spoken by more than 1 percent 

8 of the population in their State; 

9 (17) establish a process for parents and pro10 viders to offer feedback, complaints and concerns re11 garding monitoring, enforcement and program oper12 ations; and 

13 (18) create or utilize an existing FFN advisory 

14 or governance structure to give input and oversee 

15 implementation; this committee must be provided 

16 data and information regarding the program includ17 ing numbers of participants and participant com18 plaints/concerns with program operations. 

19 (c) REPORTING AND EVALUATION.— 

20 (1) The Secretary shall establish a system for 

21 regular reporting and evaluation of the FFN Pro22 vider Verification Procedures and Ongoing Moni23 toring processes. 

24 (2) State agencies shall submit monthly and 

25 quarterly reports as specified by the Secretary. 


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1 (3) The Secretary shall conduct an annual eval2 uation of the effectiveness of these procedures and 

3 make recommendations for improvements as nec4 essary. 

5 (4) The States and Secretary shall gather par6 ticipant experience data to understand barriers, ad7 ministrative and paperwork burdens, use of tech8 nology challenges, etc., that may be limiting partici9 pation. 

10 SEC. 307. FFN PROVIDER PAYMENT PROCESS. 

11 (a) PAYMENT RATES.— 

12 (1) The Secretary shall establish a national 

13 base rate for FFN care that is no less than 75 per14 cent of the State’s rate for licensed family child care 

15 homes. 

16 (2) States may adjust the base rate to account 

17 for— 

18 (A) geographic cost of living differences; 

19 (B) number and ages of children in care; 

20 (C) non-traditional hours care (evenings, 

21 weekends, overnight); 

22 (D) care for children with special needs; 

23 (E) provider education and training levels; 

24 and 


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1 (F) the Secretary shall review and update 

2 the national base rate annually to reflect 

3 changes in the cost of living and child care mar4 ket rates. 

5 (b) PAYMENT FREQUENCY AND METHOD.— 

6 (1) FFN providers shall submit number of 

7 weekly hours of service through the Kin Care Inter8 face within 2 days of the end of each care week. 

9 (2) The Kin Care Interface shall automatically 

10 calculate payment amounts based on— 

11 (A) reported hours; 

12 (B) approved rate for the provider; and 

13 (C) any adjustments for non-traditional 

14 hours, special needs care, or other adjustments. 

15 (3) Parents shall verify reports via the Kin 

16 Care Interface within a reasonable timeframe. 

17 (c) REPORTING AND PAYMENT CALCULATION.— 

18 (1) FFN providers shall submit weekly attend19 ance reports through the Kin Care Interface within 

20 2 days of the end of each care week. 

21 (2) The Kin Care Interface shall automatically 

22 calculate payment amounts based on— 

23 (A) reported attendance; 

24 (B) approved rate for the provider; 


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1 (C) any adjustments for non-traditional 

2 hours or special needs care. 

3 (3) Parents shall verify the attendance reports 

4 within 1 day of submission by the provider. 

5 (d) PAYMENT PROCESSING.— 

6 (1) The State agency shall process payments 

7 within 3 business days of verified submission. 

8 (2) The Kin Care Interface shall generate a de9 tailed payment Statement for each pay period, acces10 sible to both the provider and the State agency. 

11 (e) OVERPAYMENTS AND UNDERPAYMENTS.— 

12 (1) In cases of overpayment due to error or 

13 misreporting— 

14 (A) the State agency shall notify the pro15 vider within 5 business days of discovery; and 

16 (B) recovery of overpayments shall be 

17 through reduced future payments, not to exceed 

18 10 percent of each payment until the overpay19 ment is recovered. 

20 (2) In cases of underpayment, The State agen21 cy shall issue an additional payment to correct the 

22 underpayment within 5 business days of discovery. 

23 (f) PAYMENT FOR TRAINING AND PROFESSIONAL

24 DEVELOPMENT.— 


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1 (1) FFN providers shall be compensated at 

2 their regular rate for time spent in required training 

3 and professional development activities, which pro4 viders shall record as normal hours of service. 

5 (2) The State agency shall pay for any fees as6 sociated with required training courses or materials. 

7 (g) TAX REPORTING.— 

8 (1) The Kin Care Interface shall generate an9 nual tax documents (e.g., 1099 forms) for FFN pro10 viders by January 31st of each year. 

11 (2) FFN providers shall be responsible for re12 porting all income and paying applicable taxes. 

13 (h) PAYMENT DISPUTES.— 

14 (1) FFN providers may file a payment dispute 

15 through the Kin Care Interface within 30 days of 

16 the payment date. 

17 (2) The State agency shall investigate and re18 solve payment disputes within 10 business days of 

19 filing. 

20 (3) If the dispute is not resolved to the pro21 vider’s satisfaction, they may appeal to a designated 

22 State appeal board within 15 days of the State agen23 cy’s decision. 

24 SEC. 308. DATA PRIVACY AND SECURITY MEASURES. 

25 (a) DATA PROTECTION STANDARDS.— 


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1 (1) The Secretary shall establish comprehensive 

2 data protection standards for the Kin Care Inter3 face, including— 

4 (A) end-to-end encryption for all data 

5 transmissions; 

6 (B) multi-factor authentication for user ac7 cess; and 

8 (C) regular security audits and penetration 

9 testing. 

10 (2) All data stored in the Kin Care Interface 

11 shall be classified according to sensitivity level and 

12 protected accordingly. 

13 (b) DATA COLLECTION AND USE.— 

14 (1) The Kin Care Interface shall collect only in15 formation necessary for program administration and 

16 evaluation. 

17 (2) Personal identifying information shall be 

18 used solely for the purposes of: 

19 (A) verifying eligibility; 

20 (B) facilitating payments; 

21 (C) conducting background checks; and 

22 (D) communicating with program partici23 pants. 

24 (c) DATA SHARING.— 


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1 (1) Data sharing between State agencies and 

2 the Federal Government shall be governed by formal 

3 data sharing agreements. 

4 (2) Any data shared for research purposes shall 

5 be de-identified to protect individual privacy. 

6 (d) USER RIGHTS.—FFN providers and parents shall 

7 have the right to— 

8 (1) access their personal data stored in the Kin 

9 Care Interface; 

10 (2) request corrections to inaccurate data; and 

11 (3) receive notification of any data breaches af12 fecting their information within 72 hours. 

13 (e) DATA RETENTION AND DISPOSAL.— 

14 (1) The Secretary shall establish data retention 

15 schedules for different types of data collected. 

16 (2) Data shall be securely disposed of when no 

17 longer necessary, using methods that prevent recon18 struction. 

19 SEC. 309. TRANSITION TO LICENSED FAMILY CHILD CARE. 

20 (a) TRANSITION SUPPORT PROGRAM.— 

21 (1) The Secretary shall establish a Transition 

22 Support Program to assist FFN providers in volun23 tarily becoming licensed family child care providers. 

24 (2) The program shall include— 


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1 (A) guidance on State licensing require2 ments; 

3 (B) financial assistance for meeting licens4 ing standards; and 

5 (C) mentorship from experienced licensed 

6 providers. 

7 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—FFN providers who have partici8 pated in the Kin Care Program for at least one year shall 

9 be eligible for the Transition Support Program. 

10 (c) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—Eligible providers may 

11 receive grants of up to $5,000 to cover costs associated 

12 with meeting licensing requirements, including— 

13 (1) home modifications for safety compliance; 

14 (2) purchase of required equipment and mate15 rials; and 

16 (3) fees for required training and certifications. 

17 (d) TRAINING AND EDUCATION.—The State agency 

18 shall provide specialized training to support the transition, 

19 including— 

20 (1) business management for family child care; 

21 (2) advanced child development courses; and 

22 (3) curriculum planning and implementation. 

23 (e) LICENSING PROCESS SUPPORT.—The State agen24 cy shall assign a dedicated licensing navigator to each 


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1 transitioning provider to assist with the licensing applica2 tion and inspection process. 

3 SEC. 310. SUPPORTS FOR SERVING CHILDREN WITH SPE4 CIAL NEEDS. 

5 (a) SPECIALIZED TRAINING.— 

6 (1) The Secretary shall develop a specialized 

7 training module for FFN providers caring for chil8 dren with special needs. 

9 (2) The training shall cover— 

10 (A) understanding common disabilities and 

11 developmental delays; 

12 (B) adapting activities and environments; 

13 (C) collaborating with early intervention 

14 specialists; and 

15 (D) supporting families of children with 

16 special needs. 

17 (b) ENHANCED PAYMENT RATES.—FFN providers 

18 caring for children with diagnosed special needs shall re19 ceive an enhanced payment rate, to be determined by the 

20 State agency based on the child’s specific needs. 

21 (c) EQUIPMENT AND MATERIALS GRANTS.—FFN 

22 providers may apply for grants of up to $1,000 annually 

23 to purchase specialized equipment or materials needed to 

24 care for children with special needs. 


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1 (d) SUPPORT NETWORK.—The State agency shall fa2 cilitate a peer support network for FFN providers caring 

3 for children with special needs. 

4 SEC. 311. COLLABORATION WITH OTHER EARLY CHILD5 HOOD PROGRAMS. 

6 (1) COORDINATION REQUIREMENT.—State 

7 agencies shall establish formal coordination agree8 ments with— 

9 (A) Early Head Start and Head Start pro10 grams; 

11 (B) State pre-kindergarten programs; 

12 (C) part C early intervention programs 

13 under IDEAl; and 

14 (D) State Child Care Resource and Refer15 ral Agencies. 

16 (2) SHARED SERVICES.—The Secretary shall 

17 encourage and facilitate shared services among Kin 

18 Care and other early childhood programs, includ19 ing— 

20 (A) joint professional development opportu21 nities; 

22 (B) shared curriculum resources; and 

23 (C) coordinated developmental screening 

24 services. 


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1 (3) TRANSITION SUPPORT.—State agencies 

2 shall develop protocols to support children’s transi3 tions between FFN care and other early childhood 

4 programs. 

5 (4) DATA SHARING.—The Secretary shall estab6 lish guidelines for appropriate data sharing between 

7 Kin Care and other early childhood programs to 

8 support coordinated services and program evalua9 tion. 

10 SEC. 312. EVALUATION AND RESEARCH. 

11 (a) ANNUAL PROGRAM EVALUATION.—The Secretary 

12 shall conduct an annual evaluation of the Kin Care Pro13 gram, assessing— 

14 (1) program reach and participation rates; 

15 (2) care practices; 

16 (3) family outcomes, including parental employ17 ment and economic stability; and 

18 (4) provider outcomes, including job satisfaction 

19 and financial stability. 

20 (b) LONGITUDINAL STUDY.—The Secretary shall 

21 commission a 10-year longitudinal study to assess the 

22 long-term impacts of participation in FFN care through 

23 the Kin Care Program. 


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1 (c) INNOVATION RESEARCH.—The Secretary shall es2 tablish a research grant program to study innovative ap3 proaches to supporting and enhancing FFN care. 

4 (d) DATA COLLECTION.—The Kin Care Interface 

5 shall include mechanisms for ongoing data collection to 

6 support evaluation and research efforts. o State agencies 

7 shall be required to participate in all national evaluation 

8 efforts as a condition of receiving Kin Care Program 

9 funds. 

10 (e) DISSEMINATION OF FINDINGS.—The Secretary 

11 shall ensure wide dissemination of research findings 

12 through— 

13 (1) annual reports to Congress; 

14 (2) peer-reviewed journal publications; 

15 (3) presentations at national conferences; and 

16 (4) easily accessible summaries on the program 

17 website. 

18 (f) CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT.— 

19 (1) The Secretary shall establish a process for 

20 using evaluation and research findings to continu21 ously improve the Kin Care Program. 

22 (2) This process shall include annual review 

23 and updating of program policies and practices 

24 based on the latest evidence. 


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1 SEC. 313. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT FOR THE KIN CARE 

2 PROGRAM. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF LOCAL COMMUNITY ADVI4 SORY BOARDS.— 

5 (1) LCAB’S.—Each State agency shall estab6 lish Local Community Advisory Boards (LCABs) to 

7 provide input on Kin Care Program implementation 

8 and operation. The State may establish a reasonable 

9 minimum population size for establishing LCABs, or 

10 have one LCAB cover multiple jurisdictions if nec11 essary. 

12 (2) COMPOSITION.—Each LCAB shall consist 

13 of— 

14 (A) at least two FFN providers partici15 pating in the Kin Care Program; 

16 (B) at least two parents utilizing FFN 

17 care through the Kin Care Program; 

18 (C) one representative from the local child 

19 care resource and referral agency; 

20 (D) one early childhood education expert 

21 from a local college or university; 

22 (E) one representative from a local com23 munity-based organization serving families; 

24 (F) one representative from the local busi25 ness community; 


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1 (G) one representative from the local gov2 ernment; and 

3 (H) one expert from a local (or, if no local, 

4 Statewide) FFN-serving organization’’. 

5 (3) APPOINTMENT AND TERMS.— 

6 (A) The State agency shall develop a fair 

7 and transparent process for appointing LCAB 

8 members. 

9 (B) Members shall serve staggered three10 year terms, with the possibility of reappoint11 ment for one additional term. 

12 (4) RESPONSIBILITIES.—Each LCAB shall— 

13 (A) meet at least quarterly to review local 

14 Kin Care Program implementation; 

15 (B) provide recommendations to the State 

16 agency on program improvements; 

17 (C) assist in identifying and addressing 

18 barriers to program participation; 

19 (D) support community outreach efforts; 

20 and 

21 (E) submit an annual report to the State 

22 agency summarizing their activities and rec23 ommendations. 

24 (b) COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS.— 


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1 (1) The State agency shall establish formal 

2 partnerships with community organizations to sup3 port the Kin Care Program, including but not lim4 ited to— 

5 (A) faith-based organizations; 

6 (B) cultural and ethnic community groups; 

7 (C) public libraries; 

8 (D) community centers; 

9 (E) local health departments; 

10 (F) school districts; and 

11 (G) local businesses. 

12 (2) PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENTS.—Each part13 nership shall be formalized through a written agree14 ment that outlines— 

15 (A) the roles and responsibilities of each 

16 party; 

17 (B) the resources each party will con18 tribute; 

19 (C) the expected outcomes of the partner20 ship; and 

21 (D) the duration of the partnership and 

22 conditions for renewal. 

23 (3) COLLABORATION ACTIVITIES.—Community 

24 partnerships shall focus on— 


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1 (A) outreach to potential FFN providers 

2 and families; 

3 (B) providing venues for training and sup4 port group meetings; 

5 (C) offering complementary services to Kin 

6 Care Program participants; 

7 (D) assisting with culturally and linguis8 tically appropriate program implementation; 

9 and 

10 (E) supporting program evaluation efforts. 

11 (c) COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT.— 

12 (1) PLAN.—The State agency shall develop and 

13 implement a comprehensive community outreach and 

14 engagement plan that includes— 

15 (A) multilingual marketing materials about 

16 the Kin Care Program; 

17 (B) social media campaigns targeting po18 tential FFN providers and families; 

19 (C) information sessions at community 

20 events and gatherings; 

21 (D) door-to-door outreach in targeted 

22 neighborhoods; 

23 (E) partnerships with local media outlets, 

24 including ethnic media; and 


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1 (F) a dedicated community liaison position 

2 within the State agency. 

3 (2) CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE OUTREACH.— 

4 The State agency shall ensure that all outreach ef5 forts are culturally responsive and appropriate for 

6 the diverse communities served by the Kin Care Pro7 gram. 

8 (3) TECHNOLOGY-BASED ENGAGEMENT.—The 

9 State agency shall utilize technology to enhance 

10 community engagement, including— 

11 (A) a mobile-friendly website with program 

12 information and resources; 

13 (B) text message reminders and updates 

14 for program participants; 

15 (C) virtual information sessions and 

16 webinars; and 

17 (D) an online community forum for FFN 

18 providers and families. 

19 (d) COMMUNITY FEEDBACK MECHANISMS.— 

20 (1) FEEDBACK CHANNELS.—The State agency 

21 shall establish multiple channels for ongoing commu22 nity feedback, including— 

23 (A) an annual community survey on the 

24 Kin Care Program; 

25 (B) focus groups with diverse stakeholders; 


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1 (C) a dedicated email address and phone 

2 line for community input; and 

3 (D) public comment periods for proposed 

4 program changes. 

5 (2) FEEDBACK UTILIZATION.—The State agen6 cy shall— 

7 (A) Review all community feedback on a 

8 quarterly basis; 

9 (B) Incorporate relevant feedback into pro10 gram improvement efforts; and 

11 (C) provide public responses to major 

12 themes in community feedback. 

13 (3) COMMUNITY-BASED TRAINING AND SUP14 PORT.—The State agency shall collaborate with com15 munity partners to offer— 

16 (A) localized training sessions for FFN 

17 providers; 

18 (B) peer support groups in community set19 tings; 

20 (C) family engagement activities; and 

21 (D) community-based child development 

22 workshops for parents and FFN providers. 

23 (4) REPORTING AND EVALUATION.— 


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1 (A) The State agency shall include a com2 munity engagement section in its annual report 

3 to the Secretary, detailing— 

4 (i) LCAB activities and recommenda5 tions; 

6 (ii) outcomes of community partner7 ships; 

8 (iii) reach and impact of outreach ef9 forts; 

10 (iv) summary of community feedback 

11 received; and 

12 (v) changes made to the program 

13 based on community input. 

14 (B) The Secretary shall evaluate the effec15 tiveness of community engagement efforts as 

16 part of the annual Kin Care Program evalua17 tion. 

18 (5) FUNDING FOR COMMUNITY ENGAGE19 MENT.— 

20 (A) The State agency shall allocate at least 

21 5 percent of its Kin Care Program administra22 tive budget to community engagement activities. 

23 (B) The Secretary shall provide supple24 mental grants to State agencies demonstrating 


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1 innovative and effective community engagement 

2 strategies. 

3 (C) The Secretary shall establish a fund of 

4 $1,000,000 annually to issue grants to trusted 

5 FFN serving organizations in order for those 

6 organizations to conduct outreach, support en7 rollment in the program, and support FFN pro8 viders. The application for such a Fund shall be 

9 streamlined and simplified to the maximum ex10 tent possible under Federal law. 

Æ 


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