I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 9810 

To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to carry out 

an early childhood educator loan assistance program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 25, 2024 

Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts (for herself, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. GOMEZ, Ms. 

MCCLELLAN, Ms. PETTERSEN, and Ms. TOKUDA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the 

Workforce 

A BILL 

To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services 

to carry out an early childhood educator loan assistance 

program, 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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Child Care Workforce 

5 Development Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATOR LOAN ASSISTANCE 

7 PROGRAM. 

8 (a) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary of Health and 

9 Human Services may carry out a program of entering into 


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1 contracts with eligible early childhood educators under 

2 which such educators agree to serve for a period of 5 years 

3 as early childhood educators with a qualified employer, in 

4 consideration of the Federal Government agreeing to 

5 repay, for each year of such service, not more than $6,000 

6 of the principal and interest of the educational loans of 

7 such educators. 

8 (b) RECERTIFICATION.—An eligible early childhood 

9 educator seeking to continue to receive payments under 

10 this section shall submit on an annual basis to the Sec11 retary such information as the Secretary may require to 

12 certify that the educator is continuing to meet the criteria 

13 to be considered an eligible early childhood educator. 

14 (c) MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF LOAN.—The total amount 

15 of payments received by an eligible early childhood educa16 tor under this section may not exceed the total amount 

17 of the principal and interest of the educational loans of 

18 such educator. 

19 (d) APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS.—The 

20 following provisions of the National Health Service Corps 

21 Loan Assistance Program established in subpart III of 

22 part D of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254l 

23 et seq.) shall apply to the program established under this 

24 section in the same manner and to the same extent as 


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1 such provisions apply to the National Health Service 

2 Corps Loan Assistance Program: 

3 (1) Paragraphs (1) through (3) of section 

4 338B(c) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 254l–1(c); relating 

5 to application information, understandability, and 

6 availability). 

7 (2) Section 338B(c)(4) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

8 254l–1(c)(4); relating to recruitment and retention). 

9 (3) Section 338B(d) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

10 254l–1(d); relating to factors considered in providing 

11 contracts). 

12 (4) Section 338(e) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

13 254l–1(e); relating to the approval required for par14 ticipation). 

15 (5) Section 338B(f) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

16 254l–1(f); relating to contents of contracts). 

17 (6) Section 338B(g) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

18 254l–1(g); relating to payments, including repay19 ment schedule and tax liability). 

20 (e) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 5 years 

21 after the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary 

22 shall submit to the Congress a report on the implementa23 tion of this section. 

24 (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 (1) The term ‘‘eligible early childhood educa2 tor’’ means an individual who— 

3 (A) as of the date on which the agreement 

4 referred to in subsection (a)(1) is entered 

5 into— 

6 (i) has outstanding Federal direct 

7 loans obtained for purposes of pursuing an 

8 associate’s degree, including a child devel9 opment associate credential, a bachelor’s 

10 degree, a graduate degree, or a combined 

11 bachelor and master’s degree, in early 

12 childhood education or a related field from 

13 an accredited institution (including any 

14 such loan for which the individual is en15 rolled in an income-based repayment plan); 

16 and 

17 (ii) is in good standing with respect to 

18 the loans referred to in clause (i); and 

19 (B) agrees to— 

20 (i) serve as an early childhood educa21 tor with a qualified employer for a period 

22 of not less than 5 years; and 

23 (ii) make timely payments with re24 spect to the loans described in subpara25 graph (A)(i). 


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1 (2) The term ‘‘qualified employer’’ means a 

2 childcare provider that receives or is eligible to re3 ceive vouchers or assistance under the Child Care 

4 and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 

5 U.S.C. 9857 et seq.). 

6 (3) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 

7 of Health and Human Services. 

8 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

9 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

10 $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2030. 

11 SEC. 3. GRANTS FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATORS. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Beginning not later than 180 

13 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec14 retary of Education (referred to in this section as the 

15 ‘‘Secretary’’) shall carry out a program under which the 

16 Secretary makes payments to institutions of higher edu17 cation with a qualified early childhood educator program 

18 to enable such institutions to make grants, on a competi19 tive basis, to eligible individuals who file an application 

20 and agreement in accordance with subsections (b) and (c). 

21 (b) APPLICATIONS.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall periodi23 cally set dates by which eligible individuals shall file 

24 applications for a grant under this section. Each eli25 gible individual desiring a grant under this section 


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1 shall file with the Secretary an application con2 taining such information and assurances as the Sec3 retary may determine necessary to enable the Sec4 retary to carry out the functions and responsibilities 

5 of this section. 

6 (2) RENEWAL.—A grant awarded under this 

7 section may be renewed for additional one-year peri8 ods if— 

9 (A) the recipient submits a renewal appli10 cation containing such information and assur11 ances as the Secretary may determine nec12 essary; and 

13 (B) the grant is renewed not more than 

14 three times, for a total of not more than four 

15 academic years for each eligible recipient. 

16 (c) SERVICE OBLIGATION.— 

17 (1) AGREEMENTS TO SERVE.—Each application 

18 under subsection (b) shall include, or be accom19 panied by— 

20 (A) an agreement by the applicant that— 

21 (i) in the event that the applicant re22 ceives a grant under this section, the appli23 cant shall— 

24 (I) not later than 4 years after 

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1 hood program for which the applicant 

2 will be receiving such grant, serve as 

3 a full-time or part-time educator in a 

4 licensed early learning program for a 

5 total of not less than one academic 

6 year, and four additional months for 

7 each subsequent grant renewal; and 

8 (II) submit a certification of 

9 service in a licensed early learning 

10 program in such form as the Sec11 retary may determine necessary; and 

12 (ii) in the event that the applicant is 

13 determined to have failed or refused to 

14 carry out such service obligation, the sum 

15 of the amounts of any grants received by 

16 such applicant under this section will be 

17 treated as a loan and collected from the 

18 applicant in accordance with paragraph (3) 

19 and the regulations thereunder; and 

20 (B) a plain-language disclosure form devel21 oped by the Secretary that clearly describes the 

22 nature of the grant award, the service obliga23 tion, and the loan repayment requirements that 

24 are the consequence of the failure to complete 

25 the service obligation. 


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1 (2) TREATMENT OF CONCURRENT SERVICE.— 

2 An individual who serves as a full or part-time edu3 cator in a licensed early childhood education pro4 gram concurrently while enrolled in a qualified early 

5 childhood educator program may count such service 

6 toward the fulfillment of the service obligation in the 

7 agreement under paragraph (1). 

8 (3) REPAYMENT FOR FAILURE TO COMPLETE

9 SERVICE.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

11 subparagraph (B), in the event that any recipi12 ent of a grant under this section fails or refuses 

13 to comply with the service obligation in the 

14 agreement under paragraph (1), the sum of the 

15 amounts of any grants received by such recipi16 ent shall, upon a determination of such a fail17 ure or refusal in such service obligation, be 

18 treated as a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Staf19 ford Loan under part D of title IV of the High20 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087a et 

21 seq.) except that— 

22 (i) no interest shall accrue on such 

23 amounts; and 

24 (ii) such amounts shall be subject to 

25 repayment in accordance with— 


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1 (I) an income-contingent or in2 come-based repayment plan described 

3 in subparagraph (D) or (E) of section 

4 455(d)(1) of the Higher Education 

5 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(d)(1)), 

6 respectively, if the individual meets 

7 the eligibility requirements for such a 

8 repayment plan; and 

9 (II) such other terms and condi10 tions as are specified by the Secretary 

11 in regulations promulgated under this 

12 section. 

13 (B) HARDSHIP EXTENSION.—In the case 

14 of a recipient who has made a good faith effort 

15 to find employment in a licensed early learning 

16 program and has been unable to acquire such 

17 employment, the Secretary is authorized to pro18 vide a hardship extension for a period of not 

19 more than one year to grant recipients who fail 

20 to complete their service requirement within the 

21 4-year period described in paragraph (1)(A)(i). 

22 (d) GRANT AMOUNT.—An eligible individual selected 

23 to receive a grant or a grant renewal under this section 

24 shall receive a grant in an amount not to exceed $4,000 

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1 rolled on a full-time or part-time basis in the qualified 

2 early childhood educator program for which the grant was 

3 awarded. 

4 (e) GRANT DISBURSEMENT.—Payments under this 

5 section to an eligible institution shall be made in accord6 ance with regulations promulgated by the Secretary for 

7 such purpose and in such manner as will best accomplish 

8 the purposes of this section, provided— 

9 (1) any disbursement made by crediting a grant 

10 recipient’s account shall be limited to tuition and 

11 fees and other materials necessary for the comple12 tion of coursework in a qualified early childhood ed13 ucator program as determined by the Secretary; and 

14 (2) not less than 85 percent of any funds pro15 vided to an eligible institution under subsection (a) 

16 shall be advanced to the institution prior to the start 

17 of each payment period and shall be based upon an 

18 amount requested by the institution as needed to 

19 cover the total cost of grants awarded to eligible re20 cipients until such time as the Secretary determines 

21 and publishes in the Federal Register with an oppor22 tunity for comment, an alternative payment system 

23 that provides payments to institutions in an accurate 

24 and timely manner, except that this sentence shall 

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1 retary to place an institution on a reimbursement 

2 system of payment. 

3 (f) DIRECT PAYMENT.—Nothing in this section shall 

4 be construed to prohibit the Secretary from making a 

5 grant directly to an eligible individual in a case in which 

6 an institution of higher education with a qualified early 

7 childhood educator program does not participate in the 

8 program under subsection (a). 

9 (g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

10 (1) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘‘eligible 

11 individual’’ means an individual who is enrolled on 

12 a full-time or part-time basis in a qualified early 

13 childhood educator program. 

14 (2) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

15 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

16 meaning given that term in section 102 of the High17 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002). 

18 (3) QUALIFIED EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATOR

19 PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘qualified early childhood ed20 ucator program’’ means a course of study leading to 

21 an associate’s degree or a certificate in early child22 hood education or a related field from an institution 

23 of higher education. 

24 (4) LICENSED EARLY LEARNING PROGRAM.— 

25 The term ‘‘licensed early learning program’’ means 


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1 any State-licensed or State-regulated program or 

2 provider, regardless of setting or funding source, 

3 that provides early care and education for children 

4 from birth to kindergarten entry, including pro5 grams operated by child care centers and in family 

6 child care homes. 

7 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 

9 appropriated to carry out this section $10,000,000 

10 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2029. 

11 (2) LIMITATION.—Of the amount made avail12 able under paragraph (1) in any fiscal year, not 

13 more than 3 percent may be used by the Secretary 

14 for evaluation, monitoring, salaries, and administra15 tive expenses. 

Æ 


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