II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 233 

To increase the supply of quality child care. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 1, 2005 

Mr. ROBERTS introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL

To increase the supply of quality child care.

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 ‘‘Caring for Children 

5 Act’’. 

6 TITLE I—CHILD CARE TRAINING 

7 THROUGH DISTANCE LEARNING 

8 SEC. 101. GRANTS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A CHILD 

9 CARE TRAINING INFRASTRUCTURE. 

10 (a) AUTHORITY TO AWARD GRANTS.—The Secretary 

11 of Health and Human Services shall award grants to eligi12 ble entities to develop distance learning child care training 
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1 technology infrastructures and to develop model tech2 nology-based training courses for child care providers and 

3 child care workers, to be provided through distance learn4 ing programs made available through the infrastructure. 

5 The Secretary shall, to the maximum extent possible, en6 sure that such grants are awarded in those regions of the 

7 United States with the fewest training opportunities for 

8 child care providers. 

9 (b) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.—To be eligible to 

10 receive a grant under subsection (a), an entity shall— 

11 (1) develop the technological and logistical as12 pects of the infrastructure described in this section 

13 and have the capability of implementing and main14 taining the infrastructure; 

15 (2) to the maximum extent possible, develop 

16 partnerships with secondary schools, institutions of 

17 higher education, State and local government agen18 cies, and private child care organizations for the 

19 purpose of sharing equipment, technical assistance, 

20 and other technological resources, including— 

21 (A) developing sites from which individuals 

22 may access the training; 

23 (B) converting standard child care training 

24 courses to programs for distance learning; and 
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1 (C) promoting ongoing networking among 

2 program participants; and 

3 (3) develop a mechanism for participants to— 

4 (A) evaluate the effectiveness of the infra5 structure, including the availability and afford6 ability of the infrastructure, and the training 

7 offered through the infrastructure; and 

8 (B) make recommendations for improve9 ments to the infrastructure. 

10 (c) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

11 under subsection (a), an entity shall submit an application 

12 to the Secretary at such time and in such manner as the 

13 Secretary may require, and that includes— 

14 (1) a description of the partnership organiza15 tions through which the distance learning programs 

16 will be made available; 

17 (2) the capacity of the infrastructure in terms 

18 of the number and type of distance learning pro19 grams that will be made available; 

20 (3) the expected number of individuals to par21 ticipate in the distance learning programs; and 

22 (4) such additional information as the Secretary 

23 may require. 

24 (d) LIMITATION ON FEES.—No entity receiving a 

25 grant under this section may collect fees from an indi-
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1 vidual for participation in a distance learning program 

2 funded in whole or in part under this section that exceed 

3 the pro rata share of the amount expended by the entity 

4 to provide materials for the program and to develop, im5 plement, and maintain the infrastructure (minus the 

6 amount of the grant awarded under this section). 

7 (e) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec8 tion shall be construed as requiring a child care provider 

9 to subscribe to or complete a distance learning program 

10 made available under this section. 

11 SEC. 102. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

12 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

13 this title $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2006 

14 through 2010. 

15 TITLE II—REMOVAL OF BAR16 RIERS TO INCREASING THE 

17 SUPPLY OF QUALITY CHILD 

18 CARE 

19 SEC. 201. SMALL BUSINESS CHILD CARE GRANT PROGRAM. 

20 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Health and 

21 Human Services (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Sec22 retary’’) shall establish a program to award grants to 

23 States, on a competitive basis, to assist States in providing 

24 funds to encourage the establishment and operation of em25 ployer operated child care programs. 
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1 (b) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

2 under this section, a State shall prepare and submit to 

3 the Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, 

4 and containing such information as the Secretary may re5 quire, including an assurance that the funds required 

6 under subsection (e) will be provided. 

7 (c) AMOUNT OF GRANT.—The Secretary shall deter8 mine the amount of a grant to a State under this section 

9 based on the population of the State as compared to the 

10 population of all States receiving grants under this sec11 tion. 

12 (d) USE OF FUNDS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—A State shall use amounts 

14 provided under a grant awarded under this section 

15 to provide assistance to small businesses located in 

16 the State to enable the small businesses to establish 

17 and operate child care programs. Such assistance 

18 may include— 

19 (A) technical assistance in the establish20 ment of a child care program; 

21 (B) assistance for the startup costs related 

22 to a child care program; 

23 (C) assistance for the training of child care 

24 providers; 
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1 (D) scholarships for low-income wage earn2 ers; 

3 (E) the provision of services to care for 

4 sick children or to provide care to school aged 

5 children; 

6 (F) the entering into of contracts with 

7 local resource and referral or local health de8 partments; 

9 (G) assistance for care for children with 

10 disabilities; or 

11 (H) assistance for any other activity deter12 mined appropriate by the State. 

13 (2) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive as14 sistance from a State under this section, a small 

15 business shall prepare and submit to the State an 

16 application at such time, in such manner, and con17 taining such information as the State may require. 

18 (3) PREFERENCE.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—In providing assistance 

20 under this section, a State shall give priority to 

21 applicants that desire to form a consortium to 

22 provide child care in a geographic area within 

23 the State where such care is not generally avail24 able or accessible. 
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1 (B) CONSORTIUM.—For purposes of sub2 paragraph (A), a consortium shall be made up 

3 of 2 or more entities that may include busi4 nesses, nonprofit agencies or organizations, 

5 local governments, or other appropriate entities. 

6 (4) LIMITATION.—With respect to grant funds 

7 received under this section, a State may not provide 

8 in excess of $250,000 in assistance from such funds 

9 to any single applicant. 

10 (e) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—To be eligible to re11 ceive a grant under this section a State shall provide as12 surances to the Secretary that, with respect to the costs 

13 to be incurred by an entity receiving assistance in carrying 

14 out activities under this section, the entity will make avail15 able (directly or through donations from public or private 

16 entities) non-Federal contributions to such costs in an 

17 amount equal to— 

18 (1) for the first fiscal year in which the entity 

19 receives such assistance, not less than 50 percent of 

20 such costs ($1 for each $1 of assistance provided to 

21 the entity under the grant); 

22 (2) for the second fiscal year in which the entity receives such assistance, not less than 662 23 ⁄3 per24 cent of such costs ($2 for each $1 of assistance pro25 vided to the entity under the grant); and 
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1 (3) for the third fiscal year in which the entity 

2 receives such assistance, not less than 75 percent of 

3 such costs ($3 for each $1 of assistance provided to 

4 the entity under the grant). 

5 (f) REQUIREMENTS OF PROVIDERS.—To be eligible 

6 to receive assistance under a grant awarded under this 

7 section a child care provider shall comply with all applica8 ble State and local licensing and regulatory requirements 

9 and all applicable health and safety standards in effect 

10 in the State. 

11 (g) STATE-LEVEL ACTIVITIES.—A State may not re12 tain more than 3 percent of funds for State administration 

13 and other State-level activities. 

14 (h) ADMINISTRATION.— 

15 (1) STATE RESPONSIBILITY.—A State shall 

16 have responsibility for administering a grant award17 ed for the State under this section and for moni18 toring entities that receive assistance under such 

19 grant. 

20 (2) AUDITS.—A State shall require each entity 

21 receiving assistance under the grant awarded under 

22 this section to conduct an annual audit with respect 

23 to the activities of the entity. Such audits shall be 

24 submitted to the State. 

25 (3) MISUSE OF FUNDS.— 
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1 (A) REPAYMENT.—If the State determines, 

2 through an audit or otherwise, that an entity 

3 receiving assistance under a grant awarded 

4 under this section has misused the assistance, 

5 the State shall notify the Secretary of the mis6 use. The Secretary, upon such a notification, 

7 may seek from such an entity the repayment of 

8 an amount equal to the amount of any such 

9 misused assistance plus interest. 

10 (B) APPEALS PROCESS.—The Secretary 

11 shall by regulation provide for an appeals proc12 ess with respect to repayments under this para13 graph. 

14 (i) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 

15 (1) 2-YEAR STUDY.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years 

17 after the date on which the Secretary first 

18 awards grants under this section, the Secretary 

19 shall conduct a study to determine— 

20 (i) the capacity of entities to meet the 

21 child care needs of communities within 

22 States; 

23 (ii) the kinds of partnerships that are 

24 being formed with respect to child care at 
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1 the local level to carry out programs fund2 ed under this section; and 

3 (iii) who is using the programs funded 

4 under this section and the income levels of 

5 such individuals. 

6 (B) REPORT.—Not later than 28 months 

7 after the date on which the Secretary first 

8 awards grants under this section, the Secretary 

9 shall prepare and submit to the appropriate 

10 committees of Congress a report on the results 

11 of the study conducted in accordance with sub12 paragraph (A). 

13 (2) 4-YEAR STUDY.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 4 years 

15 after the date on which the Secretary first 

16 awards grants under this section, the Secretary 

17 shall conduct a study to determine the number 

18 of child care facilities funded through entities 

19 that received assistance through a grant award20 ed under this section that remain in operation 

21 and the extent to which such facilities are meet22 ing the child care needs of the individuals 

23 served by such facilities. 

24 (B) REPORT.—Not later than 52 months 

25 after the date on which the Secretary first 
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1 awards grants under this section, the Secretary 

2 shall prepare and submit to the appropriate 

3 committees of Congress a report on the results 

4 of the study conducted in accordance with sub5 paragraph (A). 

6 (j) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘small 

7 business’’ means an employer who employed an average 

8 of at least 2 but not more than 50 employees on business 

9 days during the preceding calendar year. 

10 (k) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 

12 appropriated to carry out this section, $50,000,000 

13 for the period of fiscal years 2006 through 2010. 

14 (2) EVALUATIONS AND ADMINISTRATION.—

15 With respect to the total amount appropriated for 

16 such period in accordance with this subsection, not 

17 more than $2,500,000 of that amount may be used 

18 for expenditures related to conducting evaluations 

19 required under, and the administration of, this sec20 tion. 

21 (l) TERMINATION OF PROGRAM.—The program es22 tablished under subsection (a) shall terminate on Sep23 tember 30, 2011.

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