II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4130 

To require the establishment of a pilot program to expand early child care 

options for members of the Armed Forces and their families. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 16, 2024 

Mrs. SHAHEEN (for herself and Ms. ERNST) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services 

A BILL 

To require the establishment of a pilot program to expand 

early child care options for members of the Armed 

Forces and their families. 

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 ‘‘Expanding Access to 

5 Child Care for Military Families Act of 2024’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PILOT PROGRAM TO EXPAND EARLY CHILD CARE 

7 OPTIONS FOR MEMBERS OF THE ARMED 

8 FORCES AND THEIR FAMILIES. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense shall di10 rect the Secretaries of the military departments to carry 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 4130 IS

1 out a pilot program to improve the access of members of 

2 the Armed Forces and their families to high quality early 

3 child care opportunities by establishing partnerships with 

4 eligible child care providers— 

5 (1) to increase the capacity of those providers; 

6 (2) to improve early child care workforce devel7 opment; and 

8 (3) to increase recruitment and retention of em9 ployees for eligible child care providers. 

10 (b) SELECTION OF ELIGIBLE CHILD CARE PRO11 VIDERS AND NETWORKS OF SUCH PROVIDERS.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Under the pilot program re13 quired by subsection (a), the Secretary shall direct 

14 the Secretaries of the military departments to enter 

15 into a total of 12 partnerships with eligible child 

16 care providers, or networks of such providers, to, in 

17 communities under the jurisdiction of such secre18 taries— 

19 (A) increase the number of early child care 

20 slots available to members of the Armed Forces 

21 and their families; 

22 (B) facilitate recruitment and retention of 

23 employees for eligible child care providers; and 

24 (C) provide additional professional develop25 ment opportunities for such employees. 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 4130 IS

1 (2) LIMITATION.—The Secretary may direct the 

2 Secretaries of the military departments to enter into 

3 not more than one partnership with each eligible 

4 child care provider, or network of such providers, 

5 under the pilot program required by subsection (a). 

6 (3) LOCATIONS.—In selecting eligible child care 

7 providers or network of such providers with which to 

8 enter into partnerships under the pilot program re9 quired by subsection (a), the Secretary— 

10 (A) shall direct the Secretaries of the mili11 tary departments— 

12 (i) to ensure that— 

13 (I) each partnership is based at a 

14 different military installation; and 

15 (II) at least one partnership is 

16 based at— 

17 (aa) a Navy installation that 

18 is not a Marine Corps installa19 tion; 

20 (bb) a Marine Corps instal21 lation; 

22 (cc) an Army installation; 

23 (dd) an Air Force installa24 tion that is not a Space Force in25 stallation; 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 4130 IS

1 (ee) a Space Force installa2 tion; and 

3 (ff) a joint military installa4 tion; and 

5 (ii) to consider— 

6 (I) geographic diversity and pop7 ulation demographics to reflect the in8 clusion of multiple communities across 

9 the United States; 

10 (II) the appropriate qualifica11 tions, consistent with Department of 

12 Defense regulations and training re13 quirements and under applicable State 

14 and local laws, to provide services to 

15 meet the needs of eligible children; 

16 and 

17 (III) existing resources available 

18 to the eligible child care providers or 

19 networks of such providers to train 

20 and support employees for eligible 

21 child care providers; and 

22 (B) may authorize the Secretaries of the 

23 military departments to establish partnerships 

24 in communities near military installations with 

25 military child development centers or other exVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:49 Apr 26, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4130.IS S4130

ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 4130 IS

1 isting early childcare programs of the Depart2 ment of Defense, including the Military Child 

3 Care in Your Neighborhood program. 

4 (c) AUTHORIZED FUNCTIONS.—In carrying out the 

5 pilot program required by subsection (a), the Secretary 

6 may— 

7 (1) direct the Secretaries of the military depart8 ments— 

9 (A) to identify gaps between existing early 

10 child care needs and available eligible child care 

11 providers in communities where such Secre12 taries are considering establishing the pilot pro13 gram; 

14 (B) to use resources of the Department of 

15 Defense to support eligible child care providers 

16 in recruitment and retention of employees, in17 cluding through professional development and 

18 financial incentives for such employees; and 

19 (C) to seek to enter into an interagency 

20 partnership with a Federal agency with the 

21 ability to place national service participants and 

22 volunteers trained in education services, includ23 ing senior volunteer programs, at military child 

24 development centers, including such a center at 

25 an installation selected for a partnership under 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 4130 IS

1 subsection (b)(3), in accordance with applicable 

2 national service laws and with all the benefits 

3 accorded to such participants and volunteers; 

4 and 

5 (2) provide training and resource subsidies to 

6 eligible child care providers and networks of such 

7 providers participating in partnerships established 

8 under subsection (b). 

9 (d) ASSURANCE OF NOT REDUCING EARLY CHILD

10 CARE AVAILABILITY FOR NONMILITARY FAMILIES.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—As a condition of entering 

12 into a partnership under subsection (a), an eligible 

13 child care provider or network of such providers par14 ticipating in a partnership established under sub15 section (b) is required to provide assurances that the 

16 provider or network will not— 

17 (A) reduce early child care slots for non18 military families after entering into the partner19 ship; or 

20 (B) enter into the construction of new 

21 child care facilities. 

22 (2) ASSESSMENTS.—Not later than 180 days 

23 after the pilot program commences under paragraph 

24 (1)(A) of subsection (h), and every 180 days thereVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:49 Apr 26, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4130.IS S4130

ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 4130 IS

1 after until the pilot program terminates under that 

2 subsection, the Secretary shall— 

3 (A) assess whether each eligible child care 

4 provider or network of such providers with 

5 which the Secretary of a military department 

6 entered into a partnership under subsection 

7 (b)— 

8 (i) is providing the assurances re9 quired by paragraph (1); and 

10 (ii) has not reduced early child care 

11 slots for nonmilitary families; and 

12 (B) if the Secretary determines that the 

13 provider or network of providers is not pro14 viding such assurances or has reduced such 

15 slots— 

16 (i) notify the provider or network that 

17 the provider or network has 90 days to re18 store the slots; and 

19 (ii) if the provider or network does 

20 not restore the slots during that 90-day pe21 riod, terminate the partnership. 

22 (e) LOCATION OF PILOT PROGRAM.—The Secretary 

23 shall direct the Secretaries of the military departments to 

24 ensure that, pursuant to a partnership entered into under 

25 the pilot program required by subsection (a), the program 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 4130 IS

1 is administered at or near the site of the eligible child care 

2 provider or network of such providers with which the Sec3 retary entered into the partnership at or near a military 

4 installation. 

5 (f) ADMINISTRATION.—Not later than 30 days after 

6 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 

7 direct the Secretaries of the military departments to de8 velop one centralized administrative system to carry out 

9 the pilot program required by subsection (a), which may 

10 include information on— 

11 (1) available military child development centers 

12 at military installations at which partnerships are 

13 established under the pilot program; 

14 (2) the number of early child care education 

15 slots available or needed at such installations; 

16 (3) the fees and costs associated for parents 

17 participating in the pilot program; and 

18 (4) other relevant administration and technical 

19 assistance matters. 

20 (g) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 

21 (1) BRIEFINGS BY SECRETARY OF DEFENSE.— 

22 (A) INITIAL BRIEFING.—Not later than 

23 180 days after the pilot program required by 

24 subsection (a) commences under subsection 

25 (h)(1)(A), the Secretary shall direct the SecreVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:49 Apr 26, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4130.IS S4130

ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 4130 IS

1 taries of the military departments to provide a 

2 briefing to the appropriate committees of Con3 gress on the implementation of the pilot pro4 gram, including— 

5 (i) the demonstrated need for eligible 

6 child care providers in the locations of the 

7 pilot program, including— 

8 (I) the number of such providers 

9 present at the start of the pilot pro10 gram relative to the number of eligible 

11 children requiring care; and 

12 (II) data on children served 

13 through the pilot program, 

14 disaggregated by criteria such as— 

15 (aa) the number of infants 

16 and toddlers served; 

17 (bb) providers offering early 

18 child care during nontraditional 

19 or extended hours; 

20 (cc) early child care in rural 

21 communities; and 

22 (dd) inclusive early child 

23 care services for children with 

24 disabilities; 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
10 

•S 4130 IS

1 (ii) the change in the number of eligi2 ble child care providers as a result of the 

3 pilot program; 

4 (iii) the change in early child care 

5 education capacity for members of the 

6 Armed Forces and their families and an 

7 assessment of unmet need for such edu8 cation; 

9 (iv) an assessment of the efficacy of 

10 the pilot program; and 

11 (v) an assessment of the impact of the 

12 pilot program on early child care avail13 ability in communities in which the pilot 

14 program is operating, including the impact 

15 of the pilot program on— 

16 (I) eligible child care providers 

17 operating before the commencement 

18 of the pilot program; and 

19 (II) the number of early child 

20 care slots available to nonmilitary 

21 families, compared to the number of 

22 such slots available before the com23 mencement of the pilot program. 

24 (B) ANNUAL BRIEFINGS ON PROGRESS.— 

25 Not later than one year after the pilot program 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
11 

•S 4130 IS

1 required by subsection (a) commences under 

2 subsection (h)(1)(A), and annually thereafter 

3 until the termination of the pilot program 

4 under subsection (h), the Secretary shall direct 

5 the Secretaries of the military departments to 

6 provide a briefing to the appropriate commit7 tees of Congress on the progress of the pilot 

8 program. 

9 (2) FINAL REPORT BY SECRETARY OF DE10 FENSE.—Not later than 120 days after the termi11 nation under subsection (h) of the pilot program re12 quired by subsection (a), the Secretary shall direct 

13 the Secretaries of the military departments to sub14 mit to the appropriate committees of Congress a 

15 final report on the pilot program. 

16 (3) REPORTS BY GOVERNMENT ACCOUNT17 ABILITY OFFICE.— 

18 (A) PROGRESS REPORT.—Not later than 4 

19 years after the date of the enactment of this 

20 Act, the Comptroller General of the United 

21 States shall submit to the appropriate commit22 tees of Congress an interim report on the 

23 progress of the pilot program required by sub24 section (a). 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
12 

•S 4130 IS

1 (B) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 120 

2 days after the termination under subsection (h) 

3 of the pilot program required by subsection (a), 

4 the Comptroller General shall submit to the ap5 propriate committees of Congress a final report 

6 on the pilot program. 

7 (h) DURATION OF PILOT PROGRAM.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The pilot program required 

9 by subsection (a) shall— 

10 (A) commence not later than January 1, 

11 2026; and 

12 (B) unless extended in accordance with 

13 paragraph (2), terminate on December 31, 

14 2030. 

15 (2) EXTENSION.—The Secretary may direct the 

16 Secretaries of the military departments to extend the 

17 pilot program required by subsection (a) to termi18 nate not later than December 31, 2032, if the Sec19 retary notifies the appropriate committees of Con20 gress not later than June 30, 2030, of the intention 

21 of the Secretary to extend the pilot program, along 

22 with a description of the benefits of extending the 

23 pilot program. 

24 (i) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
13 

•S 4130 IS

1 (1) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON2 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con3 gress’’ means— 

4 (A) the Committee on Armed Services of 

5 the Senate; and 

6 (B) the Committee on Armed Services of 

7 the House of Representatives. 

8 (2) CHILD CARE EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘child 

9 care employee’’ has the meaning given that term in 

10 section 1800 of title 10, United States Code. 

11 (3) ELIGIBLE CHILD.—The term ‘‘eligible 

12 child’’ means— 

13 (A) an infant or toddler; 

14 (B) a three- or four-year-old; or 

15 (C) a school-aged child. 

16 (4) ELIGIBLE CHILD CARE PROVIDER.—The 

17 term ‘‘eligible child care provider’’ has the meaning 

18 given that term in section 658P of the Child Care 

19 and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 

20 U.S.C. 9858n). 

21 (5) MILITARY CHILD DEVELOPMENT CENTER.— 

22 The term ‘‘military child development center’’ has 

23 the meaning given that term in section 1800 of title 

24 10, United States Code. 

Æ 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS