II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4880 

To implement or strengthen programs that increase the supply of quality 

child care services by enhancing the wages of child care workers, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 31, 2024 

Mr. KAINE (for himself and Mrs. BRITT) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, 

Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To implement or strengthen programs that increase the supply of quality child care services by enhancing the wages 

of child care workers, 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 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

7 The purpose of this Act is to establish a pilot pro8 gram to increase the supply of quality child care services 

9 by providing funding to States, Indian Tribes, and Tribal 


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1 organizations to implement or strengthen programs to 

2 supplement the wages of eligible child care workers, in 

3 order to— 

4 (1) attract and retain eligible child care work5 ers; 

6 (2) improve eligible child care worker well7 being; 

8 (3) improve the quality of child care services; 

9 and 

10 (4) increase the availability of affordable child 

11 care services. 

12 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

13 In this Act: 

14 (1) CHILD CARE WORKER.—The term ‘‘child 

15 care worker’’ means any individual whose primary 

16 and daily focus of work is— 

17 (A) providing child care services, including 

18 direct care and education services, to children 

19 for a family child care provider or other child 

20 care provider, or a provider of early childhood 

21 education, that is in compliance with any licens22 ing or registration standards, or regulations, of 

23 the State, Indian Tribe, or Tribal organization 

24 involved; and 


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1 (B) providing the child care services in a 

2 center-based or home-based setting. 

3 (2) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 

4 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 

5 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

6 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 

7 (3) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means any of 

8 the several States, the District of Columbia, the Vir9 gin Islands of the United States, the Commonwealth 

10 of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, and the 

11 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. 

12 (4) TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘Tribal 

13 organization’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘trib14 al organization’’ in section 658P of the Child Care 

15 and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 

16 U.S.C. 9858n). 

17 SEC. 4. PILOT PROGRAM. 

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

19 Human Services (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Sec20 retary’’) shall establish a pilot program to award competi21 tive grants to States, Indian Tribes, and Tribal organiza22 tions to supplement the wages of eligible child care work23 ers. 


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1 (b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In selecting States, Indian 

2 Tribes, and Tribal organizations to receive grants under 

3 this section, the Secretary shall consider— 

4 (1) the number of children under the age of 5 

5 residing in the State or on the Tribal land of the In6 dian Tribe or Tribal organization; 

7 (2) the number of child care workers working in 

8 licensed, regulated, or registered programs in the 

9 State or on the Tribal land; 

10 (3) the average wage of child care workers 

11 working in the State or on the Tribal land; 

12 (4) the percentage of families in the State or on 

13 the Tribal land who are eligible for child care sub14 sidies under the Child Care and Development Block 

15 Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9857 et seq.) but do 

16 not receive the subsidies; and 

17 (5) the need for additional child care workers in 

18 the State or on the Tribal land. 

19 (c) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible for a grant under 

20 this section, a State, Indian Tribe, or Tribal organization 

21 shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, 

22 in such manner, and containing such information as the 

23 Secretary may require, including— 


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1 (1) information showing a significant need for 

2 increased numbers of child care workers and in3 creased wages among child care workers; 

4 (2) a commitment to using the grant funds to 

5 supplement the wages of low-wage eligible child care 

6 workers; 

7 (3) a plan for using the grant funds to supple8 ment the wages of eligible child care workers, includ9 ing— 

10 (A) the criteria that will be used to deter11 mine which child care workers are eligible to re12 ceive the wage supplements; 

13 (B) a description of how funds will be 

14 prioritized for areas with greatest need, includ15 ing areas with overall staffing challenges, un16 derserved geographic areas, areas with short17 ages of programs that serve low-income children 

18 and families, and areas with shortages of pro19 grams that serve infants and toddlers, that 

20 serve children with disabilities, or that offer 

21 child care services during nontraditional hours; 

22 and 

23 (C) a description of how the wage supple24 ments will be provided to eligible child care 

25 workers (directly, through the employer, or 


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1 through a trusted intermediary) and how the 

2 supplements will be provided in a timely man3 ner; 

4 (4) a plan to engage in a public awareness cam5 paign directed at eligible child care workers; 

6 (5) a description of the measures that will be 

7 used to assess the impact of the wage supplement 

8 pilot program on attraction and retention of eligible 

9 child care workers, eligible child care worker well10 being, child care services quality, and availability of 

11 affordable child care services, provided by eligible 

12 child care workers; 

13 (6) a description of how the pilot program will 

14 contribute to the State’s or Tribe’s overall plan for 

15 increasing eligible child care worker compensation; 

16 (7) a description of the plan for addressing and 

17 minimizing any destabilization that may occur after 

18 the grant funds are expended; and 

19 (8) such other information as the Secretary 

20 may require. 

21 SEC. 5. USE OF FUNDS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 

23 (c), a State, Indian Tribe, or Tribal organization that re24 ceives a grant under section 4 shall use the grant funds 


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1 solely to supplement the wages of eligible child care work2 ers. 

3 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out subsection (a), 

4 a State, Indian Tribe, or Tribal organization shall— 

5 (1) disburse the wage supplements to eligible 

6 child care workers not less frequently than quarterly; 

7 (2) target grant funding based on the areas de8 scribed in section 4(c)(3)(B); 

9 (3) provide to eligible child care workers edu10 cation on any effect the wage supplements may have 

11 on taxes or public benefit eligibility; and 

12 (4) inform eligible child care workers that ac13 ceptance, of the wage supplements, is voluntary. 

14 (c) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—The State, Indian 

15 Tribe, or Tribal organization may use not more than 10 

16 percent of the grant funds to pay for administrative costs 

17 associated with the administration of payments to eligible 

18 child care workers, financial counseling for eligible child 

19 care workers, including as described in subsection (b)(3), 

20 and public awareness campaigns to make child care work21 ers aware of the availability of such payments. 

22 SEC. 6. EVALUATION. 

23 The Secretary shall conduct an evaluation of the pilot 

24 program to assess its effectiveness in— 


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1 (1) attracting and retaining eligible child care 

2 workers; 

3 (2) improving eligible child care worker well4 being and the quality of child care services; and 

5 (3) increasing the availability of affordable child 

6 care services. 

7 SEC. 7. REPORT. 

8 Not later than 2 years after the date on which the 

9 pilot program is implemented, the Secretary shall submit 

10 a report to Congress containing the results of the evalua11 tion. 

12 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

13 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

14 this Act such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 

15 2025 and each subsequent fiscal year. 

16 SEC. 9. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

17 This Act shall take effect 75 days after the date of 

18 enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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