I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7909 

To facilitate access to child care services safely and securely during the 

COVID-19 pandemic. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 31, 2020 

Ms. FINKENAUER (for herself and Mr. GUTHRIE) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To facilitate access to child care services safely and securely 

during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

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 ‘‘Ensuring Children and 

5 Child Care Workers Are Safe Act of 2020’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Child care is an essential service that sup9 ports children’s early development and allows par10 ents to work. 


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1 (2) At least 1 out of 2 child care providers 

2 closed at some point during the COVID-19 pan3 demic, and 2 out of 5 face the possibility of perma4 nent closure. 

5 (3) The lack of access to child care services can 

6 prevent parents from returning to work and can pre7 vent children from accessing critical services, includ8 ing meals. 

9 (4) Ensuring the safe re-opening and operation 

10 of child care service settings during periods of com11 munity transmission of COVID-19 will require child 

12 care providers to adopt new measures and practices 

13 in order to reduce the likelihood of COVID-19 trans14 mission. 

15 (5) Such measures and practices must ensure 

16 the safety of children as well as child care workers, 

17 who may be at high risk of infection. 

18 (6) Ensuring that working families have access 

19 to safe child care service options is critical to sup20 porting young children’s development and to return21 ing the economy back to its pre-pandemic levels. 

22 SEC. 3. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE ON THE SAFE PROVISION 

23 OF CHILD CARE SERVICES. 

24 (a) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO STATES.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 

2 Human Services (in this Act referred to as the Sec3 retary), in consultation with the Director of the Cen4 ters for Disease Control and Prevention, shall pro5 vide technical assistance to States, Indian Tribes, 

6 and tribal organizations related to the safe provision 

7 of child care services while there is community 

8 transmission of COVID-19. Such technical assist9 ance shall include information about— 

10 (A) the prevention of COVID-19 trans11 mission in child care provider settings, includ12 ing the use of face masks and other personal 

13 protective equipment in such settings, 

14 (B) training and professional development 

15 on health and safety practices related to the 

16 prevention of COVID-19 transmission in child 

17 care provider settings, 

18 (C) the acquisition and use of personal 

19 protective equipment, and 

20 (D) modifications of child care provider 

21 settings and services to prevent COVID-19 

22 transmission, such as optimal staff-to-child ra23 tios across such settings and the use of mental 

24 health supports. 


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1 (2) MATERIALS.—As part of such technical as2 sistance efforts, the Secretary shall— 

3 (A) publish educational materials related 

4 to the prevention of COVID-19 transmission in 

5 child care provider settings, including by post6 ing such materials on a website, 

7 (B) update any such materials as nec8 essary to reflect advancements in the science of 

9 COVID-19, and 

10 (C) provide a mechanism through which 

11 States may exchange best practices relating to 

12 the safe operation of child care providers. 

13 (b) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO CHILD CARE PRO14 VIDERS.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may make 

16 grants to lead agencies designated under section 

17 658D(a) of the Child Care and Development Block 

18 Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858b(a)) to provide 

19 guidance, technical assistance, and support to child 

20 care providers, either directly or through resource 

21 and referral agencies or staffed family child care 

22 networks, regarding the safe operation of child care 

23 providers while there is community transmission of 

24 COVID-19. 


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1 (2) RESERVATION.—The Secretary shall reserve 

2 2.75 percent of funds appropriated to carry out this 

3 section to make payments to Indian Tribes, Tribal 

4 organizations, or consortia of Indian Tribes and 

5 Tribal organizations. 

6 (3) ALLOTMENTS.—From amounts appro7 priated to carry out this section and not reserved 

8 under paragraph (2), the Secretary shall allot to 

9 Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands of the 

10 United States, and the Commonwealth of the North11 ern Mariana Islands and to the remaining States 

12 amounts in accordance with subsections (a)(1) and 

13 subsection (b) of section 658O of the Child Care and 

14 Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 

15 9858m), except that none of such remaining States 

16 shall receive an allotment of less than $10,000. 

17 (4) REQUIREMENTS.—Each lead agency that 

18 receives a grant under this section shall ensure 

19 that— 

20 (A) guidance, technical assistance, and 

21 support are available to child care providers re22 gardless of such providers’ settings, sizes, or 

23 administrative capacities, and 

24 (B) guidance, technical assistance, and 

25 support are available in the languages most 


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1 commonly spoken in the State, Indian Tribe, or 

2 Tribal organization. 

3 (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 60 days 

4 after funds are appropriated to carry out this Act, the Sec5 retary shall provide to the Committee on Education and 

6 Labor of the House of Representatives and to the Com7 mittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the 

8 Senate a report that includes— 

9 (1) recommendations for how to ensure the safe 

10 provision of child care services while there is commu11 nity transmission of COVID-19, including rec12 ommendations that address each of the issues de13 scribed in subparagraphs (A) through (D) of sub14 section (a)(1), 

15 (2) recommendations for how to ensure the sup16 ply of child care services meets demand during peri17 ods when providers implement the recommendations 

18 described in paragraph (1), including whether it will 

19 be necessary to expand the number of child care pro20 viders to meet such demand and, if so, recommenda21 tions for how to expand the number of child care 

22 providers, and 

23 (3) the estimated cost of implementing the rec24 ommendations described in paragraphs (1) and (2). 


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1 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

2 The terms ‘‘State’’, ‘‘Indian Tribe’’, and ‘‘Tribal or3 ganization’’ have the meanings given such terms in section 

4 658P of the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act 

5 of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858n). 

6 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

7 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

8 this Act, $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2020. Funds appro9 priated to carry out this Act shall remain available until 

10 expended. 

Æ 


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