In the House of Representatives, U. S., 

September 15, 2014. 

Resolved, That the bill from the Senate (S. 1086) entitled ‘‘An Act to reauthorize and improve the Child Care and 

Development Block Grant Act of 1990, and for other purposes.’’, do pass with the following 

AMENDMENT: 

Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert: 

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Child Care and Develop3 ment Block Grant Act of 2014’’. 

4 SEC. 2. SHORT TITLE AND PURPOSES. 

5 Section 658A of the Child Care and Development Block 

6 Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9801 note) is amended to 

7 read as follows: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 658A. SHORT TITLE AND PURPOSES. 

9 ‘‘(a) SHORT TITLE.—This subchapter may be cited as 

10 the ‘Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990’. 

11 ‘‘(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this subchapter 

12 are— 

13 ‘‘(1) to allow each State maximum flexibility in 

14 developing child care programs and policies that best 
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1 suit the needs of children and parents within that 

2 State; 

3 ‘‘(2) to promote parental choice to empower 

4 working parents to make their own decisions regard5 ing the child care services that best suit their family’s 

6 needs; 

7 ‘‘(3) to encourage States to provide consumer 

8 education information to help parents make informed 

9 choices about child care services and to promote in10 volvement by parents and family members in the de11 velopment of their children in child care settings; 

12 ‘‘(4) to assist States in delivering high-quality, 

13 coordinated early childhood care and education serv14 ices to maximize parents’ options and support par15 ents trying to achieve independence from public as16 sistance; 

17 ‘‘(5) to assist States in improving the overall 

18 quality of child care services and programs by imple19 menting the health, safety, licensing, training, and 

20 oversight standards established in this subchapter and 

21 in State law (including State regulations); 

22 ‘‘(6) to improve child care and development of 

23 participating children; and 
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1 ‘‘(7) to increase the number and percentage of 

2 low-income children in high-quality child care set3 tings.’’. 

4 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

5 Section 658B of the Child Care and Development Block 

6 Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858) is amended by striking 

7 ‘‘subchapter’’ and all that follows through the period at the 

8 end, and inserting ‘‘subchapter $2,360,000,000 for fiscal 

9 year 2015, $2,478,000,000 for fiscal year 2016, 

10 $2,539,950,000 for fiscal year 2017, $2,603,448,750 for fis11 cal year 2018, $2,668,534,969 for fiscal year 2019, and 

12 $2,748,591,018 for fiscal year 2020.’’. 

13 SEC. 4. LEAD AGENCY. 

14 (a) DESIGNATION.—Section 658D(a) of the Child Care 

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

16 9858b(a)) is amended— 

17 (1) by striking ‘‘chief executive officer’’ and in18 serting ‘‘Governor’’; and 

19 (2) by striking ‘‘designate’’ and all that follows 

20 and inserting ‘‘designate an agency (which may be an 

21 appropriate collaborative agency), or establish a joint 

22 interagency office, that complies with the require23 ments of subsection (b) to serve as the lead agency for 

24 the State under this subchapter.’’. 
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1 (b) COLLABORATION WITH TRIBES.—Section 

2 658D(b)(1) of the Child Care and Development Block Grant 

3 Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858b(b)(1)) is amended— 

4 (1) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

5 the end; 

6 (2) in subparagraph (D), by striking the period 

7 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

8 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(E) at the option of an Indian tribe or 

10 tribal organization in the State, collaborate and 

11 coordinate with such Indian tribe or tribal orga12 nization in the development of the State plan in 

13 a timely manner.’’. 

14 SEC. 5. APPLICATION AND PLAN. 

15 (a) PERIOD.—Section 658E(b) of the Child Care and 

16 Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858c(b)) 

17 is amended by striking ‘‘2-year’’ and inserting ‘‘3-year’’. 

18 (b) POLICIES AND PROCEDURES.—Section 658E(c) of 

19 the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 

20 (42 U.S.C. 9858c(c)) is amended— 

21 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘or estab22 lished’’ after ‘‘designated’’; 

23 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

24 (A) in subparagraph (B), by inserting a 

25 comma after ‘‘care of such providers’’; 
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1 (B) by striking subparagraphs (D) through 

2 (H); and 

3 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(D) MONITORING AND INSPECTION RE5 PORTS.—The plan shall include a certification 

6 that the State, not later than 1 year after the 

7 State has in effect the policies and practices de8 scribed in subparagraph (K)(i), will make public 

9 by electronic means, in a consumer-friendly and 

10 easily accessible format, organized by provider, 

11 the results of monitoring and inspection reports, 

12 including those due to major substantiated com13 plaints about failure to comply with this sub14 chapter and State child care policies, as well as 

15 the number of deaths, serious injuries, and in16 stances of substantiated child abuse that occurred 

17 in child care settings each year, for eligible child 

18 care providers within the State. The results shall 

19 also include information on the date of such an 

20 inspection, and, where applicable, information 

21 on corrective action taken. 

22 ‘‘(E) CONSUMER AND PROVIDER EDUCATION

23 INFORMATION.—The plan shall include a certifi24 cation that the State will collect and disseminate 

25 (which dissemination may be done, except as 
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1 otherwise specified in this subparagraph, through 

2 resource and referral organizations or other 

3 means as determined by the State) to parents of 

4 eligible children, the general public, and, where 

5 applicable, providers— 

6 ‘‘(i) information about the availability 

7 of the full diversity of child care services 

8 that will promote informed child care 

9 choices and that concerns— 

10 ‘‘(I) the availability of child care 

11 services provided through programs au12 thorized by this subchapter and, if fea13 sible, other child care services and 

14 other programs provided in the State 

15 for which the family may be eligible, as 

16 well as the availability of financial as17 sistance to obtain child care services in 

18 the State; 

19 ‘‘(II) if available, information 

20 about the quality of providers, as deter21 mined by the State, that can be pro22 vided through a Quality Rating and 

23 Improvement System; 

24 ‘‘(III) information, made avail25 able through a State Web site, describ-
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1 ing the State process for licensing child 

2 care providers, the State processes for 

3 conducting background checks, and 

4 monitoring and inspections, of child 

5 care providers, and the offenses that 

6 prevent individuals and entities from 

7 serving as child care providers in the 

8 State; 

9 ‘‘(IV) other programs for which 

10 families that receive child care services 

11 for which financial assistance is pro12 vided under this subchapter may be el13 igible, including the program of block 

14 grants to States for temporary assist15 ance for needy families established 

16 under part A of title IV of the Social 

17 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), 

18 Head Start and Early Head Start 

19 programs carried out under the Head 

20 Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.), the 

21 program carried out under the Low-In22 come Home Energy Assistance Act of 

23 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8621 et seq.), the sup24 plemental nutrition assistance pro25 gram established under the Food and 
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1 Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 

2 et seq.), the special supplemental nutri3 tion program for women, infants, and 

4 children established under section 17 of 

5 the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 

6 U.S.C. 1786), the child and adult care 

7 food program established under section 

8 17 of the Richard B. Russell National 

9 School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1766), 

10 and the Medicaid and State children’s 

11 health insurance programs under titles 

12 XIX and XXI of the Social Security 

13 Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq., 1397aa et 

14 seq.); 

15 ‘‘(V) programs carried out under 

16 section 619 and part C of the Individ17 uals with Disabilities Education Act 

18 (20 U.S.C. 1419, 1431 et seq.); 

19 ‘‘(VI) research and best practices 

20 concerning children’s development, in21 cluding social and emotional develop22 ment, early childhood development, 

23 and meaningful parent and family en24 gagement, and physical health and de-
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1 velopment (particularly healthy eating 

2 and physical activity); and 

3 ‘‘(VII) the State policies regarding 

4 the social-emotional behavioral health 

5 of young children, which may include 

6 positive behavioral intervention and 

7 support models, and policies on expul8 sion of preschool-aged children, in 

9 early childhood programs receiving as10 sistance under this subchapter; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) information on developmental 

12 screenings, including— 

13 ‘‘(I) information on existing (as 

14 of the date of submission of the appli15 cation containing the plan) resources 

16 and services the State can deploy, in17 cluding the coordinated use of the 

18 Early and Periodic Screening, Diag19 nosis, and Treatment program under 

20 the Medicaid program carried out 

21 under title XIX of the Social Security 

22 Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.) and devel23 opmental screening services available 

24 under section 619 and part C of the 

25 Individuals with Disabilities Edu-
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1 cation Act (20 U.S.C. 1419, 1431 et 

2 seq.), in conducting developmental 

3 screenings and providing referrals to 

4 services, when appropriate, for children 

5 who receive assistance under this sub6 chapter; and 

7 ‘‘(II) a description of how a fam8 ily or eligible child care provider may 

9 utilize the resources and services de10 scribed in subclause (I) to obtain devel11 opmental screenings for children who 

12 receive assistance under this sub13 chapter who may be at risk for cog14 nitive or other developmental delays, 

15 which may include social, emotional, 

16 physical, or linguistic delays. 

17 ‘‘(F) COMPLIANCE WITH STATE LICENSING

18 REQUIREMENTS.— 

19 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The plan shall in20 clude a certification that the State involved 

21 has in effect licensing requirements applica22 ble to child care services provided within the 

23 State, and provide a detailed description of 

24 such requirements and of how such require25 ments are effectively enforced. 
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1 ‘‘(ii) LICENSE EXEMPTION.—If the 

2 State uses funds received under this sub3 chapter to support a child care provider 

4 that is exempt from the corresponding li5 censing requirements described in clause (i), 

6 the plan shall include a description stating 

7 why such licensing exemption does not en8 danger the health, safety, or development of 

9 children who receive services from child care 

10 providers who are exempt from such re11 quirements. 

12 ‘‘(G) TRAINING AND PROFESSIONAL DEVEL13 OPMENT REQUIREMENTS.— 

14 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The plan shall de15 scribe the training and professional develop16 ment requirements that are in effect within 

17 the State designed to enable child care pro18 viders to promote the social, emotional, 

19 physical, and cognitive development of chil20 dren and to improve the knowledge and 

21 skills of the child care workforce. Such re22 quirements shall be applicable to child care 

23 providers that provide services for which as24 sistance is provided in accordance with this 

25 subchapter. 
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1 ‘‘(ii) REQUIREMENTS.—The plan shall 

2 provide an assurance that such training 

3 and professional development— 

4 ‘‘(I) shall be conducted on an on5 going basis, provide for a progression 

6 of professional development (which 

7 may include encouraging the pursuit 

8 of postsecondary education), reflect 

9 current research and best practices re10 lating to the skills necessary for the 

11 child care workforce to meet the devel12 opmental needs of participating chil13 dren, and improve the quality of, and 

14 stability within, the child care work15 force; 

16 ‘‘(II) shall be developed in con17 sultation with the State Advisory 

18 Council on Early Childhood Education 

19 and Care (designated or established 

20 pursuant to section 642B(b)(1)(A)(i) of 

21 the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 

22 9837b(b)(1)(A)(i))), and may engage 

23 training providers in aligning train24 ing opportunities with the State’s 

25 training framework; 
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1 ‘‘(III) incorporates knowledge and 

2 application of the State’s early learn3 ing and developmental guidelines 

4 (where applicable), the State’s health 

5 and safety standards, and incorporates 

6 social-emotional behavior intervention 

7 models, which may include positive be8 havior intervention and support mod9 els; 

10 ‘‘(IV) shall be accessible to pro11 viders supported through Indian tribes 

12 or tribal organizations that receive as13 sistance under this subchapter; and 

14 ‘‘(V) to the extent practicable, are 

15 appropriate for a population of chil16 dren that includes— 

17 ‘‘(aa) different age groups; 

18 ‘‘(bb) English learners; 

19 ‘‘(cc) children with disabil20 ities; and 

21 ‘‘(dd) Native Americans, in22 cluding Indians, as the term is 

23 defined in section 4 of the Indian 

24 Self-Determination and Edu25 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 
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1 450b) (including Alaska Natives 

2 within the meaning of that term), 

3 and Native Hawaiians (as defined 

4 in section 7207 of the Elementary 

5 and Secondary Education Act of 

6 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7517)). 

7 ‘‘(iii) INFORMATION.—The plan shall 

8 include the number of hours of training re9 quired for eligible providers and caregivers 

10 to engage in annually, as determined by the 

11 State. 

12 ‘‘(iv) CONSTRUCTION.—The Secretary 

13 shall not require an individual or entity 

14 that provides child care services for which 

15 assistance is provided in accordance with 

16 this subchapter to acquire a credential to 

17 provide such services. Nothing in this sec18 tion shall be construed to prohibit a State 

19 from requiring a credential. 

20 ‘‘(H) CHILD-TO-PROVIDER RATIO STAND21 ARDS.— 

22 ‘‘(i) STANDARDS.—The plan shall de23 scribe child care standards for child care 

24 services for which assistance is made avail25 able in accordance with this subchapter, ap-
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1 propriate to the type of child care setting 

2 involved, to provide for the safety and devel3 opmental needs of the children served, that 

4 address— 

5 ‘‘(I) group size limits for specific 

6 age populations, as determined by the 

7 State; 

8 ‘‘(II) the appropriate ratio be9 tween the number of children and the 

10 number of providers, in terms of the 

11 age of the children in child care, as de12 termined by the State; and 

13 ‘‘(III) required qualifications for 

14 such providers, as determined by the 

15 State. 

16 ‘‘(ii) CONSTRUCTION.—The Secretary 

17 may offer guidance to States on child-to18 provider ratios described in clause (i) ac19 cording to setting and age group, but shall 

20 not require that the State maintain specific 

21 group size limits for specific age popu22 lations or child-to-provider ratios for pro23 viders who receive assistance in accordance 

24 with subchapter. 
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1 ‘‘(I) HEALTH AND SAFETY REQUIRE2 MENTS.—The plan shall include a certification 

3 that there are in effect within the State, under 

4 State or local law, requirements designed to pro5 tect the health and safety of children that are ap6 plicable to child care providers that provide serv7 ices for which assistance is made available in ac8 cordance with this subchapter. Such require9 ments— 

10 ‘‘(i) shall relate to matters including 

11 health and safety topics consisting of— 

12 ‘‘(I) the prevention and control of 

13 infectious diseases (including immuni14 zation) and the establishment of a 

15 grace period that allows homeless chil16 dren and children in foster care to re17 ceive services under this subchapter 

18 while their families (including foster 

19 families) are taking any necessary ac20 tion to comply with immunization and 

21 other health and safety requirements; 

22 ‘‘(II) prevention of sudden infant 

23 death syndrome and use of safe sleep24 ing practices; 
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1 ‘‘(III) the administration of medi2 cation, consistent with standards for 

3 parental consent; 

4 ‘‘(IV) the prevention of and re5 sponse to emergencies due to food and 

6 allergic reactions; 

7 ‘‘(V) building and physical prem8 ises safety, including identification of 

9 and protection from hazards that can 

10 cause bodily injury such as electrical 

11 hazards, bodies of water, and vehicular 

12 traffic; 

13 ‘‘(VI) prevention of shaken baby 

14 syndrome and abusive head trauma; 

15 ‘‘(VII) emergency preparedness 

16 and response planning for emergencies 

17 resulting from a natural disaster, or a 

18 man-caused event (such as violence at 

19 a child care facility), within the mean20 ing of those terms under section 

21 602(a)(1) of the Robert T. Stafford 

22 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist23 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5195a(a)(1)); 
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1 ‘‘(VIII) the handling and storage 

2 of hazardous materials and the appro3 priate disposal of biocontaminants; 

4 ‘‘(IX) for providers that offer 

5 transportation, if applicable, appro6 priate precautions in transporting 

7 children; 

8 ‘‘(X) first aid and 

9 cardiopulmonary resuscitation; and 

10 ‘‘(XI) minimum health and safety 

11 training, to be completed pre-service or 

12 during an orientation period in addi13 tion to ongoing training, appropriate 

14 to the provider setting involved that 

15 addresses each of the requirements re16 lating to matters described in sub17 clauses (I) through (X); and 

18 ‘‘(ii) may include requirements relat19 ing to nutrition, access to physical activity, 

20 or any other subject area determined by the 

21 State to be necessary to promote child devel22 opment or to protect children’s health and 

23 safety. 

24 ‘‘(J) COMPLIANCE WITH STATE AND LOCAL

25 HEALTH AND SAFETY REQUIREMENTS.—The 
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1 plan shall include a certification that procedures 

2 are in effect to ensure that child care providers 

3 within the State, that provide services for which 

4 assistance is made available in accordance with 

5 this subchapter, comply with all applicable State 

6 and local health and safety requirements as de7 scribed in subparagraph (I). 

8 ‘‘(K) ENFORCEMENT OF LICENSING AND

9 OTHER REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS.— 

10 ‘‘(i) CERTIFICATION.—The plan shall 

11 include a certification that the State, not 

12 later than 2 years after the date of enact13 ment of the Child Care and Development 

14 Block Grant Act of 2014, shall have in effect 

15 policies and practices, applicable to licens16 ing or regulating child care providers that 

17 provide services for which assistance is 

18 made available in accordance with this sub19 chapter and the facilities of those providers, 

20 that— 

21 ‘‘(I) ensure that individuals who 

22 are hired as licensing inspectors in the 

23 State are qualified to inspect those 

24 child care providers and facilities and 

25 have received training in related health 
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1 and safety requirements, and are 

2 trained in all aspects of the State’s li3 censure requirements; 

4 ‘‘(II) require licensing inspectors 

5 (or qualified inspectors designated by 

6 the lead agency) of those child care 

7 providers and facilities to perform in8 spections, with— 

9 ‘‘(aa) not less than 1 

10 prelicensure inspection, for com11 pliance with health, safety, and 

12 fire standards, of each such child 

13 care provider and facility in the 

14 State; and 

15 ‘‘(bb) not less than annually, 

16 an inspection (which shall be un17 announced) of each such child 

18 care provider and facility in the 

19 State for compliance with all 

20 child care licensing standards, 

21 which shall include an inspection 

22 for compliance with health, safety, 

23 and fire standards (inspectors 

24 may inspect for compliance with 

25 all 3 standards at the same time); 
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1 ‘‘(III) require the ratio of licens2 ing inspectors to such child care pro3 viders and facilities in the State to be 

4 maintained at a level sufficient to en5 able the State to conduct inspections of 

6 such child care providers and facilities 

7 on a timely basis in accordance with 

8 Federal, State, and local law; and 

9 ‘‘(IV) require licensing inspectors 

10 (or qualified inspectors designated by 

11 the lead agency) of child care providers 

12 and facilities to perform an annual in13 spection of each license-exempt pro14 vider in the State receiving funds 

15 under this subchapter (unless the pro16 vider is an eligible child care provider 

17 as described in section 658P(6)(B)) for 

18 compliance with health, safety, and 

19 fire standards, at a time to be deter20 mined by the State. 

21 ‘‘(ii) CONSTRUCTION.—The Secretary 

22 may offer guidance to a State, if requested 

23 by the State, on a research-based minimum 

24 standard regarding ratios described in 

25 clause (i)(III) and provide technical assist-
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1 ance to the State on meeting the minimum 

2 standard within a reasonable time period, 

3 but shall not prescribe a particular ratio. 

4 ‘‘(L) COMPLIANCE WITH CHILD ABUSE RE5 PORTING REQUIREMENTS.—The plan shall in6 clude a certification that child care providers 

7 within the State will comply with the child 

8 abuse reporting requirements of section 

9 106(b)(2)(B)(i) of the Child Abuse Prevention 

10 and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 

11 5106a(b)(2)(B)(i)). 

12 ‘‘(M) MEETING THE NEEDS OF CERTAIN

13 POPULATIONS.—The plan shall describe how the 

14 State will develop and implement strategies 

15 (which may include alternative reimbursement 

16 rates to child care providers, the provision of di17 rect contracts or grants to community-based or18 ganizations, offering child care certificates to 

19 parents, or other means determined by the State) 

20 to increase the supply and improve the quality 

21 of child care services for— 

22 ‘‘(i) children in underserved areas; 

23 ‘‘(ii) infants and toddlers; 

24 ‘‘(iii) children with disabilities, as de25 fined by the State; and 
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1 ‘‘(iv) children who receive care during 

2 nontraditional hours. 

3 ‘‘(N) PROTECTION FOR WORKING PAR4 ENTS.— 

5 ‘‘(i) MINIMUM PERIOD.— 

6 ‘‘(I) 12-MONTH PERIOD.—The 

7 plan shall demonstrate that each child 

8 who receives assistance under this sub9 chapter in the State will be considered 

10 to meet all eligibility requirements for 

11 such assistance and will receive such 

12 assistance, for not less than 12 months 

13 before the State or designated local en14 tity redetermines the eligibility of the 

15 child under this subchapter, regardless 

16 of a temporary change in the ongoing 

17 status of the child’s parent as working 

18 or attending a job training or edu19 cational program or a change in fam20 ily income for the child’s family, if 

21 that family income does not exceed 85 

22 percent of the State median income for 

23 a family of the same size. 

24 ‘‘(II) FLUCTUATIONS IN EARN25 INGS.—The plan shall demonstrate how 
24 

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1 the State’s or designated local entity’s 

2 processes for initial determination and 

3 redetermination of such eligibility take 

4 into account irregular fluctuations in 

5 earnings. 

6 ‘‘(ii) REDETERMINATION PROCESS.— 

7 The plan shall describe the procedures and 

8 policies that are in place to ensure that 

9 working parents (especially parents in fam10 ilies receiving assistance under the program 

11 of block grants to States for temporary as12 sistance for needy families under part A of 

13 title IV of the Social Security Act (42 

14 U.S.C. 601 et seq.)) are not required to un15 duly disrupt their employment in order to 

16 comply with the State’s or designated local 

17 entity’s requirements for redetermination of 

18 eligibility for assistance provided in accord19 ance with this subchapter. 

20 ‘‘(iii) PERIOD BEFORE TERMI21 NATION.—At the option of the State, the 

22 plan shall demonstrate that the State will 

23 not terminate assistance provided to carry 

24 out this subchapter based on a factor con25 sisting of a parent’s loss of work or ces-
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1 sation of attendance at a job training or 

2 educational program for which the family 

3 was receiving the assistance, without con4 tinuing the assistance for a reasonable pe5 riod of time, of not less than 3 months, after 

6 such loss or cessation in order for the parent 

7 to engage in a job search and resume work, 

8 or resume attendance at a job training or 

9 educational program, as soon as possible. 

10 ‘‘(iv) GRADUATED PHASEOUT OF

11 CARE.—The plan shall describe the policies 

12 and procedures that are in place to allow 

13 for provision of continued assistance to 

14 carry out this subchapter, at the beginning 

15 of a new eligibility period under clause 

16 (i)(I), for children of parents who are work17 ing or attending a job training or edu18 cational program and whose family income 

19 exceeds the State’s income limit to initially 

20 qualify for such assistance, if the family in21 come for the family involved does not exceed 

22 85 percent of the State median income for 

23 a family of the same size. 

24 ‘‘(O) COORDINATION WITH OTHER PRO25 GRAMS.— 
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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The plan shall de2 scribe how the State, in order to expand ac3 cessibility and continuity of care, and assist 

4 children enrolled in early childhood pro5 grams to receive full-day services, will effi6 ciently, and to the extent practicable, co7 ordinate the services supported to carry out 

8 this subchapter with programs operating at 

9 the Federal, State, and local levels for chil10 dren in preschool programs, tribal early 

11 childhood programs, and other early child12 hood programs, including those serving in13 fants and toddlers with disabilities, home14 less children, and children in foster care. 

15 ‘‘(ii) OPTIONAL USE OF COMBINED

16 FUNDS.—If the State elects to combine fund17 ing for the services supported to carry out 

18 this subchapter with funding for any pro19 gram described in clause (i), the plan shall 

20 describe how the State will combine the 

21 multiple sets of funding and use the com22 bined funding. 

23 ‘‘(iii) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Noth24 ing in clause (i) shall be construed to affect 

25 the priority of children described in clause 
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1 (i) to receive full-day prekindergarten or 

2 Head Start program services. 

3 ‘‘(P) PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS.—The 

4 plan shall demonstrate how the State encourages 

5 partnerships among State agencies, other public 

6 agencies, Indian tribes and tribal organizations, 

7 and private entities, including faith-based and 

8 community-based organizations, to leverage ex9 isting service delivery systems (as of the date of 

10 the submission of the application containing the 

11 plan) for child care and development services 

12 and to increase the supply and quality of child 

13 care services for children who are less than 13 

14 years of age, such as by implementing voluntary 

15 shared services alliance models. 

16 ‘‘(Q) PRIORITY FOR LOW-INCOME POPU17 LATIONS.—The plan shall describe the process the 

18 State proposes to use, with respect to investments 

19 made to increase access to programs providing 

20 high-quality child care and development services, 

21 to give priority for those investments to children 

22 of families in areas that have significant con23 centrations of poverty and unemployment and 

24 that do not have such programs. 
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1 ‘‘(R) CONSULTATION.—The plan shall in2 clude a certification that the State has developed 

3 the plan in consultation with the State Advisory 

4 Council on Early Childhood Education and Care 

5 designated or established pursuant to section 

6 642B(b)(1)(A)(i) of the Head Start Act (42 

7 U.S.C. 9837b(b)(1)(A)(i)). 

8 ‘‘(S) PAYMENT PRACTICES.—The plan shall 

9 include— 

10 ‘‘(i) a certification that the payment 

11 practices of child care providers in the State 

12 that serve children who receive assistance 

13 under this subchapter reflect generally ac14 cepted payment practices of child care pro15 viders in the State that serve children who 

16 do not receive assistance under this sub17 chapter, so as to provide stability of fund18 ing and encourage more child care pro19 viders to serve children who receive assist20 ance under this subchapter; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) an assurance that the State will, 

22 to the extent practicable, implement enroll23 ment and eligibility policies that support 

24 the fixed costs of providing child care serv25 ices by delinking provider reimbursement 
29 

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1 rates from an eligible child’s occasional ab2 sences due to holidays or unforseen cir3 cumstances such as illness. 

4 ‘‘(T) EARLY LEARNING AND DEVELOP5 MENTAL GUIDELINES.— 

6 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The plan shall in7 clude an assurance that the State will 

8 maintain or implement early learning and 

9 developmental guidelines (or develop such 

10 guidelines if the State does not have such 

11 guidelines as of the date of enactment of the 

12 Child Care and Development Block Grant 

13 Act of 2014) that are appropriate for chil14 dren from birth to kindergarten entry, de15 scribing what such children should know 

16 and be able to do, and covering the essential 

17 domains of early childhood development for 

18 use statewide by child care providers. Such 

19 guidelines shall— 

20 ‘‘(I) be research-based, develop21 mentally appropriate, and aligned 

22 with entry to kindergarten; 

23 ‘‘(II) be implemented in consulta24 tion with the state educational agency 

25 and the State Advisory Council on 
30 

•S 1086 EAH 

1 Early Childhood Education and Care 

2 (designated or established pursuant to 

3 section 642B(b)(I)(A)(i) of the Head 

4 Start Act (42 U.S.C. 

5 9837b(b)(1)(A)(i)); and 

6 ‘‘(III) be updated as determined 

7 by the State. 

8 ‘‘(ii) PROHIBITION ON USE OF

9 FUNDS.—The plan shall include an assur10 ance that funds received by the State to 

11 carry out this subchapter will not be used 

12 to develop or implement an assessment for 

13 children that— 

14 ‘‘(I) will be the sole basis for a 

15 child care provider being determined to 

16 be ineligible to participate in the pro17 gram carried out under this sub18 chapter; 

19 ‘‘(II) will be used as the primary 

20 or sole basis to provide a reward or 

21 sanction for an individual provider; 

22 ‘‘(III) will be used as the primary 

23 or sole method for assessing program 

24 effectiveness; or 
31 

•S 1086 EAH 

1 ‘‘(IV) will be used to deny chil2 dren eligibility to participate in the 

3 program carried out under this sub4 chapter. 

5 ‘‘(iii) EXCEPTIONS.—Nothing in this 

6 subchapter shall preclude the State from 

7 using a single assessment as determined by 

8 the State for children for— 

9 ‘‘(I) supporting learning or im10 proving a classroom environment; 

11 ‘‘(II) targeting professional devel12 opment to a provider; 

13 ‘‘(III) determining the need for 

14 health, mental health, disability, devel15 opmental delay, or family support 

16 services; 

17 ‘‘(IV) obtaining information for 

18 the quality improvement process at the 

19 State level; or 

20 ‘‘(V) conducting a program eval21 uation for the purposes of providing 

22 program improvement and parent in23 formation. 

24 ‘‘(iv) NO FEDERAL CONTROL.—Nothing 

25 in this section shall be construed to author-
32 

•S 1086 EAH 

1 ize an officer or employee of the Federal 

2 Government to— 

3 ‘‘(I) mandate, direct, control, or 

4 place conditions (outside of what is re5 quired by this subchapter) around 

6 adopting a State’s early learning and 

7 developmental guidelines developed in 

8 accordance with this section; 

9 ‘‘(II) establish any criterion that 

10 specifies, defines, prescribes, or places 

11 conditions (outside of what is required 

12 by this subchapter) on a State adopt13 ing standards or measures that a State 

14 uses to establish, implement, or im15 prove such guidelines, related account16 ability systems, or alignment of such 

17 guidelines with education standards; or 

18 ‘‘(III) require a State to submit 

19 such guidelines for review. 

20 ‘‘(U) DISASTER PREPAREDNESS.— 

21 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The plan shall 

22 demonstrate the manner in which the State 

23 will address the needs of children in child 

24 care services provided through programs au25 thorized under this subchapter, including 
33 

•S 1086 EAH 

1 the need for safe child care, for the period 

2 before, during, and after a state of emer3 gency declared by the Governor or a major 

4 disaster or emergency (as such terms are de5 fined in section 102 of the Robert T. Staf6 ford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist7 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122)). 

8 ‘‘(ii) STATEWIDE CHILD CARE DIS9 ASTER PLAN.—Such plan shall include a 

10 statewide child care disaster plan for co11 ordination of activities and collaboration, 

12 in the event of an emergency or disaster de13 scribed in clause (i), among the State agen14 cy with jurisdiction over human services, 

15 the agency with jurisdiction over State 

16 emergency planning, the State lead agency, 

17 the State agency with jurisdiction over li18 censing of child care providers, the local re19 source and referral organizations, the State 

20 resource and referral system, and the State 

21 Advisory Council on Early Childhood Edu22 cation and Care as provided for under sec23 tion 642B(b) of the Head Start Act (42 

24 U.S.C. 9837b(b)). 
34 

•S 1086 EAH 

1 ‘‘(iii) DISASTER PLAN COMPONENTS.— 

2 The components of the disaster plan, for 

3 such an emergency or disaster, shall in4 clude— 

5 ‘‘(I) evacuation, relocation, shel6 ter-in-place, and lock-down procedures, 

7 and procedures for communication and 

8 reunification with families, continuity 

9 of operations, and accommodation of 

10 infants and toddlers, children with dis11 abilities, and children with chronic 

12 medical conditions; 

13 ‘‘(II) guidelines for the continu14 ation of child care services in the pe15 riod following the emergency or dis16 aster, which may include the provision 

17 of emergency and temporary child care 

18 services, and temporary operating 

19 standards for child care providers dur20 ing that period; and 

21 ‘‘(III) procedures for staff and 

22 volunteer emergency preparedness 

23 training and practice drills. 

24 ‘‘(V) BUSINESS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 

25 The plan shall describe how the State will de-
35 

•S 1086 EAH 

1 velop and implement strategies to strengthen the 

2 business practices of child care providers to ex3 pand the supply, and improve the quality of, 

4 child care services.’’; 

5 (3) in paragraph (3)— 

6 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘as 

7 required under’’ and inserting ‘‘in accordance 

8 with’’; 

9 (B) in subparagraph (B)— 

10 (i) by striking ‘‘The State’’ and insert11 ing the following: 

12 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The State’’; 

13 (ii) by striking ‘‘and any other activ14 ity that the State deems appropriate to re15 alize any of the goals specified in para16 graphs (2) through (5) of section 658A(b)’’ 

17 and inserting ‘‘activities that improve ac18 cess to child care services, including the use 

19 of procedures to permit enrollment (after an 

20 initial eligibility determination) of homeless 

21 children while required documentation is 

22 obtained, training and technical assistance 

23 on identifying and serving homeless chil24 dren and their families, and specific out25 reach to homeless families, and any other 
36 

•S 1086 EAH 

1 activity that the State determines to be ap2 propriate to meet the purposes of this sub3 chapter (which may include an activity de4 scribed in clause (ii))’’; and 

5 (iii) by adding at the end the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘(ii) REPORT BY THE ASSISTANT SEC8 RETARY FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES.— 

9 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 

10 September 30 of the first full fiscal 

11 year after the date of enactment of the 

12 Child Care and Development Block 

13 Grant Act of 2014, and September 30 

14 of each fiscal year thereafter, the Sec15 retary (acting through the Assistant 

16 Secretary for Children and Families of 

17 the Department of Health and Human 

18 Services) shall prepare a report that 

19 contains a determination about wheth20 er each State uses amounts provided to 

21 such State for the fiscal year involved 

22 under this subchapter in accordance 

23 with the priority for services described 

24 in clause (i). 
37 

•S 1086 EAH 

1 ‘‘(II) PENALTY FOR NONCOMPLI2 ANCE.—For any fiscal year that the re3 port of the Secretary described in sub4 clause (I) indicates that a State has 

5 failed to give priority for services in 

6 accordance with clause (i), the Sec7 retary shall— 

8 ‘‘(aa) inform the State that 

9 the State has until the date that is 

10 6 months after the Secretary has 

11 issued such report to fully comply 

12 with clause (i); 

13 ‘‘(bb) provide the State an 

14 opportunity to modify the State 

15 plan of such State, to make the 

16 plan consistent with the require17 ments of clause (i), and resubmit 

18 such State plan to the Secretary 

19 not later than the date described 

20 in item (aa); and 

21 ‘‘(cc) if the State does not 

22 fully comply with clause (i) and 

23 item (bb), by the date described in 

24 item (aa), withhold 5 percent of 

25 the funds that would otherwise be 
38 

•S 1086 EAH 

1 allocated to that State in accord2 ance with this subchapter for the 

3 first full fiscal year after that 

4 date. 

5 ‘‘(III) WAIVER FOR EXTRAOR6 DINARY CIRCUMSTANCES.—Notwith7 standing subclause (II) the Secretary 

8 may grant a waiver to a State for one 

9 year to the penalty applied in sub10 clause (II) if the Secretary determines 

11 there are extraordinary circumstances, 

12 such as a natural disaster, that pre13 vent the State from complying with 

14 clause (i). If the Secretary does grant 

15 a waiver to a State under this section, 

16 the Secretary shall, within 30 days of 

17 granting such waiver, submit a report 

18 to the appropriate congressional com19 mittees on the circumstances of the 

20 waiver including the stated reason 

21 from the State on the need for a waiv22 er, the expected impact of the waiver 

23 on children served under this program, 

24 and any such other relevant informa25 tion the Secretary deems necessary. 
39 

•S 1086 EAH 

1 ‘‘(iii) CHILD CARE RESOURCE AND RE2 FERRAL SYSTEM.— 

3 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—A State may 

4 use amounts described in clause (i) to 

5 establish or support a system of local 

6 or regional child care resource and re7 ferral organizations that is coordi8 nated, to the extent determined appro9 priate by the State, by a statewide 

10 public or private nonprofit, commu11 nity-based or regionally based, lead 

12 child care resource and referral organi13 zation. 

14 ‘‘(II) LOCAL OR REGIONAL ORGA15 NIZATIONS.—The local or regional 

16 child care resource and referral organi17 zations supported as described in sub18 clause (I) shall— 

19 ‘‘(aa) provide parents in the 

20 State with consumer education in21 formation referred to in para22 graph (2)(E) (except as otherwise 

23 provided in that paragraph), con24 cerning the full range of child 

25 care options (including faith- 
40 

•S 1086 EAH 

1 based and community-based child 

2 care providers), analyzed by pro3 vider, including child care pro4 vided during nontraditional hours 

5 and through emergency child care 

6 centers, in their political subdivi7 sions or regions; 

8 ‘‘(bb) to the extent prac9 ticable, work directly with fami10 lies who receive assistance under 

11 this subchapter to offer the fami12 lies support and assistance, using 

13 information described in item 

14 (aa), to make an informed deci15 sion about which child care pro16 viders they will use, in an effort 

17 to ensure that the families are en18 rolling their children in the most 

19 appropriate child care setting to 

20 suit their needs and one that is of 

21 high quality (as determined by the 

22 State); 

23 ‘‘(cc) collect data and provide 

24 information on the coordination 

25 of services and supports, includ-
41 

•S 1086 EAH 

1 ing services under section 619 and 

2 part C of the Individuals with 

3 Disabilities Education Act (20 

4 U.S.C. 1431, et seq.), for children 

5 with disabilities (as defined in 

6 section 602 of such Act (20 U.S.C. 

7 1401)); 

8 ‘‘(dd) collect data and pro9 vide information on the supply of 

10 and demand for child care serv11 ices in political subdivisions or 

12 regions within the State and sub13 mit such information to the State; 

14 ‘‘(ee) work to establish part15 nerships with public agencies and 

16 private entities, including faith17 based and community-based child 

18 care providers, to increase the 

19 supply and quality of child care 

20 services in the State; and 

21 ‘‘(ff) as appropriate, coordi22 nate their activities with the ac23 tivities of the State lead agency 

24 and local agencies that administer 
42 

•S 1086 EAH 

1 funds made available in accord2 ance with this subchapter.’’; 

3 (C) in subparagraph (D)— 

4 (i) by striking ‘‘1997 through 2002)’’ 

5 and inserting ‘‘2015 through 2020’’; and 

6 (ii) by striking ‘‘other than families 

7 described in paragraph (2)(H)’’ and insert8 ing ‘‘including or in addition to families 

9 with children described in clause (i), (ii), 

10 (iii), or (iv) of paragraph (2)(M)’’; and 

11 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(E) DIRECT SERVICES.—From amounts 

13 provided to a State for a fiscal year to carry out 

14 this subchapter, the State shall— 

15 ‘‘(i) reserve the minimum amount re16 quired to be reserved under section 658G, 

17 and the funds for costs described in sub18 paragraph (C); and 

19 ‘‘(ii) from the remainder, use not less 

20 than 70 percent to fund direct services (pro21 vided by the State) in accordance with 

22 paragraph (2)(A).’’; 

23 (4) by striking paragraph (4) and inserting the 

24 following: 

25 ‘‘(4) PAYMENT RATES.— 
43 

•S 1086 EAH 

1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The State plan shall 

2 certify that payment rates for the provision of 

3 child care services for which assistance is pro4 vided in accordance with this subchapter are suf5 ficient to ensure equal access for eligible children 

6 to child care services that are comparable to 

7 child care services in the State or substate area 

8 involved that are provided to children whose par9 ents are not eligible to receive assistance under 

10 this subchapter or to receive child care assistance 

11 under any other Federal or State program, and 

12 shall provide a summary of the facts relied on by 

13 the State to determine that such rates are suffi14 cient to ensure such access. 

15 ‘‘(B) SURVEY.—The State plan shall— 

16 ‘‘(i) demonstrate that the State has, 

17 after consulting with the State Advisory 

18 Council on Early Childhood Education and 

19 Care designated or established in section 

20 642B(b)(1)(A)(i) of the Head Start Act (42 

21 U.S.C. 9837b(b)(1)(A)(i)), local child care 

22 program administrators, local child care re23 source and referral agencies, and other ap24 propriate entities, developed and conducted 

25 (not earlier than 2 years before the date of 
44 

•S 1086 EAH 

1 the submission of the application con2 taining the State plan) a statistically valid 

3 and reliable survey of the market rates for 

4 child care services in the State (that reflects 

5 variations in the cost of child care services 

6 by geographic area, type of provider, and 

7 age of child) or an alternative methodology, 

8 such as a cost estimation model, that has 

9 been developed by the State lead agency; 

10 ‘‘(ii) demonstrate that the State pre11 pared a detailed report containing the re12 sults of the State market rates survey or al13 ternative methodology conducted pursuant 

14 to clause (i), and made the results of the 

15 survey or alternative methodology widely 

16 available (not later than 30 days after the 

17 completion of such survey or alternative 

18 methodology) through periodic means, in19 cluding posting the results on the Internet; 

20 ‘‘(iii) describe how the State will set 

21 payment rates for child care services, for 

22 which assistance is provided in accordance 

23 with this subchapter— 

24 ‘‘(I) in accordance with the results 

25 of the market rates survey or alter-
45 

•S 1086 EAH 

1 native methodology conducted pursuant 

2 to clause (i); 

3 ‘‘(II) taking into consideration the 

4 cost of providing higher quality child 

5 care services than were provided under 

6 this subchapter before the date of enact7 ment of the Child Care and Develop8 ment Block Grant Act of 2014; and 

9 ‘‘(III) without, to the extent prac10 ticable, reducing the number of fami11 lies in the State receiving such assist12 ance to carry out this subchapter, rel13 ative to the number of such families on 

14 the date of enactment of that Act; and 

15 ‘‘(iv) describe how the State will pro16 vide for timely payment for child care serv17 ices provided under this subchapter. 

18 ‘‘(C) CONSTRUCTION.— 

19 ‘‘(i) NO PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.— 

20 Nothing in this paragraph shall be con21 strued to create a private right of action if 

22 the State acted in accordance with this 

23 paragraph. 

24 ‘‘(ii) NO PROHIBITION OF CERTAIN

25 DIFFERENT RATES.—Nothing in this sub-
46 

•S 1086 EAH 

1 chapter shall be construed to prevent a 

2 State from differentiating the payment 

3 rates described in subparagraph (B)(iii) on 

4 the basis of such factors as— 

5 ‘‘(I) geographic location of child 

6 care providers (such as location in an 

7 urban or rural area); 

8 ‘‘(II) the age or particular needs 

9 of children (such as the needs of chil10 dren with disabilities and children 

11 served by child protective services); 

12 ‘‘(III) whether the providers pro13 vide child care services during weekend 

14 and other nontraditional hours; or 

15 ‘‘(IV) the State’s determination 

16 that such differentiated payment rates 

17 may enable a parent to choose high18 quality child care that best fits the 

19 parent’s needs.’’; and 

20 (5) in paragraph (5), by inserting ‘‘(that is not 

21 a barrier to families receiving assistance under this 

22 subchapter)’’ after ‘‘cost sharing’’. 

23 (c) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 658F(b)(2) of 

24 the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 
47 

•S 1086 EAH 

1 (42 U.S.C. 9858d(b)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘section 

2 658E(c)(2)(F)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 658E(c)(2)(I)’’. 

3 SEC. 6. ACTIVITIES TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF CHILD 

4 CARE. 

5 Section 658G of the Child Care and Development Block 

6 Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858e) is amended to read 

7 as follows: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 658G. ACTIVITIES TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF 

9 CHILD CARE. 

10 ‘‘(a) RESERVATION.— 

11 ‘‘(1) RESERVATION FOR ACTIVITIES RELATING TO

12 THE QUALITY OF CHILD CARE SERVICES.—A State 

13 that receives funds to carry out this subchapter for a 

14 fiscal year referred to in paragraph (2) shall reserve 

15 and use a portion of such funds, in accordance with 

16 paragraph (2), for activities provided directly, or 

17 through grants or contracts with local child care re18 source and referral organizations or other appropriate 

19 entities, that are designed to improve the quality of 

20 child care services and increase parental options for, 

21 and access to, high-quality child care, and is in align22 ment with a Statewide assessment of the State’s needs 

23 to carry out such services and care, provided in ac24 cordance with this subchapter. 
48 

•S 1086 EAH 

1 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT OF RESERVATIONS.—Such State 

2 shall reserve and use— 

3 ‘‘(A) to carry out the activities described in 

4 paragraph (1), not less than— 

5 ‘‘(i) 7 percent of the funds described in 

6 paragraph (1), for the first and second full 

7 fiscal years after the date of enactment of 

8 the Child Care and Development Block 

9 Grant Act of 2014; 

10 ‘‘(ii) 8 percent of such funds for the 

11 third and fourth full fiscal years after the 

12 date of enactment; and 

13 ‘‘(iii) 9 percent of such funds for the 

14 fifth and each succeeding full fiscal year 

15 after the date of enactment; and 

16 ‘‘(B) in addition to the funds reserved 

17 under subparagraph (A), 3 percent of the funds 

18 described in paragraph (1) received not later 

19 than the second full fiscal year after the date of 

20 enactment and received for each succeeding full 

21 fiscal year, to carry out the activities described 

22 in paragraph (1) and subsection (b)(4), as such 

23 activities relate to the quality of care for infants 

24 and toddlers. 
49 

•S 1086 EAH 

1 ‘‘(3) STATE RESERVATION AMOUNT.—Nothing in 

2 this subsection shall preclude the State from reserving 

3 a larger percentage of funds to carry out the activities 

4 described in paragraph (1) and subsection (b). 

5 ‘‘(b) ACTIVITIES.—Funds reserved under subsection (a) 

6 shall be used to carry out no fewer than one of the following 

7 activities that will improve the quality of child care services 

8 provided in the State: 

9 ‘‘(1) Supporting the training and professional 

10 development of the child care workforce through ac11 tivities such as those included under section 

12 658E(c)(2)(G), in addition to— 

13 ‘‘(A) offering training and professional de14 velopment opportunities for child care providers 

15 that relate to the use of scientifically-based, de16 velopmentally-appropriate and age-appropriate 

17 strategies to promote the social, emotional, phys18 ical, and cognitive development of children, in19 cluding those related to nutrition and physical 

20 activity, and offering specialized training for 

21 child care providers caring for those populations 

22 prioritized in section 658E(c)(2)(Q), and chil23 dren with disabilities; 

24 ‘‘(B) incorporating the effective use of data 

25 to guide program improvement; 
50 

•S 1086 EAH 

1 ‘‘(C) including effective behavior manage2 ment strategies and training, including positive 

3 behavior interventions and support models, that 

4 promote positive social and emotional develop5 ment and reduce challenging behaviors, includ6 ing reducing expulsions of preschool-aged chil7 dren for such behaviors; 

8 ‘‘(E) providing training and outreach on 

9 engaging parents and families in culturally and 

10 linguistically appropriate ways to expand their 

11 knowledge, skills, and capacity to become mean12 ingful partners in supporting their children’s 

13 positive development; 

14 ‘‘(F) providing training corresponding to 

15 the nutritional and physical activity needs of 

16 children to promote healthy development; 

17 ‘‘(G) providing training or professional de18 velopment for child care providers regarding the 

19 early neurological development of children; and 

20 ‘‘(H) connecting child care staff members of 

21 child care providers with available Federal and 

22 State financial aid, or other resources, that 

23 would assist child care staff members in pur24 suing relevant postsecondary training. 
51 

•S 1086 EAH 

1 ‘‘(2) Improving upon the development or imple2 mentation of the early learning and developmental 

3 guidelines described in section 658E(c)(2)(T) by pro4 viding technical assistance to eligible child care pro5 viders that enhances the cognitive, physical, social 

6 and emotional development, including early childhood 

7 development, of participating preschool and school8 aged children and supports their overall well-being. 

9 ‘‘(3) Developing, implementing, or enhancing a 

10 tiered quality rating system for child care providers 

11 and services, which may— 

12 ‘‘(A) support and assess the quality of child 

13 care providers in the State; 

14 ‘‘(B) build on State licensing standards and 

15 other State regulatory standards for such pro16 viders; 

17 ‘‘(C) be designed to improve the quality of 

18 different types of child care providers and serv19 ices; 

20 ‘‘(D) describe the safety of child care facili21 ties; 

22 ‘‘(E) build the capacity of State early child23 hood programs and communities to promote par24 ents’ and families’ understanding of the State’s 
52 

•S 1086 EAH 

1 early childhood system and the ratings of the 

2 programs in which the child is enrolled; 

3 ‘‘(F) provide, to the maximum extent prac4 ticable, financial incentives and other supports 

5 designed to expand the full diversity of child care 

6 options and help child care providers improve 

7 the quality of services; and 

8 ‘‘(G) accommodate a variety of distinctive 

9 approaches to early childhood education and 

10 care, including but not limited to, those prac11 ticed in faith-based settings, community-based 

12 settings, child-centered settings, or similar set13 tings that offer a distinctive approach to early 

14 childhood development. 

15 ‘‘(4) Improving the supply and quality of child 

16 care programs and services for infants and toddlers 

17 through activities, which may include— 

18 ‘‘(A) establishing or expanding high-quality 

19 community or neighborhood-based family and 

20 child development centers, which may serve as 

21 resources to child care providers in order to im22 prove the quality of early childhood services pro23 vided to infants and toddlers from low-income 

24 families and to help eligible child care providers 

25 improve their capacity to offer high-quality, age- 
53 

•S 1086 EAH 

1 appropriate care to infants and toddlers from 

2 low-income families; 

3 ‘‘(B) establishing or expanding the oper4 ation of community or neighborhood-based fam5 ily child care networks; 

6 ‘‘(C) promoting and expanding child care 

7 providers’ ability to provide developmentally ap8 propriate services for infants and toddlers 

9 through training and professional development; 

10 coaching and technical assistance on this age 

11 group’s unique needs from statewide networks of 

12 qualified infant-toddler specialists; and improved 

13 coordination with early intervention specialists 

14 who provide services for infants and toddlers 

15 with disabilities under part C of the Individuals 

16 with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1431 

17 et seq.); 

18 ‘‘(D) if applicable, developing infant and 

19 toddler components within the State’s quality 

20 rating system described in paragraph (3) for 

21 child care providers for infants and toddlers, or 

22 the development of infant and toddler compo23 nents in a State’s child care licensing regula24 tions or early learning and development guide25 lines; 
54 

•S 1086 EAH 

1 ‘‘(E) improving the ability of parents to ac2 cess transparent and easy to understand con3 sumer information about high-quality infant 

4 and toddler care; and 

5 ‘‘(F) carrying out other activities deter6 mined by the State to improve the quality of in7 fant and toddler care provided in the State, and 

8 for which there is evidence that the activities will 

9 lead to improved infant and toddler health and 

10 safety, infant and toddler cognitive and physical 

11 development, or infant and toddler well-being, 

12 including providing health and safety training 

13 (including training in safe sleep practices, first 

14 aid, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation) for pro15 viders and caregivers. 

16 ‘‘(5) Establishing or expanding a statewide sys17 tem of child care resource and referral services. 

18 ‘‘(6) Facilitating compliance with State require19 ments for inspection, monitoring, training, and 

20 health and safety, and with State licensing standards. 

21 ‘‘(7) Evaluating and assessing the quality and 

22 effectiveness of child care programs and services of23 fered in the State, including evaluating how such pro24 grams positively impact children. 
55 

•S 1086 EAH 

1 ‘‘(8) Supporting child care providers in the vol2 untary pursuit of accreditation by a national accred3 iting body with demonstrated, valid, and reliable pro4 gram standards of high quality. 

5 ‘‘(9) Supporting State or local efforts to develop 

6 or adopt high-quality program standards relating to 

7 health, mental health, nutrition, physical activity, 

8 and physical development. 

9 ‘‘(10) Carrying out other activities determined 

10 by the State to improve the quality of child care serv11 ices provided in the State, and for which measure12 ment of outcomes relating to improved provider pre13 paredness, child safety, child well-being, or entry to 

14 kindergarten is possible. 

15 ‘‘(c) CERTIFICATION.—Beginning with fiscal year 

16 2016, at the beginning of each fiscal year, the State shall 

17 annually submit to the Secretary a certification containing 

18 an assurance that the State was in compliance with sub19 section (a) during the preceding fiscal year and a descrip20 tion of how the State used funds received under this sub21 chapter to comply with subsection (a) during that preceding 

22 fiscal year. 

23 ‘‘(d) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Each State receiv24 ing funds under this subchapter shall prepare and submit 
56 

•S 1086 EAH 

1 an annual report to the Secretary, which shall include in2 formation about— 

3 ‘‘(1) the amount of funds that are reserved under 

4 subsection (a); 

5 ‘‘(2) the activities carried out under this section; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(3) the measures that the State will use to 

8 evaluate the State’s progress in improving the quality 

9 of child care programs and services in the State. 

10 ‘‘(e) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall 

11 offer technical assistance, in accordance with section 

12 658I(a)(3), which may include technical assistance through 

13 the use of grants or cooperative agreements, to States for 

14 the activities described in subsection (b) at the request of 

15 the State. 

16 ‘‘(f) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section shall be 

17 construed as providing the Secretary the authority to regu18 late, direct, dictate, or place conditions (outside of what is 

19 required by this subchapter) on a State adopting specific 

20 State child care quality activities or progress in imple21 menting those activities.’’. 

22 SEC. 7. CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECKS. 

23 The Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 

24 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858 et seq.) is amended by inserting after 

25 section 658G the following: 
57 

•S 1086 EAH 

1 ‘‘SEC. 658H. CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECKS. 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A State that receives funds to 

3 carry out this subchapter shall have in effect— 

4 ‘‘(1) requirements, policies, and procedures to re5 quire and conduct criminal background checks for 

6 child care staff members (including prospective child 

7 care staff members) of child care providers described 

8 in subsection (c)(1); and 

9 ‘‘(2) licensing, regulation, and registration re10 quirements, as applicable, that prohibit the employ11 ment of child care staff members as described in sub12 section (c). 

13 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS.—A criminal background check 

14 for a child care staff member under subsection (a) shall in15 clude— 

16 ‘‘(1) a search of the State criminal and sex of17 fender registry or repository in the State where the 

18 child care staff member resides, and each State where 

19 such staff member resided during the preceding 5 

20 years; 

21 ‘‘(2) a search of State-based child abuse and ne22 glect registries and databases in the State where the 

23 child care staff member resides, and each State where 

24 such staff member resided during the preceding 5 

25 years; 
58 

•S 1086 EAH 

1 ‘‘(3) a search of the National Crime Information 

2 Center; 

3 ‘‘(4) a Federal Bureau of Investigation finger4 print check using the Integrated Automated Finger5 print Identification System; and 

6 ‘‘(5) a search of the National Sex Offender Reg7 istry established under the Adam Walsh Child Protec8 tion and Safety Act of 2006 (42 U.S.C. 16901 et seq.). 

9 ‘‘(c) PROHIBITIONS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) CHILD CARE STAFF MEMBERS.—A child 

11 care staff member shall be ineligible for employment 

12 by a child care provider that is receiving assistance 

13 under this subchapter if such individual— 

14 ‘‘(A) refuses to consent to the criminal back15 ground check described in subsection (b); 

16 ‘‘(B) knowingly makes a materially false 

17 statement in connection with such criminal 

18 background check; 

19 ‘‘(C) is registered, or is required to be reg20 istered, on a State sex offender registry or reposi21 tory or the National Sex Offender Registry estab22 lished under the Adam Walsh Child Protection 

23 and Safety Act of 2006 (42 U.S.C. 16901 et 

24 seq.); or 
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1 ‘‘(D) has been convicted of a felony con2 sisting of— 

3 ‘‘(i) murder, as described in section 

4 1111 of title 18, United States Code; 

5 ‘‘(ii) child abuse or neglect; 

6 ‘‘(iii) a crime against children, includ7 ing child pornography; 

8 ‘‘(iv) spousal abuse; 

9 ‘‘(v) a crime involving rape or sexual 

10 assault; 

11 ‘‘(vi) kidnapping; 

12 ‘‘(vii) arson; 

13 ‘‘(viii) physical assault or battery; or 

14 ‘‘(ix) subject to subsection (e)(4), a 

15 drug-related offense committed during the 

16 preceding 5 years; or 

17 ‘‘(E) has been convicted of a violent mis18 demeanor committed as an adult against a child, 

19 including the following crimes: child abuse, child 

20 endangerment, sexual assault, or of a mis21 demeanor involving child pornography. 

22 ‘‘(2) CHILD CARE PROVIDERS.—A child care pro23 vider described in subsection (i)(1) shall be ineligible 

24 for assistance provided in accordance with this sub-
60 

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1 chapter if the provider employs a staff member who 

2 is ineligible for employment under paragraph (1). 

3 ‘‘(d) SUBMISSION OF REQUESTS FOR BACKGROUND

4 CHECKS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A child care provider covered 

6 by subsection (c) shall submit a request, to the appro7 priate State agency designated by a State, for a 

8 criminal background check described in subsection (b), 

9 for each child care staff member (including prospec10 tive child care staff members) of the provider. 

11 ‘‘(2) STAFF MEMBERS.—Subject to paragraph 

12 (4), in the case of an individual who became a child 

13 care staff member before the date of enactment of the 

14 Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 

15 2014, the provider shall submit such a request— 

16 ‘‘(A) prior to the last day described in sub17 section (j)(1); and 

18 ‘‘(B) not less often than once during each 5- 

19 year period following the first submission date 

20 under this paragraph for that staff member. 

21 ‘‘(3) PROSPECTIVE STAFF MEMBERS.—Subject to 

22 paragraph (4), in the case of an individual who is a 

23 prospective child care staff member on or after that 

24 date of enactment, the provider shall submit such a 

25 request— 
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1 ‘‘(A) prior to the date the individual be2 comes a child care staff member of the provider; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(B) not less than once during each 5-year 

5 period following the first submission date under 

6 this paragraph for that staff member. 

7 ‘‘(4) BACKGROUND CHECK FOR ANOTHER CHILD

8 CARE PROVIDER.—A child care provider shall not be 

9 required to submit a request under paragraph (2) or 

10 (3) for a child care staff member if— 

11 ‘‘(A) the staff member received a background 

12 check described in subsection (b)— 

13 ‘‘(i) within 5 years before the latest 

14 date on which such a submission may be 

15 made; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) while employed by or seeking em17 ployment by another child care provider 

18 within the State; 

19 ‘‘(B) the State provided to the first provider 

20 a qualifying background check result, consistent 

21 with this subchapter, for the staff member; and 

22 ‘‘(C) the staff member is employed by a 

23 child care provider within the State, or has been 

24 separated from employment from a child care 
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1 provider within the State for a period of not 

2 more than 180 consecutive days. 

3 ‘‘(e) BACKGROUND CHECK RESULTS AND APPEALS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) BACKGROUND CHECK RESULTS.—The State 

5 shall carry out the request of a child care provider for 

6 a criminal background check as expeditiously as pos7 sible, but not to exceed 45 days after the date on 

8 which such request was submitted, and shall provide 

9 the results of the criminal background check to such 

10 provider and to the current or prospective staff mem11 ber. 

12 ‘‘(2) PRIVACY.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The State shall provide 

14 the results of the criminal background check to 

15 the provider in a statement that indicates wheth16 er a child care staff member (including a pro17 spective child care staff member) is eligible or in18 eligible for employment described in subsection 

19 (c), without revealing any disqualifying crime or 

20 other related information regarding the indi21 vidual. 

22 ‘‘(B) INELIGIBLE STAFF MEMBER.—If the 

23 child care staff member is ineligible for such em24 ployment due to the background check, the State 

25 will, when providing the results of the back-
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1 ground check, include information related to 

2 each disqualifying crime, in a report to the staff 

3 member or prospective staff member. 

4 ‘‘(C) PUBLIC RELEASE OF RESULTS.—No 

5 State shall publicly release or share the results of 

6 individual background checks, except States may 

7 release aggregated data by crime as listed under 

8 subsection (c)(1)(D) from background check re9 sults, as long as such data is not personally 

10 identifiable information. 

11 ‘‘(3) APPEALS.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The State shall provide 

13 for a process by which a child care staff member 

14 (including a prospective child care staff member) 

15 may appeal the results of a criminal background 

16 check conducted under this section to challenge 

17 the accuracy or completeness of the information 

18 contained in such member’s criminal background 

19 report. 

20 ‘‘(B) APPEALS PROCESS.—The State shall 

21 ensure that— 

22 ‘‘(i) each child care staff member shall 

23 be given notice of the opportunity to appeal; 

24 ‘‘(ii) a child care staff member will re25 ceive instructions about how to complete the 
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1 appeals process if the child care staff mem2 ber wishes to challenge the accuracy or com3 pleteness of the information contained in 

4 such member’s criminal background report; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(iii) the appeals process is completed 

7 in a timely manner for each child care staff 

8 member. 

9 ‘‘(4) REVIEW.—The State may allow for a re10 view process through which the State may determine 

11 that a child care staff member (including a prospec12 tive child care staff member) disqualified for a crime 

13 specified in subsection (c)(1)(D)(ix) is eligible for em14 ployment described in subsection (c)(1), notwith15 standing subsection (c). The review process shall be 

16 consistent with title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 

17 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.). 

18 ‘‘(5) NO PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.—Nothing in 

19 this section shall be construed to create a private 

20 right of action if a provider has acted in accordance 

21 with this section. 

22 ‘‘(f) FEES FOR BACKGROUND CHECKS.—Fees that a 

23 State may charge for the costs of processing applications 

24 and administering a criminal background check as required 
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1 by this section shall not exceed the actual costs to the State 

2 for the processing and administration. 

3 ‘‘(g) TRANSPARENCY.—The State must ensure that the 

4 policies and procedures under section 658H are published 

5 on the Web site (or otherwise publicly available venue in 

6 the absence of a Web site) of the State and the Web sites 

7 of local lead agencies. 

8 ‘‘(h) CONSTRUCTION.— 

9 ‘‘(1) DISQUALIFICATION FOR OTHER CRIMES.— 

10 Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent 

11 a State from disqualifying individuals as child care 

12 staff members based on their conviction for crimes not 

13 specifically listed in this section that bear upon the 

14 fitness of an individual to provide care for and have 

15 responsibility for the safety and well-being of chil16 dren. 

17 ‘‘(2) RIGHTS AND REMEDIES.—Nothing in this 

18 section shall be construed to alter or otherwise affect 

19 the rights and remedies provided for child care staff 

20 members residing in a State that disqualifies individ21 uals as child care staff members for crimes not spe22 cifically provided for under this section. 

23 ‘‘(i) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

24 ‘‘(1) the term ‘child care provider’ means a cen25 ter-based child care provider, a family child care pro-
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1 vider, or another provider of child care services for 

2 compensation and on a regular basis that— 

3 ‘‘(A) is not an individual who is related to 

4 all children for whom child care services are pro5 vided; and 

6 ‘‘(B) is licensed, regulated, or registered 

7 under State law or receives assistance provided 

8 under this subchapter; and 

9 ‘‘(2) the term ‘child care staff member’ means an 

10 individual (other than an individual who is related 

11 to all children for whom child care services are pro12 vided)— 

13 ‘‘(A) who is employed by a child care pro14 vider for compensation; or 

15 ‘‘(B) whose activities involve the care or su16 pervision of children for a child care provider or 

17 unsupervised access to children who are cared for 

18 or supervised by a child care provider. 

19 ‘‘(j) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State that receives funds 

21 under this subchapter shall meet the requirements of 

22 this section for the provision of criminal background 

23 checks for child care staff members described in sub24 section (d)(1) not later than the last day of the second 

25 full fiscal year after the date of enactment of the 
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1 Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 

2 2014. 

3 ‘‘(2) EXTENSION.—The Secretary may grant a 

4 State an extension of time, of not more than 1 fiscal 

5 year, to meet the requirements of this section if the 

6 State demonstrates a good faith effort to comply with 

7 the requirements of this section. 

8 ‘‘(3) PENALTY FOR NONCOMPLIANCE.—Except as 

9 provided in paragraphs (1) and (2), for any fiscal 

10 year that a State fails to comply substantially with 

11 the requirements of this section, the Secretary shall 

12 withhold 5 percent of the funds that would otherwise 

13 be allocated to that State in accordance with this sub14 chapter for the following fiscal year.’’. 

15 SEC. 8. REPORTS AND INFORMATION. 

16 (a) ADMINISTRATION.—Section 658I(a) of the Child 

17 Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 

18 9858g(a)) is amended— 

19 (1) in paragraph (2)— 

20 (A) by inserting a comma after ‘‘publish’’; 

21 and 

22 (B) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

23 (2) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the 

24 following: 
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1 ‘‘(3) provide technical assistance, such as busi2 ness technical assistance, as described in section 

3 658E(c)(2)(V), to States (which may include pro4 viding assistance on a reimbursable basis) which shall 

5 be provided by qualified experts on practices ground6 ed in scientifically valid research, where appropriate, 

7 to carry out this subchapter;’’; and 

8 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(4) disseminate, for voluntary informational 

10 purposes, information on practices that scientifically 

11 valid research indicates are most successful in im12 proving the quality of programs that receive assist13 ance with this subchapter; and 

14 ‘‘(5) after consultation with the heads of any 

15 other Federal agencies involved, issue guidance and 

16 disseminate information on best practices regarding 

17 the use of funding combined by States as described in 

18 section 658E(c)(2)(O)(ii), consistent with laws other 

19 than this subchapter.’’. 

20 (b) REQUEST FOR RELIEF.—Section 658I of the Child 

21 Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 

22 9858g), as amended by subsection (a), is further amended 

23 by adding at the end of the following: 

24 ‘‘(c) REQUEST FOR RELIEF.— 
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may waive for 

2 a period of not more than three years any provision 

3 under this subchapter or sanctions imposed upon a 

4 State in accordance with subsection (b)(2) upon the 

5 State’s request for such a waiver if the Secretary 

6 finds that— 

7 ‘‘(A) the request describes one or more con8 flicting or duplicative requirements preventing 

9 the effective delivery of child care services to jus10 tify a waiver, extraordinary circumstances, such 

11 as natural disaster or financial crisis, or an ex12 tended period of time for a State legislature to 

13 enact legislation to implement the provisions of 

14 this subchapter; 

15 ‘‘(B) such circumstances included in the re16 quest prevent the State from complying with any 

17 statutory or regulatory requirements of this sub18 chapter; 

19 ‘‘(C) the waiver will, by itself, contribute to 

20 or enhance the State’s ability to carry out the 

21 purposes of this subchapter; and, 

22 ‘‘(D) the waiver will not contribute to in23 consistency with the objectives of this law. 

24 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—Such request shall be provided 

25 to the Secretary in writing and will— 
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1 ‘‘(A) detail each sanction or provision with2 in this subchapter that the State seeks relief 

3 from; 

4 ‘‘(B) describe how a waiver from that sanc5 tion or provision of this subchapter will, by 

6 itself, improve delivery of child care services for 

7 children in the State; and 

8 ‘‘(C) certify that the health, safety, and 

9 well-being of children served through assistance 

10 received under this subchapter will not be com11 promised as a result of the waiver. 

12 ‘‘(3) APPROVAL.—Within 90 days after the re13 ceipt of a State’s request under this subsection, the 

14 Secretary shall inform the State of approval or dis15 approval of the request. If the plan is disapproved, 

16 the Secretary shall, at this time, inform the State, the 

17 Committee on Education and the Workforce of the 

18 House of Representatives, and the Committee on 

19 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate 

20 of the reasons for the disapproval and give the State 

21 the opportunity to amend the request. In the case of 

22 approval, the Secretary shall, within 30 days of 

23 granting such waiver, notify and submit a report to 

24 the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the 

25 House of Representatives and the Committee on 
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1 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate 

2 on the circumstances of the waiver including each 

3 specific sanction or provision waived, the reason as 

4 given by the State of the need for a waiver, and the 

5 expected impact of the waiver on children served 

6 under this program. 

7 ‘‘(4) EXTERNAL CONDITIONS.—The Secretary 

8 shall not require or impose any new or additional re9 quirements in exchange for receipt of a waiver if such 

10 requirements are not specified in this subchapter. 

11 ‘‘(5) DURATION.—The Secretary may approve a 

12 request under this subsection for a period not to ex13 ceed three years, unless a renewal is granted under 

14 paragraph (7). 

15 ‘‘(6) TERMINATION.—The Secretary shall termi16 nate approval of a request for a waiver authorized 

17 under this subsection if the Secretary determines, 

18 after notice and opportunity for a hearing, that the 

19 performance of a State granted relief under this sub20 section has been inadequate, or if such relief is no 

21 longer necessary to achieve its original purposes. 

22 ‘‘(7) RENEWAL.—The Secretary may approve or 

23 disapprove a request from a State for renewal of an 

24 existing waiver under this subchapter for a period no 

25 longer than one year. A State seeking to renew their 
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1 waiver approval must inform the Secretary of this in2 tent no later than 30 days prior to the expiration 

3 date of the waiver. The State shall re-certify in its ex4 tension request the provisions in paragraph (2) of this 

5 subchapter, and shall also explain the need for addi6 tional time of relief from such sanction(s) or provi7 sions approved under this law as provided in this 

8 subchapter. 

9 ‘‘(8) RESTRICTIONS.—Nothing in this subchapter 

10 shall be construed as providing the Secretary the au11 thority to permit States to alter the eligibility re12 quirements for eligible children, including work re13 quirements, job training, or educational program par14 ticipation, that apply to the parents of eligible chil15 dren under this subchapter. Nothing in this subsection 

16 shall be construed to allow the Secretary to waive 

17 anything related to his or her authority under this 

18 subchapter.’’. 

19 (c) REPORTS.—Section 658K(a) of the Child Care and 

20 Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858i(a)) 

21 is amended— 

22 (1) in paragraph (1)(B)— 

23 (A) in clause (ix), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

24 end; 
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1 (B) in clause (x), by striking the semicolon 

2 at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

3 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(xi) whether the children receiving as5 sistance under this subchapter are homeless 

6 children;’’; and 

7 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

8 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

9 (A), by striking ‘‘December 31, 1997’’ and all 

10 that follows through ‘‘thereafter’’, and inserting 

11 ‘‘1 year after the date of the enactment of the 

12 Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 

13 2014, and annually thereafter,’’; 

14 (B) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘sec15 tion 658P(5)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 658P(6)’’; 

16 (C) in subparagraph (E) by striking the pe17 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

18 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(F) the number of child fatalities occurring 

20 among children while in the care and facility of 

21 child care providers receiving assistance under 

22 this subchapter, listed by type of child care pro23 vider and indicating whether the providers (ex24 cluding child care providers described in section 

25 658P(6)(B)) are licensed or license-exempt.’’. 
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1 (d) REPORT BY SECRETARY.—Section 658L of the 

2 Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 

3 U.S.C. 9858j) is amended— 

4 (1) by striking the section heading and inserting 

5 the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 658L. REPORTS, HOTLINE, AND WEB SITE.’’; 

7 (2) by striking ‘‘Not later’’ and inserting the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘(a) REPORT BY SECRETARY.—Not later’’; 

10 (3) by striking ‘‘1998’’ and inserting ‘‘2016’’; 

11 (4) by striking ‘‘to the Committee’’ and all that 

12 follows through ‘‘of the Senate’’ and inserting ‘‘to the 

13 Committee on Education and the Workforce of the 

14 House of Representatives and the Committee on 

15 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Sen16 ate’’; 

17 (5) by inserting after ‘‘States.’’ the following: 

18 ‘‘Such report shall contain a determination around whether 

19 each State that uses amounts provided under this sub20 chapter has complied with the priority for services described 

21 in sections 658E(c)(2)(Q) and 658E(c)(3)(B).’’; and 

22 (6) by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(b) NATIONAL TOLL-FREE HOTLINE AND WEB

24 SITE.— 
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall operate, 

2 directly or through the use of grants or contracts, a 

3 national toll-free hotline and Web site, to— 

4 ‘‘(A) develop and disseminate publicly 

5 available child care consumer education informa6 tion for parents and help parents access safe and 

7 quality child care services in their community, 

8 with a range of price options, that best suits 

9 their family’s needs; and 

10 ‘‘(B) to allow persons to report (anony11 mously if desired) suspected child abuse or ne12 glect, or violations of health and safety require13 ments, by an eligible child care provider that re14 ceives assistance under this subchapter or a 

15 member of the provider’s staff. 

16 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary shall en17 sure that the hotline and Web site meet the following 

18 requirements: 

19 ‘‘(A) REFERRAL TO LOCAL CHILD CARE

20 PROVIDERS.—The Web site shall be hosted by 

21 ‘childcare.gov’. The Web site shall enable a child 

22 care consumer to enter a zip code and obtain a 

23 referral to local child care providers described in 

24 subparagraph (B) within a specified search ra25 dius. 
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1 ‘‘(B) INFORMATION.—The Web site shall 

2 provide to consumers, directly or through link3 ages to State databases, at a minimum— 

4 ‘‘(i) a localized list of all eligible child 

5 care providers, differentiating between li6 censed and license-exempt providers; 

7 ‘‘(ii) any provider-specific information 

8 from a Quality Rating and Improvement 

9 System or information about other quality 

10 indicators, to the extent the information is 

11 publicly available and to the extent prac12 ticable; 

13 ‘‘(iii) any other provider-specific infor14 mation about compliance with licensing, 

15 and health and safety requirements to the 

16 extent the information is publicly available 

17 and to the extent practicable; 

18 ‘‘(iv) referrals to local resource and re19 ferral organizations from which consumers 

20 can find more information about child care 

21 providers; and 

22 ‘‘(v) State information about child care 

23 subsidy programs and other financial sup24 ports available to families. 
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1 ‘‘(C) NATIONWIDE CAPACITY.—The Web site 

2 and hotline shall have the capacity to help fami3 lies in every State and community in the Na4 tion. 

5 ‘‘(D) INFORMATION AT ALL HOURS.—The 

6 Web site shall provide, to parents and families, 

7 access to information about child care services 24 

8 hours a day. 

9 ‘‘(E) SERVICES IN DIFFERENT LAN10 GUAGES.—The Web site and hotline shall ensure 

11 the widest possible access to services for families 

12 who speak languages other than English. 

13 ‘‘(F) HIGH-QUALITY CONSUMER EDUCATION

14 AND REFERRAL.—The Web site and hotline shall 

15 ensure that families have access to easy-to-under16 stand child care consumer education and referral 

17 services. 

18 ‘‘(3) PROHIBITION.—Nothing in this subsection 

19 shall be construed to allow the Secretary to compel 

20 States to provide additional data and information 

21 that is currently (as of the date of enactment of the 

22 Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 

23 2014) not publicly available, or is not required by 

24 this subchapter, unless such additional data are re25 lated to the purposes and scope of this subchapter, 
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1 and are subject to a notice and comment period of no 

2 less than 90 days.’’. 

3 (e) PROTECTION OF INFORMATION.—Section 

4 658K(a)(1) of the Child Care and Development Block Grant 

5 Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858i(a)(1)) is amended by adding 

6 at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(E) PROHIBITION.—Reports submitted to 

8 the Secretary under subparagraph (C) shall not 

9 contain personally identifiable information.’’. 

10 SEC. 9. RESERVATION FOR TOLL-FREE HOTLINE AND WEB 

11 SITE; PAYMENTS TO BENEFIT INDIAN CHIL12 DREN; TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND EVALUA13 TION. 

14 Section 658O of the Child Care and Development Block 

15 Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858m) is amended— 

16 (1) in subsection (a)— 

17 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

18 (i) by striking ‘‘The Secretary’’ and 

19 inserting the following: 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary’’; 

21 (ii) by striking ‘‘1 percent, and not 

22 more than 2 percent,’’ and inserting ‘‘2 per23 cent’’; and 

24 (iii) by adding at the end the fol25 lowing: 
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1 ‘‘(B) LIMITATIONS.—Notwithstanding sub2 paragraph (A), the Secretary shall only reserve 

3 an amount that is greater than 2 percent of the 

4 amount appropriated under section 658B, for 

5 payments described in subparagraph (A), for a 

6 fiscal year (referred to in this subparagraph as 

7 the ‘reservation year’) if — 

8 ‘‘(i) the amount appropriated under 

9 section 658B for the reservation year is 

10 greater than the amount appropriated 

11 under section 658B for fiscal year 2014; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(ii) the Secretary ensures that the 

14 amount allotted to States under subsection 

15 (b) for the reservation year is not less than 

16 the amount allotted to States under sub17 section (b) for fiscal year 2014.’’; and 

18 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(3) NATIONAL TOLL-FREE HOTLINE AND WEB

20 SITE.—The Secretary shall reserve up to $1,500,000 

21 of the amount appropriated under this subchapter for 

22 each fiscal year for the operation of a national toll23 free hotline and Web site, under section 658L(b). 

24 ‘‘(4) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary 

shall reserve up to 1 25 ⁄2 of 1 percent of the amount ap-
80 

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1 propriated under this subchapter for each fiscal year 

2 to support technical assistance and dissemination ac3 tivities under paragraphs (3) and (4) of section 

4 658I(a). 

5 ‘‘(5) RESEARCH, DEMONSTRATION, AND EVALUATION.—The Secretary may reserve 1 6 ⁄2 of 1 percent of 

7 the amount appropriated under this subchapter for 

8 each fiscal year to conduct research and demonstra9 tion activities, as well as periodic external, inde10 pendent evaluations of the impact of the program de11 scribed by this subchapter on increasing access to 

12 child care services and improving the safety and qual13 ity of child care services, using scientifically valid re14 search methodologies, and to disseminate the key find15 ings of those evaluations widely and on a timely 

16 basis.’’; and 

17 (2) in subsection (c)— 

18 (A) in paragraph (2), by adding at the end 

19 the following: 

20 ‘‘(D) LICENSING AND STANDARDS.—In lieu 

21 of any licensing and regulatory requirements ap22 plicable under State or local law, the Secretary, 

23 in consultation with Indian tribes and tribal or24 ganizations, shall develop minimum child care 

25 standards that shall be applicable to Indian 
81 

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1 tribes and tribal organizations receiving assist2 ance under this subchapter. Such standards shall 

3 appropriately reflect Indian tribe and tribal or4 ganization needs and available resources, and 

5 shall include standards requiring a publicly 

6 available application, health and safety stand7 ards, and standards requiring a reservation of 

8 funds for activities to improve the quality of 

9 child care services provided to Indian children.’’; 

10 and 

11 (B) in paragraph (6), by striking subpara12 graph (C) and inserting the following: 

13 ‘‘(C) LIMITATION.— 

14 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 

15 in clause (ii), the Secretary may not permit 

16 an Indian tribe or tribal organization to 

17 use amounts provided under this subsection 

18 for construction or renovation if the use will 

19 result in a decrease in the level of child care 

20 services provided by the Indian tribe or 

21 tribal organization as compared to the level 

22 of child care services provided by the Indian 

23 tribe or tribal organization in the fiscal 

24 year preceding the year for which the deter-
82 

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1 mination under subparagraph (B) is being 

2 made. 

3 ‘‘(ii) WAIVER.—The Secretary shall 

4 waive the limitation described in clause (i) 

5 if— 

6 ‘‘(I) the Secretary determines that 

7 the decrease in the level of child care 

8 services provided by the Indian tribe or 

9 tribal organization is temporary; and 

10 ‘‘(II) the Indian tribe or tribal or11 ganization submits to the Secretary a 

12 plan that demonstrates that after the 

13 date on which the construction or ren14 ovation is completed— 

15 ‘‘(aa) the level of child care 

16 services will increase; or 

17 ‘‘(bb) the quality of child 

18 care services will improve.’’. 

19 SEC. 10. DEFINITIONS. 

20 Section 658P of the Child Care and Development Block 

21 Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858n) is amended— 

22 (1) by striking paragraph (4) and inserting the 

23 following: 

24 ‘‘(3) CHILD WITH A DISABILITY.—The term 

25 ‘child with a disability’ means— 
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1 ‘‘(A) a child with a disability, as defined in 

2 section 602 of the Individuals with Disabilities 

3 Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1401); 

4 ‘‘(B) a child who is eligible for early inter5 vention services under part C of the Individuals 

6 with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1431 

7 et seq.); 

8 ‘‘(C) a child who is less than 13 years of 

9 age and who is eligible for services under section 

10 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 

11 794); and 

12 ‘‘(D) a child with a disability, as defined by 

13 the State involved. 

14 ‘‘(4) ELIGIBLE CHILD.—The term ‘eligible child’ 

15 means an individual— 

16 ‘‘(A) who is less than 13 years of age; 

17 ‘‘(B) whose family income does not exceed 

18 85 percent of the State median income for a 

19 family of the same size, and whose family assets 

20 do not exceed $1,000,000 (as certified by a mem21 ber of such family); and 

22 ‘‘(C) who— 

23 ‘‘(i) resides with a parent or parents 

24 who are working or attending a job train25 ing or educational program; or 
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1 ‘‘(ii) is receiving, or needs to receive, 

2 protective services and resides with a parent 

3 or parents not described in clause (i).’’; 

4 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (5) through (9) 

5 as paragraphs (6) through (10), respectively; 

6 (3) by inserting after paragraph (4), the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(5) ENGLISH LEARNER.—The term ‘English 

9 learner’ means an individual who is limited English 

10 proficient, as defined in section 9101 of the Elemen11 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

12 U.S.C. 7801) or section 637 of the Head Start Act (42 

13 U.S.C. 9832).’’; 

14 (4) in paragraph (6)(A), as redesignated by 

15 paragraph (2)— 

16 (A) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘section 

17 658E(c)(2)(E)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

18 658E(c)(2)(F)’’; and 

19 (B) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘section 

20 658E(c)(2)(F)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

21 658E(c)(2)(I)’’; 

22 (5) in paragraph (9), as redesignated by para23 graph (2), by striking ‘‘designated’’ and all that fol24 lows and inserting ‘‘designated or established under 

25 section 658D(a).’’; 
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1 (6) in paragraph (10), as redesignated by para2 graph (2), by inserting ‘‘, foster parent,’’ after 

3 ‘‘guardian’’; 

4 (7) by redesignating paragraphs (11) through 

5 (14) as paragraphs (12) through (15), respectively; 

6 and 

7 (8) by inserting after paragraph (10), as redesig8 nated by paragraph (2), the following: 

9 ‘‘(11) SCIENTIFICALLY VALID RESEARCH.—The 

10 term ‘scientifically valid research’ includes applied 

11 research, basic research, and field-initiated research, 

12 for which the rationale, design, and interpretation are 

13 soundly developed in accordance with principles of 

14 scientific research.’’. 

15 SEC. 11. PARENTAL RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES. 

16 Section 658Q of the Child Care and Development Block 

17 Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858o) is amended— 

18 (1) by inserting before ‘‘Nothing’’ the following: 

19 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—’’; and 

20 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(b) PARENTAL RIGHTS TO USE CHILD CARE CER22 TIFICATES.—Nothing in this subchapter shall be construed 

23 in a manner— 

24 ‘‘(1) to favor or promote the use of grants and 

25 contracts for the receipt of child care services under 
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1 this subchapter over the use of child care certificates; 

2 or 

3 ‘‘(2) to disfavor or discourage the use of such cer4 tificates for the purchase of child care services, includ5 ing those services provided by private or nonprofit en6 tities, such as faith-based providers.’’. 

7 SEC. 12. STUDIES ON WAITING LISTS. 

8 (a) STUDY.—The Comptroller General of the United 

9 States shall conduct studies to determine, for each State, 

10 the number of families that— 

11 (1) are eligible to receive assistance under the 

12 Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 

13 (42 U.S.C. 9858 et seq.); 

14 (2) have applied for the assistance, identified by 

15 the type of assistance requested; and 

16 (3) have been placed on a waiting list for the as17 sistance. 

18 (b) REPORT.—The Comptroller General shall prepare 

19 a report containing the results of each study and shall sub20 mit the report to the Committee on Health, Education, 

21 Labor and Pensions of the Senate, and the Committee on 

22 Education and the Workforce of the House of Representa23 tives— 

24 (1) not later than 2 years after the date of enact25 ment of this Act; and 
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1 (2) every 2 years thereafter. 

2 (c) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘State’’ has 

3 the meaning given the term in section 658P of the Child 

4 Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 

5 9858n). 

6 SEC. 13. REVIEW OF FEDERAL EARLY LEARNING AND CARE 

7 PROGRAMS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 

9 Human Services, in conjunction with the Secretary of Edu10 cation, shall conduct an interdepartmental review of all 

11 early learning and care programs for children less than 6 

12 years of age in order to— 

13 (1) develop a plan for the elimination of overlap14 ping programs, as identified by the Government Ac15 countability Office’s 2012 annual report (GAO–12– 

16 342SP); and 

17 (2) make recommendations to Congress for 

18 streamlining all such programs. 

19 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date of 

20 enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human 

21 Services, in consultation with the Secretary of Education 

22 and the heads of all Federal agencies that administer Fed23 eral early learning and care programs, shall submit to the 

24 Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of 

25 the Senate and the Committee on Education and the Work-
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1 force of the House of Representatives, a detailed report that 

2 outlines the efficiencies that can be achieved by, as well as 

3 specific recommendations for, eliminating overlap and frag4 mentation among all Federal early learning and care pro5 grams. 

Attest: 

Clerk. 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1086 

AMENDMENT