II 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1494 

To amend the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to 

improve child safety and reduce the incidence of preventable infant deaths 

in child care settings. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 11, 2013 

Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself, Ms. COLLINS, and Mrs. HAGAN) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 

Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend the Child Care and Development Block Grant 

Act of 1990 to improve child safety and reduce the 

incidence of preventable infant deaths in child care settings. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Child Care Infant Mor5 tality Prevention Act of 2013’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) For millions of today’s working families, 

2 child care is an essential ingredient of their success. 

3 Child care helps children, families, and communities 

4 prosper, and helps the Nation maintain its competi5 tive edge. 

6 (2) Close to 12,000,000 children under age 5, 

7 and 10,000,000 over the age of 5, are in some type 

8 of child care setting each day. 

9 (3) More than 60 percent of children are cared 

10 for regularly in a child care setting. 

11 (4) Recent polls of working parents found that 

12 parents are primarily concerned about safety and 

13 quality of care, followed by cost. 

14 (5) Nationally, the most common form of death 

15 among post-neonatal infants under age 1 is death 

16 occurring during sleep, as a result of incorrect sleep17 ing practices. 

18 (6) According to the Centers for Disease Con19 trol and Prevention, each year in the United States, 

20 more than 4,500 infants die suddenly of no imme21 diately obvious cause. Half of these sudden unex22 pected infant deaths are due to Sudden Infant 

23 Death Syndrome, the leading cause of sudden unex24 pected infant deaths and all deaths among infants 


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1 who are not younger than 1 month but younger than 

2 12 months. 

3 (7) Researchers estimate that child care set4 tings account for at least 20 percent of sudden unex5 pected infant deaths in the United States. 

6 (8) In its 2011 report on child care center li7 censing regulations, Child Care Aware of America, 

8 formerly known as the National Association of Child 

9 Care Resource and Referral Agencies, noted that— 

10 (A) extensive research and recommenda11 tions from organizations like the American 

12 Academy of Pediatrics and the National Cen13 ters for Disease Control and Prevention favor 

14 simple life-saving safe sleep strategies to elimi15 nate serious risk factors for Sudden Infant 

16 Death Syndrome and sudden unexpected infant 

17 death; and 

18 (B) the strategies noted in subparagraph 

19 (A) are not universally required under the Child 

20 Care and Development Block Grant Act of 

21 1990 nor in the majority of State child care 

22 regulations. 


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1 SEC. 3. GOALS. 

2 Section 658A(b)(5) of the Child Care and Develop3 ment Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858 note) is 

4 amended to read as follows: 

5 ‘‘(5) to ensure the health, safety, development 

6 and well-being of children in programs supported 

7 under this subchapter and to assist States in im8 proving the overall quality of child care services and 

9 programs by implementing the health, safety, licens10 ing, and oversight standards established in State law 

11 (including regulations).’’. 

12 SEC. 4. APPLICATION AND PLAN. 

13 Section 658E(c)(2)(F) of the Child Care and Devel14 opment Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 

15 6858c(c)(2)(F)) is amended by striking clause (iii) and all 

16 that follows and inserting the following: 

17 ‘‘(iii) minimum health and safety 

18 training appropriate to the provider set19 ting, including training on cardiopulmo20 nary resuscitation, first aid, safe sleep 

21 practices and other sudden unexpected in22 fant death prevention strategies.’’. 

23 SEC. 5. ACTIVITIES TO PROMOTE CHILD SAFETY AND IM24 PROVE THE QUALITY OF CHILD CARE. 

25 Section 658G of the Child Care and Development 

26 Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858e) is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking ‘‘choice, and’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘choice,’’; and 

3 (2) by striking the period and inserting ‘‘train4 ing (including training in safe sleep practices, first 

5 aid, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation), and other 

6 activities designed to ensure and improve the health 

7 and safety of children receiving child care services 

8 under this subchapter.’’. 

9 SEC. 6. DISSEMINATION OF MATERIALS AND INFORMATION 

10 ON SAFE SLEEP AND OTHER SUDDEN UNEX11 PECTED INFANT DEATH PREVENTION STRAT12 EGIES. 

13 Section 658K of the Child Care and Development 

14 Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858i) is amended— 

15 (1) by striking the section header and inserting 

16 the following: 

17 ‘‘SEC. 658K. REPORTS, AUDITS, AND INFORMATION.’’; 

18 and 

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

20 ‘‘(c) INFORMATION ON SUDDEN UNEXPECTED IN21 FANT DEATH PREVENTION STRATEGIES.—The Secretary, 

22 working with the Director of the Centers for Disease Con23 trol and Prevention and the Director of the Eunice Ken24 nedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and 

25 Human Development, shall— 


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1 ‘‘(1) update training, instructional materials, 

2 and other information on safe sleep practices and 

3 other sudden unexpected infant death prevention 

4 strategies; and 

5 ‘‘(2) widely distribute the training, materials, 

6 and information to parents, child care providers, pe7 diatricians, home visitors, community colleges, and 

8 other individuals and entities.’’. 

Æ 


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