II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 813

To ensure the safety of children placed in child care centers in Federal

facilities, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

APRIL 15, 1999

Mr. JEFFORDS (for himself, Ms. LANDRIEU, Mr. DODD, Mr. SARBANES, and

Mr. KENNEDY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and

referred to the Committee on Governmental Affairs

A BILL

To ensure the safety of children placed in child care centers

in Federal facilities, and for other purposes.

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Employees

5 Child Care Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

7 In this Act (except as otherwise provided in section

8 5):
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1 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis2 trator’’ means the Administrator of General Serv3 ices.

4 (2) CHILD CARE ACCREDITATION ENTITY.—The

5 term ‘‘child care accreditation entity’’ means a non6 profit private organization or public agency that—

7 (A) is recognized by a State agency or by

8 a national organization that serves as a peer re9 view panel on the standards and procedures of

10 public and private child care or school accred11 iting bodies; and

12 (B) accredits a facility to provide child

13 care on the basis of—

14 (i) an accreditation or credentialing

15 instrument based on peer-validated re16 search;

17 (ii) compliance with applicable State

18 or local licensing requirements, as appro19 priate, for the facility;

20 (iii) outside monitoring of the facility;

21 and

22 (iv) criteria that provide assurances

23 of—
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1 (I) use of developmentally appro2 priate health and safety standards at

3 the facility;

4 (II) use of developmentally ap5 propriate educational activities, as an

6 integral part of the child care pro7 gram carried out at the facility; and

8 (III) use of ongoing staff devel9 opment or training activities for the

10 staff of the facility, including related

11 skills-based testing.

12 (3) ENTITY SPONSORING A CHILD CARE FACIL13 ITY.—The term ‘‘entity sponsoring a child care facil14 ity’’ means a Federal agency that operates, or an

15 entity that enters into a contract or licensing agree16 ment with a Federal agency to operate, a child care

17 facility primarily for the use of Federal employees.

18 (4) EXECUTIVE AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Executive

19 agency’’ has the meaning given the term in section

20 105 of title 5, United States Code, except that the

21 term—

22 (A) does not include the Department of

23 Defense and the Coast Guard; and
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1 (B) includes the General Services Adminis2 tration, with respect to the administration of a

3 facility described in paragraph (5)(B).

4 (5) EXECUTIVE FACILITY.—The term ‘‘execu5 tive facility’’—

6 (A) means a facility that is owned or

7 leased by an Executive agency; and

8 (B) includes a facility that is owned or

9 leased by the General Services Administration

10 on behalf of a judicial office.

11 (6) FEDERAL AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Federal

12 agency’’ means an Executive agency, a legislative of13 fice, or a judicial office.

14 (7) JUDICIAL FACILITY.—The term ‘‘judicial fa15 cility’’ means a facility that is owned or leased by a

16 judicial office (other than a facility that is also a fa17 cility described in paragraph (5)(B)).

18 (8) JUDICIAL OFFICE.—The term ‘‘judicial of19 fice’’ means an entity of the judicial branch of the

20 Federal Government.

21 (9) LEGISLATIVE FACILITY.—The term ‘‘legisla22 tive facility’’ means a facility that is owned or leased

23 by a legislative office.
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1 (10) LEGISLATIVE OFFICE.—The term ‘‘legisla2 tive office’’ means an entity of the legislative branch

3 of the Federal Government.

4 (11) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean5 ing given the term in section 658P of the Child Care

6 and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42

7 U.S.C. 9858n).

8 SEC. 3. PROVIDING QUALITY CHILD CARE IN FEDERAL FA9 CILITIES.

10 (a) EXECUTIVE FACILITIES.—

11 (1) STATE AND LOCAL LICENSING REQUIRE12 MENTS.—

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—Any entity sponsoring

14 a child care facility in an executive facility

15 shall—

16 (i) comply with child care standards

17 described in paragraph (2) that are no less

18 stringent than applicable State or local li19 censing requirements that are related to

20 the provision of child care in the State or

21 locality involved; or

22 (ii) obtain the applicable State or local

23 licenses, as appropriate, for the facility.
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1 (B) COMPLIANCE.—Not later than 6

2 months after the date of enactment of this

3 Act—

4 (i) the entity shall comply, or make

5 substantial progress (as determined by the

6 Administrator) toward complying, with

7 subparagraph (A); and

8 (ii) any contract or licensing agree9 ment used by an Executive agency for the

10 provision of child care services in the child

11 care facility shall include a condition that

12 the child care be provided by an entity that

13 complies with the standards described in

14 subparagraph (A)(i) or obtains the licenses

15 described in subparagraph (A)(ii).

16 (2) HEALTH, SAFETY, AND FACILITY STAND17 ARDS.—The Administrator shall by regulation estab18 lish standards relating to health, safety, facilities, fa19 cility design, and other aspects of child care that the

20 Administrator determines to be appropriate for child

21 care in executive facilities, and require child care fa22 cilities, and entities sponsoring child care facilities,

23 in executive facilities to comply with the standards.

24 The standards shall include requirements that child
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1 care facilities be inspected for, and be free of, lead

2 hazards.

3 (3) ACCREDITATION STANDARDS.—

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator

5 shall issue regulations requiring, to the max6 imum extent possible, any entity sponsoring an

7 eligible child care facility (as defined by the Ad8 ministrator) in an executive facility to comply

9 with standards of a child care accreditation en10 tity.

11 (B) COMPLIANCE.—The regulations shall

12 require that, not later than 3 years after the

13 date of enactment of this Act—

14 (i) the entity shall comply, or make

15 substantial progress (as determined by the

16 Administrator) toward complying, with the

17 standards; and

18 (ii) any contract or licensing agree19 ment used by an Executive agency for the

20 provision of child care services in the child

21 care facility shall include a condition that

22 the child care be provided by an entity that

23 complies with the standards.

24 (4) EVALUATION AND COMPLIANCE.—
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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator

2 shall evaluate the compliance, with the require3 ments of paragraph (1) and the regulations

4 issued pursuant to paragraphs (2) and (3), as

5 appropriate, of child care facilities, and entities

6 sponsoring child care facilities, in executive fa7 cilities. The Administrator may conduct the

8 evaluation of such a child care facility or entity

9 directly, or through an agreement with another

10 Federal agency or private entity, other than the

11 Federal agency for which the child care facility

12 is providing services. If the Administrator de13 termines, on the basis of such an evaluation,

14 that the child care facility or entity is not in

15 compliance with the requirements, the Adminis16 trator shall notify the Executive agency.

17 (B) EFFECT OF NONCOMPLIANCE.—On re18 ceipt of the notification of noncompliance issued

19 by the Administrator, the head of the Executive

20 agency shall—

21 (i) if the entity operating the child

22 care facility is the agency—

23 (I) not later than 2 business days

24 after the date of receipt of the notifi25 cation, correct any deficiencies that
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1 are determined by the Administrator

2 to be life threatening or to present a

3 risk of serious bodily harm;

4 (II) not later than 4 months

5 after the date of receipt of the notifi6 cation, develop and provide to the Ad7 ministrator a plan to correct any

8 other deficiencies in the operation of

9 the facility and bring the facility and

10 entity into compliance with the re11 quirements;

12 (III) provide the parents of the

13 children receiving child care services

14 at the child care facility and employ15 ees of the facility with a notification

16 detailing the deficiencies described in

17 subclauses (I) and (II) and actions

18 that will be taken to correct the defi19 ciencies, and post a copy of the notifi20 cation in a conspicuous place in the

21 facility for 5 working days or until the

22 deficiencies are corrected, whichever is

23 later;

24 (IV) bring the child care facility

25 and entity into compliance with the
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1 requirements and certify to the Ad2 ministrator that the facility and entity

3 are in compliance, based on an onsite

4 evaluation of the facility conducted by

5 an individual with expertise in child

6 care health and safety; and

7 (V) in the event that deficiencies

8 determined by the Administrator to be

9 life threatening or to present a risk of

10 serious bodily harm cannot be cor11 rected within 2 business days after

12 the date of receipt of the notification,

13 close the child care facility, or the af14 fected portion of the facility, until the

15 deficiencies are corrected and notify

16 the Administrator of the closure; and

17 (ii) if the entity operating the child

18 care facility is a contractor or licensee of

19 the Executive agency—

20 (I) require the contractor or li21 censee, not later than 2 business days

22 after the date of receipt of the notifi23 cation, to correct any deficiencies that

24 are determined by the Administrator
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1 to be life threatening or to present a

2 risk of serious bodily harm;

3 (II) require the contractor or li4 censee, not later than 4 months after

5 the date of receipt of the notification,

6 to develop and provide to the head of

7 the agency a plan to correct any other

8 deficiencies in the operation of the

9 child care facility and bring the facil10 ity and entity into compliance with

11 the requirements;

12 (III) require the contractor or li13 censee to provide the parents of the

14 children receiving child care services

15 at the child care facility and employ16 ees of the facility with a notification

17 detailing the deficiencies described in

18 subclauses (I) and (II) and actions

19 that will be taken to correct the defi20 ciencies, and to post a copy of the no21 tification in a conspicuous place in the

22 facility for 5 working days or until the

23 deficiencies are corrected, whichever is

24 later;
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1 (IV) require the contractor or li2 censee to bring the child care facility

3 and entity into compliance with the

4 requirements and certify to the head

5 of the agency that the facility and en6 tity are in compliance, based on an

7 onsite evaluation of the facility con8 ducted by an independent entity with

9 expertise in child care health and

10 safety; and

11 (V) in the event that deficiencies

12 determined by the Administrator to be

13 life threatening or to present a risk of

14 serious bodily harm cannot be cor15 rected within 2 business days after

16 the date of receipt of the notification,

17 close the child care facility, or the af18 fected portion of the facility, until the

19 deficiencies are corrected and notify

20 the Administrator of the closure,

21 which closure may be grounds for the

22 immediate termination or suspension

23 of the contract or license of the con24 tractor or licensee.
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1 (C) COST REIMBURSEMENT.—The Execu2 tive agency shall reimburse the Administrator

3 for the costs of carrying out subparagraph (A)

4 for child care facilities located in an executive

5 facility other than an executive facility of the

6 General Services Administration. If an entity is

7 sponsoring a child care facility for 2 or more

8 Executive agencies, the Administrator shall allo9 cate the reimbursement costs with respect to

10 the entity among the agencies in a fair and eq11 uitable manner, based on the extent to which

12 each agency is eligible to place children in the

13 facility.

14 (5) DISCLOSURE OF PRIOR VIOLATIONS TO PAR15 ENTS AND FACILITY EMPLOYEES.—

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator

17 shall issue regulations that require that each

18 entity sponsoring a child care facility in an ex19 ecutive facility, upon receipt by the child care

20 facility or the entity (as applicable) of a request

21 by any individual who is—

22 (i) a parent of any child enrolled at

23 the facility;
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1 (ii) a parent of a child for whom an

2 application has been submitted to enroll at

3 the facility; or

4 (iii) an employee of the facility;

5 shall provide to the individual the copies and

6 description described in subparagraph (B).

7 (B) COPIES AND DESCRIPTION.—The enti8 ty shall provide—

9 (i) copies of all notifications of defi10 ciencies that have been provided in the

11 past with respect to the facility under

12 clause (i)(III) or (ii)(III), as applicable, of

13 paragraph (4)(B); and

14 (ii) a description of the actions that

15 were taken to correct the deficiencies.

16 (b) LEGISLATIVE FACILITIES.—

17 (1) ACCREDITATION.—The Chief Administra18 tive Officer of the House of Representatives, the Li19 brarian of Congress, and the head of a designated

20 entity in the Senate shall ensure that, not later than

21 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the

22 corresponding child care facility obtains accredita23 tion by a child care accreditation entity, in accord24 ance with the accreditation standards of the entity.

25 (2) REGULATIONS.—
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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—If the corresponding

2 child care facility does not maintain accredita3 tion status with a child care accreditation enti4 ty, the Chief Administrative Officer of the

5 House of Representatives, the Librarian of Con6 gress, or the head of the designated entity in

7 the Senate shall issue regulations governing the

8 operation of the corresponding child care facil9 ity, to ensure the safety and quality of care of

10 children placed in the facility. The regulations

11 shall be no less stringent in content and effect

12 than the requirements of subsection (a)(1) and

13 the regulations issued by the Administrator

14 under paragraphs (2) and (3) of subsection (a),

15 except to the extent that appropriate adminis16 trative officers make the determination de17 scribed in subparagraph (B).

18 (B) MODIFICATION MORE EFFECTIVE.—

19 The determination referred to in subparagraph

20 (A) is a determination, for good cause shown

21 and stated together with the regulations, that a

22 modification of the regulations would be more

23 effective for the implementation of the require24 ments and standards described in subsection (a)

25 for the corresponding child care facilities, and
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1 entities sponsoring the corresponding child care

2 facilities, in legislative facilities.

3 (3) CORRESPONDING CHILD CARE FACILITY.—

4 In this subsection, the term ‘‘corresponding child

5 care facility’’, used with respect to the Chief Admin6 istrative Officer, the Librarian, or the head of a des7 ignated entity described in paragraph (1), means a

8 child care facility operated by, or under a contract

9 or licensing agreement with, an office of the House

10 of Representatives, the Library of Congress, or an

11 office of the Senate, respectively.

12 (c) JUDICIAL BRANCH STANDARDS AND COMPLI13 ANCE.—

14 (1) STATE AND LOCAL LICENSING REQUIRE15 MENTS HEALTH, SAFETY, AND FACILITY STAND16 ARDS, AND ACCREDITATION STANDARDS.—The Di17 rector of the Administrative Office of the United

18 States Courts shall issue regulations for child care

19 facilities, and entities sponsoring child care facilities,

20 in judicial facilities, which shall be no less stringent

21 in content and effect than the requirements of sub22 section (a)(1) and the regulations issued by the Ad23 ministrator under paragraphs (2) and (3) of sub24 section (a), except to the extent that the Director

25 may determine, for good cause shown and stated to-
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1 gether with the regulations, that a modification of

2 such regulations would be more effective for the im3 plementation of the requirements and standards de4 scribed in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of subsection

5 (a) for child care facilities, and entities sponsoring

6 child care facilities, in judicial facilities.

7 (2) EVALUATION AND COMPLIANCE.—

8 (A) DIRECTOR OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE

9 OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES COURTS.—The

10 Director of the Administrative Office of the

11 United States Courts shall have the same au12 thorities and duties with respect to the evalua13 tion of, compliance of, and cost reimbursement

14 for child care facilities, and entities sponsoring

15 child care facilities, in judicial facilities as the

16 Administrator has under subsection (a)(4) with

17 respect to the evaluation of, compliance of, and

18 cost reimbursement for such centers and enti19 ties sponsoring such centers, in executive facili20 ties.

21 (B) HEAD OF A JUDICIAL OFFICE.—The

22 head of a judicial office shall have the same au23 thorities and duties with respect to the compli24 ance of and cost reimbursement for child care

25 facilities, and entities sponsoring child care fa-
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1 cilities, in judicial facilities as the head of an

2 Executive agency has under subsection (a)(4)

3 with respect to the compliance of and cost reim4 bursement for such centers and entities spon5 soring such centers, in executive facilities.

6 (d) APPLICATION.—Notwithstanding any other provi7 sion of this section, if 8 or more child care facilities are

8 sponsored in facilities owned or leased by an Executive

9 agency, the Administrator shall delegate to the head of

10 the agency the evaluation and compliance responsibilities

11 assigned to the Administrator under subsection (a)(4)(A).

12 (e) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, STUDIES, AND RE13 VIEWS.—The Administrator may provide technical assist14 ance, and conduct and provide the results of studies and

15 reviews, for Executive agencies, and entities sponsoring

16 child care facilities in executive facilities, on a reimburs17 able basis, in order to assist the entities in complying with

18 this section. The Chief Administrative Officer of the

19 House of Representatives, the Librarian of Congress, the

20 head of the designated Senate entity described in sub21 section (b), and the Director of the Administrative Office

22 of the United States Courts, may provide technical assist23 ance, and conduct and provide the results of studies and

24 reviews, or request that the Administrator provide tech25 nical assistance, and conduct and provide the results of
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1 studies and reviews, for legislative offices and judicial of2 fices, as appropriate, and entities operating child care fa3 cilities in legislative facilities or judicial facilities, as ap4 propriate, on a reimbursable basis, in order to assist the

5 entities in complying with this section.

6 (f) INTERAGENCY COUNCIL.—

7 (1) COMPOSITION.—The Administrator shall es8 tablish an interagency council, comprised of—

9 (A) representatives of all Executive agen10 cies described in subsection (d) and other Exec11 utive agencies at the election of the heads of the

12 agencies;

13 (B) a representative of the Chief Adminis14 trative Officer of the House of Representatives,

15 at the election of the Chief Administrative Offi16 cer;

17 (C) a representative of the head of the des18 ignated Senate entity described in subsection

19 (b), at the election of the head of the entity;

20 (D) a representative of the Librarian of

21 Congress, at the election of the Librarian; and

22 (E) a representative of the Director of the

23 Administrative Office of the United States

24 Courts, at the election of the Director.
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1 (2) FUNCTIONS.—The council shall facilitate

2 cooperation and sharing of best practices, and de3 velop and coordinate policy, regarding the provision

4 of child care, including the provision of areas for

5 nursing mothers and other lactation support facili6 ties and services, in the Federal Government.

7 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is

8 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section

9 $900,000 for fiscal year 2000 and such sums as may be

10 necessary for each subsequent fiscal year.

11 SEC. 4. FEDERAL CHILD CARE EVALUATION.

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the

13 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator and the

14 Director of the Office of Personnel Management shall

15 jointly prepare and submit to Congress a report that eval16 uates child care provided by entities sponsoring child care

17 facilities in executive facilities, legislative facilities, or judi18 cial facilities.

19 (b) CONTENTS.—The evaluation shall contain, at a

20 minimum—

21 (1) information on the number of children re22 ceiving child care described in subsection (a), ana23 lyzed by age, including information on the number

24 of those children who are age 6 through 12;
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1 (2) information on the number of families not

2 using child care described in subsection (a) because

3 of the cost of the child care; and

4 (3) recommendations for improving the quality

5 and cost effectiveness of child care described in sub6 section (a), including recommendations of options

7 for creating an optimal organizational structure and

8 using best practices for the delivery of the child

9 care.

10 SEC. 5. CHILD CARE SERVICES FOR FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—In addition to services authorized

12 to be provided by an agency of the United States pursuant

13 to section 616 of the Act of December 22, 1987 (40

14 U.S.C. 490b), an Executive agency that provides or pro15 poses to provide child care services for Federal employees

16 may use agency funds to provide the child care services,

17 in a facility that is owned or leased by an Executive agen18 cy, or through a contractor, for civilian employees of the

19 agency.

20 (b) AFFORDABILITY.—Funds so used with respect to

21 any such facility or contractor shall be applied to improve

22 the affordability of child care for lower income Federal

23 employees using or seeking to use the child care services

24 offered by the facility or contractor.
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1 (c) REGULATIONS.—The Administrator after con2 sultation with the Director of the Office of Personnel Man3 agement, shall, within 180 days after the date of enact4 ment of this Act, issue regulations necessary to carry out

5 this section.

6 (d) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, the

7 term ‘‘Executive agency’’ has the meaning given the term

8 by section 105 of title 5, United States Code, but does

9 not include the General Accounting Office.

10 SEC. 6. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS RELATING TO CHILD

11 CARE PROVIDED BY FEDERAL AGENCIES.

12 (a) AVAILABILITY OF FEDERAL CHILD CARE CEN13 TERS FOR ONSITE CONTRACTORS; PERCENTAGE GOAL.—

14 Section 616 of the Act of December 22, 1987 (40 U.S.C.

15 490b) is amended—

16 (1) in subsection (a)—

17 (A) by striking ‘‘officer or agency of the

18 United States’’ and inserting ‘‘Federal agency

19 or officer of a Federal agency’’; and

20 (B) by striking paragraphs (2) and (3) and

21 inserting the following:

22 ‘‘(2) the officer or agency determines that the

23 space will be used to provide child care and related

24 services to—
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1 ‘‘(A) children of Federal employees or on2 site Federal contractors; or

3 ‘‘(B) dependent children who live with

4 Federal employees or onsite Federal contrac5 tors; and

6 ‘‘(3) the officer or agency determines that the

7 individual or entity will give priority for available

8 child care and related services in the space to Fed9 eral employees and onsite Federal contractors.’’; and

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

11 ‘‘(e)(1)(A) The Administrator of General Services

12 shall confirm that at least 50 percent of aggregate enroll13 ment in Federal child care centers governmentwide are

14 children of Federal employees or onsite Federal contrac15 tors, or dependent children who live with Federal employ16 ees or onsite Federal contractors.

17 ‘‘(B) Each provider of child care services at an indi18 vidual Federal child care center shall maintain 50 percent

19 of the enrollment at the center of children described under

20 subparagraph (A) as a goal for enrollment at the center.

21 ‘‘(C)(i) If enrollment at a center does not meet the

22 percentage goal under subparagraph (B), the provider

23 shall develop and implement a business plan with the

24 sponsoring Federal agency to achieve the goal within a

25 reasonable timeframe.
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1 ‘‘(ii) The plan shall be approved by the Administrator

2 of General Services based on—

3 ‘‘(I) compliance of the plan with standards es4 tablished by the Administrator; and

5 ‘‘(II) the effect of the plan on achieving the ag6 gregate Federal enrollment percentage goal.

7 ‘‘(2) The Administrator of General Services Adminis8 tration may enter into public-private partnerships or con9 tracts with nongovernmental entities to increase the ca10 pacity, quality, affordability, or range of child care and

11 related services and may, on a demonstration basis, waive

12 subsection (a)(3) and paragraph (1) of this subsection.’’.

13 (b) PAYMENT OF COSTS OF TRAINING PROGRAMS.—

14 Section 616(b)(3) of such Act (40 U.S.C. 490b(b)(3)) is

15 amended to read as follows:

16 ‘‘(3) If a Federal agency has a child care facility in

17 a Federal space, or is a sponsoring agency for a child care

18 facility in a Federal space, the agency or the General Serv19 ices Administration may pay accreditation fees, including

20 renewal fees, for that center to be accredited. Any Federal

21 agency that provides or proposes to provide child care

22 services for children referred to in subsection (a)(2), may

23 reimburse any Federal employee or any person employed

24 to provide the services for the costs of training programs,

25 conferences, and meetings and related travel, transpor-
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1 tation, and subsistence expenses incurred in connection

2 with those activities. Any per diem allowance made under

3 this section shall not exceed the rate specified in regula4 tions prescribed under section 5707 of title 5, United

5 States Code.’’.

6 (c) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

7 Section 616(c) of such Act (40 U.S.C. 490b(c)) is

8 amended—

9 (1) by inserting ‘‘Federal’’ before ‘‘child care

10 centers’’; and

11 (2) by striking ‘‘Federal workers’’ and inserting

12 ‘‘Federal employees’’.

13 (d) PROVISION OF CHILD CARE BY PRIVATE ENTI14 TIES.—Section 616(d) of such Act (40 U.S.C. 490b(d))

15 is amended to read as follows:

16 ‘‘(d)(1) If a Federal agency has a child care facility

17 in a Federal space, or is a sponsoring agency for a child

18 care facility in a Federal space, the agency, the child care

19 center board of directors, or the General Services Adminis20 tration may enter into an agreement with 1 or more pri21 vate entities under which the private entities would assist

22 in defraying the general operating expenses of the child

23 care providers including salaries and tuition assistance

24 programs at the facility.
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1 ‘‘(2)(A) Notwithstanding any other provision of law,

2 if a Federal agency does not have a child care program,

3 or if the Administrator of General Services has identified

4 a need for child care for Federal employees at a Federal

5 agency providing child care services that do not meet the

6 requirements of subsection (a), the agency or the Adminis7 trator may enter into an agreement with a non-Federal,

8 licensed, and accredited child care facility, or a planned

9 child care facility that will become licensed and accredited,

10 for the provision of child care services for children of Fed11 eral employees.

12 ‘‘(B) Before entering into an agreement, the head of

13 the Federal agency shall determine that child care services

14 to be provided through the agreement are more cost effec15 tively provided through the arrangement than through es16 tablishment of a Federal child care facility.

17 ‘‘(C) The Federal agency may provide any of the

18 services described in subsection (b)(3) if, in exchange for

19 the services, the facility reserves child care spaces for chil20 dren referred to in subsection (a)(2), as agreed to by the

21 parties. The cost of any such services provided by a Fed22 eral agency to a Federal child care facility on behalf of

23 another Federal agency shall be reimbursed by the receiv24 ing agency.
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1 ‘‘(3) This subsection does not apply to residential

2 child care programs.’’.

3 (e) PILOT PROJECTS.—Section 616 of such Act (40

4 U.S.C. 490b) is further amended by adding at the end

5 the following:

6 ‘‘(f)(1) Upon approval of the agency head, a Federal

7 agency may conduct a pilot project not otherwise author8 ized by law for no more than 2 years to test innovative

9 approaches to providing alternative forms of quality child

10 care assistance for Federal employees. A Federal agency

11 head may extend a pilot project for an additional 2-year

12 period. Before any pilot project may be implemented, a

13 determination shall be made by the agency head that initi14 ating the pilot project would be more cost-effective than

15 establishing a new Federal child care facility. Costs of any

16 pilot project shall be paid solely by the agency conducting

17 the pilot project.

18 ‘‘(2) The Administrator of General Services shall

19 serve as an information clearinghouse for pilot projects

20 initiated by other Federal agencies to disseminate infor21 mation concerning the pilot projects to the other Federal

22 agencies.

23 ‘‘(3) Within 6 months after completion of the initial

24 2-year pilot project period, a Federal agency conducting

25 a pilot project under this subsection shall provide for an
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1 evaluation of the impact of the project on the delivery of

2 child care services to Federal employees, and shall submit

3 the results of the evaluation to the Administrator of Gen4 eral Services. The Administrator shall share the results

5 with other Federal agencies.’’.

6 (f) BACKGROUND CHECK.—Section 616 of such Act

7 (40 U.S.C. 490b) is further amended by adding at the

8 end the following:

9 ‘‘(g) Each Federal child care center located in a Fed10 eral space shall ensure that each employee of the center

11 (including any employee whose employment began before

12 the date of enactment of this subsection) shall undergo

13 a criminal history background check consistent with sec14 tion 231 of the Crime Control Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C.

15 13041).’’.

16 (g) DEFINITIONS.—Section 616 of such Act (40

17 U.S.C. 490b) is further amended by adding at the end

18 the following:

19 ‘‘(h) In this section:

20 ‘‘(1) The term ‘Federal agency’ has the mean21 ing given the term ‘Executive agency’ in section 2 of

22 the Federal Employees Child Care Act.

23 ‘‘(2) The terms ‘Federal building’ and ‘Federal

24 space’ have the meanings given the term ‘executive

25 facility’ in such section 2.
29

•S 813 IS

1 ‘‘(3) The term ‘Federal child care center’

2 means a child care center in an executive facility, as

3 defined in such section 2.

4 ‘‘(4) The terms ‘Federal contractor’ and ‘Fed5 eral employee’ mean a contractor and an employee,

6 respectively, of an Executive agency, as defined in

7 such section 2.’’.

Æ