I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4358 

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

improve access to high-quality early learning and child care for lowincome children and working families, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 16, 2009 

Ms. BALDWIN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To amend the Child Care and Development Block Grant 

Act of 1990 to improve access to high-quality early learning and child care for low-income children and working 

families, 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 ‘‘Starting Early Start5 ing Right Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find8 ings: 


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1 (1) Children in child care learn and develop 

2 skills they need to succeed in school and in life. 

3 Child care is also fundamental to helping families 

4 get ahead by giving parents the support and peace 

5 of mind they need to be productive at work. 

6 (2) Child care teachers and providers carry the 

7 responsibility of providing a safe, nurturing, and 

8 stimulating setting for children entrusted to them 

9 each day. 

10 (3) In 2008, the national average wage for a 

11 child care worker was $9.79 per hour or $20,350 

12 annually. For full-time, full-year work, this is not 

13 much above the 2008 poverty guidelines of $17,600 

14 for a mother with two children. 

15 (4) As a result of low wages and limited bene16 fits, many child care providers do not work for long 

17 periods in the child care field. Only 65 percent of 

18 those employed in the child care field in 2005 were 

19 still working in child care in 2006. Such high turn20 over rates deny children consistent and stable rela21 tionships with their teachers. 

22 (5) Current reimbursement rates for child care 

23 providers receiving Federal funds are insufficient to 

24 recruit and retain qualified child care providers and 


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1 to ensure high-quality early care and education serv2 ices for children. 

3 (6) Research shows that high-quality child care 

4 helps low-income children enter school ready to suc5 ceed. One study found that children who had en6 rolled in high-quality child care demonstrated great7 er mathematical ability and thinking and attention 

8 skills, and experienced fewer behavior problems than 

9 other children in second grade. Effects were particu10 larly strong for low-income children. 

11 (7) Millions of low-income children could benefit 

12 from high-quality child care. In 2008, 11,100,000 

13 children under age 6 (44 percent) lived in low-in14 come families (families with incomes below 200 per15 cent of poverty). 

16 (8) Inadequate funding has reduced the number 

17 of children with access to child care. Only about 1 

18 in 7 eligible children receives Federal child care as19 sistance. 

20 (9) Many women work in low-wage jobs and 

21 cannot cover the cost of child care. For example, 

22 two-thirds of working poor families headed by single 

23 mothers who paid for child care spent at least 40 

24 percent of their cash income on child care. 


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1 (10) Problems with child care can make it dif2 ficult for parents, particularly low-income parents, to 

3 work, causing them to lose wages, be denied a pro4 motion, or lose their jobs. 

5 (11) Research shows that single mothers and 

6 former welfare recipients who received child care as7 sistance were much more likely to remain employed 

8 after 2 years than those who did not receive child 

9 care assistance. 

10 (12) Quality affordable child care is essential to 

11 creating and preserving jobs. First, it maintains and 

12 increases employment opportunities for child edu13 cators. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 

14 3 occupations—preschool teachers, teacher assist15 ants, and child care workers—account for 77 per16 cent of all wage and salary jobs in the United 

17 States. Second, child care enables parents to keep 

18 and maintain their jobs while ensuring that their 

19 children can access educational opportunities. A 

20 2008 study showed that, by making it possible for 

21 parents to work, the licensed child care sector allows 

22 Americans to earn more than $100,000,000,000 an23 nually. 

24 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to im25 prove— 


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1 (1) access to high-quality early learning and 

2 child care for low-income children and working fami3 lies; and 

4 (2) the quality of child care and the number of 

5 high-quality child care providers. 

6 SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO THE CHILD CARE AND DEVELOP7 MENT BLOCK GRANT ACT OF 1990. 

8 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

9 358B of the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act 

10 of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858) is amended by striking ‘‘is’’ and 

11 all that follows through ‘‘2002’’, and inserting ‘‘are au12 thorized to be appropriated to carry out this subchapter 

13 $4,127,181,000 for fiscal year 2010 and such sums as 

14 may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2011 through 

15 2014’’. 

16 (b) APPLICATION AND PLAN.—Section 658E(c) of 

17 the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 

18 (42 U.S.C. 9858c(c)) is amended— 

19 (1) in paragraph (2)— 

20 (A) in subparagraph (E)— 

21 (i) redesignating clause (ii) as clause 

22 (vi); and 

23 (ii) by inserting after clause (i), the 

24 following: 


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1 ‘‘(ii) SITE VISITS.—Certify that the 

2 State has in effect licensing requirements 

3 applicable to all licensed and regulated 

4 child care providers within the State that 

5 include one annual announced and one an6 nual unannounced visit to each site at 

7 which the provider provides child care serv8 ices. Nothing in the preceding sentence 

9 shall be construed to require that licensing 

10 requirements be applied to specific types of 

11 providers of child care services. 

12 ‘‘(iii) TRAINING.—Certify that the 

13 State has in effect licensing or registration 

14 requirements applicable to child care pro15 viders within the State that require, within 

16 3 years of the date of enactment of the 

17 Starting Early Starting Right Act, that 

18 every lead teacher or aide of the provider, 

19 and each family child care provider, in a li20 censed and regulated setting— 

21 ‘‘(I) have at least 40 hours of ap22 propriate health, safety, and child de23 velopment training prior to their em24 ployment with or operation as a pro25 vider (as determined in accordance 


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1 with guidelines to be issued by the 

2 Secretary); and 

3 ‘‘(II) have at least 24 hours of 

4 annual training in appropriate health, 

5 safety, and child development training 

6 (as determined in accordance with 

7 guidelines to be issued by the Sec8 retary). 

9 ‘‘(iv) OTHER TRAINING.—Certify that 

10 the State has a plan to implement, within 

11 3 years of the date of enactment of the 

12 Starting Early Starting Right Act, pre13 and in-service training requirements appli14 cable to child care providers that provide 

15 services for which assistance is made avail16 able under this subchapter. 

17 ‘‘(v) TRAINING FOR LIMITED18 ENGLISH-PROFICIENT (LEP) PROVIDERS.— 

19 Certify that the State has a plan to pro20 vide for the training of child care service 

21 providers with limited-English proficiency 

22 to provide high-quality child care serv23 ices.’’; 

24 (B) in subparagraph (H)— 


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1 (i) by striking ‘‘Demonstrate the man2 ner’’ and inserting the following: 

3 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Demonstrate the 

4 manner’’; and 

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

7 ‘‘(ii) SPECIFIC NEEDS.—Demonstrate 

8 the manner in which the State will meet 

9 the specific child care needs of low-income 

10 and working families, including— 

11 ‘‘(I) the outreach strategies to be 

12 used to reach hard-to-serve children, 

13 including low-income children, English 

14 language learners, children with spe15 cial needs, and children in rural areas; 

16 ‘‘(II) the use of contracts with 

17 child care centers, family child care 

18 homes, and organizations that manage 

19 and support family child care net20 works to reach hard-to-serve children 

21 and underserved communities; 

22 ‘‘(III) the use of pilot or dem23 onstration projects to increase the 

24 supply of high-quality child care in 

25 underserved communities; 


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1 ‘‘(IV) the use of pilot or dem2 onstration projects that demonstrate 

3 effective techniques and approaches of 

4 specialized training for child care 

5 service providers with limited-English 

6 proficiency to improve their ability to 

7 provide high-quality child care serv8 ices; and 

9 ‘‘(V) the use of pilot or dem10 onstration projects that demonstrate 

11 effective techniques and approaches of 

12 specialized training for child care pro13 viders working with children with de14 velopmental disabilities.’’; and 

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

16 ‘‘(I) CONTINUOUS CARE.—Demonstrate 

17 how the State is implementing practices and 

18 procedures to help ensure that children receive 

19 continuous care from the same provider, includ20 ing through— 

21 ‘‘(i) the use of contracts with child 

22 care centers, family child care homes, and 

23 organizations that manage and support 

24 family child care networks for underserved 

25 populations; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) extending periods of redetermina2 tion for all families to 1 year; 

3 ‘‘(iii) extending periods of job search 

4 eligibility; and 

5 ‘‘(iv) informing families and providers 

6 that eligibility is ending in a timely man7 ner and in multiple formats.’’; and 

8 (2) in paragraph (4)— 

9 (A) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as 

10 subparagraph (D); and 

11 (B) by inserting after subparagraph (A), 

12 the following: 

13 ‘‘(B) IN GENERAL.—The State plan shall 

14 provide information demonstrating that the 

15 State is ensuring that payment rates for the 

16 provision of child care services for which assist17 ance is provided under this subchapter are 

18 equal to or exceed the 75th percentile of the 

19 current market rate for all types of child care, 

20 based on a research-based market rate survey 

21 that includes variations for geography, age of 

22 children, and provider type. 

23 ‘‘(C) CHILD CARE FOR UNDERSERVED

24 POPULATIONS.—The State plan shall describe 

25 efforts to address the need for child care for 


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1 special populations, including care in low-in2 come and rural areas, care for infants and tod3 dlers, care for children with special needs, care 

4 for other populations, and care during non5 standard hours, such as paying rates for the 

6 provision of child care services for which assist7 ance is provided under this subchapter that ex8 ceed the 75th percentile of a current market 

9 rate for all types of care (based on the survey 

10 under subparagraph (B).’’. 

11 (c) ACTIVITIES TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF CHILD

12 CARE.—Section 658G of the Child Care and Development 

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

14 to read as follows: 

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

16 CHILD CARE. 

17 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION.—For the purposes of this section, 

18 the term ‘Quality Rating and Improvement System’ means 

19 a system with no less than 3 levels for benchmarking qual20 ity, designated and implemented in collaboration with 

21 community and statewide partners, for rating and improv22 ing licensed or regulated child care and other early child23 hood education programs and providers (including after24 school programs and providers), for providing families 

25 with better information about the quality of child care and 


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1 early education programs and providers, for improving the 

2 quality of early care and education (including after-school 

3 programs) throughout the State, and for providing finan4 cial and other incentives, assistance, and rewards to pro5 grams and providers to meet and sustain higher levels of 

6 quality. 

7 ‘‘(b) IN GENERAL.—A State that receives funding to 

8 carry out this subchapter for a fiscal year, shall use not 

9 less than 15 percent of the amount of such funds for ac10 tivities that are designed to improve the quality of child 

11 care, including the implementation of 2 or more of the 

12 following: 

13 ‘‘(1) Developing and implementing a Quality 

14 Rating and Improvement System (referred to in this 

15 section as the ‘QRIS’) for child care centers and 

16 family child care homes, including criteria appro17 priate for each age group eligible for assistance 

18 under this Act with levels that lead to nationally rec19 ognized high standards. 

20 ‘‘(2) Providing assistance for education, train21 ing, and compensation initiatives to assist child care 

22 providers in meeting and maintaining the criteria for 

23 achieving progressively higher rating levels under the 

24 QRIS. 


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1 ‘‘(3) Providing grants and other types of assist2 ance, including mentoring, to assist child care pro3 viders in meeting and maintaining the criteria for 

4 achieving progressively higher rating levels under the 

5 QRIS. 

6 ‘‘(4) Maintaining a statewide network of child 

7 care resource and referral programs. 

8 ‘‘(5) Inspecting and monitoring child care pro9 grams. 

10 ‘‘(6) Providing grants to assist child care pro11 viders, including those who are limited-English-pro12 ficient, in becoming licensed or regulated and in 

13 meeting pre-service and ongoing training require14 ments. 

15 ‘‘(7) Offering other assistance to child care pro16 viders to strengthen the quality of child care, includ17 ing support for education and training initiatives 

18 tied to compensation. 

19 ‘‘(8) Providing grants to assist child care pro20 viders who are not required to be licensed or reg21 istered in receiving appropriate training and sup22 port. 

23 ‘‘(9) Developing and implementing technological 

24 resources to assist low-income families in applying 

25 for child care assistance as well as to educate famiVerDate Nov 24 2008 02:07 Dec 19, 2009 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4358.IH H4358

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1 lies concerning the range of and quality ratings of 

2 various child care providers. 

3 ‘‘(c) EXTENSION FOR FULL-DAY CARE.—A State 

4 that receives funding to carry out this subchapter for a 

5 fiscal year, shall use not less than 5 percent of the amount 

6 of such funds for activities that are designed to fund ac7 tivities to extend the day or year for those children who 

8 are eligible for child care services and attend part-day or 

9 year programs. 

10 ‘‘(d) HIGH-QUALITY CARE FOR INFANTS AND TOD11 DLERS.—A State that receives funding to carry out this 

12 subchapter for a fiscal year, shall use not less than 30 

13 percent of the amount of such funds for activities that 

14 are designed to fund initiatives to improve the quality and 

15 expand the availability of high-quality care for infants and 

16 toddlers.’’. 

17 (d) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Section 658K(a) 

18 of the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 

19 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858i(a)) is amended by adding at the 

20 end the following: 

21 ‘‘(3) BI-ANNUAL REPORTS.—Not later than De22 cember 31, 2009, and every 2 years thereafter, a 

23 State that operates a Quality Rating and Improve24 ment System (referred to in this section as the 


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1 ‘QRIS’) shall prepare and submit to the Secretary a 

2 report that includes aggregate data concerning— 

3 ‘‘(A) the number of licensed center and 

4 family child care providers in the State; 

5 ‘‘(B) the number of child care providers in 

6 each level of the State QRIS, listed by type, 

7 race and ethnicity, geographic area of the State, 

8 and number of children that each such provider 

9 is licensed to serve; 

10 ‘‘(C) the disaggregated number and per11 centages of children receiving child care assist12 ance under this subchapter in each level of the 

13 State QRIS; 

14 ‘‘(D) whether any change occurred in the 

15 number and percentage of child care providers 

16 in each level of the State QRIS, listed by type, 

17 geographic area of the State, and number of 

18 children each such provider is licensed to serve; 

19 ‘‘(E) the disaggregated number and per20 centage of children receiving child care assist21 ance under this subchapter who are receiving 

22 care from child care providers in a higher-qual23 ity level (as determined under the State QRIS) 

24 as compared to the previous 12-month period; 


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1 ‘‘(F) the disaggregated number of child 

2 care providers in low-income communities who 

3 have moved up to a higher-quality level of child 

4 care (as determined under the State QRIS) as 

5 compared to the previous 12-month period; and 

6 ‘‘(G) the average child care reimbursement 

7 rate under this subchapter at each level of the 

8 State QRIS, listed by provider type, race and 

9 ethnicity, and geographic area of the State. 

10 ‘‘(4) 5-YEAR REPORT.—Not later than Decem11 ber 31, 2013, and every 5 years thereafter, a State 

12 described in paragraph (1)(A) shall prepare and sub13 mit to the Secretary a report that includes aggregate 

14 data concerning the average individual compensation 

15 paid for each of the following in all licensed child 

16 care programs, disaggregated by race, ethnicity, cre17 dentials, and program type in the State: 

18 ‘‘(A) Lead teacher. 

19 ‘‘(B) Classroom assistant or aide. 

20 ‘‘(C) Family child care provider. 

21 ‘‘(D) Family child care assistant.’’. 

Æ 


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