I
105TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3400
To amend the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to
improve the availability of child care and development services during
periods outside normal school hours, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 5, 1998
Ms. SLAUGHTER (for herself, Mr. ACKERMAN, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. FRANK of
Massachusetts, Mr. FROST, Ms. HOOLEY of Oregon, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE
JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mr. MATSUI,
Mr. MEEHAN, Mrs. MORELLA, Mr. OWENS, Mr. RAHALL, Mr. SANDLIN,
Mr. UNDERWOOD, Mr. WAXMAN, Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts, Ms.
LOFGREN, and Mr. DEFAZIO) introduced the following bill; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce
A BILL
To amend the Child Care and Development Block Grant
Act of 1990 to improve the availability of child care
and development services during periods outside normal
school hours, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘America After School
Act’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that—
(1) children spend less than 20 percent of their
waking hours in school, and their activities during
the remaining 80 percent of these hours have a criti-
cal impact on their long-term success in school and
work;
(2) approximately 24,000,000 children require
care after school while their parents work;
(3) during 1991—
(A) there were 36,700,000 school-age chil-
dren in the United States;
(B) approximately 21,200,000 of the chil-
dren described in subparagraph (A) lived with
working mothers (including mothers seeking
employment) and 999,000 lived with mothers
who were enrolled in school; and
(C) approximately 912,000 of the children
described in subparagraph (A) lived with single
working fathers, 61,000 with single unemployed
fathers, and 9,000 with single fathers who were
enrolled in school;
(4) the General Accounting Office estimates
that the current supply of child care for school-age
children will meet as little as 25 percent of the de-
mand in some urban areas by 2002;
(5) children who attend quality after-school pro-
grams while their parents work—
(A) experience positive effects on their de-
velopment;
(B) have better peer relations, emotional
adjustment, grades, and conduct in school than
their peers in other care arrangements;
(C) have more learning opportunities and
enrichment activities than their peers in other
care arrangements; and
(D) are less likely to engage in juvenile de-
linquent activity;
(6)(A) most juvenile delinquent activity occurs
between 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.; and
(B) from 1988 to 1992, juvenile arrests for vio-
lent acts increased by 50 percent;
(7) survey data confirms public support for ex-
pansion of programs to assist school-age children, as
evidenced by the fact that the need for child care,
including before- and after-school care, was rated as
one of the most pressing needs for children and fam-
ilies by 92 percent of respondents to a 1995 Na-
tional League of Cities survey, ranking as the high-
est rated need in the survey, which inquired about
crime prevention, welfare reform, education, hous-
ing, family stability, drug and alcohol abuse preven-
tion, and a host of other issues;
(8) 1996 survey data indicate that parents
overwhelmingly support using school-based after-
school programs for learning and enrichment pro-
grams, but 70 percent of all public elementary
schools do not offer such programs; and
(9) parents want more than babysitting from
after-school programs, and computer classes, art and
music courses, tutoring, and community service ac-
tivities rank high among parental choices for activi-
ties for after-school programs.
TITLE I—CHILD CARE AND
DEVELOPMENT SERVICES
SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS.
The Child Care and Development Block Grant Act
of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858 et seq.) is amended—
(1) by redesignating section 658P (42 U.S.C.
9858n) as section 658T;
(2) by moving such section 658T to the end of
such Act; and
(3) in such section 658T—
(A) in paragraph (4), by adding at the end
the following: