ble child care provider who has a bacca-
laureate degree in the area of child devel-
opment or early child education shall re-
ceive a grant under section 7 in an amount 
that is not less than twice the amount of 
the grant that is made under section 7 to 
an eligible child care provider who has an 
associate of the arts degree in the area of 
child development or early child education. 
(ii) PROVIDERS WITH ASSOCIATE DE-
GREES.—An eligible child care provider 
who has an associate of the arts degree in 
the area of child development or early child 
education shall receive a grant under sec-
tion 7 in an amount that is not less than 
150 percent of the amount of the grant 
that is made under section 7 to an eligible 
child care provider who has a child devel-
opment associate credential (or equivalent) 
and is employed full-time to provide child 
care services. 
(iii) OTHER PROVIDERS WITH BACCA-
LAUREATE DEGREES.—
(I) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro-
vided in subclause (II), an eligible
child care provider who has a bacca-
laureate degree in a field other than 
child development or early child edu-
cation shall receive a grant under sec-
tion 7 in an amount equal to the 
amount of the grant that is made 
under section 7 to an eligible child 
care provider who has an associate of 
the arts degree in the area of child de-
velopment or early child education. 
(II) EXCEPTION.—If an eligible 
child care provider who has such a 
baccalaureate degree obtains addi-
tional educational training in the area 
of child development or early child 
education, as specified by the State, 
such provider shall receive a grant 
under section 7 in an amount equal to 
the amount of the grant that is made 
under section 7 to an eligible child 
care provider who has a baccalaureate 
degree specified in clause (i). 
(D) 
AMOUNTS
TO
FULL-TIME
PRO-
VIDERS.—The State shall make a grant under 
section 7 to an eligible child care provider who
works full-time in a greater amount than the 
amount of the grant that is made under section 
7 to an eligible child care provider who works 
part-time, based on the State definitions of full-
time and part-time work. 
(E) AMOUNTS
TO
EXPERIENCED
PRO-
VIDERS.—The State shall make grants under 
section 7 in progressively larger amounts to eli-
gible child care providers to reflect the number 
of years worked as child care providers. 
(6) DISTRIBUTION OF CHILD CARE PROVIDER 
SCHOLARSHIPS.—The State plan shall describe how 
the lead agency will make grants for scholarships in 
compliance with section 8 and shall specify the types 
of educational and training programs for which the 
scholarship grants made under such section may be 
used, including only programs that—
(A) are administered by institutions of 
higher education that are eligible to participate 
in student financial assistance programs under 
title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.); and 
(B) lead to a State or nationally recog-
nized credential in the area of child develop-
ment or early child education, an associate of
the arts degree in the area of child development 
or early child education, or a baccalaureate de-
gree in the area of child development or early 
child education. 
(7) EMPLOYER
CONTRIBUTION.—The State 
plan shall describe how the lead agency will encour-
age employers of child care providers to contribute 
to the attainment of education goals by eligible child 
care providers who receive grants under section 8. 
(8) SUPPLEMENTATION.—The State plan shall 
provide assurances that amounts received by the 
State to carry out sections 7, 8, and 9 will be used 
only to supplement, and not to supplant, Federal, 
State, and local funds otherwise available to support 
existing services and activities (as of the date the 
amounts are used) that—
(A) encourage child care providers to im-
prove their qualifications and that promote the 
retention of qualified child care providers in the 
child care field; or 
(B) provide health benefits coverage for 
child care providers.
SEC. 7. CHILD CARE PROVIDER DEVELOPMENT AND RE-
TENTION GRANT PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—A State that receives funds allot-
ted under section 5 and made available to carry out this 
section shall expend such funds to pay for the Federal 
share of the cost of making grants to eligible child care 
providers in accordance with this section, to improve the 
qualifications and promote the retention of qualified child 
care providers. 
(b) ELIGIBILITY TO RECEIVE GRANTS.—To be eligi-
ble to receive a grant under this section, a child care pro-
vider shall—
(1) have a child development associate creden-
tial (or equivalent), an associate of the arts degree 
in the area of child development or early child edu-
cation, a baccalaureate degree in the area of child 
development or early child education, or a bacca-
laureate degree in an unrelated field; and 
(2) be employed as a child care provider for not 
less than 1 calendar year, or (if the provider is em-
ployed on the date of the eligibility determination in 
a child care program that operates for less than a 
full calendar year) the program equivalent of 1 cal-
endar year, ending on the date of the application for 
such grant, except that not more than 3 months of 
education related to child development or to early
child education obtained during the corresponding 
calendar year may be treated as employment that 
satisfies the requirements of this paragraph. 
(c) PRESERVATION OF ELIGIBILITY.—A State shall 
not take into consideration whether a child care provider 
is receiving, may receive, or may be eligible to receive any 
funds or benefits under any other provision of this Act 
for purposes of selecting eligible child care providers to 
receive grants under this section. 
SEC. 8. CHILD CARE PROVIDER SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—A State that receives funds allot-
ted under section 5 and made available to carry out this 
section shall expend such funds to pay for the Federal 
share of the cost of making scholarship grants to eligible 
child care providers in accordance with this section, to im-
prove their educational qualifications to provide child care 
services. 
(b) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENT FOR SCHOLARSHIP 
GRANTS.—To be eligible to receive a scholarship grant 
under this section, a child care provider shall be employed 
as a child care provider for not less than 1 calendar year, 
or (if the provider is employed on the date of the eligibility 
determination in a child care program that operates for 
less than a full calendar year) the program equivalent of
1 calendar year, ending on the date of the application for 
such grant. 
(c) SELECTION OF GRANTEES.—For purposes of se-
lecting eligible child care providers to receive scholarship 
grants under this section and determining the amounts of 
such grants, a State shall not—
(1) take into consideration whether a child care 
provider is receiving, may receive, or may be eligible 
to receive any funds or benefits under any other pro-
vision of this Act, or under any other Federal or 
State law that provides funds for educational pur-
poses; or 
(2) consider as resources of such provider any 
funds such provider is receiving, may receive, or may 
be eligible to receive under any other provision of 
this Act, under any other Federal or State law that 
provides funds for educational purposes, or from a 
private entity. 
(d) COST-SHARING REQUIRED.—The amount of a 
scholarship grant made under this section to an eligible 
child care provider shall be less than the cost of the edu-
cational or training program for which such grant is made. 
(e) 
ANNUAL
MAXIMUM
SCHOLARSHIP
GRANT 
AMOUNT.—The maximum aggregate dollar amount of a
scholarship grant made by a State to an eligible child care 
provider under this section in a fiscal year shall be $1,500. 
SEC. 9. CHILD CARE PROVIDER HEALTH BENEFITS COV-
ERAGE. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This section may be cited as the 
‘‘Healthy Early Education Workforce Grant Program 
Act’’ . 
(b) DEFINITION.—In this section, the terms ‘‘depend-
ent’’, ‘‘domestic partner’’, and ‘‘spouse’’, used with respect 
to a State, have the meanings given the terms by the 
State. 
(c) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—A State that receives 
funds allotted under section 5 and made available to carry 
out this section shall expend such funds to pay for the 
Federal share of the cost of providing access to affordable 
health benefits coverage for—
(1) eligible child care providers; and 
(2) at the discretion of the State involved, the 
spouses, domestic partners, and dependents of such 
providers. 
(d) PERMISSIBLE ACTIVITIES.—In carrying out sub-
section (c), the State may expend such funds for any of 
the following: 
(1) To reimburse an employer of an eligible 
child care provider, or the provider, for the employ-
er’s or provider’s share (or a portion of the share) 
of the premiums or other costs for coverage under 
group or individual health plans. 
(2) To offset the cost of enrolling eligible child 
care providers in public health benefits plans, such 
as the medicaid program under title XIX of the So-
cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.), the State 
children’s health insurance program under title XXI 
of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1397aa et seq.), or public 
employee health benefit plans. 
(3) To otherwise subsidize the cost of health 
benefits coverage for eligible child care providers. 
(e) ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR HEALTH BENEFITS 
COVERAGE.—The State may establish criteria to limit the 
child care providers who may receive benefits through the 
allotment. 
(f) SELECTION OF GRANTEES.—For purposes of se-
lecting eligible child care providers to receive benefits 
under this section for a fiscal year, a State shall give—
(1) highest priority to—
(A) providers that meet any applicable cri-
teria established in accordance with subsection 
(e) and received such assistance during the pre-
vious fiscal year; and
(B) at the State’s discretion, the spouses, 
domestic partners, and dependents of such pro-
viders; and 
(2) second highest priority to—
(A) providers that meet any applicable cri-
teria established in accordance with subsection 
(e) and are accredited by the National Associa-
tion for the Education of Young Children or the 
National Association for Family Child Care; 
and 
(B) at the State’s discretion, the spouses, 
domestic partners, and dependents of such pro-
viders. 
SEC. 10. ANNUAL REPORT. 
A State that receives funds appropriated to carry out 
this Act for a fiscal year shall submit to the Secretary, 
not later than 90 days after the end of such fiscal year, 
a report—
(1) specifying the uses for which the State ex-
pended such funds, and the aggregate amount of 
funds (including State funds) expended for each of 
such uses; 
(2) containing available data relating to grants 
made and benefits provided with such funds, includ-
ing—
(A) the number of eligible child care pro-
viders who received such grants and benefits; 
(B) the amounts of such grants and bene-
fits; 
(C) any other information that describes or 
evaluates the effectiveness of this Act; 
(D) the particular geographical areas se-
lected under section 6 for the purpose of mak-
ing such grants; 
(E) with respect to grants made under sec-
tion 7—
(i) the number of years grant recipi-
ents have been employed as child care pro-
viders; 
(ii) the level of training and education 
of grant recipients; 
(iii) to the extent practicable and 
available to the State, detailed information 
regarding the salaries and other compensa-
tion received by grant recipients to provide 
child care services before, during, and after 
receiving such grants; 
(iv) the number of children who re-
ceived child care services provided by grant 
recipients;
(v) information on family demo-
graphics of such children; 
(vi) the types of settings described in 
subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) of section 
3(1) in which grant recipients are em-
ployed; and 
(vii) the ages of the children who re-
ceived child care services provided by grant 
recipients; 
(F) with respect to grants made under sec-
tion 8—
(i) the number of years grant recipi-
ents have been employed as child care pro-
viders; 
(ii) the level of training and education 
of grant recipients; 
(iii) to the extent practicable and 
available to the State, detailed information 
regarding the salaries and other compensa-
tion received by grant recipients to provide 
child care services before, during, and after 
receiving such grants; 
(iv) the types of settings described in 
subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) of section
3(1) in which grant recipients are em-
ployed; 
(v) the ages of the children who re-
ceived child care services provided by grant 
recipients; 
(vi) the number of course credits or 
credentials obtained by grant recipients; 
and 
(vii) the amount of time taken for 
completion of the educational and training 
programs for which such grants were 
made; and 
(G) such other information as the Sec-
retary may require by rule. 
SEC. 11. EVALUATION OF HEALTH BENEFITS PROGRAMS BY 
SECRETARY. 
(a) EVALUATION.—The Secretary shall conduct an 
evaluation of several State programs carried out with 
grants made under section 9, representing various ap-
proaches to raising the rate of child care providers with 
health benefits coverage. 
(b) ASSESSMENT OF IMPACTS.—In evaluating State 
programs under subsection (a), the Secretary may con-
sider any information appropriate to measure the success
of the programs, and shall assess the impact of the pro-
grams on the following: 
(1) The rate of child care providers with health 
benefits coverage. 
(2) The take-up rate by eligible child care pro-
viders. 
(3) The turnover rate in the child care field. 
(4) The average wages paid to a child care pro-
vider. 
(c) REPORT.—Not later than 3 years after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall prepare and 
submit a report to Congress containing the results of the 
evaluation conducted under subsection (a), together with 
recommendations for strengthening programs carried out 
with grants made under section 9. 
SEC. 12. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
(a) CHILD CARE PROVIDER DEVELOPMENT, RETEN-
TION, AND SCHOLARSHIPS.—There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out the activities described in sec-
tions 7 and 8 $500,000,000 for fiscal year 2006 and such 
sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2007 
through 2010. 
(b) CHILD CARE PROVIDER HEALTH BENEFITS COV-
ERAGE.—There is authorized to be appropriated to carry 
out the activities described in section 9 $200,000,000 for
fiscal year 2006 and such sums as may be necessary for 
each of fiscal years 2007 through 2010.
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