I
105TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3768
To increase the availability, affordability, and quality of school-based child
care programs for children aged 0 through 6 years.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
APRIL 30, 1998
Mr. ALLEN (for himself and Mr. SNYDER) introduced the following bill; which
was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to
the Committee on Education and the Workforce, for a period to be subse-
quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To increase the availability, affordability, and quality of
school-based child care programs for children aged 0
through 6 years.
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 ‘‘Education Childcare
Partnership Act’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Each day an estimated 13,000,000 children
spend some part of their day in child care.
(2) 54 percent of mothers with children between
the ages of 0 and 3 years are in the work force.
Labor force participation rises to 63 percent for
mothers with children under 6 years of age.
(3) Every day 3 out of 5 preschoolers go to
child care centers or homes while their parents work.
(4) The number of single-parent households and
2-parent households in which the single parent or
both parents work is increasing significantly.
(5) The availability of child care that is reliable,
convenient, and affordable helps parents to reach
and maintain self-sufficiency and is essential to
making the transition from welfare to work.
(6) Only an estimated 1 out of 10 eligible fami-
lies receive assistance in paying for child care from
Federal funds.
(7) Full-day child care can cost between $4,000
and $9,000 per year.
(8) In many instances, high quality child care
services cost little more than mediocre child care
services. An investment of only an additional 10 per-
cent has been found to have a significant impact on
the quality of child care services.
(9) Children placed in poor quality child care
settings have been found to have delayed language
and reading skills, as well as increased aggressive
behavior toward other children and adults.
(10) School based child care may utilize exist-
ing resources such as art supplies, sports equipment,
musical instruments, and playgrounds to provide
quality programs.
SEC. 3. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS REGARDING LOCAL EDU-
CATION AGENCIES THAT CARRY OUT QUALI-
FIED 
SCHOOL-BASED 
CHILD 
CARE 
PRO-
GRAMS.
It is the sense of the Congress that local education
agencies that carry out qualified school-based child care
programs should seek to become accredited child care cen-
ters and seek to hire credentialed child care professionals.
SEC. 4. GRANTS TO STATES FOR SCHOOL-BASED CHILD
CARE.
Part A of title IV of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 601–619) is amended by inserting after section
418 the following:
‘‘SEC. 418A. GRANTS TO STATES FOR SCHOOL-BASED CHILD
CARE.
‘‘(a) APPLICATION.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State desiring to receive
a grant under this section shall submit to the Sec-
retary, at such time and in such manner as the Sec-
retary shall by regulation require, an application
that—
‘‘(A) includes an assurance that the State
will use any grant made to the State under this
section to provide funds to local education agen-
cies for the purpose of establishing qualified
school-based child care programs;
‘‘(B) includes an assurance that a local
education agency that receives funds provided
to the State under this section will comply with
subsection (e)(1);
‘‘(C) 
includes 
evidence 
that 
parents,
schools, employers, State and local government
agencies, and child care agencies, including re-
source and referral agencies, have collaborated
in the preparation of the application; or
‘‘(D) includes a State plan that—
‘‘(i) meets the requirements of section
658E(c)(2) of the Child Care and Develop-
ment Block Grant Act of 1990, with re-
spect to grant funds provided to the State
under this section; and
‘‘(ii) is designed to be implemented
during a 2-year period; and
‘‘(F) contains such additional information
as the Secretary shall by regulation require.
‘‘(2) APPROVAL.—The Secretary shall approve
an application that meets the requirements of para-
graph (1).
‘‘(b) ENTITLEMENT.—A State whose application sub-
mitted under subsection (a) for a 2-year period is ap-
proved by the Secretary shall be entitled to receive from
the Secretary a grant for each year in the period, in an
amount determined under subsection (c), in lieu of any
other grant to which the State may be entitled under this
section.
‘‘(c) AMOUNT OF GRANT.—
‘‘(1) ALLOTMENTS TO STATES.—After making
the reservation described in subsection (d) of this
section, the total amount available for grants under
this section for a fiscal year shall be allotted among
the States with applications approved under sub-
section (a) of this section, in the manner provided
for in section 418(a)(2)(B).
‘‘(2) REDISTRIBUTION.—Section 418(a)(2)(D)
shall apply to amounts allotted under paragraph (1)
of this subsection.
‘‘(d) INDIAN TRIBES.—The Secretary shall reserve
not less than 1 percent, and not more than 2 percent, of
the aggregate amount appropriated to carry out this sec-
tion for each fiscal year for payments to Indian tribes and
tribal organizations.
‘‘(e) USE OF FUNDS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State to which a grant
is made under this section shall provide the grant
funds to local education agencies, which shall use
the grant only—
‘‘(A) to operate, directly or by contract or
agreement, qualified school-based child care
programs that serve children eligible for assist-
ance under the Child Care and Development
Block Grant Act of 1990, but do not necessarily
limit their enrollment to such children;
‘‘(B) to hire and train persons to provide
child care services in school-based child care
programs;
‘‘(C) to construct, expand, or rehabilitate
facilities for use as school-based child care pro-
grams; or
‘‘(D) to cover costs of administering the
grant, except that not more than 1 percent of
the grant funds provided to any such agency
may be used to cover such costs.
‘‘(2) COORDINATION WITH PROGRAMS UNDER
THE CHILD CARE AND DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT
ACT OF 1990.—A State to which a grant is made
under this section shall ensure that the grant funds
are expended in coordination with the programs es-
tablished by the State under the Child Care and De-
velopment Block Grant Act of 1990.
‘‘(3) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.—A State to
which a grant is made under this section shall use
the grant funds to supplement and not supplant
other Federal, State, and local funds provided for
programs that serve the health and developmental
needs of children.
‘‘(4) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Amounts pro-
vided to a State under this section shall be available
for use by the State without fiscal year limitation.
‘‘(f) APPROPRIATION.—Out of any money in the
Treasury of the United States not otherwise appropriated,
there are appropriated for grants under this section
$250,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1999 through 2002.
‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
‘‘(1) LOCAL
EDUCATION
AGENCY.—The term
‘local education agency’ has the meaning given such
term in the Elementary and Secondary Education
Act of 1965.
‘‘(2) QUALIFIED
SCHOOL-BASED
CHILD
CARE
PROGRAM.—The term ‘qualified school-based child
care program’ means a program—
‘‘(A) the principal use of which is to pro-
vide all-day care for children who have not at-
tained 7 years of age, and, at State option;
‘‘(B) which is located either in a school
structure or on the grounds of a school;
‘‘(C) which meets all applicable require-
ments of State and local laws and regulations,
including those relating to the licensing of fa-
cilities in which child care assistance is to be
provided as a child care facility; and
‘‘(D) the costs of the child care programs
of which are determined on a sliding fee scale
(within the meaning of section 658P(12) of the
Child Care and Development Block Grant Act
of 1990).
‘‘(3) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means each of
the 50 States and the District of Columbia.’’.
Æ