I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2636
To establish a grant program to promote emotional and social development
and school readiness.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JULY 25, 2001
Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island (for himself, Mr. GILMAN, Mr. GEORGE MIL-
LER of California, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. STRICKLAND, Mr. STARK, Mr.
DEFAZIO, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. UDALL of New Mexico, Ms. JACKSON-LEE
of Texas, Mr. OWENS, Ms. NORTON, Ms. MCKINNEY, Mr. MCGOVERN,
Mr. BONIOR, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. SOLIS, Mr. HILLIARD, Mr. FORD,
Mrs. JONES of Ohio, Mr. CRAMER, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. TOM DAVIS of
Virginia, Mr. FOLEY, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. SANDLIN, Mr. ABERCROMBIE,
Mr. SCOTT, Mrs. MINK of Hawaii, Mr. BLAGOJEVICH, Mr. MEEKS of
New York, Mr. ALLEN, Mr. KUCINICH, Mr. REYES, Mr. CONYERS, Mr.
FATTAH, and Ms. WATSON of California) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce
A BILL
To establish a grant program to promote emotional and
social development and school readiness.
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 ‘‘Foundations for
Learning Act’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) It has been and continues to be the policy
of Congress that all children enter school ready to
learn.
(2) Success in school is dependent on emotional
and social development, including—
(A) the development of curiosity, self-direc-
tion, and persistence in learning situations;
(B) the ability to cooperate, demonstrate
caring, and resolve conflict with peers; and
(C) the capacity to recognize and regulate
one’s own emotions and behaviors.
(3) Kindergarten teachers report that increas-
ing numbers of children are unprepared to cope with
the demands of school, not because they do not have
the academic tools, but because they lack the social
skills and emotional self-regulation necessary to suc-
ceed. In a recent survey, 46 percent of kindergarten
teachers reported that at least half of their class had
difficulty following direction, 34 percent reported
half of the class or more had difficulty working as
part of a group, and 20 percent said at least half
of the class had problems with social skills.
(4) The National Academy of Sciences has rec-
ommended that resources on par with those focused
on literacy and numerical skills should be devoted to
strategies promoting young children’s emotional,
regulatory, and social development. It concluded that
enhancement of social and emotional development
are as important in early childhood as enhancement
of linguistic and cognitive competence.
(5) Few early childhood programs, including
those supported by the Federal Government such as
Head Start, have sufficient capacity adequately to
address the emotional and social developmental
needs of eligible children with prevention and early
intervention services.
(6) Extensive research has identified a number
of risk factors, including poverty, parental depres-
sion and substance abuse, abuse and neglect, home-
lessness, low birth weight and other medical prob-
lems, and others, the presence of which, particularly
when more than one is present, increase a child’s
likelihood of early school failure.
(7) Although a child’s development will vary
from individual to individual and depends on a mul-
titude of biological and environmental factors, early
interventions with eligible children and their families
can increase the probability of a more favorable de-
velopmental and academic trajectory.
(8) Research overwhelmingly demonstrates that
a child’s development is deeply influenced by the re-
lationships with parents, the behavior of parents,
and the environment in the home. Parents are the
most influential adults in their children’s lives and
are responsible for promoting their children’s
healthy development. Therefore, any effective at-
tempt to improve young children’s social and emo-
tional development necessarily must involve the fam-
ilies of those children.
(9) Second only to the immediate family, child
care providers shape children’s emotional and social
development. Sixty-one percent of children under the
age of 4 are in regularly scheduled child-care by
someone other than a parent, including 44 percent
of infants under 1, 53 percent of 1-year-olds, and 57
percent of 2-year-olds.
(10) The Surgeon General’s Conference on
Children’s Mental Health has recommended the cre-
ation of tangible tools for early childhood service
providers to help them assess children’s social and
emotional needs and discuss those issues with fami-
lies and make referrals.
(11) A child’s healthy emotional and social de-
velopment must be assessed in the context of cul-
tural influences and consequently any efforts to pro-
mote development must be culturally competent.
(12) Early interventions for eligible children
have demonstrated later savings in public expendi-
tures for special education, income support, and
criminal justice.
SEC. 3. GRANT PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Education, in
consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human
Services, is authorized to make grants to States to assist
eligible children to become ready for school.
(b) ALLOTMENTS.—If the amount appropriated
under section 9 and not reserved under subsection (c) for
a fiscal year exceeds $200,000,000, the Secretary shall—
(1) except as provided in paragraph (2), allo-
cate funds to the States based on the ratio of the
amount of funds received by a State under part A
of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Edu-
cation Act of 1965 for the preceding fiscal year to
the amount of funds received by all the States under
such part for such fiscal year; and
(2) allocate not less than 0.40 percent for each
State.
(c) RESERVATIONS OF FUNDS.—Of the amount ap-
propriated under section 9 for a fiscal year, the Secretary
shall reserve—
(1) one-half of one percent for Indian tribes;
(2) one-half of one percent for Native Alaskan
regional corporations and Native Hawaiian entities;
(3) one percent for the Commonwealth of Puer-
to Rico;
(4) not more than 3 percent for administrative
costs; and
(5) not more than 3 percent for technical as-
sistance, sharing of best practices, and evaluations
described under subsection (e).
(d) SPECIAL RULE.—If the amount appropriated
under this Act in a fiscal year is less than $200,000,000,
the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Health
and Human Services, is authorized to award grants to
local coordinating councils, consistent with priorities de-
scribed in section 7(b), on a competitive basis, of sufficient
size and for a period of sufficient duration to assist eligible
children to be ready for school.
(e) EVALUATION.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, on an
ongoing basis—
(A) evaluate promising strategies being im-
plemented in the States pursuant to this Act
and the success of those strategies in promoting
emotional and social development and school
readiness in eligible children, including, at the
Secretary’s discretion, by the performance of
long-term longitudinal studies; and
(B) issue reports and provide technical as-
sistance based on the knowledge gained from
those evaluations.
(2) REVIEW
EXPENDITURES.—Not less than
once every 3 years, the Secretary shall evaluate the
expenditure of grants made under this Act in order
to assess and report on the range of services being
provided, the success of States in meeting the per-
formance measures established pursuant to their
State plans, and make recommendations regarding
changes needed in program design or operations.
SEC. 4. STATE PLANS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—In order to receive a grant under
section 3, a State shall submit a State plan to the Sec-
retary, at such time and in such form as the Secretary
may require, and shall include in the State plan—
(1) an assurance that the State shall provide,
either directly or through private contributions, non-
Federal matching funds equal to not less than 20
percent of the amount of the grant with such funds
contributed in cash or in kind, fairly evaluated, in-
cluding contributions of facilities, staff time, or do-
nated equipment;
(2) specification of the sources of non-Federal
matching funds described in paragraph (1);
(3) an assurance that funds received shall sup-
plement, not supplant, other public funds expended
to promote the emotional, social, and behavioral de-
velopment of young children;
(4) an assurance that the State and its political
subdivisions shall maintain a level of expending
funds that equals or exceeds the amount spent for
programs described in section 5(b) in the preceding
fiscal year;
(5) composition of the statewide coordinating
council (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘SCC’’);
(6) the name of the agency designated as the
lead agency;
(7) a description of the population the State in-
tends to serve, the manner in which the grant will
be expended to improve the emotional and social de-
velopment of children served, and measurable per-
formance goals consistent with the planned uses of
the grant;
(8) an assurance that activities conducted with
the grant will be undertaken in a culturally com-
petent and developmentally appropriate manner; and
(9) the manner in which services will be coordi-
nated with existing similar services provided by pub-
lic and nonprofit entities within the State.
(b) APPROVAL.—The Secretary shall approve an ap-
plication by a State under this Act unless the Secretary
determines that—
(1) the matching requirement of section 4(1) is
not met;
(2) the performance measures set forth in the
State plan are not satisfactory; or
(3) the State plan is otherwise inconsistent with
the purposes of this Act.
SEC. 5. USES OF FUNDS.
(a) PERMISSIBLE USES OF FUNDS.—A State that re-
ceives funds under this Act may use such funds in a man-
ner intended to benefit eligible children, for the following:
(1) SCREENING.—To use valid, reliable, and ap-
propriate measures, procedures, or methods to
screen children suspected of developmental delays or
being eligible for services under this Act to deter-
mine if a child has 2 or more characteristics de-
scribed in section 8(2) and, when appropriate, to de-
velop a comprehensive plan to address the emotional
and social development of eligible children.
(2) FAMILY SUPPORT INITIATIVES.—
(A) PARENTING EDUCATION.—To provide
individualized, intensive parenting skills train-
ing and support, including opportunities for
family-to-family support, to parents of eligible
children.
(B) FAMILY SUPPORT.—To provide appro-
priate family support services designed to help
parents increase their capacity to foster their
children’s emotional, social, and behavioral de-
velopment.
(C) REGULAR AND INTENSIVE HOME VIS-
ITS.—To provide regular and intensive home
visits to families with eligible children, including
infants, or increase the capacity of existing
home visitation programs to provide interven-
tions or services that assist families in pro-
moting the emotional and social development of
young children.
(3) CONSULTATIONS
AND
SUPPORT
TO
PRO-
VIDERS OF EARLY CHILDHOOD SERVICES.—
(A) PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT.—To
provide professional development to child care
workers, Early Head Start, Head Start, pre-
school, and kindergarten teachers and other
providers of early childhood services to help
them foster the healthy emotional, social, and
behavioral development of children in their care
or with whom they have regular contact.
(B) PROGRAMMATIC
CONSULTATION.—To
provide programmatic consultations to child
care providers, Early Head Start and Head
Start providers, preschools, and kindergartens
and other providers of early childhood services
to assist them in creating an environment and
interventions or supports most conducive to the
healthy emotional, social, and behavioral devel-
opment of young children in their care or with
whom they have regular contact.
(C) FAMILY CONSULTATIONS.—To provide
child- or family-centered consultations to child
care providers, Early Head Start and Head
Start providers, preschools, and kindergartens
and other providers of early childhood services
to help them address the emotional, social, and
behavioral developmental needs of eligible chil-
dren in their care or with whom they have reg-
ular contact.
(D) HIRING PRACTICES.—To assist child
care providers, Early Head Start and Head
Start providers, preschools, and kindergartens
and other providers of early childhood services
in hiring qualified mental health or behavioral
health specialists.
(4) SERVICES
TO
ELIGIBLE
CHILDREN
AND
THEIR FAMILIES.—
(A) EARLY
INTERVENTIONS.—To deliver
and coordinate a continuum of early interven-
tion services, crisis intervention services, screen-
ing and other appropriate, reliable, and valid
assessments, referrals, and other classroom and
home-based interventions that promote the emo-
tional and social development and school readi-
ness of eligible children by identifying and ad-
dressing the unique needs of the children and
their families.
(B) MENTAL HEALTH.—To provide mental
health services to eligible children and, when
necessary to promote the child’s healthy devel-
opment, their families, provided that such serv-
ices cannot be paid for by other sources.
(C) COORDINATION.—To coordinate and
facilitate access by eligible children and their
families to the services available through—
(i) part C or section 619 of part B of
the Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act (20 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.);
(ii) the medicaid program under title
XIX of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
1396 et seq.);
(iii) State children’s health insurance
program under title XXI of the Social Se-
curity Act (42 U.S.C. 1397aa et seq.); and
(iv) other community resources, in-
cluding mental health, physical health, sub-
stance abuse, educational, domestic vio-
lence, child welfare, and social services.
(D) PROGRAM PARTICIPATION.—To facili-
tate participation in Head Start, Early Head
Start, or child care and preschool programs of-
fering substantially the same range of services
as Head Start or Early Head Start for eligible
children by removing ancillary barriers to ac-
cess such as transportation difficulties and the
absence of programs during nontraditional work
times.
(E) ANCILLARY
SERVICES.—To provide
ancillary services such as transportation or
child care in order to facilitate the delivery of
any other services or activities authorized by
this Act.
(5) 
DEVELOPMENT
OF
COMMUNITY
RE-
SOURCES.—
(A) CURRICULUMS.—To develop social and
emotional competencies curricula for use in
early childhood settings.
(B) PARTNERSHIPS.—To develop or en-
hance early childhood community partnerships
and build towards a community system of care
that brings together child-serving agencies and
or organizations to provide individualized sup-
ports for eligible children and their families.
(C) EVALUATION.—To evaluate the suc-
cess of strategies and services provided pursu-
ant to this Act in promoting young children’s
successful entry to school and maintain data
systems required for effective evaluations.
(6) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—To pay for costs
of administering the activities authorized by this
Act, provided such expenditures shall not exceed 4
percent of the grant received by a local coordinating
council.
(b) LIMITATION.—A State may use funds under this
Act to pay only for services that—
(1) the State is currently not providing under—
(A) the medicaid program under title XIX
of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et
seq.);
(B) the State children’s health insurance
program under title XXI of the Social Security
Act (42 U.S.C. 1397aa et seq.);
(C) early intervention services under part
C or section 619 of part B of the Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C.
1431 et seq.); and
(D) State and local mental health pro-
grams; and
(2) cannot be paid for by other Federal, State,
or local sources, excluding Head Start or Early
Head Start, or by private insurance.
(c) PROVISION OF SERVICES.—All services provided
pursuant to this Act—
(1) shall be provided in the most culturally
competent manner practicable;
(2) if a charge is imposed for such services,
shall be based on a sliding scale based on ability to
pay and shall not be imposed on any child of a fam-
ily whose income is below 200 percent of the poverty
line (as such term is defined in section 673(2) of the
Community Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C.
9902(2)));
(3) shall be provided by or under the super-
vision of qualified professionals with expertise in
early childhood development; and
(4) shall be intended to benefit eligible children.
SEC. 6. STATE ADMINISTRATION.
(a) LEAD AGENCY.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The chief executive officer of
the State shall name a lead agency to administer a
program established pursuant to this Act.
(2) DUTIES.—The lead agency shall—
(A) in consultation with the SCC, establish
performance goals consistent with the purposes
described in its State plan;
(B) if administering a statewide program,
adhere to the priorities described in section 5;
(C) monitor and evaluate the success of ac-
tivities funded under this Act in meeting its
performance goals and the long-term impact of
such activities on success in school of eligible
children;
(D) submit an annual report to the Sec-
retary regarding the State’s progress in meeting
the performance goals, a description of any bar-
riers encountered in serving eligible children,
and other pertinent results of its monitoring
and evaluation; and
(E) provide subgrants in accordance with
section 7 if not administering a statewide pro-
gram.
(3) FUNDS.—In any fiscal year the lead
agency—
(A) shall reserve 2 percent of allotted
funds under this Act for evaluation and tech-
nical assistance; and
(B) may use not more than 4 percent of
allotted funds under this Act for administrative
costs.
(b) SCC.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The chief executive officer of
a State shall appoint individuals to serve on a SCC.
(2) REPRESENTATIVES.—Individuals who serve
on a SCC shall include representation from parents,
early childhood providers, early childhood mental
health providers, the State educational agency, the
State mental health agency, State child care agency
(including child care resource and referral staff), the
State Head Start association, the State agency re-
sponsible for administering part C of the Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1431 et
seq.), the State preschool agency, the State child
welfare agency and any other individual or group the
chief executive officer considers appropriate.
(3) EXISTING COUNCIL.—If a comparable coun-
cil or entity exists, the chief executive officer may
designate such council or entity to serve as the SCC.
(4) ROLE OF SCC.—The SCC shall establish
guidelines for State administration of the program,
prepare a State plan in accordance with section 4,
and advise the lead agency.
SEC. 7. LOCAL ADMINISTRATION.
(a) IN GENERAL.—If the lead agency and SCC deter-
mine that the program should be administered at a local
level, the lead agency shall accept applications from local
coordinating councils.
(b) PRIORITY.—The lead agency shall give priority
to applications from local coordinating councils that—
(1) demonstrate broad collaboration among rel-
evant local agencies and organizations and others in
the development of the application and in the
planned implementation;
(2) involve parents in planning and administra-
tion;
(3) propose projects targeted to eligible children
for whom multiple risk factors apply and who are
most in need of services to promote emotional and
social development;
(4) can be replicated;
(5) demonstrate cultural competency;
(6) integrate planning and services with exist-
ing early childhood and school readiness programs;
(7) provide access to a full spectrum of early
intervention services and mental health treatments
for children and their families; and
(8) demonstrate sufficient professional capacity
in the community to implement successfully planned
activities.
(c) SUFFICIENT SIZE.—A subgrant made available
under this section shall be of sufficient size, scope, and
quality to enable a local coordinating council to carry out
the purposes of this Act effectively.
SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) The term ‘‘young children’’ means children
from zero to age 6.
(2) The term ‘‘eligible children’’ means young
children to whom 2 or more of the following charac-
teristics apply:
(A) Low birth weight.
(B) Cognitive deficit or developmental dis-
ability.
(C) Parental substance abuse.
(D) Custodial parent with less than sec-
ondary school diploma.
(E) Parental depression or other mental
illness.
(F) Abuse, maltreatment, or neglect.
(G) Family income below 200 percent of
the Federal poverty line (as such term is de-
fined in section 673(2) of the Community Serv-
ices Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2))).
(H) Early behavioral and peer relationship
problems.
(I) Exposure to violence.
(J) Homelessness.
(K) Removed from child care, Head Start,
or preschool for behavioral reasons or at risk of
being so removed.
(3) The term ‘‘local coordinating council’’
means a group composed of some combination of
parents, early childhood providers, early childhood
mental health providers, community mental health
centers, local schools, and local agencies involved in
early childhood emotional, social, and behavioral de-
velopment and school readiness including local coun-
cils established under the Early Learning Opportuni-
ties Act of 2000, or other existing local councils fo-
cusing on children and families.
(4) The term ‘‘provider of early childhood serv-
ices’’ means a public or private entity that has reg-
ular contact with young children, including child
welfare agencies, child care providers, Head Start
and Early Head Start providers, preschools, kinder-
gartens, mental health professionals, family courts,
homeless shelters, libraries, and primary care pro-
viders.
(5) The term ‘‘parent’’ means the biological or
adoptive parent, foster parent, grandparent, or other
family member or legal guardian having physical
custody of the child.
(6) The term ‘‘family member of a child’’
means a person related to the child by blood, mar-
riage, or adoption who shares a primary residence
with the child or shares custody of the child.
(7) The term ‘‘early intervention services’’
means services that—
(A) are provided to—
(i) eligible children who have not been
diagnosed with a mental health disorder;
or
(ii) if necessary to promote such chil-
dren’s emotional and social development,
their families;
(B) promote healthy emotional and social
development by remedying or permitting chil-
dren to overcome risk factors or develop protec-
tive factors against such risks; and
(C) connect children and their families to
other community resources and services as ap-
propriate.
(8) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary
of Education.
(9) The term ‘‘State’’ means each of the 50
States and the District of Columbia.
SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out
this Act $250,000,000 for fiscal year 2002, $300,000,000
for fiscal year 2003, and such sums as may be necessary
thereafter.
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