I 
114TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4524 
To amend the Social Security Act to provide for mandatory funding, to 
ensure that the families that have infants and toddlers, have a family 
income of not more than 200 percent of the applicable Federal poverty 
guideline, and need child care have access to high-quality infant and 
toddler child care by the end of fiscal year 2026, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 10, 2016 
Mr. CROWLEY (for himself and Ms. FRANKEL of Florida) introduced the fol-
lowing 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 subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com-
mittee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Social Security Act to provide for mandatory 
funding, to ensure that the families that have infants 
and toddlers, have a family income of not more than 
200 percent of the applicable Federal poverty guideline, 
and need child care have access to high-quality infant 
and toddler child care by the end of fiscal year 2026, 
and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Child Care Access to 
Resources for Early-learning Act’’ or the ‘‘Child CARE 
Act’’. 
SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 
The purposes of this Act are— 
(1) to provide funding to ensure that the fami-
lies that have infants and toddlers, that have a fam-
ily income of not more than 200 percent of the ap-
plicable Federal poverty guideline, and that need 
child care have access to high-quality infant and tod-
dler child care by the end of fiscal year 2026, in 
order to promote family economic security and pa-
rental employment, to support parents in balancing 
work and family obligations, and to promote chil-
dren’s health, early care, and learning; 
(2) to provide sufficient funding to ensure that 
both families and child care providers have the re-
sources they need to support high-quality early care 
and learning for infants and toddlers; 
(3) to ensure that provider payment rates, for 
infant and toddler child care providers, are set at a 
level high enough to support high-quality child care 
for infants and toddlers, including infants and tod-
dlers with disabilities; 
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(4) to assist eligible infant and toddler child 
care providers in improving the quality of their pro-
grams— 
(A) by strengthening the skills, com-
petencies, and compensation of the workforce of 
those providers, in a manner aligned with the 
report entitled ‘‘Transforming the Workforce 
for Children Birth Through Age 8: A Unifying 
Foundation’’, issued by the National Academy 
of Sciences in April 2015; and 
(B) by helping those providers ensure that 
children receive the comprehensive services they 
need, by coordinating activities with other com-
munity service providers; and 
(5) to ensure that high-quality infant and tod-
dler child care is a strong component of a continuum 
of quality early care and learning activities within 
States and Indian and Native Hawaiian commu-
nities, starting with prenatal care and continuing 
through activities in the early school years, with 
seamless transitions between programs. 
SEC. 3. APPROPRIATION. 
Title IV of the Social Security Act is amended by in-
serting after section 418 (42 U.S.C. 618) the following: 
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‘‘SEC. 418A. APPROPRIATION. 
‘‘For grants under the Child CARE Act, there is ap-
propriated— 
‘‘(1) $3,664,862,604 for fiscal year 2017; 
‘‘(2) $4,121,731,861 for fiscal year 2018; 
‘‘(3) $4,819,546,318 for fiscal year 2019; 
‘‘(4) $5,843,784,371 for fiscal year 2020; and 
‘‘(5) $6,887,236,056 for fiscal year 2021.’’. 
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) CHILD CARE AND DEVELOPMENT FUND.— 
The term ‘‘Child Care and Development Fund’’ 
means the funds appropriated under the Child Care 
and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 
U.S.C. 9858 et seq.) and the funds appropriated 
under section 418 of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 618). 
(2) ELIGIBLE
FAMILY.—The term ‘‘eligible 
family’’ means a family that has, and needs child 
care for, an infant or toddler, and is a low-income 
family. 
(3) ELIGIBLE INFANT OR TODDLER.—The term 
‘‘eligible infant or toddler’’ means an infant or tod-
dler from a low-income family. 
(4) INDIAN; INDIAN
TRIBE.—The terms ‘‘In-
dian’’ and ‘‘Indian tribe’’ have the meanings given 
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the terms in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determina-
tion and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 
450b). 
(5) HIGH-QUALITY.—The term ‘‘high-quality’’, 
used with respect to child care (including early care 
and learning), means child care provided in a man-
ner consistent with the quality standards described 
in section 7(a)(3). 
(6) INFANT OR TODDLER.—The term ‘‘infant 
or toddler’’ means a child under age 4. 
(7) INFANT
OR
TODDLER
WITH
A
DIS-
ABILITY.—The term ‘‘infant or toddler with a dis-
ability’’ has the meaning given the term in section 
632 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education 
Act (20 U.S.C. 1432). 
(8) LOW-INCOME FAMILY.—The term ‘‘low-in-
come family’’ means a family with a family income 
of not more than 200 percent of the applicable Fed-
eral poverty guideline. 
(9) NATIVE HAWAIIAN.—The term ‘‘Native Ha-
waiian’’ has the meaning given the term in section 
6207 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7517). 
(10) 
SECRETARY.—The 
term 
‘‘Secretary’’ 
means the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 
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(11) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means any of 
the several States, the District of Columbia, the Vir-
gin Islands of the United States, the Commonwealth 
of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, and the 
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. 
(12) TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘tribal 
organization’’ has the meaning given the term in 
section 658P of the Child Care and Development 
Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858n). 
SEC. 5. FUNDING ALLOTMENTS. 
(a) DISTRIBUTION BY ACTIVITY.—From the amounts 
appropriated under this Act for each fiscal year, the Sec-
retary shall— 
(1) reserve a portion for providing the allot-
ments described in subsection (b) (relating to ex-
panding access to high-quality child care); 
(2) reserve a portion of not less than 2 percent 
of the appropriated amounts for providing the allot-
ments described in subsection (d) (relating to Indian 
and Native Hawaiian child care); 
(3) reserve a portion, of not more than 0.5 per-
cent of the appropriated amounts, for carrying out 
research and evaluation activities under this Act; 
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(4) reserve a portion, of not more than 0.5 per-
cent of the appropriated amounts, for carrying out 
technical assistance activities under this Act; 
(5) reserve 6 percent of the appropriated 
amounts for making grants under subsection (e) (re-
lating to child care provided during nontraditional 
and unpredictable hours); and 
(6) use the remainder for providing the allot-
ments described in subsection (c) (relating to main-
taining access to child care). 
(b) ALLOTMENTS FOR EXPANDING ACCESS TO HIGH- 
QUALITY CHILD CARE.— 
(1) ALLOTMENTS.—Using funds reserved under 
subsection (a)(1) for a fiscal year, the Secretary 
shall allot to each eligible State an amount that 
bears the same relationship to the reserved funds as 
the number of infants and toddlers from low-income 
families in the State bears to the total number of 
such infants and toddlers in all eligible States. 
(2) USE OF FUNDS.—A State that receives an 
allotment under this subsection shall use the allot-
ment funds— 
(A) to expand access to high-quality child 
care for infants and toddlers who do not receive 
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child care funded through the Child Care and 
Development Fund; 
(B) to increase, as described in this Act, 
the quality of child care for infants and toddlers 
who receive child care funded through the Child 
Care and Development Fund; 
(C)(i) to support payment rates, for child 
care providers that serve infants and toddlers, 
that reflect the cost of high-quality child care 
and are sufficient to attract, support, and re-
tain providers who meet quality standards that 
relate to the unique needs of infants and tod-
dlers, including infants and toddlers with dis-
abilities; and 
(ii) to increase the compensation of, and 
provide other financial incentives for, the highly 
qualified infant and toddler child care work-
force; and 
(D) as otherwise described in section 7. 
(c) ALLOTMENTS
FOR MAINTAINING ACCESS
TO 
CHILD CARE.— 
(1) ALLOTMENTS.—Using the remainder de-
scribed in subsection (a)(6) for a fiscal year, the 
Secretary shall allot to each eligible State an amount 
that bears the same relationship to the reserved 
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funds as the amount the State receives for the fiscal 
year under section 418(a)(2)(B) of the Social Secu-
rity Act (42 U.S.C. 618(a)(2)(B)) bears to the total 
amount received by all eligible States under that sec-
tion. 
(2) USE OF FUNDS.—A State that receives an 
allotment under this subsection shall use the allot-
ment funds in accordance with the Child Care and 
Development Block Grant Act of 1990. 
(d) ALLOTMENTS FOR INDIAN AND NATIVE HAWAI-
IAN CHILD CARE.— 
(1) FORMULA.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—In order to ensure that 
Indian and Native Hawaiian children have 
equal access to high-quality infant and toddler 
child care, the Secretary shall develop a formula 
for allotting the funds reserved under sub-
section (a)(2) to Indian tribes and tribal organi-
zations. 
(B) FORMULA
FACTORS.—In developing 
the formula, the Secretary shall— 
(i) provide for a level of funding that 
will ensure that, by the end of fiscal year 
2026, the Indian and Native Hawaiian in-
fants and toddlers in eligible families will 
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receive a level of services that is equivalent 
to the high-quality child care received by 
infants and toddlers in the general popu-
lation under this Act; 
(ii) take into consideration the unique 
needs and circumstances of individuals in 
Indian and Native Hawaiian communities, 
such as unemployment rates; and 
(iii) the cost of providing high-quality 
child care that addresses Indian and Na-
tive Hawaiian culture and language. 
(2) USE OF FUNDS.—An Indian tribe or tribal 
organization that receives an allotment under this 
subsection shall use the allotment funds as described 
in section 9. 
(e) GRANTS FOR CHILD CARE DURING UNCONVEN-
TIONAL HOURS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Using funds reserved under 
subsection (a)(5) for a fiscal year, the Secretary may 
make grants to States for child care provided during 
nontraditional and unpredictable hours. 
(2) ADJUSTMENTS.—The Secretary may adjust 
the requirement that providers serving children that 
require child care during those hours meet quality 
standards as described in section 7(a)(3), as nec-
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essary to address the need for nontraditional and 
unpredictable hours care. 
(3) APPLICABLE
REQUIREMENTS.—Except as 
provided in paragraph (2), a State that receives a 
grant under this subsection shall use the grant 
funds in accordance with the Child Care and Devel-
opment Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9859 
et seq.) and this Act. 
SEC. 6. STATE APPLICATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive a grant 
under this Act through allotments made under subsection 
(b), (c), or (e) of section 5, a State shall submit to the 
Secretary an application, as a supplement to the State 
plan described in section 658E of the Child Care and De-
velopment Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858c). 
(b) INFORMATION.—Each such application shall in-
clude a description of each of the following: 
(1)(A) How the State will increase the number 
of high-quality child care slots for eligible families, 
to ensure, by the end of fiscal year 2026, access to 
high-quality infant and toddler child care for the eli-
gible families in the State (referred to in this section 
as ‘‘universal high-quality child care’’). 
(B) The ambitious goals and measurable bench-
marks that the State will use to demonstrate 
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progress toward achieving universal high-quality 
child care, including— 
(i) substantially increasing the percentage 
of eligible families served; and 
(ii) addressing the needs identified in the 
needs assessment under section 7(a)(4). 
(2) How the State will measurably improve, by 
the end of fiscal year 2026, the quality of child care 
available to children who are infants and toddlers, 
including such children who are dual language learn-
ers or are children with disabilities, and the ambi-
tious goals and measurable benchmarks that the 
State will use to demonstrate progress toward 
achieving this improvement. 
(3) How the State will maintain, using the 
Child Care and Development Fund and the funds 
made available under section 5(c), the caseload of 
children that were served using the Child Care and 
Development Fund on the date of enactment of this 
Act. 
(4)(A) How the State will conduct a study on 
the cost of high-quality child care for infants and 
toddlers, at least once every 3 years, consistent with 
this supplement— 
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(i) to determine provider payment rates 
that are sufficient— 
(I) to ensure fair and competitive 
compensation for high-quality infant and 
toddler child care providers; 
(II) to recognize child care providers 
who have the specialized knowledge and 
competencies of early childhood educators; 
and 
(III) to recognize child care providers 
who offer a rich learning environment, use 
evidence-based classroom practices, and 
have provider competencies in engaging in 
stimulating, warm, and responsive adult- 
child interactions, consistent with the pro-
gram performance standards referred to in 
section 641A(a)(1) of the Head Start Act 
(42 U.S.C. 9836a), appropriate to the age 
of the child; and 
(ii) to assess the compensation levels nec-
essary to attract, support, and retain a work-
force of child care providers described in clause 
(i). 
(B) Whether the State proposes to conduct the 
study required under subparagraph (A) by carrying 
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out a cost of quality study or survey that the State 
is currently conducting, as a requirement of its State 
plan under section 658E of the Child Care and De-
velopment Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 
9858c). 
(C) How the State will incorporate into the 
study information gathered through a public hearing 
to solicit input from relevant stakeholders including 
the infant and toddler child care workforce. 
(D) How the State will use the results of the 
study to establish and annually update reimburse-
ment rates for high-quality infant and toddler child 
care providers in the State. 
(5) How the State will ensure and demonstrate 
that— 
(A) the higher provider payment rates that 
the State proposes to pay under this Act are 
sufficient to achieve the compensation levels de-
scribed in paragraph (4)(A)(ii), and attract, 
support, and retain child care providers de-
scribed in paragraph (4)(A)(i); and 
(B) the rates described in subparagraph 
(A) will keep pace with inflation. 
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(6) The need in the State for high-quality child 
care for infants and toddlers, based on a needs as-
sessment— 
(A) that is conducted prior to the receipt 
of the corresponding allotment and at least once 
every 3 years consistent with the State plan; 
(B) that is conducted by the State Advi-
sory Council on Early Childhood Education and 
Care (designated or established pursuant to sec-
tion 642B(b)(1)(A)(i) of the Head Start Act 
(42 U.S.C. 9837b(b)(1)(A)(i))) or another enti-
ty as determined by the State; and 
(C) that identifies such need for geo-
graphic areas and special populations of infants 
and toddlers, including children with disabil-
ities, homeless children, children in foster care, 
children who are dual language learners, chil-
dren living in rural areas, and children whose 
families work nontraditional hours. 
(7) A unified approach to early care and learn-
ing that begins prenatally and supports children and 
their families at least until the children enter kinder-
garten, which includes a description of how the State 
will align infant and toddler child care with— 
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(10) How the State will address infant and tod-
dler child care needs for populations that have acute 
barriers to accessing high-quality child care and the 
State’s plan to increase the supply of high-quality 
child care slots for populations for which the unmet 
need is greatest, including populations listed in sec-
tion 658E(c)(2)(M) of the Child Care and Develop-
ment Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 
9858c(c)(2)(M)), with methods such as grants and 
contracts. 
(11) How the State will, at the option of an In-
dian tribe or tribal organization in the State, col-
laborate and coordinate activities with the Indian 
tribe or tribal organization in the development of the 
State plan. 
(12) A plan that describes how the State will 
ensure successful engagement by parents and fami-
lies in their child’s early care and learning and how 
this plan will promote engagement that continues 
from infant and toddler programs into preschool 
programs and beyond. 
(13) How the State will collaborate and coordi-
nate activities with early childhood educators and or-
ganizations that foster the professional development 
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and collective engagement of the child care work-
force. 
(c) ASSURANCES.—Each such application shall in-
clude each of the following: 
(1) An assurance that the State will maintain, 
using the Child Care and Development Fund and 
the funds made available under section 5(c), the 
caseload of children that were served using the Child 
Care and Development Fund on the date of enact-
ment of this Act. 
(2) An assurance that the State will establish 
and support standards for high-quality child care for 
infants and toddlers in the State as described in sec-
tion 7(a)(3). 
(3) An assurance that the State will contribute 
a percentage toward the cost of activities authorized 
under section 5(b), toward the cost of activities au-
thorized under section 5(c), and toward the cost of 
activities authorized under section 5(e), that is equal 
to the percentage that the State contributes under 
section 418(a)(2)(C) of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 618(a)(2)(C)) toward the cost of the child 
care authorized under section 418 of that Act (42 
U.S.C. 618). 
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SEC. 7. STATE EXPANSION AND QUALITY ENHANCEMENT 
ACTIVITIES. 
(a) EXPANDING ACCESS TO HIGH-QUALITY CHILD 
CARE.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Using funds made available 
through an allotment under section 5(b), the State 
shall reserve at least 80 percent for direct services 
provided through grants, contracts, or certificates, to 
expand access to high-quality child care for infants 
and toddlers and to increase parental options for 
and access to such care. 
(2) PROMOTION OF QUALITY.—During the pe-
riod beginning not later than the date on which the 
allotment is made and ending not later than 6 
months after that date, and every third year there-
after, the State shall use the cost of high-quality 
child care study, described in section 6(b)(4), to en-
sure that, for all infant and toddler child care 
slots— 
(A) the child care is of sufficient quality; 
(B) the providers of the care are supported 
along a career pathway to achieve higher levels 
of training and education; and 
(C) provider payment rates are sufficient 
as described in section 6(b)(4)(A)(i). 
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(3) QUALITY STANDARDS.—The State shall en-
sure that all infant and toddler child care providers, 
who participate in activities funded through the 
Child Care and Development Fund, meet quality 
standards by the end of fiscal year 2026, includ-
ing— 
(A) ensuring that the providers enable lead 
teachers and educators, regardless of setting, to 
receive program quality funds reserved under 
subsection (b), through grants, contracts, or 
certificates, to prepare for meeting higher 
standards of quality and to progress through 
professional development goals; and 
(B)(i) offering full-day, full-year care or 
otherwise meeting the needs of working fami-
lies; 
(ii) meeting the requirements described in 
section 6(b)(4)(A)(i)(III); 
(iii) ensuring individuals working directly 
with infants and toddlers have the qualifica-
tions, knowledge, and skills to promote the 
healthy social, emotional, cognitive, and phys-
ical development of children as appropriate to 
the children’s age, and attain the compensation 
levels necessary to attract, support, and retain 
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a well-qualified workforce, in a manner aligned 
with the findings in the study entitled ‘‘Trans-
forming the Workforce for Children Birth 
Through Age 8: A Unifying Foundation’’, 
issued by the National Academy of Sciences in 
April 2015; 
(iv) aligning its activities with the State’s 
Early Learning and Development Guidelines 
that apply to infants and toddlers and the Head 
Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework; 
(v) coordinating activities with other public 
or private agencies to ensure that, to the extent 
that services are available in the community, in-
fants and toddlers are referred to local agencies 
or other appropriate providers, including com-
munity-based organizations, for comprehensive 
health, mental health, family, and nutrition 
services, similar to those provided through 
Early Head Start programs; and 
(vi) engaging with parents in their roles as 
first teachers and partnering with parents in 
their child’s early care and learning and transi-
tion to pre-kindergarten or a Head Start pro-
gram. 
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(4) ADDRESSING
UNDERSERVED
GEOGRAPHIC 
AREAS AND SPECIAL POPULATIONS.— 
(A) IDENTIFICATION.—Based on a valid 
needs assessment referred to in section 6(b)(6), 
the State shall identify geographic areas and 
special populations described in that section. 
(B) INCREASING AVAILABILITY OF CHILD 
CARE.—The State shall develop and implement 
a plan to increase the availability of high-qual-
ity child care (including by stabilizing the in-
come of providers of such care)— 
(i) in geographic areas and for popu-
lations identified under subparagraph (A); 
and 
(ii) to the extent practicable, in hard- 
to-serve areas or populations. 
(b) ENHANCING THE QUALITY OF INFANT AND TOD-
DLER CHILD CARE.— 
(1) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that the activi-
ties described in paragraph (3) are interconnected 
and that each of the activities is critical to enhanc-
ing the quality of infant and toddler child care. 
(2) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—The State shall re-
serve at least 12 percent of funds made available 
through each allotment made under subsection (b), 
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(c), or (e) of section 5 to carry out activities de-
scribed in paragraph (3), to increase the quality of 
child care programs for infants and toddlers in eligi-
ble families. 
(3) ACTIVITIES.—The activities referred to in 
paragraph (2) shall consist of— 
(A) activities that improve the skills and 
competencies of the infant and toddler child 
care workforce, including competencies specific 
to working with children who are culturally and 
linguistically diverse and children with disabil-
ities, by providing a pathway to higher levels of 
training and education consistent with the find-
ings in the National Academy of Sciences study 
described in subsection (a)(3)(B)(iii); 
(B) activities that support training and 
technical assistance through a statewide net-
work of infant and toddler specialists, infant 
and early childhood mental health consultants, 
or coach mentors, that provide onsite assistance 
directly to providers who receive funds under 
this Act; 
(C) activities that provide startup grants, 
to purchase equipment and materials needed to 
provide high-quality early care and learning ex-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
06:23 Feb 11, 2016
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