I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 846
To establish a child care provider scholarship program.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 24, 1999
Mr. WEYGAND (for himself, Mr. SHOWS, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Ms. WATERS, Mr.
NEAL of Massachusetts, and Ms. SCHAKOWSKY) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce
A BILL
To establish a child care provider scholarship program.
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 ‘‘Child Care Worker
Incentive Act of 1999’’.
SEC. 2. NATIONAL CHILD CARE PROVIDER SCHOLARSHIP
PROGRAM.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—Section 658G
of the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of
1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858e) is amended—
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(1) by inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—’’ before
‘‘A State’’; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(b) CHILD CARE PROVIDER SCHOLARSHIP PRO-
GRAM.—
‘‘(1) STATE PLAN REQUIREMENT.—In order to
be eligible for funds under section 658J(a)(2), a
State shall include in its plan under section 658E a
child care provider scholarship program plan, meet-
ing the requirements of this subsection, designed to
further the goals of child care provider recruitment,
training, credentialing, and retention.
‘‘(2) ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR SCHOLARSHIP
APPLICANTS.—The State plan shall provide that, in
order for an individual to be eligible for a scholar-
ship grant under this subsection, the following re-
quirements shall be met:
‘‘(A) DEMONSTRATED
COMMITMENT
TO
CHILD CARE CAREER.—The individual—
‘‘(i) shall be a child care worker who
is (or is employed by) a licensed or reg-
istered child care provider, or has a com-
mitment for employment from a licensed or
registered child care provider; and
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‘‘(ii) shall agree in writing to continue
to be employed in the field of child care for
at least one year after receiving the train-
ing for which assistance is provided.
‘‘(B) COST SHARING BY APPLICANT.—
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The individual (ei-
ther as provided in clause (ii) or otherwise)
shall provide for payment, in cash or in
kind, of a share of the cost of the edu-
cation or training.
‘‘(ii) 
APPLICATION
FOR
PELL
GRANTS.—In the case of an application for
a scholarship intended for use in an edu-
cational institution participating in the
Pell Grant program under title IV of the
Higher Education Act, the individual shall
apply for a grant under such program for
which the individual is eligible.
‘‘(C) EMPLOYER REQUIREMENTS.—In the
case of an individual employed by (or who has
a commitment for employment from) a licensed
or registered child care provider the individual’s
employer shall—
‘‘(i) pay a share of the cost of the
education or training; and
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‘‘(ii) agree to provide increased finan-
cial incentives to the individual, such as a
salary increase or bonus, when the individ-
ual completes the education or training.
‘‘(3) 
QUALIFYING
EDUCATIONAL
INSTITU-
TIONS.—The State plan shall specify the types of
educational and training programs for which schol-
arships granted under the State program may be
used, which shall be limited to (but may include any
or all) 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;
and
‘‘(B) lead to a State or national credential
in child care or early childhood or early child-
hood special education, or to an associate or
bachelor’s degree in child development or early
childhood education.
‘‘(4) ANNUAL MAXIMUM SCHOLARSHIP GRANT
AMOUNT.—The maximum amount of a scholarship
awarded to an eligible individual under this section
may not exceed $1,500 per year.
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‘‘(5) SUPPLEMENTATION
OF
OTHER
FUND-
ING.—The State plan shall contain assurances that
Federal funds provided to the State under this sub-
section will not be used to supplant Federal or non-
Federal funds for existing services and activities
that promote the purposes of this subsection.’’.
(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section
658B of the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act
of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858) is amended
(1) by inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—’’ before
‘‘There’’; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(b) CHILD CARE PROVIDER SCHOLARSHIP PRO-
GRAM.—There is authorized to be appropriated to carry
out section 658G(b) $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years
2000 through 2004.’’.
(c) ALLOTMENT.—Section 658O of the Child Care
and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C.
9858m) is amended—
(1) in subsection (a)—
(A) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘this sub-
chapter’’ and inserting ‘‘each subsection of sec-
tion 658B’’; and
(B) in paragraph (2) by striking ‘‘section
658B’’ and inserting ‘‘section 658B(a)’’;
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(2) in subsection (b)(1) in the matter preceding
subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘each subsection of’’
before ‘‘section 658B’’; and
(3) in subsection (e)(1) by striking ‘‘the allot-
ment under subsection (b)’’ and inserting ‘‘an allot-
ment under subsection (b)’’.
(d) PAYMENTS.—Section 658J(a) of the Child Care
and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C.
9858h) is amended—
(1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘Subject’’; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(2) A State described in paragraph (1) whose plan
under section 658E provides for a child care scholarship
program under section 658G(b) shall be entitled to pay-
ment under this section in an amount equal to the lesser
of its allotment under section 658O or 80 percent of ex-
penditures by the State for such program.’’.
(e) ANNUAL REPORT.—Section 658K(a)(2) of the
Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42
U.S.C. 9858i) is amended—
(1) in subparagraph (D) by striking ‘‘and’’ at
the end;
(2) in subparagraph (E) by adding ‘‘and’’ at
the end; and
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(3) by inserting after subparagraph (E) the fol-
lowing:
‘‘(F) the child care scholarship program,
including—
‘‘(i) the number of child care workers
receiving scholarship grants;
‘‘(ii) the amount of each scholarship
grant;
‘‘(iii) the number of course credits or
credentials completed by individuals receiv-
ing scholarships;
‘‘(iv) the number and percentage of
child care workers receiving scholarship
grants in the previous year who fulfilled
their 1-year commitment; and
‘‘(v) such other data as the Secretary
may require.’’.
SEC. 3. APPLICATION OF AMENDMENTS.
The amendments made by this Act shall not apply
with respect to fiscal years beginning before the date of
the enactment of this Act.
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