I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3274 
To provide assistance with respect to child care infrastructure. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 8, 2025 
Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts (for herself, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. GOMEZ, Ms. 
MCCLELLAN, Ms. PETTERSEN, and Ms. TOKUDA) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means 
A BILL 
To provide assistance with respect to child care 
infrastructure. 
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 Infrastruc-
ture Act’’. 
SEC. 2. INFRASTRUCTURE GRANTS TO IMPROVE CHILD 
CARE SAFETY. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Part A of title IV of the Social 
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) is amended by insert-
ing after section 418 the following: 
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‘‘SEC. 418A. INFRASTRUCTURE GRANTS TO IMPROVE CHILD 
CARE SAFETY. 
‘‘(a) SHORT TITLE.—This section may be cited as the 
‘Infrastructure Grants To Improve Child Care Safety Act’. 
‘‘(b) NEEDS ASSESSMENTS.— 
‘‘(1) IMMEDIATE NEEDS ASSESSMENT.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 
conduct an immediate needs assessment of the 
condition of child care facilities throughout the 
United States (with priority given to child care 
programs that receive Federal funds), that— 
‘‘(i) 
considers 
the 
infrastructure 
needs, as of the date of the enactment of 
this section, of a variety of child care cen-
ters, including home-based centers; and 
‘‘(ii) considers how the COVID–19 
pandemic has impacted specific metrics, 
such as— 
‘‘(I) capacity; 
‘‘(II) investments in infrastruc-
ture changes; 
‘‘(III) the types of infrastructure 
changes centers need to implement 
and their associated costs; 
‘‘(IV) the price of tuition; and 
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‘‘(V) any changes or anticipated 
changes in the number and demo-
graphic of children attending. 
‘‘(B) TIMING.—The immediate needs as-
sessment should occur simultaneously with the 
first grant-making cycle under subsection (c). 
‘‘(C) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year 
after the date of the enactment of this section, 
the Secretary shall submit to the Congress a re-
port containing the result of the needs assess-
ment conducted under subparagraph (A), and 
make the assessment publicly available. 
‘‘(2) LONG-TERM NEEDS ASSESSMENT.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 
conduct a long-term assessment of the condition 
of child care facilities throughout the United 
States (with priority given to child care pro-
grams that receive Federal funds). The assess-
ment may be conducted through representative 
random sampling. 
‘‘(B) REPORT.—Not later than 4 years 
after the date of the enactment of this section, 
the Secretary shall submit to the Congress a re-
port containing the results of the needs assess-
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ment conducted under subparagraph (A), and 
make the assessment publicly available. 
‘‘(c) CHILD CARE FACILITIES GRANTS.— 
‘‘(1) GRANTS TO STATES.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary may 
award grants to States for the purpose of help-
ing child care providers acquire, construct, ren-
ovate, or improve child care facilities, including 
adapting, reconfiguring, or expanding the facili-
ties. 
‘‘(B) PRIORITIZED FACILITIES.—The Sec-
retary may not award a grant to a State under 
subparagraph (A) unless the State involved 
agrees, with respect to the use of grant funds, 
to prioritize— 
‘‘(i) child care facilities primarily serv-
ing low-income populations; 
‘‘(ii) child care facilities primarily 
serving children who have not attained the 
age of 5 years with a significant percent-
age of infants and toddlers enrolled; 
‘‘(iii) child care facilities that— 
‘‘(I) are currently unable to serve 
young children, had to significantly 
reduce capacity, or are unable to serve 
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more children, due to factors such as 
the inadequate condition, quality, or 
availability of facilities; or 
‘‘(II) are seeking to build capac-
ity and expand the number of children 
served; 
‘‘(iv) child care facilities that operate 
under nontraditional hours; and 
‘‘(v) child care facilities located in 
rural or underserved communities. 
‘‘(C) DURATION
OF
GRANTS.—A grant 
under this subsection shall be awarded for a pe-
riod of not more than 5 years. 
‘‘(D) APPLICATION.—To seek a grant 
under this subsection, a State shall submit to 
the Secretary an application at such time, in 
such manner, and containing such information 
as the Secretary may require, which informa-
tion shall— 
‘‘(i) be disaggregated as the Secretary 
may require; and 
‘‘(ii) include a plan to use a portion of 
the grant funds to report back to the Sec-
retary on the impact of using the grant 
funds to improve child care facilities. 
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‘‘(E) PRIORITY.—In selecting States for 
grants under this subsection, the Secretary 
shall prioritize States that— 
‘‘(i) plan to improve center-based and 
home-based child care programs, which 
may include a combination of child care 
and early Head Start or Head Start pro-
grams; 
‘‘(ii) aim to meet specific needs across 
urban, suburban, or rural areas as deter-
mined by the State, such as prioritizing 
improvements to programs that serve chil-
dren from families with low incomes or 
children with disabilities; and 
‘‘(iii) show evidence of collaboration 
with— 
‘‘(I) local government officials; 
‘‘(II) other State agencies; 
‘‘(III) nongovernmental organiza-
tions, such as— 
‘‘(aa) organizations within 
the philanthropic community; 
‘‘(bb) certified community 
development financial institutions 
as defined in section 103 of the 
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Community Development Bank-
ing and Financial Institutions 
Act of 1994 (12 U.S.C. 4702) 
that have been certified by the 
Community Development Finan-
cial Institutions Fund (12 U.S.C. 
4703); and 
‘‘(cc) 
organizations 
that 
have 
demonstrated 
experience 
in— 
‘‘(AA) providing tech-
nical or financial assistance 
for the acquisition, construc-
tion, renovation, or improve-
ment of child care facilities; 
‘‘(BB) providing tech-
nical, financial, or manage-
rial assistance to child care 
providers; and 
‘‘(CC) securing private 
sources of capital financing 
for child care facilities or 
other low-income community 
development projects; and 
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‘‘(IV) local community organiza-
tions, such as— 
‘‘(aa) child care providers; 
‘‘(bb) community care agen-
cies; 
‘‘(cc) resource and referral 
agencies; and 
‘‘(dd) unions. 
‘‘(F) CONSIDERATION.—In selecting States 
for grants under this subsection, the Secretary 
shall consider— 
‘‘(i) whether the applicant— 
‘‘(I) has or is developing a plan 
to address child care facility needs; 
and 
‘‘(II) demonstrates the capacity 
to execute such a plan; and 
‘‘(ii) after the date the report required 
by subsection (b)(1)(C) is submitted to the 
Congress, the needs of the applicants 
based on the results of the assessment. 
‘‘(G) DIVERSITY OF AWARDS.—In award-
ing grants under this section, the Secretary 
shall give equal consideration to States with 
varying capacities under subparagraph (F). 
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‘‘(H) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—As a condition for 
the receipt of a grant under subparagraph 
(A), a State that is not an Indian tribe 
shall agree to make available (directly or 
through donations from public or private 
entities) contributions with respect to the 
cost of the activities to be carried out pur-
suant to subparagraph (A), which may be 
provided in cash or in kind, in an amount 
equal to 10 percent of the funds provided 
through the grant. 
‘‘(ii) DETERMINATION
OF
AMOUNT 
CONTRIBUTED.—Contributions required by 
clause (i) may include— 
‘‘(I) amounts provided by the 
Federal Government, or services as-
sisted or subsidized to any significant 
extent by the Federal Government; or 
‘‘(II) philanthropic or private-sec-
tor funds. 
‘‘(I) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after 
the last day of the grant period, a State receiv-
ing a grant under this paragraph shall submit 
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