Caring Start Act of 2015

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Caring Start Act of 2015''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) Neglect, hunger, abuse, and other forms of trauma 
        present significant challenges to young children's learning and 
        social-emotional development.
            (2) Trauma-informed and trauma-sensitive caregiving is an 
        ideal targeted intervention for vulnerable children who 
        experience trauma.
            (3) A child's development relies significantly on the 
        development of executive function skills, including cognitive 
        flexibility, self-regulation, and effortful control and 
        attention.
            (4) Focusing on these skills, even though they are not 
        obviously academic, is critical in order to improve children's 
        long-term outcomes.
            (5) Providing high-quality early childhood education can 
        protect young children from some of the most adverse effects of 
        poverty, enable their healthy development, strengthen their 
        health, and reduce or mediate toxic stress responses to adverse 
        experiences.
            (6) Robust support, professional development, and 
        specialized training for the early education and care workforce 
        is essential to providing a high-quality early education to 
        every child.

SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS.

    Section 648 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9843) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)(3)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (A)--
                            (i) in clause (ii) by striking ``and'' at 
                        the end,
                            (ii) in clause (iii) by striking ``and'' at 
                        the end, and
                            (iii) by adding at the end the following:
                            ``(iv) activities that support the 
                        implementation of evidence-based trauma-
                        informed practices, age-appropriate positive 
                        behavioral interventions and supports, early 
                        childhood mental health consultation, and 
                        prevention of suspension and expulsion; and
                            ``(v) activities that appropriately 
                        increase the level of coordination between Head 
                        Start agencies and other programs that serve 
                        very young children, in order to increase the 
                        general quality, availability, and reliability 
                        of services provided; and'',
                    (B) in subparagraph (B)--
                            (i) in clause (xv) by striking ``and'' at 
                        the end,
                            (ii) in clause (xvi) by striking the period 
                        at the end and inserting ``; and'', and
                            (iii) by adding at the end the following:
                            ``(xvii) assist Head Start agencies in 
                        adopting evidence-based approaches to best 
                        identify and serve children whose experiences 
                        have elicited a toxic stress response.'',
            (2) in subsection (b)(2)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (F) by striking ``and'' at the 
                end,
                    (B) in subparagraph (G) by striking the period at 
                the end and inserting a semicolon, and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(H) in evidence-based trauma-informed practices, 
                as well as early childhood mental health consultation 
                and age-appropriate positive behavioral interventions 
                and supports; and
                    ``(I) in helping children who have experienced, or 
                are experiencing, trauma or toxic stress.'', and
            (3) in subsection (d)(1)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (G) by striking ``and children 
                under 3 years of age, where applicable'' and inserting 
                ``children who experience trauma, and children under 3 
                years of age, especially for whom such experiences have 
                caused a toxic stress response, including appropriate 
                training and professional development on evidence-based 
                trauma-informed practices and early childhood mental 
                health consultation'',
                    (B) by redesignating subparagraph (I) as 
                subparagraph (J), and
                    (C) by inserting after subparagraph (H) the 
                following:
                    ``(I) Activities designed to prevent suspension and 
                expulsion and to increase utilization of age-
                appropriate positive behavioral interventions and 
                supports.''.

Summary: Caring Start Act of 2015 This bill amends the Head Start Act to require that in providing and allocating resources for training and technical assistance, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) give priority consideration to activities that:  support the implementation of evidence-based trauma-informed practices, age-appropriate positive behavioral interventions and supports, early childhood mental health consultation, and prevention of suspension and expulsion; and increase coordination between Head Start agencies and other programs that serve very young children.  Such assistance must also, to the maximum extent practicable, assist Head Start agencies in adopting evidence-based approaches to best identify and serve children whose experiences have elicited a toxic stress response. (Toxic stress response can result from strong or prolonged adversity without adequate adult support.) HHS shall fund personnel training in:  evidence-based trauma-informed practices, as well as early childhood mental health consultation and age-appropriate positive behavioral interventions and supports; and helping children who are victims of trauma or toxic stress.