S. 1086, the Childcare and Development Block Grant Act of 2013

S. 1086, The Childcare and Development Block Grant Act of 2013

Introduced: 06/03/13, by Senator Barbara Mikulski

Status: in Committee

Supporters

• Save the Children
• The former National Commission on Children and Disasters
• Children’s Defense Fund
• Child Care Aware of America Advocacy Network
• Young Women’s Christian Association
• CLASP
• NCSL
• And many more groups concerned with child care….

Brief Summary

The Childcare and development Block Grant Act of 2013 (CCDBG) is the primary federal grant program that provides childcare assistance for families and funds childcare quality initiatives. CCDBG is administered to states in formula block grants to be used to subsidize childcare for working families earning low incomes. This state assistance will be administered through vouchers or certificates, which can be used by parents for the provider or program of their choice.

The law requires no less than 4% of CCDBG funding in each state be used for activities to improve the overall quality of child care for all children within a community. For example: child care resource and referral services, training for child care providers, infant and toddler specialists, quality rating systems, etc.

CCDBG is one of the largest funding streams that helps subsidize childcare costs for children who are under the age of 13. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Bill of 2009 allocates $2 billion for this fund through September 30, 2010. The full $2 billion dollars is available upon enactment. Of the $2 billion, $255 million will be set aside for quality improvement activities, $93 million of which will go towards improvement of infant and toddler care.

CCDBG was last reauthorized in 1996, when the program focused primarily on workforce aid.

Breakdown of The Legislation

Purposes

S. 1086 would offer every state the flexibility to develop childcare programs and policies tailored to the needs of the children and parents within the state. The bill supports working parents’ right to make decisions about childcare based on the specific needs of their family and encourages states to provide parents with consumer education information in order to help them make informed choices regarding childcare services. This information is to be disseminated via a state website and the information will include descriptions of the state process for: licensing childcare providers, performing background checks, monitoring and inspecting childcare providers and which offenses prevent an individual or group from providing childcare services in the state.

The bill also provides high-quality childcare services for parents who strive to end their dependence on public assistance. The aforementioned public website must also provide information regarding:the availability of assistance for attaining childcare services, the state block grants for those receiving temporary Aid for Needy Families, Head Start and Early Head Start programs, the program provide for by the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the division of SNAP dedicated to women, infants and children (WIC), the child and adult care food program established under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act and the federal and state children’s health insurance programs.

The enactment of health, safety, licensing, training and oversight standards as established in this bill will improve the overall quality of childcare services and programs. Developmental and age-appropriate activities that promote language, literacy and mathematical skills, as well as social, physical and emotional development will be used by children, families and childcare providers to improve school readiness.

Authorization of Appropriations

Section 658B of the Childcare and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 is amended to appropriate funds for fiscal years 2014 through 2019.

Policies and Procedures

The Childcare and Development Block grant Act of 2013 (CDBGA) will require states, within one year of the enactment of the act, to electronically publish the results of monitoring and inspection reports in an electronic, public and easily accessible format. This report must also include major verified complaints about failure to comply with state childcare policiesand the number of deaths, serious injury and instances of substantiated child abuse that occurred in a childcare facility that year.

Compliance With State Licensing Requirements

States will be required to have certification establishing that they put into effect licensing requirements applicable to childcare services within the state in addition to a detailed description of said requirements and how they are enforced. If any childcare providers that are exempt from licensing requirements are supported by the funds this legislation allocates, states will be required to demonstrate how children under the care of exempt providers are receiving services that are comparable in safety and quality to that of licensed childcare providers and why licensing exemption does not pose a danger to the health, safety or development of a child.

Training Requirements

The legislation requires that training requirements put into place by the state to enable the proper social, emotional, physical and cognitive development of children must be described. These training requirements must establish workforce and competency standards for child care providers and these standards must be developed in cooperation with the State Advisory Council on Early Childhood Education and Care. Whenever possible, training standards must be applicable to different age groups, English learners and children with disabilities.

The development of training requirements will also include implementation of professional development in order to improve the workforce’s skills and knowledge. This may include requirements to gain additional post secondary education or credentials.

Child-To-Provider Ratio Standards

This plan will address the appropriate ratio of childcare workers to children based on the needs of individual age groups. The secretary is permitted to provide the state with guidance on childcare ratios, but the state will not be told what ratios must be maintained.

Health and Safety Requirements

The state must certify that there are provisions in place to protect the health and safety of children receiving childcare services. These provisions include: education to prevent shaken baby syndrome and other abusive head trauma, immunizations and infectious disease control, a grace period for children of homeless families in which they continue to receive services while their family works to get the necessary immunizations, hand washing and universal health precautions, administration of medication as directed by the parent, actively preventing and properly responding to allergy related emergencies, preventing Sudden Infant Death Syndrome through safe sleeping practices, proper food handling, building safety, emergency response training and disaster preparation, the appropriate handling, storage and disposal of hazardous materials and biocontaminants, proper precautions against hazards such as electricity, bodies of water, traffic and transportation, knowledge of first aid and CPR practices, and minimum health and safety training.

Childcare providers must also be sure that they are in compliance with all state and local health and safety requirements.

Enforcement of Licensing and Other Regulatory Requirements

No later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this law, states must have policies in place regarding licensing for childcare providers. Anyone hired as licensing inspectors must be qualified to work as an inspector and must have received training in health and safety requirements, child development, child abuse prevention and detection, program management and relevant law enforcement.

Every childcare facility in the state must undergo an annual unannounced health, safety and fire inspection. There must also be an adequate number of state inspectors to ensure timely inspections.

Compliance With Child Abuse Reporting Requirements

All childcare providers within the state must comply with the child abuse reporting requirements of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act.

Meeting The Needs of Certain Populations

The legislation provides for additional compensation in the form of higher payment rates, bonuses for childcare providers, or direct contracts or grants to community-based organizations as necessary to ensure the availability and quality of services for: children in underserved areas, infants and toddlers, children with disabilities and children who require care outside of traditional hours.

Protection For Working Parents

This legislation ensures that working parents- particularly those receiving assistance through Temporary Aid for Needy Families- will not have their employment unduly disrupted in order to comply state eligibility requirements for receiving assistance. Furthermore, once eligibility is confirmed, the child will receive assistance for twelve months before eligibility must be redetermined, regardless of any changes in the parental employment status or income as long as that income does not exceed 85% of the state median income fir a family of equal size.

Coordination With Other Programs

To ensure continuity and quality of assistance, the state will coordinate services with The Head Start Act; the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965; Individuals With Disabilities Education Act; the Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting Programs authorized under the Social Security Act, Section 2951 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, programs serving homeless children and other federal programs supporting early childhood education and care activities.

Public-Private Partnerships

Partnerships among state agencies, other public agencies and private entities will be encouraged in the interest of leveraging existing service delivery systems for early childhood education and care and to ensure continuedavailability and quality of care for children under 13 years of age. This can be accomplished by implementing a voluntary shared service alliance model to create more time and resources to provide higher quality of care at lower cost.

Early Learning and Developmental Guidelines

The legislation ensures that the state will develop early learning and developmental guidelines appropriate for all children from birth through entry into kindergarten and which describe what children should know and be able to do at each age.

Childcare providers must be licensed or regulated under state law and may not be a relative of any child for whom they provide childcare services.

Prohibition On Use Of Funds

Appropriated funds may not be used by the state to develop or implement an assessment for children that will be the sole basis for determining a childcare provider ineligible to participate or the sole basis for determining program effectiveness.

Exceptions to this provision

• Improving instruction or a classroom environment;
• Targeting professional development to a provider;
• Determining the need for health, mental health, disability, de- velopmental delay, or family support services;
• Obtaining information for the quality improvement process at the State level; or
• Conducting a program evaluation for the purposes of providing program improvement and parent information

No Federal Control

No officer or employee of the Federal government may mandate, direct or otherwise control a state’s early learning and developmental guidelines, early learning standards or measures for review.

Direct Services

From the amounts allocated each fiscal year, states must use the minimum amount required to be reserved per section 658G. From the remainder, states must use no less than 70% for the funding of direct services (provided by the state).

Payment rates

Payment rates for childcare services provided to those on public assistance must be adequate to ensure equal access and quality of care as compared to childcare services for those who do not receive public assistance.

The state must have conducted a statistically valid and reliable survey of the market rates for childcare services by geographic area, type of provider and age of child; provide proof of survey results in the form of a detailed report; and make the results publicly available within 30 days of conducting the surveys. Making the results publicly available includes posting them on the internet. The report must also lay out how the state will set payment rates for childcare services provided to those on public assistance and describe how the state plans to ensure timely payment of childcare services. To the extent possible, these rates cannot reduce the number of families eligible to receive state assistance.

No Prohibition of Certain Different Rates

States will not be prohibited from varying payment rates based on differing factors such as: geographic location (rural vs. urban), age or particular needs of children (i.e. children with disabilities or those under the care of protective services), whether services are provided during weekend or nontraditional hours, or the need for differing rates to ensure the highest quality of care.

Activities To Improve the Quality of Childcare

States are required to use a certain percentage of funds each year to improve the existing quality of care. This legislation lays out the percentage to be spent by year:

2014: 6% of funds

2016: 8% of funds

2018 and each succeeding year: 10% of funds

These funds must also be used to carry out at least 2 of the following:

• Offering childcare providers training and professional development that is intentional and sequential and leads to a higher level of skill or certification
• Establishing programs designed to increase retention and improve competencies of childcare providers; including wage incentive programs and tiered payment rates for exceptional caregivers
• Offering training in developmentally and age appropriate curricula and early childhood teaching strategies
• Providing training in early mathematics and early language and literacy development
• Incorporating feedback from experts at the state’s institutions of higher education
• Providing training in nutritional and physical activity needs of children
• Providing training or professional development for childcare providers working with disabled children

Certification

Beginning with fiscal year 2014, the state will be required to submit at the beginning of each fiscal year proof that the state was in compliance with subsection (a) and a description of funds were used.

That report must include:

1. The amount of funds received
2. The activities carried out
3. What measures will be used to evaluate the state’s progress in improving quality of care

Criminal Background Checks

In order to receive funding, every state must have policies and procedures in place for conducting background checks on all childcare staff members, including prospective staff members.

That background check must include all of the following:

• A search of state criminal and sex offender registries in the state of residence for the person in question as well as every state they have resided in over the last ten years
• A search of child abuse and neglect registries as well as the National Crime Information Center for the same states detailed above
• An FBI fingerprint check
• A search of the National Sex Offender Registry

Prohibitions

Childcare facilities that are licensed, regulated or registered by the state are prohibited from employing any staff member who:

• Refuses to consent to the criminal background check
• Knowingly makes false statements in connection to the background check
• Is registered or required to be registered on state or national sex offender registries
• Has ever been convicted of a felony involving: murder, child abuse or neglect, child pornography spousal abuse, rape or sexual assault, kidnapping, arson, physical assault or battery, or a drug-related offense committed within the last 5 years

A childcare facility that knowingly employs anyone who fits the above criteria will be deemed ineligible for state assistance.

Any staff member who was hired prior to the passage of the CDBGA must undergo a background check immediately and again every five years. Prospective staff members who have undergone a background check within the last 5 years while employed by or seeking employment at another childcare agency are not required to undergo a second background check before being hired. Only 180 days may pass between date of separation from their last employer and date of hiring by a new facility for the staff member to be exempt from another background check.

Employers will only be told whether a prospective employee is eligible or in eligible for employment at a childcare facility. The exact reasons for disqualification and any related information about the employee in question will not be revealed to the employer. The staff member or prospective staff member will be notified by the state and given details in the event that they fail a background check.

A prospective staff member cannot be disqualified for employment based on conviction of any crime not specifically listed in the subsection above.

The state may not release the results of background checks run on staff and prospective staff.

The state will provide a process by which a staff member can appeal a failed background check. The appeals process must be completed in a timely manner, all staff and prospective staff must be made aware of the option to appeal their results and instructions for the process must be provided to them.

Fees For Background Checks

The state may not charge more than the actual cost to them for processing background checks.

Effective Date

Any state that receives funding from this legislation must be in compliance with criminal background check guidelines no later than the last day of the second full fiscal year following the date of enactment of the CDBGA of 1990.

The secretary may grant an extension, not to exceed one fiscal year, if the state has demonstrated a good faith effort to comply. 5% of any funds that would have been appropriated for the following year will be withheld for any state that fails to comply by the stated deadline.