Child Care ACCESS (Affordable Child Care for Early Success and Security) Act

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Title I: Improving the Affordability of Child Care

Title II: Enhancing the Quality of Child Care and Early

Childhood Development

Subtitle A: Child Care

Subtitle B: Young Child Assistance Activities

Subtitle C: Loan Cancellation for Child Care Providers

Title III: Expanding the Availability and Quality of School-

Age Child Care

Title IV: Supporting Family choices in Child Care

Title V: Encouraging Private Sector Involvement

Title VI: Ensuring the Quality of Federal Child Care Centers

Title VI(sic): Child Care in Federal Facilities

Child Care ACCESS (Affordable Child Care for Early Success and Security) Act - Title I: Improving the Affordability of Child Care - Amends part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) of title IV of the Social Security Act to make increased appropriations for State child care assistance grants for FY 1999 through 2003.

Title II: Enhancing the Quality of Child Care and Early Childhood Development - Subtitle A: Child Care - Creates under TANF a State grant program for improving the quality of child care and early childhood development. Makes appropriations for FY 2000 through 2004.

Subtitle B: Young Child Assistance Activities - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to make allotments to eligible States to pay for the Federal share of the cost of State grants to local collaboratives for young child assistance activities.

(Sec. 212) Requires a State to establish a State Early Learning Coordinating Board to receive the Federal allotment and make the grants.

(Sec. 215) Authorizes appropriations.

Subtitle C: Loan Cancellation for Child Care Providers - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require cancellation of a portion of a student loan for each complete year of full-time employment in a child care facility, for child care providers or educators who earn degrees in early childhood education and obtain such employment.

Title III: Expanding the Availability and Quality of School-Age Child Care - Establishes under TANF a State grant program for increasing the availability and quality of school-age child care. Makes appropriations for FY 2000 through 2004.

(Sec. 301) Amends the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to increase from 13 to 16 the maximum age of an eligible child under the child care and development block grant program.

(Sec. 302) Amends the 21st Century Community Learning Centers Act to: (1) direct the Secretary of Education to give priority to rural, urban, and low-income communities in awarding grants to public elementary and secondary schools for projects that benefit the educational, health, social services, cultural, and recreational needs of the community; (2) revise grant application requirements; (3) change from four to one the minimum number of specified activities for which community learning center grant funds may be used; (4) change children's day care services to child care services; and (5) authorize increased appropriations for 21st century community learning centers.

Title IV: Supporting Family Choices in Child Care - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) revise the formula to increase the dependent care income tax credit for certain taxpayers, indexed for inflation, with an even greater credit for employment-related dependent care expenses; (2) allow a minimum dependent care income tax credit for stay-at-home parents; and (3) provide for advance payment by the employer of an employee's dependent care income tax credit.

Title V: Encouraging Private Sector Involvement - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide an income tax credit for 25 percent of an employer qualified child care expenditures.

(Sec. 502) Directs the Secretary of HHS to establish a program to award grants to local communities for the purpose of expanding the availability and improving the quality of child care on a community-wide basis. Authorizes appropriations.

Title VI: Ensuring the Quality of Federal Child Care Centers - Requires the Administrator of the General Services Administration (GSA) for the executive branch, the Architect of the Capitol for the legislative branch, and the Administrator of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts for the judicial branch to issue regulations to establish standards and ensure quality child care for Federal employees through accredited child care centers.

(Sec. 601) Directs the GSA Administrator to establish an interagency council to facilitate cooperation and sharing of best practices among the three branches, and to develop and coordinate policy, regarding the provision of child care in the Federal Government. Authorizes appropriations.

Title VI (sic) Child Care in Federal Facilities - Quality Child Care for Federal Employees Act - Directs the Administrator of General Services to: (1) establish health, safety, and facility standards and compliance requirements for child care in executive branch facilities; (2) issue regulations requiring any entity sponsoring a child care center to comply with certain accreditation standards; and (3) establish an interagency council to facilitate cooperation and sharing of best practices. Authorizes appropriations.

(Sec. 604) (sic) Amends Federal law to revise conditions for the allotment of space for child care services for Federal employees in Federal buildings. Makes available child care and related services to children of Federal employees or on-site Federal contractors, or dependent children who live with such employees or contractors. (Currently space may be allotted for the provision of child care services to children of whom at least 50 percent have one parent or guardian who is a Federal employee.)

Declares that the Administrator of General Services must confirm that at least 50 percent of aggregate enrollment in Federal child care centers governmentwide are children of Federal employees or on-site Federal contractors, or dependent children who live with such employees or contractors. States that, if enrollment at a center drops below the goal, the provider shall develop and implement a business plan with the sponsoring Federal agency to achieve the goal within a reasonable time frame.

Authorizes an agency without a child care program, or the Administrator upon identifying a need for child care at a Federal agency, to enter into an agreement with an existing non-Federal, licensed, and accredited child care facility, or a planned facility that will become licensed and accredited.

Permits an agency, upon the approval of the agency head, to conduct a pilot project for up to two years to test innovative approaches to providing more cost-effective alternative forms of child care assistance for Federal employees.

Requires the Administrator to serve as an information clearinghouse for such pilot projects initiated by other agencies.

Requires all existing and newly hired workers in any child care center located in federally owned or leased facilities to undergo a criminal history background check.

(Sec. 605) (sic) Directs each agency head to require that each child care facility the agency first operates, or contracts for, at least one year after enactment of this Act provide reasonable accommodations for the needs of breast fed infants and their mothers.

(Sec. 606) (sic) Directs the Administrator of General Services and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management to report jointly to Congress, including information on numbers of children using Federal child care facilities and numbers of families not using such facilities because of cost, as well as recommending quality and cost effectiveness improvements in such care.