Child and Family Services Act

Child and Family Service Act - Title I: Child and Family Service Programs - Provides that the Secretary shall take all necessary action to coordinate child and family service programs under his jurisdiction and that, to this end, he shall establish and maintain within the Office of the Secretary of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare an Office of Child and Family Services administered by a Director appointed by the President with the advise and consent of the Senate.

Provides that such office shall assume the responsibility of the Office of Child Development and shall be the principal agency of the Department for the administration of this Act.

Establishes a Child and Family Services Coordinating Council, consisting of the Director of the Office of Child and Family Services (who shall serve as chairperson), and representatives from the Federal agencies administering the Social Security Act and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 and from the appropriate Federal agencies.

Requires the Department of Labor, and other appropriate agencies, to meet on a regular basis, as they may deem necessary, in order to assure coordination of child and family service activities under their respective jurisdictions so as to assure maximum use of available resources through the prevention of duplication of activities; and to structure the activities related to the purposes of this Act.

States that funds available for this title may be used (in accordance with approved applications and plans) for planning and developing child and family service programs; establishing, maintaining, and operating child and family service programs, which may include: (1) part-day or full-day child care programs, which provide educational, health, nutritional, and social services directed toward enabling participating children to attain their maximum potential; (2) other health, social, recreational, and educational programs designed to meet the special needs of children and families including before- and after- school and summer programs; (3) social services to help families determine the appropriateness of child and family services and the possibility of alternative plans; (4) prenatal, post partum and other medical care, including services to expectant mothers who cannot afford such services, designed to help reduce handicapping conditions among the newborn; (5) programs designed to meet the special needs of ethnic groups and to meet the needs of all children to understand the history and cultural backgrounds of ethnic groups and the role of members of such groups in the history and cultural development of the Nation and the region in which they reside; (6) food and nutritional services; (7) diagnosis, identification, and treatment, and special activities designed to ameliorate physiological, mental, psychological, and emotional barriers to full participation in child and family service programs; (8) programs designed to extend child and family service gains (particularly parent participation) into the kindergarten and early primary grades, in cooperation with local educational agencies; (9) other such services and activities as the Secretary deems appropriate in furtherance of the purposes of this Act; (10) rental, lease or lease-purchase, mortgage amortization payments, renovation, acquisition and maintenance of necessary equipment and supplies, and to the extent authorized by this Act, construction or acquisition of facilities, including mobile facilities; (11) preservice and inservice education and training for professional and paraprofessional personnel, including parents and volunteers, especially education and training for career development and advancement; (12) staff and other administrative expenses of child and family service councils and of project policy committees established and operated in accordance with the provisions of this Act; and (13) dissemination of information in the functional language of those to be served to assure that parents are well informed of child and family service programs available to them and may participate in such programs.

Provides that a State, locality, or combination of localities may be designated by the Secretary as a prime sponsor for the purpose of entering into arrangements to carry out programs under this title.

Enumerates the requirements which must be met by States and localities submitting prime sponsorship applications.

States that each prime sponsor shall establish and maintain a Child and Family Service Council of specified composition.

States that such Council shall be responsible for approving child and family service plans, basic goal, policies, procedures, overall budget policies and project funding, and the selection or establishment and annual renewal of an administering agency or agencies and will be responsible for annual and ongoing evaluation of child and family service programs according to criteria established by the Secretary.

States that financial assistance under this title may be provided by the Secretary for fiscal year 1976 and any subsequent fiscal year to a prime sponsor only pursuant to a child and family service plan which is submitted by such prime sponsor and approved by the Secretary in accordance with the provisions of this title. Specifies the elements to be contained in such plans, and the procedure including opportunity for airing of views with respect to such plan, for approval or disapproval of the plan.

States that funds may be provided by the prime sponsor for carrying out any program under such prime sponsor's comprehensive child and family service plan only to a qualified public or private agency or organization, including but not limited to an educational agency or institution, a community action agency, single-purpose Headstart agency, community development corporation, parent cooperative, organization of migrant agricultural workers, organization of Indians, organization interested in child care, employer or business organization, labor union, or employee or labor management organization, or by any other public or private agency whose project application is approved by the Child and Family Service Council of the prime sponsorship.

Provides for special grants to States for necessary expenses incident to the operation of programs authorized by this Act in such States, and, in addition to the conditions which must be met for such grants, requires that grants for construction or acquisition of facilities may be made only if such construction or acquisition is essential to the provision of adequate child care services.

Title II: Standards, Enforcement, And Evaluations - Provides that, within six months after the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall promulgate a common set of program standards which shall be applicable to all programs providing child care services under this or any other Federal Act, to be known as the Federal Standards for Child Care. Provides that the Secretary shall, within sixty days of the enactment of this Act, appoint a Special Committee on Federal Standards for Child Care to participate in the development of Federal Standards for child care and modifications thereof.

Provides for the development of a minimum code for child and family service facilities to be addressed to the health, safety, and physical comfort of the children participating in such programs. Provides for the withholding of grants where prime sponsors fail to conform with their approved plans or applicable standards and regulations.

Title III: Research and Demonstrations - States that it is the purpose of this title to assist and encourage the provision of urgently needed facilities for child care and comprehensive child services programs.

States that the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare is authorized to insure any mortgage (including advances on such mortgage during construction) in accordance with the provisions of this title upon such terms and conditions as he may prescribe and make commitments for insurance of such mortgage prior to the date of its execution or disbursement thereon. Provides that the mortgage shall be executed by a mortgagor approved by the Secretary, and that such mortgages shall involve in principal obligation of up to $250,000 and not to exceed 90 percent of the estimated replacement costs of properties or projects when the proposed improvements are completed. Creates a Child and Family Services Facility Insurance Fund which shall be used by the Secretary as a revolving fund for carrying out all the insurance provisions of this title, including mortgage insurance. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants, contracts, or other arrangements to carry out a program of research and demonstration projects, which shall include but not be limited to: (1) research to develop techniques to measure and evaluate child and family services, and to develop standards to evaluate professional and paraprofessional child and family service personnel; (2) research to test preschool programs emphasizing reading and reading readiness; (3) preventive medicine, techniques, and technology to improve the early diagnosis and treatment of diseases and learning disabilities of pre-school children; (4) research to test alternative methods of providing child and family service; (5) evaluation of research findings and the development of these findings and the effective application thereof; (6) dissemination and application of research and development efforts and demonstration projects to child and family service programs and early childhood education programs; (7) production of informational systems and other resources necessary to support the activities authorized by this Act; and (8) a study of the need on a nationwide basis for child and family services programs and of the resources, including personnel, which are available to meet this need.

Title IV: Training of Personnel for Child and Family Services - Authorizes the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to make grants to enable individuals employed or preparing for employment in child and family services programs assisted under this Act to participate in preservice or inservice training programs for professional and nonprofessional personnel.

Title V: General Provisions - Defines the terms used in this Act.

Provides for nutrition services to be provided to child and family service programs under the National School Lunch Act of 1946 and the Child Nutrition Act of 1966.