Comprehensive Child Development Act

Comprehensive Child Development Act - States that for purposes of this Act "child development programs" means those programs which provide the educational, nutritional, social, medical, and physical services needed for children to attain their full potential.

States the purposes of this Act to be to establish and expand with emphasis on the economically disadvantaged, and including children of working mothers and single parents, and to establish the legislative framework for eventual universally available child development programs.

Title I: Comprehensive Child Development Programs; Direction to Establish Program - Authorizes the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to direct programs under this title.

Lists child development activities for which funds can be provided, including: (1) planning and development of programs; (2) establishing, maintaining, and operating comprehensive programs with a broad range of activities; (3) design, acquisition, construction, alteration, renovation or remodeling of facilities including mobile facilities; (4) training programs for professionals, paraprofessionals, parents, older family members and prospective parents; (5) public information activities; (6) child advocate staff; and (7) administrative expenses.

Authorizes any State, city, county, or combination of units of local government, or federally recognized Indian reservation to serve as a prime sponsor.

Permits the Secretary to designate such prime sponsor upon receipt of an application which: (1) establishes a Child Development Council to plan, conduct, coordinate, and monitor programs; (2) establishes Local Policy Councils elected by parents of eligible children to serve appropriate subdivisions within the prime sponsorship area; and (3) delegates administrative responsibility to an appropriate local agency.

Authorizes a public or private nonprofit agency or organization to become a prime sponsor if the appropriate unit of local government has not submitted an application or is out of compliance, or if the Secretary determines such prime sponsor is necessary to meet the needs of economically disadvantaged children.

Requires submission by a prime sponsor, and the Secretary's approval of a Comprehensive Child Development Plan before a governmental prime sponsor may receive financial assistance under this title.

Requires each such plan to: (1) identify needs and goals and describe purposes for which funds will be used; (2) meet the needs of children in the area including infant care and before and after school programs including 24 hour child care services; (3) give priority to economically disadvantaged children by reserving funds equal to funds expended in the prime sponsorship area under Headstart in fiscal year 1972 and then reserving 65 percent for programs for children from low-income families; (4) give priority thereafter to children of single parents and working mothers; (5) provide free services for economically disadvantaged children and fees on a sliding scale for others; (6) require cooperative arrangements of State and local agencies serving the handicapped; (7) provide jobs and training in so far as possible for residents of the community; (8) provide in so far as possible for socioeconomic mixture in centers; (9) provide for special needs of minority, bilingual, migrant and Indian children in the area; and (10) assure benefits for children in nonpublic preschool and school programs.

Authorizes funding by a prime sponsor of a qualified public or private agency which submits an application to run a child development program, which provides comprehensive services for children served, assures adequate personnel, and meets the appropriate provisions of the Comprehensive Child Development Plan.

Authorizes funding by the Secretary of a non-governmental prime sponsor which submits a project application.

Allows construction of facilities only if essential to provide child development services, and if use of existing facilities is shown to be not practicable. Provides for 20 year use of facilities for child development programs or for return of a proportionate value of the facility to the Federal government. Authorizes the Secretary to establish interests rates for construction loans, with a three percent minimum rate. Authorizes grants and loans for construction limited to 50 percent of the total cost except for private nonprofit groups.

Limits the amount which may be used by a prime sponsor for construction to 15 percent of its allotment.

Directs the Secretary to pay 80 percent of the costs to prime sponsors of child development programs, except that 100 percent of the costs shall be paid if the program is for the benefit of either the children of migrant agricultural workers or children on a federally recognized Indian reservation.

Sets forth procedures for allotting funds appropriated for child development plans: (1) among the States; (2) among prime sponsors; and (3) among programs that benefit; (a) children of migrant agricultural workers; (b) children on federally recognized Indian reservations; (c) economically disadvantaged children; (d) children of working mothers or single parents; and (e) other children.

Forbids a State from reducing its expenditures for child development and day care programs by reason of assistance under this title.

Establishes an Office of Child Development within the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare to administer this Act.

Directs the promulgation of Federal Standards of Child Development Services, which shall be applicable to all programs receiving assistance under this Act.

Directs the promulgation of a Minimum Uniform Code for Facilities, which shall replace State and local standards for all facilities which receive assistance under this Act or in which programs which receive assistance under this Act are operated.

Provides for maximum utilization of existing Federal, State, and local public facilities, including school buildings, for child development programs.

Repeals, consolidates, and coordinates existing child development programs, effective July 1, 1977.

Title II: Facilities for Child Development Programs - Authorizes a program of mortgage insurance for child development facilities, administered by the Secretary of HEW, to provide a source of funds in addition to the direct grants and loans authorized in Title I for construction of such facilities.

Title III: Training of Child Development Personnel - Authorizes $20,000,000 for programs to train professional child development personnel and $20,000,000 for programs to train paraprofessional child development personnel under the Higher Education Act.

Authorizes National Defense Education Act loans for training of full-time teachers in child development programs.

Title IV: Federal Government Child Development Programs - Authorizes direct grants to establish and operate child development programs for children of Federal employees. Authorizes $5,000,000 in fiscal year 1977 and each fiscal year thereafter to operate such program.

Title V: Evaluation and Technical Assistance - Authorizes the Office of Child Development to evaluate Federal involvement in child development programs and to provide technical assistance to prime sponsors and project applicants.

Title VI: National Center For Child Development and Education - Establishes a National Center within the Office of Child Development to conduct, coordinate, and disseminate research on child development. Authorizes such appropriations as may be necessary to operate the Center.

Title VII: General Provisions - Provides for advance appropriations and advance fundings of programs. Prohibits Federal supervision or control over curriculum, or methods of instruction of any educational institution under authority of this Act.