119-s846

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 846 Introduced in Senate

    (IS) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 S. 846

To implement or strengthen programs that increase the supply of quality 
 child care services by enhancing the wages of child care workers, and 
 for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 March 4, 2025

 Mrs. Britt (for herself, Mr. Kaine, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. King, and Mrs. 
 Gillibrand) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
 referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

To implement or strengthen programs that increase the supply of quality 
 child care services by enhancing the wages of child care workers, and 
 for other purposes.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Child Care Workforce Act''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

 The purpose of this Act is to establish a pilot program to increase 
the supply of quality child care services by providing funding to 
States, Indian Tribes, and Tribal organizations to implement or 
strengthen programs to supplement the wages of eligible child care 
workers, in order to--

    (1) attract and retain eligible child care workers;

    (2) improve eligible child care worker well-being;

    (3) improve the quality of child care services; and

    (4) increase the availability of affordable child care 
 services.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

 In this Act:

    (1) Child care worker.--The term ``child care worker'' 
 means any individual whose primary and daily focus of work is--
        (A) providing child care services, including direct 
 care and education services, to children for a family 
 child care provider or other child care provider, or a 
 provider of early childhood education, that is in 
 compliance with any licensing or registration 
 standards, or regulations, of the State, Indian Tribe, 
 or Tribal organization involved; and
        (B) providing the child care services in a center-
 based or home-based setting.

    (2) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian Tribe'' has the 
 meaning given the term in 

section 4 of the Indian Self-
 Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).

    (3) State.--The term ``State'' means any of the several 
 States, the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands of the 
 United States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American 
 Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

    (4) Tribal organization.--The term ``Tribal organization'' 
 has the meaning given the term ``tribal organization'' in 
 

section 658P of the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act 
 of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858n).

SEC. 4. PILOT PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services 
(referred to in this Act as the ``Secretary'') shall establish a pilot 
program to award competitive grants to States, Indian Tribes, and 
Tribal organizations to supplement the wages of eligible child care 
workers.

    (b) Considerations.--In selecting States, Indian Tribes, and Tribal 
organizations to receive grants under this section, the Secretary shall 
consider--

    (1) the number of children under the age of 5 residing in 
 the State or on the Tribal land of the Indian Tribe or Tribal 
 organization;

    (2) the number of child care workers working in licensed, 
 regulated, or registered programs in the State or on the Tribal 
 land;

    (3) the average wage of child care workers working in the 
 State or on the Tribal land;

    (4) the percentage of families in the State or on the 
 Tribal land who are eligible for child care subsidies under the 
 Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 
 9857 et seq.) but do not receive the subsidies; and

    (5) the need for additional child care workers in the State 
 or on the Tribal land.
            (c) Eligibility.--To be eligible for a grant under this section, a 
State, Indian Tribe, or Tribal organization shall submit an application 
to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such 
information as the Secretary may require, including--

    (1) information showing a significant need for increased 
 numbers of child care workers and increased wages among child 
 care workers;

    (2) a commitment to using the grant funds to supplement the 
 wages of low-wage eligible child care workers;

    (3) a plan for using the grant funds to supplement the 
 wages of eligible child care workers, including--
        (A) the criteria that will be used to determine 
 which child care workers are eligible to receive the 
 wage supplements;
        (B) a description of how funds will be prioritized 
 for areas with greatest need, including areas with 
 overall staffing challenges, underserved geographic 
 areas, areas with shortages of programs that serve low-
 income children and families, and areas with shortages 
 of programs that serve infants and toddlers, that serve 
 children with disabilities, or that offer child care 
 services during nontraditional hours; and
            (C) a description of how the wage supplements will 
 be provided to eligible child care workers (directly, 
 through the employer, or through a trusted 
 intermediary) and how the supplements will be provided 
 in a timely manner;

    (4) a plan to engage in a public awareness campaign 
 directed at eligible child care workers;

    (5) a description of the measures that will be used to 
 assess the impact of the wage supplement pilot program on 
 attraction and retention of eligible child care workers, 
 eligible child care worker well-being, child care services 
 quality, and availability of affordable child care services, 
 provided by eligible child care workers;

    (6) a description of how the pilot program will contribute 
 to the State's or Tribe's overall plan for increasing eligible 
 child care worker compensation;

    (7) a description of the plan for addressing and minimizing 
 any destabilization that may occur after the grant funds are 
 expended; and

    (8) such other information as the Secretary may require.

SEC. 5. USE OF FUNDS.

    (a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection
            (c) , a State, 
Indian Tribe, or Tribal organization that receives a grant under 

section 4 shall use the grant funds solely to supplement the wages of 
eligible child care workers.

    (b) Requirements.--In carrying out subsection

    (a) , a State, Indian 
Tribe, or Tribal organization shall--

    (1) disburse the wage supplements to eligible child care 
 workers not less frequently than quarterly;

    (2) target grant funding based on the areas described in 
 

section 4
            (c) (3)
        (B) ;

    (3) provide to eligible child care workers education on any 
 effect the wage supplements may have on taxes or public benefit 
 eligibility; and

    (4) inform eligible child care workers that acceptance, of 
 the wage supplements, is voluntary.
            (c) Administrative Costs.--The State, Indian Tribe, or Tribal 
organization may use not more than 10 percent of the grant funds to pay 
for administrative costs associated with the administration of payments 
to eligible child care workers, financial counseling for eligible child 
care workers, including as described in subsection

    (b)

    (3) , and public 
awareness campaigns to make child care workers aware of the 
availability of such payments.

SEC. 6. EVALUATION.

 The Secretary shall conduct an evaluation of the pilot program to 
assess its effectiveness in--

    (1) attracting and retaining eligible child care workers;

    (2) improving eligible child care worker well-being and the 
 quality of child care services; and

    (3) increasing the availability of affordable child care 
 services.

SEC. 7. REPORT.

 Not later than 2 years after the date on which the pilot program 
is implemented, the Secretary shall submit a report to Congress 
containing the results of the evaluation.

SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act such 
sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2026 and each subsequent 
fiscal year.

SEC. 9. EFFECTIVE DATE.

 This Act shall take effect 75 days after the date of enactment of 
this Act.
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