Child Care for Working Families Act
HR 3773 and S 1806
HR 3773 : To amend the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 and the Head Start Act to promote child care and early learning, and for other purposes.
STATUS
This bill is from the 115th Congress.Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. September 14, 2017
The Child Care for Working Families Act would ensure that parents and caregivers pay no more than seven percent of their annual income on child care, and families would pay for costs on a sliding scale regardless of the number of children they have. This bill would also support young children with access to universal preschool, and provide robust investment in the compensation and training needs of the child care workforce.
In addition, the Child Care for Working Families Act would:
- Create a federal-state child care partnership for children from birth through age 13.
- More than double the number of children eligible for assistance under the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) and ensure these children gain access to high-quality programs.
- Help states create universal preschool programs for three- and four-year olds during the school day, and provide a higher matching rate for infants and toddlers.
- Support the child care workforce through increased training and compensation by ensuring they are paid a living wage.
- Establish provider payment levels that reflect higher wages and provide investment for scholarships.
- Improve the quality of care in home-based, family, and neighbor settings, and during non-traditional working hours to support families.
- Address the functional and access needs of children with disabilities (including infants and toddlers) in child care settings by increasing funding under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
- Assist Head Start in providing full-day, full-year programming.
If enacted into law, this bill would provide a “down payment” of over $100 billion in the first three years.