On September 4, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee easily approved, by voice vote, legislation (S. 2758) that would reauthorize the discretionary child care programs under the 1996 welfare law (P.L. 104-193) through FY2007. The bill will be merged with companion legislation (H.R. 4737) approved by the Senate Finance Committee on June 26 that would reauthorize the work-related and mandatory child care portions of the welfare reform law (see The Source, 6/28/02).
Sponsored by Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-CT), the Access to High Quality Child Care Act would renew the programs under the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) and would authorize $3.1 billion in discretionary child care funds for the CCDBG in FY2003, a $1 billion increase over the FY2002 level of $2.1 billion in current law. Additionally, the legislation would authorize such sums as may be necessary in each of FY2004 through FY2007.
Committee Chair Edward Kennedy (D-MA) stated that the increase in funding is necessary because “nearly 14 million children are cared for by someone other than a parent.” He also noted that, although the number of children in child care has increased over the years, “the quality of the care has not improved,” and that “only one in seven day care centers” provides the kind of quality care that promotes healthy development. “The good news is that we know what needs to be done,” he added.
Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH), Ranking Member on the committee, criticized the bill, saying that it “raises many serious concerns.” He charged that increased set-asides in the legislation could hamper the flexibility that states now enjoy, forcing them to “re-balance their child care programs and put less money towards providing children and families with subsidies.”
Under S. 2758, states would be required to set aside 10 percent of their funding for activities designed to improve the quality and availability of child care, a 6 percent increase over current law. The legislation also would require states to set aside 5 percent of CCDBG funds to raise reimbursement rates for child care providers to levels that reflect local market costs.
States would be required to demonstrate that they are coordinating child care services with other federal, state, and early childhood development programs such as Head Start and to improve the transition for children between early child care and elementary school.
Additionally, the measure would provide incentives for states to track the progress made to improve child care quality as it relates to school readiness. States would be encouraged to initiate programs to address the social, emotional, physical, and cognitive needs of children, including pre-literacy and oral language development.
The committee rejected, by voice vote, a substitute amendment by Sen. Gregg that would have authorized $2.3 billion for the CCDBG in FY2003 and would have increased funding by $200,000 in each of FY2004 through FY2007. The substitute amendment also would have required states to set aside 6 percent of their CCDBG funds to improve the quality of child care services.
