H.R. 1826 — Child Care Workforce Act

This section states the purpose of the Act to establish a pilot program providing funding to states, Indian Tribes, and Tribal organizations to implement or strengthen wage supplement programs for eligible child care workers in order to (1) attract and retain such workers, (2) improve their well-being, (3) improve child care quality, and (4) increase availability of affordable child care services.

This section provides definitions for purposes of the Act. It defines (1) child care worker as an individual whose primary daily work is providing child care or early childhood education services in a compliant center-based or home-based setting; (2) Indian Tribe as having the meaning given in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304); (3) State as any of the several states, the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands; and (4) Tribal organization as having the meaning given in section 658P of the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858n).

This section establishes a pilot program to award competitive grants to states, Indian Tribes, and Tribal organizations to supplement wages of eligible child care workers. In selecting grantees, the Secretary of Health and Human Services considers (1) the number of children under age 5, (2) the number of child care workers in licensed, regulated, or registered programs, (3) average child care worker wages, (4) the percentage of families eligible for but not receiving child care subsidies under the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990, and (5) the need for additional child care workers. Grant applicants must submit an application demonstrating significant need for more and higher-paid workers; a commitment and detailed plan to supplement low-wage workers' pay (including eligibility criteria, prioritization for high-need areas such as underserved geographies or programs for low-income families, infants and toddlers, children with disabilities, or nontraditional hours, and timely delivery methods such as direct payment, employer reimbursement, or trusted intermediaries); a public awareness campaign; evaluation measures for impacts on worker attraction and retention, well-being, program quality, and affordable child care availability; integration with the applicant's overall child care worker compensation strategy; a plan to minimize post-grant destabilization; and other information required by the Secretary.

This section requires states, Indian Tribes, and Tribal organizations receiving grants under section 4 to use the funds solely to supplement wages of eligible child care workers, with disbursements not less frequently than quarterly, targeting of specified areas, education for workers on tax and public benefit eligibility effects, and notice that acceptance is voluntary. It allows up to 10% of grant funds for administrative costs, financial counseling, and public awareness campaigns.

This section directs the Secretary to 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.