S. 310 — Build Housing with Care Act of 2025

This section defines terms for purposes of the Act, including (1) appropriate congressional committees (i.e., specified Senate and House committees); (2) child care desert (i.e., a census tract with not less than three times more children than licensed child care capacity or no licensed providers); (3) co-location facility (i.e., housing with an eligible child care provider within, on the premises of, or nearby the facility serving residents); (4) eligible entity (e.g., community development financial institution, eligible child care provider, public housing agency, Indian Tribe, community housing development organization, or consortia thereof); and (5) Secretary (i.e., Secretary of Housing and Urban Development). Many terms cross-reference existing statutory definitions (e.g., community development financial institution in 12 U.S.C. 4702(5); caregiver and eligible child care provider in 42 U.S.C. 9858n).

This section establishes a competitive grant program, administered by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, to award grants of up to $10 million to eligible entities for the design, planning, construction, acquisition, preservation, conversion, retrofitting, long-term leasing, or renovation of co-location facilities that integrate housing and child care services. In developing the program, the Secretary must consult with the Secretaries of Health and Human Services, Treasury (through the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund), and Agriculture (through Rural Development). To be eligible, applicants must certify that associated child care providers qualify for subsidies under the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (CCDBG)—which supports child care access for low-income working families—or the Head Start program (which provides early childhood education, health, and nutrition services to low-income children); commit to partnerships with such providers within one year if building new facilities or subgranting; ensure no resident evictions; engage residents; comply with environmental and land use laws (or qualify for exemptions); and submit a child care provider business plan with budget, licensing, and government contracts. In awarding grants, the Secretary must prioritize applicants whose child care providers (1) operate in child care deserts, low-income communities, or rural areas; (2) are designated Head Start, Early Head Start, Migrant and Seasonal Head Start, or American Indian/Alaska Native Head Start providers, or enroll at least 10% of children from very low-income families; or (3) partner with community development financial institutions (CDFIs). Grantees may distribute funds to governments, nonprofits, public housing agencies, or tribally designated housing entities; CDFIs may capitalize grants into loans; and up to 10% of funds may support pre-development (planning and design) or technical assistance via CDFIs for applications, licensing, and quality standards.

This section directs the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct a study on the availability and affordability of child care for residents of public housing dwelling units and submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees not later than one year after the date of enactment of this Act. The report shall include (1) a description of the use of funds from specified programs (i.e., community development block grants, new markets tax credits, Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, low-income housing tax credits, Capital Magnet Fund, and HOME Investment Partnerships Program) by eligible child care providers to establish, renovate, or improve facilities; (2) an evaluation of the effects of housing and child care costs on the economic outlook of such residents; (3) an evaluation of the percentage of such residents who are cost-burdened and spend at least 7% of household income on child care; (4) identification and analysis of state or local laws that are barriers to building or maintaining child care facilities within or near public housing; (5) an assessment of how Section 8 rental assistance affects such residents' ability to afford child care and essential expenses (i.e., food, telecommunications services and equipment, and transportation); (6) an evaluation of the efficacy of specified tax credits (i.e., child and dependent care tax credit, earned income tax credit, and child tax credit) and dependent care flexible spending arrangements for such residents, including public knowledge, outreach success, and sufficiency to cover child care costs; (7) an evaluation of the extent to which such residents receive information on child care resources from federal agencies or public housing agencies; and (8) recommendations to improve child care access within and near public housing and awareness of federal housing and child care assistance programs.