Sec. 4. Assistance to improve early childhood outcomes globally
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Amounts authorized to be appropriated to carry out section 135 in chapter 1 of part 1 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 ( 22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) for each of the fiscal years 2021 through 2025 are authorized to be made available to support early childhood development activities in conjunction with relevant, existing programming, such as water, sanitation and hygiene, maternal and child health, basic education, nutrition and child protection. Chapter 1 of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 ( 22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
In this section: The term appropriate congressional committees means— the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate; the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives; and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives. The term early childhood development means the development and learning of a child younger than 8 years of age, including physical, cognitive, social, and emotional development and approaches to learning that allow a child to reach his or her full developmental potential.
The term early childhood development program means a program that ensures that every child has the conditions for healthy growth, nurturing family-based care, development and learning, and protection from violence, exploitation, abuse, and neglect, which may include— a health, clean water, sanitation, and hygiene program that serves pregnant women, children younger than 5 years of age, and the parents of such children; a nutrition program, combined with stimulating child development activity; age appropriate cognitive stimulation, especially for newborns, infants, and toddlers, including an early childhood intervention program for children experiencing at-risk situations, developmental delays, disabilities, and behavioral and mental health conditions; an early learning (36 months and younger), preschool, and basic education program for children until they reach 8 years of age or complete primary school; or a child protection program, with an emphasis on the promotion of permanent, safe, and nurturing families, rather than placement in residential care or institutions, including for children with disabilities.
The term Federal departments and agencies means— the Department of State; the United States Agency for International Development; the Department of the Treasury; the Department of Labor; the Department of Education; the Department of Agriculture; the Department of Defense; the Department of Health and Human Services, including— the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and the National Institutes of Health; the Millennium Challenge Corporation; the Peace Corps; and any other department or agency specified by the President for the purposes of this section.
The term residential care means care provided in any non-family-based group setting, including orphanages, transit or interim care centers, children’s homes, children’s villages or cottage complexes, group homes, and boarding schools used primarily for care purposes as an alternative to a children’s home. It is the policy of the United States— to support early childhood development in relevant foreign assistance programs, including by integrating evidence-based, efficient, and effective interventions into relevant strategies and programs, in coordination with partner countries, other donors, international organizations, international financial institutions, local and international nongovernmental organizations, private sector partners, civil society, and faith-based and community-based organizations; and to encourage partner countries to lead early childhood development initiatives that include incentives for building local capacity for continued implementation and measurable results, by— scaling up the most effective, evidence-based, national interventions, including for the most vulnerable populations and children with disabilities and developmental delays, with a focus on adaptation to country resources, cultures, and languages; designing, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating programs in a manner that enhances their quality, transparency, equity, accountability, efficiency and effectiveness in improving child and family outcomes in partner countries; and utilizing and expanding innovative public-private financing mechanisms.
Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this section, the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, in coordination with the Secretary of State, shall direct relevant Federal departments and agencies— to incorporate, to the extent practical and relevant, early childhood development into foreign assistance programs to be carried out during the following 5 fiscal years; and to promote inclusive early childhood development in partner countries.
In carrying out paragraph (1), the Administrator, the Secretary, and the heads of other relevant Federal departments and agencies as appropriate shall— build on the evidence and priorities outlined in Advancing Protection and Care for Children in Adversity: A U.S. Government Strategy for International Assistance 2019–2023 , published in June 2019 (referred to in this section as APCCA ); to the extent practicable, identify evidence-based strategic priorities, indicators, outcomes, and targets, particularly emphasizing the most vulnerable populations and children with disabilities and developmental delays, to support inclusive early childhood development; support the design, implementation, and evaluation of pilot projects in partner countries, with the goal of taking such projects to scale; support inclusive early childhood development within all relevant sector strategies and public laws, including— the Global Water Strategy required under section 136(j); the whole-of-government strategy required under section 5 of the Global Food Security Act of 2016 ( 22 U.S.C. 9304 note); the Basic Education Strategy set forth in section 105(c); the U.S.
Government Global Nutrition Coordination Plan, 2016–2021; and APCCA; and others as appropriate; improve coordination with foreign governments and international and regional organizations with respect to official country policies and plans to improve early childhood development, maternal, newborn, and child health and nutrition care, basic education, water, sanitation and hygiene, and child protection plans which promote nurturing, appropriate, protective, and permanent family care, while reducing the percentage of children living in residential care or on the street; and consult with partner countries, other donors, international organizations, international financial institutions, local and international nongovernmental organizations, private sector partners and faith-based and community-based organizations, as appropriate.
The Special Advisor for Children in Adversity shall include, in the annual report required under section 5 of the Assistance for Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children in Developing Countries Act of 2005 ( 22 U.S.C. 2152g ), which shall be submitted to the appropriate congressional committees and made publicly available, a description of— the progress made toward integrating early childhood development interventions into relevant strategies and programs; the efforts made by relevant Federal departments and agencies to implement subsection (c), with a particular focus on the activities described in such subsection; the progress achieved during the reporting period toward meeting the goals, objectives, benchmarks, described in subsection (c); and the progress achieved during the reporting period toward meeting the goals, objectives, benchmarks, and timeframes described in subsection
(c)at the program level, along with specific challenges or gaps that may require shifts in targeting or financing in the following fiscal year. The Special Advisor for Assistance to Orphans and Vulnerable Children should regularly convene an interagency task force, to coordinate— intergovernmental and interagency monitoring, evaluation, and reporting of the activities carried out pursuant to this section; early childhood development initiatives that include children with a variety of needs and circumstances; and United States Government early childhood development programs, strategies, and partnerships across relevant Federal departments and agencies. .
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