Sec. 132005. Raising the floor for child care provider wages

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For the purpose of maintaining an effective and diverse child care workforce, effective upon enactment, through the end of fiscal year 2022, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall, regarding the development and implementation of the Child Care Wage Grant program provided for in section 418E of the Social Security Act (as added by subsection

(b)of this section)— issue guidance or technical assistance to lead agencies (as defined in such section) with respect to— consultation with field engagement organizations (as defined in such section); wage supplement calculations, with the option of providing a bonus that may not be more than the equivalent of an annual wage; application requirements; reporting requirements; anti-discrimination protection measures; and other related activities; engage in hiring, training, developing work plans, developing outreach materials, and other administrative overhead activities; and consult with relevant entities such as tribal leaders, governors, county and local government, and community stakeholders. Out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, there is appropriated to the Secretary of Health and Human Services $10,000,000, to remain available through September 30, 2022, to carry out this paragraph. Part A of title IV of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 601–619 ) is further amended by inserting after section 418D the following: The Secretary shall make grants to reimburse State, tribal, and territorial lead agencies for the amount of child care wage grants made to qualifying child care providers under lead agency child care wage grant programs, and for documented costs of administering the programs that are directly related to determining provider eligibility, making payments, data collection, and verifying provider compliance with program rules. The amount of the reimbursement for the documented administrative costs shall not exceed 5 percent of the total amount of the child care wage grants. A lead agency shall not be eligible for a grant under this section with respect to a child care wage grant program unless the lead agency has consulted with field engagement organizations in developing and implementing the program, including application process, eligibility determinations, community outreach, and such other aspects of the program as the Secretary deems appropriate, and if, after the consultation, the lead agency intends to operate a child care wage grant program for small businesses, the lead agency shall submit to the Secretary a certification that the lead agency has conducted such a consultation and intends to submit a claim for reimbursement with respect to program expenditures at the end of the fiscal year. A lead agency child care wage grant program is a program operated by a lead agency under which a child care wage grant is made to qualified child care providers for the 1-year period covered by the grant, in an amount equal to the aggregate of the eligible child care wage supplements provided by the qualified child care provider during the year, which year shall not begin before October 1, 2022. A recipient of a child care wage grant from a lead agency shall submit to the lead agency every fiscal quarter a report that includes documentation of how the grant has been expended including the number of full or part-time workers providing child care and whether each such worker worked for the full year, a description of the wage levels and demographics of the child care employees of the qualified child care provider, and such other information as the Secretary may require, and may allow field engagement organizations to support grant recipients in meeting quarterly reporting requirements. A lead agency may approve a request from such a recipient to extend the reporting deadline for 90 days, but shall accompany such an approval with a notice that failure to submit all information required in the report will result in future ineligibility for such a grant. A lead agency may submit to the Secretary a request for reimbursement or estimated advance payment of the costs of operating the lead agency child care wage grant program for the 1-year period covered by the request, which shall include documentation of the grant awards made to qualified child care providers under the program, an assurance that not more than 5 percent of the costs in the reimbursement request are for administrative costs, an assurance that the State will repay any advances based on payments to child care providers that were in excess of costs allowable under this section (including payments for workers who did not work for the full year) or based on State administrative costs in excess of 5 percent, and the following: Qualified child care provider application data, including the number of qualified child care providers and the proportion of applications that were approved under the program, documentation of rejected applications, including the reason for disqualification, and demographic data of applicants. Qualified child care provider wage subsidy data, including wage levels, the size and type of the qualified child care provider, the number of children served by the qualified child care provider, verification that the child care wage grant provided to the qualified child care provider was not used to supplant Federal funds, verification that the qualified child care provider performs child care services as the primary function of the qualified child care provider, verification that qualifying child care provider applications are approved for 1 year, and documentation of the number of full-time and part-time child care employees (which may include sole proprietors) including the portion of the year for which each employee was employed with that provider to provide child care. Certification that each qualified child care provider is not eligible to receive a child care payroll tax credit under section 3135 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 with respect to wages paid to any child care employee of the qualified child care provider. Qualified child care provider demographic data, including racial, ethnic, and gender data of the qualified child care provider and child care employees. Documentation of qualified child care provider wages, and documentation of child care wages that, in the absence of a grant made under this section, would have been paid at not less than the applicable minimum rate. Documentation that each qualified child care provider is licensed by, registered with, or regulated by the State. Documentation that each qualified child care provider was so qualified throughout the year with respect to which reimbursement is sought. Documentation that each employee for which a grant is sought was employed for the full year, or if not, for what portion of the year they were employed. Such other relevant items as the Secretary may require. If the Secretary finds that a qualified child care provider has used funds provided under this section with respect to a year other than to supplement the applicable minimum rate of child care wages for an employee engaged in child care work for the reported period, the qualified child care provider shall— repay to the lead agency all funds so provided to the child care provider for the year; and be ineligible for the succeeding 2 years to receive funds made available under this section. If a recipient of a child care wage grant for a year reports under subsection (b)(2)(A) that the number of child care employees of the recipient has decreased during the year, then— the lead agency shall proportionately decrease the amount of the child care wage grant (if any) payable to the recipient for the next year; or if the recipient is not awarded a child care wage grant for the next year, the recipient shall remit to the lead agency a portion of the grant equal to the proportionate decrease in the number of child care employees of the provider. Out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, there is appropriated to the Secretary for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2026 such sums as may be necessary for reimbursements or estimated payments referred to in subsection (a). In this section: The term applicable minimum rate means the rate at which basic pay is payable for a position at level 3, step 1, of the General Schedule under subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5, United States Code, including any applicable locality-based comparability payment under section 5304 of such title or similar authority, at the time such wages are paid and determined with respect to the locality in which services are provided. The term child care wages means— wages paid to an employee for services in providing child care; and an owner’s draw in lieu of wages, in the case of a sole proprietor who provides child care services or an owner who directly provides child care services alongside employees. The term child care employee means an employee— who is employed by a qualified child care provider; who provides child care services as a primary function of employment; and whose wages do not qualify under section 3135(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. The term eligible child care wage supplement means, with respect to a year, a supplement to child care wages of an employee (or owner), but only to the extent that the total amount of the child care wage supplements provided to the employee (or owner) during the year— in the case of a full-time employee (or an owner who works on a full-time basis), is not more than $16,000; or in the case of a part-time employee (or an owner who works on a part-time basis), is not more than $10,000. In the case of any employee who is not employed as a child care employee for the full year, the maximum dollar amounts set forth in the preceding sentence shall be proportionately reduced. Each dollar amount in effect under subparagraph

(A)with respect to a year shall be increased by a percentage equal to the percentage (if any) by which the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers (U.S. city average) increased during the 12-month period ending with the last month for which Consumer Price Index data is available. The term field engagement organization means any nonprofit, community-based organization, labor union, trade association, staffed family child care network, child care resource and referral organization, or local government entity with experience providing representation, technical assistance, or community supports to child care providers or individuals seeking to enter or re-enter the child care market. The term qualified child care provider means an entity who— provides child care services as the primary function of the entity; is registered with, or regulated or licensed by, the State as a child care provider; at the time of application for a child care wage grant under this section, does not have an unresolved violation of a State law or regulation pertaining to health or safety in the provision of child care services; has at least 1 employee whose wages may not be taken into account under section 3135(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 because the employee is a sole proprietor or reports self-employment income; as of the time of the application, pays child care wages at a rate that is at least the applicable minimum rate, and certifies that the entity will not reduce the hourly wage rate of any employee during the 1-year period for which the entity has applied for a child care wage grant under this section; and has submitted to the lead agency all data requested by the Secretary under this section; has submitted the application to the lead agency, which has approved the application; and has not failed to include all information required to be included in any quarterly report required by subsection (b)(2) to be submitted by the entity with respect to the year preceding the year for which the application is submitted. .

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42 USC 601–619

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Sec. 132005

Raising the floor for child care provider wages

Cite42 USC 601–619

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