,,ii #aacth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #hcd ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,april #be1 #bjac ,mrs4 ,murray 7for herself and ,mr4 ,franken7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,health1 ,education1 ,labor1 and ,pensions ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,child ,care and ,development ,block ,grant ,act of #aiij to ensure access to high-quality child care for homeless children and families1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,improving ,access to ,child ,care for ,homeless ,families ,act of #bjac4 #b4 ,findings2 sense of ,congress 7a7 ,findings ,congress makes the following findings3 7#a7 ,homelessness among children and youth in public schools has increased by #eg percent during the period since #bjjf4 7#b7 ,among homeless children living in shelters supported by the ,department of ,housing and ,urban ,development1 #ej percent are under #e years old4 7#c7 ,a #bjaj study by the ,eunice ,kennedy ,shriver ,national ,institute of ,child ,health and ,human ,development found that children who had received high-quality care in the first few years of life scored higher on measures of academic and cognitive achievement when the children were #ai years old1 and were less likely to misbehave1 than children who had been enrolled in low-quality care in those years4 7#d7 ,homelessness has a negative impact on child development that surpasses the harmful impacts of poverty4 ,a ,head ,start demonstration project serving homeless families indicated that the homeless children served had more instances of developmental delay1 learning disabilities1 and physical or mental health problems1 compared with their low-income peers in stable housing4 7#e7 ,for homeless families1 residential instability1 high mobility1 documentation requirements1 and lack of transportation are significant obstacles to accessing and retaining child care services4 7#f7 ,according to a study by the ,institute for ,children1 ,poverty1 and ,homelessness1 homeless families are less likely to receive government financial assistance for child care than families that are not homeless4 7#g7 ,without child care1 homeless parents of young children struggle to search for employment1 maintain employment1 and enter job training programs4 7#h7 ,many parents who are domestic violence survivors who flee their homes try to find employment1 but the parents are often limited by a lack of child care4 ,in a survey of nearly #a1ejj domestic violence survivors in domestic violence shelters1 #bi percent indicated that they needed help with child care4 7#i7 ,in school year #bjjf-bjjg there were #bb1fej homeless families served by ,head ,start programs1 and in school year #bjaa-bjab there were #di1afd homeless families served by ,head ,start programs4 ,the number of homeless families being served by ,head ,start programs has more than doubled in the past #e years 7b7 ,sense of ,congress ,it is the sense of ,congress that-- 7#a7 7,a7 ,congress has enacted successful policies to increase homeless children's access to and stability in public elementary and secondary schools and ,head ,start programs2 and 7,b7 in order to increase homeless families' access to and continuity in child care1 similar policies should be applied to ,federal child care programs2 and 7#b7 such policies will assist homeless parents in maintaining employment and regaining housing1 and will provide critical interventions to support that vulnerable population of children4 #c4 ,purpose ,the purpose of this ,act is to ensure access to high-quality child care for homeless children and families4 #d4 ,child care for homeless children 7a7 ,lead agency duties ,section #feh;,d7b77#a77;,d7 of the ,child ,care and ,development ,block ,grant ,act of #aiij 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #iheh;b7b77#a77;,d77 is amended by striking ,federal1 ,state and local child care and early childhood development programs4 and inserting ,federal1 ,state1 and local child care1 early childhood development1 and social service programs that shall include-- 7#a7 ,head ,start and ,early ,head ,start programs under the ,head ,start ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #ihca et seq472 7#b7 programs1 and services of partners1 that serve vulnerable populations1 including programs serving homeless children and services of local educational agency liaisons for homeless children and youths designated under subsection 7g77#a77;,j77ii7 of section #gbb of the ,mc,kinney-,vento ,homeless ,assistance ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #aadcb72 and 7#c7 programs1 and services of entities receiving grants1 to provide to homeless veterans services authorized under chapter #bj of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 consisting of housing1 employment-related services 7such as services under section #bjba or #bjba;,a of such title71 or supportive services 7such as services authorized under section #bjdd of such title74 4 7b7 ,plan requirements ,section #feh;,e7c7 of the ,child ,care and ,development ,block ,grant ,act of #aiij 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #iheh;c7c77 is amended-- 7#a7 in paragraph 7#b7-- 7,a7 in subparagraph 7,d71 by inserting 1 ,head ,start and ,early ,head ,start agencies under the ,head ,start ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #ihca et seq471 ,state ,coordinators designated under subsection 7d77#c71 and local educational agency liaisons for homeless children and youths designated under subsection 7g77#a77;,j77ii71 of section #gbb of the ,mc,kinney-,vento ,homeless ,assistance ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #aadcb71 local educational agencies and providers of early intervention services under the ,individuals with ,disabilities ,education ,act 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #adjj et seq471 after children2 7,b7 in subparagraph 7,f77i71 by striking the semicolon and inserting and the establishment of a grace period that allows homeless children to receive services under this subchapter while their families are taking any necessary action to comply with immunization and other health and safety requirements22 and 7,c7 in subparagraph 7,h7-- 7i7 by striking and families and inserting families2 and 7ii7 by inserting 1 and families of homeless children before the period2 7#b7 in paragraph 7#c77;,b7-- 7,a7 by inserting activities that improve access to such services 7including transportation to child care services1 procedures to permit immediate enrollment of homeless children while required documentation is obtained1 training and technical assistance on identifying and serving homeless children and their families1 and specific outreach to families described in paragraph 7#b77;,h771 after availability of such services12 and 7,b7 by inserting 1 to homeless children1 after family size72 and 7#c7 in paragraph 7#e71 by adding at the end the following3 ,each sliding fee scale shall be applied using measures to ensure that cost sharing is not a barrier to the enrollment of families of homeless children44 7c7 ,access and outreach to families of homeless children ,section #feh;,g of the ,child ,care and ,development ,block ,grant ,act of #aiij 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #iheh;e7 is amended-- 7#a7 by inserting 7such as resource and referral services7 after and activities2 and 7#b7 by striking 7such as resource and referral services74 and inserting 1 including developing strategies and partnerships to provide transportation to child care services and specific outreach to families described in section #feh;,e7c77#b77;,h774 after availability of child care4 7d7 ,reports ,section #feh,k7a77#a77;,b7 of the ,child ,care and ,development ,block ,grant ,act of #aiij 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #iheh;i7a77#a77;,b77 is amended-- 7#a7 in clause 7ix71 by striking and at the end2 7#b7 in clause 7x71 by adding and at the end2 and 7#c7 by inserting after clause 7x7 the following3 7xi7 whether the children receiving assistance under this subchapter are homeless children2 4 #e4 ,pilot program 7a7 ,redesignation ,section #feh,l of the ,child ,care and ,development ,block ,grant ,act of #aiij 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #iheh;j7 is amended-- 7#a7 by striking the section heading2 7#b7 by inserting 7c7 ,report by ,secretary4-- before ,not later2 7#c7 by striking section #feh,k and inserting this section2 and 7#d7 by moving subsection 7c7 7as redesignated by paragraph 7#b77 to the end of section #feh,k4 7b7 ,establishment of program ,the ,child ,care and ,development ,block ,grant ,act of #aiij 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #iheh et seq47 is amended by inserting after section #feh,k 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #iheh;i71 as amended by subsection 7a71 the following3 #feh,l4 ,pilot program 7a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary shall carry out a pilot program to identify and implement best practices for increasing access to and continuity of child care for homeless children4 7b7 ,grants ,in carrying out the pilot program1 the ,secretary shall award to ,states not more than #e grants of not more than #e1jjj1jjj per grant4 ,each grant shall be for a period of not more than #c years1 beginning not later than ,march #ca1 #bjad4 7c7 ,application ,in order to be eligible to receive a grant under this section1 a ,state shall submit an application to the ,secretary at such time1 in such manner1 and containing such information as the ,secretary shall require4 7d7 ,use of funds ,a ,state that receives a grant under this section shall use the funds made available under the grant-- 7#a7 to establish a pilot project for-- 7,a7 implementing promising practices for increasing access to and continuity of child care for homeless children2 and 7,b7 identifying the best practices2 and 7#b7 to carry out subsection 7e77#a74 7e7 ,assessments and reports 7#a7 ,state responsibilities 7,a7 ,assessment ,a ,state that receives a grant under this section shall carry out data collection for and an assessment of its pilot project described in subsection 7d77#a74 7,b7 ,report to the ,secretary ,not later than #db months after the first day of the grant period for a pilot project described in subsection 7d77#a71 the ,state carrying out the pilot project shall submit to the ,secretary a report containing a summary of the results of the assessment described in subparagraph 7,a71 including a description of the best practices identified4 7#b7 ,secretarial responsibilities ,not later than #d years after the first day of the latest grant period for a pilot project1 the ,secretary shall submit to ,congress a report containing a summary of the reports received under paragraph 7#a7 and a recommendation concerning whether and how to expand the pilot projects carried out with best practices4 7f7 ,authorization of appropriations ,there is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years #bjad through #bjaf1 which shall remain available through fiscal year #bjah4 4 #f4 ,definitions ,section #feh,p of the ,child ,care and ,development ,block ,grant ,act of #aiij 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #ihehn7 is amended-- 7#a7 in paragraph 7#d77;,c7-- 7,a7 in clause 7i71 by striking or at the end2 7,b7 in clause 7ii71 by striking the period and inserting 2 or2 and 7,c7 by adding at the end the following3 7iii7 is a homeless child4 2 and 7#b7 by adding at the end the following3 7#ae7 ,homeless child ,the term homeless child means a homeless child or youth1 as defined under section #gbe of the ,mc,kinney-,vento ,homeless ,assistance ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #aadcd;a74 4