,,ii #aaith ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #baic ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,june #bf 7legislative day1 ,june #bd71 #bjbe ,mrs4 ,shaheen 7for herself and ,ms4 ,ernst7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,armed ,services ,a ,,bill ,to establish a pilot program to expand early child care options for members of the ,armed ,forces and their families4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,expanding ,access to ,military ,child ,care ,act of #bjbe4 #b4 ,pilot program to expand early child care options for members of the ,armed ,forces and their families 7a7 ,pilot program 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary of ,defense shall direct the ,secretaries of the military departments to carry out a pilot program to improve the access of members of the ,armed ,forces and their families to high quality early child care opportunities by establishing partnerships with eligible child care providers-- 7,a7 to increase the capacity of those providers2 7,b7 to improve early child care workforce development2 and 7,c7 to increase recruitment and retention of employees for eligible child care providers4 7#b7 ,selection of eligible child care providers and networks of such providers 7,a7 ,in general ,under the pilot program required by paragraph 7#a71 the ,secretary shall direct the ,secretaries of the military departments to enter into a total of #ab partnerships with eligible child care providers1 or networks of such providers1 to1 in communities under the jurisdiction of such ,secretaries-- 7i7 increase the number of early child care slots available to members of the ,armed ,forces and their families2 7ii7 facilitate recruitment and retention of employees for eligible child care providers2 and 7iii7 provide additional professional development opportunities for such employees4 7,b7 ,limitation ,the ,secretary may direct the ,secretaries of the military departments to enter into not more than one partnership with each eligible child care provider1 or network of such providers1 under the pilot program required by paragraph 7#a74 7,c7 ,locations ,in selecting eligible child care providers or networks of such providers with which to enter into partnerships under the pilot program required by paragraph 7#a71 the ,secretary-- 7i7 shall direct the ,secretaries of the military departments-- 7,i7 to ensure that-- 7aa7 each partnership is based at a different military installation2 and 7bb7 at least one partnership is based at-- 7,,aa7 a ,navy installation that is not a ,marine ,corps installation2 7,,bb7 a ,marine ,corps installation2 7,,cc7 an ,army installation2 7,,dd7 an ,air ,force installation that is not a ,space ,force installation2 7,,ee7 a ,space ,force installation2 and 7,,ff7 a joint military installation2 and 7,,ii7 to consider-- 7aa7 geographic diversity and population demographics to reflect the inclusion of multiple communities across the ,united ,states2 7bb7 the appropriate qualifications1 consistent with ,department of ,defense regulations and training requirements and under applicable ,state and local laws1 to provide services to meet the needs of eligible children2 and 7cc7 existing resources available to the eligible child care providers or networks of such providers to train and support employees for eligible child care providers2 and 7ii7 may authorize the ,secretaries of the military departments to establish partnerships in communities near military installations with military child development centers or other existing early child care programs of the ,department of ,defense1 including the ,military ,child ,care in ,your ,neighborhood program4 7#c7 ,authorized functions ,in carrying out the pilot program required by paragraph 7#a71 the ,secretary may-- 7,a7 direct the ,secretaries of the military departments-- 7i7 to identify gaps between existing early child care needs and available eligible child care providers in communities where such ,secretaries are considering establishing the pilot program2 7ii7 to use resources of the ,department of ,defense to support eligible child care providers in recruitment and retention of employees1 including military spouses1 including through professional development and financial incentives for such employees2 and 7iii7 to seek to enter into an interagency partnership with a ,federal agency with the ability to place national service participants and volunteers trained in education services1 including senior volunteer programs1 at military child development centers1 including such a center at an installation selected for a partnership under paragraph 7#b77;,c71 in accordance with applicable national service laws and with all the benefits accorded to such participants and volunteers2 and 7,b7 provide training and resource subsidies to eligible child care providers and networks of such providers participating in partnerships established under paragraph 7#b74 7#d7 ,requirements for participating providers 7,a7 ,in general ,an eligible child care provider or network of such providers participating in a partnership established under the pilot program required by paragraph 7#a7 is required-- 7i7 to provide assurances that the provider or network will not-- 7,i7 reduce early child care slots for nonmilitary families after entering into the partnership2 or 7,,ii7 enter into the construction of new child care facilities2 and 7ii7 not later than #aej days after the establishment of the partnership1 and every #ahj days thereafter while the partnership continues1 to submit documentation to the ,secretary that the provider has complied with such assurances4 7,b7 ,assessments ,not later than #ahj days after the pilot program commences under subparagraph 7,a77i7 of paragraph 7#h71 and every #ahj days thereafter until the pilot program terminates under that subsection1 the ,secretary shall-- 7i7 assess whether each eligible child care provider or network of such providers with which the ,secretary of a military department entered into a partnership under paragraph 7#b7-- 7,i7 is providing the assurances required by clause 7i7 of subparagraph 7,a72 and 7,,ii7 has submitted adequate documentation under clause 7ii7 of that subparagraph of compliance with such assurances2 and 7ii7 if the ,secretary determines that the provider or network of providers is not providing such assurances or has not submitted adequate documentation of compliance with such assurances-- 7,i7 notify the provider or network that the provider or network has #ij days to comply with the assurances2 and 7,,ii7 if the provider or network does not comply with the assurances during that #ij-;day period1 terminate the partnership4 7#e7 ,location of pilot program ,the ,secretary shall direct the ,secretaries of the military departments to ensure that1 pursuant to a partnership entered into under the pilot program required by paragraph 7#a71 the program is administered at or near the site of the eligible child care provider or network of such providers with which the ,secretary entered into the partnership at or near a military installation4 7#f7 ,administration ,not later than #cj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary shall direct the ,secretaries of the military departments to develop one centralized administrative system to carry out the pilot program required by paragraph 7#a71 which may include information on-- 7,a7 available military child development centers at military installations at which partnerships are established under the pilot program2 7,b7 the number of early child care education slots available or needed at such installations2 7,c7 the fees and costs associated for parents participating in the pilot program2 and 7,d7 other relevant administration and technical assistance matters4 7#g7 ,reporting requirements 7,a7 ,briefings by ,secretary of defense 7i7 ,initial briefing ,not later than #ahj days after the pilot program required by paragraph 7#a7 commences under paragraph 7#h77;,a77i71 the ,secretary shall direct the ,secretaries of the military departments to provide a briefing to the appropriate committees of ,congress on the implementation of the pilot program1 including-- 7,i7 the demonstrated need for eligible child care providers in the locations of the pilot program1 including-- 7aa7 the number of such providers present at the start of the pilot program relative to the number of eligible children requiring care2 and 7bb7 data on children served through the pilot program1 disaggregated by criteria such as-- 7,,aa7 the number of infants and toddlers served2 7,,bb7 providers offering early child care during nontraditional or extended hours2 7,,cc7 early child care in rural communities2 and 7,,dd7 inclusive early child care services for children with disabilities2 7,,ii7 the change in the number of eligible child care providers as a result of the pilot program2 7,,iii7 the change in early child care education capacity for members of the ,armed ,forces and their families and an assessment of unmet need for such education2 7,,iv7 an assessment of the efficacy of the pilot program2 and 7,v7 an assessment of the compliance of child care providers participating in partnerships established under the pilot program with the assurances required by paragraph 7#d77;,a74 7ii7 ,annual briefings on progress ,not later than one year after the pilot program required by paragraph 7#a7 commences under paragraph 7#h77;,a77i71 and annually thereafter until the termination of the pilot program under paragraph 7#h71 the ,secretary shall direct the ,secretaries of the military departments to provide a briefing to the appropriate committees of ,congress on the progress of the pilot program4 7,b7 ,final report by ,secretary of defense ,not later than #abj days after the termination under paragraph 7#h7 of the pilot program required by paragraph 7#a71 the ,secretary shall direct the ,secretaries of the military departments to submit to the appropriate committees of ,congress a final report on the pilot program4 7,c7 ,reports by government accountability office 7i7 ,progress report ,not later than #d years after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,comptroller ,general of the ,united ,states shall submit to the appropriate committees of ,congress an interim report on the progress of the pilot program required by paragraph 7#a74 7ii7 ,final report ,not later than #abj days after the termination under paragraph 7#h7 of the pilot program required by paragraph 7#a71 the ,comptroller ,general shall submit to the appropriate committees of ,congress a final report on the pilot program4 7#h7 ,duration of pilot program 7,a7 ,in general ,the pilot program required by paragraph 7#a7 shall-- 7i7 commence not later than ,january #a1 #bjbf2 and 7ii7 unless extended in accordance with subparagraph 7,b71 terminate on ,december #ca1 #bjcj4 7,b7 ,extension ,the ,secretary may direct the ,secretaries of the military departments to extend the pilot program required by paragraph 7#a7 to terminate not later than ,december #ca1 #bjcb1 if the ,secretary notifies the appropriate committees of ,congress not later than ,june #cj1 #bjcj1 of the intention of the ,secretary to extend the pilot program1 along with a description of the benefits of extending the pilot program4 7b7 ,report on unmet need for child care in areas with significant populations of members of the armed forces 7#a7 ,in general ,not later than ,september #cj1 #bjbg1 the ,secretary of ,defense shall submit to the appropriate committees of ,congress a report on the unmet need for child care in areas with populations of members of the ,armed ,forces that includes-- 7,a7 a description of-- 7i7 the unmet need for each military installation2 and 7ii7 the fees and costs for parents or guardians seeking child care in those areas2 7,b7 a review of the efforts of the ,department of ,defense to recruit and retain eligible child care providers2 and 7,c7 a plan for meeting the unmet need for child care4 7#b7 ,assessment of child care in civilian communities ,in assessing the unmet need described in paragraph 7#a71 the ,secretary shall assess-- 7,a7 the availability of child care in civilian communities surrounding military installations2 and 7,b7 opportunities to provide additional professional development opportunities to eligible child care providers serving both civilian and military families in child care centers4 7#c7 ,use and inclusion of data ,the ,secretary shall use in preparing the report required by paragraph 7#a71 and shall include in the report1 for each military installation1 data on the number of members of the ,armed ,forces living on and off the installation with children under the age of #e1 disaggregated by-- 7,a7 the ,,zip ,code for the location where the members reside2 and 7,b7 household status of the members1 including-- 7i7 the number of parents and guardians present in the household2 7ii7 the work status of the parents and guardians2 and 7iii7 the total number of children under the age of #e in the household4 7#d7 ,collaboration ,in preparing the report required by paragraph 7#a71 the ,secretary shall consider collaborating with a nongovernmental organization with-- 7,a7 access to1 and a strong understanding of1 ,state licensing systems for child care2 and 7,b7 a proven track record of working with ,states to map child care gaps utilizing a distance-based methodology4 7c7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,appropriate committees of congress ,the term appropriate committees of ,congress means-- 7,a7 the ,committee on ,armed ,services of the ,senate2 and 7,b7 the ,committee on ,armed ,services of the ,house of ,representatives4 7#b7 ,child care employee ,the term child care employee has the meaning given that term in section #ahjj of title #aj1 ,united ,states ,code4 7#c7 ,eligible child ,the term eligible child means-- 7,a7 an infant or toddler2 7,b7 a three- or four-year-old2 or 7,c7 a school-aged child4 7#d7 ,eligible child care provider ,the term eligible child care provider has the meaning given that term in section #feh,p of the ,child ,care and ,development ,block ,grant ,act of #aiij 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #ihehn74 7#e7 ,military child development center ,the term military child development center has the meaning given that term in section #ahjj of title #aj1 ,united ,states ,code4