,,ii #aaith ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #dcce ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,april #af 7legislative day1 ,april #ad71 #bjbf,ms4 ,ernst 7for herself and ,mrs4 ,shaheen7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,armed ,services ,a ,,bill ,to address the challenges of providing child care opportunities for military families1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,helping ,ensure ,reliable ,opportunities in ,child ,care for ,military ,families ,act or the ,,hero ,child ,care for ,military ,families ,act4 #b4 ,expansion of eligible child care providers for ,department of ,defense programs 7a7 ,removal of prior service requirement ,section #agih7;b7 of title #aj1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended-- 7#a7 in paragraph 7#a71 by striking the semicolon and inserting 2 and2 7#b7 by striking paragraph 7#b72 and 7#c7 by redesignating paragraph 7#c7 as paragraph 7#b74 7b7 ,national service volunteers ,subchapter ,,ii of chapter #hh of title #aj1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by inserting after section #agib the following new section3 #agib;a4 ,child care employees3 additional authorities 7a7 ,national service volunteers 7#a7 ,the ,secretary of ,defense may seek to enter into an interagency partnership with a ,federal agency with the ability to place individuals described in paragraph 7#b7 in military child development centers in accordance with national service laws and with all the benefits accorded to such individuals under those laws4 7#b7 ,an individual described in this paragraph is a participant1 including a volunteer or national senior volunteer1 under the national service laws who is trained in education services and is in compliance with hiring requirements for military child development centers4 7#c7 ,in this subsection1 the terms participant and national service laws have the meanings given those terms in section #aja of the ,national and ,community ,service ,act of #aiij 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #abeaa74 4 #c4 ,preclearance of child care employees at military child development centers ,section #agib;a of title #aj1 ,united ,states ,code1 as added by section #b7;b7 of this ,act1 is further amended by adding at the end the following new subsection3 7b7 ,preclearance of child care employees at military child development centers 7#a7 ,not later than ,june #a1 #bjbg1 the ,under ,secretary of ,defense for ,personnel and ,readiness shall prescribe regulations1 including by revising ,department of ,defense ,instruction #adjb4je1 relating to background checks on individuals in ,department of ,defense child care services programs1 or any successor instruction1 to provide for preclearance of individuals applying to be child care employees at military child development centers4 7#b7 ,in prescribing regulations under paragraph 7#a71 the ,under ,secretary shall-- 7,a7 specify a length of time1 not to exceed one year1 for the preclearance of an individual to be valid for purposes of employment at military child development centers2 and 7,b7 require annual reverification for a child care employee who received preclearance to be conducted not later than one year after the date of the preclearance of the individual4 7#c7 ,nothing in this subsection shall be construed-- 7,a7 to limit the ability of the ,department of ,defense to conduct1 in accordance with regulations and policies of the ,department1 additional or more current or recent background checks on individuals who have received preclearance2 or 7,b7 to require the ,department-- 7i7 to hire an individual who received preclearance2 or 7ii7 to provide any appeal or right of action to an individual who received preclearance and was not selected by the ,department for an open position as a child care employee4 7#d7 ,in this subsection1 the term preclearance1 with respect to an individual1 means the individual obtains a background check1 including a fingerprint check by the ,federal ,bureau of ,investigation and a ,state ,criminal ,history ,repository check1 and a health screening to be a child care employee at a military child development center1 without regard to whether there is an open job for a child care employee at the time of the background check and screening are conducted4 4 #d4 ,authorization of job-sharing arrangements for child care employees ,section #agib;a of title #aj1 ,united ,states ,code1 as amended by section #c of this ,act1 is further amended by adding at the end the following new subsection3 7c7 ,authorization of job-,sharing arrangements for child care employees 7#a7 ,consistent with chapter #cd of title #e1 and policies of the ,department of ,defense permitting part-time employment and job-sharing arrangements for civilian personnel1 the ,secretary of ,defense may authorize the use of voluntary job-sharing arrangements for child care employees at military child development centers4 7#b7 ,the ,secretary may authorize job-sharing arrangements under this subsection-- 7,a7 to expand the pool of qualified child care employees available to meet the needs of military families2 7,b7 to accommodate individuals unable to work full-time schedules as a result of caregiving1 education1 or other personal circumstances2 7,c7 to reduce staffing vacancies and workforce turnover2 and 7,d7 to support continuity and reliability of child care services for military families4 7#c7 ,in this subsection1 the term job-sharing arrangement means a work arrangement under which the duties and responsibilities of a single full-time child care employee position are shared by two part-time child care employees1 each serving not fewer than #bj hours per week4 4 #e4 ,limited access to certain benefits for child care employees ,section #agib;a of title #aj1 ,united ,states ,code1 as amended by section #d of this ,act1 is further amended by adding at the end the following new subsection3 7d7 ,limited access to certain benefits for child care employees 7#a7 ,the ,secretary of ,defense may authorize child care employees working at military child development centers to receive limited access to benefits described in paragraph 7#b7 if the ,secretary determines such access is necessary to support recruitment and retention of child care employees and continuity of child care services4 7#b7 ,the benefits that may be provided to a child care employee under paragraph 7#a7 are the following3 7,a7 ,commissary and exchange privileges1 on days on which the employee is providing child care services on a military installation1 on the same basis as civilian employees of the ,department of ,defense under ,directive-type ,memorandum #ba-jjc or any successor ,department of ,defense issuance4 7,b7 ,use of ,,mwr retail facilities1 including fitness centers1 if the ,secretary determines that authorizing such use will support the stability of the child care workforce4 7,c7 ,tuition assistance and referral bonuses under terms and conditions comparable to similar workforce recruitment and retention programs authorized for other civilian and contractor workforces of the ,department of ,defense4 7,d7 ,such other limited benefits as the ,secretary determines appropriate4 7#c7 7,a7 ,a child care employee who receives a benefit under paragraph 7#a7 may not transfer the benefit to any other person4 7,b7 ,the ,secretary may revoke a benefit provided to a child care employee under paragraph 7#a7 at any time4 7#d7 ,not later than #ahj days after the date of the enactment of this section1 the ,secretary shall issue guidance to implement this subsection4 7#e7 ,in this subsection1 the term ,,mwr retail facility has the meaning given that term in section #ajfc of this title4 4 #f4 ,department of ,defense child care readiness data system ,subchapter ,,ii of chapter #hh of title #aj1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by inserting after section #agii the following new section3 #agii;a4 ,child care readiness data system 7a7 ,establishment ,the ,secretary of ,defense shall establish and maintain a unified1 ,department-wide child care readiness data system 7in this section referred to as the ,system7 to assess1 monitor1 and manage child care capacity and child care workforce readiness across the ,department of ,defense4 7b7 ,required data elements ,the ,system shall include information on the following3 7#a7 ,child care capacity and utilization1 disaggregated by military installation and region4 7#b7 ,child care workforce staffing levels1 vacancies1 turnover rates1 and compensation ranges4 7#c7 ,child care waitlists1 disaggregated by-- 7,a7 families with no access to child care2 7,b7 families using temporary child care or child care located off a military installation2 and 7,c7 families requiring child care during nontraditional hours4 7#d7 ,demand for child care by age cohort1 with specific identification of children under age #e4 7#e7 ,utilization and attrition data for fee assistance programs4 7#f7 ,geographic areas with persistent unmet child care needs4 7#g7 ,such other information as the ,secretary considers appropriate4 7c7 ,standardization and updates ,the ,secretary shall-- 7#a7 standardize the collection of data on child care across the military departments2 and 7#b7 update the information in the ,system not less frequently than every #ij days4 7d7 ,briefings required ,not later than #ahj days after the date of the enactment of this section1 and annually thereafter1 the ,secretary of ,defense shall brief the ,committees on ,armed ,services of the ,senate and the ,house of ,representatives on-- 7#a7 findings derived from the ,system2 7#b7 actions taken to address any gaps in child care availability identified through the ,system2 and 7#c7 recommendations for legislative or regulatory authorities or funding required to reduce the unmet need for child care4 4 #g4 ,report on child care waitlists 7a7 ,in general ,not later than #ij days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary shall submit to the congressional defense committees 7as defined in section #aja7;a7 of title #aj1 ,united ,states ,code7 a report on waitlists for child care across the ,department of ,defense4 7b7 ,elements ,the report required by subsection 7a7 shall include the following3 7#a7 ,a description of steps being taken to centralize systems and collect data on waitlists for child care across the ,department of ,defense4 7#b7 ,a description of data that the ,department has on child care waitlists4 7#c7 ,a description of steps being taken by the ,department to resolve discrepancies or misleading information in the data1 such as children being counted on multiple waitlists simultaneously and inclusion of children who are receiving child care services but are on waitlists for purposes of obtaining alternative child care4 7#d7 ,an analysis of what proportion of waitlist spots represent unmet need for child care as opposed to duplicate entries4 7#e7 ,a plan for improving data collection on child care waitlists4 #h4 ,report on relationship between child care availability and readiness ,not later than #ahj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,defense shall submit to the congressional defense committees 7as defined in section #aja7;a7 of title #aj1 ,united ,states ,code7 a report that analyzes the relationship between child care availability and each of the following3 7#a7 ,military readiness and training participation4 7#b7 ,retention and separation decisions4 7#c7 ,families in which two parents are members of the ,armed ,forces4 7#d7 ,high operational-tempo units4 7#e7 ,workforce participation of military spouses4