This bill reauthorizes and updates the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) program, which helps states provide child care assistance to low-income working families. The legislation expands eligibility to include children experiencing homelessness, those in kinship care, and children with parents over 65, and it broadens what counts as qualifying work activities to include job training, education, and substance abuse treatment. The bill requires states to develop payment rates based on cost estimation models that reflect the actual expenses of providing quality child care, including staff salaries and facility costs, with a deadline of September 30, 2030, to implement these new rates. It authorizes funding "such sums as may be necessary" for fiscal years 2025 through 2029 for the main program, and creates a new Child Care Supply and Facilities Grant program with authorized appropriations for fiscal years 2026 through 2028 to help states expand child care capacity and improve facilities. The bill also gives states greater flexibility in designing their child care systems while maintaining federal standards for health, safety, and quality, and it streamlines reporting requirements by shifting from annual to biennial reporting to federal agencies.
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