Child Care Issues in the 109th Congress (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
Revised Jan. 9, 2007 |
| Report Number |
RL32817 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Melinda Gish, Domestic Social Policy Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
| Older Revisions |
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Summary:
Federal support for child care comes in many forms, ranging from grant programs to tax provisions. Some programs serve as specifically dedicated funding sources for child care services (e.g., the Child Care and Development Block Grant, or CCDBG), while for others (e.g., Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF), child care is just one of many purposes for which funds may be used. In many cases, federal programs target low-income families in need of child care assistance, but in the case of certain tax provisions, the benefits reach middle- and upper-income families as well. This report provides an overview of federal child care and related programs as they were addressed by the 109th Congress.
The 109th Congress inherited several child care-related agenda items from the previous Congress(es), but resolved only a few. Efforts to reauthorize the CCDBG and TANF block grants, as well as the Head Start program, had started in the 108th Congress, and ultimately, in February 2006, after 12 temporary extensions, the TANF block grant and the mandatory portion of child care funding was reauthorized for a five-year period via the Deficit Reduction Act (P.L. 109-171). Whereas bills to reauthorize the Child Care and Development Block Grant itself (H.R. 240 and S. 525) and the Head Start Program (H.R. 2123 and S. 2206) failed to make their way to enactment in law, and remain on the agenda for the 110th Congress.
Funding for many child care and related programs is provided each year as part of the annual appropriations process for the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Education (ED). Fiscal Year 2007 appropriations bills for those departments (among most others) did not receive floor action in the House or Senate during the 109th Congress, although the 2007 fiscal year began on October 1, 2006. The process extended into the 110th Congress, with a third continuing resolution (P.L. 109-383) temporarily funding government operations (through February 15, 2007) at rates based on the FY2006 funding levels. The FY2006 appropriations (P.L. 109-149) included funding slightly below FY2005 amounts for most child care and related programs, as a result of an across-the-board rescission of 1% applied to most discretionary programs. Additional targeted funding for Head Start and the Social Services Block Grantâsupplemental funding targeted specifically in response to needs arising from the Gulf Coast hurricanes of 2005âwas included in the FY2006 Defense Appropriations Act (P.L. 109-148).
The President's FY2007 budget proposals in areas related to child care and early childhood development were framed in the context of the Administration's Early Childhood Initiativeâ"Good Start, Grow Smart"âwhich was initially launched in April 2002. The initiative emphasized the importance of promoting school readiness, a key focus of the President's Head Start reauthorization proposals. In efforts to promote school readiness among pre-school children, there has also been a growing emphasis on better coordination of early childhood programs, including most of the federal programs described in this report, as well as state pre-kindergarten programs and other state-funded efforts.
This is the final update of this report; the 109th Congress has adjourned.
