S.Amdt. 2953

1. Inserts new text on page 253, between lines 6 and 7

   InsertsPrinted page

   Inserted: (d) At Home Infant Care.--Section 413 (42 U.S.C. 613), as amended by subsection (a), is further amended by adding at the end the following:

   Inserted: "(m) Demonstration Projects for At Home Infant Care.--

   Inserted: "(1) Authority to award grants.--

   Inserted: "(A) In general.--The Secretary shall award grants to not less than 5 and not more than 10 States to enable such States to carry out demonstration projects to provide at-home infant care benefits to eligible low-income families.

   Inserted: "(B) Indian tribes.--An Indian tribe may submit an application for a grant under this subsection. If awarded a grant, the Indian tribe shall conduct a demonstration project to provide at-home infant care benefits to eligible low-income families in the same manner, and to the same extent as a State, except that the Secretary may modify the requirements of this subsection as appropriate with respect to the Indian tribe. For purposes of subparagraph (A), any grant awarded to an Indian tribe shall not count toward the number of grants awarded to States.

   Inserted: "(2) Family eligibility.--

   Inserted: "(A) In general.--To be eligible to participate in a program of at-home infant care under a demonstration project established under paragraph (1), a family shall--

   Inserted: "(i) have an income that does not exceed the limits specified in section 658P(3)(B) of the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858n(3)(B));

   Inserted: "(ii) include a child under the age of 2;

   Inserted: "(iii) include a parent (as defined in section 658P(8) of the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858n(8))), who meets the State's requirements for having had a recent work history prior to application for at-home infant care benefits; and

   Inserted: "(iv) meet such other eligibility requirements as the State may establish.

   Inserted: "(B) 2-parent families.--A State selected to participate in a demonstration project of at-home infant care under this section shall permit 2-parent families to participate in the project but may not limit participation in the project to such families.

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   Inserted: "(3) Amount of assistance.--The amount of at-home infant care benefits provided to an eligible family under this subsection for a month of benefit receipt shall not exceed the payment rate applicable to eligible child care providers for infant care under the State's payment rate schedule, according to the provisions of section 658E(c)(4)(A) of the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858c(c)(4)(A)).

   Inserted: "(4) Submission of applications.--An eligible low-income parent may submit an application for at-home infant care benefits under a demonstration project established under this subsection at any time prior to the date on which the child attains age 2.

   Inserted: "(5) Required certifications.--A State selected to participate in a demonstration project of at-home infant care under this section shall provide certifications to the Secretary that--

   Inserted: "(A) during the period of the demonstration project, the State shall not reduce expenditures for child care services below the levels in effect in the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year in which the State begins to participate in the project;

   Inserted: "(B) the State, in operating the demonstration project, shall not give priority or preference to parents seeking to participate in the program of At-Home Infant Care over other eligible parents on a waiting list for child care assistance in the State;

   Inserted: "(C) the State shall--

   Inserted: "(i) provide parents applying to receive at-home infant care benefits with information on the range of options for child care available to the parents;

   Inserted: "(ii) ensure that approved applicants for at-home infant care are permitted to choose between receipt of at-home infant care benefits and receipt of a certificate that may be used with an eligible child care provider for child care needed for employment; and

   Inserted: "(iii) provide that a family receiving an at-home infant care benefit may exchange the benefit for a child care voucher for employment at any time during the family's participation in the program;

   Inserted: "(D) the State shall develop or update and implement a plan to improve the quality of infant care, and shall use up to 10 percent of the funds received under the demonstration project for efforts to improve the quality of infant care in the State;

   Inserted: "(E) the State shall ensure that voluntary employment services are offered to program participants after the completion of participation in the program to assist the participants in returning to unsubsidized employment; and

   Inserted: "(F) the State shall cooperate with information collection and evaluation activity conducted by the Secretary.

   Inserted: "(6) TANF assistance.--The receipt of an at-home infant care benefit funded under this subsection shall not be considered assistance under the State program funded under this part for any purpose.

   Inserted: "(7) Benefit not treated as income.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the value of an at-home infant care benefit funded under this subsection shall not be treated as income for purposes of any Federal or federally-assisted program that bases eligibility, or the amount of benefits or services provided, on need.

   Inserted: "(8) Application for participation and selection of states.--

   Inserted: "(A) Applications.--Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of the Personal Responsibility and Individual Development for Everyone Act, the Secretary shall publish a notice of opportunity to participate, specifying the contents of an application for participation in the At-Home Infant Care demonstration project funded under this subsection. The notice shall include a timeframe for States to submit an application to participate, and shall provide that all such applications are to be submitted not later than 270 days after such date of enactment.

   Inserted: "(B) Selection.--

   Inserted: "(i) In general.--The Secretary shall review the applications and select the participating States not later than 1 year after such date of enactment.

   Inserted: "(ii) Criteria.--In selecting States to participate in the demonstration project funded under this subsection, the Secretary shall--

   Inserted: "(I) seek to ensure geographic diversity; and

   Inserted: "(II) give priority to States--

   Inserted: "(aa) whose applications demonstrate a strong commitment to improving the quality of infant care and the choice available to parents of infants;

   Inserted: "(bb) with experience relevant to the operation of at-home infant care programs; and

   Inserted: "(cc) in which there are demonstrable shortages of infant care.

   Inserted: "(9) Evaluation and report to congress.--

   Inserted: "(A) In general.--The Secretary shall conduct an evaluation of the demonstration projects conducted under this subsection and submit a report to Congress on such evaluation not later than 4 years after the date of enactment of the Personal Responsibility and Individual Development for Everyone Act.

   Inserted: "(B) Requirements.--The evaluation required under this paragraph shall expressly address the following:

   Inserted: "(i) Implementation experiences of the States participating in the project in developing and operating programs of at-home infant care, including design issues and issues in coordinating at-home infant care benefits with benefits provided or funded under the Child Care and Development Block Grant in the State.

   Inserted: "(ii) The characteristics of families seeking to participate and participating in the programs of at-home infant care funded under this subsection.

   Inserted: "(iii) The length of participation by families in such programs and the reasons for the families ceasing to participate in the programs.

   Inserted: "(iv) The prior and subsequent employment of participating families and the effect of program participation on subsequent employment participation of the families.

   Inserted: "(v) The costs and benefits of the programs of at-home infant care.

   Inserted: "(vi) The effectiveness of State or tribal efforts to improve the quality of infant care during the period in which the demonstration project is conducted in the State.

   Inserted: "(C) Reservation of funds.--Of the amount appropriated under paragraph (10) for a fiscal year, $750,000 shall be reserved with respect to each such fiscal year for purposes of conducting the evaluation required under this paragraph.

   Inserted: "(10) Appropriations.--Out of any money in the Treasury of the United States not otherwise appropriated, there is appropriated to carry out this subsection, $30,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2005 through 2009.".

   Original wording

   On page 253, between lines 6 and 7, insert the following:

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