II
112th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1435
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 28, 2011
Mr. Kerry (for himself and Mr. Franken) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance
A BILL
To amend part A of title IV of the Social Security Act to exclude child care from the determination of the 5-year limit on assistance under the temporary assistance for needy families program, and for other purposes.
Short title
This Act may be cited as
the Children First Act of
2011
.
Exclusion of child care from the definition of TANF assistance
Section 408(a)(7) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 608(a)(7)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
Limitation on
meaning of assistance
for families receiving child
care
For purposes of subparagraph (A), any funds provided under this part that are used to provide child care for a family during a month under the State program funded under this part shall not be considered assistance under the program.
.
Increase in funding for child care
Section 418(a)(3) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 618(a)(3)) is amended—
by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (G) and inserting a semicolon; and
by adding at the end the following:
$3,417,000,000 for fiscal year 2012;
$3,617,000,000 for fiscal year 2013; and
$3,667,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2014 through 2021.
For amounts appropriated for grants under this section for fiscal year 2011, see section 811(a) of Public Law 111–291.
.
Applicability of State or local health and safety standards to other TANF child care spending
Section 402(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 602(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
Certification of procedures to ensure that child care providers comply with applicable State or local health and safety standards
A certification by the chief executive officer of the State that procedures are in effect to ensure that any child care provider in the State that provides services funded through expenditures under this part or with qualified State expenditures complies with all applicable State or local health and safety requirements as described in section 658E(c)(2)(F) of the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990.
.
Availability of child care for parents required to work
Section 407(e)(2) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 607(e)(2)) is amended—
by inserting
or other individual with custody
after parent
;
and
by striking
6
and inserting 13
.
Application of Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 reporting rules to TANF funds expended for child care
In general
Section 411(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 611(a)) is amended—
by redesignating paragraph (7) as paragraph (8); and
by inserting after paragraph (6), the following:
Application of child care and development block grant Act of 1990 reporting rules to funds expended for child care
Any funds provided under this part that are expended for child care, whether or not transferred to the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990, shall be subject to the individual and case data reporting requirements imposed under that Act and need not be included in the report required by paragraph (1) for a fiscal quarter.
.
Conforming amendment
Section
411(a)(1)(A)(ix) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 611(a)(1)(A)(ix)) is amended by
striking supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits, or
subsidized child care, and if the latter 2,
and inserting or
supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits, and if the
latter,
.
Effective date
In general
Subject to subsections (b) and (c), the amendments made by this Act shall take effect on October 1, 2011, and shall apply to payments under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act for calendar quarters beginning on or after such date, without regard to whether regulations to implement the amendments are promulgated by such date.
Application of reporting rules
The amendments made by section 6 shall take effect on October 1, 2012.
Delay permitted if State legislation required
In the case of a State plan under section 402(a) of the Social Security Act which the Secretary of Health and Human Services determines requires State legislation (other than legislation appropriating funds) in order for the plan to meet the additional requirements imposed by the amendments made by this Act, the State plan shall not be regarded as failing to comply with the requirements of such section 402(a) solely on the basis of the failure of the plan to meet such additional requirements before the 1st day of the 1st calendar quarter beginning after the close of the 1st regular session of the State legislature that begins after the date of the enactment of this Act. For purposes of the previous sentence, in the case of a State that has a 2-year legislative session, each year of such session shall be deemed to be a separate regular session of the State legislature.