Child Care for Every Community Act

(a) Qualification and development

(1) In general. The Secretary, after consultation with other Federal agencies and on the basis of the recommendations of the Committee established pursuant to section 121(a)(3), shall establish staff qualification and development requirements based on such requirements described in section 648A of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9843a), based on such requirements being implemented by the military child care program (including certification of family child care home providers), and including a requirement to satisfactorily complete training under section 135(e). The established requirements shall include the requirements described in subsection (b) (relating to compensation). The established requirements shall apply to the child care and early learning programs carried out under this title, and the prime sponsors carrying out such programs, as the case may be.

(2) Objectives. The established requirements shall be designed to—

(A)

(i) lead to high-quality child care and early learning service delivery, including the use of targeted strategies and resources provided by prime sponsors to ensure the diverse, incumbent child care and early learning workforce retains access to employment in such programs; and

(ii) take into account workforce recruitment challenges and the need for a diverse workforce;

(B) create a pathway for members of the child care and early learning service workforce to build on their credentials; and

(C) provide enough time (which shall be not less than 6 years after the date of that establishment) for staff to meet any educational requirements in the established requirements.

(b) Pay

(1) Competitive rates of compensation. For the purpose of providing child care and early learning programs with a qualified and stable workforce, each prime sponsor shall ensure that employees (including employees of a delegate provider) at a child care and early learning center and family child care home providers, including teachers and other staff of family child care home providers, shall be paid under a pay scale that provides for rates of compensation that—

(A)

(i) except as provided in clause (ii), are comparable with the rates of compensation paid to employees of the corresponding local educational agency with similar training, seniority, and experience; or

(ii) for a position not typically found at the corresponding local educational agency, are the rates specified in the pay scale for the military child care program; and

(B) are not less than a living wage, as determined by the Secretary.

(2) Periodic reviews. In recommending and establishing requirements under subsection (a) and this subsection, the Committee established pursuant to section 121(a)(3) and the Secretary, respectively, shall periodically conduct reviews of the rates of compensation for employers, teachers, and staff described in paragraph (1). The Committee and Secretary shall determine whether the rates are increasing at a pace that is not less than the rate of the Consumer Price Index—All Urban Consumers, and shall adjust the rates to ensure such an increase.

(3) Limitation. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no Federal funds may be used to pay any part of the compensation of an employee, teacher, or staff member described in paragraph (1) to carry out a child care and early learning program, if such compensation, including non-Federal funds, exceeds a rate equal to the rate payable for level II of the Executive Schedule under section 5313 of title 5, United States Code.

(4) Compensation. In this subsection, the term compensation—

(A) includes salary, bonuses, periodic payments, severance pay, the value of any vacation time, the value of a compensatory or paid leave benefit, and the fair market value of any employee perquisite or benefit; and

(B) includes any prime sponsor expenditure for a health, medical, life insurance, disability, retirement, or any other employee welfare or pension benefit.

(c) Curriculum support

(1) In general. Prime sponsors shall establish and implement a plan to ensure all teachers in a child care and early learning program, including family child care home providers, have curriculum support.

(2) Curriculum support. That curriculum support—

(A) may include the use of curriculum specialists, as in the military child care program; and

(B) shall include—

(i) special teaching activities at locations that are easily accessible by the teachers;

(ii) daily oversight and instruction of employees providing child care and early learning services;

(iii) daily assistance in the preparation of lesson plans, provided through individual specialists or resources for staff that allow teachers to engage in professional responsibilities such as daily lesson planning;

(iv) assistance with child abuse prevention and detection;

(v) assistance with activities to promote children's cognitive development, behavior management, and mental health; and

(vi) assistance with improving the delivery of instruction and with measuring and tracking children’s outcomes.