{
  "id": "RL30021",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "RL30021",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 105306,
      "date": "2001-01-04",
      "retrieved": "2016-05-24T20:31:00.661941",
      "title": "Child Care Issues in the 106th Congress",
      "summary": "In President Clinton's 2000 State of the Union Address, he outlined several child care-related\ninitiatives, in the form of tax credit proposals; increased child care subsidies; and increased funding\nfor Head Start and the 21st Century Community Learning Centers programs. Details of those\nproposals were included in the Clinton Administration's FY2001 budget proposal. This was the\nthird year in a row that the Clinton Administration proposed a major child care initiative. As was\nthe case in the 105th Congress, the 106th Congress introduced considerable child care-related\nlegislation, however, little action was taken on the dozens of bills introduced.\n Child care policy debates typically focus on three elements: availability, affordability, and\nquality of child care. All three of these elements would be addressed by the Administration's and\nother proposals. In addition, a fourth element was raised during the 105th Congress and was\naddressed again in some bills introduced in the 106th Congress: the extent to which child care policy\ntreats families with and without a stay-at-home parent equitably.\n A primary reason for the current focus on child care is welfare reform legislation enacted in\n1996, which has called attention to the child care needs of welfare recipients and low-income\nfamilies who are attempting to become and remain economically self-sufficient. In addition, for\nfamilies with tax liability, a tax credit is available to offset part of the costs of child care, but the\nterms of this credit have not been updated since 1981. Regarding the quality of child care, recent\nresearch on early brain development has heightened interest in the experiences of children in child\ncare settings, while the death of a Massachusetts infant in 1997 and subsequent murder conviction\nof his caregiver focused national concern on the basic question of child care safety. Finally, after-\nschool child care also has become a focus in the current debate.\n The federal government operates several programs related to child care, of which the largest\nis the Child Care and Development Block Grant, a grant program that helps subsidize the child care\nexpenses of low-income and welfare families. The Clinton Administration advocated for new\nspending for this block grant and the Dependent Care Tax Credit (DCTC). In 2000, the\nAdministration proposed to not only expand the DCTC, but to make the credit refundable as well.\n Numerous child care bills were introduced in the 106th Congress but few received full floor\naction. Like the Administration's initiative, some were omnibus packages of tax and grant\nprovisions. Proposals would have increased the supply of child care through tax incentives or grants\nfor employers, and through expanded federal grants to states. Some bills would have made child\ncare more affordable through the tax code, and some (including the Administration's latest initiative)\nhad provisions for families with an at-home parent. Legislation proposed to upgrade the quality of\nchild care primarily through voluntary incentives. Several would have provided incentives for use\nof nationally accredited child care providers or credentialed caregivers.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": false,
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      "topics": []
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Domestic Social Policy"
  ]
}