Sponsors (15)
The bill creates targeted grants and oversight to expand and improve child care during nontraditional hours, helping working parents and providers in principle, but the program is small, short-term, and structured in ways that may exclude smaller providers and low-income communities.
Parents who work evenings, nights, weekends, or variable shifts gain greater access to child care options scheduled during nontraditional hours.
Child care providers can receive one-time grants ($25K–$500K) to expand capacity and invest in health/safety improvements and staff training, enabling more children to be served and potentially supporting jobs for providers.
Federal biennial reporting to Congress creates accountability and gives policymakers data to evaluate how nontraditional-hour care affects availability and quality.
Smaller providers and providers in low-income areas may be deterred from applying because grant applicants must provide a 25% non‑Federal match.
The pilot is funded at a very small scale (up to 0.25% of CCDBG appropriations for FY2027–2031), so only a limited number of providers and families are likely to benefit.
Grants are one-time and nonrenewable for up to five years, so expansions in capacity may not be financially sustainable once the award ends.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Creates a competitive five‑year grant pilot to expand child care for parents who work nontraditional hours, with grants $25k–$500k and a 25% match requirement.
Creates a new five‑year competitive grant pilot, the Child Care and Development Innovation Fund, to help child care providers and partnerships expand or open child care that serves parents who work nontraditional hours (evenings, nights, weekends, rotating shifts). Grants are one‑time awards of $25,000–$500,000 with a required 25% non‑Federal match; HHS must set up the pilot within 90 days of enactment, may reserve up to 0.25% of Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) appropriations for FY2027–2031 to fund it, and must report outcomes to Congress at least every two years. The measure also makes a technical renumbering within the CCDBG statute and limits applicability of most other subchapter requirements to the pilot (leaving one relocated provision in effect).
Introduced February 11, 2026 by Ashley Hinson · Last progress February 11, 2026