Sponsors (9)
The bill expands access to child care colocated with affordable housing—prioritizing underserved and tribal communities and providing multi-year funding—while creating trade-offs around federal cost, administrative complexity, funding flexibility, and the risk that larger developers or higher-cost projects capture limited resources intended for the lowest-income families.
Low-income families, parents, and children gain increased access to on-site or adjacent child care colocated with affordable housing, reducing travel time, improving child care access, and supporting work–family balance.
Eligible entities (public housing authorities, developers, nonprofits) receive funding certainty via a $100 million per year authorization (FY2026–2031), enabling planning and construction of child care–housing projects.
Children and families in child care deserts and rural communities get prioritized expansion of early childhood capacity because applicants serving those areas receive special consideration.
Taxpayers face increased federal spending due to the $100 million per year authorization (FY2026–2031) and potential follow-on spending if GAO recommendations prompt new programs or benefits.
Smaller providers, community organizations, and some public housing authorities may be deterred from applying because administrative and compliance burdens (certifications, environmental reviews, business plans) and program complexity favor larger developers.
Low-income families could receive less benefit if funds flow to higher-cost-area projects or LIHTC/NMTC-backed developers, shifting scarce resources away from the lowest-income households and smaller community providers.
Based on analysis of 5 sections of legislative text.
Establishes a HUD competitive grant program to build or renovate co-located housing and child care facilities and requires a GAO report on child care access for public housing residents.
Introduced January 29, 2025 by Ronald Lee Wyden · Last progress January 29, 2025
Creates a competitive HUD grant program to fund projects that combine affordable housing with on-site or nearby child care (design, planning, construction, conversion, retrofit, preservation, or renovation). It sets who can apply, application and prioritization rules, required certifications to protect residents, and interagency consultation requirements, but does not specify new funding amounts. The bill also directs the Government Accountability Office to report within one year on child care availability and affordability for people living in public housing and how federal programs have been used to support child care near public housing.