Sponsors (107)
Official title: To increase the quality and supply of child care and lower child care costs for families.
Introduced July 15, 2025 by Robert C. Scott · Last progress July 15, 2025
The bill dramatically expands affordable child care, universal preschool, workforce pay, and equity supports—improving access and quality for many families—while imposing large federal costs and new administrative and compliance burdens that could strain states, small providers, and program flexibility.
Parents and families gain much greater access to affordable, high‑quality child care and subsidies (including guaranteed subsidized care starting Oct 1, 2026 and expanded state-supported slots), reducing out‑of‑pocket costs and supporting work/education participation.
Children ages 3–4 nationwide obtain access to universal, free, high‑quality preschool, expanding early learning opportunities that support school readiness.
Early childhood educators and Head Start staff receive higher and more stable pay, workforce development, and credentialing supports (wage ladders, pay parity, COLAs, PD), improving compensation, retention, and classroom quality.
Taxpayers face large new and recurring federal costs (multi‑billion annual appropriations across child care, preschool, and Head Start) that could increase deficits, require offsets, or crowd out other priorities.
States and local agencies must absorb substantial administrative, reporting, and matching burdens (cost models, tiered systems, MOE/non‑Federal share rules), straining budgets and staff capacity and potentially forcing reallocations from other services.
Providers face new compliance and operational requirements (licensing/tier participation, wage ladders, civil‑rights obligations, program standards) that increase costs and administrative work and may disadvantage small or faith‑based providers.
Based on analysis of 6 sections of legislative text.
Creates a Child Care and Early Learning program, provider stabilization and facilities grants, Universal Preschool funding, and extended-duration Head Start grants with FY2026–FY2031 appropriations.
Creates a new federal Child Care and Early Learning Program (birth through age 5) that defines eligibility rules, funds provider stabilization and facility grants, reserves state quality funds for workforce development and access for underserved children, and establishes a Universal Preschool title and extended-duration Head Start grant programs. It authorizes multi-year appropriations and creates application, reporting, and use rules for states, tribes, territories, local educational agencies, Head Start agencies, and child care providers. The bill funds direct grants to lead agencies and providers to stabilize operations, raise early childhood educator wages, expand supply (including infants/toddlers, nontraditional hours, and inclusive services), and pay for technical assistance, licensing supports, and outreach. It also creates a new extended-duration/full-day, full-year Head Start grant stream and appropriates funds for states, tribes, and territories for Universal Preschool for 2026–2031.