Sponsors (4)
Creates a competitive 5-year pilot for up to 10 States to test employer-employee-State-Federal tri-share child care cost-sharing with FMAP-based federal reimbursement and an independent evaluation.
Official title: To establish a Federal pilot program for cost-sharing of child care expenses among employers, employees, and government.
Introduced November 25, 2025 by Hillary Scholten · Last progress November 25, 2025
The bill subsidizes and expands access to child care through federal grants and employer cost-sharing—lowering costs for many families and supporting providers—while remaining limited in reach, imposing federal costs, adding administrative and privacy burdens, and risking cost-shifting onto workers.
Parents and families with eligible children will pay less out-of-pocket for child care because pilot grants reimburse a share of eligible costs and require employer contributions.
Eligible children gain expanded access to subsidized child care in participating States during the pilot, improving affordability and availability of early care.
States receive federal grants (up to $250M/year) and technical assistance to support implementation, reducing state budget risk during the pilot.
The pilot is capped at $20 million per State and limited in time, so many eligible families in high-demand or large States may not get served.
Some low-income families will be excluded because the pilot disallows children already receiving CCDBG-funded care and limits eligibility to families above state CCDBG thresholds (up to 300% of that threshold).
Taxpayers bear the federal program cost (authorized at up to $250 million per year), which could crowd out other federal spending priorities.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Creates a federal pilot program that lets up to 10 States test a “tri-share” approach to paying for child care costs—splitting costs among parents, employers, State lead agencies, and the Federal Government—for up to five years. The Department of Health and Human Services would run a competitive grant process, set application and reporting rules, allow certain waivers, require protections for low-income families and provider payments, and commission an independent evaluation with a final report to Congress. The pilot authorizes quarterly reimbursement to participating State lead agencies at a FMAP-based rate for program payments and limited administrative costs (subject to availability of funds and caps), requires State plans describing employer and employee contributions and health/safety protections, and emphasizes coordination with existing child care programs and data-sharing for evaluation.