A bill to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to establish an initiative to address the availability, quality, and cost of childcare in rural areas, and for other purposes.
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Progress
Where this bill stands in the legislative process.
- Introduced
- Passed Senate
- Passed House
- To President
- Became Law
Overview
This bill directs the Secretary of Agriculture to create an initiative focused on improving childcare availability, quality, and affordability in rural areas. The initiative will prioritize loans and grants to organizations proposing projects that address these needs, utilizing existing USDA programs like the essential community facilities loan and grant programs. It also mandates a comprehensive evaluation of the initiative’s impact and requires a balanced distribution of benefits across rural communities.
Key provisions
- Establishes the ‘Expanding Childcare in Rural America Initiative’ under the Department of Agriculture.
- Prioritizes loans and grants to projects addressing childcare availability, quality, and cost in rural areas.
- Utilizes existing USDA programs (essential community facilities, business and industry loans, microentrepreneur assistance, and intermediary relending) for funding.
- Requires a balanced geographical distribution of initiative benefits.
- Mandates a comprehensive evaluation of the initiative’s impact after 3 years.
- Requires the Secretary to report on the evaluation findings to Congress after 4 years.
- Defines key terms such as ‘childcare,’ ‘initiative,’ and ‘rural area’.
Who is affected
- Rural families
- Childcare providers in rural areas
- Parents of young children in rural areas
- The United States Department of Agriculture
Bill text
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