S 1049

Affordable Child Care for Economic Strategies and Success Act or the ACCESS Act This bill authorizes the Department of Commerce to provide grants for public works and economic development projects that will directly or indirectly increase the accessibility of child care, including grants for planning, training, research, and technical assistance related to such projects. Commerce must issue regulations to establish criteria for whether a project directly or indirectly increases the accessibility of child care. Such criteria shall consider (1) the availability, validity, and accessibility of timely data; (2) the extent to which a project contributes to a family's financial security; and (3) the extent to which a project addresses child care needs in areas recognized as experiencing a child care shortage. Commerce must also issue guidance on how to include the accessibility of child care in a comprehensive economic development strategy.