{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.vanhollen.senate.gov/news/press-releases/help-committee-unanimously-passes-van-hollen-and-burrs-bill-to-improve-safety-in-child-care-facilities", "HELP Committee Unanimously Passes Van Hollen and Burr\u2019s Bill to Improve Safety in Child Care Facilities", "2019-12-13", "2019", "2019-12", "Democrat", "House", "MD", "Chris Van Hollen", "V000128", "www.vanhollen.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "December 13, 2019\n\t\t\t HELP Committee Unanimously Passes Van Hollen and Burr's Bill to Improve Safety in Child Care Facilities \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWASHINGTON  Today, the\r\nSenate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) unanimously\r\npassed U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Richard Burr's (R-N.C.) Child\r\nCare Protection Improvement Act. This bipartisan legislation would create a\r\ntask force to assist states in the process of implementing background check\r\nrequirements for child care workers.   As we work to\r\nmake sure childcare is affordable, we must also ensure that it's safe and that\r\nparents have peace of mind about who is watching their children, said\r\nSenator Van Hollen. Right now, too many states have been slow to implement\r\nthe criminal background check requirements that are already in place under the\r\nlaw, including interstate checks. Our Child Care Protection Act would change\r\nthat, and today the HELP Committee voted unanimously to move this bipartisan\r\nlegislation forward. Working together, we will help states make the improvements\r\nnecessary to ensure a high-quality childcare workforce and a safe environment\r\nfor every child.  States are still\r\nstruggling to fully comply with the work requirements for child care\r\nemployees, said Senator Burr. This commonsense legislation tackles\r\nthis issue by helping states meet the standards Congress envisioned five years\r\nago. I'm proud to work with my Senate HELP colleagues, including Senator\r\nVan Hollen, on this important, bipartisan legislation to give working parents a\r\npeace of mind and better safeguard our children.  Background:  When the Child\r\nCare and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) program was reauthorized in 2014,\r\ncriminal background check requirements for child care workers hired by\r\nproviders who receive federal funding under the CCDBG program were included.\r\nCurrently, the CCDBG program is the primary source of federal funding for child\r\ncare assistance.  While 35 states\r\nqualified for a waiver to implement the background check requirements through\r\nSeptember 2019, only two states are in full compliance. The remaining states\r\nwere either placed on corrective action plans or issued penalty notices. States\r\nare required to be in full compliance with the background check requirements by\r\nSeptember 30, 2020. Various state laws have created challenges in implementing\r\nthe requirements, leading to delayed hiring of child care workers, wasted\r\nfinancial resources, and continued child safety risks.  This legislation\r\nwill better equip states with ways to address these challenges by creating a\r\ntask force to identify the problems, develop recommendations and best\r\npractices, and provide technical assistance to Federal and State agencies as\r\nthey continue to implement these requirements.  ### \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\t\n\t\t\tPrint\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tEmail\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTweet\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t \n\t\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n    \n\t\n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tNext Article\n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.vanhollen.senate.gov/news/press-releases/help-committee-unanimously-passes-van-hollen-and-burrs-bill-to-improve-safety-in-child-care-facilities"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4607219491153955, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}