President Barack Obama has signed the Child Care Development Block Grant bill, a measure that hadn’t been updated since 1996.
He signed the $5 billion child-care block-grant program last month, just days after the Senate approved it with overwhelming bipartisan support. The law requires states to conduct comprehensive background checks on child-care providers, an action only about a dozen states call for now. It also gives parents more information about available child-care options.
Also, the measure requires states to set aside a greater portion of their own funds for program improvement—10 percent, up from the current 4 percent. The additional money can be used for a range of activities, such as improving training for providers.
