March 27, 2025
Mr. Fallon (for himself, Mrs. Hayes, Ms. Van Duyne, Mr. Gooden, and Mr. Nehls) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce
To protect babies and young children in childcare settings by strengthening transparency and safety requirements.
Section 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Kairo Act of 2025
.
Sec. 2. Definitions
For purposes of this Act:
(1)
The term certain child care provider
means a center-based child care provider, a family child care provider, a sectarian child care provider, or other provider of child care services for compensation that receives any amount of Federal funding towards providing child care or early learning programs, including but not limited to Child Care Development Block Grants and Head Start funding.
(2)
The term Center-based child care provider
means a provider licensed or otherwise authorized to provide child care services for fewer than 24 hours per day per child in a non-residential setting, unless care in excess of 24 hours is due to the nature of the parent(s)' work.
(3)
The term family child care provider
means one or more individual(s) who provide child care services for fewer than 24 hours per day per child, in a private residence other than the child's residence, unless care in excess of 24 hours is due to the nature of the parent(s)' work.
(4)
The term sectarian organization and sectarian child care provider
means a religious organization or religious provider generally. The terms embrace any organization or provider that engages in religious conduct or activity or that seeks to maintain a religious identity in some or all of its functions. There is no requirement that a sectarian organization or provider be managed by clergy or have any particular degree of religious management, control, or content.
Sec. 3. Parental rights as a condition of funding
(a)
Any provider receiving Federal funds towards providing child care or early learning programs, including but not limited to Child Care Development Block Grants or Head Start funding must develop a parent’s bill of rights for child care that includes—
(1)
contact information for the state child abuse hotline and agency responsible for investigating suspected abuse, neglect, or exploitation in a child care operation;
(2)
information on how to access the State’s electronic database, if applicable, of child care monitoring and inspection reports as described in section 658E(c)(2)D) of the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act;
(3)
for Head Start and Early Head Start programs information on how to access monitoring reports conducted by the Office of Head Start;
(4)
access to review such child care facility’s written records concerning the such child;
(5)
receive from the child care facility, upon request, the responsible state agency’s inspection reports for the child care facility and information about how to access the child care facility’s compliance history online;
(6)
compliance by the facility with a court order preventing another parent or guardian of such child from visiting or removing such child from such facility;
(7)
the contact information for the division responsible for regulating the child care facility, including the division’s name, address, and phone number;
(8)
access, within 2 business days from time of written request, to any video recording of an alleged incident of abuse or neglect involving such child if—
(A)
such a video recording of the alleged incident is available;
(B)
such parent or guardian is prohibited from retaining any part of the video recording depicting a child who is not the child of such parent or guardian;
(C)
the parent or guardian of any other child captured in such video recording receives written notice from such provider of a request for access to such video recording;
(D)
a copy of the child care facility’s policies and procedures; access to review such provider’s—
(i)
staff training records; and
(ii)
any in-house staff training curriculum used by such provider; and
(E)
freedom from any retaliatory action by such a provider for exercising any of the parent’s or guardian’s rights under this Act.
(b)
A child care provider shall provide the parent or guardian of a child for whom it provides child care services a written copy of the rights listed in subsection (a) no later than 45 days after the effective date of this Act; or not later than the child’s 1st day on which such services begin after such effective date.
(c)
This section does not affect the ability of a law enforcement agency or a local- or state-run child protective services agency to access a video recording as part of an investigation of an incident depicted in such video recording.
Sec. 4. Notice of requirement to comply
Not later than 30 days after the effective date of this Act, the Director of the Department of Health and Human Services will direct the Office of Child Care (OCC) and the Office of Head Start (OHS) to make all current and future potential recipients of Child Care Development Block Grants and Head Start funding aware of the new requirements.
Sec. 5. Effective date
This Act shall take effect 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the date of the enactment of this Act.