Child Care Workforce Development Act

The Child Care Workforce Development Act creates two connected programs aimed at expanding and stabilizing the early childhood education workforce. First, it authorizes the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to run a loan repayment program for eligible early childhood educators who commit to five years of service with a qualified employer (a licensed, subsidized childcare provider). For each year of service, the federal government would repay up to $6,000 of the educator’s outstanding loans. The program mirrors parts of the National Health Service Corps framework and includes annual recertification, a lifetime cap equal to the educator’s outstanding loan balance, and a Congress-review requirement after five years. Funding for this loan repayment program is authorized at $25 million per year from 2026 through 2031. Second, the bill tasks the Department of Education with creating a grants-for-education program. Institutions of higher education with qualified early childhood educator programs would receive funds to award grants (not to exceed $4,000 per academic year) to eligible students pursuing early childhood credentials. Recipients must fulfill a service obligation after completing their program (one academic year of work in a licensed early learning program, with additional time for grant renewals). If a recipient fails to complete the service obligation, the grant funds can be converted into a student-loan-like debt with specified repayment terms, though no interest accrues while repayment is due. A hardship extension of up to one year is available for those unable to secure qualifying employment. This program is funded at $10 million per year (2026-2030), with limited administrative costs. Overall, the bill envisions a two-pronged approach: reduce debt burdens for current educators and help build a pipeline of trained early childhood teachers.