Build Housing with Care Act of 2025
Build Housing with Care Act of 2025 would create a new Housing and Child Care Provider Co-Location Grant Program within the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The goal is to expand access to affordable housing and affordable child care by funding the design, planning, construction, conversion, retrofitting, preservation, or renovation of facilities that colocate housing with an on-site or nearby eligible child care provider. The program emphasizes partnerships between housing entities and child care providers that are eligible for federal child care subsidies or Head Start, and it directs priority toward areas with poor access to child care (child care deserts), low-income communities, or rural areas. The bill also requires the government to assess how housing assistance interacts with child care costs and other essential expenses through a focused GAO study and annual reporting on program outcomes. The act authorizes $100 million per year (fiscal years 2025–2030) for the grant program and outlines detailed application requirements, grant administration rules, and allowable uses of funds. It also sets up mechanisms for technical assistance, collaboration with other federal agencies, and oversight to ensure residents are not displaced and that communities are engaged. A separate section directs the Comptroller General (GAO) to study access to child care for residents of public housing and to report findings within 12 months, with recommendations to improve access and awareness of federal programs.
Key Points
- 1Establishment of the Housing and Child Care Provider Co-Location Grant Program at HUD to fund co-located housing and eligible child care facilities, including design, construction, conversion, retrofit, preservation, or renovation.
- 2Eligibility and partnership requirements: applicants must certify that the associated child care provider is eligible for subsidies or Head Start, commit to partnering with a provider within 1 year, demonstrate project pipelines, and show plans to avoid evictions and engage housing residents in the process.
- 3Priority criteria and grant limits: priority given to projects in child care deserts, low-income communities, or rural areas; providers may qualify by Head Start designation or by serving a large share of very-low-income families or through partnerships with a CDFI; individual grants may not exceed $10 million.
- 4Authorized uses and funding mechanics: funds may be used for facility design, planning, construction, acquisition, preservation, conversion, retrofitting, long-term leasing, or renovation; funds may be distributed to government entities, housing developers, housing agencies, Tribally designated housing entities, or other appropriate partners; CDFIs may use funds to create financial products; supports up to 20% total flexibly allocated (10% for pre-development and 10% for capacity-building with a CDFI).
- 5Oversight, reporting, and funding level: HUD must provide technical assistance and publish online best practices; annual Congress reporting on grants awarded, childcare slots created/maintained, resident engagement, staffing, and project outcomes; authorization of $100 million per year for 2025–2030.
- 6GAO study on childcare access for public housing residents: a separate study requiring the Comptroller General to assess how childcare access and costs affect residents of public housing, including analyses of other federal funds used for facilities, cost burdens, barriers in laws, impact of housing subsidies on childcare affordability, and effectiveness of tax credits and other supports, with a final report within 12 months of enactment.