Child Care Innovation Advancement Act of 2026

This Act may be cited as the “Child Care Innovation Advancement Act of 2026”.

Congress finds that—

(1) families across the United States are struggling to access affordable, quality child care due to a shortage of child care providers;

(2) local communities have responded to the child care shortage with innovative solutions that increase child care supply by reducing barriers to entry for potential providers, including child care pods, multi-unit child care facilities, and employer-provided child care programs; and

(3) while Federal nutrition programs aid in providing nutritious foods to young children in child care settings, many recent innovative child care solutions have found those programs difficult to access.

The Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (7 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

“30. Child care innovation nutrition pilot program.—

(a) In general.— Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of the Child Care Innovation Advancement Act of 2026, the Secretary shall carry out a pilot program, to be known as the “child care innovation nutrition pilot program” (referred to in this section as the “pilot program”), under which an organized child care program operating in a site that is not a private home (including a commercial space, a community center, a house of worship, or a space provided by an employer) may receive reimbursement for the purchase of nutritious food for meals provided to children under the care of the organized child care program.

(b) Eligibility.— To be eligible to receive reimbursement under the pilot program, an organized child care program shall be—

(1) operating under the auspices of a sponsoring organization; and

(2) licensed or approved to operate by the State in which the organized child care program is located.

(c) Duration.— An organized child care program may receive reimbursement under the pilot program for not more than 3 years.

(d) Reimbursement.—

(1) In general.— An organized child care program participating in the pilot program shall be reimbursed under the pilot program at the same rate at which a family or group day care home is reimbursed under a similar Federal child care nutrition program.

(2) Sponsoring organizations.— A sponsoring organization of an organized child care program participating in the pilot program shall be reimbursed under the pilot program in the same manner that a sponsoring organization of a family or group day care home is reimbursed under a similar Federal child care nutrition program.

(e) Accountability.—

(1) In general.— Activities carried out under the pilot program shall be subject to strict accountability requirements—

(A) to ensure program integrity and protect taxpayer investments in child health; and

(B) that include, at a minimum, the monitoring, review, and program integrity requirements of similar Federal child care nutrition programs.

(2) Audit requirement.—

(A) Definition of unresolved audit finding.— In this paragraph, the term unresolved audit finding, with respect to an audit of the Inspector General of the Department of Agriculture of the pilot program, means a finding in a final audit report that an audited organized child care program has been reimbursed for an unauthorized expenditure or otherwise unallowable cost that is not closed or resolved by the date that is 1 year after the date on which the final audit report is issued.

(B) Audits.—

(i) In general.— Beginning with the first fiscal year beginning after the date of enactment of the Child Care Innovation Advancement Act of 2026, and in each fiscal year thereafter, the Inspector General of the Department of Agriculture shall conduct audits of organized child care programs under the pilot program to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse of funds by those organized child care programs.

(ii) Number of recipients audited.— The Inspector General of the Department of Agriculture shall determine the appropriate number of organized child care programs to be audited each year under clause (i).

(C) Mandatory exclusion.— An organized child care program that is found to have an unresolved audit finding shall not be eligible to receive funds under the pilot program during the first 2 fiscal years beginning after the end of the applicable 1-year period described in subparagraph (A).

(3) Annual certification.— During the first fiscal year described in paragraph (2)(B)(i), and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and the Committee on Agriculture and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives a certification—

(A) indicating whether—

(i) all audits conducted by the Inspector General of the Department of Agriculture under paragraph (2)(B) have been completed and reviewed by the appropriate Assistant Secretary; and

(ii) all organized child care programs required to be excluded under paragraph (2)(C) have been so excluded; and

(B) that includes a list of any organized child care programs excluded under paragraph (2)(C) from the preceding fiscal year.

(f) Preventing duplicative reimbursements.—

(1) In general.— Prior to awarding a reimbursement to an organized child care program under the pilot program, the Secretary shall compare that intended reimbursement with any other reimbursement awarded by the Secretary to the organized child care program under another program but for a similar purpose.

(2) Report.— If the Secretary awards to an organized child care program reimbursements under the pilot program and another program administered by the Secretary for a similar purpose, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate and the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives a report that includes—

(A) a list of all such reimbursements awarded, including the total dollar amount of those reimbursements; and

(B) the justification for awarding multiple reimbursements for a similar purpose to the same organized child care program.

(g) Evaluation and report to Congress.—

(1) In general.— Not later than 1 year after the termination date of the pilot program under subsection (h), the Secretary shall conduct, and submit to Congress the results of, an evaluation of the pilot program, which shall contain, at a minimum—

(A) the extent to which, as a result of the pilot program—

(i) additional low-income children were provided nutritious meals; and

(ii) additional children received child care;

(B) a description of procedures necessary to ensure program integrity;

(C) a discussion of the outreach methods that were most effective; and

(D) recommendations regarding permanent authority for family or group day cares to receive reimbursement for the purchase of nutritious foods for meals provided to children under their care.

(h) Termination of pilot program.— The pilot program shall terminate on the date that is 5 years after the date of establishment of the pilot program.

(i) Authorization of appropriations.— There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry out this section.”.