Federal child care bill strips safety rules from unlicensed relative caregivers
S. 535 — Respect Parents’ Childcare Choices Act · Filed by Jim Banks (R-IN) · Introduced Feb 12, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill reauthorizes federal child care funding (the Child Care and Development Block Grant) at $14 billion annually through 2031 and restructures how states deliver child care assistance. The core change: it requires states to give parents direct cash vouchers (certificates) to choose any provider they want—including unlicensed relatives—rather than funding regulated child care centers directly. It also exempts in-home and relative caregivers from state licensing, training, and safety requirements that apply to other providers.
Why we flagged it
The bill's operative mechanism is twofold: it increases federal funding and mandates voucher-based choice, but simultaneously strips licensing and training requirements from relative caregivers. The deregulation of in-home and family care is the substantive policy shift, not merely a funding adjustment.
What the text implies
- Relative caregivers receiving vouchers will operate outside state licensing, background-check, and training regimes—creating a regulatory gap for children in family care settings that may not be apparent to parents.
- States lose leverage to enforce quality standards on voucher-funded care; the bill explicitly states states are not required to deliver services via grants/contracts, shifting accountability from state oversight to individual parental choice.
The full analysis lists 4 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
Relative caregivers (family members providing unlicensed care); In-home child care providers (unlicensed); Working families (via expanded voucher access and income-cliff protections)