To require that States that receive a grant under the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990, will not prohibit licensed child care providers from performing simple food preparation of fruits and vegetables.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMs. Perez (for herself, Ms. Foxx, Mrs. Kim, and Mr. …
Summary
What This Bill Does
The "Cutting Red Tape on Child Care Providers Act" prohibits states from creating barriers to simple food preparation in child care facilities. It specifically prevents states that receive federal Child Care and Development Block Grant funds from restricting child care providers—whether licensed or license-exempt—from performing basic preparation of fresh fruits and vegetables like washing, peeling, cutting, and serving raw produce.
Who Benefits and How
Home-based and family-based child care providers benefit most directly by facing reduced regulatory burdens around food preparation. Currently, many states have regulations that make it easier to serve pre-packaged processed snacks than to prepare fresh produce, which this bill would eliminate. Low-income families, rural families, and families with non-traditional work schedules also benefit by gaining access to more home-based child care options, as the bill addresses a key regulatory burden that has contributed to the decline of these providers. Children in child care benefit from improved access to fresh, minimally processed fruits and vegetables. Fresh produce suppliers to child care facilities may see increased revenue opportunities as providers can more easily serve whole fruits and vegetables.
Who Bears the Burden and How
State child care regulators face new compliance requirements and reduced discretion in setting food safety standards for child care facilities. States with strict food preparation regulations must modify their rules to comply with this federal mandate. Packaged and processed food suppliers to child care facilities may face reduced revenue as providers shift from pre-packaged snacks to fresh produce. The Environmental Protection Agency and other federal agencies are not directly affected by this legislation, which is narrowly focused on child care food preparation regulations.
Key Provisions
- Amends the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act to prohibit states from creating barriers to "simple food preparation" in child care facilities
- Defines "simple food preparation" as washing, peeling, cutting, and serving raw or minimally processed fruits and vegetables
- Applies to both licensed and license-exempt child care facilities
- Conditions federal child care funding on state compliance with this prohibition
- Explicitly aims to reverse the trend where regulations make it harder to serve fresh produce than ultra-processed snacks
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
Prohibits states from creating barriers to simple preparation of fresh fruits and vegetables in licensed child care facilities.
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Reduce regulatory burden on home-based and family-based child care providers to improve access to fresh produce"
Likely Beneficiaries
- Home-based child care providers
- Family-based child care providers
- Low-income families
- Rural families
- Families with non-traditional work schedules
- Children in child care
Likely Burden Bearers
- State child care regulators (reduced discretion)
- States with strict food safety regulations
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_state"
- → State receiving Child Care and Development Block Grant funds
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
The basic preparation of fruits and vegetables, including washing, peeling, cutting, and serving raw or minimally processed produce.
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology