Section 618 · Funding for child care

(a) General child care entitlement (1) General entitlement Subject to the amount appropriated under paragraph (3), each State shall, for the purpose of providing child care assistance, be entitled to payments under a grant under this subsection for a fiscal year in an amount equal to the greater of— (A) the total amount required to be paid to the State under section 603 of this title for fiscal year 1994 or 1995 (whichever is greater) with respect to expenditures for child care under subsections (g) and (i) of section 602 of this title (as in effect before October 1, 1995); or (B) the average of the total amounts required to be paid to the State for fiscal years 1992 through 1994 under the subsections referred to in subparagraph (A). (2) Remainder (A) Grants The Secretary shall use any amounts appropriated for a fiscal year under paragraph (3)(A), after grants are awarded under paragraph (1), to make grants to States under this paragraph. (B) Allotments to States The total amount available for payments to States under this paragraph, as determined under subparagraph (A), shall be allotted among the States based on the formula used for determining the amount of Federal payments to each State under section 603(n) of this title (as in effect before October 1, 1995). (C) Federal matching of State expenditures exceeding historical expenditures The Secretary shall pay to each eligible State for a fiscal year an amount equal to the lesser of the State’s allotment under subparagraph (B) or the Federal medical assistance percentage for the State for the fiscal year (as defined in section 1396d(b) of this title , as such section was in effect on September 30, 1995) of so much of the State’s expenditures for child care in that fiscal year as exceed the total amount of expenditures by the State (including expenditures from amounts made available from Federal funds) in fiscal year 1994 or 1995 (whichever is greater) for the programs described in paragraph (1)(A). (D) Redistribution (i) In general With respect to any fiscal year, if the Secretary determines (in accordance with clause (ii)) that any amounts allotted to a State under this paragraph for such fiscal year will not be used by such State during such fiscal year for carrying out the purpose for which such amounts are allotted, the Secretary shall make such amounts available in the subsequent fiscal year for carrying out such purpose to one or more States which apply for such funds to the extent the Secretary determines that such States will be able to use such additional amounts for carrying out such purpose. Such available amounts shall be redistributed to a State pursuant to section 603(n) of this title (as such section was in effect before October 1, 1995) by substituting “the number of children residing in all States applying for such funds” for “the number of children residing in the United States in the second preceding fiscal year”. (ii) Time of determination and distribution The determination of the Secretary under clause (i) for a fiscal year shall be made not later than the end of the first quarter of the subsequent fiscal year. The redistribution of amounts under clause (i) shall be made as close as practicable to the date on which such determination is made. Any amount made available to a State from an appropriation for a fiscal year in accordance with this subparagraph shall, for purposes of this part, be regarded as part of such State’s payment (as determined under this subsection) for the fiscal year in which the redistribution is made. (3) Appropriation For grants under this section, there are appropriated $3,550,000,000 for each fiscal year, of which— (A) $3,375,000,000 shall be available for grants to States; (B) $100,000,000 shall be available for grants to Indian tribes and tribal organizations; and (C) $75,000,000 shall be available for grants to territories. (4) Territories (A) Grants The Secretary shall use the amounts made available by paragraph (3)(C) to make grants to the territories under this paragraph. (B) Allotments The amount described in subparagraph (A) shall be allotted among the territories in proportion to their respective needs. (C) Redistribution The 1st sentence of clause (i) and clause (ii) of paragraph (2)(D) shall apply with respect to the amounts allotted to the territories under this paragraph, except that the 2nd sentence of paragraph (2)(D) shall not apply and the amounts allotted to the territories that are available for redistribution for a fiscal year shall be redistributed to each territory that applies for the additional amounts, to the extent that the Secretary determines that the territory will be able to use the additional amounts to provide child care assistance, in an amount that bears the same ratio to the amount so available for redistribution as the amount allotted to the territory for the fiscal year bears to the total amount allotted to all the territories receiving redistributed funds under this paragraph for the fiscal year. (D) Inapplicability of payment limitation Section 1308(a) of this title shall not apply with respect to any amount paid under this paragraph. (E) Territory In this paragraph, the term “territory” means the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. (5) Data used to determine State and Federal shares of expenditures In making the determinations concerning expenditures required under paragraphs (1) and (2)(C), the Secretary shall use information that was reported by the State on ACF Form 231 and available as of the applicable dates specified in clauses (i)(I), (ii), and (iii)(III) of section 603(a)(1)(D) 1 of this title.