Required study by the Government Accountability Office

Not latter than 18 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Government Accountability Office carry out a study of each of States, and report the results of such study to the appropriate committees of the Congress, to identify— (1) the barriers children and parents face in meeting State standards under such Act due to State median income eligibility limits, (2) the extent of the wait list of applicants for child care services provided under the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9857 et seq.) and State-level reforms that have reduced such wait lists, (3) the rates of payments made under such Act to center-based child care providers, family child care providers, and other providers of child care services for compensation under such Act, and (4) the impact of inflation on child care availability and affordability under such Act, on expanding the number of families accessing such services, and improving payment rates for such services.