Standardized reporting on Department of Defense child care readiness

(a) In general The Secretary of Defense shall standardize the collection and reporting of data related to child care capacity, workforce readiness, and waitlists across the Armed Forces and military installations. (b) Required data elements In carrying out subsection (a), the Secretary shall, at a minimum, require the collection and reporting of data with respect to the following: (1) Child care capacity and utilization, disaggregated by branch of the Armed Forces and military installation. (2) Child care workforce staffing levels, vacancies, turnover rates, and compensation ranges, disaggregated by branch of the Armed Forces and military installation. (3) Child care waitlists, disaggregated by— (A) children that are currently at home with a parent; (B) children that are currently being cared for by family members, friends, neighbors, or nannies; (C) children that are currently receiving care through— (i) a military child development center (as defined in section 1800 of title 10, United States Code) other than the center for which the children are on the waitlist; (ii) a military family child care program, including identification of whether the program is supported by subsidies provided by the Department of Defense under section 1796 of title 10, United States Code; or (iii) community-based child care, including identification of whether such care is supported by financial assistance provided by the Department through the Military Child Care in Your Neighborhood program under section 1798 of title 10, United States Code; (D) families requiring child care during nontraditional hours; and (E) children for whom sufficient information is not available to categorize care status, including as a result of incomplete or self-reported data. (4) Demand for child care by age cohort, with specific identification of the demand for child care for children under age 5. (5) Utilization and attrition data for fee assistance programs. (6) Geographic areas with persistent unmet child care needs. (c) Analysis of waitlist data The Secretary shall— (1) analyze data on child care waitlists collected under subsection (b), including— (A) the extent of duplicate entries across military installations or child care programs; and (B) the proportion of waitlist entries that— (i) reflect unmet need for child care; and (ii) reflect unmet preference for specific child care programs; and (2) take steps to resolve discrepancies in such data, including duplicate waitlist entries and inclusion of children on waitlists who are receiving care. (d) Regulations The Secretary may prescribe such regulations as are necessary to carry out this section. (e) Briefings required (1) Initial briefing Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall brief the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives on— (A) existing systems and reporting practices used to track data related to child care capacity, workforce readiness, and waitlists; (B) the quality, completeness, and limitations of data available as of the date of the briefing; (C) actions underway to standardize data collection and reporting across the Department of Defense; and (D) a plan, including timelines, to improve standardization of data collection and reporting. (2) Recurring briefings Not later than December 31, 2027, and annually thereafter for three years, the Secretary shall brief the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives on— (A) data collected under subsection (b); (B) trends in child care capacity, workforce readiness, and unmet demand, disaggregated by branch of the Armed Forces and geographic region; (C) actions taken to address identified gaps in child care availability, including actions taken by each branch of the Armed Forces and in each geographic region; and (D) any recommendations for legislative or administrative action to improve collection and reporting of data related to child care capacity, workforce readiness, and waitlists.