Respect Parents’ Childcare Choices Act

Increased Flexibility via Certificates: The bill mandates that all direct services be provided via child care certificates, giving parents the option to receive these certificates for child care services (Section 2(b)(1)(A)).

Support for Relative Caregivers: The bill requires states to notify parents that certificates can be used as a payment to relative caregivers, including grandparents, great grandparents, adult siblings, aunts, or uncles (Section 2(b)(1)(G)).

Fairer Payment Rates for Relatives: States must certify that the payment rate to relative caregivers is at least 75 percent of the rate for family child care providers in the same location and age group (Section 2(b)(1)(3)(C)).

Protection Against Sudden Loss of Assistance: For unmarried parents, the bill prevents the termination of assistance based on marriage that causes income to rise above the state median for at least 6 months after the marriage (Section 2(b)(1)(F)(iii)(II)).

Protection for Religious Organizations: The bill ensures religious organizations can retain their independence, religious character, and the right to select employees based on religious tenets when receiving funds (Section 2(h)(1)(A)).

Reduction of Burdensome Regulations: States are required to review and identify regulations that are unnecessary or create burdens that limit the number of relative caregivers (Section 2(b)(1)(G)(X)).

Repeal of Tax Credits: The bill explicitly repeals the credit for expenses for household and dependent care services found in the Internal Revenue Code (Section 3(a)).

Requirements for Marriage and Filing: The bill includes provisions regarding how marital status and joint returns are treated for certain tax purposes (Section 3(b)(1)).