# 119-hr-2845: PROSPECT Act

119-hr-2845, PROSPECT Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Hayes, Jahana [D-CT-5] (D-CT); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-04-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2845
- As of: 2026-04-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-2845
- Congress: 119
- Title: PROSPECT Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-04-10
- Sponsor: Rep. Hayes, Jahana [D-CT-5] (D-CT)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Policy area: Families
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-04-21

## Summary

**Would expand access to free, high-quality infant and toddler care for student parents and build a stronger, more diverse early-childhood workforce.** The bill targets community colleges and minority-serving institutions to fund on-campus and community care, training, and career pathways for infant/toddler providers.

## Cosponsors (1)

- Rep. Norcross, Donald [D-NJ-1] (D-NJ), 2025-04-10T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Big grants to expand campus child care: benefit, high. This bill would create a national grant program to grow infant and toddler care for student parents at community colleges and minority‑serving schools. It would authorize $9 billion for 2026–2030. The Education Department would run yearly competitions with grants up to $20 million per college and u…
- Free infant care for student parents: benefit, high. Access Grants would let colleges provide free infant and toddler care for student parents, on or off campus. Centers would need to be licensed, meet quality standards, reserve some drop‑in slots, and give first priority to low‑income student parents. At least 85% of student parents served would nee…
- Broader child care help and higher state match: benefit, high. This bill would broaden who can get child care help through the federal child care program. Parents in high school or college would clearly qualify while they study, and states could not set child eligibility rules that are stricter than the federal standard. It would also raise the federal share o…
- Higher pay standards for campus child care: benefit, medium. Grant applicants would have to promise that on‑campus child care staff are paid at least a living wage and wages comparable to elementary teachers with similar credentials in the state. This would apply during the grant period and could raise pay at funded centers.
- Training more infant and toddler teachers: benefit, medium. Pipeline Grants would fund colleges to create or grow early childhood educator programs. Grants could pay for infant/toddler courses, lab‑school upgrades, apprenticeships, and small student grants for tuition, books, transportation, and licensing fees. They would also support practicum placements a…
- Grants to help providers add baby slots: benefit, medium. Impact Grants would help child care providers open or expand infant and toddler slots, especially in low‑access areas. Funds could support business training, staffed provider networks, and small startup grants for licensed centers and home‑based providers. If used, no more than 30% of a grant could…
- Colleges to explain dependent care allowance: benefit, low. Colleges would add clear info about the dependent care allowance to financial aid materials. Student parents would learn how to include child care costs in their cost of attendance, how it could change institutional aid, and how to apply.

## Related bills

- 119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025
- 119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act
- 119-hr-7481: Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2026
- 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act
- 119-hr-5658: Child Care for Every Community Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-2845 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/2845)

## Related
- [119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9877)
- [119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3151)
- [119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7977)
- [119-hr-7481: Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7481)
- [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973)
- [119-hr-5658: Child Care for Every Community Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5658)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2845 (as of 2026-04-21).