S. 5364 — Rural Mothers and Fathers Choice Act

This section states findings on educational, health, and economic disparities affecting rural communities, including lower college enrollment rates (55 percent versus 64 percent suburban), higher chronic absenteeism growth (47 percent), and reduced preventive care access (59.6 percent versus 66.7 percent urban). It establishes the purpose of the Act as creating a 10-year place-based program to strengthen rural and tribal families through evidence-based literacy, family choice supports, and state-controlled service networks.

This section defines terms for the Act, including a hub and spoke site as central permanent facilities coordinating ongoing family services with affiliated mobile or partner locations; an eligible entity as a rural-headquartered nonprofit with at least 10 years of measurable outcomes in specified activities or a Tribal government, along with continuous partners such as K-12 schools, early childcare providers, health providers, economic development agencies, or local governments; a family support hub as a site delivering family-based services; a rural area as a micropolitan area of 10,000 to 49,999 residents, a county under 50,000 people, or tribal or frontier lands; and the Secretary as the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

This section authorizes the Secretary to award planning and implementation grants to eligible entities for place-based strategies improving child and family outcomes. It reserves 10 percent of appropriated funds for specified eligible entities, 5 to 7 percent for administration, evaluation, and technical assistance (with at least 30 percent of that amount awarded to a single national technical assistance provider meeting listed criteria), allocates 10 percent to planning grants and 90 percent to implementation grants, limits planning grants to no more than 3 awards of up to $500,000 each for 12 months, and limits implementation grants to no more than 6 awards of $6,000,000 per year for 10 years requiring activities across at least 4 of 6 specified categories through hub and spoke sites. It permits waivers of the category requirement for extremely high-need or tribal areas.

This section requires each eligible entity receiving a grant under the Act to establish a Family Advisory Council of at least 7 members, at least 40 percent of whom must be parents or caregivers residing in the area served by the grant. The council must vote on recommendations regarding the entity's budget and plans for grant-funded activities.

This section requires eligible entities to submit grant applications to the Secretary within 45 days after publication of a Notice of Funding Availability, which the Secretary must issue no later than 120 days after enactment. It directs the Secretary to award grants within 120 days after the application period closes, to apply weighted selection criteria including need (20 percent), prior experience (25 percent), and integrated service plan (15 percent), and to prioritize entities located in counties with fewer than 50,000 residents or serving distressed communities.

This section establishes a 10-year period for implementation grants under this Act, contingent on successful performance reviews after year 3 and year 6. It requires each eligible entity to submit reports to the Secretary at least twice per year containing data on household income, employment, food security, developmental screening, kindergarten readiness, childcare availability, school absenteeism, literacy and math proficiency, high school graduation, substance use, recovery engagement, emergency department visits, and maternal health indicators for populations served.

This section establishes tiered matching requirements for eligible entities receiving implementation grants, with no match required in years 1 through 3, 10 percent required in years 4 through 6, and 20 percent required in years 7 through 10. It allows matching through cash or in-kind contributions, requires federal funds to supplement rather than supplant other Federal, State, and local sources, and permits coordination of grant funds with programs administered by the Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, Agriculture, Justice, and Labor.