There are 16,000 children in Pennsylvania who are eligible for government-subsidized child care, but most have to wait a year, or even longer, before they ever see that assistance.

A bill introduced yesterday by Sen. Bob Casey would shrink that waiting list dramatically, not just in the Keystone State but nationwide. In a news conference, Mr. Casey unveiled two pieces of legislation that he said would address the long waiting times -- 13.5 million children nationally are eligible for federal assistance -- and improve child care facilities as well.

The Starting Early Right Act would double the existing $2 billion currently available for subsidized care to more than $4 billion.

Funding for child care assistance has "pretty much flatlined at least since 2002," Mr. Casey said.

The second bill, the Child Care Facilities Financing Act of 2009, would provide grants for improvement and construction of child care facilities.

"One of the impediments for working parents for their own peace of mind between the world of work and the world of raising a family, one of the impediments they have is child care," Mr. Casey said -- whether it's affordability, access or quality.

"We have to make sure we're meeting the needs of underserved children -- for example, English language learners, children with developmental disabilities and other special needs and obviously children who live in poor communities and children who are in rural areas who have a problem and a challenge with child care as well," he added.

Child care advocates praised Mr. Casey's initiatives.

"Sen. Casey understands how the subsidized system works and his bill would absolutely complement and enhance what Pennsylvania is doing," said Martha Isler, director of public policy for the School Readiness Initiative, an early childhood program serving southwestern Pennsylvania.

Child Care Works, which provides child care subsidies to low-income working parents, has seen its waiting lists nearly double -- from 8,300 to more than 15,000 -- in less than a year, the largest in history, she noted.

The second "bricks-and-mortar" bill "has been needed for so long," Ms. Isler added. "Child care facilities have nowhere to go for capital investments, and when their margins are so slim, how would they ever pay back a loan at the going rate? Many times they don't own their own facilities because they can't afford to pay a mortgage."

Mr. Casey's proposals would also require states receiving the money to demonstrate they're taking steps to improve quality, along the lines of Pennsylvania's STARS program, which rates child care based on quality and helps facilities achieve higher quality levels.