# § 9402. Definitions
In this chapter:
**(1)** **Caregiver** The term “caregiver” means an individual, including a relative, neighbor, or family friend, who regularly or frequently provides care, with or without compensation, for a child for whom the individual is not the parent.
**(2)** **Child care provider** The term “child care provider” means a provider of non-residential child care services (including center-based, family-based, and in-home child care services) for compensation who or that is legally operating under State law, and complies with applicable State and local requirements for the provision of child care services.
**(3)** **Early learning** The term “early learning”, used with respect to a program or activity, means learning designed to facilitate the development of cognitive, language, motor, and social-emotional skills for, and to promote learning readiness in, young children.
**(4)** **Early learning program** The term “early learning program” means—
**(A)** a program of services or activities that helps parents, caregivers, and child care providers incorporate early learning into the daily lives of young children; or
**(B)** a program that directly provides early learning to young children.
**(5)** **Indian tribe** section 5304 of title 25
The term “Indian tribe” has the meaning given the term in .
**(6)** **Local Council** section 9413(a) of this title
The term “Local Council” means a Local Council established or designated under that serves one or more localities.
**(7)** **Locality** The term “locality” means a city, county, borough, township, or area served by another general purpose unit of local government, an Indian tribe, a Regional Corporation, or a Native Hawaiian entity.
**(8)** **Parent** The term “parent” means a biological parent, an adoptive parent, a stepparent, a foster parent, or a legal guardian of, or a person standing in loco parentis to, a child.
**(9)** **Poverty line** section 9902(2) of title 42
The term “poverty line” means the poverty line (as defined by the Office of Management and Budget, and revised annually in accordance with ) applicable to a family of the size involved.
**(10)** **Regional Corporation** section 619(4)(B) of title 42
The term “Regional Corporation” means an entity listed in .
**(11)** **Secretary** The term “Secretary” means the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
**(12)** **State** The term “State” means each of the several States of the United States, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
**(13)** **Training** The term “training” means instruction in early learning that—
**(A)** is required for certification under State and local laws, regulations, and policies;
**(B)** is required to receive a nationally or State recognized credential or its equivalent;
**(C)** is received in a postsecondary education program focused on early learning or early childhood development in which the individual is enrolled; or
**(D)** is provided, certified, or sponsored by an organization that is recognized for its expertise in promoting early learning or early childhood development.
**(14)** **Young child** The term “young child” means any child from birth to the age of mandatory school attendance in the State where the child resides.
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**Source Credit**: (Pub. L. 106–554, § 1(a)(1) [title VIII, § 803], Dec. 21, 2000, 114 Stat. 2763, 2763A–81.)