Public Act 103-1054
 
HB0814 EnrolledLRB103 04407 KTG 49413 b

    AN ACT concerning State government.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Children and Family Services Act is amended 
by changing Section 5.15 as follows:
 
    (20 ILCS 505/5.15)
    Sec. 5.15. Daycare; Department of Human Services. 
    (a) For the purpose of ensuring effective statewide 
planning, development, and utilization of resources for the 
day care of children, operated under various auspices, the 
Department of Human Services, or any State agency that assumes 
these responsibilities, is designated to coordinate all day 
care activities for children of the State and shall develop or 
continue, and shall update every year, a State comprehensive 
day-care plan for submission to the Governor that identifies 
high-priority areas and groups, relating them to available 
resources and identifying the most effective approaches to the 
use of existing day care services. The State comprehensive 
day-care plan shall be made available to the General Assembly 
following the Governor's approval of the plan.
    The plan shall include methods and procedures for the 
development of additional day care resources for children to 
meet the goal of reducing short-run and long-run dependency 
and to provide necessary enrichment and stimulation to the 
education of young children. Recommendations shall be made for 
State policy on optimum use of private and public, local, 
State and federal resources, including an estimate of the 
resources needed for the licensing and regulation of day care 
facilities.
    A written report shall be submitted to the Governor and 
the General Assembly annually on April 15. The report shall 
include an evaluation of developments over the preceding 
fiscal year, including cost-benefit analyses of various 
arrangements. Beginning with the report in 1990 submitted by 
the Department's predecessor agency and every 2 years 
thereafter, the report shall also include the following:
        (1) An assessment of the child care services, needs 
    and available resources throughout the State and an 
    assessment of the adequacy of existing child care 
    services, including, but not limited to, services assisted 
    under this Act and under any other program administered by 
    other State agencies.
        (2) A survey of day care facilities to determine the 
    number of qualified caregivers, as defined by rule, 
    attracted to vacant positions, or retained at the current 
    positions, and any problems encountered by facilities in 
    attracting and retaining capable caregivers. The report 
    shall include an assessment, based on the survey, of 
    improvements in employee benefits that may attract capable 
    caregivers. The survey process shall incorporate feedback 
    from groups and individuals with relevant expertise or 
    lived experience, including, but not limited to, educators 
    and child care providers, regarding the collection of data 
    in order to inform strategies and costs related to the 
    Child Care Development Fund and the General Revenue Fund, 
    for the purpose of promoting workforce recruitment and 
    retention. The survey shall, at a minimum, be updated 
    every 4 years based on feedback received. Initial survey 
    updates shall be made prior to the 2025 survey data 
    collection. 
        (3) The average wages and salaries and fringe benefit 
    packages paid to caregivers throughout the State, computed 
    on a regional basis, compared to similarly qualified 
    employees in other but related fields.
        (4) The qualifications of new caregivers hired at 
    licensed day care facilities during the previous 2-year 
    period.
        (5) Recommendations for increasing caregiver wages and 
    salaries to ensure quality care for children.
        (6) Evaluation of the fee structure and income 
    eligibility for child care subsidized by the State.
    The requirement for reporting to the General Assembly 
shall be satisfied by filing copies of the report as required 
by Section 3.1 of the General Assembly Organization Act, and 
filing such additional copies with the State Government Report 
Distribution Center for the General Assembly as is required 
under paragraph (t) of Section 7 of the State Library Act.
    (b) The Department of Human Services shall establish 
policies and procedures for developing and implementing 
interagency agreements with other agencies of the State 
providing child care services or reimbursement for such 
services. The plans shall be annually reviewed and modified 
for the purpose of addressing issues of applicability and 
service system barriers.
    (c) In cooperation with other State agencies, the 
Department of Human Services shall develop and implement, or 
shall continue, a resource and referral system for the State 
of Illinois either within the Department or by contract with 
local or regional agencies. Funding for implementation of this 
system may be provided through Department appropriations or 
other inter-agency funding arrangements. The resource and 
referral system shall provide at least the following services:
        (1) Assembling and maintaining a data base on the 
    supply of child care services.
        (2) Providing information and referrals for parents.
        (3) Coordinating the development of new child care 
    resources.
        (4) Providing technical assistance and training to 
    child care service providers.
        (5) Recording and analyzing the demand for child care 
    services.
    (d) The Department of Human Services shall conduct day 
care planning activities with the following priorities:
        (1) Development of voluntary day care resources 
    wherever possible, with the provision for grants-in-aid 
    only where demonstrated to be useful and necessary as 
    incentives or supports. By January 1, 2002, the Department 
    shall design a plan to create more child care slots as well 
    as goals and timetables to improve quality and 
    accessibility of child care.
        (2) Emphasis on service to children of recipients of 
    public assistance when such service will allow training or 
    employment of the parent toward achieving the goal of 
    independence.
        (3) (Blank).
        (4) Care of children from families in stress and 
    crises whose members potentially may become, or are in 
    danger of becoming, non-productive and dependent.
        (5) Expansion of family day care facilities wherever 
    possible.
        (6) Location of centers in economically depressed 
    neighborhoods, preferably in multi-service centers with 
    cooperation of other agencies. The Department shall 
    coordinate the provision of grants, but only to the extent 
    funds are specifically appropriated for this purpose, to 
    encourage the creation and expansion of child care centers 
    in high need communities to be issued by the State, 
    business, and local governments.
        (7) Use of existing facilities free of charge or for 
    reasonable rental whenever possible in lieu of 
    construction.
        (8) Development of strategies for assuring a more 
    complete range of day care options, including provision of 
    day care services in homes, in schools, or in centers, 
    which will enable a parent or parents to complete a course 
    of education or obtain or maintain employment and the 
    creation of more child care options for swing shift, 
    evening, and weekend workers and for working women with 
    sick children. The Department shall encourage companies to 
    provide child care in their own offices or in the building 
    in which the corporation is located so that employees of 
    all the building's tenants can benefit from the facility.
        (9) Development of strategies for subsidizing students 
    pursuing degrees in the child care field.
        (10) Continuation and expansion of service programs 
    that assist teen parents to continue and complete their 
    education.
    Emphasis shall be given to support services that will help 
to ensure such parents' graduation from high school and to 
services for participants in any programs of job training 
conducted by the Department.
    (e) The Department of Human Services shall actively 
stimulate the development of public and private resources at 
the local level. It shall also seek the fullest utilization of 
federal funds directly or indirectly available to the 
Department.
    Where appropriate, existing non-governmental agencies or 
associations shall be involved in planning by the Department.
    (f) To better accommodate the child care needs of low 
income working families, especially those who receive 
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or who are 
transitioning from TANF to work, or who are at risk of 
depending on TANF in the absence of child care, the Department 
shall complete a study using outcome-based assessment 
measurements to analyze the various types of child care needs, 
including but not limited to: child care homes; child care 
facilities; before and after school care; and evening and 
weekend care. Based upon the findings of the study, the 
Department shall develop a plan by April 15, 1998, that 
identifies the various types of child care needs within 
various geographic locations. The plan shall include, but not 
be limited to, the special needs of parents and guardians in 
need of non-traditional child care services such as early 
mornings, evenings, and weekends; the needs of very low income 
families and children and how they might be better served; and 
strategies to assist child care providers to meet the needs 
and schedules of low income families.
(Source: P.A. 100-1148, eff. 12-10-18.)
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1, 
2024.