Public Act 094-0035
 
SB0328 Enrolled LRB094 06273 DRJ 36344 b

    AN ACT concerning child care.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
Helping Heroes Child Care Program Act.
 
    Section 5. Definitions. In this Act:
    "Department" means the Department of Human Services.
    "Deployed" means activated to serve in an active military
operation or emergency.
    "Program" means the Helping Heroes Child Care Program
established under this Act.
 
    Section 10. Program established.
    (a) The Helping Heroes Child Care Program is established
for the purpose of providing vouchers for child care to
Illinois families who have one or more parents deployed to Iraq
or Afghanistan by the armed services. The Department shall
administer the program. The Department shall implement the
program only if federal funding is made available for that
purpose. Any such federal moneys received by the State shall be
deposited into the Fund for Child Care for Deployed Military
Personnel, which is created as a special fund in the State
treasury. Moneys in the Fund shall be appropriated to the
Department for the purpose of administering this Act.
    (b) Any Illinois resident who (i) is serving in the active
military, reserves, or National Guard, (ii) has been deployed
to Iraq or Afghanistan by the armed services, and (iii) meets
the income eligibility criteria established by the Department
by rule is eligible for a child care voucher under the program.
A family that received child care assistance before the
parent's deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan is eligible only for
a voucher for the cost of any additional hours of child care
that are necessary by reason of that deployment. A family is
not eligible for a child care voucher under the program if the
family receives child care services from the United States
military.
 
    Section 15. Rules. The Department shall adopt rules to
implement this Act.
 
    Section 80. Repeal. This Act is repealed on July 1, 2010.
 
    Section 90. The State Finance Act is amended by adding
Section 5.640 as follows:
 
    (30 ILCS 105/5.640 new)
    Sec. 5.640. The Fund for Child Care for Deployed Military
Personnel.
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.