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Public Act 097-0422
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| SB1236 Enrolled | LRB097 02927 KTG 43007 b |
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AN ACT concerning public aid.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The Illinois Public Aid Code is amended by |
changing Section 9A-11 as follows:
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(305 ILCS 5/9A-11) (from Ch. 23, par. 9A-11)
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Sec. 9A-11. Child Care.
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(a) The General Assembly recognizes that families with |
children need child
care in order to work. Child care is |
expensive and families with low incomes,
including those who |
are transitioning from welfare to work, often struggle to
pay |
the costs of day care. The
General Assembly understands the |
importance of helping low income working
families become and |
remain self-sufficient. The General Assembly also believes
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that it is the responsibility of families to share in the costs |
of child care.
It is also the preference of the General |
Assembly that all working poor
families should be treated |
equally, regardless of their welfare status.
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(b) To the extent resources permit, the Illinois Department |
shall provide
child care services to parents or other relatives |
as defined by rule who are
working or participating in |
employment or Department approved
education or training |
programs. At a minimum, the Illinois Department shall
cover the |
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following categories of families:
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(1) recipients of TANF under Article IV participating |
in work and training
activities as specified in the |
personal plan for employment and
self-sufficiency;
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(2) families transitioning from TANF to work;
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(3) families at risk of becoming recipients of TANF;
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(4) families with special needs as defined by rule; and
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(5) working families with very low incomes as defined |
by rule.
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The Department shall specify by rule the conditions of |
eligibility, the
application process, and the types, amounts, |
and duration of services.
Eligibility for
child care benefits |
and the amount of child care provided may vary based on
family |
size, income,
and other factors as specified by rule.
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In determining income eligibility for child care benefits, |
the Department
annually, at the beginning of each fiscal year, |
shall
establish, by rule, one income threshold for each family |
size, in relation to
percentage of State median income for a |
family of that size, that makes
families with incomes below the |
specified threshold eligible for assistance
and families with |
incomes above the specified threshold ineligible for
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assistance. Through and including fiscal year 2007, the |
specified threshold must be no less than 50% of the
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then-current State median income for each family size. |
Beginning in fiscal year 2008, the specified threshold must be |
no less than 185% of the then-current federal poverty level for |
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each family size.
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In determining eligibility for
assistance, the Department |
shall not give preference to any category of
recipients
or give |
preference to individuals based on their receipt of benefits |
under this
Code.
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The Department shall allocate $7,500,000 annually for a |
test program for
families who are income-eligible for child |
care assistance, who
are not recipients of TANF under Article |
IV, and who need child care assistance
to participate in |
education and training activities. The
Department shall |
specify by rule the conditions of eligibility for this test
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program.
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Nothing in this Section shall be
construed as conferring |
entitlement status to eligible families.
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The Illinois
Department is authorized to lower income |
eligibility ceilings, raise parent
co-payments, create waiting |
lists, or take such other actions during a fiscal
year as are |
necessary to ensure that child care benefits paid under this
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Article do not exceed the amounts appropriated for those child |
care benefits.
These changes may be accomplished by emergency |
rule under Section 5-45 of the
Illinois Administrative |
Procedure Act, except that the limitation on the number
of |
emergency rules that may be adopted in a 24-month period shall |
not apply.
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The Illinois Department may contract with other State |
agencies or child care
organizations for the administration of |
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child care services.
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(c) Payment shall be made for child care that otherwise |
meets the
requirements of this Section and applicable standards |
of State and local
law and regulation, including any |
requirements the Illinois Department
promulgates by rule in |
addition to the licensure
requirements
promulgated by the |
Department of Children and Family Services and Fire
Prevention |
and Safety requirements promulgated by the Office of the State
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Fire Marshal and is provided in any of the following:
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(1) a child care center which is licensed or exempt |
from licensure
pursuant to Section 2.09 of the Child Care |
Act of 1969;
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(2) a licensed child care home or home exempt from |
licensing;
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(3) a licensed group child care home;
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(4) other types of child care, including child care |
provided
by relatives or persons living in the same home as |
the child, as determined by
the Illinois Department by |
rule.
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(c-5)
Solely for the purposes of coverage under the |
Illinois Public Labor Relations Act, child and day care home |
providers, including licensed and license exempt, |
participating in the Department's child care assistance |
program shall be considered to be public employees and the |
State of Illinois shall be considered to be their employer as |
of the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 94th |
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General Assembly, but not before. The State shall engage in |
collective bargaining with an exclusive representative of |
child and day care home providers participating in the child |
care assistance program concerning their terms and conditions |
of employment that are within the State's control. Nothing in |
this subsection shall be understood to limit the right of |
families receiving services defined in this Section to select |
child and day care home providers or supervise them within the |
limits of this Section. The State shall not be considered to be |
the employer of child and day care home providers for any |
purposes not specifically provided in this amendatory Act of |
the 94th General Assembly, including but not limited to, |
purposes of vicarious liability in tort and purposes of |
statutory retirement or health insurance benefits. Child and |
day care home providers shall not be covered by the State |
Employees Group Insurance Act of 1971. |
In according child and day care home providers and their |
selected representative rights under the Illinois Public Labor |
Relations Act, the State intends that the State action |
exemption to application of federal and State antitrust laws be |
fully available to the extent that their activities are |
authorized by this amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly.
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(d) The Illinois Department shall establish, by rule, a |
co-payment scale that provides for cost sharing by families |
that receive require co-payments for
child care services by any |
parent, including parents whose only income is from
assistance |
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under this Code. The co-payment shall be assessed based on a
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sliding scale based on family income and , family size, and may |
be based on other factors as appropriate the number of
children |
in care. Co-payments may be waived for families whose incomes |
are at or below the federal poverty level shall not be |
increased due solely to a change
in the methodology for |
counting family income.
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(d-5) The Illinois Department, in consultation with its |
Child Care and Development Advisory Council, shall develop a |
plan to revise the child care assistance program's co-payment |
scale. The plan shall be completed no later than February 1, |
2008, and shall include: |
(1) findings as to the percentage of income that the |
average American family spends on child care and the |
relative amounts that low-income families and the average |
American family spend on other necessities of life;
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(2) recommendations for revising the child care |
co-payment scale to assure that families receiving child |
care services from the Department are paying no more than |
they can reasonably afford; |
(3) recommendations for revising the child care |
co-payment scale to provide at-risk children with complete |
access to Preschool for All and Head Start; and |
(4) recommendations for changes in child care program |
policies that affect the affordability of child care.
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(e) (Blank).
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(f) The Illinois Department shall, by rule, set rates to be |
paid for the
various types of child care. Child care may be |
provided through one of the
following methods:
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(1) arranging the child care through eligible |
providers by use of
purchase of service contracts or |
vouchers;
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(2) arranging with other agencies and community |
volunteer groups for
non-reimbursed child care;
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(3) (blank); or
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(4) adopting such other arrangements as the Department |
determines
appropriate.
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(f-5) (Blank). |
(g) Families eligible for assistance under this Section |
shall be given the
following options:
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(1) receiving a child care certificate issued by the |
Department or a
subcontractor of the Department that may be |
used by the parents as payment for
child care and |
development services only; or
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(2) if space is available, enrolling the child with a |
child care provider
that has a purchase of service contract |
with the Department or a subcontractor
of the Department |
for the provision of child care and development services.
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The Department may identify particular priority |
populations for whom they may
request special |
consideration by a provider with purchase of service
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contracts, provided that the providers shall be permitted |