Rep. Nabeela Syed
Filed: 5/15/2024
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1 | AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 814 | ||||||
2 | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 814 by replacing | ||||||
3 | everything after the enacting clause with the following: | ||||||
4 | "Section 5. The Children and Family Services Act is | ||||||
5 | amended by changing Section 5.15 as follows: | ||||||
6 | (20 ILCS 505/5.15) | ||||||
7 | Sec. 5.15. Daycare; Department of Human Services. | ||||||
8 | (a) For the purpose of ensuring effective statewide | ||||||
9 | planning, development, and utilization of resources for the | ||||||
10 | day care of children, operated under various auspices, the | ||||||
11 | Department of Human Services , or any State agency that assumes | ||||||
12 | these responsibilities, is designated to coordinate all day | ||||||
13 | care activities for children of the State and shall develop or | ||||||
14 | continue, and shall update every year, a State comprehensive | ||||||
15 | day-care plan for submission to the Governor that identifies | ||||||
16 | high-priority areas and groups, relating them to available |
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1 | resources and identifying the most effective approaches to the | ||||||
2 | use of existing day care services. The State comprehensive | ||||||
3 | day-care plan shall be made available to the General Assembly | ||||||
4 | following the Governor's approval of the plan. | ||||||
5 | The plan shall include methods and procedures for the | ||||||
6 | development of additional day care resources for children to | ||||||
7 | meet the goal of reducing short-run and long-run dependency | ||||||
8 | and to provide necessary enrichment and stimulation to the | ||||||
9 | education of young children. Recommendations shall be made for | ||||||
10 | State policy on optimum use of private and public, local, | ||||||
11 | State and federal resources, including an estimate of the | ||||||
12 | resources needed for the licensing and regulation of day care | ||||||
13 | facilities. | ||||||
14 | A written report shall be submitted to the Governor and | ||||||
15 | the General Assembly annually on April 15. The report shall | ||||||
16 | include an evaluation of developments over the preceding | ||||||
17 | fiscal year, including cost-benefit analyses of various | ||||||
18 | arrangements. Beginning with the report in 1990 submitted by | ||||||
19 | the Department's predecessor agency and every 2 years | ||||||
20 | thereafter, the report shall also include the following: | ||||||
21 | (1) An assessment of the child care services, needs | ||||||
22 | and available resources throughout the State and an | ||||||
23 | assessment of the adequacy of existing child care | ||||||
24 | services, including, but not limited to, services assisted | ||||||
25 | under this Act and under any other program administered by | ||||||
26 | other State agencies. |
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1 | (2) A survey of day care facilities to determine the | ||||||
2 | number of qualified caregivers, as defined by rule, | ||||||
3 | attracted to vacant positions , or retained at the current | ||||||
4 | positions, and any problems encountered by facilities in | ||||||
5 | attracting and retaining capable caregivers. The report | ||||||
6 | shall include an assessment, based on the survey, of | ||||||
7 | improvements in employee benefits that may attract capable | ||||||
8 | caregivers. The survey process shall incorporate feedback | ||||||
9 | from groups and individuals with relevant expertise or | ||||||
10 | lived experience, including, but not limited to, educators | ||||||
11 | and child care providers, regarding the collection of data | ||||||
12 | in order to inform strategies and costs related to the | ||||||
13 | Child Care Development Fund and the General Revenue Fund, | ||||||
14 | for the purpose of promoting workforce recruitment and | ||||||
15 | retention. The survey shall, at a minimum, be updated | ||||||
16 | every 4 years based on feedback received. Initial survey | ||||||
17 | updates shall be made prior to the 2025 survey data | ||||||
18 | collection. | ||||||
19 | (3) The average wages and salaries and fringe benefit | ||||||
20 | packages paid to caregivers throughout the State, computed | ||||||
21 | on a regional basis, compared to similarly qualified | ||||||
22 | employees in other but related fields. | ||||||
23 | (4) The qualifications of new caregivers hired at | ||||||
24 | licensed day care facilities during the previous 2-year | ||||||
25 | period. | ||||||
26 | (5) Recommendations for increasing caregiver wages and |
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1 | salaries to ensure quality care for children. | ||||||
2 | (6) Evaluation of the fee structure and income | ||||||
3 | eligibility for child care subsidized by the State. | ||||||
4 | The requirement for reporting to the General Assembly | ||||||
5 | shall be satisfied by filing copies of the report as required | ||||||
6 | by Section 3.1 of the General Assembly Organization Act, and | ||||||
7 | filing such additional copies with the State Government Report | ||||||
8 | Distribution Center for the General Assembly as is required | ||||||
9 | under paragraph (t) of Section 7 of the State Library Act. | ||||||
10 | (b) The Department of Human Services shall establish | ||||||
11 | policies and procedures for developing and implementing | ||||||
12 | interagency agreements with other agencies of the State | ||||||
13 | providing child care services or reimbursement for such | ||||||
14 | services. The plans shall be annually reviewed and modified | ||||||
15 | for the purpose of addressing issues of applicability and | ||||||
16 | service system barriers. | ||||||
17 | (c) In cooperation with other State agencies, the | ||||||
18 | Department of Human Services shall develop and implement, or | ||||||
19 | shall continue, a resource and referral system for the State | ||||||
20 | of Illinois either within the Department or by contract with | ||||||
21 | local or regional agencies. Funding for implementation of this | ||||||
22 | system may be provided through Department appropriations or | ||||||
23 | other inter-agency funding arrangements. The resource and | ||||||
24 | referral system shall provide at least the following services: | ||||||
25 | (1) Assembling and maintaining a data base on the | ||||||
26 | supply of child care services. |
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1 | (2) Providing information and referrals for parents. | ||||||
2 | (3) Coordinating the development of new child care | ||||||
3 | resources. | ||||||
4 | (4) Providing technical assistance and training to | ||||||
5 | child care service providers. | ||||||
6 | (5) Recording and analyzing the demand for child care | ||||||
7 | services. | ||||||
8 | (d) The Department of Human Services shall conduct day | ||||||
9 | care planning activities with the following priorities: | ||||||
10 | (1) Development of voluntary day care resources | ||||||
11 | wherever possible, with the provision for grants-in-aid | ||||||
12 | only where demonstrated to be useful and necessary as | ||||||
13 | incentives or supports. By January 1, 2002, the Department | ||||||
14 | shall design a plan to create more child care slots as well | ||||||
15 | as goals and timetables to improve quality and | ||||||
16 | accessibility of child care. | ||||||
17 | (2) Emphasis on service to children of recipients of | ||||||
18 | public assistance when such service will allow training or | ||||||
19 | employment of the parent toward achieving the goal of | ||||||
20 | independence. | ||||||
21 | (3) (Blank). | ||||||
22 | (4) Care of children from families in stress and | ||||||
23 | crises whose members potentially may become, or are in | ||||||
24 | danger of becoming, non-productive and dependent. | ||||||
25 | (5) Expansion of family day care facilities wherever | ||||||
26 | possible. |
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1 | (6) Location of centers in economically depressed | ||||||
2 | neighborhoods, preferably in multi-service centers with | ||||||
3 | cooperation of other agencies. The Department shall | ||||||
4 | coordinate the provision of grants, but only to the extent | ||||||
5 | funds are specifically appropriated for this purpose, to | ||||||
6 | encourage the creation and expansion of child care centers | ||||||
7 | in high need communities to be issued by the State, | ||||||
8 | business, and local governments. | ||||||
9 | (7) Use of existing facilities free of charge or for | ||||||
10 | reasonable rental whenever possible in lieu of | ||||||
11 | construction. | ||||||
12 | (8) Development of strategies for assuring a more | ||||||
13 | complete range of day care options, including provision of | ||||||
14 | day care services in homes, in schools, or in centers, | ||||||
15 | which will enable a parent or parents to complete a course | ||||||
16 | of education or obtain or maintain employment and the | ||||||
17 | creation of more child care options for swing shift, | ||||||
18 | evening, and weekend workers and for working women with | ||||||
19 | sick children. The Department shall encourage companies to | ||||||
20 | provide child care in their own offices or in the building | ||||||
21 | in which the corporation is located so that employees of | ||||||
22 | all the building's tenants can benefit from the facility. | ||||||
23 | (9) Development of strategies for subsidizing students | ||||||
24 | pursuing degrees in the child care field. | ||||||
25 | (10) Continuation and expansion of service programs | ||||||
26 | that assist teen parents to continue and complete their |
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1 | education. | ||||||
2 | Emphasis shall be given to support services that will help | ||||||
3 | to ensure such parents' graduation from high school and to | ||||||
4 | services for participants in any programs of job training | ||||||
5 | conducted by the Department. | ||||||
6 | (e) The Department of Human Services shall actively | ||||||
7 | stimulate the development of public and private resources at | ||||||
8 | the local level. It shall also seek the fullest utilization of | ||||||
9 | federal funds directly or indirectly available to the | ||||||
10 | Department. | ||||||
11 | Where appropriate, existing non-governmental agencies or | ||||||
12 | associations shall be involved in planning by the Department. | ||||||
13 | (f) To better accommodate the child care needs of low | ||||||
14 | income working families, especially those who receive | ||||||
15 | Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or who are | ||||||
16 | transitioning from TANF to work, or who are at risk of | ||||||
17 | depending on TANF in the absence of child care, the Department | ||||||
18 | shall complete a study using outcome-based assessment | ||||||
19 | measurements to analyze the various types of child care needs, | ||||||
20 | including but not limited to: child care homes; child care | ||||||
21 | facilities; before and after school care; and evening and | ||||||
22 | weekend care. Based upon the findings of the study, the | ||||||
23 | Department shall develop a plan by April 15, 1998, that | ||||||
24 | identifies the various types of child care needs within | ||||||
25 | various geographic locations. The plan shall include, but not | ||||||
26 | be limited to, the special needs of parents and guardians in |
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1 | need of non-traditional child care services such as early | ||||||
2 | mornings, evenings, and weekends; the needs of very low income | ||||||
3 | families and children and how they might be better served; and | ||||||
4 | strategies to assist child care providers to meet the needs | ||||||
5 | and schedules of low income families. | ||||||
6 | (Source: P.A. 100-1148, eff. 12-10-18.) | ||||||
7 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1, | ||||||
8 | 2024.". |