Rep. Suzanne M. Ness
Filed: 3/7/2023
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1 | AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 2474
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2 | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 2474 by replacing | ||||||
3 | everything after the enacting clause with the following:
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4 | "Section 5. The Child Care Act of 1969 is amended by | ||||||
5 | changing Section 7 as follows:
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6 | (225 ILCS 10/7) (from Ch. 23, par. 2217)
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7 | Sec. 7. (a) The Department must prescribe and publish | ||||||
8 | minimum standards
for licensing that apply to the various | ||||||
9 | types of facilities for child care
defined in this Act and that | ||||||
10 | are equally applicable to like institutions
under the control | ||||||
11 | of the Department and to foster family homes used by and
under | ||||||
12 | the direct supervision of the Department. The Department shall | ||||||
13 | seek
the advice and assistance of persons representative of | ||||||
14 | the various types of
child care facilities in establishing | ||||||
15 | such standards. The standards
prescribed and published under | ||||||
16 | this Act take effect as provided in the
Illinois |
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1 | Administrative Procedure Act, and are restricted to
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2 | regulations pertaining to the following matters and to any | ||||||
3 | rules and regulations required or permitted by any other | ||||||
4 | Section of this Act:
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5 | (1) The operation and conduct of the facility and | ||||||
6 | responsibility it
assumes for child care;
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7 | (2) The character, suitability and qualifications of | ||||||
8 | the applicant and
other persons directly responsible for | ||||||
9 | the care and welfare of children
served. All child day | ||||||
10 | care center licensees and employees who are required
to
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11 | report child abuse or neglect under the Abused and | ||||||
12 | Neglected Child Reporting
Act shall be required to attend | ||||||
13 | training on recognizing child abuse and
neglect, as | ||||||
14 | prescribed by Department rules;
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15 | (3) The general financial ability and competence of | ||||||
16 | the applicant to
provide necessary care for children and | ||||||
17 | to maintain prescribed standards;
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18 | (4) The number of individuals or staff required to | ||||||
19 | insure adequate
supervision and care of the children | ||||||
20 | received. The standards shall provide
that each child care | ||||||
21 | institution, maternity center, day care center,
group | ||||||
22 | home, day care home, and group day care home shall have on | ||||||
23 | its
premises during its hours of operation at
least one | ||||||
24 | staff member certified in first aid, in the Heimlich | ||||||
25 | maneuver and
in cardiopulmonary resuscitation by the | ||||||
26 | American Red Cross or other
organization approved by rule |
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1 | of the Department. Child welfare agencies
shall not be | ||||||
2 | subject to such a staffing requirement. The Department may
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3 | offer, or arrange for the offering, on a periodic basis in | ||||||
4 | each community
in this State in cooperation with the | ||||||
5 | American Red Cross, the American
Heart Association or | ||||||
6 | other appropriate organization, voluntary programs to
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7 | train operators of foster family homes and day care homes | ||||||
8 | in first aid and
cardiopulmonary resuscitation;
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9 | (5) The appropriateness, safety, cleanliness, and | ||||||
10 | general adequacy of the
premises, including maintenance of | ||||||
11 | adequate fire prevention and health
standards conforming | ||||||
12 | to State laws and municipal codes to provide for the
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13 | physical comfort, care, and well-being of children | ||||||
14 | received;
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15 | (6) Provisions for food, clothing, educational | ||||||
16 | opportunities, program,
equipment and individual supplies | ||||||
17 | to assure the healthy physical, mental,
and spiritual | ||||||
18 | development of children served;
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19 | (7) Provisions to safeguard the legal rights of | ||||||
20 | children served;
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21 | (8) Maintenance of records pertaining to the | ||||||
22 | admission, progress, health,
and discharge of children, | ||||||
23 | including, for day care centers and day care
homes, | ||||||
24 | records indicating each child has been immunized as | ||||||
25 | required by State
regulations. The Department shall | ||||||
26 | require proof that children enrolled in
a facility have |
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1 | been immunized against Haemophilus Influenzae B (HIB);
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2 | (9) Filing of reports with the Department;
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3 | (10) Discipline of children;
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4 | (11) Protection and fostering of the particular
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5 | religious faith of the children served;
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6 | (12) Provisions prohibiting firearms on day care | ||||||
7 | center premises
except in the possession of peace | ||||||
8 | officers;
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9 | (13) Provisions prohibiting handguns on day care home | ||||||
10 | premises except in
the possession of peace officers or | ||||||
11 | other adults who must possess a handgun
as a condition of | ||||||
12 | employment and who reside on the premises of a day care | ||||||
13 | home;
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14 | (14) Provisions requiring that any firearm permitted | ||||||
15 | on day care home
premises, except handguns in the | ||||||
16 | possession of peace officers, shall be
kept in a | ||||||
17 | disassembled state, without ammunition, in locked storage,
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18 | inaccessible to children and that ammunition permitted on | ||||||
19 | day care home
premises shall be kept in locked storage | ||||||
20 | separate from that of disassembled
firearms, inaccessible | ||||||
21 | to children;
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22 | (15) Provisions requiring notification of parents or | ||||||
23 | guardians enrolling
children at a day care home of the | ||||||
24 | presence in the day care home of any
firearms and | ||||||
25 | ammunition and of the arrangements for the separate, | ||||||
26 | locked
storage of such firearms and ammunition;
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1 | (16) Provisions requiring all licensed child care | ||||||
2 | facility employees who care for newborns and infants to | ||||||
3 | complete training every 3 years on the nature of sudden | ||||||
4 | unexpected infant death (SUID), sudden infant death | ||||||
5 | syndrome (SIDS), and the safe sleep recommendations of the | ||||||
6 | American Academy of Pediatrics; and | ||||||
7 | (17) With respect to foster family homes, provisions | ||||||
8 | requiring the Department to review quality of care | ||||||
9 | concerns and to consider those concerns in determining | ||||||
10 | whether a foster family home is qualified to care for | ||||||
11 | children. | ||||||
12 | By July 1, 2022, all licensed day care home providers, | ||||||
13 | licensed group day care home providers, and licensed day care | ||||||
14 | center directors and classroom staff shall participate in at | ||||||
15 | least one training that includes the topics of early childhood | ||||||
16 | social emotional learning, infant and early childhood mental | ||||||
17 | health, early childhood trauma, or adverse childhood | ||||||
18 | experiences. Current licensed providers, directors, and | ||||||
19 | classroom staff shall complete training by July 1, 2022 and | ||||||
20 | shall participate in training that includes the above topics | ||||||
21 | at least once every 3 years. | ||||||
22 | (b) If, in a facility for general child care, there are | ||||||
23 | children
diagnosed as mentally ill or children diagnosed as | ||||||
24 | having an intellectual or physical disability, who
are | ||||||
25 | determined to be in need of special mental treatment or of | ||||||
26 | nursing
care, or both mental treatment and nursing care, the |
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1 | Department shall seek
the advice and recommendation of the | ||||||
2 | Department of Human Services,
the Department of Public Health, | ||||||
3 | or both
Departments regarding the residential treatment and | ||||||
4 | nursing care provided
by the institution.
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5 | (c) The Department shall investigate any person applying | ||||||
6 | to be
licensed as a foster parent to determine whether there is | ||||||
7 | any evidence of
current drug or alcohol abuse in the | ||||||
8 | prospective foster family. The
Department shall not license a | ||||||
9 | person as a foster parent if drug or alcohol
abuse has been | ||||||
10 | identified in the foster family or if a reasonable suspicion
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11 | of such abuse exists, except that the Department may grant a | ||||||
12 | foster parent
license to an applicant identified with an | ||||||
13 | alcohol or drug problem if the
applicant has successfully | ||||||
14 | participated in an alcohol or drug treatment
program, | ||||||
15 | self-help group, or other suitable activities and if the | ||||||
16 | Department determines that the foster family home can provide | ||||||
17 | a safe, appropriate environment and meet the physical and | ||||||
18 | emotional needs of children.
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19 | (d) The Department, in applying standards prescribed and | ||||||
20 | published, as
herein provided, shall offer consultation | ||||||
21 | through employed staff or other
qualified persons to assist | ||||||
22 | applicants and licensees in meeting and
maintaining minimum | ||||||
23 | requirements for a license and to help them otherwise
to | ||||||
24 | achieve programs of excellence related to the care of children | ||||||
25 | served.
Such consultation shall include providing information | ||||||
26 | concerning education
and training in early childhood |
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1 | development to providers of day care home
services. The | ||||||
2 | Department may provide or arrange for such education and
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3 | training for those providers who request such assistance.
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4 | (e) The Department shall distribute copies of licensing
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5 | standards to all licensees and applicants for a license. Each | ||||||
6 | licensee or
holder of a permit shall distribute copies of the | ||||||
7 | appropriate licensing
standards and any other information | ||||||
8 | required by the Department to child
care facilities under its | ||||||
9 | supervision. Each licensee or holder of a permit
shall | ||||||
10 | maintain appropriate documentation of the distribution of the
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11 | standards. Such documentation shall be part of the records of | ||||||
12 | the facility
and subject to inspection by authorized | ||||||
13 | representatives of the Department.
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14 | (f) The Department shall prepare summaries of day care | ||||||
15 | licensing
standards. Each licensee or holder of a permit for a | ||||||
16 | day care facility
shall distribute a copy of the appropriate | ||||||
17 | summary and any other
information required by the Department, | ||||||
18 | to the legal guardian of each child
cared for in that facility | ||||||
19 | at the time when the child is enrolled or
initially placed in | ||||||
20 | the facility. The licensee or holder of a permit for a
day care | ||||||
21 | facility shall secure appropriate documentation of the
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22 | distribution of the summary and brochure. Such documentation | ||||||
23 | shall be a
part of the records of the facility and subject to | ||||||
24 | inspection by an
authorized representative of the Department.
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25 | (g) The Department shall distribute to each licensee and
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26 | holder of a permit copies of the licensing or permit standards |
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1 | applicable
to such person's facility. Each licensee or holder | ||||||
2 | of a permit shall make
available by posting at all times in a | ||||||
3 | common or otherwise accessible area
a complete and current set | ||||||
4 | of licensing standards in order that all
employees of the | ||||||
5 | facility may have unrestricted access to such standards.
All | ||||||
6 | employees of the facility shall have reviewed the standards | ||||||
7 | and any
subsequent changes. Each licensee or holder of a | ||||||
8 | permit shall maintain
appropriate documentation of the current | ||||||
9 | review of licensing standards by
all employees. Such records | ||||||
10 | shall be part of the records of the facility
and subject to | ||||||
11 | inspection by authorized representatives of the Department.
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12 | (h) Any standards involving physical examinations, | ||||||
13 | immunization,
or medical treatment shall include appropriate | ||||||
14 | exemptions for children
whose parents object thereto on the | ||||||
15 | grounds that they conflict with the
tenets and practices of a | ||||||
16 | recognized church or religious organization, of
which the | ||||||
17 | parent is an adherent or member, and for children who should | ||||||
18 | not
be subjected to immunization for clinical reasons.
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19 | (i) The Department, in cooperation with the Department of | ||||||
20 | Public Health, shall work to increase immunization awareness | ||||||
21 | and participation among parents of children enrolled in day | ||||||
22 | care centers and day care homes by publishing on the | ||||||
23 | Department's website information about the benefits of | ||||||
24 | immunization against vaccine preventable diseases, including | ||||||
25 | influenza and pertussis. The information for vaccine | ||||||
26 | preventable diseases shall include the incidence and severity |
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1 | of the diseases, the availability of vaccines, and the | ||||||
2 | importance of immunizing children and persons who frequently | ||||||
3 | have close contact with children. The website content shall be | ||||||
4 | reviewed annually in collaboration with the Department of | ||||||
5 | Public Health to reflect the most current recommendations of | ||||||
6 | the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). The | ||||||
7 | Department shall work with day care centers and day care homes | ||||||
8 | licensed under this Act to ensure that the information is | ||||||
9 | annually distributed to parents in August or September. | ||||||
10 | (j) Any standard adopted by the Department that requires | ||||||
11 | an applicant for a license to operate a day care home to | ||||||
12 | include a copy of a high school diploma or equivalent | ||||||
13 | certificate with his or her application shall be deemed to be | ||||||
14 | satisfied if the applicant includes a copy of a high school | ||||||
15 | diploma or equivalent certificate or a copy of a degree from an | ||||||
16 | accredited institution of higher education or vocational | ||||||
17 | institution or equivalent certificate. | ||||||
18 | (k) As soon as practical after the effective date of this | ||||||
19 | amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly, the Department | ||||||
20 | shall amend its rules establishing licensing standards for | ||||||
21 | group day care homes to revise the maximum authorized extended | ||||||
22 | capacity of group day care homes. The revised maximum extended | ||||||
23 | capacity rules adopted by the Department in its amended rules | ||||||
24 | shall, at a minimum, allow one caregiver and 2 full-time | ||||||
25 | assistants for 2 additional children who are 30 months of age | ||||||
26 | and older, as well as 2 additional children who are attending |
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1 | school full-time, notwithstanding any other provision of this | ||||||
2 | Act. The revised rules shall also provide that the second | ||||||
3 | full-time assistant shall be present at all times when there | ||||||
4 | are more than 12 children in the home and shall prohibit the | ||||||
5 | total capacity of the group day care home from exceeding 16 | ||||||
6 | children. | ||||||
7 | (Source: P.A. 102-4, eff. 4-27-21.)
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8 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
9 | becoming law.".
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