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1 | AN ACT concerning public aid.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 5. The Illinois Public Aid Code is amended by | ||||||
5 | changing Section 9A-11 as follows:
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6 | (305 ILCS 5/9A-11) (from Ch. 23, par. 9A-11)
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7 | Sec. 9A-11. Child Care.
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8 | (a) The General Assembly recognizes that families with | ||||||
9 | children need child
care in order to work. Child care is | ||||||
10 | expensive and families with low incomes,
including those who | ||||||
11 | are transitioning from welfare to work, often struggle to
pay | ||||||
12 | the costs of day care. The
General Assembly understands the | ||||||
13 | importance of helping low income working
families become and | ||||||
14 | remain self-sufficient. The General Assembly also believes
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15 | that it is the responsibility of families to share in the costs | ||||||
16 | of child care.
It is also the preference of the General | ||||||
17 | Assembly that all working poor
families should be treated | ||||||
18 | equally, regardless of their welfare status.
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19 | (b) To the extent resources permit, the Illinois Department | ||||||
20 | shall provide
child care services to parents or other relatives | ||||||
21 | as defined by rule who are
working or participating in | ||||||
22 | employment or Department approved
education or training | ||||||
23 | programs. At a minimum, the Illinois Department shall
cover the | ||||||
24 | following categories of families:
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25 | (1) recipients of TANF under Article IV participating | ||||||
26 | in work and training
activities as specified in the | ||||||
27 | personal plan for employment and
self-sufficiency;
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28 | (2) families transitioning from TANF to work;
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29 | (3) families at risk of becoming recipients of TANF;
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30 | (4) families with special needs as defined by rule; and
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31 | (5) working families with very low incomes as defined | ||||||
32 | by rule.
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1 | The Department shall specify by rule the conditions of | ||||||
2 | eligibility, the
application process, and the types, amounts, | ||||||
3 | and duration of services.
Eligibility for
child care benefits | ||||||
4 | and the amount of child care provided may vary based on
family | ||||||
5 | size, income,
and other factors as specified by rule.
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6 | In determining income eligibility for child care benefits, | ||||||
7 | the Department
annually, at the beginning of each fiscal year, | ||||||
8 | shall
establish, by rule, one income threshold for each family | ||||||
9 | size, in relation to
percentage of State median income for a | ||||||
10 | family of that size, that makes
families with incomes below the | ||||||
11 | specified threshold eligible for assistance
and families with | ||||||
12 | incomes above the specified threshold ineligible for
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13 | assistance. The specified threshold must be no less than 50% of | ||||||
14 | the
then-current State median income for each family size.
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15 | In determining eligibility for
assistance, the Department | ||||||
16 | shall not give preference to any category of
recipients
or give | ||||||
17 | preference to individuals based on their receipt of benefits | ||||||
18 | under this
Code.
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19 | The Department shall allocate $7,500,000 annually for a | ||||||
20 | test program for
families who are income-eligible for child | ||||||
21 | care assistance, who
are not recipients of TANF under Article | ||||||
22 | IV, and who need child care assistance
to participate in | ||||||
23 | education and training activities. The
Department shall | ||||||
24 | specify by rule the conditions of eligibility for this test
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25 | program.
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26 | Nothing in this Section shall be
construed as conferring | ||||||
27 | entitlement status to eligible families.
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28 | The Illinois
Department is authorized to lower income | ||||||
29 | eligibility ceilings, raise parent
co-payments, create waiting | ||||||
30 | lists, or take such other actions during a fiscal
year as are | ||||||
31 | necessary to ensure that child care benefits paid under this
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32 | Article do not exceed the amounts appropriated for those child | ||||||
33 | care benefits.
These changes may be accomplished by emergency | ||||||
34 | rule under Section 5-45 of the
Illinois Administrative | ||||||
35 | Procedure Act, except that the limitation on the number
of | ||||||
36 | emergency rules that may be adopted in a 24-month period shall |
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1 | not apply.
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2 | The Illinois Department may contract with other State | ||||||
3 | agencies or child care
organizations for the administration of | ||||||
4 | child care services.
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5 | (c) Payment shall be made for child care that otherwise | ||||||
6 | meets the
requirements of this Section and applicable standards | ||||||
7 | of State and local
law and regulation, including any | ||||||
8 | requirements the Illinois Department
promulgates by rule in | ||||||
9 | addition to the licensure
requirements
promulgated by the | ||||||
10 | Department of Children and Family Services and Fire
Prevention | ||||||
11 | and Safety requirements promulgated by the Office of the State
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12 | Fire Marshal and is provided in any of the following:
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13 | (1) a child care center which is licensed or exempt | ||||||
14 | from licensure
pursuant to Section 2.09 of the Child Care | ||||||
15 | Act of 1969;
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16 | (2) a licensed child care home or home exempt from | ||||||
17 | licensing;
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18 | (3) a licensed group child care home;
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19 | (4) other types of child care, including child care | ||||||
20 | provided
by relatives or persons living in the same home as | ||||||
21 | the child, as determined by
the Illinois Department by | ||||||
22 | rule.
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23 | (d) The Illinois Department shall, by rule, require | ||||||
24 | co-payments for
child care services by any parent, including | ||||||
25 | parents whose only income is from
assistance under this Code. | ||||||
26 | The co-payment shall be assessed based on a
sliding scale based | ||||||
27 | on family income, family size, and the number of
children in | ||||||
28 | care. Co-payments shall not be increased due solely to a change
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29 | in the methodology for counting family income.
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30 | (e) The Illinois Department shall conduct a market rate | ||||||
31 | survey based on
the cost of care and other relevant factors | ||||||
32 | which shall be completed by July 1,
1998.
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33 | (f) The Illinois Department shall, by rule, set rates to be | ||||||
34 | paid for the
various types of child care. Child care may be | ||||||
35 | provided through one of the
following methods:
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36 | (1) arranging the child care through eligible |
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1 | providers by use of
purchase of service contracts or | ||||||
2 | vouchers;
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3 | (2) arranging with other agencies and community | ||||||
4 | volunteer groups for
non-reimbursed child care;
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5 | (3) (blank); or
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6 | (4) adopting such other arrangements as the Department | ||||||
7 | determines
appropriate.
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8 | Beginning July 1, 2004, the rates paid by the Department to | ||||||
9 | all providers of child care services who are licensed under the | ||||||
10 | Child Care Act of 1969 shall be increased by an amount equal to | ||||||
11 | 2% of the rates in effect on June 30, 2004. | ||||||
12 | Beginning July 1, 2004, the rates paid by the Department to | ||||||
13 | all providers of child care services who are exempt from | ||||||
14 | licensure under the Child Care Act of 1969 shall be increased | ||||||
15 | by an amount equal to 2% of the rates in effect on June 30, | ||||||
16 | 2004.
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17 | (g) Families eligible for assistance under this Section | ||||||
18 | shall be given the
following options:
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19 | (1) receiving a child care certificate issued by the | ||||||
20 | Department or a
subcontractor of the Department that may be | ||||||
21 | used by the parents as payment for
child care and | ||||||
22 | development services only; or
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23 | (2) if space is available, enrolling the child with a | ||||||
24 | child care provider
that has a purchase of service contract | ||||||
25 | with the Department or a subcontractor
of the Department | ||||||
26 | for the provision of child care and development services.
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27 | The Department may identify particular priority | ||||||
28 | populations for whom they may
request special | ||||||
29 | consideration by a provider with purchase of service
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30 | contracts, provided that the providers shall be permitted | ||||||
31 | to maintain a balance
of clients in terms of household | ||||||
32 | incomes and families and children with special
needs, as | ||||||
33 | defined by rule.
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34 | (Source: P.A. 93-361, eff. 9-1-03.)
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35 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1, |
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1 | 2004.
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