SB3601eng 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SB3601 Engrossed LRB097 19896 CEL 65181 b

AN ACT concerning regulation.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Child Care Act of 1969 is amended by adding Section 7.10 as follows:

(225 ILCS 10/7.10 new)

Sec. 7.10. Progress report.

(a) For the purposes of this Section, "child day care licensing" or "day care licensing" means licensing of day care centers, day care homes, and group day care homes.

(b) No later than June 30, 2013, the Department shall provide the General Assembly with a comprehensive report on its progress in meeting performance measures and goals related to child day care licensing.

(c) The report shall include:

(1) details on the funding for child day care licensing, including:

(A) the total number of full-time employees working on child day care licensing;

(B) the names of all sources of revenue used to support child day care licensing;

(C) the amount of expenditures that is claimed against federal funding sources;

(D) the identity of federal funding sources; and

(E) how funds are appropriated, including appropriations for line staff, support staff, supervisory staff, and training and other expenses and the funding history of such licensing since fiscal year 2007;

(2) current staffing qualifications of day care licensing representatives, day care licensing supervisors, and regional licensing administrators in comparison with staffing qualifications specified in the job description;

(3) data history for fiscal year 2007 to fiscal year 2012 on day care licensing representative caseloads and staffing levels in all areas of the State;

(4) per the DCFS Child Day Care Licensing Advisory Council's work plan, quarterly data on the following measures:

(A) the percentage of new applications disposed of within 90 days;

(B) the percentage of licenses renewed on time;

(C) the percentage of day care centers receiving timely annual monitoring visits;

(D) the percentage of day care homes receiving timely annual monitoring visits;

(E) the percentage of group day care homes receiving timely annual monitoring visits;

(F) the percentage of day care providers that are satisfied with accurate and objective interpretation of standards by DCFS staff;

(G) the percentage of high-risk violations resolved within 60 days;

(H) the percentage of complaints disposed of within 30 days;

(I) the average number of days applicants must wait to attend a licensing orientation;

(J) the number of licensing orientation sessions available per region in the past year;

(K) the number of on-line Department trainings related to licensing and child development available to providers in the past year; and

(L) the percentage of providers satisfied with ongoing ways to communicate with the Department and get their questions answered;

(5) details on efforts to educate parents on the role of licensing and the role of the Department as the licensing agency to which complaints can be filed, as well as efforts to reach out to minority families;

(6) details on how the Department will measure progress on integrating a child development perspective in the work of the day care licensing representatives;

(7) information on progress on the adoption of a weighted licensing and risk rating system;

(8) information on progress on coordination with the State's child care system, including the Department of Human Services, the State Board of Education, and the child care resource and referral agencies; and

(9) efforts to coordinate with appropriate agencies on professional development and credentialing issues, including training registry and Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS).

(d) The Department shall work through the Governor's appointed Early Learning Council on issues related to collecting data and documenting improvements to the Department's responsibilities concerning child day care licensing.

(e) No later than June 30, 2013, the Department shall launch a public portal to allow the public to look up serious licensing violations in a manner that is clear and understandable by parents or other interested parties.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect on July 1, 2012.