Rep. La Shawn K. Ford

Filed: 2/17/2022

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 141

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 141, AS AMENDED, by
3replacing everything after the enacting clause with the
4following:
 
5    "Section 5. The Illinois Public Aid Code is amended by
6changing Section 9A-11 as follows:
 
7    (305 ILCS 5/9A-11)  (from Ch. 23, par. 9A-11)
8    Sec. 9A-11. Child care.
9    (a) The General Assembly recognizes that families with
10children need child care in order to work. Child care is
11expensive and families with low incomes, including those who
12are transitioning from welfare to work, often struggle to pay
13the costs of day care. The General Assembly understands the
14importance of helping low-income working families become and
15remain self-sufficient. The General Assembly also believes
16that it is the responsibility of families to share in the costs

 

 

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1of child care. It is also the preference of the General
2Assembly that all working poor families should be treated
3equally, regardless of their welfare status.
4    (b) To the extent resources permit, the Illinois
5Department shall provide child care services to parents or
6other relatives as defined by rule who are working or
7participating in employment or Department approved education
8or training programs. At a minimum, the Illinois Department
9shall cover the following categories of families:
10        (1) recipients of TANF under Article IV participating
11    in work and training activities as specified in the
12    personal plan for employment and self-sufficiency;
13        (2) families transitioning from TANF to work;
14        (3) families at risk of becoming recipients of TANF;
15        (4) families with special needs as defined by rule;
16        (5) working families with very low incomes as defined
17    by rule;
18        (6) families that are not recipients of TANF and that
19    need child care assistance to participate in education and
20    training activities; and
21        (7) families with children under the age of 5 who have
22    an open intact family services case with the Department of
23    Children and Family Services. Any family that receives
24    child care assistance in accordance with this paragraph
25    shall remain eligible for child care assistance 6 months
26    after the child's intact family services case is closed,

 

 

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1    regardless of whether the child's parents or other
2    relatives as defined by rule are working or participating
3    in Department approved employment or education or training
4    programs. The Department of Human Services, in
5    consultation with the Department of Children and Family
6    Services, shall adopt rules to protect the privacy of
7    families who are the subject of an open intact family
8    services case when such families enroll in child care
9    services. Additional rules shall be adopted to offer
10    children who have an open intact family services case the
11    opportunity to receive an Early Intervention screening and
12    other services that their families may be eligible for as
13    provided by the Department of Human Services.
14    The Department shall specify by rule the conditions of
15eligibility, the application process, and the types, amounts,
16and duration of services. Eligibility for child care benefits
17and the amount of child care provided may vary based on family
18size, income, and other factors as specified by rule.
19    The Department shall update the Child Care Assistance
20Program Eligibility Calculator posted on its website to
21include a question on whether a family is applying for child
22care assistance for the first time or is applying for a
23redetermination of eligibility.
24    A family's eligibility for child care services shall be
25redetermined no sooner than 12 months following the initial
26determination or most recent redetermination. During the

 

 

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112-month periods, the family shall remain eligible for child
2care services regardless of (i) a change in family income,
3unless family income exceeds 85% of State median income, or
4(ii) a temporary change in the ongoing status of the parents or
5other relatives, as defined by rule, as working or attending a
6job training or educational program.
7    In determining income eligibility for child care benefits,
8the Department annually, at the beginning of each fiscal year,
9shall establish, by rule, one income threshold for each family
10size, in relation to percentage of State median income for a
11family of that size, that makes families with incomes below
12the specified threshold eligible for assistance and families
13with incomes above the specified threshold ineligible for
14assistance. Through and including fiscal year 2007, the
15specified threshold must be no less than 50% of the
16then-current State median income for each family size.
17Beginning in fiscal year 2008, the specified threshold must be
18no less than 185% of the then-current federal poverty level
19for each family size. Notwithstanding any other provision of
20law or administrative rule to the contrary, beginning in
21fiscal year 2019, the specified threshold for working families
22with very low incomes as defined by rule must be no less than
23185% of the then-current federal poverty level for each family
24size. Notwithstanding any other provision of law or
25administrative rule to the contrary, beginning in State fiscal
26year 2022, the specified income threshold shall be no less

 

 

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1than 200% of the then-current federal poverty level for each
2family size.
3    In determining eligibility for assistance, the Department
4shall not give preference to any category of recipients or
5give preference to individuals based on their receipt of
6benefits under this Code.
7    Nothing in this Section shall be construed as conferring
8entitlement status to eligible families.
9    The Illinois Department is authorized to lower income
10eligibility ceilings, raise parent co-payments for families
11with income above 185% of the most recent poverty guidelines
12updated periodically in the Federal Register by the U.S.
13Department of Health and Human Services under the authority of
1442 U.S.C. 9902(2), create waiting lists, or take such other
15actions during a fiscal year as are necessary to ensure that
16child care benefits paid under this Article do not exceed the
17amounts appropriated for those child care benefits. These
18changes may be accomplished by emergency rule under Section
195-45 of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act, except that
20the limitation on the number of emergency rules that may be
21adopted in a 24-month period shall not apply.
22    The Illinois Department may contract with other State
23agencies or child care organizations for the administration of
24child care services.
25    (c) Payment shall be made for child care that otherwise
26meets the requirements of this Section and applicable

 

 

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1standards of State and local law and regulation, including any
2requirements the Illinois Department promulgates by rule in
3addition to the licensure requirements promulgated by the
4Department of Children and Family Services and Fire Prevention
5and Safety requirements promulgated by the Office of the State
6Fire Marshal, and is provided in any of the following:
7        (1) a child care center which is licensed or exempt
8    from licensure pursuant to Section 2.09 of the Child Care
9    Act of 1969;
10        (2) a licensed child care home or home exempt from
11    licensing;
12        (3) a licensed group child care home;
13        (4) other types of child care, including child care
14    provided by relatives or persons living in the same home
15    as the child, as determined by the Illinois Department by
16    rule.
17    (c-5) Solely for the purposes of coverage under the
18Illinois Public Labor Relations Act, child and day care home
19providers, including licensed and license exempt,
20participating in the Department's child care assistance
21program shall be considered to be public employees and the
22State of Illinois shall be considered to be their employer as
23of January 1, 2006 (the effective date of Public Act 94-320),
24but not before. The State shall engage in collective
25bargaining with an exclusive representative of child and day
26care home providers participating in the child care assistance

 

 

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1program concerning their terms and conditions of employment
2that are within the State's control. Nothing in this
3subsection shall be understood to limit the right of families
4receiving services defined in this Section to select child and
5day care home providers or supervise them within the limits of
6this Section. The State shall not be considered to be the
7employer of child and day care home providers for any purposes
8not specifically provided in Public Act 94-320, including, but
9not limited to, purposes of vicarious liability in tort and
10purposes of statutory retirement or health insurance benefits.
11Child and day care home providers shall not be covered by the
12State Employees Group Insurance Act of 1971.
13    In according child and day care home providers and their
14selected representative rights under the Illinois Public Labor
15Relations Act, the State intends that the State action
16exemption to application of federal and State antitrust laws
17be fully available to the extent that their activities are
18authorized by Public Act 94-320.
19    (d) Beginning July 1, 2023, a family eligible for child
20care services whose income is at or below 185% of the most
21recent United States Department of Health and Human Services
22Federal Poverty Guidelines for the applicable family size
23shall pay a $1 monthly fee as a co-payment for child care
24services. For other families the The Illinois Department shall
25establish, by rule, a co-payment scale that provides for cost
26sharing by families that receive child care services,

 

 

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1including parents whose only income is from assistance under
2this Code. The co-payment shall be based on family income and
3family size and may be based on other factors as appropriate.
4Co-payments may be waived for families whose incomes are at or
5below the federal poverty level.
6    (d-5) The Illinois Department, in consultation with its
7Child Care and Development Advisory Council, shall develop a
8plan to revise the child care assistance program's co-payment
9scale. The plan shall be completed no later than February 1,
102008, and shall include:
11        (1) findings as to the percentage of income that the
12    average American family spends on child care and the
13    relative amounts that low-income families and the average
14    American family spend on other necessities of life;
15        (2) recommendations for revising the child care
16    co-payment scale to assure that families receiving child
17    care services from the Department are paying no more than
18    they can reasonably afford;
19        (3) recommendations for revising the child care
20    co-payment scale to provide at-risk children with complete
21    access to Preschool for All and Head Start; and
22        (4) recommendations for changes in child care program
23    policies that affect the affordability of child care.
24    (e) (Blank).
25    (f) The Illinois Department shall, by rule, set rates to
26be paid for the various types of child care. Child care may be

 

 

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1provided through one of the following methods:
2        (1) arranging the child care through eligible
3    providers by use of purchase of service contracts or
4    vouchers;
5        (2) arranging with other agencies and community
6    volunteer groups for non-reimbursed child care;
7        (3) (blank); or
8        (4) adopting such other arrangements as the Department
9    determines appropriate.
10    (f-1) Within 30 days after June 4, 2018 (the effective
11date of Public Act 100-587), the Department of Human Services
12shall establish rates for child care providers that are no
13less than the rates in effect on January 1, 2018 increased by
144.26%.
15    (f-5) (Blank).
16    (g) Families eligible for assistance under this Section
17shall be given the following options:
18        (1) receiving a child care certificate issued by the
19    Department or a subcontractor of the Department that may
20    be used by the parents as payment for child care and
21    development services only; or
22        (2) if space is available, enrolling the child with a
23    child care provider that has a purchase of service
24    contract with the Department or a subcontractor of the
25    Department for the provision of child care and development
26    services. The Department may identify particular priority

 

 

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1    populations for whom they may request special
2    consideration by a provider with purchase of service
3    contracts, provided that the providers shall be permitted
4    to maintain a balance of clients in terms of household
5    incomes and families and children with special needs, as
6    defined by rule.
7(Source: P.A. 101-81, eff. 7-12-19; 101-657, eff. 3-23-21;
8102-491, eff. 8-20-21; revised 11-8-21.)
 
9    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
10becoming law.".