Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HB2301
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Full Text of HB2301  96th General Assembly

HB2301ham001 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Executive Committee

Filed: 3/4/2009

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 2301

2     AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 2301 by replacing
3 everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4     "Section 5. The Illinois Public Aid Code is amended by
5 changing Section 9A-11 as follows:
 
6     (305 ILCS 5/9A-11)  (from Ch. 23, par. 9A-11)
7     Sec. 9A-11. Child Care.
8     (a) The 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
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

 

 

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1 Assembly that all working poor families should be treated
2 equally, regardless of their welfare status.
3     (b) To the extent resources permit, the Illinois Department
4 shall provide child care services to parents or other relatives
5 as defined by rule who are working or participating in
6 employment or Department approved education or training
7 programs. At a minimum, the Illinois Department shall cover the
8 following categories of families:
9         (1) recipients of TANF under Article IV participating
10     in work and training activities as specified in the
11     personal plan for employment and self-sufficiency;
12         (2) families transitioning from TANF to work;
13         (3) families at risk of becoming recipients of TANF;
14         (4) families with special needs as defined by rule; and
15         (5) working families with very low incomes as defined
16     by rule.
17     The Department shall specify by rule the conditions of
18 eligibility, the application process, and the types, amounts,
19 and duration of services. Eligibility for child care benefits
20 and the amount of child care provided may vary based on family
21 size, income, and other factors as specified by rule.
22     In determining income eligibility for child care benefits,
23 the Department annually, at the beginning of each fiscal year,
24 shall establish, by rule, one income threshold for each family
25 size, in relation to percentage of State median income for a
26 family of that size, that makes families with incomes below the

 

 

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1 specified threshold eligible for assistance and families with
2 incomes above the specified threshold ineligible for
3 assistance. Through and including fiscal year 2007, the
4 specified threshold must be no less than 50% of the
5 then-current State median income for each family size.
6 Beginning in fiscal year 2008, the specified threshold must be
7 no less than 185% of the then-current federal poverty level for
8 each family size.
9     In determining eligibility for assistance, the Department
10 shall not give preference to any category of recipients or give
11 preference to individuals based on their receipt of benefits
12 under this Code.
13     The Department shall allocate $7,500,000 annually for a
14 test program for families who are income-eligible for child
15 care assistance, who are not recipients of TANF under Article
16 IV, and who need child care assistance to participate in
17 education and training activities. The Department shall
18 specify by rule the conditions of eligibility for this test
19 program.
20     Nothing in this Section shall be construed as conferring
21 entitlement status to eligible families.
22     The Illinois Department is authorized to lower income
23 eligibility ceilings, raise parent co-payments, create waiting
24 lists, or take such other actions during a fiscal year as are
25 necessary to ensure that child care benefits paid under this
26 Article do not exceed the amounts appropriated for those child

 

 

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1 care benefits. These changes may be accomplished by emergency
2 rule under Section 5-45 of the Illinois Administrative
3 Procedure Act, except that the limitation on the number of
4 emergency rules that may be adopted in a 24-month period shall
5 not apply.
6     The Illinois Department may contract with other State
7 agencies or child care organizations for the administration of
8 child care services.
9     (c) Payment shall be made for child care that otherwise
10 meets the requirements of this Section and applicable standards
11 of State and local law and regulation, including any
12 requirements the Illinois Department promulgates by rule in
13 addition to the licensure requirements promulgated by the
14 Department of Children and Family Services and Fire Prevention
15 and Safety requirements promulgated by the Office of the State
16 Fire Marshal and is provided in any of the following:
17         (1) a child care center which is licensed or exempt
18     from licensure pursuant to Section 2.09 of the Child Care
19     Act of 1969;
20         (2) a licensed child care home or home exempt from
21     licensing;
22         (3) a licensed group child care home;
23         (4) other types of child care, including child care
24     provided by relatives or persons living in the same home as
25     the child, as determined by the Illinois Department by
26     rule.

 

 

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1     (c-5) Solely for the purposes of coverage under the
2 Illinois Public Labor Relations Act, child and day care home
3 providers, including licensed and license exempt,
4 participating in the Department's child care assistance
5 program shall be considered to be public employees and the
6 State of Illinois shall be considered to be their employer as
7 of the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 94th
8 General Assembly, but not before. The State shall engage in
9 collective bargaining with an exclusive representative of
10 child and day care home providers participating in the child
11 care assistance program concerning their terms and conditions
12 of employment that are within the State's control. Nothing in
13 this subsection shall be understood to limit the right of
14 families receiving services defined in this Section to select
15 child and day care home providers or supervise them within the
16 limits of this Section. The State shall not be considered to be
17 the employer of child and day care home providers for any
18 purposes not specifically provided in this amendatory Act of
19 the 94th General Assembly, including but not limited to,
20 purposes of vicarious liability in tort and purposes of
21 statutory retirement or health insurance benefits. Child and
22 day care home providers shall not be covered by the State
23 Employees Group Insurance Act of 1971.
24     In according child and day care home providers and their
25 selected representative rights under the Illinois Public Labor
26 Relations Act, the State intends that the State action

 

 

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1 exemption to application of federal and State antitrust laws be
2 fully available to the extent that their activities are
3 authorized by this amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly.
4     (d) The Illinois Department shall, by rule, require
5 co-payments for child care services by any parent, including
6 parents whose only income is from assistance under this Code.
7 The co-payment shall be assessed based on a sliding scale based
8 on family income, family size, and the number of children in
9 care. Co-payments shall not be increased due solely to a change
10 in the methodology for counting family income.
11     (d-5) The Illinois Department, in consultation with its
12 Child Care and Development Advisory Council, shall develop a
13 plan to revise the child care assistance program's co-payment
14 scale. The plan shall be completed no later than February 1,
15 2008, and shall include:
16         (1) findings as to the percentage of income that the
17     average American family spends on child care and the
18     relative amounts that low-income families and the average
19     American family spend on other necessities of life;
20         (2) recommendations for revising the child care
21     co-payment scale to assure that families receiving child
22     care services from the Department are paying no more than
23     they can reasonably afford;
24         (3) recommendations for revising the child care
25     co-payment scale to provide at-risk children with complete
26     access to Preschool for All and Head Start; and

 

 

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1         (4) recommendations for changes in child care program
2     policies that affect the affordability of child care.
3     (e) (Blank).
4     (f) The Illinois Department shall, by rule, set rates to be
5 paid for the various types of child care. Child care may be
6 provided through one of the following methods:
7         (1) arranging the child care through eligible
8     providers by use of purchase of service contracts or
9     vouchers;
10         (2) arranging with other agencies and community
11     volunteer groups for non-reimbursed child care;
12         (3) (blank); or
13         (4) adopting such other arrangements as the Department
14     determines appropriate.
15     (f-5) (Blank).
16     (g) Families eligible for assistance under this Section
17 shall 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 be
20     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 contract
24     with the Department or a subcontractor of the Department
25     for the provision of child care and development services.
26     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. 94-320, eff. 1-1-06; 95-206, eff. 8-16-07;
8 95-322, eff. 1-1-08; 95-876, eff. 8-21-08.)".