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90_HB0630eng
20 ILCS 505/5.15
Amends the Children and Family Services Act. Provides
that the Department of Human Services shall include an
evaluation of reimbursement rates for State subsidized child
care in the annual daycare analysis report submitted to the
Governor and General Assembly.
LRB9002514PTcw
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1 AN ACT to amend the Children and Family Services Act by
2 adding Section 5.25.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 5. The Children and Family Services Act is
6 amended by adding Section 5.25 as follows:
7 (20 ILCS 505/5.25 new)
8 Sec. 5.25. State-assisted child care.
9 (a) The General Assembly finds and declares that
10 families with children need child care in order to work and
11 participate in education or training; and low-income families
12 struggle to pay the high cost of child care; and when
13 low-income families cannot afford child care they are in
14 danger of going on welfare; and families who leave welfare
15 for work need child care in order to successfully make this
16 transition and to stay off welfare; and families leaving
17 welfare for work do not usually experience large salary
18 increases, but rather remain very low-income, and time
19 limited child care benefits are a barrier to successful
20 workforce participation; and high quality child care helps
21 children develop to their full potential and helps them
22 succeed in school and life; and the rate for subsidized child
23 care needs to be high enough that families can find child
24 care providers to accept it; and the human services agencies'
25 reorganization and federal welfare reform give Illinois an
26 unprecedented opportunity to create a seamless child care
27 system and eliminate and consolidate categorical programs.
28 (b) The Department of Human Services shall administer a
29 statewide program of financial assistance for employment,
30 education, community service, and training-related child care
31 and development services (child care assistance) for families
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1 that meet the eligibility and activity requirements as set
2 forth in this Section and shall use all federal and State
3 funds designated for these purposes.
4 (c) The Department shall make child care assistance
5 available for children under 13 years of age to any family
6 that requires child care to engage in one or more of the
7 following activities:
8 (1) State-required or State-approved activities
9 while a recipient of the Temporary Assistance for Needy
10 Families program (TANF).
11 (2) Employment, whether or not the parent is a
12 recipient of TANF.
13 (3) Elementary or high school education in order to
14 obtain a high school diploma if a parent under 20 years
15 of age. (A teen parent and his or her children shall be
16 considered a separate household in determining
17 eligibility.)
18 (4) Participation in a GED, adult basic education,
19 or English-as-a-second-language program.
20 (5) Participation in an occupational or vocational
21 training program with a State-approved training provider
22 if the parent is engaged in the activity exclusively or
23 in combination with employment for a minimum of 20 hours
24 per week including transportation time, except that a
25 parent may qualify for assistance under this subsection
26 for only one occupational or vocational training program
27 in any 36-month period.
28 (6) Enrollment in a 2-year or 4-year postsecondary
29 degree program if the parent is engaged in a minimum of
30 30 hours per week of classes and employment with a
31 minimum of 8 hours per week of employment. In
32 calculating the 30 hours per week, the parent's course
33 credit hours shall be multiplied by 2.
34 (7) While engaged in a job search.
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1 (8) Families with special needs or special
2 circumstances as defined by rule.
3 (d) The Department shall make child care assistance
4 available to any family whose household income, as defined by
5 rule, is below the specified level for that fiscal year and
6 may provide assistance to families whose household income is
7 above the specified level. Subject to appropriation, the
8 specified level for fiscal year 1998 shall not be less than
9 50% of the State median income, the specified level for
10 fiscal year 1999 shall not be less than 55% of the State
11 median income, the specified level for fiscal year 2000 shall
12 not be less than 60% of the State median income and the
13 specified level in the following fiscal years shall not be
14 less than 60% of the State median income. Notwithstanding
15 the income level at which families become eligible to receive
16 child care assistance, any family that is already receiving
17 child care assistance, on the effective date of this
18 amendatory Act of 1997 or thereafter, shall remain eligible
19 for child care assistance until their household income
20 exceeds 60% of the State median income or the specified
21 income level for that fiscal year, whichever is higher. The
22 Department shall revise the State median income annually in
23 accordance with federal guidelines.
24 (e) The Department shall establish and periodically
25 revise, by rule, a co-payment scale that provides for cost
26 sharing by families receiving child care assistance under
27 this Section. The co-payment shall be an amount that is
28 reasonable and affordable for the family and shall be based
29 upon household income and family size. A family with 2 or
30 more children in care shall pay a higher co-payment than a
31 family with one child in care, but there shall be no
32 additional charge for additional children in care. The
33 amount of the co-payment shall not be based upon the type of
34 care chosen by the family.
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1 (f) Families eligible for assistance under this Section
2 shall be given the following options:
3 (1) receiving a child care certificate issued by
4 the Department or a subcontractor of the Department that
5 may be used by the parents only as payment for child care
6 and development services; or
7 (2) if space is available, enrolling the child with
8 a child care provider that has a purchase-of-service
9 contract with the Department or a subcontractor of the
10 Department for the provision of child care and
11 development services. The Department may identify
12 particular priority populations for whom they may request
13 special consideration by providers with
14 purchase-of-service contracts, provided that the
15 providers shall be permitted to maintain a balance of
16 clients in terms of household incomes and families and
17 children with special needs, as defined by rule.
18 (g) In order to expand access to high quality programs
19 to families receiving child care services under this Section,
20 the Department shall increase the number of day care slots
21 that are delivered through purchase-of-service contracts.
22 These efforts shall include, but are not limited to:
23 (1) offering an option to providers who meet
24 minimum program requirements as defined by rule, and who
25 accept a minimum number, as defined by rule, of children
26 with child care certificates to convert those
27 certificates to a purchase-of-service contract;
28 (2) offering contracts to purchase-of-service
29 providers who have the capacity to combine Head Start or
30 State Pre-Kindergarten with child care funding in order
31 to provide full workday or full year child care and
32 education services;
33 (3) offering expanded contracts to current
34 purchase-of-service providers who have the capacity to
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1 expand infant, pre-school, or school-age programs;
2 (4) seeking opportunities to develop and expand
3 family day care home networks, particularly in
4 under-served communities and at non-traditional hours;
5 (5) partnering with local government entities and
6 non-profit agencies to expand purchase-of-service
7 capacity; and
8 (6) providing grants or leveraging private funds to
9 renovate and construct facilities to house child
10 development and school-age child care services.
11 (h) In order to expand the capacity of existing
12 providers and to increase the number of providers of child
13 care and development services to meet the growing need of
14 families for quality State-assisted child care in this State,
15 the Department shall:
16 (1) Conduct biennial market rate surveys based on
17 the cost of care and other relevant factors, the first of
18 which shall be completed on or before December 1, 1997.
19 (2) Establish a reimbursement rate set at no lower
20 than the 75th percentile of the market rate as determined
21 by the biennial market rate survey commencing on July 1,
22 1998.
23 (3) Establish a lesser rate for license-exempt care
24 by rule.
25 (4) Create incentive rate enhancements for licensed
26 child care providers who remain open 11 or more hours per
27 day in order to accommodate the needs of parents whose
28 activity schedules necessitate extended hours of child
29 care. The incentive rate enhancement shall be the
30 prorated amount of the per diem rate based upon a
31 standard 10-hour care day. The incentive rate
32 enhancement shall not exceed 10% and shall be uniform for
33 all types of licensed day care and for all age categories
34 of children. The Department shall also provide incentive
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1 enhanced rates for licensed child care providers who
2 exclusively operate before school or after school
3 programs and offer extended hours, in accordance with
4 rules adopted by the Department.
5 (5) Create incentive rate enhancements for licensed
6 child care providers that serve families and children
7 with special needs as defined by rule.
8 (6) Create incentive rate enhancements for licensed
9 child care providers who are accredited by nationally
10 recognized accrediting bodies as defined by rule.
11 (i) The Department shall establish a uniform application
12 process for assistance under this Section. The application
13 process shall include:
14 (1) a standard application form;
15 (2) a prompt eligibility determination for each
16 applicant; and
17 (3) a timely written notice with reference to a case
18 number and date of application to each applicant of his
19 or her eligibility status and a description of the
20 process and time lines for requesting an administrative
21 appeal if the application wishes to dispute the
22 eligibility determination.
23 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
24 becoming law.