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| [ Introduced ] | [ Engrossed ] | [ House Amendment 001 ] |
90_HB0630ham002
LRB9002514PTcwam03
1 AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 630
2 AMENDMENT NO. . Amend House Bill 630, AS AMENDED, by
3 replacing everything after the enacting clause with the
4 following:
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
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1 care needs to be high enough that families can find child
2 care providers to accept it; and the human services agencies'
3 reorganization and federal welfare reform give Illinois an
4 unprecedented opportunity to create a seamless child care
5 system and eliminate and consolidate categorical programs.
6 (b) The Department of Human Services shall administer a
7 statewide program of financial assistance for employment,
8 education, community service, and training-related child care
9 and development services (child care assistance) for families
10 that meet the eligibility and activity requirements as set
11 forth in this Section and shall use all federal and State
12 funds designated for these purposes.
13 (c) The Department shall make child care assistance
14 available for children under 13 years of age to any family
15 that requires child care to engage in one or more of the
16 following activities:
17 (1) State-required or State-approved activities
18 while a recipient of the Temporary Assistance for Needy
19 Families program (TANF).
20 (2) Employment, whether or not the parent is a
21 recipient of TANF.
22 (3) Elementary or high school education in order to
23 obtain a high school diploma if a parent under 20 years
24 of age. (A teen parent and his or her children shall be
25 considered a separate household in determining
26 eligibility.)
27 (4) Participation in a GED, adult basic education,
28 or English-as-a-second-language program.
29 (5) Participation in an occupational or vocational
30 training program with a State-approved training provider
31 if the parent is engaged in the activity exclusively or
32 in combination with employment for a minimum of 20 hours
33 per week including transportation time, except that a
34 parent may qualify for assistance under this subsection
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1 for only one occupational or vocational training program
2 in any 36-month period.
3 (6) Enrollment in a 2-year or 4-year postsecondary
4 degree program if the parent is engaged in a minimum of
5 30 hours per week of classes and employment with a
6 minimum of 8 hours per week of employment. In
7 calculating the 30 hours per week, the parent's course
8 credit hours shall be multiplied by 2.
9 (7) While engaged in a job search.
10 (8) Families with special needs or special
11 circumstances as defined by rule.
12 (d) The Department shall make child care assistance
13 available to any family whose household income, as defined by
14 rule, is below the specified level for that fiscal year and
15 may provide assistance to families whose household income is
16 above the specified level. Subject to appropriation, the
17 specified level for fiscal year 1998 shall not be less than
18 50% of the State median income, the specified level for
19 fiscal year 1999 shall not be less than 55% of the State
20 median income, the specified level for fiscal year 2000 shall
21 not be less than 60% of the State median income and the
22 specified level in the following fiscal years shall not be
23 less than 60% of the State median income. Notwithstanding
24 the income level at which families become eligible to receive
25 child care assistance, any family that is already receiving
26 child care assistance, on the effective date of this
27 amendatory Act of 1997 or thereafter, shall remain eligible
28 for child care assistance until their household income
29 exceeds 60% of the State median income or the specified
30 income level for that fiscal year, whichever is higher. The
31 Department shall revise the State median income annually in
32 accordance with federal guidelines.
33 (e) The Department shall establish and periodically
34 revise, by rule, a co-payment scale that provides for cost
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1 sharing by families receiving child care assistance under
2 this Section. The co-payment shall be an amount that is
3 reasonable and affordable for the family and shall be based
4 upon household income and family size. A family with 2 or
5 more children in care shall pay a higher co-payment than a
6 family with one child in care, but there shall be no
7 additional charge for additional children in care. The
8 amount of the co-payment shall not be based upon the type of
9 care chosen by the family.
10 (f) Families eligible for assistance under this Section
11 shall be given the following options:
12 (1) receiving a child care certificate issued by
13 the Department or a subcontractor of the Department that
14 may be used by the parents only as payment for child care
15 and development services; or
16 (2) if space is available, enrolling the child with
17 a child care provider that has a purchase-of-service
18 contract with the Department or a subcontractor of the
19 Department for the provision of child care and
20 development services. The Department may identify
21 particular priority populations for whom they may request
22 special consideration by providers with
23 purchase-of-service contracts, provided that the
24 providers shall be permitted to maintain a balance of
25 clients in terms of household incomes and families and
26 children with special needs, as defined by rule.
27 (g) In order to expand access to high quality programs
28 to families receiving child care services under this Section,
29 the Department shall increase the number of day care slots
30 that are delivered through purchase-of-service contracts.
31 These efforts shall include, but are not limited to:
32 (1) offering an option to providers who meet
33 minimum program requirements as defined by rule, and who
34 accept a minimum number, as defined by rule, of children
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1 with child care certificates to convert those
2 certificates to a purchase-of-service contract;
3 (2) offering contracts to purchase-of-service
4 providers who have the capacity to combine Head Start or
5 State Pre-Kindergarten with child care funding in order
6 to provide full workday or full year child care and
7 education services;
8 (3) offering expanded contracts to current
9 purchase-of-service providers who have the capacity to
10 expand infant, pre-school, or school-age programs;
11 (4) seeking opportunities to develop and expand
12 family day care home networks, particularly in
13 under-served communities and at non-traditional hours;
14 (5) partnering with local government entities and
15 non-profit agencies to expand purchase-of-service
16 capacity; and
17 (6) providing grants or leveraging private funds to
18 renovate and construct facilities to house child
19 development and school-age child care services.
20 (h) In order to expand the capacity of existing
21 providers and to increase the number of providers of child
22 care and development services to meet the growing need of
23 families for quality State-assisted child care in this State,
24 the Department shall:
25 (1) Conduct biennial market rate surveys based on
26 the cost of care and other relevant factors, the first of
27 which shall be completed on or before December 1, 1997.
28 (2) Establish a reimbursement rate set at no lower
29 than the 75th percentile of the market rate as determined
30 by the biennial market rate survey commencing on July 1,
31 1998.
32 (3) Establish a lesser rate for license-exempt care
33 by rule.
34 (4) Create incentive rate enhancements for licensed
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1 child care providers who remain open 11 or more hours per
2 day in order to accommodate the needs of parents whose
3 activity schedules necessitate extended hours of child
4 care. The incentive rate enhancement shall be the
5 prorated amount of the per diem rate based upon a
6 standard 10-hour care day. The incentive rate
7 enhancement shall not exceed 10% and shall be uniform for
8 all types of licensed day care and for all age categories
9 of children. The Department shall also provide incentive
10 enhanced rates for licensed child care providers who
11 exclusively operate before school or after school
12 programs and offer extended hours, in accordance with
13 rules adopted by the Department.
14 (5) Create incentive rate enhancements for licensed
15 child care providers that serve families and children
16 with special needs as defined by rule.
17 (6) Create incentive rate enhancements for licensed
18 child care providers who are accredited by nationally
19 recognized accrediting bodies as defined by rule.
20 (i) The Department shall establish a uniform application
21 process for assistance under this Section. The application
22 process shall include:
23 (1) a standard application form;
24 (2) a prompt eligibility determination for each
25 applicant; and
26 (3) a timely written notice with reference to a case
27 number and date of application to each applicant of his
28 or her eligibility status and a description of the
29 process and time lines for requesting an administrative
30 appeal if the application wishes to dispute the
31 eligibility determination.
32 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
33 becoming law.".