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90_HB1336
20 ILCS 505/5.15
Amends the Children and Family Services Act. Provides
that the Department of Human Services shall establish certain
priorities for services to children in State-subsidized day
care.
LRB9004597PTcw
LRB9004597PTcw
1 AN ACT to amend the Children and Family Services Act by
2 changing Section 5.15.
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 changing Section 5.15 as follows:
7 (20 ILCS 505/5.15)
8 (This Section may contain text from a Public Act with a
9 delayed effective date)
10 Sec. 5.15. Daycare; Department of Human Services.
11 (a) For the purpose of ensuring effective statewide
12 planning, development, and utilization of resources for the
13 day care of children, operated under various auspices, the
14 Department of Human Services is designated to coordinate all
15 day care activities for children of the State and shall
16 develop or continue, and shall update every year, a State
17 comprehensive day-care plan for submission to the Governor
18 that identifies high-priority areas and groups, relating them
19 to available resources and identifying the most effective
20 approaches to the use of existing day care services. The
21 State comprehensive day-care plan shall be made available to
22 the General Assembly following the Governor's approval of
23 the plan.
24 The plan shall include methods and procedures for the
25 development of additional day care resources for children to
26 meet the goal of reducing short-run and long-run dependency
27 and to provide necessary enrichment and stimulation to the
28 education of young children. Recommendations shall be made
29 for State policy on optimum use of private and public, local,
30 State and federal resources, including an estimate of the
31 resources needed for the licensing and regulation of day care
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1 facilities.
2 A written report shall be submitted to the Governor and
3 the General Assembly annually on April 15. The report shall
4 include an evaluation of developments over the preceding
5 fiscal year, including cost-benefit analyses of various
6 arrangements. Beginning with the report in 1990 submitted by
7 the Department's predecessor agency and every 2 years
8 thereafter, the report shall also include the following:
9 (1) An assessment of the child care services, needs
10 and available resources throughout the State and an
11 assessment of the adequacy of existing child care
12 services, including, but not limited to, services
13 assisted under this Act and under any other program
14 administered by other State agencies.
15 (2) A survey of day care facilities to determine
16 the number of qualified caregivers, as defined by rule,
17 attracted to vacant positions and any problems
18 encountered by facilities in attracting and retaining
19 capable caregivers.
20 (3) The average wages and salaries and fringe
21 benefit packages paid to caregivers throughout the State,
22 computed on a regional basis.
23 (4) The qualifications of new caregivers hired at
24 licensed day care facilities during the previous 2-year
25 period.
26 (5) Recommendations for increasing caregiver wages
27 and salaries to ensure quality care for children.
28 (6) Evaluation of the fee structure and income
29 eligibility for child care subsidized by the State.
30 The requirement for reporting to the General Assembly
31 shall be satisfied by filing copies of the report with the
32 Speaker, the Minority Leader, and the Clerk of the House of
33 Representatives, the President, the Minority Leader, and the
34 Secretary of the Senate, and the Legislative Research Unit,
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1 as required by Section 3.1 of the General Assembly
2 Organization Act, and filing such additional copies with the
3 State Government Report Distribution Center for the General
4 Assembly as is required under paragraph (t) of Section 7 of
5 the State Library Act.
6 (b) The Department of Human Services shall establish
7 policies and procedures for developing and implementing
8 interagency agreements with other agencies of the State
9 providing child care services or reimbursement for such
10 services.
11 (c) In cooperation with other State agencies, the
12 Department of Human Services shall develop and implement, or
13 shall continue, a resource and referral system for the State
14 of Illinois either within the Department or by contract with
15 local or regional agencies. Funding for implementation of
16 this system may be provided through Department appropriations
17 or other inter-agency funding arrangements. The resource and
18 referral system shall provide at least the following
19 services:
20 (1) Assembling and maintaining a data base on the
21 supply of child care services.
22 (2) Providing information and referrals for
23 parents.
24 (3) Coordinating the development of new child care
25 resources.
26 (4) Providing technical assistance and training to
27 child care service providers.
28 (5) Recording and analyzing the demand for child
29 care services.
30 (d) The Department of Human Services shall conduct day
31 care planning activities with the following priorities:
32 (1) Development of voluntary day care resources
33 wherever possible, with the provision for grants-in-aid
34 only where demonstrated to be useful and necessary as
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1 incentives or supports.
2 (2) Emphasis on service to children with the
3 following priorities:
4 (A) Children from families in stress and
5 crises whose members potentially may become, or are
6 in danger of becoming, non-productive and dependent
7 and children in protective service cases and
8 children with special needs.
9 (B) Children of working parents who have
10 recently exhausted their day care benefits from
11 State or federal public assistance.
12 (C) Children of recipients of public
13 assistance when the such service will allow training
14 or employment of the parent toward achieving the
15 goal of independence. Emphasis shall also be given
16 to support services that will help to ensure the
17 parents' graduation from high school and to services
18 for participants in the Project Chance program of
19 job training conducted by the Department.
20 (D) Children of teen-age parents.
21 (E) Children in very low income families with
22 working parents.
23 (F) Children of all other eligible families.
24 (3) Maximum employment of recipients of public
25 assistance in day care centers and day care homes,
26 operated in conjunction with short-term work training
27 programs.
28 (4) (Blank). Care of children from families in
29 stress and crises whose members potentially may become,
30 or are in danger of becoming, non-productive and
31 dependent.
32 (5) Expansion of family day care facilities
33 wherever possible.
34 (6) Location of centers in economically depressed
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1 neighborhoods, preferably in multi-service centers with
2 cooperation of other agencies.
3 (7) Use of existing facilities free of charge or
4 for reasonable rental whenever possible in lieu of
5 construction.
6 (8) Development of strategies for assuring a more
7 complete range of day care options, including provision
8 of day care services in homes, in schools, or in centers,
9 which will enable a parent or parents to complete a
10 course of education or obtain or maintain employment.
11 Emphasis shall be given to support services that will
12 help to ensure such parents' graduation from high school and
13 to services for participants in the Project Chance program of
14 job training conducted by the Department.
15 (e) The Department of Human Services shall actively
16 stimulate the development of public and private resources at
17 the local level. It shall also seek the fullest utilization
18 of federal funds directly or indirectly available to the
19 Department.
20 Where appropriate, existing non-governmental agencies or
21 associations shall be involved in planning by the Department.
22 (Source: P.A. 89-507, eff. 7-1-97.)