HB3620eng 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

  
  
  

 


 
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1    AN ACT concerning public aid.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Illinois Public Aid Code is amended by
5changing Section 9A-11 and by adding Section 9A-2a as follows:
 
6    (305 ILCS 5/9A-2a new)
7    Sec. 9A-2a. Federal poverty level; definition. As used in
8this Article, "federal poverty level" means the poverty
9guidelines updated periodically in the Federal Register by the
10U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under the
11authority of 42 U.S.C. 9902(2).
 
12    (305 ILCS 5/9A-11)  (from Ch. 23, par. 9A-11)
13    Sec. 9A-11. Child care.
14    (a) The General Assembly recognizes that families with
15children need child care in order to work. Child care is
16expensive and families with low incomes, including those who
17are transitioning from welfare to work, often struggle to pay
18the costs of day care. The General Assembly understands the
19importance of helping low-income working families become and
20remain self-sufficient. The General Assembly also believes
21that it is the responsibility of families to share in the costs
22of child care. It is also the preference of the General

 

 

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1Assembly that all working poor families should be treated
2equally, regardless of their welfare status.
3    (b) To the extent resources permit, the Illinois
4Department shall provide child care services to parents or
5other relatives as defined by rule who are working or
6participating in employment or Department approved education
7or training programs. At a minimum, the Illinois Department
8shall cover the 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;
15        (5) working families with very low incomes as defined
16    by rule;
17        (6) families that are not recipients of TANF and that
18    need child care assistance to participate in education and
19    training activities; and
20        (7) families with children under the age of 5 who have
21    an open intact family services case with the Department of
22    Children and Family Services. Any family that receives
23    child care assistance in accordance with this paragraph
24    shall remain eligible for child care assistance 6 months
25    after the child's intact family services case is closed,
26    regardless of whether the child's parents or other

 

 

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1    relatives as defined by rule are working or participating
2    in Department approved employment or education or training
3    programs. The Department of Human Services, in
4    consultation with the Department of Children and Family
5    Services, shall adopt rules to protect the privacy of
6    families who are the subject of an open intact family
7    services case when such families enroll in child care
8    services. Additional rules shall be adopted to offer
9    children who have an open intact family services case the
10    opportunity to receive an Early Intervention screening and
11    other services that their families may be eligible for as
12    provided by the Department of Human Services.
13    The Department shall specify by rule the conditions of
14eligibility, the application process, and the types, amounts,
15and duration of services. Eligibility for child care benefits
16and the amount of child care provided may vary based on family
17size, income, and other factors as specified by rule.
18    A family's eligibility for child care services shall be
19redetermined no sooner than 12 months following the initial
20determination or most recent redetermination. During the
2112-month periods, the family shall remain eligible for child
22care services regardless of (i) a change in family income,
23unless family income exceeds 85% of State median income, or
24(ii) a temporary change in the ongoing status of the parents or
25other relatives, as defined by rule, as working or attending a
26job training or educational program.

 

 

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1    In determining income eligibility for child care benefits,
2the Department annually, at the beginning of each fiscal year,
3shall establish, by rule, one income threshold for each family
4size, in relation to percentage of State median income for a
5family of that size, that makes families with incomes below
6the specified threshold eligible for assistance and families
7with incomes above the specified threshold ineligible for
8assistance. Through and including fiscal year 2007, the
9specified threshold must be no less than 50% of the
10then-current State median income for each family size.
11Beginning in fiscal year 2008, the specified threshold must be
12no less than 185% of the then-current federal poverty level
13for each family size. Notwithstanding any other provision of
14law or administrative rule to the contrary, beginning in
15fiscal year 2019, the specified threshold for working families
16with very low incomes as defined by rule must be no less than
17185% of the then-current federal poverty level for each family
18size. Notwithstanding any other provision of law or
19administrative rule to the contrary, beginning in State fiscal
20year 2022, the specified income threshold shall be no less
21than 200% of the then-current federal poverty level for each
22family size.
23    In determining eligibility for assistance, the Department
24shall not give preference to any category of recipients or
25give preference to individuals based on their receipt of
26benefits under this Code.

 

 

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1    Nothing in this Section shall be construed as conferring
2entitlement status to eligible families.
3    The Illinois Department is authorized to lower income
4eligibility ceilings, raise parent co-payments, create waiting
5lists, or take such other actions during a fiscal year as are
6necessary to ensure that child care benefits paid under this
7Article do not exceed the amounts appropriated for those child
8care benefits. These changes may be accomplished by emergency
9rule under Section 5-45 of the Illinois Administrative
10Procedure Act, except that the limitation on the number of
11emergency rules that may be adopted in a 24-month period shall
12not apply.
13    The Illinois Department may contract with other State
14agencies or child care organizations for the administration of
15child care services.
16    (c) Payment shall be made for child care that otherwise
17meets the requirements of this Section and applicable
18standards of State and local law and regulation, including any
19requirements the Illinois Department promulgates by rule in
20addition to the licensure requirements promulgated by the
21Department of Children and Family Services and Fire Prevention
22and Safety requirements promulgated by the Office of the State
23Fire Marshal, and is provided in any of the following:
24        (1) a child care center which is licensed or exempt
25    from licensure pursuant to Section 2.09 of the Child Care
26    Act of 1969;

 

 

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1        (2) a licensed child care home or home exempt from
2    licensing;
3        (3) a licensed group child care home;
4        (4) other types of child care, including child care
5    provided by relatives or persons living in the same home
6    as the child, as determined by the Illinois Department by
7    rule.
8    (c-5) Solely for the purposes of coverage under the
9Illinois Public Labor Relations Act, child and day care home
10providers, including licensed and license exempt,
11participating in the Department's child care assistance
12program shall be considered to be public employees and the
13State of Illinois shall be considered to be their employer as
14of January 1, 2006 (the effective date of Public Act 94-320),
15but not before. The State shall engage in collective
16bargaining with an exclusive representative of child and day
17care home providers participating in the child care assistance
18program concerning their terms and conditions of employment
19that are within the State's control. Nothing in this
20subsection shall be understood to limit the right of families
21receiving services defined in this Section to select child and
22day care home providers or supervise them within the limits of
23this Section. The State shall not be considered to be the
24employer of child and day care home providers for any purposes
25not specifically provided in Public Act 94-320, including, but
26not limited to, purposes of vicarious liability in tort and

 

 

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1purposes of statutory retirement or health insurance benefits.
2Child and day care home providers shall not be covered by the
3State Employees Group Insurance Act of 1971.
4    In according child and day care home providers and their
5selected representative rights under the Illinois Public Labor
6Relations Act, the State intends that the State action
7exemption to application of federal and State antitrust laws
8be fully available to the extent that their activities are
9authorized by Public Act 94-320.
10    (d) The Illinois Department shall establish, by rule, a
11co-payment scale that provides for cost sharing by families
12that receive child care services, including parents whose only
13income is from assistance under this Code. The co-payment
14shall be based on family income and family size and may be
15based on other factors as appropriate. Co-payments may be
16waived for families whose incomes are at or below the federal
17poverty level.
18    (d-5) The Illinois Department, in consultation with its
19Child Care and Development Advisory Council, shall develop a
20plan to revise the child care assistance program's co-payment
21scale. The plan shall be completed no later than February 1,
222008, and shall include:
23        (1) findings as to the percentage of income that the
24    average American family spends on child care and the
25    relative amounts that low-income families and the average
26    American family spend on other necessities of life;

 

 

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1        (2) recommendations for revising the child care
2    co-payment scale to assure that families receiving child
3    care services from the Department are paying no more than
4    they can reasonably afford;
5        (3) recommendations for revising the child care
6    co-payment scale to provide at-risk children with complete
7    access to Preschool for All and Head Start; and
8        (4) recommendations for changes in child care program
9    policies that affect the affordability of child care.
10    (e) (Blank).
11    (f) The Illinois Department shall, by rule, set rates to
12be paid for the various types of child care. Child care may be
13provided through one of the following methods:
14        (1) arranging the child care through eligible
15    providers by use of purchase of service contracts or
16    vouchers;
17        (2) arranging with other agencies and community
18    volunteer groups for non-reimbursed child care;
19        (3) (blank); or
20        (4) adopting such other arrangements as the Department
21    determines appropriate.
22    (f-1) Within 30 days after June 4, 2018 (the effective
23date of Public Act 100-587), the Department of Human Services
24shall establish rates for child care providers that are no
25less than the rates in effect on January 1, 2018 increased by
264.26%.

 

 

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1    (f-5) (Blank).
2    (g) Families eligible for assistance under this Section
3shall be given the following options:
4        (1) receiving a child care certificate issued by the
5    Department or a subcontractor of the Department that may
6    be used by the parents as payment for child care and
7    development services only; or
8        (2) if space is available, enrolling the child with a
9    child care provider that has a purchase of service
10    contract with the Department or a subcontractor of the
11    Department for the provision of child care and development
12    services. The Department may identify particular priority
13    populations for whom they may request special
14    consideration by a provider with purchase of service
15    contracts, provided that the providers shall be permitted
16    to maintain a balance of clients in terms of household
17    incomes and families and children with special needs, as
18    defined by rule.
19(Source: P.A. 100-387, eff. 8-25-17; 100-587, eff. 6-4-18;
20100-860, eff. 2-14-19; 100-909, eff. 10-1-18; 100-916, eff.
218-17-18; 101-81, eff. 7-12-19.)
 
22    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1,
232021.