Section 50.1110  Eligible Child Care Provider

To qualify for a Smart Start Transition Grant, the applicant must meet all of the following requirements:

a)         be a licensed child care provider holding a valid day care license from DCFS (see 89 Ill. Adm. Code 406, 407 or 408) as of June 1, 2023 and ongoing;

b)         operate full-day and full-year, defined as offering at least eight consecutive hours of care per day, five days per week, for at least 47 weeks per year;

c)         have, for at least one month and time after December 31,2019, enrolled a number of children equal to or greater than 10% of its total licensed capacity subsidized through DHS' Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) (see 89 Ill. Adm. Code 50);

d)         typically rely on payments through Preschool for All, Prevention Initiative, Head Start, and/or Early Head Start for no more than 75% of its revenues;

e)         be open and receiving children at the time of application, not including temporary closures of no more than two weeks due to COVID-19;

f)         be current in the Registry Director portal (for additional information or to request access to the portal, contact the Illinois Gateways Registry Help Desk or complete and submit the Authorized Program Contact Access Request Form found on the Illinois Gateways to Opportunity website); and

g)         have complete and accepted reporting for all previously-received federal relief child care grants, including, but not limited to, Child Care Restoration Grants, Child Care Workforce Bonus, and Strengthen and Grow Child Care Grants.

(Source:  Amended at 48 Ill. Reg. 2159, effective January 24, 2024)