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Public Act 093-0711
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| SB2171 Enrolled |
LRB093 15190 MKM 40786 b |
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AN ACT concerning professional development.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The Department of Human Services Act is amended |
by changing Section 10-22 as follows:
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(20 ILCS 1305/10-22)
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Sec. 10-22. Great START program.
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(a) Beginning October 1, 2000 and until July 1, 2004, The |
Department of
Human Services shall,
subject to a specific |
appropriation for
this purpose, operate a Great START (Strategy |
To Attract and Retain
Teachers) program. The goal of the |
program is
to improve children's developmental and educational |
outcomes in child care by
encouraging
increased professional |
preparation by staff and
staff retention. The Great START |
program shall coordinate with the TEACH
professional |
development program.
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The program shall provide wage supplements and may include |
other incentives
to licensed child care center
personnel, |
including early childhood
teachers, school-age workers, early |
childhood assistants, school-age
assistants, and directors, as |
such positions are defined by
administrative rule of the |
Department of Children and Family Services. The
program shall |
provide wage supplements and may include other incentives to
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licensed family day care home personnel and licensed group day |
care home
personnel,
including caregivers and assistants as |
such positions are
defined by administrative rule of the |
Department of Children and Family
Services. Individuals will |
receive supplements
commensurate with their qualifications.
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(b) (Blank).
The Department shall convene a working |
committee of its standing Child
and Development Advisory |
Council to make
recommendations
by October 1, 2000 on the
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components of the Great START program. The working committee |
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shall
consist of experts from the child care and
early |
childhood education field. In addition, the working committee |
shall
include, when necessary, the Secretary of Human Services,
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the
Director of Children and Family Services, the
Director of |
Commerce and Community Affairs, the Director of Employment
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Security, the Superintendent of the State
Board of Education, |
the Chair of the Community College Board, and the Chair of
the |
Executive Committee of the Board
of Higher Education, or their |
designees.
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(c) The Department shall, by rule, define the scope and |
operation of the
program, including a wage supplement scale. |
The
scale shall pay increasing amounts for
higher levels of |
educational attainment beyond minimum qualifications and shall
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recognize longevity of employment.
Subject to the availability |
of sufficient appropriation, the wage supplements
shall be paid |
to child care personnel in the form of
bonuses at 6 month |
intervals. Six months of
continuous service with a single |
employer is required to be eligible to receive
a wage |
supplement bonus. Wage
supplements shall be paid directly to |
individual day care personnel, not to
their employers. Eligible |
individuals must
provide to the Department or its agent all |
information and documentation,
including but not limited to |
college transcripts, to
demonstrate their qualifications for a |
particular
wage supplement level.
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If appropriations permit, the Department may include |
one-time signing bonuses
or other incentives to help providers |
attract staff,
provided that the signing bonuses are less than |
the supplement staff would have
received if they had remained |
employed
with another day care center or family day care home.
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If appropriations permit, the Department may include |
one-time longevity
bonuses or other incentives to recognize |
staff who have
remained with a single employer.
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(d) (Blank).
The Department shall evaluate the Great START |
program, gather data
on
turnover rates, educational
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attainment, and other relevant issues, and submit a report to |
the General
Assembly on the Great START program by
December 31, |