SR1024 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR1024 LRB101 19905 MST 70312 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, High-quality early childhood care and education services are proven by research to play a positive role in the education and healthy development of young children; and

WHEREAS, Research has shown that maltreatment has a significant impact on healthy brain development, particularly in the first three years of life; and

WHEREAS, Interventions carried out during critical periods can be effective in mitigating the negative impacts of maltreatment; and

WHEREAS, For decades, Illinois has invested substantial State resources into its early care and education system and, with the creation of the Illinois Commission on Equitable Early Childhood Education and Care Funding, will remain one of the nation's leading states in supporting young children; and

WHEREAS, State-funded early care and education programs have systems and policies in place to identify and enroll underrepresented and underserved populations; and

WHEREAS, In 2013 and again in 2018, the State's Early Learning Council identified eight priority populations and encouraged communities and individual early care and education programs to increase their service to these priority populations; and

WHEREAS, One of the eight priority populations identified is the number of children and families with Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) involvement; and

WHEREAS, Nearly 45 percent of Youth in Care are under the age of six; and

WHEREAS, Public Act 100-860 provides that families with children under the age of five who have an open intact family services case with DCFS are eligible for child care assistance under the Department of Human Services' (IDHS) Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP); and

WHEREAS, Public Act 100-860 also provides that families with children under the age of five who have an open intact family services case with DCFS shall remain eligible for child care assistance six months after the child's intact family services case is closed, regardless of whether the child's parents or other relatives as defined by rule are working or participating in employment or education or training programs; and

WHEREAS, The State's early care and education system is complex, with multiple State agencies administering a myriad of programs; and

WHEREAS, Despite systems in place at State agencies to identify and enroll children and families with DCFS involvement into high-quality early care and education programs, data show that not enough Youth in Care under the age of six are enrolled in programs; and

WHEREAS, The State has created and funded innovative solutions to address priority populations, such as the Illinois Pregnant and Parenting Youth in Care (IPPYC) Home Visiting pilot, which provides evidence-based home visiting services to pregnant or parenting teens or young adults who are in foster care and their children; and

WHEREAS, With passage of the federal Families First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA), the State must put a renewed focus on connecting this underserved population with high-quality early care and education services; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that the High-Quality Early Childhood Care and Education Advisory Committee is created and charged with the task of producing recommendations for enrolling more children and families in high-quality care and education programs; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Committee shall consist of the following members, who shall serve without compensation:

(1) the (DCFS) Deputy Director-Permanent Services or his or her designee;

(2) the (DCFS) Deputy Director-Intact Services or his or her designee;

(3) the (DCFS) Deputy Director-Education & Transition Services or his or her designee;

(4) the (DCFS) Deputy Director-Research/Child Well-Being or his or her designee;

(5) the (DCFS) Deputy Director-Contract Administration or his or her designee;

(6) the (DCFS) Deputy Director-Licensing or his or her designee;

(7) the (DCFS) Deputy Director-Monitoring or his or her designee;

(8) the (DCFS) Administrator-Child & Family Policy or his or her designee;

(9) 3 members who represent Point of Service agencies, appointed by the Director of the Department of Children and Family Services;

(10) the Executive Director of the Governor's Office of Early Childhood Development or his or her designee;

(11) the Chair of the Illinois State Board of Education or his or her designee; and

(12) the Director of the Department of Human Services or his or her designee; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Committee shall convene within 60 days of the adoption of this resolution and shall select a chairperson at its first meeting; the Committee shall thereafter meet on a regular schedule, no fewer than three times before submitting its recommendations; and

RESOLVED, That the Early Learning Council of the Governor's Office of Early Childhood Development shall provide administrative support for the Committee; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Committee shall submit its final report to the General Assembly no later than December 31, 2020 and, upon the filing of the report, is dissolved; and be further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be delivered to the Department of Children and Family Services, the Governor's Office of Early Childhood Development, the Illinois State Board of Education, and the Department of Human Services.