HB4791eng 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB4791 Engrossed LRB104 18416 KTG 31858 b

AN ACT concerning children.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Smart Start Illinois Act is amended by changing Section 95-10 as follows:

(325 ILCS 85/95-10)

Sec. 95-10. Smart Start Child Care Workforce Compensation Program.

(a) The Department of Human Services shall create and establish the Smart Start Child Care Workforce Compensation Program. The purpose of the Smart Start Child Care Workforce Compensation Program is to invest in early childhood education and care service providers, including, but not limited to, providers participating in the Child Care Assistance Program or in a Head Start or Early Head Start Program; to expand the supply of high-quality early childhood education and care; and to create a strong and stable early childhood education and care system with attractive wages, high-quality services, and affordable costs.

(b) The purpose of the Smart Start Child Care Workforce Compensation Program is to stabilize community-based early childhood education and care service providers, raise the wages of early childhood educators, and support quality enhancements that can position service providers to participate in other public funding streams, such as Preschool for All, in order to further enhance and expand quality service delivery.

(c) Subject to appropriation, the Department of Human Services shall implement the Smart Start Child Care Workforce Compensation Program for eligible licensed day care centers, licensed day care homes, and licensed group day care homes by October 1, 2024, or as soon as practicable, following completion of a planning and transition year. As By October 1, 2025, or as soon as practicable, and for each year thereafter, subject to appropriation, the Department of Human Services shall continue to operate the Smart Start Child Care Workforce Compensation Program annually with all licensed day care centers, licensed day care homes, and licensed group day care homes that meet eligibility requirements. Head Start programs and Early Head Start programs may be deemed eligible to participate in the Smart Start Child Care Workforce Compensation Program to the extent that appropriations are made available for new program entrants and shall not result in the reduction, reallocation, or displacement of funding for existing recipients. The Smart Start Child Care Workforce Compensation Program shall operate separately from and shall not supplant the Child Care Assistance Program as provided for in Section 9A-11 of the Illinois Public Aid Code.

(d) The Department of Human Services shall adopt administrative rules by October 1, 2024 to facilitate administration of the Smart Start Child Care Workforce Compensation Program, including, but not limited to, provisions for program eligibility, the application and funding calculation process, eligible expenses, required wage floors, and requirements for financial and personnel reporting and monitoring requirements. Eligibility and funding provisions shall be based on appropriation and a current model of the cost to provide child care services by a licensed child care center or licensed family child care home.

(e) Participation in multiple funding streams. A provider participating in the Smart Start Child Care Workforce Compensation Program may simultaneously receive funding through Head Start or Early Head Start programs. Receipt of funding under one program shall not disqualify or otherwise limit eligibility for funding under the other, provided that:

(1) funds are used in accordance with the requirements of each respective program; and

(2) funds are not used to supplant existing federal Head Start or Early Head Start funding, but may be used to supplement and enhance workforce compensation and program quality.

(Source: P.A. 103-8, eff. 6-7-23; 103-605, eff. 7-1-24.)