HB0659 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB096 04767 ASK 14831 b

96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2009 and 2010
HB0659

Introduced 2/6/2009, by Rep. Paul D. Froehlich

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

225 ILCS 10/4	from Ch. 23, par. 2214
225 ILCS 10/5	from Ch. 23, par. 2215

Amends the Child Care Act of 1969. Requires the Department of Children and Family Services to send a notice to all parents of children residing within or being cared for by a child care facility upon any indicated finding made by the Department during an examination of the facility. Provides that upon any indicated finding by the Department during an examination of a day care center, day care home, or group day care home, a notice of such finding must be posted upon the main door of the day care center, day care home, or group day care home. Requires the Department to post information concerning any indicated findings made during an examination of a day care center, day care home, or group day care home on its Internet website.

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning regulation.

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

Section 5. The Child Care Act of 1969 is amended by changing Sections 4 and 5 as follows:

(225 ILCS 10/4) (from Ch. 23, par. 2214)

Sec. 4. License requirement; application; notice.

(a) Any person, group of persons or corporation who or which receives children or arranges for care or placement of one or more children unrelated to the operator must apply for a license to operate one of the types of facilities defined in Sections 2.05 through 2.19 and in Section 2.22 of this Act. Any relative who receives a child or children for placement by the Department on a full-time basis may apply for a license to operate a foster family home as defined in Section 2.17 of this Act.

(a-5) Any agency, person, group of persons, association, organization, corporation, institution, center, or group providing adoption services must be licensed by the Department as a child welfare agency as defined in Section 2.08 of this Act. "Providing adoption services" as used in this Act, includes facilitating or engaging in adoption services.

(b) Application for a license to operate a child care facility must be made to the Department in the manner and on forms prescribed by it. An application to operate a foster family home shall include, at a minimum: a completed written form; written authorization by the applicant and all adult members of the applicant's household to conduct a criminal background investigation; medical evidence in the form of a medical report, on forms prescribed by the Department, that the applicant and all members of the household are free from communicable diseases or physical and mental conditions that affect their ability to provide care for the child or children; the names and addresses of at least 3 persons not related to the applicant who can attest to the applicant's moral character; and fingerprints submitted by the applicant and all adult members of the applicant's household.

(c) The Department shall notify the public when a child care institution, maternity center, or group home licensed by the Department undergoes a change in (i) the range of care or services offered at the facility, (ii) the age or type of children served, or (iii) the area within the facility used by children. The Department shall notify the public of the change in a newspaper of general circulation in the county or municipality in which the applicant's facility is or is proposed to be located.

(c-5) Upon any indicated finding by the Department during an examination of a child care facility, the Department must send a notice to all parents of children residing within or being cared for by that facility. This notice must provide the parent with information on the exact nature of the finding, the date the finding was made, and the corrective action that the child care facility is required to take in response to the finding.

(d) If, upon examination of the facility and investigation of persons responsible for care of children, the Department is satisfied that the facility and responsible persons reasonably meet standards prescribed for the type of facility for which application is made, it shall issue a license in proper form, designating on that license the type of child care facility and, except for a child welfare agency, the number of children to be served at any one time.

(e) The Department shall not issue or renew the license of any child welfare agency providing adoption services, unless the agency (i) is officially recognized by the United States Internal Revenue Service as a tax-exempt organization described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (or any successor provision of federal tax law) and (ii) is in compliance with all of the standards necessary to maintain its status as an organization described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (or any successor provision of federal tax law). The Department shall grant a grace period of 24 months from the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly for existing child welfare agencies providing adoption services to obtain 501(c)(3) status. The Department shall permit an existing child welfare agency that converts from its current structure in order to be recognized as a 501(c)(3) organization as required by this Section to either retain its current license or transfer its current license to a newly formed entity, if the creation of a new entity is required in order to comply with this Section, provided that the child welfare agency demonstrates that it continues to meet all other licensing requirements and that the principal officers and directors and programs of the converted child welfare agency or newly organized child welfare agency are substantially the same as the original. The Department shall have the sole discretion to grant a one year extension to any agency unable to obtain 501(c)(3) status within the timeframe specified in this subsection (e), provided that such agency has filed an application for 501(c)(3) status with the Internal Revenue Service within the 2-year timeframe specified in this subsection (e).

(Source: P.A. 94-586, eff. 8-15-05.)

(225 ILCS 10/5) (from Ch. 23, par. 2215)

Sec. 5. (a) In respect to child care institutions, maternity centers, child welfare agencies, day care centers, day care agencies and group homes, the Department, upon receiving application filed in proper order, shall examine the facilities and persons responsible for care of children therein.

(b) In respect to foster family and day care homes, applications may be filed on behalf of such homes by a licensed child welfare agency, by a State agency authorized to place children in foster care or by out-of-State agencies approved by the Department to place children in this State. In respect to day care homes, applications may be filed on behalf of such homes by a licensed day care agency or licensed child welfare agency. In applying for license in behalf of a home in which children are placed by and remain under supervision of the applicant agency, such agency shall certify that the home and persons responsible for care of unrelated children therein, or the home and relatives responsible for the care of related children therein, were found to be in reasonable compliance with standards prescribed by the Department for the type of care indicated.

(c) The Department shall not allow any person to examine facilities under a provision of this Act who has not passed an examination demonstrating that such person is familiar with this Act and with the appropriate standards and regulations of the Department.

(d) With the exception of day care centers, day care homes, and group day care homes, licenses shall be issued in such form and manner as prescribed by the Department and are valid for 4 years from the date issued, unless revoked by the Department or voluntarily surrendered by the licensee. Licenses issued for day care centers, day care homes, and group day care homes shall be valid for 3 years from the date issued, unless revoked by the Department or voluntarily surrendered by the licensee. When a licensee has made timely and sufficient application for the renewal of a license or a new license with reference to any activity of a continuing nature, the existing license shall continue in full force and effect for up to 30 days until the final agency decision on the application has been made. The Department may further extend the period in which such decision must be made in individual cases for up to 30 days, but such extensions shall be only upon good cause shown.

(e) The Department may issue one 6-month permit to a newly established facility for child care to allow that facility reasonable time to become eligible for a full license. If the facility for child care is a foster family home, or day care home the Department may issue one 2-month permit only.

(f) The Department may issue an emergency permit to a child care facility taking in children as a result of the temporary closure for more than 2 weeks of a licensed child care facility due to a natural disaster. An emergency permit under this subsection shall be issued to a facility only if the persons providing child care services at the facility were employees of the temporarily closed day care center at the time it was closed. No investigation of an employee of a child care facility receiving an emergency permit under this subsection shall be required if that employee has previously been investigated at another child care facility. No emergency permit issued under this subsection shall be valid for more than 90 days after the date of issuance.

(g) During the hours of operation of any licensed child care facility, authorized representatives of the Department may without notice visit the facility for the purpose of determining its continuing compliance with this Act or regulations adopted pursuant thereto.

(h) Day care centers, day care homes, and group day care homes shall be monitored at least annually by a licensing representative from the Department or the agency that recommended licensure. Upon any indicated finding by the Department during an examination of a day care center, day care home, or group day care home, a notice of such finding must be posted upon the main door of the day care center, day care home, or group day care home. This notice must remain posted until such time as the Department has deemed the finding cleared or corrected and has instructed the center or home that the notice may be removed. The Department shall post information concerning any indicated findings made during an examination of a day care center, day care home, or group day care home on its Internet website.

(Source: P.A. 89-21, eff. 7-1-95; 89-263, eff. 8-10-95; 89-626, eff. 8-9-96.)