95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2007 and 2008
HB2000

 

Introduced 2/26/2007, by Rep. Kevin A. McCarthy

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
225 ILCS 10/7   from Ch. 23, par. 2217

    Amends the Child Care Act of 1969. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning minimum standards for licensure.


LRB095 11330 RAS 32034 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB2000 LRB095 11330 RAS 32034 b

1     AN ACT concerning regulation.
 
2     Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
 
4     Section 5. The Child Care Act of 1969 is amended by
5 changing Section 7 as follows:
 
6     (225 ILCS 10/7)  (from Ch. 23, par. 2217)
7     Sec. 7. (a) The Department must prescribe and publish
8 minimum standards for licensing that apply to the the various
9 types of facilities for child care defined in this Act and that
10 are equally applicable to like institutions under the control
11 of the Department and to foster family homes used by and under
12 the direct supervision of the Department. The Department shall
13 seek the advice and assistance of persons representative of the
14 various types of child care facilities in establishing such
15 standards. The standards prescribed and published under this
16 Act take effect as provided in the Illinois Administrative
17 Procedure Act, and are restricted to regulations pertaining to
18 the following matters and to any rules and regulations required
19 or permitted by any other Section of this Act:
20         (1) The operation and conduct of the facility and
21     responsibility it assumes for child care;
22         (2) The character, suitability and qualifications of
23     the applicant and other persons directly responsible for

 

 

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1     the care and welfare of children served. All child day care
2     center licensees and employees who are required to report
3     child abuse or neglect under the Abused and Neglected Child
4     Reporting Act shall be required to attend training on
5     recognizing child abuse and neglect, as prescribed by
6     Department rules;
7         (3) The general financial ability and competence of the
8     applicant to provide necessary care for children and to
9     maintain prescribed standards;
10         (4) The number of individuals or staff required to
11     insure adequate supervision and care of the children
12     received. The standards shall provide that each child care
13     institution, maternity center, day care center, group
14     home, day care home, and group day care home shall have on
15     its premises during its hours of operation at least one
16     staff member certified in first aid, in the Heimlich
17     maneuver and in cardiopulmonary resuscitation by the
18     American Red Cross or other organization approved by rule
19     of the Department. Child welfare agencies shall not be
20     subject to such a staffing requirement. The Department may
21     offer, or arrange for the offering, on a periodic basis in
22     each community in this State in cooperation with the
23     American Red Cross, the American Heart Association or other
24     appropriate organization, voluntary programs to train
25     operators of foster family homes and day care homes in
26     first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation;

 

 

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1         (5) The appropriateness, safety, cleanliness and
2     general adequacy of the premises, including maintenance of
3     adequate fire prevention and health standards conforming
4     to State laws and municipal codes to provide for the
5     physical comfort, care and well-being of children
6     received;
7         (6) Provisions for food, clothing, educational
8     opportunities, program, equipment and individual supplies
9     to assure the healthy physical, mental and spiritual
10     development of children served;
11         (7) Provisions to safeguard the legal rights of
12     children served;
13         (8) Maintenance of records pertaining to the
14     admission, progress, health and discharge of children,
15     including, for day care centers and day care homes, records
16     indicating each child has been immunized as required by
17     State regulations. The Department shall require proof that
18     children enrolled in a facility have been immunized against
19     Haemophilus Influenzae B (HIB);
20         (9) Filing of reports with the Department;
21         (10) Discipline of children;
22         (11) Protection and fostering of the particular
23     religious faith of the children served;
24         (12) Provisions prohibiting firearms on day care
25     center premises except in the possession of peace officers;
26         (13) Provisions prohibiting handguns on day care home

 

 

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1     premises except in the possession of peace officers or
2     other adults who must possess a handgun as a condition of
3     employment and who reside on the premises of a day care
4     home;
5         (14) Provisions requiring that any firearm permitted
6     on day care home premises, except handguns in the
7     possession of peace officers, shall be kept in a
8     disassembled state, without ammunition, in locked storage,
9     inaccessible to children and that ammunition permitted on
10     day care home premises shall be kept in locked storage
11     separate from that of disassembled firearms, inaccessible
12     to children;
13         (15) Provisions requiring notification of parents or
14     guardians enrolling children at a day care home of the
15     presence in the day care home of any firearms and
16     ammunition and of the arrangements for the separate, locked
17     storage of such firearms and ammunition.
18     (b) If, in a facility for general child care, there are
19 children diagnosed as mentally ill, mentally retarded or
20 physically handicapped, who are determined to be in need of
21 special mental treatment or of nursing care, or both mental
22 treatment and nursing care, the Department shall seek the
23 advice and recommendation of the Department of Human Services,
24 the Department of Public Health, or both Departments regarding
25 the residential treatment and nursing care provided by the
26 institution.

 

 

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1     (c) The Department shall investigate any person applying to
2 be licensed as a foster parent to determine whether there is
3 any evidence of current drug or alcohol abuse in the
4 prospective foster family. The Department shall not license a
5 person as a foster parent if drug or alcohol abuse has been
6 identified in the foster family or if a reasonable suspicion of
7 such abuse exists, except that the Department may grant a
8 foster parent license to an applicant identified with an
9 alcohol or drug problem if the applicant has successfully
10 participated in an alcohol or drug treatment program, self-help
11 group, or other suitable activities.
12     (d) The Department, in applying standards prescribed and
13 published, as herein provided, shall offer consultation
14 through employed staff or other qualified persons to assist
15 applicants and licensees in meeting and maintaining minimum
16 requirements for a license and to help them otherwise to
17 achieve programs of excellence related to the care of children
18 served. Such consultation shall include providing information
19 concerning education and training in early childhood
20 development to providers of day care home services. The
21 Department may provide or arrange for such education and
22 training for those providers who request such assistance.
23     (e) The Department shall distribute copies of licensing
24 standards to all licensees and applicants for a license. Each
25 licensee or holder of a permit shall distribute copies of the
26 appropriate licensing standards and any other information

 

 

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1 required by the Department to child care facilities under its
2 supervision. Each licensee or holder of a permit shall maintain
3 appropriate documentation of the distribution of the
4 standards. Such documentation shall be part of the records of
5 the facility and subject to inspection by authorized
6 representatives of the Department.
7     (f) The Department shall prepare summaries of day care
8 licensing standards. Each licensee or holder of a permit for a
9 day care facility shall distribute a copy of the appropriate
10 summary and any other information required by the Department,
11 to the legal guardian of each child cared for in that facility
12 at the time when the child is enrolled or initially placed in
13 the facility. The licensee or holder of a permit for a day care
14 facility shall secure appropriate documentation of the
15 distribution of the summary and brochure. Such documentation
16 shall be a part of the records of the facility and subject to
17 inspection by an authorized representative of the Department.
18     (g) The Department shall distribute to each licensee and
19 holder of a permit copies of the licensing or permit standards
20 applicable to such person's facility. Each licensee or holder
21 of a permit shall make available by posting at all times in a
22 common or otherwise accessible area a complete and current set
23 of licensing standards in order that all employees of the
24 facility may have unrestricted access to such standards. All
25 employees of the facility shall have reviewed the standards and
26 any subsequent changes. Each licensee or holder of a permit

 

 

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1 shall maintain appropriate documentation of the current review
2 of licensing standards by all employees. Such records shall be
3 part of the records of the facility and subject to inspection
4 by authorized representatives of the Department.
5     (h) Any standards involving physical examinations,
6 immunization, or medical treatment shall include appropriate
7 exemptions for children whose parents object thereto on the
8 grounds that they conflict with the tenets and practices of a
9 recognized church or religious organization, of which the
10 parent is an adherent or member, and for children who should
11 not be subjected to immunization for clinical reasons.
12 (Source: P.A. 94-586, eff. 8-15-05.)