Full Text of SB3612 100th General Assembly
SB3612 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2017 and 2018 SB3612 Introduced 5/17/2018, by Sen. Iris Y. Martinez SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
| 305 ILCS 5/9A-11 | from Ch. 23, par. 9A-11 |
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Amends the Illinois Public Aid Code. In provisions concerning the child care assistance program, requires the Department of Human Services to provide child care services to parents or other relatives who are engaged in a good-faith job search for a period of up to 6 months. Deletes certain provisions regarding eligibility of certain families eligible for child care assistance and factors for determining assistance. Adds language providing that no family shall be excluded from eligibility for child care benefits based solely on household income and that the amount of child care assistance shall (i) take into account the amount families can afford to pay based on the co-payment scale established by the Department and (ii) cover the cost of quality child care. Contains provisions limiting redeterminations to once every 12 months. Removes provisions authorizing the Department to lower income eligibility ceilings, raise parent co-payments, create waiting lists, or take such other actions during a fiscal year as are necessary to ensure that child care benefits paid under the Code do not exceed the amounts appropriated for those child care benefits. Contains provisions requiring the Department to: (1) establish a wage scale sufficient to recruit and retain a skilled and diverse child care workforce; (2) annually publish in draft form its determination of the cost of quality care; (3) adopt policies that maximize the participation of eligible children in Head Start and Early Head Start programs; and (4) submit annual reports to the General Assembly concerning certain matters.
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning public aid.
| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 1. Legislative findings. | 5 | | The General Assembly finds that child care in Illinois is | 6 | | often unaffordable for families, difficult for families to | 7 | | access, and relies on a low-wage workforce. | 8 | | The average annual cost of child care for an infant in a | 9 | | licensed center is more than the cost of in-state tuition at a | 10 | | 4-year public university. Child care for 2 young children | 11 | | exceeds the average cost of rent in the State. In Illinois, a | 12 | | parent earning minimum wage would have to spend more than 55% | 13 | | of their annual earnings on child care for a 4-year old, and | 14 | | nearly 75% for an infant. Federal rules concerning the Child | 15 | | Care and Development Fund recommend an affordability benchmark | 16 | | of no more than 7% of a family's income be charged as | 17 | | co-payment for child care assistance. | 18 | | Child care services are not always available when and where | 19 | | they are needed by families. There was a significant shortage | 20 | | of licensed child care capacity in 60% of Illinois ZIP codes as | 21 | | of 2016. Overall, the capacity to serve children ages 0-5 years | 22 | | in licensed centers, license-exempt centers, and licensed | 23 | | family child care homes was not sufficient to serve all | 24 | | children in families below 185% of the federal poverty level in |
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| 1 | | 2015. Many working parents in Illinois work "non-traditional" | 2 | | schedules including nights and weekends. In 2016, almost twice | 3 | | as many families made requests to child care resource and | 4 | | referral agencies for weekend care as was reported by | 5 | | providers. | 6 | | The child care workforce is highly degreed and credentialed | 7 | | but underpaid. Over 74% of child care teachers in Illinois have | 8 | | completed a college degree, yet their average wage is only $12 | 9 | | per hour. Licensed family child care homes report annual net | 10 | | income of $15,000 per year. The wages of both child care | 11 | | workers and preschool teachers in Illinois declined in real | 12 | | terms over 16 years from 1997-2013. Women make up 97% of this | 13 | | workforce. | 14 | | Section 5. The Illinois Public Aid Code is amended by | 15 | | changing Section 9A-11 as follows:
| 16 | | (305 ILCS 5/9A-11) (from Ch. 23, par. 9A-11)
| 17 | | Sec. 9A-11. Child care.
| 18 | | (a) The General Assembly recognizes that families with | 19 | | children need child
care in order to work , that parental income | 20 | | and economic stability is a key determinant of child outcomes, | 21 | | that an adequately compensated child care workforce is central | 22 | | to the quality of child care that young children receive, and | 23 | | that it is therefore in the State's interest to support parents | 24 | | in accessing child care services that best meet their family's |
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| 1 | | needs. Without assistance, working families often find quality | 2 | | child care to be unaffordable and hard to find, particularly | 3 | | for families with unpredictable work schedules or for those who | 4 | | work non-standard hours. The child care workforce has | 5 | | historically been paid poorly for its vitally important work. | 6 | | The General Assembly declares that child care should be | 7 | | affordable, accessible, and available to all parents including | 8 | | those working all schedules, and should be provided by a | 9 | | workforce that earns a living wage . Child care is expensive and | 10 | | families with low incomes,
including those who are | 11 | | transitioning from welfare to work, often struggle to
pay the | 12 | | costs of day care. The
General Assembly understands the | 13 | | importance of helping low income working
families become and | 14 | | remain self-sufficient. The General Assembly also believes
| 15 | | that it is the responsibility of families to share in the costs | 16 | | of child care.
It is also the preference of the General | 17 | | Assembly that all working poor
families should be treated | 18 | | equally, regardless of their welfare status.
| 19 | | (b) The To the extent resources permit, the Illinois | 20 | | Department shall provide
child care services to parents or | 21 | | other relatives as defined by rule who are
working , engaged in | 22 | | a good-faith job search for a period of up to 6 months, or | 23 | | participating in employment or Department approved
education | 24 | | or training programs. At a minimum, the Illinois Department | 25 | | shall
cover the following categories of families shall be | 26 | | included: recipients of TANF under Article IV participating in |
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| 1 | | work and training activities as specified in the personal plan | 2 | | for employment and self-sufficiency; families transitioning | 3 | | from TANF to work; families at risk of becoming recipients of | 4 | | TANF; and families with special needs as defined by rule. :
| 5 | | (1) recipients of TANF under Article IV participating | 6 | | in work and training
activities as specified in the | 7 | | personal plan for employment and
self-sufficiency;
| 8 | | (2) families transitioning from TANF to work;
| 9 | | (3) families at risk of becoming recipients of TANF;
| 10 | | (4) families with special needs as defined by rule;
| 11 | | (5) working families with very low incomes as defined | 12 | | by rule; and
| 13 | | (6) families that are not recipients of TANF and that | 14 | | need child care assistance to participate in education and | 15 | | training activities. | 16 | | (b-1) The Department shall specify by rule the conditions | 17 | | of eligibility, the redetermination of eligibility, the
| 18 | | application process, and the types, amounts, and duration of | 19 | | services.
Eligibility for
child care benefits and the amount of | 20 | | child care provided may vary based on
family size, income,
and | 21 | | other factors as specified by rule.
| 22 | | (1) No Illinois family shall be excluded from | 23 | | eligibility for child care benefits based solely on | 24 | | household income. The amount of child care assistance | 25 | | provided shall take into account the amount families can | 26 | | afford to pay based on the co-payment scale established by |
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| 1 | | the Department under subsection (d) and shall cover the | 2 | | cost of quality child care as determined by the Department | 3 | | under subsection (e-2). | 4 | | (2) Eligibility for child care assistance shall be | 5 | | redetermined no more often than once every 12 months. | 6 | | Parents shall be required to notify the Department of any | 7 | | material changes in circumstances related to the cessation | 8 | | of work, training, or education. The Department shall take | 9 | | steps to ensure that the requirements for redetermination | 10 | | of eligibility do not cause undue disruptions to parents' | 11 | | employment or the continuity of care for children. | 12 | | In determining income eligibility for child care benefits, | 13 | | the Department
annually, at the beginning of each fiscal year, | 14 | | shall
establish, by rule, one income threshold for each family | 15 | | size, in relation to
percentage of State median income for a | 16 | | family of that size, that makes
families with incomes below the | 17 | | specified threshold eligible for assistance
and families with | 18 | | incomes above the specified threshold ineligible for
| 19 | | assistance. Through and including fiscal year 2007, the | 20 | | specified threshold must be no less than 50% of the
| 21 | | then-current State median income for each family size. | 22 | | Beginning in fiscal year 2008, the specified threshold must be | 23 | | no less than 185% of the then-current federal poverty level for | 24 | | each family size.
| 25 | | In determining eligibility for
assistance, the Department | 26 | | shall not give preference to any category of
recipients
or give |
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| 1 | | preference to individuals based on their receipt of benefits | 2 | | under this
Code.
| 3 | | Nothing in this Section shall be
construed as conferring | 4 | | entitlement status to eligible families.
| 5 | | The Illinois
Department is authorized to lower income | 6 | | eligibility ceilings, raise parent
co-payments, create waiting | 7 | | lists, or take such other actions during a fiscal
year as are | 8 | | necessary to ensure that child care benefits paid under this
| 9 | | Article do not exceed the amounts appropriated for those child | 10 | | care benefits.
These changes may be accomplished by emergency | 11 | | rule under Section 5-45 of the
Illinois Administrative | 12 | | Procedure Act, except that the limitation on the number
of | 13 | | emergency rules that may be adopted in a 24-month period shall | 14 | | not apply.
| 15 | | The Illinois Department may contract with other State | 16 | | agencies or child care
organizations for the administration of | 17 | | child care services.
| 18 | | (b-2) (c) Payment shall be made for child care that | 19 | | otherwise meets the
requirements of this Section and applicable | 20 | | standards of State and local
law and regulation, including any | 21 | | requirements the Illinois Department
promulgates by rule in | 22 | | addition to the licensure
requirements
promulgated by the | 23 | | Department of Children and Family Services and Fire
Prevention | 24 | | and Safety requirements promulgated by the Office of the State
| 25 | | Fire Marshal and is provided in any of the following:
| 26 | | (1) a child care center which is licensed or exempt |
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| 1 | | from licensure
pursuant to Section 2.09 of the Child Care | 2 | | Act of 1969;
| 3 | | (2) a licensed child care home or home exempt from | 4 | | licensing;
| 5 | | (3) a licensed group child care home;
| 6 | | (4) other types of child care, including child care | 7 | | provided
by relatives or persons living in the same home as | 8 | | the child, as determined by
the Illinois Department by | 9 | | rule.
| 10 | | (c-5)
Solely for the purposes of coverage under the | 11 | | Illinois Public Labor Relations Act, child and day care home | 12 | | providers, including licensed and license exempt, | 13 | | participating in the Department's child care assistance | 14 | | program shall be considered to be public employees and the | 15 | | State of Illinois shall be considered to be their employer as | 16 | | of the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 94th | 17 | | General Assembly, but not before. The State shall engage in | 18 | | collective bargaining with an exclusive representative of | 19 | | child and day care home providers participating in the child | 20 | | care assistance program concerning their terms and conditions | 21 | | of employment that are within the State's control. Nothing in | 22 | | this subsection shall be understood to limit the right of | 23 | | families receiving services defined in this Section to select | 24 | | child and day care home providers or supervise them within the | 25 | | limits of this Section. The State shall not be considered to be | 26 | | the employer of child and day care home providers for any |
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| 1 | | purposes not specifically provided in this amendatory Act of | 2 | | the 94th General Assembly, including but not limited to, | 3 | | purposes of vicarious liability in tort and purposes of | 4 | | statutory retirement or health insurance benefits. Child and | 5 | | day care home providers shall not be covered by the State | 6 | | Employees Group Insurance Act of 1971. | 7 | | In according child and day care home providers and their | 8 | | selected representative rights under the Illinois Public Labor | 9 | | Relations Act, the State intends that the State action | 10 | | exemption to application of federal and State antitrust laws be | 11 | | fully available to the extent that their activities are | 12 | | authorized by this amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly.
| 13 | | (d) The Illinois Department shall establish, by rule, a | 14 | | co-payment scale that provides for cost sharing by families | 15 | | that receive
child care services , including parents whose only | 16 | | income is from
assistance under this Code . The co-payment shall | 17 | | be based on family income , and family size , and the number of | 18 | | children needing care and may be based on other factors as | 19 | | appropriate. The co-payment scale shall ensure that: | 20 | | (1) no family is required to pay more than 7% of its | 21 | | family income toward the cost of quality child care as | 22 | | determined by the Department under subsection (e-2); | 23 | | (2) low-income and moderate-income families are | 24 | | required to pay no more than they can reasonably afford; | 25 | | and | 26 | | (3) co-payments are Co-payments may be waived for |
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| 1 | | families whose incomes are at or below the federal poverty | 2 | | level.
| 3 | | (d-5) (Blank). The Illinois Department, in consultation | 4 | | with its Child Care and Development Advisory Council, shall | 5 | | develop a plan to revise the child care assistance program's | 6 | | co-payment scale. The plan shall be completed no later than | 7 | | February 1, 2008, and shall include: | 8 | | (1) findings as to the percentage of income that the | 9 | | average American family spends on child care and the | 10 | | relative amounts that low-income families and the average | 11 | | American family spend on other necessities of life;
| 12 | | (2) recommendations for revising the child care | 13 | | co-payment scale to assure that families receiving child | 14 | | care services from the Department are paying no more than | 15 | | they can reasonably afford; | 16 | | (3) recommendations for revising the child care | 17 | | co-payment scale to provide at-risk children with complete | 18 | | access to Preschool for All and Head Start; and | 19 | | (4) recommendations for changes in child care program | 20 | | policies that affect the affordability of child care.
| 21 | | (e) (Blank).
| 22 | | (e-1) The Department shall, by rule, establish a wage scale | 23 | | sufficient to recruit and retain a skilled and diverse | 24 | | workforce. All child care providers receiving payment from the | 25 | | Department shall be required to meet or exceed wage standards | 26 | | under the wage scale. The wage scale shall be established and |
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| 1 | | updated annually in consultation with unions representing the | 2 | | child care workforce and shall: | 3 | | (1) at a minimum, provide a living wage for family | 4 | | child care providers and all staff of child care providers; | 5 | | as used in this paragraph, "living wage" means an hourly | 6 | | wage that is sufficient for a full-time year-round worker | 7 | | to cover the basic self-sufficiency needs of a family of 4 | 8 | | in the geographic area in which the worker resides; | 9 | | (2) ensure wages for family child care providers and | 10 | | staff of child care providers that are comparable to wages | 11 | | for elementary educators with similar qualifications and | 12 | | experience; and | 13 | | (3) recognize variations by geographic area. | 14 | | (e-2) The Department shall annually publish in draft form | 15 | | its determination of the cost of quality care which shall be | 16 | | revised based upon public review and comment. The determination | 17 | | of the cost of quality care shall be based on a statistically | 18 | | valid and reliable cost estimation process, established by | 19 | | rule, that: | 20 | | (1) collects information about actual costs and | 21 | | expenses; | 22 | | (2) recognizes variations in the cost of child care | 23 | | services by geographic area, type of provider, and age of | 24 | | child; | 25 | | (3) recognizes the additional costs associated with | 26 | | providing quality and inclusive child care services for |
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| 1 | | children with disabilities; | 2 | | (4) recognizes the additional costs associated with | 3 | | providing child care during non-traditional hours or in | 4 | | cases where work hours and care needs vary from week to | 5 | | week; | 6 | | (5) includes a process to define the cost of quality | 7 | | child care provided by a family member, friend, or neighbor | 8 | | that takes into account the unique needs and | 9 | | characteristics of this type of care; | 10 | | (6) is based upon definitions of quality care | 11 | | established in consultation with parents, unions | 12 | | representing the child care workforce, and other | 13 | | stakeholders; | 14 | | (7) accounts for the costs of paying all family child | 15 | | care providers and all staff of child care providers at or | 16 | | above the wage scale established in subsection (e-1); and | 17 | | (8) is updated annually. | 18 | | (f) Rates shall be set at levels that cover the full cost | 19 | | of quality child care, as established under subsection (e-2), | 20 | | and shall be updated annually in consultation with parents, | 21 | | unions representing the child care workforce, and other | 22 | | stakeholders. The Illinois Department shall, by rule, set rates | 23 | | to be paid for the
various types of child care. Child care may | 24 | | be provided through one of the
following methods:
| 25 | | (1) arranging the child care through eligible | 26 | | providers by use of
purchase of service contracts or |
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| 1 | | vouchers;
| 2 | | (2) arranging with other agencies and community | 3 | | volunteer groups for
non-reimbursed child care;
| 4 | | (3) (blank); or
| 5 | | (4) adopting such other arrangements as the Department | 6 | | determines
appropriate.
| 7 | | (f-5) (Blank). | 8 | | (g) Families eligible for assistance under this Section | 9 | | shall be given the
following options:
| 10 | | (1) receiving a child care certificate issued by the | 11 | | Department or a
subcontractor of the Department that may be | 12 | | used by the parents as payment for
child care and | 13 | | development services only; or
| 14 | | (2) if space is available, enrolling the child with a | 15 | | child care provider
that has a purchase of service contract | 16 | | with the Department or a subcontractor
of the Department | 17 | | for the provision of child care and development services.
| 18 | | The Department may identify particular priority | 19 | | populations for whom they may
request special | 20 | | consideration by a provider with purchase of service
| 21 | | contracts, provided that the providers shall be permitted | 22 | | to maintain a balance
of clients in terms of household | 23 | | incomes and families and children with special
needs, as | 24 | | defined by rule.
| 25 | | (h) The Department shall establish, by rule, policies that | 26 | | maximize the participation of eligible children in Head Start |
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| 1 | | and Early Head Start programs. The Department shall facilitate | 2 | | the coordination of the delivery of services under this Section | 3 | | with the goal of increasing participation in Head Start and | 4 | | Early Head Start programs in the State. | 5 | | (i) No less than 9% of the funds appropriated in any fiscal | 6 | | year for the purposes of this Section shall be dedicated to | 7 | | improving the quality of child care in the State. The | 8 | | Department shall determine the utilization of these funds by | 9 | | regularly consulting with parents, unions representing the | 10 | | child care workforce, and other stakeholders to identify | 11 | | quality improvement strategies, goals, and priorities. | 12 | | Allowable uses of funds under this subsection include: | 13 | | improving the skills and qualifications of the existing | 14 | | workforce; increasing workforce compensation; and building the | 15 | | supply of quality care, including provider start-up and | 16 | | expansion. | 17 | | (j) The Department shall annually provide a report to the | 18 | | General Assembly that includes the following: | 19 | | (1) how the Department is ensuring a sufficient supply | 20 | | of quality child care programs to meet the needs of | 21 | | families in the State, including access to non-standard | 22 | | hour care, care for children with special needs, and care | 23 | | for English language learners; | 24 | | (2) how quality standards and quality funding are being | 25 | | coordinated to minimize barriers to quality improvement | 26 | | and ensure the continued employment of an experienced, |
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| 1 | | diverse workforce; and | 2 | | (3) how the Department is minimizing barriers to | 3 | | provider participation in the child care assistance | 4 | | program funded under this Section, including, but not | 5 | | limited to, following generally accepted payment practices | 6 | | and ensuring timeliness of payments. | 7 | | The report to the General Assembly shall be filed with the | 8 | | Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Secretary of the | 9 | | Senate in electronic form only, in the manner that the Clerk | 10 | | and the Secretary shall direct. | 11 | | (Source: P.A. 100-387, eff. 8-25-17.)
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