[ Search ] [ Legislation ] [ Bill Summary ]
[ Home ] [ Back ] [ Bottom ]
[ Introduced ] |
90_HB1336eng 20 ILCS 505/5.15 Amends the Children and Family Services Act. Provides that the Department of Human Services shall establish certain priorities for services to children in State-subsidized day care. LRB9004597PTcw HB1336 Engrossed LRB9004597PTcw 1 AN ACT to amend the Children and Family Services Act by 2 changing Section 5.15. 3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 4 represented in the General Assembly: 5 Section 5. The Children and Family Services Act is 6 amended by changing Section 5.15 as follows: 7 (20 ILCS 505/5.15) 8 (This Section may contain text from a Public Act with a 9 delayed effective date) 10 Sec. 5.15. Daycare; Department of Human Services. 11 (a) For the purpose of ensuring effective statewide 12 planning, development, and utilization of resources for the 13 day care of children, operated under various auspices, the 14 Department of Human Services is designated to coordinate all 15 day care activities for children of the State and shall 16 develop or continue, and shall update every year, a State 17 comprehensive day-care plan for submission to the Governor 18 that identifies high-priority areas and groups, relating them 19 to available resources and identifying the most effective 20 approaches to the use of existing day care services. The 21 State comprehensive day-care plan shall be made available to 22 the General Assembly following the Governor's approval of 23 the plan. 24 The plan shall include methods and procedures for the 25 development of additional day care resources for children to 26 meet the goal of reducing short-run and long-run dependency 27 and to provide necessary enrichment and stimulation to the 28 education of young children. Recommendations shall be made 29 for State policy on optimum use of private and public, local, 30 State and federal resources, including an estimate of the 31 resources needed for the licensing and regulation of day care HB1336 Engrossed -2- LRB9004597PTcw 1 facilities. 2 A written report shall be submitted to the Governor and 3 the General Assembly annually on April 15. The report shall 4 include an evaluation of developments over the preceding 5 fiscal year, including cost-benefit analyses of various 6 arrangements. Beginning with the report in 1990 submitted by 7 the Department's predecessor agency and every 2 years 8 thereafter, the report shall also include the following: 9 (1) An assessment of the child care services, needs 10 and available resources throughout the State and an 11 assessment of the adequacy of existing child care 12 services, including, but not limited to, services 13 assisted under this Act and under any other program 14 administered by other State agencies. 15 (2) A survey of day care facilities to determine 16 the number of qualified caregivers, as defined by rule, 17 attracted to vacant positions and any problems 18 encountered by facilities in attracting and retaining 19 capable caregivers. 20 (3) The average wages and salaries and fringe 21 benefit packages paid to caregivers throughout the State, 22 computed on a regional basis. 23 (4) The qualifications of new caregivers hired at 24 licensed day care facilities during the previous 2-year 25 period. 26 (5) Recommendations for increasing caregiver wages 27 and salaries to ensure quality care for children. 28 (6) Evaluation of the fee structure and income 29 eligibility for child care subsidized by the State. 30 The requirement for reporting to the General Assembly 31 shall be satisfied by filing copies of the report with the 32 Speaker, the Minority Leader, and the Clerk of the House of 33 Representatives, the President, the Minority Leader, and the 34 Secretary of the Senate, and the Legislative Research Unit, HB1336 Engrossed -3- LRB9004597PTcw 1 as required by Section 3.1 of the General Assembly 2 Organization Act, and filing such additional copies with the 3 State Government Report Distribution Center for the General 4 Assembly as is required under paragraph (t) of Section 7 of 5 the State Library Act. 6 (b) The Department of Human Services shall establish 7 policies and procedures for developing and implementing 8 interagency agreements with other agencies of the State 9 providing child care services or reimbursement for such 10 services. 11 (c) In cooperation with other State agencies, the 12 Department of Human Services shall develop and implement, or 13 shall continue, a resource and referral system for the State 14 of Illinois either within the Department or by contract with 15 local or regional agencies. Funding for implementation of 16 this system may be provided through Department appropriations 17 or other inter-agency funding arrangements. The resource and 18 referral system shall provide at least the following 19 services: 20 (1) Assembling and maintaining a data base on the 21 supply of child care services. 22 (2) Providing information and referrals for 23 parents. 24 (3) Coordinating the development of new child care 25 resources. 26 (4) Providing technical assistance and training to 27 child care service providers. 28 (5) Recording and analyzing the demand for child 29 care services. 30 (d) The Department of Human Services shall conduct day 31 care planning activities with the following priorities: 32 (1) Development of voluntary day care resources 33 wherever possible, with the provision for grants-in-aid 34 only where demonstrated to be useful and necessary as HB1336 Engrossed -4- LRB9004597PTcw 1 incentives or supports. 2 (2) Emphasis on service to children with the 3 following priorities: 4 (A) Children from families in stress and 5 crises whose members potentially may become, or are 6 in danger of becoming, non-productive and dependent 7 and children in protective service cases and 8 children with special needs. 9 (B) Children of working parents who have 10 recently exhausted their day care benefits from 11 State or federal public assistance. 12 (C) Children of recipients of public 13 assistance when thesuchservice will allow training 14 or employment of the parent toward achieving the 15 goal of independence. Emphasis shall also be given 16 to support services that will help to ensure the 17 parents' graduation from high school and to services 18 for participants in the Project Chance program of 19 job training conducted by the Department. 20 (D) Children of teen-age parents. 21 (E) Children in very low income families with 22 working parents. 23 (F) Children of all other eligible families. 24 (3) Maximum employment of recipients of public 25 assistance in day care centers and day care homes, 26 operated in conjunction with short-term work training 27 programs. 28 (4) (Blank).Care of children from families in29stress and crises whose members potentially may become,30or are in danger of becoming, non-productive and31dependent.32 (5) Expansion of family day care facilities 33 wherever possible. 34 (6) Location of centers in economically depressed HB1336 Engrossed -5- LRB9004597PTcw 1 neighborhoods, preferably in multi-service centers with 2 cooperation of other agencies. 3 (7) Use of existing facilities free of charge or 4 for reasonable rental whenever possible in lieu of 5 construction. 6 (8) Development of strategies for assuring a more 7 complete range of day care options, including provision 8 of day care services in homes, in schools, or in centers, 9 which will enable a parent or parents to complete a 10 course of education or obtain or maintain employment. 11Emphasis shall be given to support services that will12help to ensure such parents' graduation from high school and13to services for participants in the Project Chance program of14job training conducted by the Department.15 (e) The Department of Human Services shall actively 16 stimulate the development of public and private resources at 17 the local level. It shall also seek the fullest utilization 18 of federal funds directly or indirectly available to the 19 Department. 20 Where appropriate, existing non-governmental agencies or 21 associations shall be involved in planning by the Department. 22 (Source: P.A. 89-507, eff. 7-1-97.)