100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2017 and 2018
HB5989

 

Introduced , by Rep. La Shawn K. Ford

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
305 ILCS 5/9A-11  from Ch. 23, par. 9A-11

    Amends the Illinois Public Aid Code. Provides that beginning July 1, 2019, the Department of Human Services shall increase the reimbursement rates for all child care services to the 75th percentile of the 2018 child care market rates for each geographic region (rather than the Department shall, by rule, set rates to be paid for the various types of child care).


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

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1    AN ACT concerning public aid.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Illinois Public Aid Code is amended by
5changing Section 9A-11 as follows:
 
6    (305 ILCS 5/9A-11)  (from Ch. 23, par. 9A-11)
7    Sec. 9A-11. Child care.
8    (a) The General Assembly recognizes that families with
9children need child care in order to work. Child care is
10expensive and families with low incomes, including those who
11are transitioning from welfare to work, often struggle to pay
12the costs of day care. The General Assembly understands the
13importance of helping low income working families become and
14remain self-sufficient. The General Assembly also believes
15that it is the responsibility of families to share in the costs
16of child care. It is also the preference of the General
17Assembly that all working poor families should be treated
18equally, regardless of their welfare status.
19    (b) To the extent resources permit, the Illinois Department
20shall provide child care services to parents or other relatives
21as defined by rule who are working or participating in
22employment or Department approved education or training
23programs. At a minimum, the Illinois Department shall cover the

 

 

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1following categories of families:
2        (1) recipients of TANF under Article IV participating
3    in work and training activities as specified in the
4    personal plan for employment and self-sufficiency;
5        (2) families transitioning from TANF to work;
6        (3) families at risk of becoming recipients of TANF;
7        (4) families with special needs as defined by rule;
8        (5) working families with very low incomes as defined
9    by rule; and
10        (6) families that are not recipients of TANF and that
11    need child care assistance to participate in education and
12    training activities.
13    The Department shall specify by rule the conditions of
14eligibility, the application process, and the types, amounts,
15and duration of services. Eligibility for child care benefits
16and the amount of child care provided may vary based on family
17size, income, and other factors as specified by rule.
18    In determining income eligibility for child care benefits,
19the Department annually, at the beginning of each fiscal year,
20shall establish, by rule, one income threshold for each family
21size, in relation to percentage of State median income for a
22family of that size, that makes families with incomes below the
23specified threshold eligible for assistance and families with
24incomes above the specified threshold ineligible for
25assistance. Through and including fiscal year 2007, the
26specified threshold must be no less than 50% of the

 

 

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1then-current State median income for each family size.
2Beginning in fiscal year 2008, the specified threshold must be
3no less than 185% of the then-current federal poverty level for
4each family size.
5    In determining eligibility for assistance, the Department
6shall not give preference to any category of recipients or give
7preference to individuals based on their receipt of benefits
8under this Code.
9    Nothing in this Section shall be construed as conferring
10entitlement status to eligible families.
11    The Illinois Department is authorized to lower income
12eligibility ceilings, raise parent co-payments, create waiting
13lists, or take such other actions during a fiscal year as are
14necessary to ensure that child care benefits paid under this
15Article do not exceed the amounts appropriated for those child
16care benefits. These changes may be accomplished by emergency
17rule under Section 5-45 of the Illinois Administrative
18Procedure Act, except that the limitation on the number of
19emergency rules that may be adopted in a 24-month period shall
20not apply.
21    The Illinois Department may contract with other State
22agencies or child care organizations for the administration of
23child care services.
24    (c) Payment shall be made for child care that otherwise
25meets the requirements of this Section and applicable standards
26of State and local law and regulation, including any

 

 

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1requirements the Illinois Department promulgates by rule in
2addition to the licensure requirements promulgated by the
3Department of Children and Family Services and Fire Prevention
4and Safety requirements promulgated by the Office of the State
5Fire Marshal and is provided in any of the following:
6        (1) a child care center which is licensed or exempt
7    from licensure pursuant to Section 2.09 of the Child Care
8    Act of 1969;
9        (2) a licensed child care home or home exempt from
10    licensing;
11        (3) a licensed group child care home;
12        (4) other types of child care, including child care
13    provided by relatives or persons living in the same home as
14    the child, as determined by the Illinois Department by
15    rule.
16    (c-5) Solely for the purposes of coverage under the
17Illinois Public Labor Relations Act, child and day care home
18providers, including licensed and license exempt,
19participating in the Department's child care assistance
20program shall be considered to be public employees and the
21State of Illinois shall be considered to be their employer as
22of the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 94th
23General Assembly, but not before. The State shall engage in
24collective bargaining with an exclusive representative of
25child and day care home providers participating in the child
26care assistance program concerning their terms and conditions

 

 

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1of employment that are within the State's control. Nothing in
2this subsection shall be understood to limit the right of
3families receiving services defined in this Section to select
4child and day care home providers or supervise them within the
5limits of this Section. The State shall not be considered to be
6the employer of child and day care home providers for any
7purposes not specifically provided in this amendatory Act of
8the 94th General Assembly, including but not limited to,
9purposes of vicarious liability in tort and purposes of
10statutory retirement or health insurance benefits. Child and
11day care home providers shall not be covered by the State
12Employees Group Insurance Act of 1971.
13    In according child and day care home providers and their
14selected representative rights under the Illinois Public Labor
15Relations Act, the State intends that the State action
16exemption to application of federal and State antitrust laws be
17fully available to the extent that their activities are
18authorized by this amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly.
19    (d) The Illinois Department shall establish, by rule, a
20co-payment scale that provides for cost sharing by families
21that receive child care services, including parents whose only
22income is from assistance under this Code. The co-payment shall
23be based on family income and family size and may be based on
24other factors as appropriate. Co-payments may be waived for
25families whose incomes are at or below the federal poverty
26level.

 

 

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1    (d-5) The Illinois Department, in consultation with its
2Child Care and Development Advisory Council, shall develop a
3plan to revise the child care assistance program's co-payment
4scale. The plan shall be completed no later than February 1,
52008, and shall include:
6        (1) findings as to the percentage of income that the
7    average American family spends on child care and the
8    relative amounts that low-income families and the average
9    American family spend on other necessities of life;
10        (2) recommendations for revising the child care
11    co-payment scale to assure that families receiving child
12    care services from the Department are paying no more than
13    they can reasonably afford;
14        (3) recommendations for revising the child care
15    co-payment scale to provide at-risk children with complete
16    access to Preschool for All and Head Start; and
17        (4) recommendations for changes in child care program
18    policies that affect the affordability of child care.
19    (e) (Blank).
20    (f) Beginning July 1, 2019, the Department of Human
21Services shall increase the reimbursement rates for all child
22care services to the 75th percentile of the 2018 child care
23market rates for each geographic region. The Illinois
24Department shall, by rule, set rates to be paid for the various
25types of child care. Child care may be provided through one of
26the following methods:

 

 

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1        (1) arranging the child care through eligible
2    providers by use of purchase of service contracts or
3    vouchers;
4        (2) arranging with other agencies and community
5    volunteer groups for non-reimbursed child care;
6        (3) (blank); or
7        (4) adopting such other arrangements as the Department
8    determines appropriate.
9    (f-5) (Blank).
10    (g) Families eligible for assistance under this Section
11shall be given the following options:
12        (1) receiving a child care certificate issued by the
13    Department or a subcontractor of the Department that may be
14    used by the parents as payment for child care and
15    development services only; or
16        (2) if space is available, enrolling the child with a
17    child care provider that has a purchase of service contract
18    with the Department or a subcontractor of the Department
19    for the provision of child care and development services.
20    The Department may identify particular priority
21    populations for whom they may request special
22    consideration by a provider with purchase of service
23    contracts, provided that the providers shall be permitted
24    to maintain a balance of clients in terms of household
25    incomes and families and children with special needs, as
26    defined by rule.

 

 

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1(Source: P.A. 100-387, eff. 8-25-17.)