Section 408.65  Number and Ages of Children Served

Appendix H includes a chart of the number and ages of children who can be served.

a)         A Caregiver Alone

1)         The maximum number of children under the age of 12 cared for in a group day care home by a caregiver alone shall be 8 except when all the children are school age.  The maximum number includes the caregiver's own children, related children and unrelated children under age 12 living in the home.  A caregiver alone may care for children in accordance with the following age groupings:

A)        A mixed age group consisting of:

i)          Up to 8 children under 12 years of age, of which

ii)         Up to 5 children may be under 5 years of age, of which

iii         Up to 3 children may be under 24 months of age; or

B)        A mixed age group consisting of:

i)          Up to 8 children under 12 years of age, of which

ii)         Up to 6 children may be under 5 years of age, of which

iii)        Up to 2 children may be under 30 months of age; or

C)        Up to 8 pre-school children if no child is under age 3; or

D)        Up to 12 school age children as defined by Section 408.5.

2)         When a licensee or permitholder has been granted the extended 4 school-age capacity addendum in writing, a caregiver's own full-time school age children shall be counted in the additional 4 school-age children if, when there are more than 8 children in care, a qualified assistant is present.

b)         A Caregiver and an Assistant 18 Years of Age or Older

The maximum number of children under the age of 12 cared for in a group day care home by a caregiver and an assistant shall be 12 except when extended capacity is considered under condition in Section 408.65(c).  The maximum number includes the caregiver's own children, related children and unrelated children under age 12 living in the home.  The caregiver and assistant 18 years of age or older may care for children in accordance with the following age groupings:

1)         12 children between 3 and 6 years of age.  The assistant must be present when more than 8 such children are present; or

2)         No more than 12 children under 12 years of age of which no more than 6 children may be under 30 months of age, of which no more than 4 children may be under 15 months of age.

c)         Extended Capacity

1)         A caregiver, a full-time assistant and a part-time before and/or after school assistant is employed may care for 4 additional children who are attending school full-time.  The assistant shall be present at all times when school children are present and there are more than 12 children in the home.

2)         Care provided for the additional before and after school children is limited to children who attend school full-time and to before and/or after school, holidays, weekends, during unforeseen school closings, when the provider's own children come home sick, and during the summer.

d)         The maximum number of children receiving night care shall be 12 children and groupings shall be consistent with subsections (a) and (b).

e)         In the event of a brief unforeseen school closing, the caregiver may accept one additional school-age child and still be considered in compliance with the capacity requirements, as long as the total number of children under age 12 in the home does not exceed the maximum of 16 children.  The caregiver shall maintain a record of the dates, names and ages of the children for whom this care was provided.

f)         When acceptance of siblings of children who are already in care will place the licensee out of compliance with the established age groupings, the licensee may develop a transition plan that shall be submitted to the licensing representative for review and approval. The plan may be approved when:

1)         The licensee is not currently operating under a transition plan and is in full compliance with all the licensing standards;

2)         At least one of the siblings has been in care for 30 days or more; and

3)         The transition plan will bring the home back into compliance with the established age groupings within 6 months after the date the plan is approved.

(Source:  Amended at 37 Ill. Reg. 19149, effective November 30, 2013)