101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
HB4608

 

Introduced 2/5/2020, by Rep. Anne Stava-Murray

 

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

    Amends the Illinois Public Aid Code. In provisions concerning the Department of Human Services' child care assistance program, provides that, to ensure families have access to child care during periods of unemployment, the Department shall provide child care services for 12 weeks a year to parents or other relatives as defined by rule who, at the time of application, are otherwise eligible for child care assistance but are not employed and are not participating in Department-approved education or training programs. Effective immediately.


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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 or who are unemployed as provided in subsection (b-5).

 

 

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1At a minimum, the Illinois Department shall cover the following
2categories of families:
3        (1) recipients of TANF under Article IV participating
4    in work and training activities as specified in the
5    personal plan for employment and self-sufficiency;
6        (2) families transitioning from TANF to work;
7        (3) families at risk of becoming recipients of TANF;
8        (4) families with special needs as defined by rule;
9        (5) working families with very low incomes as defined
10    by rule;
11        (6) families that are not recipients of TANF and that
12    need child care assistance to participate in education and
13    training activities; and
14        (7) families with children under the age of 5 who have
15    an open intact family services case with the Department of
16    Children and Family Services. Any family that receives
17    child care assistance in accordance with this paragraph
18    shall remain eligible for child care assistance 6 months
19    after the child's intact family services case is closed,
20    regardless of whether the child's parents or other
21    relatives as defined by rule are working or participating
22    in Department approved employment or education or training
23    programs. The Department of Human Services, in
24    consultation with the Department of Children and Family
25    Services, shall adopt rules to protect the privacy of
26    families who are the subject of an open intact family

 

 

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1    services case when such families enroll in child care
2    services. Additional rules shall be adopted to offer
3    children who have an open intact family services case the
4    opportunity to receive an Early Intervention screening and
5    other services that their families may be eligible for as
6    provided by the Department of Human Services.
7    The Department shall specify by rule the conditions of
8eligibility, the application process, and the types, amounts,
9and duration of services. Eligibility for child care benefits
10and the amount of child care provided may vary based on family
11size, income, and other factors as specified by rule.
12    A family's eligibility for child care services shall be
13redetermined no sooner than 12 months following the initial
14determination or most recent redetermination. During the
1512-month periods, the family shall remain eligible for child
16care services regardless of (i) a change in family income,
17unless family income exceeds 85% of State median income, or
18(ii) a temporary change in the ongoing status of the parents or
19other relatives, as defined by rule, as working or attending a
20job training or educational program.
21    In determining income eligibility for child care benefits,
22the Department annually, at the beginning of each fiscal year,
23shall establish, by rule, one income threshold for each family
24size, in relation to percentage of State median income for a
25family of that size, that makes families with incomes below the
26specified threshold eligible for assistance and families with

 

 

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1incomes above the specified threshold ineligible for
2assistance. Through and including fiscal year 2007, the
3specified threshold must be no less than 50% of the
4then-current State median income for each family size.
5Beginning in fiscal year 2008, the specified threshold must be
6no less than 185% of the then-current federal poverty level for
7each family size. Notwithstanding any other provision of law or
8administrative rule to the contrary, beginning in fiscal year
92019, the specified threshold for working families with very
10low incomes as defined by rule must be no less than 185% of the
11then-current federal poverty level for each family size.
12    In determining eligibility for assistance, the Department
13shall not give preference to any category of recipients or give
14preference to individuals based on their receipt of benefits
15under this Code.
16    Nothing in this Section shall be construed as conferring
17entitlement status to eligible families.
18    The Illinois Department is authorized to lower income
19eligibility ceilings, raise parent co-payments, create waiting
20lists, or take such other actions during a fiscal year as are
21necessary to ensure that child care benefits paid under this
22Article do not exceed the amounts appropriated for those child
23care benefits. These changes may be accomplished by emergency
24rule under Section 5-45 of the Illinois Administrative
25Procedure Act, except that the limitation on the number of
26emergency rules that may be adopted in a 24-month period shall

 

 

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1not apply.
2    The Illinois Department may contract with other State
3agencies or child care organizations for the administration of
4child care services.
5    (b-5) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section
6to the contrary, to ensure families have access to child care
7during periods of unemployment, the Department shall provide
8child care services for 12 weeks a year to parents or other
9relatives as defined by rule who, at the time of application,
10are otherwise eligible for child care assistance but are not
11employed and are not participating in Department-approved
12education or training programs.
13    (c) Payment shall be made for child care that otherwise
14meets the requirements of this Section and applicable standards
15of State and local law and regulation, including any
16requirements the Illinois Department promulgates by rule in
17addition to the licensure requirements promulgated by the
18Department of Children and Family Services and Fire Prevention
19and Safety requirements promulgated by the Office of the State
20Fire Marshal, and is provided in any of the following:
21        (1) a child care center which is licensed or exempt
22    from licensure pursuant to Section 2.09 of the Child Care
23    Act of 1969;
24        (2) a licensed child care home or home exempt from
25    licensing;
26        (3) a licensed group child care home;

 

 

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1        (4) other types of child care, including child care
2    provided by relatives or persons living in the same home as
3    the child, as determined by the Illinois Department by
4    rule.
5    (c-5) Solely for the purposes of coverage under the
6Illinois Public Labor Relations Act, child and day care home
7providers, including licensed and license exempt,
8participating in the Department's child care assistance
9program shall be considered to be public employees and the
10State of Illinois shall be considered to be their employer as
11of January 1, 2006 (the effective date of Public Act 94-320),
12but not before. The State shall engage in collective bargaining
13with an exclusive representative of child and day care home
14providers participating in the child care assistance program
15concerning their terms and conditions of employment that are
16within the State's control. Nothing in this subsection shall be
17understood to limit the right of families receiving services
18defined in this Section to select child and day care home
19providers or supervise them within the limits of this Section.
20The State shall not be considered to be the employer of child
21and day care home providers for any purposes not specifically
22provided in Public Act 94-320, including, but not limited to,
23purposes of vicarious liability in tort and purposes of
24statutory retirement or health insurance benefits. Child and
25day care home providers shall not be covered by the State
26Employees Group Insurance Act of 1971.

 

 

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1    In according child and day care home providers and their
2selected representative rights under the Illinois Public Labor
3Relations Act, the State intends that the State action
4exemption to application of federal and State antitrust laws be
5fully available to the extent that their activities are
6authorized by Public Act 94-320.
7    (d) The Illinois Department shall establish, by rule, a
8co-payment scale that provides for cost sharing by families
9that receive child care services, including parents whose only
10income is from assistance under this Code. The co-payment shall
11be based on family income and family size and may be based on
12other factors as appropriate. Co-payments may be waived for
13families whose incomes are at or below the federal poverty
14level.
15    (d-5) The Illinois Department, in consultation with its
16Child Care and Development Advisory Council, shall develop a
17plan to revise the child care assistance program's co-payment
18scale. The plan shall be completed no later than February 1,
192008, and shall include:
20        (1) findings as to the percentage of income that the
21    average American family spends on child care and the
22    relative amounts that low-income families and the average
23    American family spend on other necessities of life;
24        (2) recommendations for revising the child care
25    co-payment scale to assure that families receiving child
26    care services from the Department are paying no more than

 

 

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1    they can reasonably afford;
2        (3) recommendations for revising the child care
3    co-payment scale to provide at-risk children with complete
4    access to Preschool for All and Head Start; and
5        (4) recommendations for changes in child care program
6    policies that affect the affordability of child care.
7    (e) (Blank).
8    (f) The Illinois Department shall, by rule, set rates to be
9paid for the various types of child care. Child care may be
10provided through one of the following methods:
11        (1) arranging the child care through eligible
12    providers by use of purchase of service contracts or
13    vouchers;
14        (2) arranging with other agencies and community
15    volunteer groups for non-reimbursed child care;
16        (3) (blank); or
17        (4) adopting such other arrangements as the Department
18    determines appropriate.
19    (f-1) Within 30 days after June 4, 2018 (the effective date
20of Public Act 100-587), the Department of Human Services shall
21establish rates for child care providers that are no less than
22the rates in effect on January 1, 2018 increased by 4.26%.
23    (f-5) (Blank).
24    (g) Families eligible for assistance under this Section
25shall be given the following options:
26        (1) receiving a child care certificate issued by the

 

 

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1    Department or a subcontractor of the Department that may be
2    used by the parents as payment for child care and
3    development services only; or
4        (2) if space is available, enrolling the child with a
5    child care provider that has a purchase of service contract
6    with the Department or a subcontractor of the Department
7    for the provision of child care and development services.
8    The Department may identify particular priority
9    populations for whom they may request special
10    consideration by a provider with purchase of service
11    contracts, provided that the providers shall be permitted
12    to maintain a balance of clients in terms of household
13    incomes and families and children with special needs, as
14    defined by rule.
15(Source: P.A. 100-387, eff. 8-25-17; 100-587, eff. 6-4-18;
16100-860, eff. 2-14-19; 100-909, eff. 10-1-18; 100-916, eff.
178-17-18; 101-81, eff. 7-12-19.)
 
18    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
19becoming law.