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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, High-quality early childhood care and education
3services are proven by research to play a positive role in the
4education and healthy development of young children; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Research has shown that maltreatment has a
6significant impact on healthy brain development, particularly
7in the first three years of life; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Interventions carried out during critical periods
9can be effective in mitigating the negative impacts of
10maltreatment; and
 
11    WHEREAS, For decades, Illinois has invested substantial
12State resources into its early care and education system and,
13with the creation of the Illinois Commission on Equitable Early
14Childhood Education and Care Funding, will remain one of the
15nation's leading states in supporting young children; and
 
16    WHEREAS, State-funded early care and education programs
17have systems and policies in place to identify and enroll
18underrepresented and underserved populations; and
 
19    WHEREAS, In 2013 and again in 2018, the State's Early
20Learning Council identified eight priority populations and

 

 

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1encouraged communities and individual early care and education
2programs to increase their service to these priority
3populations; and
 
4    WHEREAS, One of the eight priority populations identified
5is the number of children and families with Department of
6Children and Family Services (DCFS) involvement; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Nearly 45 percent of Youth in Care are under the
8age of six; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Public Act 100-860 provides that families with
10children under the age of five who have an open intact family
11services case with DCFS are eligible for child care assistance
12under the Department of Human Services' (IDHS) Child Care
13Assistance Program (CCAP); and
 
14    WHEREAS, Public Act 100-860 also provides that families
15with children under the age of five who have an open intact
16family services case with DCFS shall remain eligible for child
17care assistance six months after the child's intact family
18services case is closed, regardless of whether the child's
19parents or other relatives as defined by rule are working or
20participating in employment or education or training programs;
21and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, The State's early care and education system is
2complex, with multiple State agencies administering a myriad of
3programs; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Despite systems in place at State agencies to
5identify and enroll children and families with DCFS involvement
6into high-quality early care and education programs, data show
7that not enough Youth in Care under the age of six are enrolled
8in programs; and
 
9    WHEREAS, The State has created and funded innovative
10solutions to address priority populations, such as the Illinois
11Pregnant and Parenting Youth in Care (IPPYC) Home Visiting
12pilot, which provides evidence-based home visiting services to
13pregnant or parenting teens or young adults who are in foster
14care and their children; and
 
15    WHEREAS, With passage of the federal Families First
16Prevention Services Act (FFPSA), the State must put a renewed
17focus on connecting this underserved population with
18high-quality early care and education services; therefore, be
19it
 
20    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL
21ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that the High-Quality Early
22Childhood Care and Education Advisory Committee is created and

 

 

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1charged with the task of producing recommendations for
2enrolling more children and families in high-quality care and
3education programs; and be it further
 
4    RESOLVED, That the Committee shall consist of the following
5members, who shall serve without compensation:
6        (1) the (DCFS) Deputy Director-Permanent Services or
7    his or her designee;
8        (2) the (DCFS) Deputy Director-Intact Services or his
9    or her designee;
10        (3) the (DCFS) Deputy Director-Education & Transition
11    Services or his or her designee;
12        (4) the (DCFS) Deputy Director-Research/Child
13    Well-Being or his or her designee;
14        (5) the (DCFS) Deputy Director-Contract Administration
15    or his or her designee;
16        (6) the (DCFS) Deputy Director-Licensing or his or her
17    designee;
18        (7) the (DCFS) Deputy Director-Monitoring or his or her
19    designee;
20        (8) the (DCFS) Administrator-Child & Family Policy or
21    his or her designee;
22        (9) 3 members who represent Point of Service agencies,
23    appointed by the Director of the Department of Children and
24    Family Services;
25        (10) the Executive Director of the Governor's Office of

 

 

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1    Early Childhood Development or his or her designee;
2        (11) the Chair of the Illinois State Board of Education
3    or his or her designee; and
4        (12) the Director of the Department of Human Services
5    or his or her designee; and be it further
 
6    RESOLVED, That the Committee shall convene within 60 days
7of the adoption of this resolution and shall select a
8chairperson at its first meeting; the Committee shall
9thereafter meet on a regular schedule, no fewer than three
10times before submitting its recommendations; and
 
11    RESOLVED, That the Early Learning Council of the Governor's
12Office of Early Childhood Development shall provide
13administrative support for the Committee; and be it further
 
14    RESOLVED, That the Committee shall submit its final report
15to the General Assembly no later than December 31, 2020 and,
16upon the filing of the report, is dissolved; and be further
 
17    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
18delivered to the Department of Children and Family Services,
19the Governor's Office of Early Childhood Development, the
20Illinois State Board of Education, and the Department of Human
21Services.