Illinois General Assembly - Bill Status for HB3439

Amends the Child Care Act of 1969. In provisions concerning criminal background investigations, makes changes regarding the Department who regulates background checks, the background check that a potential employee is required to complete, and the supervision required for an employee pending completion of a background check. Provides that the Department of Early Childhood shall establish a secure background check portal that is accessible to applicants, child care staff, human resources representatives, and day care licensing representatives no later than July 1, 2026. Sets forth requirements for the background check portal. In provisions concerning any examinations conducted by the Department, provides that full monitoring and inspection reports, along with any corrective actions taken by the provider, shall be posted in plain language within 30 days from the creation of the report on the Department's consumer education website. Provides that, in the report that the Department provide to the General Assembly on its progress in meeting performance measures and goals related to child day care licensing, the Department shall include details regarding the processing of background checks, including the average number of days it takes for the background check unit to complete a series of background checks and issue a background check clearance required under the Child Care and Development Block Grant. Makes other changes. Amends the Missing Children Records Act. Provides that, by September 30, 2025, the Illinois State Police shall publish a list of acceptable governmental documentation that provides satisfactory proof of a child's identity and age. Provides that a grace period of up to 90 calendar days from the first date of attendance should be allowed for the person enrolling the child to provide any other reliable proof that has been identified.

Replaces everything after the enacting clause. Reinserts the provisions of the introduced bill with the following changes. Provides that an employee or volunteer of a day care center, day care home, or group day care home (rather than each child care facility license applicant and each employee and volunteer of a child care facility or non-licensed service provider) shall authorize a criminal background investigation every 5 years, as required under the Child Care and Development Block Grant. Removes provisions concerning the requirement that the Department of Early Childhood establish a secure background check portal that has certain capabilities; the filing of applications by certain organizations and the examination by the Department of Children and Family Services of certain facilities; licenses, permits, and the Department of Early Childhood; and the public consumer education website database of day care homes, group day care homes, and day care centers. Removes the requirement that the annual comprehensive report that the Department of Children and Family Services provides to the General Assembly include details regarding the processing of background checks, including the average number of days it takes for the background check unit to complete a series of background checks and issue a background check clearance required under the Child Care and Development Block Grant. Removes provisions concerning the Missing Children Records Act. Makes other changes.

In provisions concerning criminal background investigations, provides that the Department of Children and Family Services, through June 30, 2026, or the Department of Early Childhood, on and after July 1, 2026, (rather than the Department of Children and Family Services or the Department of Early Childhood) shall allow day care centers, day care homes, and group day care homes to hire, on a probationary basis, any employee or volunteer authorizing a criminal background investigation under the provisions concerning criminal background investigations after receiving a qualifying result, as determined by the Department of Children and Family Services or the Department of Early Childhood, whichever is applicable, (rather than after receiving a qualifying result) from either (i) the Federal Bureau of Investigation fingerprint criminal background check, or (ii) the Illinois State Police fingerprint criminal background check and a criminal record check of the criminal repository of each state in which the employee or volunteer resided during the preceding 5 years.

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