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91_HB1404
LRB9105170ACtm
1 AN ACT to amend the Child Care Act of 1969 by changing
2 Section 7.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 5. The Child Care Act of 1969 is amended by
6 changing Section 7 as follows:
7 (225 ILCS 10/7) (from Ch. 23, par. 2217)
8 Sec. 7. (a) The Department must prescribe and publish
9 minimum standards for licensing that apply to the various
10 types of facilities for child care defined in this Act and
11 that are equally applicable to like institutions under the
12 control of the Department and to foster family homes used by
13 and under the direct supervision of the Department. The
14 Department shall seek the advice and assistance of persons
15 representative of the various types of child care facilities
16 in establishing such standards. The standards prescribed and
17 published under this Act take effect as provided in the
18 Illinois Administrative Procedure Act, and are restricted to
19 regulations pertaining to:
20 (1) The operation and conduct of the facility and
21 responsibility it assumes for child care;
22 (2) The character, suitability and qualifications
23 of the applicant and other persons directly responsible
24 for the care and welfare of children served. All child
25 day care center licensees and employees who are required
26 to report child abuse or neglect under the Abused and
27 Neglected Child Reporting Act shall be required to attend
28 training on recognizing child abuse and neglect, as
29 prescribed by Department rules;
30 (3) The general financial ability and competence of
31 the applicant to provide necessary care for children and
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1 to maintain prescribed standards;
2 (4) The number of individuals or staff required to
3 insure adequate supervision and care of the children
4 received. The standards shall provide that each child
5 care institution, maternity center, day care center,
6 group home, day care home, and group day care home shall
7 have on its premises during its hours of operation at
8 least one staff member certified in first aid, in the
9 Heimlich maneuver and in cardiopulmonary resuscitation by
10 the American Red Cross or other organization approved by
11 rule of the Department. Child welfare agencies shall not
12 be subject to such a staffing requirement. All employees,
13 operators, teachers, and other adults residing in or
14 participating in regular activity in an in-home day care,
15 foster family home, or day care center must attend and
16 pass an annual cardiopulmonary resuscitation training
17 class. The Department may offer, or arrange for the
18 offering, on a periodic basis in each community in this
19 State in cooperation with the American Red Cross, the
20 American Heart Association or other appropriate
21 organization, voluntary programs to train operators of
22 foster family homes and day care homes in first aid and
23 cardiopulmonary resuscitation;
24 (5) The appropriateness, safety, cleanliness and
25 general adequacy of the premises, including maintenance
26 of adequate fire prevention and health standards
27 conforming to State laws and municipal codes to provide
28 for the physical comfort, care and well-being of children
29 received;
30 (6) Provisions for food, clothing, educational
31 opportunities, program, equipment and individual supplies
32 to assure the healthy physical, mental and spiritual
33 development of children served;
34 (7) Provisions to safeguard the legal rights of
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1 children served;
2 (8) Maintenance of records pertaining to the
3 admission, progress, health and discharge of children,
4 including, for day care centers and day care homes,
5 records indicating each child has been immunized as
6 required by State regulations. The Department shall
7 require proof that children enrolled in a facility have
8 been immunized against Haemophilus Influenzae B (HIB);
9 (9) Filing of reports with the Department;
10 (10) Discipline of children;
11 (11) Protection and fostering of the particular
12 religious faith of the children served;
13 (12) Provisions prohibiting firearms on day care
14 center premises except in the possession of peace
15 officers;
16 (13) Provisions prohibiting handguns on day care
17 home premises except in the possession of peace officers
18 or other adults who must possess a handgun as a condition
19 of employment and who reside on the premises of a day
20 care home;
21 (14) Provisions requiring that any firearm
22 permitted on day care home premises, except handguns in
23 the possession of peace officers, shall be kept in a
24 disassembled state, without ammunition, in locked
25 storage, inaccessible to children and that ammunition
26 permitted on day care home premises shall be kept in
27 locked storage separate from that of disassembled
28 firearms, inaccessible to children;
29 (15) Provisions requiring notification of parents
30 or guardians enrolling children at a day care home of the
31 presence in the day care home of any firearms and
32 ammunition and of the arrangements for the separate,
33 locked storage of such firearms and ammunition.
34 (b) If, in a facility for general child care, there are
-4- LRB9105170ACtm
1 children diagnosed as mentally ill, mentally retarded or
2 physically handicapped, who are determined to be in need of
3 special mental treatment or of nursing care, or both mental
4 treatment and nursing care, the Department shall seek the
5 advice and recommendation of the Department of Human
6 Services, the Department of Public Health, or both
7 Departments regarding the residential treatment and nursing
8 care provided by the institution.
9 (c) The Department shall investigate any person applying
10 to be licensed as a foster parent to determine whether there
11 is any evidence of current drug or alcohol abuse in the
12 prospective foster family. The Department shall not license
13 a person as a foster parent if drug or alcohol abuse has been
14 identified in the foster family or if a reasonable suspicion
15 of such abuse exists, except that the Department may grant a
16 foster parent license to an applicant identified with an
17 alcohol or drug problem if the applicant has successfully
18 participated in an alcohol or drug treatment program,
19 self-help group, or other suitable activities.
20 (d) The Department, in applying standards prescribed and
21 published, as herein provided, shall offer consultation
22 through employed staff or other qualified persons to assist
23 applicants and licensees in meeting and maintaining minimum
24 requirements for a license and to help them otherwise to
25 achieve programs of excellence related to the care of
26 children served. Such consultation shall include providing
27 information concerning education and training in early
28 childhood development to providers of day care home services.
29 The Department may provide or arrange for such education and
30 training for those providers who request such assistance.
31 (e) The Department shall distribute copies of licensing
32 standards to all licensees and applicants for a license.
33 Each licensee or holder of a permit shall distribute copies
34 of the appropriate licensing standards and any other
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1 information required by the Department to child care
2 facilities under its supervision. Each licensee or holder of
3 a permit shall maintain appropriate documentation of the
4 distribution of the standards. Such documentation shall be
5 part of the records of the facility and subject to inspection
6 by authorized representatives of the Department.
7 (f) The Department shall prepare summaries of day care
8 licensing standards. Each licensee or holder of a permit for
9 a day care facility shall distribute a copy of the
10 appropriate summary and any other information required by the
11 Department, to the legal guardian of each child cared for in
12 that facility at the time when the child is enrolled or
13 initially placed in the facility. The licensee or holder of a
14 permit for a day care facility shall secure appropriate
15 documentation of the distribution of the summary and
16 brochure. Such documentation shall be a part of the records
17 of the facility and subject to inspection by an authorized
18 representative of the Department.
19 (g) The Department shall distribute to each licensee and
20 holder of a permit copies of the licensing or permit
21 standards applicable to such person's facility. Each
22 licensee or holder of a permit shall make available by
23 posting at all times in a common or otherwise accessible area
24 a complete and current set of licensing standards in order
25 that all employees of the facility may have unrestricted
26 access to such standards. All employees of the facility
27 shall have reviewed the standards and any subsequent changes.
28 Each licensee or holder of a permit shall maintain
29 appropriate documentation of the current review of licensing
30 standards by all employees. Such records shall be part of
31 the records of the facility and subject to inspection by
32 authorized representatives of the Department.
33 (h) Any standards involving physical examinations,
34 immunization, or medical treatment shall include appropriate
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1 exemptions for children whose parents object thereto on the
2 grounds that they conflict with the tenets and practices of a
3 recognized church or religious organization, of which the
4 parent is an adherent or member, and for children who should
5 not be subjected to immunization for clinical reasons.
6 (Source: P.A. 89-274, eff. 1-1-96; 89-507, eff. 7-1-97;
7 89-648, eff. 8-9-96; 90-14, eff. 7-1-97.)