Public Act 097-0083
HB2099 EnrolledLRB097 10759 CEL 51164 b
AN ACT concerning regulation.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Child Care Act of 1969 is amended by
changing Section 7 as follows:
(225 ILCS 10/7) (from Ch. 23, par. 2217)
Sec. 7. (a) The Department must prescribe and publish
minimum standards for licensing that apply to the various types
of facilities for child care defined in this Act and that are
equally applicable to like institutions under the control of
the Department and to foster family homes used by and under the
direct supervision of the Department. The Department shall seek
the advice and assistance of persons representative of the
various types of child care facilities in establishing such
standards. The standards prescribed and published under this
Act take effect as provided in the Illinois Administrative
Procedure Act, and are restricted to regulations pertaining to
the following matters and to any rules and regulations required
or permitted by any other Section of this Act:
(1) The operation and conduct of the facility and
responsibility it assumes for child care;
(2) The character, suitability and qualifications of
the applicant and other persons directly responsible for
the care and welfare of children served. All child day care
center licensees and employees who are required to report
child abuse or neglect under the Abused and Neglected Child
Reporting Act shall be required to attend training on
recognizing child abuse and neglect, as prescribed by
Department rules;
(3) The general financial ability and competence of the
applicant to provide necessary care for children and to
maintain prescribed standards;
(4) The number of individuals or staff required to
insure adequate supervision and care of the children
received. The standards shall provide that each child care
institution, maternity center, day care center, group
home, day care home, and group day care home shall have on
its premises during its hours of operation at least one
staff member certified in first aid, in the Heimlich
maneuver and in cardiopulmonary resuscitation by the
American Red Cross or other organization approved by rule
of the Department. Child welfare agencies shall not be
subject to such a staffing requirement. The Department may
offer, or arrange for the offering, on a periodic basis in
each community in this State in cooperation with the
American Red Cross, the American Heart Association or other
appropriate organization, voluntary programs to train
operators of foster family homes and day care homes in
first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation;
(5) The appropriateness, safety, cleanliness and
general adequacy of the premises, including maintenance of
adequate fire prevention and health standards conforming
to State laws and municipal codes to provide for the
physical comfort, care and well-being of children
received;
(6) Provisions for food, clothing, educational
opportunities, program, equipment and individual supplies
to assure the healthy physical, mental and spiritual
development of children served;
(7) Provisions to safeguard the legal rights of
children served;
(8) Maintenance of records pertaining to the
admission, progress, health and discharge of children,
including, for day care centers and day care homes, records
indicating each child has been immunized as required by
State regulations. The Department shall require proof that
children enrolled in a facility have been immunized against
Haemophilus Influenzae B (HIB);
(9) Filing of reports with the Department;
(10) Discipline of children;
(11) Protection and fostering of the particular
religious faith of the children served;
(12) Provisions prohibiting firearms on day care
center premises except in the possession of peace officers;
(13) Provisions prohibiting handguns on day care home
premises except in the possession of peace officers or
other adults who must possess a handgun as a condition of
employment and who reside on the premises of a day care
home;
(14) Provisions requiring that any firearm permitted
on day care home premises, except handguns in the
possession of peace officers, shall be kept in a
disassembled state, without ammunition, in locked storage,
inaccessible to children and that ammunition permitted on
day care home premises shall be kept in locked storage
separate from that of disassembled firearms, inaccessible
to children;
(15) Provisions requiring notification of parents or
guardians enrolling children at a day care home of the
presence in the day care home of any firearms and
ammunition and of the arrangements for the separate, locked
storage of such firearms and ammunition; and .
(16) Provisions requiring all licensed child care
facility employees who care for newborns and infants to
complete training every 3 years on the nature of sudden
unexpected infant death (SUID), sudden infant death
syndrome (SIDS), and the safe sleep recommendations of the
American Academy of Pediatrics.
(b) If, in a facility for general child care, there are
children diagnosed as mentally ill, mentally retarded or
physically handicapped, who are determined to be in need of
special mental treatment or of nursing care, or both mental
treatment and nursing care, the Department shall seek the
advice and recommendation of the Department of Human Services,
the Department of Public Health, or both Departments regarding
the residential treatment and nursing care provided by the
institution.
(c) The Department shall investigate any person applying to
be licensed as a foster parent to determine whether there is
any evidence of current drug or alcohol abuse in the
prospective foster family. The Department shall not license a
person as a foster parent if drug or alcohol abuse has been
identified in the foster family or if a reasonable suspicion of
such abuse exists, except that the Department may grant a
foster parent license to an applicant identified with an
alcohol or drug problem if the applicant has successfully
participated in an alcohol or drug treatment program, self-help
group, or other suitable activities.
(d) The Department, in applying standards prescribed and
published, as herein provided, shall offer consultation
through employed staff or other qualified persons to assist
applicants and licensees in meeting and maintaining minimum
requirements for a license and to help them otherwise to
achieve programs of excellence related to the care of children
served. Such consultation shall include providing information
concerning education and training in early childhood
development to providers of day care home services. The
Department may provide or arrange for such education and
training for those providers who request such assistance.
(e) The Department shall distribute copies of licensing
standards to all licensees and applicants for a license. Each
licensee or holder of a permit shall distribute copies of the
appropriate licensing standards and any other information
required by the Department to child care facilities under its
supervision. Each licensee or holder of a permit shall maintain
appropriate documentation of the distribution of the
standards. Such documentation shall be part of the records of
the facility and subject to inspection by authorized
representatives of the Department.
(f) The Department shall prepare summaries of day care
licensing standards. Each licensee or holder of a permit for a
day care facility shall distribute a copy of the appropriate
summary and any other information required by the Department,
to the legal guardian of each child cared for in that facility
at the time when the child is enrolled or initially placed in
the facility. The licensee or holder of a permit for a day care
facility shall secure appropriate documentation of the
distribution of the summary and brochure. Such documentation
shall be a part of the records of the facility and subject to
inspection by an authorized representative of the Department.
(g) The Department shall distribute to each licensee and
holder of a permit copies of the licensing or permit standards
applicable to such person's facility. Each licensee or holder
of a permit shall make available by posting at all times in a
common or otherwise accessible area a complete and current set
of licensing standards in order that all employees of the
facility may have unrestricted access to such standards. All
employees of the facility shall have reviewed the standards and
any subsequent changes. Each licensee or holder of a permit
shall maintain appropriate documentation of the current review
of licensing standards by all employees. Such records shall be
part of the records of the facility and subject to inspection
by authorized representatives of the Department.
(h) Any standards involving physical examinations,
immunization, or medical treatment shall include appropriate
exemptions for children whose parents object thereto on the
grounds that they conflict with the tenets and practices of a
recognized church or religious organization, of which the
parent is an adherent or member, and for children who should
not be subjected to immunization for clinical reasons.
(i) The Department, in cooperation with the Department of
Public Health, shall work to increase immunization awareness
and participation among parents of children enrolled in day
care centers and day care homes by publishing on the
Department's website information about the benefits of annual
immunization against influenza for children 6 months of age to
5 years of age. The Department shall work with day care centers
and day care homes licensed under this Act to ensure that the
information is annually distributed to parents in August or
September.
(Source: P.A. 96-391, eff. 8-13-09.)