Bill Amendment: IL HB0141 | 2021-2022 | 102nd General Assembly
NOTE: For additional amemendments please see the Bill Drafting List
Bill Title: DHS-CHILD CARE-CO-PAYMENTS
Status: 2022-03-04 - House Floor Amendment No. 2 Rule 19(c) / Re-referred to Rules Committee [HB0141 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2021-HB0141-House_Amendment_002.html
Bill Title: DHS-CHILD CARE-CO-PAYMENTS
Status: 2022-03-04 - House Floor Amendment No. 2 Rule 19(c) / Re-referred to Rules Committee [HB0141 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2021-HB0141-House_Amendment_002.html
| |||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 141
| ||||||
2 | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 141, AS AMENDED, by | ||||||
3 | replacing everything after the enacting clause with the | ||||||
4 | following:
| ||||||
5 | "Section 5. The Illinois Public Aid Code is amended by | ||||||
6 | changing Section 9A-11 as follows:
| ||||||
7 | (305 ILCS 5/9A-11) (from Ch. 23, par. 9A-11)
| ||||||
8 | Sec. 9A-11. Child care.
| ||||||
9 | (a) The General Assembly recognizes that families with | ||||||
10 | children need child
care in order to work. Child care is | ||||||
11 | expensive and families with low incomes,
including those who | ||||||
12 | are transitioning from welfare to work, often struggle to
pay | ||||||
13 | the costs of day care. The
General Assembly understands the | ||||||
14 | importance of helping low-income working
families become and | ||||||
15 | remain self-sufficient. The General Assembly also believes
| ||||||
16 | that it is the responsibility of families to share in the costs |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | of child care.
It is also the preference of the General | ||||||
2 | Assembly that all working poor
families should be treated | ||||||
3 | equally, regardless of their welfare status.
| ||||||
4 | (b) To the extent resources permit, the Illinois | ||||||
5 | Department shall provide
child care services to parents or | ||||||
6 | other relatives as defined by rule who are
working or | ||||||
7 | participating in employment or Department approved
education | ||||||
8 | or training programs. At a minimum, the Illinois Department | ||||||
9 | shall
cover the following categories of families:
| ||||||
10 | (1) recipients of TANF under Article IV participating | ||||||
11 | in work and training
activities as specified in the | ||||||
12 | personal plan for employment and
self-sufficiency;
| ||||||
13 | (2) families transitioning from TANF to work;
| ||||||
14 | (3) families at risk of becoming recipients of TANF;
| ||||||
15 | (4) families with special needs as defined by rule;
| ||||||
16 | (5) working families with very low incomes as defined | ||||||
17 | by rule;
| ||||||
18 | (6) families that are not recipients of TANF and that | ||||||
19 | need child care assistance to participate in education and | ||||||
20 | training activities; and | ||||||
21 | (7) families with children under the age of 5 who have | ||||||
22 | an open intact family services case with the Department of | ||||||
23 | Children and Family Services. Any family that receives | ||||||
24 | child care assistance in accordance with this paragraph | ||||||
25 | shall remain eligible for child care assistance 6 months | ||||||
26 | after the child's intact family services case is closed, |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | regardless of whether the child's parents or other | ||||||
2 | relatives as defined by rule are working or participating | ||||||
3 | in Department approved employment or education or training | ||||||
4 | programs. The Department of Human Services, in | ||||||
5 | consultation with the Department of Children and Family | ||||||
6 | Services, shall adopt rules to protect the privacy of | ||||||
7 | families who are the subject of an open intact family | ||||||
8 | services case when such families enroll in child care | ||||||
9 | services. Additional rules shall be adopted to offer | ||||||
10 | children who have an open intact family services case the | ||||||
11 | opportunity to receive an Early Intervention screening and | ||||||
12 | other services that their families may be eligible for as | ||||||
13 | provided by the Department of Human Services. | ||||||
14 | The Department shall specify by rule the conditions of | ||||||
15 | eligibility, the
application process, and the types, amounts, | ||||||
16 | and duration of services.
Eligibility for
child care benefits | ||||||
17 | and the amount of child care provided may vary based on
family | ||||||
18 | size, income,
and other factors as specified by rule.
| ||||||
19 | The Department shall update the Child Care Assistance | ||||||
20 | Program Eligibility Calculator posted on its website to | ||||||
21 | include a question on whether a family is applying for child | ||||||
22 | care assistance for the first time or is applying for a | ||||||
23 | redetermination of eligibility. | ||||||
24 | A family's eligibility for child care services shall be | ||||||
25 | redetermined no sooner than 12 months following the initial | ||||||
26 | determination or most recent redetermination. During the |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | 12-month periods, the family shall remain eligible for child | ||||||
2 | care services regardless of (i) a change in family income, | ||||||
3 | unless family income exceeds 85% of State median income, or | ||||||
4 | (ii) a temporary change in the ongoing status of the parents or | ||||||
5 | other relatives, as defined by rule, as working or attending a | ||||||
6 | job training or educational program. | ||||||
7 | In determining income eligibility for child care benefits, | ||||||
8 | the Department
annually, at the beginning of each fiscal year, | ||||||
9 | shall
establish, by rule, one income threshold for each family | ||||||
10 | size, in relation to
percentage of State median income for a | ||||||
11 | family of that size, that makes
families with incomes below | ||||||
12 | the specified threshold eligible for assistance
and families | ||||||
13 | with incomes above the specified threshold ineligible for
| ||||||
14 | assistance. Through and including fiscal year 2007, the | ||||||
15 | specified threshold must be no less than 50% of the
| ||||||
16 | then-current State median income for each family size. | ||||||
17 | Beginning in fiscal year 2008, the specified threshold must be | ||||||
18 | no less than 185% of the then-current federal poverty level | ||||||
19 | for each family size. Notwithstanding any other provision of | ||||||
20 | law or administrative rule to the contrary, beginning in | ||||||
21 | fiscal year 2019, the specified threshold for working families | ||||||
22 | with very low incomes as defined by rule must be no less than | ||||||
23 | 185% of the then-current federal poverty level for each family | ||||||
24 | size. Notwithstanding any other provision of law or | ||||||
25 | administrative rule to the contrary, beginning in State fiscal | ||||||
26 | year 2022, the specified
income threshold shall be no less |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | than 200% of the
then-current federal poverty level for each | ||||||
2 | family size.
| ||||||
3 | In determining eligibility for
assistance, the Department | ||||||
4 | shall not give preference to any category of
recipients
or | ||||||
5 | give preference to individuals based on their receipt of | ||||||
6 | benefits under this
Code.
| ||||||
7 | Nothing in this Section shall be
construed as conferring | ||||||
8 | entitlement status to eligible families.
| ||||||
9 | The Illinois
Department is authorized to lower income | ||||||
10 | eligibility ceilings, raise parent
co-payments for families | ||||||
11 | with income above 185% of the most recent poverty guidelines | ||||||
12 | updated periodically in the Federal Register by the U.S. | ||||||
13 | Department of Health and Human Services under the authority of | ||||||
14 | 42 U.S.C. 9902(2) , create waiting lists, or take such other | ||||||
15 | actions during a fiscal
year as are necessary to ensure that | ||||||
16 | child care benefits paid under this
Article do not exceed the | ||||||
17 | amounts appropriated for those child care benefits.
These | ||||||
18 | changes may be accomplished by emergency rule under Section | ||||||
19 | 5-45 of the
Illinois Administrative Procedure Act, except that | ||||||
20 | the limitation on the number
of emergency rules that may be | ||||||
21 | adopted in a 24-month period shall not apply.
| ||||||
22 | The Illinois Department may contract with other State | ||||||
23 | agencies or child care
organizations for the administration of | ||||||
24 | child care services.
| ||||||
25 | (c) Payment shall be made for child care that otherwise | ||||||
26 | meets the
requirements of this Section and applicable |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | standards of State and local
law and regulation, including any | ||||||
2 | requirements the Illinois Department
promulgates by rule in | ||||||
3 | addition to the licensure
requirements
promulgated by the | ||||||
4 | Department of Children and Family Services and Fire
Prevention | ||||||
5 | and Safety requirements promulgated by the Office of the State
| ||||||
6 | Fire Marshal, and is provided in any of the following:
| ||||||
7 | (1) a child care center which is licensed or exempt | ||||||
8 | from licensure
pursuant to Section 2.09 of the Child Care | ||||||
9 | Act of 1969;
| ||||||
10 | (2) a licensed child care home or home exempt from | ||||||
11 | licensing;
| ||||||
12 | (3) a licensed group child care home;
| ||||||
13 | (4) other types of child care, including child care | ||||||
14 | provided
by relatives or persons living in the same home | ||||||
15 | as the child, as determined by
the Illinois Department by | ||||||
16 | rule.
| ||||||
17 | (c-5)
Solely for the purposes of coverage under the | ||||||
18 | Illinois Public Labor Relations Act, child and day care home | ||||||
19 | providers, including licensed and license exempt, | ||||||
20 | participating in the Department's child care assistance | ||||||
21 | program shall be considered to be public employees and the | ||||||
22 | State of Illinois shall be considered to be their employer as | ||||||
23 | of January 1, 2006 (the effective date of Public Act 94-320), | ||||||
24 | but not before. The State shall engage in collective | ||||||
25 | bargaining with an exclusive representative of child and day | ||||||
26 | care home providers participating in the child care assistance |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | program concerning their terms and conditions of employment | ||||||
2 | that are within the State's control. Nothing in this | ||||||
3 | subsection shall be understood to limit the right of families | ||||||
4 | receiving services defined in this Section to select child and | ||||||
5 | day care home providers or supervise them within the limits of | ||||||
6 | this Section. The State shall not be considered to be the | ||||||
7 | employer of child and day care home providers for any purposes | ||||||
8 | not specifically provided in Public Act 94-320, including, but | ||||||
9 | not limited to, purposes of vicarious liability in tort and | ||||||
10 | purposes of statutory retirement or health insurance benefits. | ||||||
11 | Child and day care home providers shall not be covered by the | ||||||
12 | State Employees Group Insurance Act of 1971. | ||||||
13 | In according child and day care home providers and their | ||||||
14 | selected representative rights under the Illinois Public Labor | ||||||
15 | Relations Act, the State intends that the State action | ||||||
16 | exemption to application of federal and State antitrust laws | ||||||
17 | be fully available to the extent that their activities are | ||||||
18 | authorized by Public Act 94-320.
| ||||||
19 | (d) Beginning July 1, 2023, a family eligible for child | ||||||
20 | care services whose income is at or below 185% of the most | ||||||
21 | recent United States Department of Health and Human Services | ||||||
22 | Federal Poverty Guidelines for the applicable family size | ||||||
23 | shall pay a $1 monthly fee as a co-payment for child care | ||||||
24 | services. For other families the The Illinois Department shall | ||||||
25 | establish, by rule, a co-payment scale that provides for cost | ||||||
26 | sharing by families that receive
child care services, |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | including parents whose only income is from
assistance under | ||||||
2 | this Code. The co-payment shall be based on family income and | ||||||
3 | family size and may be based on other factors as appropriate. | ||||||
4 | Co-payments may be waived for families whose incomes are at or | ||||||
5 | below the federal poverty level.
| ||||||
6 | (d-5) The Illinois Department, in consultation with its | ||||||
7 | Child Care and Development Advisory Council, shall develop a | ||||||
8 | plan to revise the child care assistance program's co-payment | ||||||
9 | scale. The plan shall be completed no later than February 1, | ||||||
10 | 2008, and shall include: | ||||||
11 | (1) findings as to the percentage of income that the | ||||||
12 | average American family spends on child care and the | ||||||
13 | relative amounts that low-income families and the average | ||||||
14 | American family spend on other necessities of life;
| ||||||
15 | (2) recommendations for revising the child care | ||||||
16 | co-payment scale to assure that families receiving child | ||||||
17 | care services from the Department are paying no more than | ||||||
18 | they can reasonably afford; | ||||||
19 | (3) recommendations for revising the child care | ||||||
20 | co-payment scale to provide at-risk children with complete | ||||||
21 | access to Preschool for All and Head Start; and | ||||||
22 | (4) recommendations for changes in child care program | ||||||
23 | policies that affect the affordability of child care.
| ||||||
24 | (e) (Blank).
| ||||||
25 | (f) The Illinois Department shall, by rule, set rates to | ||||||
26 | be paid for the
various types of child care. Child care may be |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | provided through one of the
following methods:
| ||||||
2 | (1) arranging the child care through eligible | ||||||
3 | providers by use of
purchase of service contracts or | ||||||
4 | vouchers;
| ||||||
5 | (2) arranging with other agencies and community | ||||||
6 | volunteer groups for
non-reimbursed child care;
| ||||||
7 | (3) (blank); or
| ||||||
8 | (4) adopting such other arrangements as the Department | ||||||
9 | determines
appropriate.
| ||||||
10 | (f-1) Within 30 days after June 4, 2018 (the effective | ||||||
11 | date of Public Act 100-587), the Department of Human Services | ||||||
12 | shall establish rates for child care providers that are no | ||||||
13 | less than the rates in effect on January 1, 2018 increased by | ||||||
14 | 4.26%. | ||||||
15 | (f-5) (Blank). | ||||||
16 | (g) Families eligible for assistance under this Section | ||||||
17 | shall be given the
following options:
| ||||||
18 | (1) receiving a child care certificate issued by the | ||||||
19 | Department or a
subcontractor of the Department that may | ||||||
20 | be used by the parents as payment for
child care and | ||||||
21 | development services only; or
| ||||||
22 | (2) if space is available, enrolling the child with a | ||||||
23 | child care provider
that has a purchase of service | ||||||
24 | contract with the Department or a subcontractor
of the | ||||||
25 | Department for the provision of child care and development | ||||||
26 | services.
The Department may identify particular priority |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | populations for whom they may
request special | ||||||
2 | consideration by a provider with purchase of service
| ||||||
3 | contracts, provided that the providers shall be permitted | ||||||
4 | to maintain a balance
of clients in terms of household | ||||||
5 | incomes and families and children with special
needs, as | ||||||
6 | defined by rule.
| ||||||
7 | (Source: P.A. 101-81, eff. 7-12-19; 101-657, eff. 3-23-21; | ||||||
8 | 102-491, eff. 8-20-21; revised 11-8-21.)
| ||||||
9 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
10 | becoming law.".
|