HR0923 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0923 LRB104 21998 LAW 38012 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Providers of private day care homes offer an invaluable service to parents who need to find daily care for their children and seek to do so in a small and affordable setting; and

WHEREAS, Licensure and regulations can be a burden on small day care providers who make a sincere effort to meet the requirements while running a viable business; and

WHEREAS, Parents often struggle to afford child care across the nation, and Illinois ranks as one of the most expensive states for child care per the Economic Policy Institute; and

WHEREAS, It is incumbent upon the General Assembly to find ways to lower the cost of child care in this State to ensure that parents have access to affordable child care; and

WHEREAS, Illinois and other states across the country have been plagued by an insurance liability crisis causing many child care providers to shut their doors; and

WHEREAS, Illinois cannot afford to lose more child care providers due to overly burdensome regulations; and

WHEREAS, The responsibility for the licensure of day care homes in the State of Illinois is in the process of moving from the purview of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services to the newly created Illinois Department of Early Childhood; and

WHEREAS, The licensure and regulation of day cares remains an important responsibility of this State to protect the well-being of our children; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge the Illinois Department of Early Childhood (IDEC) to study ways to reduce licensure and regulation burdens on day care homes in Illinois; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we urge the IDEC to specifically study:

(1) Ways to combine the multiple required trainings and certifications, such as fire safety, radon, and lead testing and absorbing the permit requirement as part of the license, into a single training or certification that can be conducted by a properly trained IDEC employee in fewer visits rather than by employees of outside agencies and businesses; and

(2) How to ensure that the detailed requirements on nutrition, activities, and toys are not used to penalize or deny license renewals based on technical violations when the day care provider is in substantial and good faith compliance with the requirements; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we urge the IDEC to issue a report with their findings on these items to the General Assembly by December 31, 2027; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be delivered to the Illinois Department of Early Childhood.