| 
 |  | 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
HB0627   Introduced , by Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer  SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
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 |   225 ILCS 10/7 |  from Ch. 23, par. 2217 |   
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 Amends the Child Care Act of 1969. Allows adults who reside on the premises of a day care home to possess handguns on day care home premises (rather than adults who must possess a handgun as a condition of employment and who reside on the premises of a day care home) if the handgun and handgun ammunition are locked and inaccessible to children.
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 |   |      A BILL FOR |  
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 |  | HB0627 |  | LRB102 12557 SPS 17895 b |  
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| 1 |  |  AN ACT concerning regulation.
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| 2 |  |  Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| 3 |  | represented in the General Assembly:
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| 4 |  |  Section 5. The Child Care Act of 1969 is amended by  | 
| 5 |  | changing Section 7 as follows:
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| 6 |  |  (225 ILCS 10/7) (from Ch. 23, par. 2217)
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| 7 |  |  Sec. 7. (a) The Department must prescribe and publish  | 
| 8 |  | minimum standards
for licensing that apply to the various  | 
| 9 |  | types of facilities for child care
defined in this Act and that  | 
| 10 |  | are equally applicable to like institutions
under the control  | 
| 11 |  | of the Department and to foster family homes used by and
under  | 
| 12 |  | the direct supervision of the Department. The Department shall  | 
| 13 |  | seek
the advice and assistance of persons representative of  | 
| 14 |  | the various types of
child care facilities in establishing  | 
| 15 |  | such standards. The standards
prescribed and published under  | 
| 16 |  | this Act take effect as provided in the
Illinois  | 
| 17 |  | Administrative Procedure Act, and are restricted to
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| 18 |  | regulations pertaining to the following matters and to any  | 
| 19 |  | rules and regulations required or permitted by any other  | 
| 20 |  | Section of this Act:
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| 21 |  |   (1) The operation and conduct of the facility and  | 
| 22 |  |  responsibility it
assumes for child care;
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| 23 |  |   (2) The character, suitability and qualifications of  | 
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| 1 |  |  the applicant and
other persons directly responsible for  | 
| 2 |  |  the care and welfare of children
served. All child day  | 
| 3 |  |  care center licensees and employees who are required
to
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| 4 |  |  report child abuse or neglect under the Abused and  | 
| 5 |  |  Neglected Child Reporting
Act shall be required to attend  | 
| 6 |  |  training on recognizing child abuse and
neglect, as  | 
| 7 |  |  prescribed by Department rules;
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| 8 |  |   (3) The general financial ability and competence of  | 
| 9 |  |  the applicant to
provide necessary care for children and  | 
| 10 |  |  to maintain prescribed standards;
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| 11 |  |   (4) The number of individuals or staff required to  | 
| 12 |  |  insure adequate
supervision and care of the children  | 
| 13 |  |  received. The standards shall provide
that each child care  | 
| 14 |  |  institution, maternity center, day care center,
group  | 
| 15 |  |  home, day care home, and group day care home shall have on  | 
| 16 |  |  its
premises during its hours of operation at
least one  | 
| 17 |  |  staff member certified in first aid, in the Heimlich  | 
| 18 |  |  maneuver, and
in cardiopulmonary resuscitation by the  | 
| 19 |  |  American Red Cross or other
organization approved by rule  | 
| 20 |  |  of the Department. Child welfare agencies
shall not be  | 
| 21 |  |  subject to such a staffing requirement. The Department may
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| 22 |  |  offer, or arrange for the offering, on a periodic basis in  | 
| 23 |  |  each community
in this State in cooperation with the  | 
| 24 |  |  American Red Cross, the American
Heart Association or  | 
| 25 |  |  other appropriate organization, voluntary programs to
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| 26 |  |  train operators of foster family homes and day care homes  | 
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| 1 |  |  in first aid and
cardiopulmonary resuscitation;
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| 2 |  |   (5) The appropriateness, safety, cleanliness, and  | 
| 3 |  |  general adequacy of the
premises, including maintenance of  | 
| 4 |  |  adequate fire prevention and health
standards conforming  | 
| 5 |  |  to State laws and municipal codes to provide for the
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| 6 |  |  physical comfort, care, and well-being of children  | 
| 7 |  |  received;
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| 8 |  |   (6) Provisions for food, clothing, educational  | 
| 9 |  |  opportunities, program,
equipment and individual supplies  | 
| 10 |  |  to assure the healthy physical, mental,
and spiritual  | 
| 11 |  |  development of children served;
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| 12 |  |   (7) Provisions to safeguard the legal rights of  | 
| 13 |  |  children served;
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| 14 |  |   (8) Maintenance of records pertaining to the  | 
| 15 |  |  admission, progress, health,
and discharge of children,  | 
| 16 |  |  including, for day care centers and day care
homes,  | 
| 17 |  |  records indicating each child has been immunized as  | 
| 18 |  |  required by State
regulations. The Department shall  | 
| 19 |  |  require proof that children enrolled in
a facility have  | 
| 20 |  |  been immunized against Haemophilus Influenzae B (HIB);
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| 21 |  |   (9) Filing of reports with the Department;
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| 22 |  |   (10) Discipline of children;
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| 23 |  |   (11) Protection and fostering of the particular
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| 24 |  |  religious faith of the children served;
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| 25 |  |   (12) Provisions prohibiting firearms on day care  | 
| 26 |  |  center premises
except in the possession of peace  | 
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| 1 |  |  officers;
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| 2 |  |   (13) Provisions prohibiting handguns on day care home  | 
| 3 |  |  premises except: (i) in
the possession of peace officers;  | 
| 4 |  |  or (ii) in the possession of or other adults who must  | 
| 5 |  |  possess a handgun
as a condition of employment and who  | 
| 6 |  |  reside on the premises of a day care home;
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| 7 |  |   (14) Provisions requiring that any firearm permitted  | 
| 8 |  |  on day care home
premises, except handguns in the  | 
| 9 |  |  possession of peace officers, shall be
kept in a  | 
| 10 |  |  disassembled state, without ammunition, in locked storage,
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| 11 |  |  inaccessible to children and that ammunition permitted on  | 
| 12 |  |  day care home
premises shall be kept in locked storage  | 
| 13 |  |  separate from that of disassembled
firearms, inaccessible  | 
| 14 |  |  to children;
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| 15 |  |   (15) Provisions requiring notification of parents or  | 
| 16 |  |  guardians enrolling
children at a day care home of the  | 
| 17 |  |  presence in the day care home of any
firearms and  | 
| 18 |  |  ammunition and of the arrangements for the separate,  | 
| 19 |  |  locked
storage of such firearms and ammunition;
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| 20 |  |   (16) Provisions requiring all licensed child care  | 
| 21 |  |  facility employees who care for newborns and infants to  | 
| 22 |  |  complete training every 3 years on the nature of sudden  | 
| 23 |  |  unexpected infant death (SUID), sudden infant death  | 
| 24 |  |  syndrome (SIDS), and the safe sleep recommendations of the  | 
| 25 |  |  American Academy of Pediatrics; and  | 
| 26 |  |   (17) With respect to foster family homes, provisions  | 
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| 1 |  |  requiring the Department to review quality of care  | 
| 2 |  |  concerns and to consider those concerns in determining  | 
| 3 |  |  whether a foster family home is qualified to care for  | 
| 4 |  |  children.  | 
| 5 |  |  (b) If, in a facility for general child care, there are  | 
| 6 |  | children
diagnosed as mentally ill or children diagnosed as  | 
| 7 |  | having an intellectual or physical disability, who
are  | 
| 8 |  | determined to be in need of special mental treatment or of  | 
| 9 |  | nursing
care, or both mental treatment and nursing care, the  | 
| 10 |  | Department shall seek
the advice and recommendation of the  | 
| 11 |  | Department of Human Services,
the Department of Public Health,  | 
| 12 |  | or both
Departments regarding the residential treatment and  | 
| 13 |  | nursing care provided
by the institution.
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| 14 |  |  (c) The Department shall investigate any person applying  | 
| 15 |  | to be
licensed as a foster parent to determine whether there is  | 
| 16 |  | any evidence of
current drug or alcohol abuse in the  | 
| 17 |  | prospective foster family. The
Department shall not license a  | 
| 18 |  | person as a foster parent if drug or alcohol
abuse has been  | 
| 19 |  | identified in the foster family or if a reasonable suspicion
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| 20 |  | of such abuse exists, except that the Department may grant a  | 
| 21 |  | foster parent
license to an applicant identified with an  | 
| 22 |  | alcohol or drug problem if the
applicant has successfully  | 
| 23 |  | participated in an alcohol or drug treatment
program,  | 
| 24 |  | self-help group, or other suitable activities and if the  | 
| 25 |  | Department determines that the foster family home can provide  | 
| 26 |  | a safe, appropriate environment and meet the physical and  | 
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| 1 |  | emotional needs of children.
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| 2 |  |  (d) The Department, in applying standards prescribed and  | 
| 3 |  | published, as
herein provided, shall offer consultation  | 
| 4 |  | through employed staff or other
qualified persons to assist  | 
| 5 |  | applicants and licensees in meeting and
maintaining minimum  | 
| 6 |  | requirements for a license and to help them otherwise
to  | 
| 7 |  | achieve programs of excellence related to the care of children  | 
| 8 |  | served.
Such consultation shall include providing information  | 
| 9 |  | concerning education
and training in early childhood  | 
| 10 |  | development to providers of day care home
services. The  | 
| 11 |  | Department may provide or arrange for such education and
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| 12 |  | training for those providers who request such assistance.
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| 13 |  |  (e) The Department shall distribute copies of licensing
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| 14 |  | standards to all licensees and applicants for a license. Each  | 
| 15 |  | licensee or
holder of a permit shall distribute copies of the  | 
| 16 |  | appropriate licensing
standards and any other information  | 
| 17 |  | required by the Department to child
care facilities under its  | 
| 18 |  | supervision. Each licensee or holder of a permit
shall  | 
| 19 |  | maintain appropriate documentation of the distribution of the
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| 20 |  | standards. Such documentation shall be part of the records of  | 
| 21 |  | the facility
and subject to inspection by authorized  | 
| 22 |  | representatives of the Department.
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| 23 |  |  (f) The Department shall prepare summaries of day care  | 
| 24 |  | licensing
standards. Each licensee or holder of a permit for a  | 
| 25 |  | day care facility
shall distribute a copy of the appropriate  | 
| 26 |  | summary and any other
information required by the Department,  | 
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| 1 |  | to the legal guardian of each child
cared for in that facility  | 
| 2 |  | at the time when the child is enrolled or
initially placed in  | 
| 3 |  | the facility. The licensee or holder of a permit for a
day care  | 
| 4 |  | facility shall secure appropriate documentation of the
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| 5 |  | distribution of the summary and brochure. Such documentation  | 
| 6 |  | shall be a
part of the records of the facility and subject to  | 
| 7 |  | inspection by an
authorized representative of the Department.
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| 8 |  |  (g) The Department shall distribute to each licensee and
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| 9 |  | holder of a permit copies of the licensing or permit standards  | 
| 10 |  | applicable
to such person's facility. Each licensee or holder  | 
| 11 |  | of a permit shall make
available by posting at all times in a  | 
| 12 |  | common or otherwise accessible area
a complete and current set  | 
| 13 |  | of licensing standards in order that all
employees of the  | 
| 14 |  | facility may have unrestricted access to such standards.
All  | 
| 15 |  | employees of the facility shall have reviewed the standards  | 
| 16 |  | and any
subsequent changes. Each licensee or holder of a  | 
| 17 |  | permit shall maintain
appropriate documentation of the current  | 
| 18 |  | review of licensing standards by
all employees. Such records  | 
| 19 |  | shall be part of the records of the facility
and subject to  | 
| 20 |  | inspection by authorized representatives of the Department.
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| 21 |  |  (h) Any standards involving physical examinations,  | 
| 22 |  | immunization,
or medical treatment shall include appropriate  | 
| 23 |  | exemptions for children
whose parents object thereto on the  | 
| 24 |  | grounds that they conflict with the
tenets and practices of a  | 
| 25 |  | recognized church or religious organization, of
which the  | 
| 26 |  | parent is an adherent or member, and for children who should  | 
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| 1 |  | not
be subjected to immunization for clinical reasons.
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| 2 |  |  (i) The Department, in cooperation with the Department of  | 
| 3 |  | Public Health, shall work to increase immunization awareness  | 
| 4 |  | and participation among parents of children enrolled in day  | 
| 5 |  | care centers and day care homes by publishing on the  | 
| 6 |  | Department's website information about the benefits of  | 
| 7 |  | immunization against vaccine preventable diseases, including  | 
| 8 |  | influenza and pertussis. The information for vaccine  | 
| 9 |  | preventable diseases shall include the incidence and severity  | 
| 10 |  | of the diseases, the availability of vaccines, and the  | 
| 11 |  | importance of immunizing children and persons who frequently  | 
| 12 |  | have close contact with children. The website content shall be  | 
| 13 |  | reviewed annually in collaboration with the Department of  | 
| 14 |  | Public Health to reflect the most current recommendations of  | 
| 15 |  | the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). The  | 
| 16 |  | Department shall work with day care centers and day care homes  | 
| 17 |  | licensed under this Act to ensure that the information is  | 
| 18 |  | annually distributed to parents in August or September. | 
| 19 |  |  (j) Any standard adopted by the Department that requires  | 
| 20 |  | an applicant for a license to operate a day care home to  | 
| 21 |  | include a copy of a high school diploma or equivalent  | 
| 22 |  | certificate with his or her application shall be deemed to be  | 
| 23 |  | satisfied if the applicant includes a copy of a high school  | 
| 24 |  | diploma or equivalent certificate or a copy of a degree from an  | 
| 25 |  | accredited institution of higher education or vocational  | 
| 26 |  | institution or equivalent certificate. |