child care in cook county - Illinois Action for Children

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A P P E N D I X 3Sources for Data on Child CareProviders in Cook CountyInformation on Cook County childcare providers in this report comesfrom three different sources:1. The Illinois Action for ChildrenResource and Referral Program,which maintains a database ofCook County child careproviders.2. The Illinois Department ofChildren and Family Services(DCFS), which lists programsthat it has licensed in CookCounty.3. The Illinois Child Care AssistanceProgram (CCAP), which hasinformation about providers whocare for children with child careassistance.The Illinois Action for ChildrenResource and Referral program ispart of a statewide network ofResource and Referral agenciesfunded through the Illinois Depart -ment of Human Services (IDHS).Illinois Action for Children inviteschild care providers to list theirprograms on our database and toprovide detailed information abouttheir programs such as the ratesthey charge parents, the number ofchildren they serve per age group,languages spoken, training and educationthey have received, and othercharacteristics that help referral staffmatch parents with providers.Illinois Action for Children supplementsits database by adding thoseproviders licensed by DCFS whohave not agreed to list their programon our database (these providers areonly added for statistical purposesand their information is not sharedwith parents). In this way, IllinoisAction for Children maintains themost comprehensive listing of childcare providers in Cook County,although we do not fully capturethe child care activity that is legallyexempt from licensing or the otherwiseillegal care.The third source of child care dataused in this report is CCAP, whichprovides the best count of knownlicense-exempt child care programsin Cook County.Table A3 provides details on who isincluded in each type of child carereferred to in the report.Table A3. Child Care Providers in Cook County in 2009: Who is IncludedType of ProgramChild Care CentersSchool Age ProgramsSummer Only ProgramsNotesAny child care center operating for the full year or the school year and offering some or all full-timecare for children under age 5. The center might provide school-age care as well. This category doesnot include private preschool programs or public preschools such as Head Start-only or Preschoolfor All-only programs. Park and recreation programs are included if their care is full-time and forthe full year or school year. Data are from June 2009.Any center that provides full-year or school-year care for children ages 5 and over only. Includesbefore and after school programs and part-day programs for children in kindergarten. Programsmay be center based, school based or at a park or recreation program. Data are from June 2009.Any center that provides care only during the summer months. Only centers providing full-time careare included. Ninety-one percent of these summer-only programs are park and recreation programs.Data are from June 2009.Licensed Homes Any family child care home that is licensed by DCFS as of June 2009.License-Exempt HomesIncludes license-exempt home providers participating in CCAP in June 2009. Note that thenumber of participating home providers varies from month to month just as the number of participatingfamilies varies. This category does not include the large number of unknown family, friend,and neighbor caregivers throughout Cook County.39
Glossary of TermsCCAP. See Illinois Child CareAssistance Program (below).Chicago Community Areas (CCA).Seventy-seven (77) formal designationsof Chicago neighborhoods.See Appendix 1.Child Care Center. When the term isused generally throughout the report itrefers to any child care program in afacility outside of the home that offersfull-time child care or before- or afterschoolcare. In tables II-1 through II-3it refers more specifically to any fullyearor school-year child care centerserving children under age 5 (asopposed to centers serving only schoolage children or centers providing onlysummer care). The term includes bothlicensed and license-exempt programs.Child Care Resource and ReferralAgency (CCR&R). There are 16 agenciesthroughout Illinois whose goal isto work with parents, business leaders,government officials and childcare providers to make high qualitychild care available to Illinois families.This includes supporting child careproviders, preparing individuals toenter the child care field, and assistingfamilies in locating child care andaccessing the Illinois Child CareAssistance Program (CCAP). IllinoisAction for Children is a CCR&R.DCFS. See Illinois Department ofChildren and Family Services (below).Family Child Care Homes (FCC).Child care located in providers’ homes.While there are roughly 18,000 knownlicense-exempt child care homes inCook County, sometimes the termFCC refers solely to the approximately4,000 licensed child care homes. Inthis report, it refers to both types ofchild care homes.Federal Poverty Level. Poverty guidelinesset by the Department of Healthand Human Services to determinewhether a person or family is eligiblefor assistance through various federalprograms.Illinois Child Care AssistanceProgram (CCAP). Program establishedusing the federal Child CareBlock Grant following welfare reformto provide child care assistance forworking families earning less than 200percent of the federal poverty level.Illinois Department of Children andFamily Services (DCFS). In thisreport: DCFS grants and enforceslicensing of child care centers andhomes. It also helps pay for child carefor foster children.Illinois Department of HumanServices (IDHS). Home of the Bureauof Child Care and Development whichadministers many of the State’s childcare programs, including the IllinoisChild Care Assistance Program, ChildCare Resource and Referral Agencies,and the Quality Counts program.Illinois Network of Child CareResource and Referral Agencies(INCCRRA). A member organizationconsisting of 16 regional Child CareResource & Referral (CCR&R) agenciesserving communities throughoutthe state of Illinois. Its goal is to makehigh quality and affordable early careand education opportunities availablefor families and children of Illinois.Income-eligible. A family whoseincome falls under 200 percent ofthe federal poverty level, making itincome-eligible for the Illinois ChildCare Assistance Program (CCAP).Income eligibility in Illinois dependsupon family size.Licensed Child Care Centers.Centers that have been certified bythe Illinois Department of Children andFamily Services as meeting certainhealth and safety standards and thatare subject to inspection by DCFS.Licensed Child Care Homes. Homesthat have been certified by the IllinoisDepartment of Children and FamilyServices as meeting certain healthand safety standards and that aresubject to inspection by DCFS.License-Exempt Child Care Centers.The Child Care Act of 1969 excludessome facilities from the requirementto be licensed. These exclusions fromthe licensing requirement may befound in Section 2.09 of the ChildCare Act of 1969 [225 ILCS 10/2.09]and are explained in Department rules89 Ill. Adm. Code 377, Facilities andPrograms Exempt from Licensure.Centers that are legally exempt fromlicensing include those run by a religiousinstitution, government program,school, college or university.License-Exempt Child Care Homes.Sometimes called “family, friend andneighbor child care” or “kith and kinchild care.” Child care in a homethat is legally exempt from licensurebecause the provider cares for fewerthan four unrelated children. In theIllinois Child Care Assistance Program,the provider receiving a payment mustcomplete a registration process andhave passed a background check.Non-Traditional Hours of Care.Hours of child care that fall outsidethe typical Monday through Friday daytime schedule (defined in this reportas 5 am to 7 pm). This includesevening, overnight and weekend care,as well as days and times that changefrom one week to the next.Reimbursement Rates. The paymentlevels approved for centers, licensedhomes and license-exempt homesunder the Illinois Child CareAssistance Program (CCAP). Theserates vary across regions of Illinois.Parents pay part of the rate toproviders as parent co-payments,while CCAP pays the remainder.Special Needs Child Care. Refers toa child care provider with experienceor training in caring for a child with anemotional, physical, developmental, orspecial health need or disability.40
Page 1 and 2: child care in cook county:elements
Page 4: ContentsExecutive Summary . . . . .
Page 8 and 9: I N T R O D U C T I O NFamilies and
Page 10 and 11: IntroductionGABRIELLE AND SHAWN HAR
Page 12 and 13: B.TRENDS IN CHILDCARE RATESLike mos
Page 14 and 15: I. Family Dilemma: Child Care Affor
Page 20 and 21: In 2009, there were 1,456 full-time
Page 22 and 23: II. Family Dilemma: Access to Avail
Page 24 and 25: II. Family Dilemma: Access to Avail
Page 26 and 27: III. Family Dilemma: Finding Child
Page 28 and 29: IV. Family Dilemma:Finding the Righ
Page 30 and 31: V. Public Dilemma: Who Needs ChildC
Page 32 and 33: V. Public Dilemma: Who Needs Child
Page 34 and 35: VI. Child Care Choices ofCook Count
Page 36: ConclusionFinding the right child c
Page 40 and 41: A P P E N D I X 1The Six Cook Count
Page 42 and 43: A P P E N D I X 2The Demand for and
Page 46: 4753 north broadway, chicago, illin

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