Bill Amendment: IL HB1822 | 2021-2022 | 102nd General Assembly
NOTE: For additional amemendments please see the Bill Drafting List
Bill Title: EARLY CHILDHOOD PROGRAM ELIGIB
Status: 2021-04-23 - House Floor Amendment No. 2 Rule 19(c) / Re-referred to Rules Committee [HB1822 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2021-HB1822-House_Amendment_002.html
Bill Title: EARLY CHILDHOOD PROGRAM ELIGIB
Status: 2021-04-23 - House Floor Amendment No. 2 Rule 19(c) / Re-referred to Rules Committee [HB1822 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2021-HB1822-House_Amendment_002.html
| |||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 1822
| ||||||
2 | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 1822, AS AMENDED, | ||||||
3 | by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the | ||||||
4 | following:
| ||||||
5 | "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Early | ||||||
6 | Childhood Program Recruitment and Eligibility Screening Act.
| ||||||
7 | Section 5. Definitions. In this Act: | ||||||
8 | "Blended classroom" means a classroom that is operated | ||||||
9 | under a program that gives the provider the option to operate | ||||||
10 | classrooms that are shared by a Head Start program and an early | ||||||
11 | childhood program in which children enrolled in the program | ||||||
12 | are financially supported through several funding sources and | ||||||
13 | agencies. Classrooms may be partially blended in which one or | ||||||
14 | more classrooms are blended at one or more program locations | ||||||
15 | but not all classrooms are blended, or classrooms may be fully | ||||||
16 | blended in which every classroom is offered by a Head Start |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | program and receives 90% of its funding from State or federal
| ||||||
2 | sources. However, other sources such as Title I and private | ||||||
3 | tuition may also be used to support the enrollment of | ||||||
4 | children. | ||||||
5 | "Classroom", with respect to a Head Start program, means a | ||||||
6 | group of children who are supervised and taught by 2 paid staff | ||||||
7 | members, both of whom are teachers or one of whom is a teacher | ||||||
8 | and one of whom is a teacher's aide, and, if possible, a | ||||||
9 | volunteer. | ||||||
10 | "Collaborative Program" means the program created under | ||||||
11 | this Act. | ||||||
12 | "Communication" means an information exchange between a | ||||||
13 | Preschool for All or Preschool for All Expansion program or | ||||||
14 | Prevention Initiative program provider and a Head Start or | ||||||
15 | Early Head Start provider that ensures that the parents or | ||||||
16 | guardians of all eligible participants in a program are made | ||||||
17 | aware of and are informed about the program options and their | ||||||
18 | right to participate in the program of their choice. | ||||||
19 | "Early childhood program universal application" or | ||||||
20 | "universal application" means an application form for services | ||||||
21 | that is required to be utilized by Preschool for All or | ||||||
22 | Preschool for All Expansion programs or Prevention Initiative | ||||||
23 | programs and Head Start or Early Head Start programs in this | ||||||
24 | State that provide services to children from birth to 5 years | ||||||
25 | of age. | ||||||
26 | "Head Start or Early Head Start program" means a program |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | that provides services to children and their families who live | ||||||
2 | in extreme poverty, as set by guidelines established by the | ||||||
3 | federal government that are tied to the poverty guidelines
| ||||||
4 | updated periodically in the Federal Register by the U.S. | ||||||
5 | Department of Health and Human Services under the authority of
| ||||||
6 | 42 U.S.C. 9902(2), or to children who are homeless or in foster | ||||||
7 | care; provides the skills those children need to be successful | ||||||
8 | in school and life; promotes the school readiness of those | ||||||
9 | children by enhancing their cognitive, social, and emotional | ||||||
10 | development in a learning environment that supports children's | ||||||
11 | growth in language, literacy, mathematics, science, social and | ||||||
12 | emotional functioning, the creative arts, and physical skills; | ||||||
13 | provides approaches to learning to low-income children and | ||||||
14 | their families; and provides health, educational, nutritional, | ||||||
15 | social, and other services that are determined based on a | ||||||
16 | family needs assessment. | ||||||
17 | "Head Start or Early Head Start program eligibility" means | ||||||
18 | that families who live in extreme poverty, as determined by | ||||||
19 | the poverty guidelines updated periodically in the Federal | ||||||
20 | Register by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services | ||||||
21 | under the authority of 42 U.S.C. 9902(2), families who are | ||||||
22 | homeless, children in foster care, and children from families | ||||||
23 | who receive public assistance from this State's Temporary | ||||||
24 | Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program or from | ||||||
25 | Supplemental Security Income (SSI) are eligible regardless of | ||||||
26 | income. |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | "Participating program" means a Head Start or Early Head | ||||||
2 | Start program, Preschool for All or Preschool for All | ||||||
3 | Expansion program, or Prevention Initiative program located | ||||||
4 | (i) in any of the following zip codes for Collaborative | ||||||
5 | Program One: 62001, 62002, 62010, 62232, 62018, 62021, 62024, | ||||||
6 | 62025, 62034, 62040, 62046, 62048, 62249, 62058, 62060, 62061, | ||||||
7 | 62062, 62067, 62074, 62084, 62281, 62087, 62294, 62090, 62095, | ||||||
8 | or 62097; or (ii) in any of the following zip codes for | ||||||
9 | Collaborative Program Two: 60406, 60419, 60422, 60426, 60428, | ||||||
10 | 60429, 60430, 60445, 60452, 60469, 60477, or 60827. | ||||||
11 | "Scientifically valid research" includes applied research, | ||||||
12 | basic research, and field-initiated research in which the | ||||||
13 | rationale, design, and interpretation are soundly developed in
| ||||||
14 | accordance with the principles of scientific research.
| ||||||
15 | Section 10. Findings. | ||||||
16 | (a) Every young child and family has the right to | ||||||
17 | equitable learning opportunities that help them achieve their | ||||||
18 | full potential as engaged learners and valued members of | ||||||
19 | society regardless of race, ethnicity, and social | ||||||
20 | circumstances. Early childhood programs, including Head Start | ||||||
21 | and Early Head Start programs, provide essential support, | ||||||
22 | structure, and opportunities for young children and blended | ||||||
23 | classroom structures that provide support, encourage learning, | ||||||
24 | and promote a healthy child. | ||||||
25 | (b) Head Start and Early Head Start programs: |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | (1) provide support for the whole child by promoting | ||||||
2 | school readiness and actively ensuring each child is | ||||||
3 | healthy, including nutrition, oral health, and mental | ||||||
4 | health, and is ready to learn; | ||||||
5 | (2) provide comprehensive health, educational, | ||||||
6 | nutritional, social, and other services needed to aid | ||||||
7 | participating children in attaining their full potential
| ||||||
8 | and to prepare children to succeed in school; | ||||||
9 | (3) attract and retain qualified staff who are capable | ||||||
10 | of delivering and implementing a high-quality and | ||||||
11 | comprehensive program, including the ability to carry out | ||||||
12 | a research-based curriculum aligned with State early | ||||||
13 | learning standards; | ||||||
14 | (4) have child-to-teacher ratios, group size, and | ||||||
15 | family service worker caseloads that reflect best | ||||||
16 | practices and are tied to high-quality service delivery; | ||||||
17 | (5) are based on scientifically valid research, | ||||||
18 | including: | ||||||
19 | (A) curricula that are based on scientifically | ||||||
20 | valid research, are developmentally appropriate, and | ||||||
21 | promote the school readiness of children participating | ||||||
22 | in the program involved; and | ||||||
23 | (B) teaching practices that are based, as | ||||||
24 | appropriate, on scientifically valid research, that | ||||||
25 | are developmentally appropriate, and that promote the | ||||||
26 | school readiness of children participating in the |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | programs. | ||||||
2 | (6) maintain strong fiscal controls and cost-effective | ||||||
3 | fiscal management; | ||||||
4 | (7) coordinate and collaborate with other public or | ||||||
5 | private entities providing early childhood education and | ||||||
6 | developmental programs and services for young children in | ||||||
7 | the community; | ||||||
8 | (8) coordinate with public and private entities that | ||||||
9 | are willing to commit resources to assist the programs in | ||||||
10 | meeting their program needs; | ||||||
11 | (9) facilitate the involvement of parents, | ||||||
12 | grandparents, and kinship caregivers, as appropriate, of | ||||||
13 | children participating in the programs and in activities | ||||||
14 | at home and, if practicable, at the location of the | ||||||
15 | programs, which is designed to help such persons become | ||||||
16 | full partners in the education of their children; | ||||||
17 | (10) provide an opportunity for parents to participate | ||||||
18 | in the development and overall conduct of the programs at | ||||||
19 | the local level; | ||||||
20 | (11) provide parenting-skills training; | ||||||
21 | (12) perform a family needs assessment with respect to | ||||||
22 | each participating family that includes consultation with | ||||||
23 | parents, foster parents, grandparents, and kinship | ||||||
24 | caregivers, as applicable, in a manner and language that | ||||||
25 | such persons can understand, to the extent practicable, | ||||||
26 | about the benefits of parental involvement; |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | (13) meet the diverse needs of the population served, | ||||||
2 | including, but not limited to: | ||||||
3 | (A) meeting the needs of limited | ||||||
4 | English-proficient children and their families by | ||||||
5 | implementing procedures to identify such children, | ||||||
6 | implementing plans to provide trained personnel, and | ||||||
7 | implementing plans to provide services to assist these
| ||||||
8 | children in making progress toward the acquisition of | ||||||
9 | the English language, while making meaningful progress | ||||||
10 | in attaining knowledge, skills, abilities, and | ||||||
11 | development; and | ||||||
12 | (B) meeting the needs of children with | ||||||
13 | disabilities by implementing procedures to identify | ||||||
14 | such children and implementing procedures for referral | ||||||
15 | of these children for evaluation to State or local | ||||||
16 | agencies providing services and plans for | ||||||
17 | collaboration with those State or local agencies; | ||||||
18 | (14) reserve a percentage of their funding, as | ||||||
19 | required and set by federal guidelines, for the enrollment | ||||||
20 | of children with disabilities; and | ||||||
21 | (15) meet the needs of homeless children, including | ||||||
22 | their transportation needs, and the needs of children in | ||||||
23 | foster care. | ||||||
24 | (c) Blended classrooms in early childhood programs share | ||||||
25 | all of the following characteristics: | ||||||
26 | (1) Costs are shared in that costs are prorated from |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | each funding source. | ||||||
2 | (2) Separate audit trails are maintained for each | ||||||
3 | funding source. | ||||||
4 | (3) A classroom must meet the operating requirements | ||||||
5 | of all funding sources. If classroom standards are not | ||||||
6 | comparable or the same between 2 or more classrooms, the | ||||||
7 | most stringent standard applies. | ||||||
8 | (4) Children receive all services for which they are | ||||||
9 | eligible. | ||||||
10 | (5) Wrap-around services provide before-school and | ||||||
11 | after-school child care that is coordinated with child | ||||||
12 | care providers and family resource centers. | ||||||
13 | (6) Head Start and Early Head Start programs | ||||||
14 | coordinate with medical, health, mental health, and social | ||||||
15 | service agencies to meet the comprehensive needs of | ||||||
16 | children and families.
| ||||||
17 | Section 15. Collaborative Program. | ||||||
18 | (a) The Collaborative Program is created to coordinate the | ||||||
19 | enrollment of children into Preschool for All or Preschool for | ||||||
20 | All Expansion programs or Prevention Initiative programs and | ||||||
21 | Head Start or Early Head Start programs that provide services | ||||||
22 | to children from birth to 5 years of age. The Collaborative | ||||||
23 | Program shall provide improved program coordination to | ||||||
24 | identify and serve children furthest from opportunity in this | ||||||
25 | State by avoiding the duplication of services and the |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | supplanting of federal funds and, instead, leveraging federal | ||||||
2 | resources by maximizing the use of Head Start and Early Head | ||||||
3 | Start federal program funds. The Collaborative Program shall | ||||||
4 | coordinate with and further inform a regional-based community | ||||||
5 | coordinating council. | ||||||
6 | (b) The Collaborative Program shall be implemented and | ||||||
7 | administered jointly by the State Board of Education and the | ||||||
8 | Governor's Office of Early Childhood Development, which shall | ||||||
9 | act in cooperation with participating programs. | ||||||
10 | (c) The Collaborative Program shall begin with the | ||||||
11 | 2021-2022 school year and shall operate for a period of 2 | ||||||
12 | school years.
| ||||||
13 | Section 20. Early childhood program universal application; | ||||||
14 | enrollment. | ||||||
15 | (a) The State Board of Education shall develop an early | ||||||
16 | childhood program universal application. Participating | ||||||
17 | programs shall use the universal application to determine a | ||||||
18 | family's eligibility for any and all of the community's early | ||||||
19 | childhood programs. One of the eligibility criteria included | ||||||
20 | on the universal application must be based on the family's | ||||||
21 | household income level, as determined by the poverty | ||||||
22 | guidelines updated periodically in the Federal Register by the
| ||||||
23 | U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under the | ||||||
24 | authority of 42 U.S.C. 9902(2). | ||||||
25 | (b) Parents and guardians shall be directed to the early |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | childhood program universal application on the websites of the | ||||||
2 | participating programs or the universal application shall be | ||||||
3 | made available as a physical document available at the | ||||||
4 | locations of the participating programs. The universal | ||||||
5 | application may also be made available to parents or guardians | ||||||
6 | through door-to-door recruitment efforts. The universal | ||||||
7 | application may be completed by parents or guardians at their | ||||||
8 | home or at the location of the participating program. | ||||||
9 | (c) If an applicant family meets the income eligibility | ||||||
10 | guidelines established by a Head Start or Early Head Start | ||||||
11 | program, the applicant family must be offered the opportunity | ||||||
12 | for communication about enrollment into the Head Start or | ||||||
13 | Early Head Start program and to enroll in the Head Start or | ||||||
14 | Early Head Start program prior to enrolling in any other | ||||||
15 | community program. If the applicant family does not meet the | ||||||
16 | income eligibility guidelines set forth by the Head Start or | ||||||
17 | Early Head Start program, the applicant family must be offered | ||||||
18 | the opportunity for communication with other Preschool for All | ||||||
19 | or Preschool for All Expansion programs or Prevention | ||||||
20 | Initiative programs selected by the applicant family in which | ||||||
21 | the child is eligible for enrollment. | ||||||
22 | (d) Within 48 hours after receiving a universal | ||||||
23 | application, an intake staff member of a participating program | ||||||
24 | shall store the application either electronically or in a | ||||||
25 | physical location at a common access point that is readily | ||||||
26 | accessible to other enrollment or intake staff members of the |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | participating program. | ||||||
2 | (e) Participating programs shall communicate weekly during | ||||||
3 | the primary enrollment period agreed to by the participating | ||||||
4 | programs. After the primary enrollment period, the | ||||||
5 | participating programs shall communicate as necessary.
| ||||||
6 | Section 25. Waiting list. Head Start and Early Head Start | ||||||
7 | programs, Preschool for All and Preschool for All Expansion | ||||||
8 | programs, and Prevention Initiative programs shall coordinate | ||||||
9 | with each other to ensure that a child whose household income | ||||||
10 | meets the Head Start or Early Head Start program eligibility | ||||||
11 | requirements or the eligibility requirements for other early | ||||||
12 | childhood programs or for local, State, or federal early
| ||||||
13 | childhood programs remains on a waiting list for an eligible | ||||||
14 | provider for no longer than 45 days. The programs | ||||||
15 | participating in the Collaborative Program may develop a | ||||||
16 | shared waiting list.
| ||||||
17 | Section 90. Rules. The State Board of Education, in | ||||||
18 | cooperation with the Governor's Office of Early Childhood | ||||||
19 | Development, may adopt any rules necessary to implement this | ||||||
20 | Act.
| ||||||
21 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1, | ||||||
22 | 2021.".
|