Illinois Annual Child Care Report FY2010 (pdf)

State of Illinois
Pat Quinn, Governor
Department of Human Services
Michelle R.B. Saddler, Secretary

Illinois Child Care Report FY 2010

Mission

To provide low income families with access to affordable, quality child care options that allow them to pursue self-sufficiency and contribute to the healthy development of children and to enhance the quality, affordability, and supply of child care available to families.

Vision

Families will have multiple options for affordable quality child care and early education. All children starting at birth will be offered opportunities to grow, learn and be cared for in safe, nurturing, culturally and developmentally appropriate settings.

Bureau Of Child Care And Development

As required by State 20 ILCS 505/5.15, the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) annually submits a report to the Governor and to the Illinois General Assembly on the status of the Bureau's child care programs. These programs include the Child Care Assistance Program and the Quality Improvement Program. The 2010 Illinois Child Care Report includes program information for Fiscal Year 2010 (July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010). The data in this report are from: a) the DHS Child Care Tracking System database for the Child Care Assistance Program; and b) the Illinois Network of Child Care Resource and Referral Agency's aggregate databases of local Child Care Resource and Referral parent customers, child care providers and professional development. DHS thanks the thousands of center-based agency staff, family child care providers and Child Care Resource and Referral staff for their support in the care and education of Illinois children.

Fiscal Year 2010 Child Care Funding Sources

Funding Source Dollar Amount Percent
Title XX $1,200,000 0.15%
State GRF $455,260,232 57.33%
TANF $130,225,180 16.40%
CCDF $207,477,477 26.13%
TOTAL $794,162,889 100.00%

Federal Priorities

The IDHS Bureau of Child Care and Development sets policy and develops programs consistent with the federal Administration for Children & Families (ACF) Office of Child Care philosophy and with the Bureau's mission. ACF's overall goal is "healthy, happy and successful children." Its philosophy includes a focus on a continuum of high quality care for children birth to age 13 and partnerships across child care, education, Head Start, and health for a broader delivery system that expands families' choices.

ACF's child care subsidy policy priorities to support quality services are:

  • Child Focused
  • Family Friendly
  • Fair to Providers
  • Accountable

"Mason is able to attend quality child care because of the CCAP program. Mason's mom goes to school and works to raise her son and offer him a bright future." - Child Care Center Provider, Northwestern Illinois

Child Care Assistance Program

The Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) has two primary goals:

  1. To support qualifying low income families by providing child care subsidies. This allows parents to maintain employment or further their education, thereby decreasing dependence on public assistance.
  2. To allow families access to multiple options for affordable, quality child care, early education, and after school programs that offer children the opportunity to grow, learn and be cared for in safe, nurturing settings that are culturally and developmentally appropriate.

Fiscal Year 2010 CCAP Enrollment

Total families enrolled: 157,403; Monthly average: 89,900.
Total children enrolled: 280,406; Monthly average: 168,000. 

Annual Income Guidelines by Family Size

FISCAL YEAR Family Size 2 Family Size 3 Family Size 4 Family Size 5 Family Size 6 Family Size 7 Family Size 8
2005 $23,520 $29,052 $34,584 $40,128 $45,660 $46,692 $47,736
2006 & 2007 $24,612 $30,396 $36,192 $41,976 $47,772 $48,852 $49,944
2008, Sept. 1 $25,332 $31,776 $38,208 $44,652 $51,084 $57,528 $63,960
2009,
April 1		 $28,008 $35,208 $42,408 $49,608 $56,808 $64,008 $71,208
2010,
Oct. 1		 $29,148 $36,624 $44,150 $51,588 $59,604 $66,540 $74,028

"About seven months ago, I unexpectedly found that I was a single parent with a full-time job and no longer able to meet my child care expenses. For years I've encouraged people to apply for child care assistance but until I personally started receiving it, I had no idea the burden it took off of people. I was so thankful that I did not have to compromise the care of my children due to my circumstances." - Single mother, Southeastern Illinois

Number of CCAP Families by % of Federal Poverty Level (FPL)

FPL Number
10% 4,545
20% 752
30% 3,089
40% 1,976
50% 3,049
60% 4,340
70% 5,182
80% 6,079
90% 6,349
100% 6,677
110% 6,320
120% 5,891
130% 5,390
140% 4,738
150% 4,207
160% 3,526
170% 2,903
180% 2,607
190% 2,013
200% 1,863

Number of Licensed Providers Receiving CCAP Payments in FY'10

Type of LICENSED Care Number of Providers
Licensed Centers 2,522
Licensed Family Homes 7,930
Licensed Group Homes 394
TOTAL 10,846

Number of License-Exempt Providers Receiving CCAP Payments in FY'10 

Type of LICENSE-EXEMPT Care Number of Providers
License-Exempt Centers 786
License-Exempt Family Homes
Non-Relative in Provider's Home		 14,273
License-Exempt Family Homes
Relative in Provider's Home		 25,847
License-Exempt Family Homes
Non-Relative in Child's Home		 10,606
License-Exempt Family Homes
Relative in Child' Home		 14,478
TOTAL 65,990

"The child care center has made me grow as a father. I have gotten closer to both of my children and become more involved in their lives. As a single father, the Center's staff helped me figure out how to take care of my daughter. She has grown into a very smart and independent little girl. I have become more independent and responsible as a parent." - Single father, Metro Chicago

Number of Families by Monthly Co-Payment Amount for March 2010

Monthly Co-Payment Amount Number of Families
Greater than $200 9,601
$101-200 22,977
$51-100 23,760
$26-50 14,303
$1-25 11,127
$0 1,111

Profile of CCAP Participants in March 2010

Families:

  • Average family size was 3.3
  • 51.8% of the families receiving subsidies were at or below the poverty threshold (FPL for family of 4 is $22,050)
  • 94.8% of families headed by a single parent
  • 85% of families received subsidies in order to maintain employment

Children:

  • 57.4% of children were served in licensed care
  • 14.7% of children were cared for by relatives
  • Children under age 1 were in child care settings an average of 35.77 hours per week
  • School-age children (ages 6 and older) constitute 39.7% of all children served

Expenditures:

  • The average cost of care this month was $418 per child.
  • Parents paid 12.9% of the cost and the program paid 87.1%
  • The average monthly expenditures for children under 36 months years of age was $525
  • 70.9% of total expenditures were for children under 6 years of age

Number of Children Participating in CCAP in March 2010

Child's Age Number Enrolled in CCAP % of Total
0-14 Months 12,847 10%
12-24 Months 14,242 11%
25-30 Months 9,454 7%
31-36 months 9,453 7%
37 Months - 4 Years 34,572 26%
5 Years 12,947 10%
6-12 Years 36,959 28%
13 Years and Over 599 0%
TOTAL 131,073 100%

*March data is used because March gives the most typical picture of the Child Care Assistance Program. It is the one month of the school year with no major holidays and 21-23 regular business days.

"Family child care is where I belong and as long as I can do this, I will be in this profession." - Family child care provider, Northern Illinois

Quality Improvement Program

The Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) requires at least four percent of federal funds be allocated for the improvement of child care quality. These funds are used to support the Bureau of Child Care and Development's Quality Improvement Program, the goal of which is to increase the quality of child care available to all Illinois families. This goal is addressed with a multi-faceted approach that works to meet the individual needs of children, families, child care practitioners and communities, as outlined below.  In Fiscal Year 2010, IDHS contracted with 16 Child Care Resource and Referral agencies (CCR&R) and the Illinois Network of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (INCCRRA) to implement these quality programs.

Services to Families:

By CCR&Rs

  • Consumer education on legal and quality child care
  • Referral to child care settings according to family preferences
  • Referrals to CCAP, other DHS programs and community services

By INCCRRA

  • Toll-free number, in English and Spanish, that connects parents to local CCR&Rs

Services to Child Care Providers:

By CCR&Rs

  • Free referrals to families
  • Technical assistance & consultation
  • Training opportunities & Professional Development Funds
  • Program Improvement & Accreditation Funds
  • Equipment/Facility Improvement grants
  • Resources, such as printed materials and lending libraries
  • Specialist/Consultant Teams

By INCCRRA

  • The Illinois Trainers Network statewide training seminars
  • Gateways to Opportunity Professional Development System
  • Gateways Credentials
  • Professional Development Advisors
  • Gateways Registry
  • Gateways to Opportunity Scholarship program
  • Great START Wage Supplement Program
  • Quality Counts: Quality Rating System

Services to Communities:

By CCR&Rs

  • Technical assistance, such as child care supply and demand information
  • Resource development/ recruitment of new child care in areas of need
  • Advisement on community and employer options to supply child care

By INCCRRA

  • Compilation of local and aggregate statewide data, including parent referral, and provider demographics and training registry
  • CCR&R staff training and professional development
  • Statewide outreach marketing resources

"I called my local child care resource & referral when I was looking for child care for my daughter. They offered me a list of several centers and homes that offered child care. Through that list I found the perfect place for her. My daughter is safe, loved, and learning all kinds of new things in a family home that I didn't even know existed before my referral list." - Mother, Central Illinois

Child Care Supply

The CCR&Rs support child care providers by referring families to their child care programs. Licensed centers, family child care homes and group homes are listed in the provider database. License-exempt centers and homes may choose to be included on the provider database. Every provider has the option to decline parent referral services. The Fiscal Year 2010 provider database information is shown in the table below.

Fiscal Year 2010 Statewide Child Care Database

Type of Care Number of Providers Number of Spaces
Licensed Family Homes 10,357 92,212
License-Exempt Homes 643 2,013
TOTAL FAMILY HOMES 11,000 94,225
Licensed Centers 3,149 232,623
License-Exempt Centers 2,393 157,233
TOTAL CENTERS 5,542 389,856

Child Care Demand

There are two dimensions of the "demand" for child care in any community.

  1. Number of children needing child care compared to the number of child care spaces available to meet the needs; and
  2. The unique requirements of families for their specific child care needs, such as child's age, type of care desired, parent schedule, location special needs of the child and cost.

Snapshot of Families Receiving Child Care Referrals

  • 29,853 families received child care referrals
  • 79% of families required care due to employment
  • 1,149 families of children with special needs requested referrals
  • 12,738 requests were made for non-standard schedules

"More than half of my families have non-traditional work schedules that include working 2nd and 3rd shift jobs with a combination of school." - Family child care provider, Metro Chicago

Schedules Requested for Children and Offered by Providers

Schedule Requested for Children Offered by Family Child Care Homes Offered by Child Care Centers Offered by Providers TOTAL
Standard Hours (a standard schedule is full-time care offered during traditional day time work hours.) 31,056 9,889 2,824 12,713
Evening 5,337 4,201 103 4,304
Weekend 3,328 1,370 53 1,423
Overnight 1,434 3,049 43 3,092
Rotating 1,433 4,337 816 5,153
Temp/Emergency 319 5,441 806 6,247
Drop-In 303 5,029 901 5,931

Number and Percentage of Children for Whom Child Care was Requested by Age and Type of Care

Requests by Age of Child Number of Requests Percent of Request
Infants & Toddlers 11,841 32%
Three-Four Year Olds 11,389 31.06%
School Age Children 6,473 17.65%
Two Year Olds 4,599 12.54%
Five Year Olds/Kindergartners 2,366 6.45%
TOTAL 36,668 100.00%

Number and Percentage of Requests By Type Of Care

Type of Care Number of Requests Percent of Requests
Child Care Center 39,515 59.48%
Family Child Care Home 26,693 40.18%
In-Home Care 228 0.34%
TOTAL 66,436 100.00%

"Going through the QRS process has been a very valuable experience for our center. It helped to reaffirm all of the good things we do but also pointed out where we need improvement. From beginning to end, it was great to have all of my staff work toward a goal. It was a great team building experience." - Child care center provider, Northern Illinois

Fiscal Year 2010 Quality Program Services

Illinois Quality Counts: Quality Rating System

The Illinois Quality Counts: Quality Rating System (QRS) assists Illinois child care programs in providing quality care for children and their families. The Quality Counts QRS offers award levels which providers can achieve depending on the type of care they provide. A QRS award recognizes a provider for meeting specific indicators of quality, such as learning environment, program administration, staff qualifications and training. All QRS awards recognize achievement above DCFS licensing standards. This voluntary system is available to License-Exempt Family Child Care providers, Licensed Family Child Care Home providers, and Licensed Child Care Centers.

Training Tier Levels for License-Exempt Family Child Care Homes

Tier Level License-Exempt Family Care  Homes Number of CCAP Children Enrolled
Training Tier 1 122 260
Training Tier 2 49 102
Training Tier 3 55 120
TOTAL 226 482

The number of non-CCAP children care for by these providers was 154.

The total number of children care for by QRS approved license-exempt family care homes was 636.

Quality Rating System Awards for Licensed Providers

Star Level Licensed Centers Number of CCAP Children Enrolled in Licensed Centers by Star Level Licensed Family Child Care Homes Number of CCAP Children Enrolled in Licensed Family Child Care Homes by Star Level
Star Level 1 34 1,754 30 213
Star Level 2 143 7,445 9 38
Star Level 3 177 9,911 137 878
Star Level 4 1 13 0 0
TOTAL 355 19,123 176 1,129

Number of non-CCAP children was 13,943.

Number of CCAP children enrolled in licensed family child care homes was 670.

Total number of children cared for in QRS approved licensed child care centers was 33,064; and family child care homes was 1,799.

"Children love playing with blocks. Block Play Training reminds child care providers how much children love to play with blocks and that block play builds cognitive skills related to math and science, large and small muscles, and the eye/hand coordination needed for writing." - Family child care, Northern Illinois

Quality Counts Grants

The Quality Counts Grants program is a competitive grant process available to any child care provider on an Illinois Child Care Resource and Referral database. These grants may be used for materials, equipment, and/or facility improvements.

FY 2010 QC Grant Purposes

Grant Categorires Number Awarded Amount of Grant
Equipment/Materials for Children 1,780 $1,970,706
Facility Improvement 362 $954,942
Parent Resources 27 $28,912
Professional Services 115 $104,515

FY 2010 QC Grants Addressing DHS Priorities to Create/Increase Care

Child Type Number of Grants Awarded
Children with Special Needs 70
Infant/Toddlers 93
School-Age Children 59

FY 2010 QC Grants Addressing DHS Priorities to Maintain/Improve Care 

Child Type Number of Grants Awarded
Children with Special Needs 186
Infant/Toddlers 812
School-Age Children 610

Reporting

Much of the data contained in the Quality Improvement Program section are from parent, customer and child care provider databases compiled by local CCR&Rs. Therefore data presented does not include all families and children requiring child care services in Illinois. Most families do not receive child care assistance and many families find child care services through friends, family, advertisements and other means. Additionally, although licensed child care centers and family child care homes in the State are included in the provider database, many license-exempt programs, especially family homes, are not. Because of these factors, it is important to note that this report is only one means of examining the larger child care supply and demand picture in Illinois.

IDHS Thanks:

  • Child Care Providers & Local Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies statewide for photos and quotes
  • Kayla Johner for copy development and resource gathering
  • INCCRRA for graphic design & layout

For more detailed information about any of the programs contained in this report, visit:

Illinois Department of Human Services
Bureau of Child Care and Development
100 South Grand Avenue, East
Springfield, IL 62762

401 South Clinton Street
Chicago, IL 60607

www.dhs.state.il.us

This report was prepared to meet the requirements of Illinois Compiled Statutes, C. 20, Sec 505/5.15.

Programs, activities and employment opportunities in the Illinois Department of Human Services are open and accessible to any individual or group without regard to age, sex, race, sexual orientation, disability, ethnic origin or religion. The department is an equal opportunity employer and practices affirmative action and reasonable accommodation programs.