CCAP Policy Updates - December 2019

Child Care Policy Update December 2019 (pdf)

Child Care Policy Update December 2019-Spanish (pdf)

CHILD CARE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM POLICY UPDATES - December 1, 2019

Dear Child Care Providers, Parents, and Stakeholders:

Thank you for your continued commitment to the children and families of the state of Illinois! Like you, the IDHS CCAP team is committed to improving policies and procedures to ensure access to high quality child care. As you know, in October of 2018, CCAP rolled out twelve-month eligibility to ensure continuity of care. Many of those cases are now up for redetermination. Please be reminded to submit all required redetermination documents in a timely manner to prevent disruption of services.

Tentative Agreement with SEIU

In October of 2019, IDHS reached a tentative agreement with SEIU for CCAP Home Child Care Providers. The tentative agreement will be posted for public review once it is ratified by SEIU members. Key aspects of the of the agreement includes; exempting relative providers from ALL health and safety training and monitoring requirements; a 30% rate increase for all licensed and licensed-exempt Child Care Assistance Program home care providers over the term of the agreement; and expansion of the SEIU child care training fund. If ratified, the term of the agreement extends from July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2023.

What is WIC?

Do you or a family you know qualify for WIC? WIC is the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children up to age five. In Illinois it is administered by the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) and is funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Even if members of a family are working, it can be hard to make ends meet. WIC can help with the right food and advice from trained staff on nutrition, health care, and immunizations. WIC helps parents to feed their children well during critical periods of growth and development. WIC services strengthen families long after they leave the WIC program.

A screening by a WIC Certifying Health Professional must find that you have a medical or nutritional health risk such as low iron, low weight gain during pregnancy, or opportunities to make improvements in your diet/nutrition. Check the WIC Prescreening Tool at https://wic.fns.usda.gov/wps/pages/preScreenTool.xhtml to find out if you might be eligible for WIC benefits.

If you are a provider who cares for children ages 5 and under, please be sure to share this important resource with families.

AOK (All Our Kids) Early Childhood Network

Have you reached out to the AOK network in your community? For children to get the best start in life, families need strong communities where everyone is working together toward common goals for young children. The All Our Kids Early Childhood Networks initiative (AOK Networks) in Illinois was launched in 1999 to support collaboration across service sectors so that greater results for young children could be achieved. The AOK Networks are committed to developing high-quality, well-coordinated, easily accessible system of care to promote positive growth and development for children up to five years of age, as well as their families. Network members include parents, faith-based community partners, and professionals from education, early learning, libraries, business entities, early intervention programs, family support, healthcare, human services, mental health, and government organizations. To find out more about AOK Networks, or to join one in your community, please visit http://www.aoknetworks.org/illinois/.

As always, we thank you for your time and partnership. Please continue to spread the word about the @IllinoisCCAP Facebook page. If you are interested in receiving periodic policy email updates, please join our email list: https://lp.constantcontact.com/su/noUTOmW/CCAPupdates.