05.05.01 - CCAP Provider Health, Safety, and Child Development Training Requirements

Effective Date: 04/06/2017

Revised: 08/01/2017, 03/02/2021, 3/19/2021, 07/01/2022, 10/1/22

Reference: 45 Code of Federal Regulation (CFR) Subpart D, §98.44, Ill. Adm. Code Title 89 Chapter IV. a Part 50 Section 830 

Policy Statement:

The Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) partners with child-care providers to serve low-income families through the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP). To help ensure the health and safety of children, providers participating in the IDHS CCAP must meet Federal Regulations 45 Code of Federal Regulation (CFR) Subpart D, §98, which describes health, safety and child development training and monitoring requirements. To do so, providers must complete and maintain health and safety trainings required by IDHS, including training for Mandated Reporter, First Aid, age-appropriate CPR and other orientation health and safety training topics as well as ongoing annual training each calendar year thereafter. Qualified CCAP providers must be in compliance with the training and monitoring requirements outlined below in order to achieve and maintain eligibility to receive CCAP payments. Training completion is subject to monitoring and inspection.

Applicability

  1. License Exempt Child Care Centers (Provide Type 761)
    1. Director(s): Individuals who has primary responsibility for the daily operations and management of the center.
    2. Teacher(s) includes those who are employed by the center for compensation on a regular basis, such as:
      1. Lead Teachers,
      2. Teachers,
      3. Teacher Assistants or
      4. Teacher Aides
  2. Non-relative license-exempt child care home providers (Provider Types 764 and 766)

Non-Applicability

Some provider types are not subject to this requirement, while other providers meet health and safety training requirements through other means.

  1. Relative license-exempt child care home providers (Provider Types 765 and 767) are exempt from this requirement, based on federal regulations.
  2. Providers who have a current child care license (Provider Types 760, 762, 763) meet CCAP health and safety training requirements through the DCFS licensing process.

Training Records

  1. All applicable providers must be members of the Gateways Registry to track training completion at: https://registry.ilgateways.com/
  2. Copies of training completion certificates will be reviewed during Health and Safety Visits 
  3. It is the responsibility of the CCR&R staff (for example, Health & Safety Coach, Supervisor and/or designee) to assist providers in meeting their training requirements.
  4. Child care providers are responsible for reporting all completed training requirements via the Gateways Registry and may notify their Health & Safety Coach, and/or Designee upon training completion.
  5. The Health & Safety Coach and/or Designee should confirm that the provider registers all completed trainings in Gateways during the Health and Safety visit process and provide technical assistance as needed.
  6. Health & Safety Coaches and/or Designees will continue reaching out to License Exempt Providers (761, 764, 766) to confirm the following:
    1. Gateways Registry membership is current
    2. CPR/First Aid is current
    3. Mandated Reporter training is current

Orientation Training Requirements

  1. Legacy Providers
    1. For the purposes of this policy, legacy providers includes all non-relative license-exempt child care homes (764, 766) and all license-exempt child care centers (761) that received at least one CCAP payment for service months between May 2022 and December 2022.
    2. All Legacy providers must complete all of the following orientation training requirements by December 31, 2022:
      1. CPR/First Aid (must include pediatric CPR)
      2. IDCFS Child Abuse and Neglect Mandated Reporter Training
      3. Child Development Health and Safety Basics or ECE Level 1 Credentials or above
    3. All newly hired staff must complete all orientation trainings within 90-days of their employment start date.
    4. Legacy providers who do not complete all orientation trainings by December 31, 2022will no longer be eligible to receive CCAP payments for new or redetermined CCAP cases, and will therefore be closed out of current CCAP cases upon the case's next Redetermination for the families they care for. Eligibility to receive CCAP payments for new or redetermined CCAP cases can be reinstated for providers who complete training requirements after December 31, 2022.
  2. New Providers
    1. All license-exempt child care centers (761) staff and non-relative license-exempt child care homes (764, 766) being approved for CCAP after October 1, 2022 that had not been issued a CCAP payment in the 3 months prior to approval must complete all of the following orientation training requirements within 90-days of approval.
    1. CPR/First Aid (must include pediatric CPR)
    2. IDCFS Child Abuse and Neglect Mandated Reporter Training:
    3. Child Development Health and Safety Basics or ECE Level 1 Credentials or above
    1. All newly hired staff must complete all orientation trainings within 90-days of their employment start date.
      1. New providers who do not complete all orientation trainings by within 90 days of CCAP approval will be closed out of all CCAP cases.
      2. After the 90-day orientation window, providers will be able to receive CCAP cases once again upon completion of orientation training requirements.

Annual Training Requirements

  1. All license-exempt non-relative providers must complete at least six (6) hours of approved Child Development, Health & Safety training prior to their anniversary date each year.
  2. The anniversary date will be established as the first day of the month after the CCAP case is approved.
    1. The Eligibility Specialist must enter the anniversary date in the in the License Expiration Date field of the CCMS Provider Information screen 
  3. Classes needed to maintain CPR and First Aid certifications can be counted towards the hours needed to meet the annual training requirements.

Child Development, Health & Safety Training

  1. Annual training hours must be on the following topics and be appropriate for the child-care setting and age of children served:
    1. Prevention and control of infectious diseases (including immunizations);
    2. Prevention of sudden infant death syndrome and use of safe sleeping practices (applicable only to those serving infants);
    3. Administration of medication, consistent with standards for parental consent;
    4. Prevention and response to emergencies due to food and allergic reactions;
    5. Building and physical premises safety, including identification of and protection from hazards that can cause bodily injury; such as, electrical hazards, bodies of water, and vehicular traffic;
    6. Prevention of shaken baby syndrome, abusive head trauma, and child maltreatment;
    7. Emergency preparedness and response planning for emergencies resulting from a natural disaster, or a man-caused event (such as violence at a child-care facility);
    8. Handling and storage of hazardous materials and the appropriate disposal of bio-contaminants;
    9. Appropriate Precautions in transporting children (if applicable);
    10. Pediatric First Aid and Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) Certification;
    11. Recognition and reporting of child abuse and neglect;
    12. Promotion of child growth, development and learning;
    13. Nutrition (including age-appropriate feeding);
    14. Access to physical activity;
    15. Caring for children with special needs; or
    16. Additional subject areas to promote child development and/or protect children's health and safety.
  2. Training opportunities that meet CCAP requirements are available and offered statewide by a variety of delivery methods, including:
    1. Local Child Care Resource & Referral (CCR&R) agencies;
    2. On-line through the Illinois Gateways i-Learning system;
    3. Gateways-approved instructor led courses, and;
    4. Service Employee International Union (SEIU), Members Educational & Training Center (METC).

Procedures:

Legacy Provider

(non-relative license-exempt child care homes (764, 766) and all license-exempt child care centers (761) that received at least one CCAP payment for service months between July 2022 and December 2022.)

  1. Review provider orientation training results in CCMS, DTP or available reports when processing redetermination for new eligibility periods that beginning January 1 or later for cases using 761, 764 or 766 provider types starting.
  2. If all Health and Safety Orientation Trainings have not been completed, the provider should not be approved for a new eligibility period.
  3. Issue a Provider Close-out to the provider and client effective the last day of the existing eligibility periods.
  4. Continue to process the redetermination to determine if the family remains eligible and add the "No Qualified Provider" (460328258720008) to the case.
  5. Provide the parent/guardian with a Change of Information form and information on how to request a CCR&R provider search. 

New Providers

  1. The CCAP eligibility specialist should follow procedures for all other provider qualifications including:
    1. Background checks (05.03.01);
    2. W-9 certification (05.02.01);
    3. Photo ID (05.02.02);
    4. SSN Card (05.02.02)
    5. License-exempt center confirmation (05.02.03)
  2. Upon approving the CCAP case, the eligibility specialist shall notify the Health and Safety Coach Supervisor or designee.
  3. Starting January 1. 2023 the CCAP specialist will verify if the provider has met the orientation training requirements through:
    1. Provider submitting training completion report; or
    2. Data Tracking Program (DTP) Provider Screen; or
    3. CCMS Provider Training Screen; or
    4. Confirmation with Heath and Safety Coach/Tea
  4. If completion of all orientation training requirements is verified, Eligibility Specialist will enter the provider's anniversary date (First day of the month following approval date) in the License Expiration Date field of the Provider Information screen in CCMS.
  5. If the newly approved provider has not completed the requirements:
    1. The eligibility specialist shall notify the Health & Safety Coach and/or designee;
    2. The eligibility specialist shall issue the provider the initial health and safety training requirements notice;
    3. The Health & Safety Coach and/or designee will assist the provider in creating a training plan to ensure orientation requirements are completed within 90 days;
    4. The Health & Safety Coach and/or designee shall share CCAP policy 05.05.01 with providers after initial notice from DHS has been shared
    5. The Health & Safety Coach and/or designee will inform the provider of training opportunities on the required topics.(see above).
  6. Prior to the 45th day after issuing the initial notice, the Health & Safety Coach and/or designee will check DTP and/or CCMS to determine if the required trainings have been completed.
    1. If the trainings have not been completed, the Health & Safety Coach and/or designee shall issue a 45-day notice to the provider. 
    2. If the requirements are not completed by the 90th day after issuing the initial notice, the eligibility specialist will close the provider out of all CCAP cases with a 10-day notice.
    3. If the provider has completed the training within the 90-day period, the Eligibility Specialist will enter the provider's anniversary date in the License Expiration Date field of the Provider Information screen in CCMS.
  7. If the provider has not completed orientation training by 90th day, the Eligibility Specialist will close the provider-out of all cases with a 10-day notice. Use closeout reason 75 "Your child care arrangement does not meet the IDHS child care requirements. If you need help finding a provider that meets these requirements, providers should call for a Parent Counselor at our Child Care Resource and Referral agency."

Annual Training Requirements

  1. Notifying Provider of Annual Training Requirements:
    1. IDHS will send a notice informing providers that they must meet annual training requirements for the upcoming year;
    2. IDHS will notify providers in writing of the annual training requirements at least twice per year.
  2. Verifying Annual Training Completion:
    1. Child care providers are responsible for reporting all completed training into the Gateways Registry and must notify the HS Coach and/or designee upon training completion;
    2. Once evidence of training completion is received by the CCR&R, it must be documented in the Provider Notes section in CCMS;
    3. If requirements have been met, the Eligibility Specialist will enter the provider's anniversary date in the License Expiration Date field of the Provider Information screen in CCMS.
  3. Failure to Meet Annual Training Requirements:
    1. If annual training requirements have not been met by the anniversary date, the eligibility specialist will close the provider out of all approved cases with a 10-day notice using reason 75 - "Your child-care arrangement does not meet the IDHS child-care requirements. If you need help finding a provider that meets these requirements, providers should call for a Parent Counselor at our Child Care Resource and Referral agency."
    2. Eligibility Specialist will add the "No Qualified Provider" ID (460328258720008) to all cases the provider has been closed out of.
    3. Eligibility Specialist will issue a Change of Provider (COP) form to the client.

CPR, First Aid and Mandated Reporter Recertification

  1. Health and Safety Coaches or designee are to ensure certifications are current during provider visits.
  2. Eligibility Specialists are to check provider training expiration dates in CCMS or DTP whenever a case they are approved on is redetermined and:
    1. Inform the Health and Safety Coach Supervisor or designee if the expiration date is less than 90 days in the future from.  The Health and Safety Coach or designee shall reach out to the provider to provide information on renewing their certification.
    2. Continue to determine the families CCAP eligibility and approve with the "No Qualified Provider" ID (460328258720008) if eligible.

Availability of Training

Training opportunities that meet CCAP requirements are available and offered statewide by a variety of delivery methods, including:

  1. Local Child Care Resource & Referral (CCR&R) agencies.
  2. On-line through the Illinois Gateways i-Learning system.
  3. Gateways-approved instructor led courses, and
  4. Service Employee International Union (SEIU), Members Educational & Training Center (METC).