Rule limiting how long child care assistants can monitor toddlers
remains suspended
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[August 23, 2023]
By Greg Bishop | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – Emergency rules from the Illinois Department of
Children and Family Services that limited who could watch over day care
rooms with children younger than 2 years old remain on hold.
Last month, the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules took DCFS
officials to task for reversing COVID-19-era policies allowing day care
assistants to monitor rooms of infants under 2 years old for up to three
hours at the beginning and at the end of the day. The rule was tightened
to only allow them 90 minutes of observation at the beginning and end of
the day.
DCFS was supposed to appear before JCAR last week, but state Sen. Don
DeWitte, R-St. Charles, who serves on the commission said there is still
no resolution and the agency didn’t show up last week.
“There has been to the best of our knowledge no engagement between DCFS
and the industry,” DeWitte told The Center Square. “We were very
disappointed that they are not working towards resolution and their
current rules that they have proposed remain suspended.”
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DeWitte criticized the Pritzker administration for a continuation of bad
habits and bad leadership in the rulemaking process.
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The Illinois Department of Children and
Family Services (DCFS) building in Springfield.
By Greg Bishop | The Center Square
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“It’s got to change,” he said.
Also from last month’s meeting, clean air rules from the federal
government the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency were supposed to
implement weren’t, which led to concerns over a loss of federal dollars.
DeWitte said that has now been cleared up.
“Any threat of losing federal transportation dollars has been resolved,”
DeWitte said. “Pollution Control Board will be filing rules regarding
new emission control issues in the very near future.”
A separate rule JCAR reviewed last week they allowed to stand came from
Illinois State Police regarding the Firearm Owner ID Card Review Board
about reinstatement of Firearm Rights.
JCAR does not approve rules, but they can block them. They meet on a
monthly basis.
Rules are published by the Illinois Secretary of State in the Illinois
Register on a rolling basis. |