Rule limiting how long child care assistants can monitor toddlers remains suspended

[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.”

DeWitte criticized the Pritzker administration for a continuation of bad habits and bad leadership in the rulemaking process.

The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) building in Springfield.
By Greg Bishop | The Center Square

“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.