Top Illinois committee suspends controversial DCFS day care rule amid worker shortage

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) — The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services allowed assistants at day care centers to watch children under two for up to three hours per day throughout the COVID-19 pandemic to help address the worker shortage. Now, DCFS is facing scrutiny for trying to reduce the time assistants spend monitoring rooms.

Assistants were allowed to watch children under two for longer periods of time due to an emergency rule filed in 2020. However, DCFS never worked with state lawmakers to make it a permanent rule. The agency wants to cut that time frame down to 90 minutes per day.

"That most vulnerable age group must remain under the supervision of qualified staff at all times," said Shontée Blankenship, the DCFS Deputy Director of Licensing. "That is nothing new. It's part of our permanent rule. We have been enforcing it before COVID and we're still enforcing it today."

Many day care providers told lawmakers that cutting this option for assistants would create unreasonable and unnecessary costs for their business. The powerful Joint Committee on Administrative Rules suspended the DCFS rule on July 18, stating that the potential change would pose a threat to the public interest and welfare.

"I don't think you folks belong in this business," said Rep. Steve Reick (R-Woodstock). "This is not part of your portfolio. Your portfolio is to protect the safety of children, not to license day care centers."

Although, agency leaders said there are a number of solutions that are part of the state's long-term commitment to improving day care services and ensuring there are qualified workers at all times.

"The state has put in place some salary increase numbers for additional funding for day cares, which is the long-term solution here," said DCFS Chief of Staff Jassen Strokosch. "There's also a number of scholarships that have been put in place specifically to ramp up the education level and access to the education level for folks that are interested in doing this work."

Lawmakers had a bill in the House and Senate to address this issue, but sponsors were told to hold the plan because DCFS would solve it through the rule-making process. Sen. Sue Rezin (R-Morris) believes lawmakers should be responsible for any new regulations.

"Many of the departments are being given great latitude to make decisions that need to go through the legislative process, and the debate, and more importantly the education," Rezin said.

DCFS could try to file their new emergency rule before the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules meetings again on August 16. Yet, lawmakers hope the agency will wait to resolve the issue with bill during veto session.

"These people are all mandated reporters," Reick added. "If there is a safety issue with regard to it, they're required to report it to you and that's where you come into play. But until that happens, I don't think you belong in this business and I believe somebody else is."