Bill > HB5099

This bill, effective July 1, 2026, transfers the responsibility for conducting fingerprint-based criminal history checks for individuals working in various types of day care facilities, including day care centers, part-day child care facilities, day care homes, and group day care homes, from the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) to the newly established Department of Early Childhood. This means that starting on that date, the Department of Early Childhood will be in charge of ensuring that all applicants for day care licenses, as well as employees and volunteers at licensed day care facilities, undergo a criminal background investigation. This investigation will involve submitting fingerprints to the Illinois State Police for checks against state and federal criminal history databases, with a fee charged for this service. The bill also clarifies that any conviction information obtained from these checks will be provided to the individual upon request, and it allows for probationary hiring of employees or volunteers while their background investigations are pending, provided they are supervised by someone who has cleared their background check. These changes are made to conform with the Department of Early Childhood Act and the Child Care Act of 1969.

https://www.ilga.gov/Legislation/BillStatus?DocNum=5099&GAID=18&DocTypeID=HB&SessionID=114&GA=104