Illinois 2025-2026 Regular Session

Illinois Senate Bill SB1803 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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1	1	104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 SB1803 Introduced 2/5/2025, by Sen. Ram Villivalam SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: New Act Creates the Liability Insurance for Child Care Providers Act. Directs the Department of Children and Family Services, in consultation with stakeholders, including licensed child care providers, business owners, insurance providers, and others, to conduct a study to investigate (1) the existing regulations under the Child Care Licensing Act; (2) the availability and affordability of liability insurance for licensed child care providers; (3) the impact of regulatory actions and citations issued by licensing representatives on the ability of child care providers to obtain or maintain adequate liability insurance coverage; and (4) best practices in other states for balancing regulation and insurance requirements to promote safe and sustainable child care programs. Requires the Department to conduct a systematic review of its administrative rules and procedures as necessary to reform the child care licensing regulatory system to prioritize collaboration and educational support over punitive measures. Directs the Department to investigate specified actions that could be taken to improve the affordability of insurance for child care providers. Effective immediately. LRB104 11865 JDS 21955 b A BILL FOR 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 SB1803 Introduced 2/5/2025, by Sen. Ram Villivalam SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: New Act New Act Creates the Liability Insurance for Child Care Providers Act. Directs the Department of Children and Family Services, in consultation with stakeholders, including licensed child care providers, business owners, insurance providers, and others, to conduct a study to investigate (1) the existing regulations under the Child Care Licensing Act; (2) the availability and affordability of liability insurance for licensed child care providers; (3) the impact of regulatory actions and citations issued by licensing representatives on the ability of child care providers to obtain or maintain adequate liability insurance coverage; and (4) best practices in other states for balancing regulation and insurance requirements to promote safe and sustainable child care programs. Requires the Department to conduct a systematic review of its administrative rules and procedures as necessary to reform the child care licensing regulatory system to prioritize collaboration and educational support over punitive measures. Directs the Department to investigate specified actions that could be taken to improve the affordability of insurance for child care providers. Effective immediately. LRB104 11865 JDS 21955 b LRB104 11865 JDS 21955 b A BILL FOR
2	2	104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 SB1803 Introduced 2/5/2025, by Sen. Ram Villivalam SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
3	3	New Act New Act
4	4	New Act
5	5	Creates the Liability Insurance for Child Care Providers Act. Directs the Department of Children and Family Services, in consultation with stakeholders, including licensed child care providers, business owners, insurance providers, and others, to conduct a study to investigate (1) the existing regulations under the Child Care Licensing Act; (2) the availability and affordability of liability insurance for licensed child care providers; (3) the impact of regulatory actions and citations issued by licensing representatives on the ability of child care providers to obtain or maintain adequate liability insurance coverage; and (4) best practices in other states for balancing regulation and insurance requirements to promote safe and sustainable child care programs. Requires the Department to conduct a systematic review of its administrative rules and procedures as necessary to reform the child care licensing regulatory system to prioritize collaboration and educational support over punitive measures. Directs the Department to investigate specified actions that could be taken to improve the affordability of insurance for child care providers. Effective immediately.
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11	11	1 AN ACT concerning child care.
12	12	2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
13	13	3 represented in the General Assembly:
14	14	4 Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
15	15	5 Liability Insurance for Child Care Providers Act.
16	16	6 Section 5. Findings and purpose.
17	17	7 (a) The General Assembly finds that there is an ongoing
18	18	8 concern regarding the availability and affordability of
19	19	9 liability insurance for licensed child care providers within
20	20	10 the State of Illinois.
21	21	11 (b) The purpose of this Act is to establish a framework for
22	22	12 examining the Child Care Licensing Act and to assess the
23	23	13 availability and affordability of liability insurance for
24	24	14 licensed child care providers, with particular focus on
25	25	15 identifying and addressing the regulatory barriers affecting
26	26	16 child care operations, safety standards, and insurance
27	27	17 coverage.
28	28	18 Section 10. Interim study on child care licensing and
29	29	19 liability insurance.
30	30	20 (a) The Department of Children and Family Services, in
31	31	21 consultation with stakeholders, including licensed child care
32	32	22 providers, business owners, insurance providers, and others,
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36	36	104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 SB1803 Introduced 2/5/2025, by Sen. Ram Villivalam SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
37	37	New Act New Act
38	38	New Act
39	39	Creates the Liability Insurance for Child Care Providers Act. Directs the Department of Children and Family Services, in consultation with stakeholders, including licensed child care providers, business owners, insurance providers, and others, to conduct a study to investigate (1) the existing regulations under the Child Care Licensing Act; (2) the availability and affordability of liability insurance for licensed child care providers; (3) the impact of regulatory actions and citations issued by licensing representatives on the ability of child care providers to obtain or maintain adequate liability insurance coverage; and (4) best practices in other states for balancing regulation and insurance requirements to promote safe and sustainable child care programs. Requires the Department to conduct a systematic review of its administrative rules and procedures as necessary to reform the child care licensing regulatory system to prioritize collaboration and educational support over punitive measures. Directs the Department to investigate specified actions that could be taken to improve the affordability of insurance for child care providers. Effective immediately.
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42	42	A BILL FOR
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67	67	1 shall conduct a study to investigate:
68	68	2 (1) the existing rules adopted by the Department of
69	69	3 Children and Family Services under the Child Care
70	70	4 Licensing Act;
71	71	5 (2) the availability and affordability of liability
72	72	6 insurance for licensed child care providers;
73	73	7 (3) the impact of regulatory actions and citations
74	74	8 issued by licensing representatives on child care
75	75	9 providers' ability to obtain or maintain adequate
76	76	10 liability insurance coverage; and
77	77	11 (4) best practices in other states for balancing
78	78	12 regulation and insurance requirements to promote safe and
79	79	13 sustainable child care programs.
80	80	14 (b) The study shall include recommendations for improving
81	81	15 coordination between insurance and licensing agencies, and how
82	82	16 such cooperation can enhance clarity, consistency, and safety
83	83	17 in the child care sector.
84	84	18 Section 15. Reform of child care licensing regulatory
85	85	19 system.
86	86	20 (a) Following completion of the interim study required
87	87	21 under Section 10, the Department of Children and Family
88	88	22 Services shall conduct a systematic review of its
89	89	23 administrative rules and procedures as necessary to reform the
90	90	24 child care licensing regulatory system to prioritize
91	91	25 collaboration and educational support over punitive measures.
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102	102	1 This reform shall focus on:
103	103	2 (1) shifting the approach of Department of Children
104	104	3 and Family Services licensing representatives from a
105	105	4 punitive system to a cooperative one that is characterized
106	106	5 by collaboration and the enhancement of safety and
107	107	6 operational practices rather than solely punitive
108	108	7 measures;
109	109	8 (2) training licensing representatives of the
110	110	9 Department of Children and Family Services to recognize
111	111	10 the impact of citations on child care programs,
112	112	11 particularly on the ability to maintain insurance
113	113	12 coverage; and
114	114	13 (3) implementing a licensing monitoring point system
115	115	14 that is weighted based on the severity of violations and
116	116	15 the potential harm or risk to children or program staff.
117	117	16 (b) To ensure that child care providers are not unfairly
118	118	17 penalized, the reforms implemented by the Department of
119	119	18 Children and Family Services under this Section shall ensure
120	120	19 that:
121	121	20 (1) no licensing violation are posted within 100 days
122	122	21 of a program monitoring visit, unless the violation is
123	123	22 uncorrected after that time period; and
124	124	23 (2) child care providers are permitted up to 90 days
125	125	24 from the date of a program monitoring visit to submit
126	126	25 evidence showing that a violation cited during the visit
127	127	26 was not, in fact, a violation at the time of the visit.
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138	138	1 Section 20. Support for insurance affordability. To
139	139	2 further address the rising costs of liability insurance for
140	140	3 child care providers, the Department of Children and Family
141	141	4 Services shall assess and report to the General Assembly
142	142	5 within one year after the effective date of this Act on the
143	143	6 feasibility of the following measures:
144	144	7 (1) the development of insurance subsidies or
145	145	8 discounts to reduce the cost of liability insurance for
146	146	9 licensed child care providers; and
147	147	10 (2) the creation of reinsurance pools, allowing
148	148	11 private providers to join the State Insurance Pool, caps
149	149	12 on premiums, policy adjustments, or other mechanisms
150	150	13 designed to control and stabilize insurance costs for
151	151	14 child care programs.
152	152	15 Section 25. Implementation and oversight.
153	153	16 (a) The Department of Children and Family Services is
154	154	17 responsible for implementation and oversight of the provisions
155	155	18 of this Act.
156	156	19 (b) The Department of Children and Family Services shall
157	157	20 review progress on the implementation of this Act annually and
158	158	21 provide regular reports on the outcomes of the study, reforms,
159	159	22 and any actions taken to address the issues identified.
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