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DECATUR, Ill. - On Tuesday, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker announced more financial assistance for both families and providers that would allow kids to return to childcare programs that are affordable and of good quality.
Pritzker says 80-percent of families will pay less for childcare under the new changes.
"When I took office, I said that we are aiming to make Illinois the best state in the nation for families raising young children. Today, I’m proud to announce another important step in that direction. We are making a series of new investments to make childcare more affordable for Illinois families, and deliver more dollars to providers," Pritzker said in a statement. "We’re ensuring quality childcare is accessible for more people – allowing more people to return to work without worry about where their kids will go during the day and helping Illinois’ childcare network rebuild after the last 16 months."
Beginning July 1, the Illinois Department of Human Services will facilitate the following improvements:
- Reducing family payments: Family payments or copayments – the monthly amount parents are required to pay to childcare providers for the cost of their childcare – will be permanently lowered to $1 per month for families with incomes at or below 100% of the Federal Poverty Limit.
- Preserving co-pay percentage limits: Family payments will remain permanently capped at 7% of family income.
- Helping families as income grows: Going forward, families in the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) will now remain eligible until the family’s income surpasses 250% of the Federal Poverty Level, instead of the current cap of 225%.
- Increasing reimbursement rates by 3.5% for all CCAP providers to help providers keep their doors open and fully recover from the pandemic.
- Improving predictability for providers: If a child receiving CCAP attends at least 70% of eligible days in a month, providers will be paid for the full month.
Families can find more information on the Child Care Assistance Program on Facebook or at the IDHS website.