Last week, Governor Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) announced new investments that strengthen and grow Illinois’ early childhood education and care field. You can read the full press release here. The key changes that will go into effect next Friday, July 1, are:
- Increasing Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) reimbursement rates for all providers, and increasing the eligibility limit. CCAP provides low-income, working families with access to affordable, quality child care that allows them to continue working. If you are a CCAP-eligible family with a parent or guardian who is a child care worker, the co-pay will now be $1.
- Continuing the Child Care Restoration Grant Extension through December 2022. It had been set to expire in June 2022. This will provide $60 million to approximately 2,400 childcare providers.
- Extending the Strengthen and Grow Child Care Grant program through June 2023. These grants provide funding for eligible child care centers, child care homes, and group child care homes.
- Implementing a 3% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) to the reimbursement rate for all Early Intervention services. If you have questions about your child’s development or about early intervention services here in Oak Park and River Forest, please reach out to us at health@collab4kids.org.
Families interested in applying for support through the Child Care Assistance Program, can contact their local Child Care Resource & Referral Agency (CCR&R) which can be found online at https://www.inccrra.org/about/sdasearch or by calling 1-877-202-4453 toll-free. To read more about CCAP eligibility, visit this page.
Providers can learn more about the new deadlines or apply for a Child Care Restoration Grant here. You can learn more about the Strengthen and Grow Child Care Grant program here.