"Access to children" means an employee's job
duties require that the employee be present in a licensed child care facility
during the hours that children are present in the facility. In addition, any
person who is permitted to be alone outside the visual or auditory supervision
of facility staff with children receiving care in a licensed child care
facility is subject to the background check requirements of this Part.
"Accredited" means accredited by the North Central Association of Schools
and Colleges, its regional counterparts, or the National Accreditation
Council.
"Background check" means:
* a criminal
history check via fingerprints of persons age 18 and over which are submitted
to the Illinois State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for
comparison to their criminal history records, as appropriate, or via a LEADS
check of persons ages 13 through 17; and
* a check of the Child
Abuse and Neglect Tracking System (CANTS) and other state child protection
systems, as appropriate, to determine whether an individual is currently
alleged or has been indicated as a perpetrator of child abuse or neglect;
and
* a check of the Statewide Child Sex Offender Registry.
"CANTS" means the Child Abuse and Neglect Tracking System operated and
maintained by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.
"Child" means any person under 18 years of age. (Section 2.01 of the
Child Care Act of 1969 [225 ILCS
10/2.01 ])
"Child care facility" means
any person, group of persons, agency, association or organization, whether
established for gain or otherwise, who or which receives or arranges for care
or placement of one or more children, unrelated to the operator of the
facility, apart from the parents, with or without the transfer of the right of
custody in any facility as defined in the Child Care Act of 1969, established
and maintained for the care of children. (Section 2.05 of the Child Care Act of
1969 [225
ILCS 10/2.05 ])
"Conviction" means a
judgment of conviction or sentence entered upon a plea of guilty or upon a
verdict or finding of guilty of an offense, rendered by a legally constituted
jury or by a court of competent jurisdiction authorized to try the case without
a jury. (Section 2-5 of the Criminal Code of 1961)
"Day care
agency" means any person, group of persons, public or private agency,
association or organization which undertakes to provide one or more day care
homes with administrative services including, but not limited to consultation,
technical assistance, training, supervision, evaluation, and provision of or
referral to health and social services under contractual arrangement. (Section
2.11 of the Child Care Act of 1969)
"Day care center" means any
child care facility which regularly provides day care for less than 24 hours
per day for more than 8 children in a family home and that are not licensed as
a day care home or group day care home, or more than 3 children in a facility
other than a family home. Exclusions from this definition are listed in Section
2.09 of the Child Care Act of 1969.
"Day care homes" means family
homes which receive more than 3 up to a maximum of12children for less than 24
hours per day. The number counted includes the family's natural or adopted
children and all other persons under the age of 12. The term does not include
facilities which receive only children from a single household. (Section 2.18
of the Child Care Act of 1969)
"Department" means the Illinois
Department of Children and Family Services. (Section 2.02 of the Child Care Act
of 1969 [225 ILCS 2.02])
"Employee" means any staff person
employed by a child care facility, and includes any substitute or assistant.
This definition includes administrative, professional and other support staff
who have access to children.
"Governing body;" as used in this
Part, means the board of directors of a corporation; otherwise, the term means
the owner(s) or other person(s), agency, association or organization legally
responsible for the operation of the day care agency.
"Initial
background check" means the individual has cleared a check of the Child Abuse
and Neglect Tracking System and the Statewide Child Sex Offender
Registry.
"License" means a document issued by the Department
which authorizes child care facilities to operate in accordance with applicable
standards and the provisions of the Child Care Act of 1969.
"License applicant", for purposes of background checks, means the
operator or persons with direct responsibility for daily operation of the
facility to be licensed. (Section 4.4 of the Child Care Act of 1969
[225 ILCS
10/4.4 ])
"Licensee" means those
individuals, agencies, or organizations who hold a license or permit issued by
the Department.
"License study" means the review of an application
for license, on-site visit(s), interviews, and the collection and review of
supporting documents to determine compliance with the Child Care Act of 1969
and the standards prescribed by this Part.
"Licensing
representative" means persons authorized by the Department under the Child Care
Act of 1969 to examine facilities for licensure.
"Minor traffic
violation" means a traffic violation under the laws of the State of Illinois or
any municipal authority therein or another state or municipal authority which
is punishable solely as a petty offense. (Section 6-601 of the Illinois Driver
Licensing Law [625 ILCS 5/6-601
])
"Parents", as used in this Part, means the person(s) assuming
legal responsibility for the care and protection of the child on a 24-hour
basis; includes guardian or legal custodian.
"Permit" means a
one-time only document issued by the Department for a six-month period to allow
the individual(s), agency, or organization to become eligible for a
license.
"Persons subject to background checks" means:
* the operator(s) of the child care facility; and
* all
current and conditional employees of the child care facility; and
* any person who is used to replace or supplement staff; and
* any person who has access to children, as defined in Section
385.20, Definitions,
of 89 Ill. Adm. Code 385, Background Checks.
If the child care
facility operates in a family home, the license applicant(s) and all members of
the household age 13 and over are subject to background checks, as appropriate,
even if these members of the household are not usually present in the home
during the hours the child care facility is in operation.