9.1 Parental Complaint Process

Lead Agencies must maintain a record of substantiated parental complaints against child care providers and make information regarding such complaints available to the public on request. Lead Agencies must also provide a detailed description of the hotline or similar reporting process for parents to submit complaints about child care providers; the process for substantiating complaints; the manner in which the Lead Agency maintains a record of substantiated parental complaints; and ways that the Lead Agency makes information on such parental complaints available to the public on request. Lead Agencies are not required to limit the complaint process to parents. 9.1.1 Parental complaint process a. Describe the Lead Agency’s hotline or similar reporting process through which parents can submit complaints about child care providers, including a link if it is a Web-based process: The Illinois Department of Children and Families Services (IDCFS) has the primary responsibility of protecting children through the investigation of suspected abuse or neglect by parents and other caregivers in a position of trust or authority over the child. Individuals who believe a child is in immediate danger or harm are encouraged to call the local police or 911. For non-emergency reporting, the Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline toll- free number (1-800-252-2873) is widely publicized on the internet and on posters distributed around the state. IDCFS also maintains an on-line reporting system (https://dcfsonlinereporting.dcfs.illinois.gov/). IDCFS child protective services conducts child abuse and neglect investigations, including on-site visits and interviews to determine if allegations are occurring. Complaints about possible licensing violations are reported to IDEC's Day Care Information Hotline (1-877-746- 0829). Callers are provided with information to contact the provider’s Day Care Licensing representative assigned to the provider in question. Callers may then call the Licensing Representative or his/her supervisor and discuss their concerns. IDEC Day Care Licensing Representatives will conduct an unannounced on-site monitoring visit to gather evidence about the allegations from the complaint and to determine if all licensing standards are being met. In the event the Licensing Representative observes any licensing violation during the visit they are added to the complaint investigation. If, during the complaint visit, the Day Care Licensing Representative deems, with supervisor approval, that a protective plan is required for the provider and/or staff during the investigation process those are issued. The Lead Agency may use the information from the Protective Plan to review the provider’s operational status and to determine if CCDF funding is being used and/or if it should continue. Parents that have concerns or complaints about how their provider is operating within the Child Care Assistance Program may contact their local CCR&R, the Bureau of Subsidy Management or the Webmaster. IDEC maintains and publishes phone numbers for both their Springfield and Chicago offices as well as maintains general email accounts that parents may report provider complaint or ask questions about the program or the care they are receiving. Staff receiving complaints that concern licensing or possible abuse and neglect instruct callers to contact local law enforcement or IDCFS directly through the methods described above. Issues that could involve intentional program violations are referred to IDEC's Programmatic Monitoring unit who may conduct desk or on-site visits to review records. If improper payments were issued as a result of any discovered fraud, the case is referred to the Bureau of Subsidy Management to issue an overpayment letter and refer to the Bureau of Collections for further recoupment actions. b. Describe how the parental complaint process ensures broad access to services for families that speak languages other than English: IDEC has Spanish-speaking staff and access to translation services for most spoken and written languages. c. Describe how the parental complaint process ensures broad access to services for persons with disabilities: IDEC has access to TTY, JAWS and other adaptive technologies, as well as access to ESL and brail services. d. For complaints about providers, including CCDF providers and non-CCDF providers, does the Lead Agency have a process and timeline for screening, substantiating, and responding to complaints, including information about whether the process includes monitoring? [ ] Yes. If yes, describe: [x] No. e. For substantiated parental complaints, who maintains the record for CCDF and non-CCDF providers? The Lead Agency is responsible for investigating all complaints against child care providers and making information available to the public upon request. The Lead Agency requires records to be maintained for five years. IDEC’s licensing records are maintained for nine years after a child care provider close. Individuals can request information about child care complaints and substantiated parental complaints by filing a FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) request. f. Describe how information about substantiated parental complaints is made available to the public; this information can include the consumer education website discussed in subsection 9.2: The Illinois Department of Children & Family Services Sunshine Project: Illinois Accountability Project allows individuals to check on the status of any licensing violations in child care centers and family child care homes. While there are links to this site on the Illinois Department of Children & Family Services website, it will also be available on the official website of the State. Licensing compliance information on currently licensed day care homes, group day care homes and day care centers can be found at https://sunshine.dcfs.illinois.gov/Content/Licensing/Daycare/MonitoringReports.aspx. Substantiated parental complaints regarding license exempt providers will be available in the Lead Agency’s consumer website. The link will be posted to the lead agency’s consumer website.