Illinois 23 IL ADC 235.20, 30, 40, 45, 50, 60, 70; 23 IL ADC 235.APP. A, B, C

Illinois 23 IL ADC 235.20, 30, 40, 45, 50, 60, 70; 23 IL ADC 235.APP. A, B, C

Early Childhood Block Grant

From Illinois Register: This rulemaking resulted from the state board's application for funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) to design and implement early learning and development systems that are comprehensive in scope and coordinated among the various state agencies charged with administering the programs. The state board served as the lead agency for the application. Agency staff worked with outside consultants, early childhood education advocates and staff from the Department of Human Services (DHS), Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) and the Illinois Early Learning Council to prepare the application. Unfortunately, Illinois was not successful in this effort and did not receive the grant.

The lack of funding now available for the initiatives set forth in Part 235, coupled with the public comment received, have resulted in certain initiatives being removed from the rulemaking or their implementation dates being delayed.

Briefly, the amendments address several significant changes that relate to the core focus areas of the federal grant. In particular, efforts were made to coordinate the state board's Preschool for All Children (PFA) and Prevention Initiative grant programs with those offered through or licensed by DHS or DCFS. In particular, the proposed amendments required any recipient of these grants to use the DHS' Tiered Quality Rating and Improvement System (a requirement that has since been removed from the rulemaking) and continue to require that grantees register certain staff in DHS' Gateways to Opportunity staff registry and credentialing system.

Additionally, a portion of the federal grant was to be used to continue the agency's efforts to develop and implement a kindergarten readiness tool to gauge a student's progress during the school year. Under the rules as proposed any school district that offers kindergarten (whether full or half day) would be required to administer the Kindergarten Individual Development Survey, or KIDS. While this requirement was placed in 23 Ill. Adm. Code 1 (to be adopted later this spring), Section 235.70(o) of early childhood rules had required that all school districts with PFA grants participate in the limited statewide implementation of KIDS in the 2013-14 school year.

Part 235 amendments include expansion of program standards to address initiatives serving children ages 3 to 5 (see Section 235.Appendix B). While developmental guidelines for infants and toddlers have been removed from the rules due to public comment, the existing learning and developmental standards for children ages 3-5 have been updated and now align to the recently adopted Illinois Learning Standards for
English language arts and mathematics, commonly referred to as the common core standards.

Other changes in Part 235 include the following:
• Requesting in Section 235.20(c)(4) that applicants provide information about other similar programs operating in the same service area, including the number of children estimated to be served, if that figure is known
• Setting in Section 235.30(a)(1)(C) minimum criteria for procedures used to assess the progress of children enrolled in a PFA program
• Clarifying in Section 235.50(a)(1)(A) that consideration in the proposal review process will be given to applicants serving areas where the need for services exceeds the available resources, when that information is available to an applicant. Pages 48- of 95: http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/index/register/register_volume36_issue18.pdf

Source:
www.cyberdriveillinois.com

Status: Adopted Status Date: 05/04/2012

Illinois 23 IL ADC 235.20, 30, 40, 45, 50, 60, 70; 23 IL ADC 235.APP. A, B, C
Early Childhood Block Grant
From Illinois Register: This rulemaking resulted from the state board's application for funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) to design and implement early learning and development systems that are comprehensive in scope and coordinated among the various state agencies charged with administering the programs. The state board served as the lead agency for the application. Agency staff worked with outside consultants, early childhood education advocates and staff from the Department of Human Services (DHS), Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) and the Illinois Early Learning Council to prepare the application. Unfortunately, Illinois was not successful in this effort and did not receive the grant. The lack of funding now available for the initiatives set forth in Part 235, coupled with the public comment received, have resulted in certain initiatives being removed from the rulemaking or their implementation dates being delayed. Briefly, the amendments address several significant changes that relate to the core focus areas of the federal grant. In particular, efforts were made to coordinate the state board's Preschool for All Children (PFA) and Prevention Initiative grant programs with those offered through or licensed by DHS or DCFS. In particular, the proposed amendments required any recipient of these grants to use the DHS' Tiered Quality Rating and Improvement System (a requirement that has since been removed from the rulemaking) and continue to require that grantees register certain staff in DHS' Gateways to Opportunity staff registry and credentialing system. Additionally, a portion of the federal grant was to be used to continue the agency's efforts to develop and implement a kindergarten readiness tool to gauge a student's progress during the school year. Under the rules as proposed any school district that offers kindergarten (whether full or half day) would be required to administer the Kindergarten Individual Development Survey, or KIDS. While this requirement was placed in 23 Ill. Adm. Code 1 (to be adopted later this spring), Section 235.70(o) of early childhood rules had required that all school districts with PFA grants participate in the limited statewide implementation of KIDS in the 2013-14 school year. Part 235 amendments include expansion of program standards to address initiatives serving children ages 3 to 5 (see Section 235.Appendix B). While developmental guidelines for infants and toddlers have been removed from the rules due to public comment, the existing learning and developmental standards for children ages 3-5 have been updated and now align to the recently adopted Illinois Learning Standards for English language arts and mathematics, commonly referred to as the common core standards. Other changes in Part 235 include the following: • Requesting in Section 235.20(c)(4) that applicants provide information about other similar programs operating in the same service area, including the number of children estimated to be served, if that figure is known • Setting in Section 235.30(a)(1)(C) minimum criteria for procedures used to assess the progress of children enrolled in a PFA program • Clarifying in Section 235.50(a)(1)(A) that consideration in the proposal review process will be given to applicants serving areas where the need for services exceeds the available resources, when that information is available to an applicant. Pages 48- of 95: http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/index/register/register_volume36_issue18.pdf
Source: www.cyberdriveillinois.com
Status: Adopted	Status Date: 05/04/2012