State Prohibits Non-Essential Workers From Using Emergency Childcare Centers

An executive order by Gov. JB Pritzker closed all childcare centers until April 30, 2020, but centers serving only children of “essential” workers were allowed to remain open under the state’s emergency childcare license. Photo credit: Wendell Hutson
An executive order by Gov. JB Pritzker closed all childcare centers until April 30, 2020, but centers serving only children of “essential” workers were allowed to remain open under the state’s emergency childcare license. Photo credit: Wendell Hutson

State Prohibits Non-Essential Workers From Using Emergency Childcare Centers

BY WENDELL HUTSON, Contributing Writer

Parents needing childcare assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic cannot utilize the hundreds of daycare facilities that remain open throughout the state unless they are deemed an essential worker.

Under the state’s Child Care Assistance Program, essential workers, such as those working in health care, human services, government, hospitality, transportation, gas stations, and even factories, are eligible to enroll their children in a daycare as part of Gov. JB Pritzker’s effort to expand assistance to a select group of parents.

But parents like Sharon Dolittle, 27, a part-time security guard and cashier at a liquor store, are not classified as “essential” workers and therefore unable to access childcare.

“I work as a security guard for a construction company and at a liquor store in my neighborhood,” said Dolittle, a North Lawndale resident. “I think what I do as a security guard is important work and almost falls under law enforcement. But the state says I am not an essential worker, so I cannot send my daughter to daycare until the coronavirus passes over.”

Coronavirus also known as COVID-19 (coronavirus disease of 2019) is the name of the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus and it was originated in Wuhan, China in late 2019, according to the World Health Organization, which said it has now affected more than 1 million people. And symptoms include fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. The period within which symptoms would appear is two to 14 days.

Dolittle added that she now pays a neighbor $200 a week to babysit her 4-year-old daughter five days a week when she was paying far less for childcare previously.

“I wasn’t paying $200 a week when she was in daycare and now I have to spend grocery money just to go to work,” said Dolittle. “It almost seems better to quit my jobs and stay at home with my daughter so I can save some money.”

Unfortunately, Dolittle is not alone when it comes to parents unable to access traditional childcare while the state is under a stay-at-home order until April 30.

Childcare centers, including home-based daycares, are licensed by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), and so far, the state has issued more than 570 emergency licenses to childcare providers, according to Jassen Strokosch, a spokesman for DCFS. Additionally, there are about 7,000 home-based daycares and 3,000 daycare centers licensed in Illinois.

“Home daycares with six kids or fewer do not need to apply for an emergency license and can operate freely, but any child care center with more than six kids, must apply for an emergency license,” explained Strokosch.

Constance Sherrod, 40, is an attorney and a mother of an infant girl and a 3-year-old son, who was attending daycare before the COVID-19 outbreak.

“I have been home with my children since this pandemic occurred and I plan on staying home until it is over,” said Sherrod, a wife and middle-class Bronzeville resident. “(Based on my household income) I don’t qualify for childcare assistance from the state, so I pay the full price for childcare.”

However, childcare assistance by the state is open to all parents and not limited to those parents receiving public assistance, said Meghan Powers, a spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Human Services, which provides payments to childcare facilities on behalf of the Child Care Assistance Program.

“The goal of the Child Care Assistance Program is to provide families with access to quality and affordable child care while parents work or participate in education or training activities,” said Powers. “Eligibility is based on income, parent activity (work, school, training) and age of child (up to age 13).”

Sherrod said anyone still going to work should be deemed an essential worker.

“I don’t think it’s a class thing where middle-class parents are not receiving the same services as low-income parents,” she added. “I do think the state is focused more on making sure first-responders and other front line workers battling COVID-19, have somewhere safe for their children to go while they work.”

Strokosch confirmed that not all parents are able to send their children to a center operating under an emergency license.

“One criteria for a childcare operator to have an emergency license is that they are only serving children of employees deemed essential by the governor’s executive order,” he said. “The whole purpose of this is to make sure that people deemed necessary for work have access to childcare.”

And emergency childcare providers are expected to be gatekeepers when it comes to making sure all parents are essential workers.

“Parents, who are not essential workers, should not be trying to send their children to an emergency childcare provider,” added Strokosch. “And we would hope that childcare providers are making sure these parents are essential workers since that is one of the requirements to operate under an emergency license.”

Participation in the Child Care Assistance Program and how much parents must pay per month is based on household income and family size.

“No family will pay more than nine percent of their income,” said Powers. “[For example] a family of three earning $42,660 would pay $312 a month for co-payment.”

A list of emergency childcare providers can be found at https://emergencycare.inccrra.org/

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