Child Care

A Bloomington nonprofit that’s provided affordable child care to low-income families for nearly 50 years is set to close its doors next week.

As Illinois begins to re-open, and people go back to work, they'll need safe and reliable child care.

Child care facilities will be able to operate again once Illinois enters the third phase of its reopening plan, which is expected Friday. 

As stay-at-home orders loosen and businesses prepare to reopen, working parents may soon face tough choices about child care over the summer.

Bloomington-Normal’s working parents will still have parks and rec day camps as an option for their kids this summer — but not until the end of June.

Bloomington and Normal parks and rec departments are both delaying the start of their summer day camps until June 29. They’ve added more locations, so they can split kids up into smaller groups to meet state requirements for social distancing.

Advocates for children are pushing for expansion of a child care program for lower income families that was cut by former Gov. Bruce Rauner’s administration. 

The Child Care Assistance Program was cut severely in 2015 so that 90 percent of the participants lost services. The eligibility limits have increased since then.

Legislation under consideration would further increase the number eligible families by making the income limit higher.

Heartland Head Start will pitch low-income families on its unique mix of early childhood preschool and family support services at a recruitment event this weekend.