Illinois' Monitoring Did Not Ensure Childcare Provider Compliance With State Criminal Background Check Requirements at 12 of 30 Providers Reviewed

Illinois' monitoring of childcare providers did not ensure provider compliance with State requirements related to criminal background checks at 12 of 30 childcare provider locations we reviewed. We found that 2 of 327 individuals did not obtain 1 or more of the required criminal background checks. Specifically, we found that the in-State criminal registry check was not conducted for one individual and all required background checks were not conducted for the second individual. In addition, 47 of 327 individuals had obtained all initial criminal background checks, but the required recurring checks were not conducted within the last 5 years. These errors occurred because Illinois did not effectively monitor the childcare provider criminal background checks. By not ensuring that all childcare staff members who supervised or had routine unsupervised contact with children passed all initial or recurring criminal background checks within the last 5 years, Illinois potentially jeopardized the safety of children in its care.