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 Licensing.
DCFS is responsible for setting standards and licensing day care centers, homes,
group homes and day care agencies in the state. In June 2007, Illinois had 2,907
licensed day care centers, 10,051 licensed day care homes and 473 group day care
homes with a combined capacity to serve more than 295 thousand children.
The
Department also purchases day care services for individual children. Protective/Family
Maintenance Day Care Programs serve children in the DCFS caseloads. Protective
Service Day Care is provided to children in "indicated" reports of child abuse
or neglect; the services help to prevent and remedy the abuse, neglect or exploitation
of children. Family
Maintenance Day Care services are provided to high-risk families whose children
are in open DCFS cases; they are used to prevent and reduce parental stress that
may lead to child abuse or neglect. The services also help children to develop
properly and enable families to remain together. Protective/Family Maintenance
Day Care Programs are part of a group of social services tailored to meet the
individual needs of troubled families.
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| Where are
the most day care slots? | More
than 70 percent of the 295 thousand licensed day care "slots" in Illinois are
found in day care centers.
However, licensed day care homes outnumber licensed day care centers nearly 4-to-1.
There are also nearly 5,400 slots available in licensed group day care homes.
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