Gov Gives $1,000 Bonus To All Child Care Workers, Extends Subsidy

SPRINGFIELD, IL — Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced his administration will give a one-time $1,000 bonus to every eligible child care worker in the state as a show of gratitude and to help slow the high turnover rate in the field since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pritzker announced the bonuses at a press conference Monday, in addition to expanded child care subsidy programs to cover three months of child care costs for children whose parents can prove they are seeking work.

The expansion will allow unemployed parents to qualify for subsidized child care, which normally requires a specific salary or wage.

Another piece of Pritzker's announcement includes re-upping another round of child care stabilization grants. Since the state offered the federal assistance to over 5,000 providers, 98 percent of those who accepted aid stayed open amidst the pandemic, Pritzker said.

"Illinois is allowing more people to look for jobs and return to work without having to worry about where they kids will go during the day," Pritzker said during his announcement at Christopher House on the Northwest Side. "That's good for people, and that's good for businesses."

Child care centers and family-run homes have struggled amidst the pandemic due to declining enrollment and class size caps to allow for social distancing.

The money for the worker bonuses and the expansion of the subsidy will come from federal stimulus dollars, Pritzker said.

The bonus program stipulates that all staff at licensed and license-exempt child care facilities will be eligible to receive the bonus if the center has recently met health and safety requirements. Pritzker said employers can expect to get the money between October and March 2022.

"Like every state, Illinois continues to experience challenges to our already fragile child care ecosystem," said Pritzker in reference to coronavirus closures. "Providers have seen declines in enrollment and administrators are battling tenuous budgets. But we've taken a different road than other states — and it has made a difference."