Posted inInvestigations

Childcare access is strained in Illinois. The state’s slow background check system continues to threaten it

Chronic understaffing at DCFS and an unimplemented state law are leaving some childcare centers short-staffed, turning away kids and in some cases risking their funding.

by Meredith Newman September 17, 2026September 18, 2026

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Childcare access is strained in Illinois. The state’s slow background check system continues to threaten it

by Meredith Newman, Illinois Answers Project
September 17, 2026

<h1>Childcare access is strained in Illinois. The state’s slow background check system continues to threaten it</h1>
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Molly Robinson’s childcare-center opening was delayed by weeks due to long waits on DCFS clearing employee background checks. Credit: Ashtin Elder

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Tagged: childcare, children, DCFS, Early Childhood, Headstart, IDEC, Illinois, Pritzker, state

Meredith Newman

mnewman@bettergov.org

Meredith Newman is an embedded investigative reporter with the Illinois Answers Project. Before joining the newsroom, she worked at The News Journal in Wilmington, Delaware and The Capital in Annapolis, Maryland. She is a graduate of Syracuse University and is originally from Evanston, Illinois.

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