Failure to Conduct Background Checks at Chicago Daycares

Every parent who drops their child off at a Chicago daycare trusts that the people watching their child are safe. That trust depends on one critical step: a thorough background check. When a daycare skips that step, or cuts corners on it, the results can be devastating. Children can be harmed by workers with histories of violence, abuse, or criminal conduct that a proper screening would have caught before day one.

Table of Contents

• What Illinois Law Requires for Daycare Background Checks
• What a Comprehensive Background Check Actually Covers
• How Failing to Screen Workers Creates Legal Liability
• Red Flags That a Daycare May Have Skipped Background Checks
• What Families Can Do After a Daycare Background Check Failure
• FAQs About Failure to Conduct Background Checks at Chicago Daycares

What Illinois Law Requires for Daycare Background Checks

Illinois has some of the most detailed background check requirements in the country for childcare workers. The State of Illinois requires the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) to conduct fingerprint-based background checks on individuals who work with or live in licensed and unlicensed childcare facilities, those that may work alone with children in care, and anyone age 18 or older living in a home with children. This is not optional. It is a legal condition of operating a licensed daycare in the state.

En virtud de la Chicago abogado de lesiones personales framework that governs daycare negligence claims, the failure to screen workers is treated as a serious breach of duty. The governing statute here is the Illinois Child Care Act of 1969 [225 ILCS 10], which establishes the foundation for background check requirements. Day care centers are required to ask all persons subject to background checks, as defined in 89 Ill. Adm. Code 385.20, to furnish written information regarding any criminal convictions, to submit to fingerprinting, and to authorize the background checks required by 89 Ill. Adm. Code 385, Background Checks.

A corrective plan developed following a federal audit of 45 CFR 98.43 of the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act (CCDBG) included a requirement that all new and existing day care staff who are employed by a day care provider for compensation, or whose activities involve unsupervised access to children, must have comprehensive background checks. This federal layer adds another level of accountability. The comprehensive background check also includes janitors, cooks, and other employees who may not regularly engage with children but whose positions at the facility give them the opportunity for unsupervised access. In other words, background checks are not just for lead teachers. They apply to virtually everyone on the premises.

The Comprehensive Background Check must be completed every five years. Since the Illinois license period is three years, the Comprehensive Background Check takes place during the renewal of the license. A daycare that lets these renewals lapse is not in compliance with state law.

What a Comprehensive Background Check Actually Covers

Parents often assume a “background check” is a simple database search. In Illinois, the required screening is far more thorough than that. The Background Check is required for all eligible individuals living or working in a licensed childcare facility who may have unrestricted or unsupervised access to children in care, and in accordance with the Federal Child Care Development Block Grant (CCDBG), all new and existing child care employees, including those under 18 who are employed at a day care program.

The check itself has multiple components. Fingerprints must be submitted to the Illinois State Police via the fingerprint vendor stipulated by DCFS for a criminal history check. Fingerprints for certain persons must also be submitted to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for a search of its records, including persons who have resided outside the State of Illinois for any part of the preceding five years and persons who have a record of criminal activity which may impact their suitability for employment.

A person who has been convicted of certain serious crimes identified in 89 Ill. Adm. Code 385 Appendix A, or who has been convicted of committing or attempting to commit any of the offenses identified, shall be disqualified from participation in the child care assistance program. Anyone identified as a sex offender or declared a dangerous person under the Sexually Dangerous Persons Act [725 ILCS 205] by the Illinois State Police, or anyone convicted of committing or attempting to commit offenses including homicide, kidnapping, sex offenses, bodily harm, and related offenses in Illinois or another state, is barred from working in childcare.

Even workers in a probationary period face strict rules. A probationary employee or volunteer with an initial background check clearance must be under the supervision of an employee with a full comprehensive background check clearance, within the past five years, at all times. A probationary employee or volunteer must not be left alone with any child served by the licensed facility until notified by the employer that a full comprehensive background check clearance has been received. When daycares ignore these rules, they put children at risk from the very first day a new hire walks through the door.

How Failing to Screen Workers Creates Legal Liability

When a daycare fails to conduct required background checks and a child is harmed as a result, the facility can face serious civil liability under Illinois law. The legal theory most often applied is negligent hiring, which holds employers accountable when they place a dangerous person in a position of trust without taking reasonable steps to investigate that person’s background. Think about a daycare on the North Side of Chicago, near Lincoln Park or Wicker Park, that hires a worker with a prior conviction for child endangerment. If that worker harms a child and the daycare never ran the required check, the facility’s failure is the direct cause of the harm.

Illinois courts look at whether the employer knew or should have known about the risk. A background check is the primary tool for answering that question. When a daycare skips it entirely, there is no reasonable argument that they did their due diligence. The Illinois Child Care Act of 1969 [225 ILCS 10/4.2] requires daycares to screen staff for a history of child abuse or child neglect, prior criminal convictions, or other disqualifying factors. Ignoring this requirement is not just a regulatory violation. It is evidence of negligence in a civil lawsuit.

Negligent hiring claims can also extend to negligent retention, where a daycare keeps a worker on staff despite learning about disqualifying conduct after hiring. Both claims can result in compensation for medical expenses, therapy, pain and suffering, and other damages. The strength of these cases often depends on documentation, and that is where having an experienced legal team matters. Families in Bronzeville, Hyde Park, Logan Square, and every other Chicago neighborhood deserve to know their rights when a daycare’s failure to screen workers leads to a child’s injury.

Red Flags That a Daycare May Have Skipped Background Checks

Parents do not always know that a daycare skipped background checks until after something goes wrong. But there are warning signs worth watching for before enrollment and during your child’s time at a facility. Proposed DCFS regulatory updates include stronger detail on comprehensive background checks and limits on probationary employees being alone with children until full clearance is received. If you visit a daycare and see new or unfamiliar staff left alone with children without any apparent supervision, that is a concern worth raising directly.

Ask the daycare director point-blank whether all staff have received DCFS-required background clearances. A licensed facility should be able to confirm this without hesitation. Illinois requires background checks for individuals living or working in a licensed child care facility with access to children in care. Licensed child care providers undergo more extensive background checks than license-exempt providers, but all providers operating legally within the state of Illinois will have had some level of background check. If a facility cannot confirm its compliance, that is a serious red flag.

Other warning signs include high staff turnover with no clear explanation, workers who seem unfamiliar with facility rules, and a director who deflects questions about hiring practices. You can also check a daycare’s inspection and complaint history through the DCFS online portal. Violations related to staffing and background checks are documented there. Illinois law requires daycares to maintain background check authorizations and results in confidential staff files, so the records should exist if the checks were done. If a daycare cannot produce documentation of background check compliance during a licensing inspection, that gap can become critical evidence in a personal injury case.

What Families Can Do After a Daycare Background Check Failure

If your child was harmed at a Chicago daycare and you suspect the facility failed to properly screen its staff, you have legal options. The first step is to document everything. Save any communications with the daycare, request copies of your child’s incident reports, and seek immediate medical attention so injuries are properly recorded. Surveillance footage from facilities near Millennium Park, the Magnificent Mile, or anywhere across the city may also be critical evidence, and it must be preserved quickly before it is overwritten.

Illinois has a statute of limitations that governs how long families have to file a personal injury claim. For claims involving minor children, the clock generally does not start running until the child turns 18, but it is important to consult with an attorney as soon as possible. Evidence disappears, witnesses move on, and daycares sometimes close or change ownership. Acting early protects your ability to build the strongest possible case.

Under Illinois negligent hiring law, a daycare that failed to run the required DCFS background check, or that hired someone with a disqualifying criminal history, can be held responsible for the resulting harm. Any employee of DCFS, the Department of Human Services, a Child Care Resource and Referral Agency, the Illinois State Police, or a child care facility who gives or causes to be given any confidential information concerning any criminal conviction or child abuse or neglect information of a child care facility applicant or employee shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor unless release of such information is authorized by Sections 4.1 and 4.3 of the Child Care Act of 1969. This means the records exist, they are regulated, and they can be obtained through proper legal channels as part of your case.

Briskman Briskman & Greenberg is a Chicago personal injury law firm that handles daycare injury cases for families throughout the city and surrounding communities. If your child was hurt because a daycare failed to screen its workers, call us at (312) 222-0010 to discuss what happened. Our office is located in Chicago, Illinois, and we are ready to review your situation and explain your legal options. There is no obligation to retain us by speaking with us, and speaking with us does not create an attorney-client relationship.

FAQs About Failure to Conduct Background Checks at Chicago Daycares

Is a Chicago daycare legally required to run background checks on all staff?

Yes. Under the Illinois Child Care Act of 1969 [225 ILCS 10] and DCFS regulations found at 89 Ill. Adm. Code 385, licensed day care centers must require all covered persons to submit to fingerprinting and authorize comprehensive background checks. This applies to teachers, aides, janitors, cooks, and anyone else with unsupervised access to children. Failure to comply is a licensing violation and can support a civil negligence claim if a child is harmed as a result.

What does the Illinois background check for daycare workers actually include?

The comprehensive background check required by DCFS includes a fingerprint-based criminal history check through the Illinois State Police, an FBI check for workers who have lived outside Illinois in the past five years, a search of the Illinois Child Abuse and Neglect Tracking System (CANTS), and a search of the Illinois Sex Offender Registry. Workers with convictions for serious offenses, including violence, sexual offenses, kidnapping, and homicide, are barred from working in childcare facilities.

Can I sue a Chicago daycare if they hired someone without a proper background check and my child was hurt?

Potentially, yes. If a daycare failed to conduct the required DCFS background check, or hired someone with a disqualifying criminal history, and your child was harmed by that worker, you may have a valid negligent hiring claim under Illinois law. The outcome of any case depends on the specific facts involved, and no attorney can guarantee results. Speaking with a personal injury attorney is the best way to understand whether you have a viable claim. Call Briskman Briskman & Greenberg at (312) 222-0010 to discuss your situation.

What if the daycare is unlicensed? Do background check requirements still apply?

Illinois law still imposes background check requirements on certain unlicensed and license-exempt providers, particularly those receiving state child care assistance funding through the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP). Even if a facility is operating without a license, its failure to screen workers can still support a civil negligence claim. In fact, operating an unlicensed daycare in Illinois and failing to screen staff may strengthen a negligence case because the facility was already operating outside the law.

How long do I have to file a lawsuit after my child was hurt at a Chicago daycare?

Illinois law generally tolls the statute of limitations for minor children, meaning the clock does not start running until the child turns 18. However, waiting that long is rarely advisable. Evidence, including surveillance footage, staff records, and background check documentation, can be lost or destroyed over time. Witnesses may become unavailable. The sooner you consult with an attorney, the better your chances of preserving critical evidence. Contact Briskman Briskman & Greenberg at (312) 222-0010 as soon as possible after an injury occurs.

More Resources About Causes of Daycare Accidents and Injuries

• Understaffing and Ratio Violations at Chicago Daycares
• Inadequate Supervision at Chicago Daycares
• Untrained and Uncertified Daycare Workers in Chicago
• Negligent Hiring by Chicago Daycare Operators
• Negligent Retention of Dangerous Workers at Chicago Daycares
• Failure to Train Staff on CPR and First Aid
• Failure to Train Staff on Allergy Protocols
• Failure to Follow State-Mandated Safety Protocols
• Unsafe Premises at Chicago Daycare Facilities
• Poor Building Maintenance at Chicago Daycares
• Inadequate Security and Access Control at Chicago Daycares
• Fire Safety Violations at Chicago Daycares
• Failure to Conduct Evacuation Drills at Chicago Daycares
• Transportation Accidents Involving Chicago Daycare Vans
• Field Trip Injuries at Chicago Daycares
• Failure to Follow Individual Care Plans at Chicago Daycares