Parents throughout Illinois may soon have greater resources available to them to ensure their children are in safe hands.

State Senator Cristina Castro (D-Elgin) passed a measure through the Illinois Senate on Tuesday that would require the Department of Children and Family Services to establish and maintain an online searchable database with information on reports of child abuse or neglect in day care facilities.

“Parents have the right to know their children are in safe hands,” said Castro. “We need to make sure day care facilities are providing a safe environment. If a facility has been cited for neglect or has had its license revoked, that information should be made public so parents are able to make sure their children aren’t being put in a potential harmful situation.”

The measure would require the DCFS database to go back five years and show if a day care entity has had its license revoked or surrendered by the department during a child abuse neglect investigation, or if its license renewal was denied.

The measure, House Bill 2388, passed the Senate on Tuesday and now goes to the governor’s desk for approval.