101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
SB3531

 

Introduced 2/14/2020, by Sen. Sara Feigenholtz

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
20 ILCS 505/5g new

    Amends the Children and Family Services Act. Provides that beginning in State Fiscal Year 2021, and for every State fiscal year thereafter, the Department of Children and Family Services shall implement the rate reimbursement methodology outlined in a specified provision of the Illinois Administrative Code when calculating and determining the payment rates for private agencies that contract with the Department to provide any specified services, including, but not limited to: (i) residential services; (ii) specialized, adolescent, treatment, or other non-traditional or Home-of-Relative foster care services; and (iii) intact family services. Provides that the payment rates calculated and determined, as provided in the amendatory Act, shall include an amount equal to any increase in the general inflation as determined by the consumer price index and shall be subject to appropriations. Effective immediately.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

SB3531LRB101 18739 KTG 68194 b

1    AN ACT concerning children.
 
2    WHEREAS, The Department of Children and Family Services'
3stated mission is to protect children who are reported to be
4abused or neglected and to increase their families' capacity to
5safely care for them; provide for the well-being of children in
6their care; provide appropriate, permanent families as quickly
7as possible for those children who cannot safely return home;
8support early intervention and child abuse prevention
9activities and work in partnerships with communities to fulfill
10this mission; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Community-based agencies provide care and
12services for more than 80% of children involved with the child
13welfare system on behalf of the State of Illinois, which has a
14moral, legal, and financial responsibility to provide them with
15the best possible care; and
 
16    WHEREAS, The Department of Children and Family Services
17contracts with community-based agencies to provide services
18for, but not limited to, children and youth in foster care,
19intact families, and congregate care settings, at an
20established fixed rate which should include all costs
21associated with the delivery of those services; and
 
22    WHEREAS, The community-based agencies that provide these
23vital services continually face rising operational and

 

 

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1personnel costs such as competitive employee wages, increasing
2insurance premiums, employee benefits, occupancy, utilities,
3training costs, and travel costs, yet the rates provided to the
4community-based agencies are not adjusted for these
5costs-of-doing-business expenses; and
 
6    WHEREAS, It is the obligation of the General Assembly to
7promote the health, safety, and well-being of children, youth,
8and families in the care of the Department of Children and
9Family Services; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Investing in community-based agencies will help
11the General Assembly meet its obligation and improve outcomes
12for all families to reach their full potential and to ensure a
13stronger and more equitable future for the children, youth, and
14families in the care of the Department of Children and Family
15Services; and
 
16    WHEREAS, It is imperative that the General Assembly
17establish a standardized annual process that includes
18adjustments for the cost of doing business, as measured by the
19Consumer Price Index, and for evaluating and setting the rates
20for child welfare services to ensure sufficient resources to
21obtain the appropriate outcomes for children, youth, and
22families involved in the Illinois child welfare system;
23therefore
 
 

 

 

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1    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
2represented in the General Assembly:
 
3    Section 5. The Children and Family Services Act is amended
4by adding Section 5g as follows:
 
5    (20 ILCS 505/5g new)
6    Sec. 5g. Payment rate increases for reimbursable services.
7    (a) As used in this Section, "consumer price index" means
8the index published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the
9United States Department of Labor that measures the consumer
10price index of all items less medical care in Midwest urban
11areas, for all urban consumers, not seasonally adjusted.
12    (b) Beginning in State Fiscal Year 2021, and for every
13State fiscal year thereafter, the Department shall implement
14the rate reimbursement methodology outlined in 89 Ill. Adm.
15Code 356.50(f) when calculating and determining the payment
16rates for private agencies that contract with the Department to
17provide any of the services enumerated in 89 Ill. Adm. Code
18356.50(f) and in paragraph (1) of this subsection. Payment
19rates calculated and determined as provided in this Section
20shall include an amount equal to any increase in the general
21inflation as determined by the consumer price index. The
22contractual and grant services under this Section to which the

 

 

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1rate methodology shall apply include the following:
2        (1) Residential services, including child care
3    institution, group home care, independent living services,
4    or transitional living services.
5        (2) Specialized, adolescent, treatment, or other
6    non-traditional or Home-of-Relative foster care.
7        (3) Traditional or Home-of-Relative foster care.
8        (4) Intact Family Services.
9        (5) Teen Parenting Services.
10    (c) The payment rates calculated and determined as provided
11in this Section shall be subject to appropriations.
 
12    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
13becoming law.