103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
HB2838

 

Introduced 2/16/2023, by Rep. Lindsey LaPointe

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
30 ILCS 105/5.990 new
20 ILCS 1705/71B new
20 ILCS 1705/71C new
20 ILCS 1705/71D new

    Amends the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Administrative Act. Provides that, beginning with the 2023-2024 academic year, the Department of Human Services shall establish and administer the Behavioral Health Scholarship Program for the purpose of incentivizing students to pursue degrees in a behavioral health discipline. Provides that the Department shall award financial assistance in the form of a scholarship to cover the cost of tuition, university fees, and books each year for a maximum of 4 years at a participating university if the applicant meets certain conditions. Sets forth rules, regulations, and other requirements for the Program. Provides that the Department shall establish the Employment Funding Grant Program to provide grants to qualified individuals who work for a community not-for-profit behavioral health agency or a federally qualified health center. Defines who is a qualified individual. Sets forth rules, regulations, and other requirements for the Program. Amends the State Finance Act to create the Behavioral Health Education Program Fund. Makes other changes.


LRB103 04770 RJT 49779 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB2838LRB103 04770 RJT 49779 b

1    AN ACT concerning State government.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The State Finance Act is amended by adding
5Section 5.990 as follows:
 
6    (30 ILCS 105/5.990 new)
7    Sec. 5.990. The Behavioral Health Education Program Fund.
 
8    Section 10. The Mental Health and Developmental
9Disabilities Administrative Act is amended by adding Sections
1071B, 71C, and 71D as follows:
 
11    (20 ILCS 1705/71B new)
12    Sec. 71B. Behavioral Health Education Program Fund.
13    (a) The Behavioral Health Education Program Fund is
14created in the State treasury as a special fund.
15    (b) The Fund is created for the purpose of funding
16scholarships and employment opportunities in the behavioral
17health field as provided in Sections 71C and 71D.
 
18    (20 ILCS 1705/71C new)
19    Sec. 71C. Behavioral Health Scholarship Program.
20    (a) Definitions. As used in this Section:

 

 

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1    "Behavioral health discipline" means:
2        (1) undergraduate behavioral health disciplines that
3    may be offered through universities or community colleges,
4    including psychology, social work, and community health;
5        (2) graduate behavioral health disciplines, including
6    clinical or counseling psychology, mental health or
7    addiction counseling, social work, marriage and family
8    therapy, and mental health or psychiatric nursing; and
9        (3) certified behavioral health disciplines, including
10    certified recovery support specialists, certified peer
11    recovery specialists, or certified community health
12    workers.
13    "Eligible applicant" means a student who is enrolled in a
14program of study at a participating university and who meets
15all of the qualifications and requirements under this Section.
16    "Federally qualified health center" has the meaning given
17to that term in Section 1905(1)(2)(B) of the federal Social
18Security Act.
19    "Participating university" means a public university in
20this State that is a party to an intergovernmental agreement
21entered into with the Department in order to participate in
22the program established under this Section.
23    "Tuition, university fees, and books" includes the
24customary charge for instruction and books or course material
25and the additional fixed fees charged for purposes that are
26required generally of students who are not Program applicants

 

 

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1under this Section for each academic year for which a Program
2applicant under this Section actually enrolls. "Tuition,
3university fees, and books" does not include room and board,
4transportation fees, fees payable only once, breakage fees,
5and other contingent deposits that are refundable in whole or
6in part. The Department may adopt, by rule not inconsistent
7with this Section, detailed provisions concerning the
8computation of tuition, university fees, and books.
9    (b) Subject to appropriation, beginning with the 2023-2024
10academic year, the Department shall establish and administer
11the Behavioral Health Scholarship Program for the purpose of
12incentivizing students to pursue degrees in a behavioral
13health discipline. The Department shall enter
14intergovernmental agreements with public universities in this
15State to participate in the Program. Under the Program, the
16Department shall provide financial assistance to an eligible
17applicant.
18    (c) Subject to appropriation, the Department shall award
19financial assistance in the form of a scholarship to an
20applicant to cover the cost of tuition, university fees, and
21books each year for a maximum of 4 years at a participating
22university if the applicant meets all of the following
23criteria:
24        (1) The applicant is a resident of this State or a
25    child of a noncitizen of the United States.
26        (2) The applicant has committed to work in a community

 

 

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1    not-for-profit behavioral health agency or a federally
2    qualified health center for at least 6 years.
3        (3) The applicant maintains at least a grade point
4    average of no less than 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.
5    (d) Each participating university shall post on its
6website the criteria and eligibility requirements to receive
7financial assistance under this Section and must identify that
8the financial assistance is for a maximum of 4 academic years,
9with the total amount of financial assistance awarded to an
10eligible applicant not to exceed the cost of tuition,
11university fees, and books or a higher education student loan.
12This information must also be reported to the Department and
13the Board of Higher Education, and the Department and the
14Board shall post the information on the Department's and
15Board's respective websites.
16    (e) Prior to receiving financial assistance for any
17academic year, an eligible applicant under this Section shall
18be required by the participating university to sign an
19agreement with the Department under which the eligible
20applicant pledges that, within 6 months from the date of the
21eligible applicant's graduation from the participating
22university, the eligible applicant must search for, apply for,
23and accept full-time employment at a community not-for-profit
24behavioral health agency or a federally qualified health
25center. The recipient of financial assistance must, for at
26least 6 years, maintain this employment.

 

 

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1    (f) If the recipient of financial assistance under this
2Section fails to search for, apply for, and accept full-time
3employment as required under subsection (e) within 6 months
4following his or her graduation from a participating
5university, the Department shall require the recipient to
6begin to repay the total amount of any financial assistance
7received no later than 90 calendar days after the end of the
86-month period or as otherwise agreed to by the Department.
9The Department may include in the amount to be repaid (i)
10interest at a rate of 5% per year beginning 6 months following
11the recipient's graduation from a participating university and
12(ii) if applicable, reasonable attorney's fees and collection
13fees. The repayment amount shall be prorated according to the
14fraction of the employment obligation not completed if the
15recipient accepts full-time employment at a community
16not-for-profit behavioral health agency or a federally
17qualified health center. All repayments collected under this
18Section shall be forwarded to the State Comptroller for
19deposit into the Behavioral Health Education Program Fund.
20    (g) A student recipient of financial assistance under this
21Section must immediately notify the participating university
22and the Department of any changes to the recipient's
23enrollment status or if the recipient withdraws from the
24academic program for which the recipient was awarded financial
25assistance in accordance with this Section. The Department
26shall require the student recipient to begin to repay the

 

 

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1total amount of any financial assistance received no later
2than 90 calendar days after the end of the 6 months after the
3student's enrollment status changes or after the recipient
4withdraws, whichever is earlier, or as otherwise agreed to by
5the Department. The Department may include in the amount to be
6repaid (i) interest at a rate of 5% per year beginning 6 months
7after the student's enrollment status changes or after the
8recipient withdraws, whichever is earlier and (ii) if
9applicable, reasonable attorney's fees and collection fees. If
10the student reenrolls at the participating university in the
11same academic program and begins attending classes again, then
12no more repayments are necessary by the student if the student
13graduates.
14    (h) If a recipient's qualified employment is terminated
15for any reason other than for cause prior to the completion of
16the Program's 6-year employment requirement, the recipient
17shall, within 90 calendar days from the recipient's
18termination of full-time employment, search for, apply for,
19and accept new, qualified, full-time employment as a mental
20health or substance use clinician, counselor, therapist, case
21manager, community health worker, social worker, mental health
22or detox nurse, or similar position providing direct care
23services to Medicaid patients for a contracted or
24subcontracted provider of the Department or another State
25agency, otherwise the recipient must repay the awarded
26financial assistance to the Department as provided in

 

 

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1subsection (f).
2    (i) If a recipient's qualified employment is terminated
3for cause prior to the completion of the Program's 6-year
4employment requirement, the recipient shall repay the total
5amount of financial assistance received under the Program no
6later than 90 calendar days from termination or as otherwise
7agreed to by the Department. The amount of repayment owed by
8the recipient shall be prorated based on the amount of the
9employment requirement that has been satisfied. The Department
10may include in the amount to be repaid (i) interest at a rate
11of 5% per year beginning at the date the recipient is
12terminated and (ii) if applicable, reasonable attorney's fees
13and collection fees.
14    (j) Repayments and interest payments made under this
15Section shall be deposited into the Behavioral Health
16Education Program Fund.
17    (k) The Department may use moneys from the Behavioral
18Health Education Program Fund to fund the Program as described
19under this Section.
20    (l) The Department shall adopt rules to implement this
21Section and may adopt rules relating to its collection
22activities for the repayment of any financial assistance
23provided under this Section.
 
24    (20 ILCS 1705/71D new)
25    Sec. 71D. Employment Funding Grant Program.

 

 

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1    (a) As used in this Section, "qualified individual"means:
2        (1) a student pursuing a degree in behavioral health
3    who works at a community not-for-profit behavioral health
4    agency or a federally qualified health center as an unpaid
5    intern or volunteer;
6        (2) a person who is hired within the 6 months prior to
7    applying for a grant under this Section as a paid employee
8    or contractor on a full-time, part-time, or hourly basis;
9    or
10        (3) a faculty member, staff member, postdoctoral
11    student or fellow, individual who has received an
12    applied-research fellowship, or graduate student at an
13    institution of higher education who engages in applied
14    work at a community not-for-profit behavioral health
15    agency or a federally qualified health center to improve
16    the quality and consistency of clinical supervision, help
17    implement research-supported or evidenced-based
18    interventions, or improve the effectiveness or cost
19    effectiveness of the behavioral health agency or the
20    federally qualified health center.
21    (b) Subject to appropriation, the Department shall
22establish the Employment Funding Grant Program to provide
23grants to qualified individuals who work for community
24not-for-profit behavioral health agencies or federally
25qualified health centers.
26    (c) Under the Program, the Department shall provide

 

 

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1financial assistance to qualified individuals.
2    (d) A person who is a qualified individual under paragraph
3(1) of subsection (a) is eligible to receive a grant to
4compensate the individual for work as a unpaid intern or
5volunteer. The grant amount shall provide an equivalent amount
6of compensation to the individual similar to the expected
7market rate of a person performing similar duties as the
8individual in either a community profit or not-for-profit
9behavioral health agency or a federally qualified health
10center.
11    (e) A person who is a qualified individual under paragraph
12(2) of subsection (a) is eligible to receive a grant as a bonus
13for the individual for working at a community not-for-profit
14behavioral health agency or federally qualified health center.
15The grant may be renewed every 6 months and renewed up to 4
16times per qualified individual based on meeting performance
17standards set by the Department. The grant amount shall be
18determined by the Department.
19    (f) A person who is a qualified individual under paragraph
20(3) of subsection (a) is eligible to receive a grant covering
21the time that the individual does applied work at the
22behavioral health agency or the federally qualified health
23center. The grant amount shall provide an equivalent amount of
24compensation to the individual similar to the expected market
25rate of a person performing similar duties to the individual
26in a community profit behavioral health agency, not-for-profit

 

 

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1behavioral health agency, or federally qualified health
2center. If a qualified individual under paragraph (3) of
3subsection (a) is a graduate student, then the graduate
4student shall be eligible for a grant to cover tuition costs.
5The grant may be renewed every 6 months and renewed up to 4
6times per qualified individual.
7    (g) The Department may use moneys from the Behavioral
8Health Education Program Fund to fund the Program as described
9under this Section.
10    (h) The Department shall adopt rules to implement this
11Section.