093_HB2607eng

 
HB2607 Engrossed                     LRB093 06994 DRJ 07144 b

 1        AN ACT in relation to human services.

 2        Be  it  enacted  by  the People of the State of Illinois,
 3    represented in the General Assembly:

 4        Section 1.  Short title. This Act may  be  cited  as  the
 5    State  Advocacy  Program  for  the  Homeless Mentally Ill and
 6    Developmentally Disabled Act.

 7        Section 5.  Legislative findings.  The  General  Assembly
 8    finds  that a disproportionate number of people in this State
 9    are  unable  to  secure  housing  for  themselves  and  their
10    families, and that many people are  forced  to  live  in  the
11    streets   without   shelter   or  in  emergency  shelters.  A
12    substantial number of the homeless  population  are  mentally
13    ill  or  developmentally  disabled, and these homeless people
14    are more readily subjected to abuse. Despite  current  public
15    and  private efforts, the homeless problem in this State is a
16    critical threat to the health, safety, and  welfare  of  many
17    people  and communities across the State. Therefore, it is in
18    the public interest that the General Assembly take  immediate
19    and  necessary  action  to ensure a more adequate response to
20    the  needs  of  homeless  people,  including  providing   the
21    necessary  funds  to  effectively carry out the provisions of
22    this Act. The General Assembly  also  acknowledges  that  the
23    complex  problem  of  homelessness  in  this  State  is being
24    addressed by a rapidly growing range  of  services  from  the
25    State  and  local  governments as well as the private sector.
26    This creates the need for coordination and  planning  in  the
27    allocation  of resources and in the design and implementation
28    of new programs  to  serve  the  homeless,  and  the  General
29    Assembly  finds  that  there is a need for a single entity to
30    coordinate these efforts.
 
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 1        Section 10.  Definitions. In this Act:
 2        "Department" means the Department of Human Services.
 3        "Developmentally disabled"  means  a  person  who  has  a
 4    developmental  disability  as  defined  in Section 1-3 of the
 5    Developmental Disability and Mental Disability Services Act.
 6        "Homeless   individual   with   mental   illness   or   a
 7    developmental disability" means a person who does not have  a
 8    home  and has a mental illness or a developmental disability,
 9    or both, including, but not  limited  to,  a  person  with  a
10    mental  illness  or developmental disability: (i) who is in a
11    shelter or drop-in center for the homeless, (ii) who is being
12    discharged from a State  or  private  institution  without  a
13    residence to go to, (iii) who has a temporary residence or no
14    regular  abode in which to live, or (iv) who has a history of
15    chronic residential instability.
16        "Mentally ill" means a person who  has  a  severe  mental
17    illness  as  defined  in  Section  2-3  of  the Developmental
18    Disability and Mental Disability Services Act.

19        Section 15.  Advocacy position. A staff advocacy position
20    within  the  Bureau  of  Homeless  Services  and   Supportive
21    Services of the Department of Human Services shall be created
22    to do the following:
23             (1)  Promote   and  facilitate  the  development  of
24        community-based support systems to  protect  the  health,
25        safety,  welfare,  and human and civil rights of homeless
26        individuals  with   mental   illness   or   developmental
27        disabilities.
28             (2)  Enter     into     agreements     with    local
29        community-based  support  systems  to   carry   out   the
30        provisions of Sections 20 through 30.
31             (3)  Implement   the   programs   established  under
32        Sections 20 through 30.
33             (4)  Conduct     periodic      programmatic      and
 
HB2607 Engrossed            -3-      LRB093 06994 DRJ 07144 b
 1        administrative  reviews  of  the  programs  created under
 2        Sections 20 through 30 to ensure the delivery of  quality
 3        services.
 4             (5)  Serve  as  an advocate for homeless individuals
 5        with other governmental and community service providers.
 6             (6)  Assist in  the  development  of  financial  and
 7        human  resources  to  respond  to  the  needs of homeless
 8        individuals  with   mental   illness   or   developmental
 9        disabilities.

10        Section 20.  Community-based support systems.
11        (a)  The Department shall initiate requests for proposals
12    or continued funding forms for the establishment or expansion
13    of   nonprofit   agencies  and  organizations  that  will  be
14    responsible for developing or coordinating comprehensive  and
15    integrated   community-based  support  systems  for  homeless
16    individuals   with   mental    illness    or    developmental
17    disabilities.
18        (b)  Through  community-based  providers,  the Department
19    shall take appropriate steps to encourage homeless persons to
20    use these services and shall provide information on  services
21    available to them.

22        Section 25.  Community service agreements.
23        (a)  Through  agreements  with  community-based providers
24    and based on available funding, the following components  may
25    be   addressed   within   the  service  system  for  homeless
26    individuals   with   mental    illness    or    developmental
27    disabilities:
28             (1)  Community   needs   assessment   and   resource
29        development.
30             (2)  Case   management,   including   case   review,
31        tracking, service evaluation, and networking.
32             (3)  Training and staff development.
 
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 1             (4)  Consultation  with and technical assistance for
 2        providers of shelters.
 3             (5)  Outreach services that are available  at  times
 4        and  in  places  where  homeless  individuals with mental
 5        illness or developmental  disabilities  can  be  located,
 6        such as overnight shelters.
 7             (6)  Emergency  and  crisis  intervention  services,
 8        including the availability of shelter facilities.
 9        (b)  Each  service  area,  local  board, or local service
10    system must do the following:
11             (1)  Assist in maintaining sources of income,  food,
12        clothing,   health   care,   counseling,   training,  and
13        employment,  and   in   maintaining   a   stable   living
14        environment within the community when possible.
15             (2)  Develop   individualized   service   plans  for
16        homeless persons  that  may  include,  but  need  not  be
17        limited to, the following:
18                  (A)  Personal   assistance   in   securing  and
19             maintaining    housing,    food,    and     clothing
20             arrangements.
21                  (B)  Crisis  intervention  services focusing on
22             finding appropriate alternatives to acute  inpatient
23             hospital care.
24                  (C)  Assistance  in  securing  and  maintaining
25             income and health care benefits.
26                  (D)  Social  and  vocational  skill development
27             activities as  determined  by  the  client's  needs,
28             interests, and abilities.
29                  (E)  Money     management     assistance     or
30             representative payeeship.
31                  (F)  Other self-help skills.
32                  (G)  Other  counseling  and  referral and legal
33             and administrative proceeding services as needed.
 
HB2607 Engrossed            -5-      LRB093 06994 DRJ 07144 b
 1        Section 30.  Refusal of services.  The  Department  shall
 2    explore the provisions of the Mental Health and Developmental
 3    Disabilities  Code  in  relation to homeless individuals with
 4    mental  illness  or  developmental  disabilities  who  refuse
 5    services for themselves.

 6        Section 35.  Grants-in-aid.  The  Department  shall  make
 7    grants-in-aid  to  entities recognized under Section 20 based
 8    on appropriations to provide services pursuant to Sections 20
 9    through  30.  The  Department  shall  establish  and  publish
10    criteria in requests for proposals for  determining  eligible
11    services   and  the  amount  of  grants-in-aid  so  that  all
12    interested individuals,  agencies,  associations,  and  other
13    entities may have access to that information.

14        Section  90.  The  Illinois  Housing  Development  Act is
15    amended by changing Section 10 as follows:

16        (20 ILCS 3805/10) (from Ch. 67 1/2, par. 310)
17        Sec.  10.  Prior  to  making  a  loan  commitment  for  a
18    development under this Act, the  Authority  shall  approve  a
19    tenant  selection  plan  submitted  by  the applicant for the
20    loan. The Authority shall formulate regulations from time  to
21    time  setting  forth the criteria for tenant selection plans.
22    These criteria shall include income limits,  which  may  vary
23    with  the  size  and  circumstances  of  the  family  unit of
24    tenants. The income limits shall be sufficiently flexible  to
25    avoid  undue  economic  homogeneity  among  the  tenants of a
26    development. The Authority  may  formulate  regulations  from
27    time to time for the alteration of occupancies of tenants who
28    exceed  established  income limits. The tenant selection plan
29    shall specify how many units in the development shall be held
30    available for rentals to persons of low or  moderate  income,
31    as   defined   in  this  Act,  and  for  rental  to  homeless
 
HB2607 Engrossed            -6-      LRB093 06994 DRJ 07144 b
 1    individuals  with   mental   illness   or   a   developmental
 2    disability,  as defined in the State Advocacy Program for the
 3    Homeless Mentally Ill and Developmentally Disabled Act.
 4        In determining the number of units which shall be so held
 5    available for rental to persons of low or moderate income and
 6    for rental to homeless individuals with mental illness  or  a
 7    developmental  disability,  as  defined in the State Advocacy
 8    Program for the Homeless  Mentally  Ill  and  Developmentally
 9    Disabled Act,  the Authority shall require that the number of
10    dwelling  units so held reserved for them in each development
11    shall not be less than  the  number  required  by  applicable
12    federal and State law.
13        In  connection  with any mortgage loan for a development,
14    the Authority may enter into an agreement with the  owner  of
15    the  development as a part of the loan providing that as long
16    as the loan remains outstanding or such longer period  as  is
17    set  forth  in  the  agreement, the development shall be held
18    available for such rentals.  Any such agreement  shall,  upon
19    being  recorded in the manner provided for recording of deeds
20    or registered in the manner  specified  for  registration  of
21    titles,   be  binding  upon  any  subsequent  owners  of  the
22    development as provided by its terms.
23    (Source: P.A. 87-250.)