Full Text of HB2373 94th General Assembly
HB2373ham002 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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Rep. William Delgado
Filed: 4/5/2005
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09400HB2373ham002 |
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LRB094 06396 DRJ 44328 a |
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| AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 2373
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| AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 2373, AS AMENDED, by | 3 |
| replacing everything after the enacting clause with the | 4 |
| following:
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| "Section 5. The Illinois Public Aid Code is amended by | 6 |
| changing Sections 11-4, 11-6, 11-15, 11-16, 11-28, and 12-4.4 | 7 |
| and by adding Section 12-4.7e as follows:
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| (305 ILCS 5/11-4) (from Ch. 23, par. 11-4)
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| Sec. 11-4. Applications; assistance in making | 10 |
| applications. An application for public assistance shall be | 11 |
| deemed an application for
all such benefits to which any person | 12 |
| may be entitled except to the
extent that the applicant | 13 |
| expressly declines
in writing to apply for particular benefits. | 14 |
| The Illinois Department shall
provide information in writing | 15 |
| about all benefits provided under this Code
to any person | 16 |
| seeking public assistance.
The Illinois Department shall also | 17 |
| provide information in writing and orally
to all applicants | 18 |
| about an election to have financial aid deposited directly in
a | 19 |
| recipient's savings account or checking account or in any | 20 |
| electronic benefits
account or accounts as provided in Section | 21 |
| 11-3.1, to the extent that those
elections are actually | 22 |
| available, including information on any programs
administered | 23 |
| by the State Treasurer to facilitate or encourage the | 24 |
| distribution
of financial aid by direct deposit or electronic |
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| benefits transfer.
The Illinois Department shall
determine the | 2 |
| applicant's eligibility for cash assistance, medical
| 3 |
| assistance and food stamps unless the applicant expressly | 4 |
| declines in
writing to apply for particular benefits.
The | 5 |
| Illinois Department shall adopt policies and procedures to | 6 |
| facilitate
timely changes between programs that result from | 7 |
| changes in categorical
eligibility factors.
| 8 |
| The County departments, local governmental units and the | 9 |
| Illinois
Department shall
assist applicants for public | 10 |
| assistance to properly complete their
applications. Such | 11 |
| assistance shall include, but not be limited to, assistance
in | 12 |
| securing
evidence in support of their eligibility. | 13 |
| The application process described in this Section and in | 14 |
| Sections 11-5, 11-6, and 11-15 shall be completed before and | 15 |
| separately from the provision of and coordination of social and | 16 |
| employment services under Article IX or IXA. Service | 17 |
| coordination under those Articles or otherwise shall begin no | 18 |
| later than 2 weeks after a favorable determination on an | 19 |
| application for assistance. The Illinois Department may | 20 |
| provide by rule for exceptions to this requirement with respect | 21 |
| to programs and services designed to address emergencies. The | 22 |
| Department shall modify application forms and procedures, as | 23 |
| necessary, to conform to this paragraph.
| 24 |
| (Source: P.A. 88-232.)
| 25 |
| (305 ILCS 5/11-6) (from Ch. 23, par. 11-6)
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| Sec. 11-6. Decisions on applications. Within 10 days after | 27 |
| a decision is
reached on an application, the applicant
shall be | 28 |
| notified in writing of the decision. The Department shall
| 29 |
| consider eligibility for, and the notice shall contain a | 30 |
| decision on, each
of the following assistance programs for | 31 |
| which the client may be
eligible based on the information | 32 |
| contained in the application: Temporary
Assistance to Needy | 33 |
| Families, Medical Assistance, Aid to the Aged, Blind
and |
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| Disabled, General Assistance (in the City of Chicago), and food | 2 |
| stamps. No
decision shall be required for any
assistance | 3 |
| program for which the applicant has expressly declined in
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| writing to apply. If the applicant is determined to
be | 5 |
| eligible, the notice shall include a statement of the
amount of | 6 |
| financial aid to be provided and a statement of the reasons for
| 7 |
| any partial grant amounts. If the applicant is determined
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| ineligible for any public assistance the notice shall include | 9 |
| the reason
why the applicant is ineligible. If the application | 10 |
| for any public
assistance is denied, the notice shall include a | 11 |
| statement defining the
applicant's right to appeal the | 12 |
| decision.
The Illinois Department, by rule, shall determine the | 13 |
| date on which
assistance shall begin for applicants determined | 14 |
| eligible , but that date shall be no later than the date on | 15 |
| which eligibility is determined or . That date may be
no later | 16 |
| than 30 days after the date of the application , whichever is | 17 |
| earlier .
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| Under no circumstances may any application be denied solely | 19 |
| to meet an
application-processing deadline.
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| (Source: P.A. 90-17, eff. 7-1-97.)
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| (305 ILCS 5/11-15) (from Ch. 23, par. 11-15)
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| Sec. 11-15. Application requirements.
| 23 |
| (1) An application for financial
aid shall be filed in | 24 |
| writing by the person requesting aid and, in the case
of a | 25 |
| request for family aid, by the head of that family, except as
| 26 |
| otherwise permitted in paragraph (2). Applications for aid | 27 |
| under Articles
III, IV, and V shall be filed in writing with | 28 |
| the county
department of
the county in which the applicant | 29 |
| resides in the manner prescribed by the
Illinois Department. | 30 |
| Applications for aid under Article VI shall be filed
in writing | 31 |
| with the local governmental unit upon forms approved by the
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| Illinois Department.
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| Each applicant shall provide information as to the amount |
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| of
property, real and personal, owned by him or her within the | 2 |
| period of time
preceding
the application as required under | 3 |
| Sections 3-1.3, 4-1.11, and 5-2.1 of this
Code. The
applicant | 4 |
| shall also furnish information concerning
all income, money | 5 |
| contributions, and other support from any source, and
the | 6 |
| beneficiary and the amount or cash surrender or loan value of | 7 |
| all
insurance policies held by himself or herself or any member | 8 |
| of his family
for whom aid is requested.
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| (2) An application, in all instances to be in writing, may | 10 |
| be filed
in behalf of a person considered to be in need of | 11 |
| financial aid under
Articles III, IV, V, or VI only if the | 12 |
| person
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| (a) has been adjudged to be under legal disability; or
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| (b) is unable because of minority or physical or mental | 15 |
| disability,
to execute the application; or
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| (c) in the case of need for funeral and burial, died | 17 |
| before an
application was filed and the application is | 18 |
| filed not more than 30 days
after the person's death, | 19 |
| excluding the day on which the death occurred.
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| Applications in behalf of persons specified in (a) and (b) | 21 |
| shall be
filed by the applicant's legal guardian or, if a
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| guardian has not been appointed or the applicant has no legal
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| guardian or the guardian is not available, by a relative or | 24 |
| other
person, acceptable under the rules of the Illinois | 25 |
| Department, who is
able to furnish the required information. | 26 |
| Applications in behalf of
persons specified in (c) shall be | 27 |
| filed by any next of kin of the deceased
who is not under legal | 28 |
| disability or, if there are no such next of kin or
they are | 29 |
| unknown or unavailable, by a person, acceptable under the rules | 30 |
| of
the Illinois Department, who is able to furnish the required | 31 |
| information.
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| (3) The application shall contain a written declaration to | 33 |
| be signed
by the applicant, or in behalf of the applicant by a | 34 |
| person qualified
under paragraph (2), in substantially the |
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| following form, the
parenthetical references being applicable | 2 |
| to an application filed by a
person in behalf of the applicant:
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| "I declare under penalties of perjury that I have examined | 4 |
| this form
and all accompanying statements or documents | 5 |
| pertaining to the income
and resources of myself (the | 6 |
| applicant) or any member of my family (the
applicant's family) | 7 |
| included in this application for aid, or pertaining
to any | 8 |
| other matter having bearing upon my (the applicant's) | 9 |
| eligibility
for aid, and to the best of my knowledge and belief | 10 |
| the information
supplied is true, correct, and complete". | 11 |
| The Department shall provide by rule for a system under | 12 |
| which signatures on applications may be submitted in person or | 13 |
| by mail, facsimile, or electronic transmission. Any such | 14 |
| signature shall be sufficient to commence the application | 15 |
| process regardless of any requirement for subsequent | 16 |
| verification that the Department may adopt. The Department | 17 |
| shall ensure that each client who visits a Department office, | 18 |
| authorized agent, or community-based organization partnering | 19 |
| with the Department to apply for benefits is provided an | 20 |
| application and requested to complete his or her name and the | 21 |
| date and to sign the application to begin the application | 22 |
| process that same day.
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| (4) If an application for financial aid is filed for a | 24 |
| family, and any
person in that family is under 18 years of age, | 25 |
| the application shall be
accompanied by the following for each | 26 |
| such person under 18 years of age:
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| (i) a copy of the person's birth certificate, or
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| (ii) other reliable proof, as determined by the | 29 |
| Department, of the
person's identity and age. | 30 |
| The Department may allow an applicant to establish age and | 31 |
| citizenship by declaring the information and providing a Social | 32 |
| Security Number, provided that applicants who are applying for | 33 |
| family members and not for themselves may not be required to | 34 |
| provide a Social Security Number.
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| (5) The Illinois Department shall provide information to | 2 |
| all families, orally
by an intake
worker and in writing when | 3 |
| the application is filed, about the availability and
location | 4 |
| of immunization services. | 5 |
| (6) An application for any assistance under this Code may | 6 |
| be filed at any local office of the Department of Human | 7 |
| Services. Following the initial eligibility determination, a | 8 |
| recipient may choose to have his or her case assigned to any | 9 |
| Department office. Within 5 days after the assignment of a | 10 |
| case, the Department shall assign a caseworker, make | 11 |
| appropriate case entries into the computer system, and generate | 12 |
| a letter to the recipient containing the name and contact | 13 |
| information for the caseworker.
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| (Source: P.A. 92-111, eff. 1-1-02.)
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| (305 ILCS 5/11-16) (from Ch. 23, par. 11-16)
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| Sec. 11-16. Changes in grants; cancellations, revocations, | 17 |
| suspensions.
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| (a) All grants of financial aid under this Code shall be | 19 |
| considered as
frequently as may be required by the rules of the | 20 |
| Illinois Department.
The Department of
Public Aid shall | 21 |
| consider grants of financial aid to
children who are eligible | 22 |
| under Article V of this Code at least annually and
shall take | 23 |
| into account those reports filed, or required to be filed, | 24 |
| pursuant
to Sections 11-18 and 11-19. The Department shall | 25 |
| accept reports of the income of families eligible under Article | 26 |
| V made under this Section or Section 11-18 or 11-19 without | 27 |
| requiring supporting documentation such as pay stubs. The | 28 |
| Department may conduct subsequent investigations of the | 29 |
| accuracy of those reports through computer cross-matches or | 30 |
| other means, however. To the extent an in-person visit is not | 31 |
| required by law, the Department shall, by rule, provide | 32 |
| procedures by which recipients under any program covered by | 33 |
| this Code will have the option to complete eligibility |
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| redeterminations and provide the reports required pursuant to | 2 |
| Sections 11-18 and 11-19 in person or by mail, telephone, | 3 |
| facsimile, or electronic transmission.
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| After such investigation as may be necessary, the amount | 5 |
| and manner of
giving aid may be changed or the aid may be | 6 |
| entirely withdrawn if the
County Department, local | 7 |
| governmental unit, or Illinois Department
finds
that the | 8 |
| recipient's circumstances have altered sufficiently to warrant
| 9 |
| such action. Financial aid may at any time be canceled or | 10 |
| revoked for cause
or suspended for such period as may be | 11 |
| proper. | 12 |
| On and after January 1, 2006, (i) to the extent permitted | 13 |
| by federal law, regulations, and requirements for maximum | 14 |
| federal financial participation and (ii) to the extent that it | 15 |
| does not result in reduced benefits for program participants, | 16 |
| the Department of Public Aid and the Department of Human | 17 |
| Services shall coordinate redeterminations of eligibility for | 18 |
| multiple programs, and, to that end, the Departments shall | 19 |
| utilize information from an eligibility redetermination for | 20 |
| any means-tested benefit program administered by either | 21 |
| Department to simultaneously redetermine eligibility for all | 22 |
| other benefit programs administered by either Department in | 23 |
| which the recipient participates.
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| (b) Whenever any such grant of financial aid is cancelled, | 25 |
| revoked,
reduced, or terminated because of the failure of the | 26 |
| recipient to cooperate
with the Department, including but not | 27 |
| limited to the failure to keep an
appointment, attend a | 28 |
| meeting, or produce proof or verification of
eligibility or | 29 |
| need, the grant shall be reinstated in full, retroactive to
the | 30 |
| date of the change in or termination of the grant, provided | 31 |
| that within
10 working days after the first day the financial | 32 |
| aid would have been
available, the recipient cooperates with | 33 |
| the Department and is not
otherwise ineligible for benefits for | 34 |
| the period in question. This
subsection (b) does not apply to |
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| sanctions imposed for the failure of any
recipient to | 2 |
| participate as required in the child support enforcement
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| program or in any educational, training, or employment program | 4 |
| under this
Code or any other sanction under Section 4-21, nor | 5 |
| does this subsection (b)
apply to any cancellation, revocation,
| 6 |
| reduction, termination, or sanction imposed for the failure of | 7 |
| any recipient to
cooperate in the monthly reporting process or | 8 |
| the quarterly reporting
process.
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| (Source: P.A. 91-357, eff. 7-29-99; 92-597, eff. 6-28-02.)
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| (305 ILCS 5/11-28) (from Ch. 23, par. 11-28)
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| Sec. 11-28. Recipient Bill of Rights. The Illinois | 12 |
| Department shall
promulgate a Bill of Rights for Public Aid | 13 |
| recipients which provides basic
information about financial | 14 |
| and medical assistance and other social
services which are | 15 |
| available through the Illinois Department and the rights
of | 16 |
| recipients of and applicants for assistance or social services | 17 |
| to due
process in reviewing and contesting decisions or actions | 18 |
| of the Illinois
Department or a County Department. The Bill of | 19 |
| Rights also shall contain
provisions to insure that all | 20 |
| recipients and applicants are treated with
dignity and | 21 |
| fairness. Copies of the Bill of Rights shall be prominently
| 22 |
| posted in each County Department and other local service office | 23 |
| maintained
by the Illinois Department or a County Department so | 24 |
| that it will be
legible to recipients and applicants. | 25 |
| The Department of Human Services shall create a telephone | 26 |
| hotline of recorded messages containing the information in the | 27 |
| recipient Bill of Rights and any other important information | 28 |
| about programs and policies and client rights and | 29 |
| responsibilities. The messages shall be in English and Spanish, | 30 |
| and the hotline shall also provide for a referral for | 31 |
| translation assistance for those whose primary language is | 32 |
| neither English nor Spanish.
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| (Source: P.A. 87-528.)
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| (305 ILCS 5/12-4.4) (from Ch. 23, par. 12-4.4)
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| Sec. 12-4.4. Administration of federally-aided programs. | 3 |
| Direct
County Departments of Public Aid in the administration | 4 |
| of
the federally
funded food stamp program, programs to aid | 5 |
| refugees and Articles III,
IV, and V of this Code. To the | 6 |
| extent allowed by federal law governing the food stamp program, | 7 |
| the Department shall by rule provide that eligibility periods | 8 |
| for food stamp cases with earned income shall cover a full year | 9 |
| after the initial application is approved and shall undergo | 10 |
| eligibility recertification at one-year intervals thereafter. | 11 |
| If, within the year of eligibility, the circumstances of the | 12 |
| recipient change, resulting in eligibility for increased | 13 |
| benefits, the recipient may request an increase in benefits | 14 |
| form the Department based on the changed circumstances. This | 15 |
| request need not be in writing. The Department may provide by | 16 |
| rule for categories of exceptions involving more frequent | 17 |
| recertifications to minimize errors or fraud. The Department | 18 |
| may, by rule, allow for a longer period of time between | 19 |
| eligibility redeterminations for an individual, household, or | 20 |
| family that is eligible for a longer certification period under | 21 |
| federal law or waiver. To the extent allowed by federal law, | 22 |
| the Department shall offer clients the option to complete any | 23 |
| necessary eligibility or recertification interviews for the | 24 |
| food stamp program in person or by telephone. The Department of | 25 |
| Human Services shall conduct these interviews in the manner | 26 |
| chosen by the client, except that the Department may specify by | 27 |
| rule other exceptions indicated by an applicant's or | 28 |
| recipient's circumstances that require an in-person interview.
| 29 |
| The
Illinois Department of Human Services
shall operate a | 30 |
| Food Stamp Employment and Training (FSE&T) program in
| 31 |
| compliance with federal law. The FSE&T program will have an | 32 |
| Earnfare
component. The Earnfare component shall be available | 33 |
| in selected geographic
areas based on criteria established by |
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| the Illinois Department of Human
Services by rule.
Participants | 2 |
| in Earnfare will, to the extent resources allow, earn their
| 3 |
| assistance. Participation in the Earnfare program is | 4 |
| voluntary, except when
ordered by a court of competent | 5 |
| jurisdiction. Eligibility for Earnfare may
be limited to only 6 | 6 |
| months out of any 12 consecutive month period. Clients are
not | 7 |
| entitled to be placed in an Earnfare slot. Earnfare slots shall | 8 |
| be made
available only as resources permit. Earnfare shall be | 9 |
| available to persons
receiving food stamps who meet eligibility | 10 |
| criteria established by the Illinois
Department of Human | 11 |
| Services by rule.
The Illinois Department may, by rule, extend | 12 |
| the Earnfare Program to clients
who do not receive food stamps.
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| Receipt of food stamps is not an
eligibility requirement of
| 14 |
| Earnfare when a court of competent jurisdiction orders an | 15 |
| individual to
participate in the Earnfare Program. To
the | 16 |
| extent resources permit, the Earnfare program will allow | 17 |
| participants
to engage in work-related activities to earn | 18 |
| monthly financial assistance
payments and to improve | 19 |
| participants' employability in order for them to
succeed in | 20 |
| obtaining employment. The Illinois Department of Human | 21 |
| Services may enter into
contracts with other public agencies | 22 |
| including State agencies, with local
governmental units, and | 23 |
| with not-for-profit community based organizations
to carry out | 24 |
| the elements of the Program that the Department of Human | 25 |
| Services deems appropriate.
| 26 |
| The Earnfare Program shall contain the following elements:
| 27 |
| (1) To the extent resources allow and slots exist, the | 28 |
| Illinois Department of Human Services
shall refer | 29 |
| recipients of food stamp assistance who meet eligibility | 30 |
| criteria,
as established by rule. Receipt of food stamps is | 31 |
| not an eligibility
requirement of Earnfare when a court of | 32 |
| competent jurisdiction orders an
individual to participate | 33 |
| in the Earnfare Program.
| 34 |
| (2) Persons participating in Earnfare shall engage in |
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| employment
assigned activities equal to the amount of the | 2 |
| food stamp benefits divided
by the federal minimum wage and | 3 |
| subsequently shall earn minimum wage
assistance for each | 4 |
| additional hour of performance in Earnfare activity.
| 5 |
| Earnfare participants shall be offered the opportunity to | 6 |
| earn up to $154. The
Department of Human Services may | 7 |
| establish a higher amount by rule provided resources | 8 |
| permit.
If a court of competent jurisdiction orders an | 9 |
| individual to participate in
the Earnfare program, hours | 10 |
| engaged in employment assigned activities shall
first be | 11 |
| applied for a $50 payment made to the custodial parent as a | 12 |
| support
obligation. If the individual receives food | 13 |
| stamps, the individual shall
engage in employment assigned | 14 |
| activities equal to the amount of the food stamp
benefits | 15 |
| divided by the federal minimum wage and subsequently shall | 16 |
| earn
minimum wage assistance for each additional hour of | 17 |
| performance in Earnfare
activity.
| 18 |
| (3) To the extent appropriate slots are available, the | 19 |
| Illinois
Department of Human Services shall assign | 20 |
| Earnfare participants to Earnfare activities based
on an | 21 |
| assessment of the person's age, literacy, education, | 22 |
| educational
achievement, job training, work experience, | 23 |
| and recent institutionalization,
whenever these factors | 24 |
| are known to the Department of Human Services or to the | 25 |
| contractor and
are relevant to the individual's success in | 26 |
| carrying out the assigned
activities and in ultimately | 27 |
| obtaining employment.
| 28 |
| (4) The Department of Human Services shall consider the | 29 |
| participant's preferences and
personal employment goals in | 30 |
| making assignments to the extent
administratively possible | 31 |
| and to the extent that resources allow.
| 32 |
| (5) The Department of Human Services may enter into | 33 |
| cooperative agreements with local
governmental units | 34 |
| (which may, in turn, enter into agreements with
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| not-for-profit community based organizations): with other | 2 |
| public, including
State, agencies; directly with | 3 |
| not-for-profit community based organizations,
and with | 4 |
| private employers to create Earnfare activities for | 5 |
| program
participants.
| 6 |
| (6) To the extent resources permit, the Department of | 7 |
| Human Services shall provide the
Earnfare participants | 8 |
| with the costs of transportation in looking for work
and in | 9 |
| getting to and from the assigned Earnfare job site and | 10 |
| initial
expenses of employment.
| 11 |
| (7) All income and asset limitations of the Federal | 12 |
| Food Stamp Program
will govern continued Earnfare | 13 |
| participation, except that court ordered
participants | 14 |
| shall participate for 6 months unless the court orders | 15 |
| otherwise.
| 16 |
| (8) Earnfare participants shall not displace or | 17 |
| substitute for regular,
full time or part time employees, | 18 |
| regardless of whether or not the employee
is currently | 19 |
| working, on a leave of absence or in a position or similar
| 20 |
| position where a layoff has taken place or the employer has | 21 |
| terminated the
employment of any regular employee or | 22 |
| otherwise reduced its workforce with
the effect of filling | 23 |
| the vacancy so created with a participant subsidized
under | 24 |
| this program, or is or has been involved in a labor dispute | 25 |
| between a
labor organization and the sponsor.
| 26 |
| (9) Persons who fail to cooperate with the FSE&T | 27 |
| program shall become
ineligible for food stamp assistance | 28 |
| according to Food Stamp regulations,
and for Earnfare | 29 |
| participation. Failure to participate in Earnfare for all
| 30 |
| of the hours assigned is not a failure to cooperate unless | 31 |
| so established
by the employer pursuant to Department of | 32 |
| Human Services rules.
If a person who is ordered by a court | 33 |
| of competent jurisdiction to
participate in the Earnfare | 34 |
| Program fails to cooperate with the Program, the
person |
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| shall be referred to the court for failure to comply with | 2 |
| the court
order.
| 3 |
| (Source: P.A. 92-111, eff. 1-1-02.)
| 4 |
| (305 ILCS 5/12-4.7e new) | 5 |
| Sec. 12-4.7e. Counting of income; task force. | 6 |
| (a) The General Assembly has created a number of programs | 7 |
| that provide benefits and services to low-income people and | 8 |
| families designed to encourage, support, and sustain their | 9 |
| efforts to improve their economic status through employment. | 10 |
| The General Assembly finds that, because of complex program | 11 |
| rules, agency staffing challenges, and other administrative | 12 |
| infrastructure issues, these programs are not being accessed in | 13 |
| a timely way by many eligible people. As a result, the intended | 14 |
| purposes of these programs are not being accomplished to the | 15 |
| fullest extent possible. People who may have been able to | 16 |
| sustain work or improve their earnings if they had gotten the | 17 |
| intended help from these programs are unable to do so. The | 18 |
| changes made by this amendatory Act of the 94th General | 19 |
| Assembly are intended to simplify program rules, improve | 20 |
| administrative infrastructure to deliver the programs, and | 21 |
| increase the timely utilization of the programs among eligible | 22 |
| people. | 23 |
| (b) The Department of Public Aid and the Department of | 24 |
| Human Services shall convene a task force to formulate a plan | 25 |
| to simplify and make as uniform as possible the rules governing | 26 |
| the counting of income for purposes of determining eligibility | 27 |
| and benefit levels in means-tested public benefit programs for | 28 |
| which the 2 departments are responsible. The task force shall | 29 |
| take into account and balance the following factors: (i) the | 30 |
| need to comply with federal law and regulations or seek waivers | 31 |
| of federal law and regulations in order to maximize federal | 32 |
| financial participation; and (ii) the need to minimize | 33 |
| administrative tasks for employees of and contractors with the |
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LRB094 06396 DRJ 44328 a |
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| 1 |
| 2 departments. If waivers of federal law and regulations are | 2 |
| needed in order to maximize the goals of simplification and | 3 |
| uniformity without loss of federal financial participation, | 4 |
| the plan shall include the elements and timing of such waivers. | 5 |
| In any event, changes adopted to promote simplification and | 6 |
| uniformity must not decrease the overall State investment in | 7 |
| these programs and must not result in a net decrease in | 8 |
| benefits for the substantial majority of recipients. The task | 9 |
| force shall complete its plan so that the 2 departments can | 10 |
| propose and adopt rule changes that will take effect no later | 11 |
| than July 1, 2006, except to the extent that the changes depend | 12 |
| on approval of waivers by the federal government, in which case | 13 |
| the changes shall be effective upon approval of those waivers. | 14 |
| The departments shall provide or arrange for staff support for | 15 |
| the task force.
| 16 |
| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 17 |
| becoming law.".
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