(305 ILCS 5/9-8) (from Ch. 23, par. 9-8)
Sec. 9-8. Extension of Coverage.) If appropriate and sufficient facilities
are not available through
other agencies, the Illinois
Department may extend those services provided in this Article which
relate to work adjustment, education, training, and counseling and
guidance on problems of child care, family relationships, home and money
management, transportation, and health, to one or both of the following:
(1) persons and families who have been recipients of |
| aid within 1 year preceding their request for the services, and who are likely to become recipients of aid again unless needed services are provided;
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(2) other persons and families who request the
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| services and whose economic, personal or social situation is such as to make it likely that without counseling, training or other services financial aid could reasonably be expected to be required within 6 months.
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The services may be continued for such time as may be necessary to
overcome the conditions which may result in dependency upon financial
aid but each case shall be reviewed at least quarterly to assure that
the services are not continued beyond a reasonable period of time.
Any extension of services under the foregoing provisions shall be
limited to a pilot county or counties, or other test area, until the
cost and effectiveness of the services provided are determined to be in
the public interest.
The Illinois Department may also extend the educational and
vocational training programs provided under Section 9-5 or Section 9-7
to persons whose income does not exceed the standard established to
determine eligibility for aid as a medically indigent person under
Article V, subject to the minimum quarterly review requirement
established in this Section for persons designated in subparagraphs (1)
and (2).
(Source: P.A. 93-632, eff. 2-1-04.)
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(305 ILCS 5/9A-7) (from Ch. 23, par. 9A-7)
Sec. 9A-7. Good cause and pre-sanction process.
(a) The Department shall establish by rule what constitutes good cause
for failure to participate in education, training and employment programs,
failure to accept suitable employment or terminating employment or reducing
earnings.
The Department shall establish, by rule, a pre-sanction process to assist
in resolving disputes over proposed sanctions and in determining if good cause
exists.
Good cause shall include, but not be limited to:
(1) temporary illness for its duration;
(2) court required appearance or temporary |
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(3) (blank);
(4) death in the family;
(5) (blank);
(6) (blank);
(7) (blank);
(8) (blank);
(9) extreme inclement weather;
(10) (blank);
(11) lack of any support service even though the
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| necessary service is not specifically provided under the Department program, to the extent the lack of the needed service presents a significant barrier to participation;
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(12) if an individual is engaged in employment or
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| training or both that is consistent with the employment related goals of the program, if such employment and training is later approved by Department staff;
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(13) (blank);
(14) failure of Department staff to correctly forward
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| the information to other Department staff;
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(15) failure of the participant to cooperate because
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| of attendance at a test or a mandatory class or function at an educational program (including college), when an education or training program is officially approved by the Department;
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(16) failure of the participant due to his or her
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(17) failure of the participant because it is
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| determined that he or she should be in a different activity;
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(18) non-receipt by the participant of a notice
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| advising him or her of a participation requirement. If the non-receipt of mail occurs frequently, the Department shall explore an alternative means of providing notices of participation requests to participants;
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(19) (blank);
(20) non-comprehension of English, either written or
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(21) (blank);
(22) (blank);
(23) child care (or day care for an incapacitated
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| individual living in the same home as a dependent child) is necessary for the participation or employment and such care is not available for a child under age 13;
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(24) failure to participate in an activity due to a
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| scheduled job interview, medical appointment for the participant or a household member, or school appointment;
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(25) if an individual or family is experiencing
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| homelessness; an individual or family is experiencing homelessness if the individual or family: (i) lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, or shares the housing of other persons due to the loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason; (ii) is living in a motel, hotel, trailer park, or camping ground due to the lack of alternative accommodations; (iii) is living in an emergency or transitional shelter; (iv) resides in a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings; or (v) is living in a car, park, public space, abandoned building, substandard housing, bus, train station, or similar settings;
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(26) circumstances beyond the control of the
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| participant which prevent the participant from completing program requirements;
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(27) (blank);
(28) if an individual or family receives an eviction
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(29) if an individual's or family's utilities are
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(30) if an individual or family receives an utility
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(31) if an individual is exiting a publicly funded
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| institution or system of care (such as a health-care facility, a mental health facility, foster care or other youth facility, or correction program or institution) without an option to move to a fixed, adequate night time residence.
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(b) (Blank).
(c)(1) The Department shall establish a reconciliation procedure to
assist in resolving disputes related to any aspect of participation,
including exemptions, good cause, sanctions or proposed sanctions,
supportive services, assessments, responsibility and service
plans,
assignment to activities, suitability of employment, or
refusals of offers
of employment.
Through the reconciliation process the Department shall have a mechanism to
identify good cause, ensure that the client is aware of the issue, and enable
the client to perform required activities without facing sanction.
(2) A participant may request reconciliation and
receive notice in
writing of a meeting. At least one face-to-face
meeting may be scheduled to
resolve misunderstandings or disagreements related to program participation
and situations which may lead to a potential sanction. The meeting will
address the underlying reason for the dispute and plan a resolution to
enable the individual to participate in TANF employment and work activity
requirements.
(2.5) If the individual fails to appear at the reconciliation meeting
without good cause, the reconciliation is unsuccessful and a sanction shall be
imposed.
(3) The reconciliation process shall continue after
it is determined that
the individual did not have good cause for non-cooperation. Any necessary
demonstration of cooperation on the part of the participant will be part of
the reconciliation process. Failure to demonstrate cooperation will result in immediate
sanction.
(4) For the first instance of non-cooperation, if the client reaches
agreement to cooperate, the client shall be allowed 30 days to demonstrate
cooperation before any sanction activity may be imposed. In any subsequent
instances of non-cooperation, the client shall be provided the opportunity to
show good cause or remedy the situation by immediately complying with the
requirement.
(5) The Department shall document in the case record the proceedings
of the reconciliation and provide the client in writing
with a reconciliation
agreement.
(6) If reconciliation resolves the dispute, no
sanction shall be imposed.
If the client fails to comply with the reconciliation agreement, the
Department shall then immediately impose the original sanction.
If the dispute cannot be resolved
during reconciliation, a sanction shall not be imposed
until the reconciliation process is complete.
(Source: P.A. 101-103, eff. 7-19-19.)
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(305 ILCS 5/9A-8) (from Ch. 23, par. 9A-8)
Sec. 9A-8. Operation of program.
(a) At the time of application or redetermination of eligibility under
Article IV, as determined by rule, the Illinois Department shall provide
information in writing and orally regarding the education, training and
employment program to all applicants and recipients. The information
required shall be established by rule and shall include, but need not be
limited to:
(1) education (including literacy training), |
| employment and training opportunities available, the criteria for approval of those opportunities, and the right to request changes in the personal responsibility and services plan to include those opportunities;
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(1.1) a complete list of all activities that are
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| approvable activities, and the circumstances under which they are approvable, including work activities, substance use disorder or mental health treatment, activities to escape and prevent domestic violence, caring for a medically impaired family member, and any other approvable activities, together with the right to and procedures for amending the responsibility and services plan to include these activities;
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(1.2) the rules concerning the lifetime limit on
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| eligibility, including the current status of the applicant or recipient in terms of the months of remaining eligibility, the criteria under which a month will not count towards the lifetime limit, and the criteria under which a recipient may receive benefits beyond the end of the lifetime limit;
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(2) supportive services including child care and the
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| rules regarding eligibility for and access to the child care assistance program, transportation, initial expenses of employment, job retention, books and fees, and any other supportive services;
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(3) the obligation of the Department to provide
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(4) the rights and responsibilities of participants,
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| including exemption, sanction, reconciliation, and good cause criteria and procedures, termination for non-cooperation and reinstatement rules and procedures, and appeal and grievance procedures; and
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(5) the types and locations of child care services.
(b) The Illinois
Department shall notify the recipient in writing of the opportunity to
volunteer to participate in the program.
(c) (Blank).
(d) As part of the personal plan for achieving employment and
self-sufficiency, the Department shall conduct an individualized assessment
of
the
participant's employability. No participant may be assigned to any
component of the education, training and employment activity
prior to such
assessment. The plan shall
include collection of
information
on the individual's background, proficiencies, skills deficiencies,
education level, work history, employment goals, interests, aptitudes, and
employment preferences, as well as factors affecting employability or
ability to meet participation requirements (e.g., health, physical or
mental limitations, child care, family circumstances, domestic violence, sexual violence,
substance use disorders, and special needs of any child of the individual). As part
of the plan,
individuals and Department staff shall work together to identify any
supportive service needs required to enable the client to participate and
meet the objectives of his or her employability plan. The
assessment may be conducted through various methods such as interviews,
testing, counseling, and self-assessment instruments. In the
assessment process, the Department shall offer to include standard
literacy testing
and a determination of
English language proficiency and shall provide it for those who accept the
offer.
Based on the assessment,
the
individual will be assigned to the appropriate activity. The
decision will be based on a determination of the individual's level of
preparation for employment as defined by rule.
(e) Recipients determined to be exempt may volunteer to participate
pursuant to Section 9A-4 and must be assessed.
(f) As part of the personal plan for achieving employment and
self-sufficiency under Section 4-1, an employability plan for recipients
shall be
developed in
consultation with the participant. The Department shall have final
responsibility for approving the employability plan. The employability
plan shall:
(1) contain an employment goal of the participant;
(2) describe the services to be provided by the
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| Department, including child care and other support services;
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(3) describe the activities, such as component
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| assignment, that will be undertaken by the participant to achieve the employment goal. The Department shall treat participation in high school and high school equivalency programs as a core activity and count participation in high school and high school equivalency programs toward the first 20 hours per week of participation. The Department shall approve participation in high school or high school equivalency programs upon written or oral request of the participant if he or she has not already earned a high school diploma or a State of Illinois High School Diploma. However, participation in high school or high school equivalency programs may be delayed as part of an applicant's or recipient's personal plan for achieving employment and self-sufficiency if it is determined that the benefit from participating in another activity, such as, but not limited to, treatment for a substance use disorder or an English proficiency program, would be greater to the applicant or recipient than participation in high school or a high school equivalency program. The availability of high school and high school equivalency programs may also delay enrollment in those programs. The Department shall treat such activities as a core activity as long as satisfactory progress is made, as determined by the high school or high school equivalency program. Proof of satisfactory progress shall be provided by the participant or the school at the end of each academic term; and
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(4) describe any other needs of the family that might
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| be met by the Department.
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(g) The employability plan shall take into account:
(1) available program resources;
(2) the participant's support service needs;
(3) the participant's skills level and aptitudes;
(4) local employment opportunities; and
(5) the preferences of the
participant.
(h) A reassessment shall be conducted to assess a participant's
progress and to review the employability plan on the following occasions:
(1) upon completion of an activity and before
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| assignment to an activity;
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(2) upon the request of the participant;
(3) if the individual is not cooperating with the
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| requirements of the program; and
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(4) if the individual has failed to make satisfactory
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| progress in an education or training program.
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Based on the reassessment, the Department may revise the employability
plan of the participant.
(Source: P.A. 102-1100, eff. 1-1-23 .)
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