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91_HB1455
LRB9103570SMdv
1 AN ACT to amend the Illinois Public Aid Code by changing
2 Section 9A-9.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 5. The Illinois Public Aid Code is amended by
6 changing Section 9A-9 as follows:
7 (305 ILCS 5/9A-9) (from Ch. 23, par. 9A-9)
8 Sec. 9A-9. Program Activities. The Department shall
9 establish education, training and placement activities by
10 rule. Not all of the same activities need be provided in
11 each county in the State. Such activities may include the
12 following:
13 (a) Education (Below post secondary). In the Education
14 (below post secondary) activity, the individual receives
15 information, referral, counseling services and support
16 services to increase the individual's employment potential.
17 Participants may be referred to testing, counseling and
18 education resources. Educational activities will include
19 basic and remedial education; English proficiency classes;
20 high school or its equivalency (e.g., GED) or alternative
21 education at the secondary level; and with any educational
22 program, structured study time to enhance successful
23 participation. An individual's participation in an education
24 program such as literacy, basic adult education, high school
25 equivalency (GED), or a remedial program shall be limited to
26 2 years unless the individual also is working or
27 participating in a work activity approved by the Illinois
28 Department as defined by rule; this requirement does not
29 apply, however, to students enrolled in high school.
30 (b) Job Skills Training (Vocational). Job Skills
31 Training is designed to increase the individual's ability to
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1 obtain and maintain employment. Job Skills Training
2 activities will include vocational skill classes designed to
3 increase a participant's ability to obtain and maintain
4 employment. Job Skills Training may include certificate
5 programs.
6 (c) Job Readiness. The job readiness activity is
7 designed to enhance the quality of the individual's level of
8 participation in the world of work while learning the
9 necessary essentials to obtain and maintain employment. This
10 activity helps individuals gain the necessary job finding
11 skills to help them find and retain employment that will lead
12 to economic independence.
13 (d) Job Search. Job Search may be conducted
14 individually or in groups. Job Search includes the provision
15 of counseling, job seeking skills training and information
16 dissemination. Group job search may include training in a
17 group session. Assignment exclusively to job search cannot
18 be in excess of 8 consecutive weeks (or its equivalent) in
19 any period of 12 consecutive months.
20 (e) Work Experience. Work Experience assignments may be
21 with private employers or not-for-profit or public agencies
22 in the State. The Illinois Department shall provide workers'
23 compensation coverage. Participants who are not members of a
24 2-parent assistance unit may not be assigned more hours than
25 their cash grant amount plus food stamps divided by the
26 minimum wage. Private employers and not-for-profit and
27 public agencies shall not use Work Experience participants to
28 displace regular employees. Participants in Work Experience
29 may perform work in the public interest (which otherwise
30 meets the requirements of this Section) for a federal office
31 or agency with its consent, and notwithstanding the
32 provisions of 31 U.S.C. 1342, or any other provision of law,
33 such agency may accept such services, but participants shall
34 not be considered federal employees for any purpose. A
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1 participant shall be reassessed at the end of assignment to
2 Work Experience. The participant may be reassigned to Work
3 Experience or assigned to another activity, based on the
4 reassessment.
5 (f) On the Job Training. In On the Job Training, a
6 participant is hired by a private or public employer and
7 while engaged in productive work receives training that
8 provides knowledge or skills essential to full and adequate
9 performance of the job.
10 (g) Work Supplementation. In work supplementation, the
11 Department pays a wage subsidy to an employer who hires a
12 participant. The cash grant which a participant would
13 receive if not employed is diverted and the diverted cash
14 grant is used to pay the wage subsidy.
15 (h) Post Secondary Education. Post secondary education
16 must be administered by an educational institution accredited
17 under requirements of State law. The Illinois Department may
18 not approve an individual's participation in any
19 post-secondary education program, other than full-time,
20 short-term vocational training for a specific job, unless the
21 individual also is employed part-time, as defined by the
22 Illinois Department by rule. Clients who are not working will
23 not be approved for degree programs unless they can complete
24 the program in one year or less. Clients who are working at
25 least 20 hours per week may be approved for post-secondary
26 education programs, including degree programs to upgrade
27 their skills to the extent resources allow. Post-secondary
28 education must be administered by an educational institution
29 accredited under requirements of State law including, but not
30 limited to, the Barber, Cosmetology, Esthetics, and Nail
31 Technology Act of 1985, the Real Estate License Act of 1983,
32 the Public Community College Act, the University of Illinois
33 Act, the Chicago State University Law, the Eastern Illinois
34 University Law, the Governors State University Law, the
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1 Illinois State University Law, the Northeastern Illinois
2 University Law, the Northern Illinois University Law, the
3 Western Illinois University Law, and the Southern Illinois
4 University Management Act.
5 (1) Approval criteria for post-secondary education.
6 (A) The individual must have a high school
7 diploma or a GED.
8 (B) The individual must possess the aptitude,
9 ability, and interest necessary for success in the
10 selected program as determined by such factors as
11 test results and educational and training
12 background.
13 (C) The individual must be enrolled full-time
14 as defined by the institution or part-time if a
15 full-time program is not available or appropriate to
16 upgrade skills for current employment.
17 (D) The individual must be in a program needed
18 for the individual to obtain employment in a
19 recognized occupation or upgrade skills for current
20 employment.
21 (E) The individual does not already possess a
22 baccalaureate degree or an associate degree if the
23 Responsibility and Services Plan goal is an
24 associate degree.
25 (F) If the participant possesses a
26 baccalaureate degree, no additional education may be
27 approved.
28 (G) The individual's program must be accredited
29 under requirements of State law.
30 (H) If needed, the individual must apply for
31 all available educational benefits such as the Pell
32 Grant and scholarships from the Illinois Student
33 Assistance Commission as well as any scholarship or
34 grants identified by the education or training
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1 facility for which the participant may be eligible.
2 (I) Jobs, consistent with the individual's
3 Responsibility and Services Plan, must be available
4 in the chosen field in a specific geographical area
5 where the individual intends to work upon program
6 completion.
7 (J) When programs of comparable quality are
8 available in more than one geographical area, the
9 program selected shall be the least costly in
10 supportive service costs to the Department. When
11 programs of comparable quality are available in the
12 same geographical area, the individual may select a
13 preferred program.
14 (K) The program selected may be no more than a
15 program that will result in the receipt of a
16 baccalaureate degree consistent with the
17 Responsibility and Services Plan.
18 (L) The individual, unless enrolled in a
19 full-time, short-term vocational training program of
20 less than 2 years, must also be employed in
21 unsubsidized work for at least 20 hours each week or
22 participating for at least 20 hours per week in one
23 or more of the following paid or unpaid work
24 activities:
25 (i) Work study.
26 (ii) Practicums, clinicals, or vocational
27 internships such as student teaching, if
28 required by the institution to complete the
29 educational program.
30 (iii) Apprenticeships.
31 (iv) Self-employment.
32 (v) Enrollment as a full-time Americorps
33 VISTA volunteer or Job Corps participant under
34 Title I of the 1973 Domestic Volunteer Services
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1 Act.
2 (M) Individuals who have been continuously
3 enrolled in an approved post-secondary education
4 program prior to July 1, 1997 must comply with the
5 20 hour per week work requirement by the end of the
6 fall 1997 semester, or the activity will not be
7 approved for the spring 1998 semester.
8 (N) Individuals who lose employment, unless due
9 to a temporary scheduled employer shutdown, can
10 continue in post-secondary education and receive
11 supportive services, if eligible, during the current
12 semester while they seek employment. If the
13 individual has not reentered employment of at least
14 20 hours per week by the end of the current
15 semester, the individual will not continue in
16 post-secondary education and receive supportive
17 services, but will be reassigned to another
18 appropriate activity.
19 (2) Participation requirements.
20 (A) The individual must maintain a "C" average
21 if this measurement is used by the institution to
22 determine satisfactory progress. The individual
23 shall be allowed one semester below a "C" average to
24 bring the grades up to a "C" average. When grades
25 are not used, satisfactory progress will be
26 determined by the written policy of the institution
27 to establish a comparable grade level upon
28 completion of the academic term.
29 (B) The client must complete all scheduled
30 program enrollment hours each academic term to
31 maintain satisfactory progress, except in the
32 following situation. If the client withdraws from
33 one or more scheduled courses during an academic
34 term, the client must complete all scheduled
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1 enrollment hours during the following academic term.
2 The client may withdraw from one or more scheduled
3 classes in more than one academic term but must
4 complete all scheduled enrollment hours the
5 following academic term to maintain satisfactory
6 progress.
7 (C) Curriculum changes must be made with the
8 approval of the Temporary Assistance for Needy
9 Families case-worker and shall be approved when the
10 change is consistent with the Responsibility and
11 Services Plan.
12 (i) Self Initiated Education. Participants who are
13 attending an institution of higher education or a vocational
14 or technical program of their own choosing and who are in
15 good standing, may continue to attend and receive supportive
16 services only if the educational program is approved by the
17 Department, and is in conformity with the participant's
18 personal plan for achieving employment and self-sufficiency
19 and the participant is employed part-time, as defined by the
20 Illinois Department by rule.
21 (j) Job Development and Placement. Department staff
22 shall develop through contacts with public and private
23 employers unsubsidized job openings for participants. Job
24 interviews will be secured for clients by the marketing of
25 participants for specific job openings. Job ready
26 individuals may be assigned to Job Development and Placement.
27 (k) Job Retention. The job retention component is
28 designed to assist participants in retaining employment.
29 Initial employment expenses and job retention services are
30 provided. The individual's support service needs are
31 assessed and the individual receives counseling regarding job
32 retention skills.
33 (l) (Blank).
34 (m) Pay-after-performance Program. A parent may be
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1 required to participate in a pay-after-performance program in
2 which the parent must work a specified number of hours to
3 earn the grant. The program shall comply with provisions of
4 this Code governing work experience programs.
5 (n) Community Service. A participant whose youngest
6 child is 13 years of age or older may be required to perform
7 at least 20 hours of community service per week as a
8 condition of eligibility for aid under Article IV. The
9 Illinois Department shall give priority to community service
10 placements in public schools, where participants can serve as
11 hall and lunchroom monitors, assist teachers, and perform
12 other appropriate services.
13 (Source: P.A. 89-289, eff. 1-1-96; 90-17, eff. 7-1-97;
14 90-457, eff. 1-1-98; 90-655, eff. 7-30-98.)