Public Act 100-0879
 
SB2628 EnrolledLRB100 18775 KTG 34011 b

    AN ACT concerning State government.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
Strengthening the Child Welfare Workforce for Children and
Families Act.
 
    Section 5. Purpose. It is the purpose of this Act to create
a task force to study the compensation and workload of child
welfare workers to determine the role that compensation and
workload play in the recruitment and retention of child welfare
workers, and to determine the role that staff turnover plays in
achieving safety and timely permanency for children.
 
    Section 10. Task Force on Strengthening the Child Welfare
Workforce for Children and Families.
    (a) As used in this Act:
    "Child welfare workers" or "staff" means child welfare
caseworkers, child welfare specialists, and child welfare
specialist supervisors.
    "Child welfare services job" mean an employment position as
a child welfare caseworker, child welfare specialist, or child
welfare specialist supervisor.
    (b) The Task Force on Strengthening the Child Welfare
Workforce for Children and Families is created to do all of the
following:
        (1) Perform a policy and literature review regarding:
    (i) compensation and caseload standards in the field of
    child welfare; (ii) staff turnover rates; and (iii) the
    impact compensation, caseload, and staff turnover have on
    achieving safety and timely permanency for children.
        (2) Survey employers in the public and private sector
    to determine:
            (A) how many child welfare service jobs exist;
            (B) the compensation paid to child welfare
        workers;
            (C) how many child welfare service jobs are filled
        and how many are vacant;
            (D) how many child welfare service jobs are filled
        by persons who have at least 18 months in the position;
            (E) the rate of turnover for child welfare workers;
        and
            (F) the causes of turnover for child welfare
        workers.
        (3) Conduct a detailed time log analysis for child
    welfare workers to determine how much time is available to
    complete each administrative task and how much time is
    actually spent to complete each administrative task. The
    time log analysis shall expressly ask child welfare workers
    the following question for each administrative task, "Is
    this task duplicative of one that you have already
    completed?".
        (4) Develop recommendations on how to (i) improve the
    recruitment and retention of child welfare workers; and
    (ii) reduce the turnover rates for child welfare workers.
    (c) Members of the Task Force shall include:
        (1) 2 members appointed by the Governor;
        (2) 2 legislative members appointed by the Speaker of
    the House of Representatives, one of whom shall be
    designated as Co-Chairperson;
        (3) 2 legislative members appointed by the Minority
    Leader of the House of Representatives, one of whom shall
    be designated as Co-Chairperson;
        (4) 2 legislative members appointed by the President of
    the Senate, one of whom shall be designated as
    Co-Chairperson;
        (5) 2 legislative members appointed by the Senate
    Minority Leader, one of whom shall be designated as
    Co-Chairperson;
        (6) the Director of the Illinois Criminal Justice
    Information Authority, or his or her designee;
        (7) the Director of Children and Family Services, or
    his or her designee;
        (8) the Director of Commerce and Economic Opportunity,
    or his or her designee;
        (9) the Principal Investigator for the Child
    Protection Training Academy at the University of Illinois;
        (10) a person appointed by a labor union that
    represents State employees;
        (11) a current private sector employee appointed by the
    Speaker of the House of Representatives; and
        (12) a person representing a non-profit, statewide
    organization that represents private sector child welfare
    providers.
    (d) The Children and Family Research Center of the
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign shall provide
administrative and other support to the Task Force.
    (e) The Department of Children and Family Services shall
engage the services of a university-based consultant to aid in
the collection, cataloguing, and analysis of child welfare data
and whose services shall conclude when the Task Force submits
its final report to the General Assembly and the Governor as
required under subsection (h).
    (f) The Task Force shall consider contracting with a
qualified company, university, or other entity with
demonstrated experience studying and improving human resources
management.
    (g) The Task Force shall meet no less than 6 times.
    (h) The Task Force shall submit a preliminary report to the
General Assembly and the Governor no later than October 1,
2019, and a final electronic report, along with recommendations
and any proposed legislation, to the General Assembly and the
Governor by January 1, 2020.
    The reports to the General Assembly shall be filed with the
Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Secretary of the
Senate in electronic form only, in the manner that the Clerk
and the Secretary shall direct.
    (i) The Task Force is dissolved on January 1, 2021.
 
    Section 15. Repeal. This Act is repealed on January 1,
2021.
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.

Effective Date: 8/14/2018