Section 101.10  Definitions

 

The following are definitions of terms used in this Part:

 

Act − The Children of Deceased Veterans Act [330 ILCS 105].

 

Child or Children − As established by evidence satisfactory to the Department, a:

 

biological child of the veteran;

 

legally adopted child of the veteran;

 

stepchild who is a member of the veteran's household; or

 

child of a partner in a civil union, established pursuant to the Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act [750 ILCS 75], with the veteran at the time of application for benefits under this Part.

 

Department − The Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs.

 

Eligible Service − Service in the U.S. Armed Forces that resulted in a service-connected disability or death during the following periods:

 

World War I between April 6, 1917 and July 2, 1921;

 

World War II between December 7, 1941 and December 31, 1946, including the induction period of September 16, 1940 through December 6, 1941;

 

Korean Conflict between June 27, 1950 and January 31, 1955, including the induction period of January 1, 1947 through June 26, 1950;

 

The induction period between February 1, 1955 and the day before the first day on which individuals (other that individuals liable for induction by reason of prior deferment) were no longer liable for induction for training and service under the Universal Military Training and Service Act; and

 

Vietnam Conflict between January 1, 1961 and May 7, 1975.

 

Resident − With respect to an applicant for benefits under this Part, residency in the State of Illinois for at least 12 months immediately preceding application.

 

Veteran − Any person who was engaged in eligible service in the Armed Forces and who was:

 

discharged from service under conditions other than dishonorable;

 

died in service in the line of duty;

 

died as the result of a service-connected disability; or

 

has a permanent total service-connected disability.

 

Section 101.20  Benefits

 

a)         Eligibility

Children eligible for benefits under the Act and this Part must be:

 

1)         between ages 10 and 17, inclusively, except that a child age 18 may receive benefits during the period necessary to complete high school. However, in no event will benefits be provided beyond the 19^th birthday;

 

2)         a resident of the State of Illinois;

 

3)         attending, or will attend, an Illinois public or private elementary school, high school, proprietary school, business college, educational institution or vocational school that provides courses of instruction in subjects that would enable the students to engage in any useful trade, occupation or profession.

 

b)         Payment

 

1)         No more than $250 will be paid for any one child during any one school year, or part of a school year, for the cost of matriculation and tuition fees, board, room rent, books and supplies.

 

2)         Payment of the benefit shall be made by the Department to the institution or school, the child, or, if the child is a minor, the parent or guardian.

 

Section 101.30  Determination of Eligible Veteran

 

The following criteria will be used to determine whether a veteran's service qualifies his or her children for benefits under this Part:

 

a)         Death

In applications based on the death of a veteran while in eligible service, a determination by the U.S. Department of Defense or the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (federal agencies) that the death was service connected will be sufficient.

 

b)         Disability

 

1)         In applications based on the permanent and total disability of a veteran, a determination by the federal agencies that the disability was service connected will be sufficient.

 

2)         A veteran will be considerable eligible when he or she has not received disability compensation because he or she received retirement pay or other benefits from a federal agency.

 

3)         A service-connected disability rated at 100% by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and continuing for 2 consecutive years will be considered permanent for the purpose of this Part, and benefits shall continue to be paid as long as the 100% disability and the child's eligibility continue.

 

4)         The following conditions will be considered as permanent and totally disabling without further consideration: 

 

A)        Permanent loss of, or the loss of use of:

 

i)          both feet, both hands or both eyes;

 

ii)         one hand and one foot

 

iii)        one foot and one eye;

 

iv)        one hand and one eye; or

 

B)        Total loss of hearing in both ears; or

 

C)        Organic loss of speech.

 

c)         Claims Based on Service During an Induction Period

 

1)         The standards of the federal agencies for determining service connection based on peacetime service will be used when the death or disability resulted from armed conflict or was directly incurred while engaged in extra-hazardous service, including service under conditions simulating war.

 

2)         Except as provided in subsection (c)(1), the cause of disability or death, either primary or contributory, must be directly from, and the causative factor must have been the performance of, service while on duty status. This criterion is met if the death or disability was a result of the performance of duty while under military order or direction, regardless of whether the duty entailed risks greater than those of civilian life. It must be reasonably apparent that the death or disability would not have been incurred if the individual had not been performing active service.

 

Section 101.40 Forms

 

The following forms shall be used for applying for benefits under this Part and to validate school attendance and costs:

 

a)         Department of Veterans' Affairs Form ED I − Application for Veterans' Children Educational Opportunities.

 

b)         Department of Veterans' Affairs Form ED II − Certificate of Attendance and Statement of Expenditures for the Veterans' Children Educational Opportunities.