HB5354 EnrolledLRB103 37230 SPS 67349 b

1    AN ACT concerning employment.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Customized Employment for Individuals with
5Disabilities Act is amended by changing Sections 10, 15, 20,
625, 30, 35, and 40 and by adding Section 6 as follows:
 
7    (820 ILCS 97/6 new)
8    Sec. 6. Definition. As used in this Act, "customized
9employment" means competitive integrated employment for an
10individual with a significant disability that is based on an
11individualized determination of the strengths, needs, and
12interests of the individual with a significant disability,
13designed to meet the specific abilities of the individual with
14a significant disability and the business needs of the
15employer, establishes a relationship between the employer and
16the employee that is negotiated to meet the needs of both
17parties, and is based on an exchange of specific contributions
18by the employee for pay by the employer that is at or above the
19applicable minimum wage.
 
20    (820 ILCS 97/10)
21    Sec. 10. Customized Employment Demonstration Pilot
22Program. The Department of Human Services, through its

 

 

HB5354 Enrolled- 2 -LRB103 37230 SPS 67349 b

1Division of Rehabilitation Services and in collaboration with
2the Division of Developmental Disabilities, shall establish a
35-year Customized Employment Demonstration Pilot Program that
4serves a minimum of 40 25 individuals by July 1, 2025, with a
5goal of serving at least 75 individuals by July 1, 2027 the
6second year of the Pilot Program.
7    The Demonstration program shall comply with the document
8titled "The Essential Elements of Customized Employment for
9Universal Application", published June 2017 by the Workforce
10Innovation Technical Assistance Center and the Youth Technical
11Assistance Center under grants from the federal Department of
12Education. The Demonstration The Pilot Program shall include
13the following components for each participant:
14        (1) "Phase One: Consultation and Initiation" means
15    pre-discovery activities introducing the participant to
16    customized employment activities, roles and
17    responsibilities, and expected outcomes and introducing
18    the customized employment provider to the participant and
19    the participant's support team, including family,
20    guardians, friends, colleagues, advocates,
21    community-based service agencies, and others as determined
22    by the participant or the participant's guardian. If the
23    participant or participant's guardian chooses to proceed
24    with the customized employment provider, the Division of
25    Rehabilitation Services shall develop an Initial Discovery
26    Action Plan An intensive discovery phase during which the

 

 

HB5354 Enrolled- 3 -LRB103 37230 SPS 67349 b

1    unique needs, abilities, and interests of the individual
2    will be explored by the individual at his or her direction
3    with assistance from family, friends, colleagues,
4    advocates, community-based service agencies, and others as
5    determined by the individual.
6        (2) "Phase Two: Discovery" means a person-centered
7    planning process that shall be used to determine the
8    participant's interests, skills, preferences, and ideal
9    employment conditions that shall guide the development of
10    a customized job. The unique needs, abilities, and
11    interests of the participant shall be explored by the
12    participant at his or her direction or the direction of
13    his or her guardian, with assistance from family, friends,
14    colleagues, advocates, community-based service agencies,
15    and others as determined by the participant or the
16    participant's guardian. The exploration of the unique
17    needs of the participant shall include the participant's
18    assistive technology needs and the participant's need for
19    work incentives benefits counseling. During this phase, a
20    plan for completing the discovery process shall be
21    developed that contains a timeline for completing the
22    discovery process, assignment of who shall gather which
23    piece of information, how the information shall be
24    gathered, who shall receive the information, and who shall
25    make up the core support team for the participant. The
26    plan for completing the discovery service shall be shared

 

 

HB5354 Enrolled- 4 -LRB103 37230 SPS 67349 b

1    and discussed by the customized employment provider with
2    the participant and the Division of Rehabilitation
3    Services, and the service provider shall bill for this
4    service. A Discovery Profile, containing all of the
5    information learned from the discovery process, shall be
6    shared and discussed by the provider with the participant,
7    the participant's guardian, and Division of Rehabilitation
8    Services, and the service provider shall bill for this
9    service A customized person-centered planning process
10    based upon information gathered during the discovery phase
11    that involves capturing, organizing, and presenting the
12    information in a blueprint for the job search.
13        (3) "Phase Three: Customized Employment Planning"
14    means an opportunity to use the information learned during
15    the discovery process to develop a plan for competitive
16    and integrated employment for the participant An employer
17    negotiation process in which job duties and employee
18    expectations are negotiated to align the skills and
19    interests of the individual with the needs of an employer.
20    The negotiation process may result in agreement on options
21    such as (i) carving out a job for the individual, (ii)
22    creating a new job description, (iii) creating a new job,
23    (iv) job-sharing, and (v) agreeing on job supports,
24    transportation needs, assistive technology, work hours,
25    location, or supervision needs.
26        (4) "Phase Four: Job Development and Negotiation"

 

 

HB5354 Enrolled- 5 -LRB103 37230 SPS 67349 b

1    means a process of working collaboratively with the
2    participant, the participant's guardian, and the
3    customized employment employer to negotiate a customized
4    job, including, terms of employment, conditions necessary
5    for success, and the specific unmet needs of the employer
6    that shall be fulfilled by the participant's contributions
7    A flexible timeline for a comprehensive discovery,
8    planning, and job placement process to accommodate the
9    unique needs of the individual.
10        (5) "Phase Five: Post-Employment Support and
11    Monitoring" means support and monitoring from the
12    customized employment service to ensure satisfactory
13    results for both the participant and the employer.
14    The Customized Employment Demonstration Pilot Program
15shall be based on implemented through an individualized plan
16for employment developed by the individual with a disability,
17the community based agency, the individual's support team, and
18the vocational rehabilitation counselor employed by the
19Division of Rehabilitation Services. The individual with a
20disability may choose to have a personal representative
21participate in the development of the individualized plan for
22employment.
23(Source: P.A. 101-368, eff. 1-1-20.)
 
24    (820 ILCS 97/15)
25    Sec. 15. Selection of participants. Individuals shall be

 

 

HB5354 Enrolled- 6 -LRB103 37230 SPS 67349 b

1identified and referred to the Department to participate in
2the Demonstration Pilot Program by community-based agencies
3serving persons with intellectual or developmental
4disabilities. A team of individuals identified during the
5discovery phase shall be created to work with the individual
6during the process. The team shall include at least one
7qualified staff person as described in Section 25. Selection
8preference shall be given to individuals who are currently
9working in a sheltered workshop setting for a subminimum wage
10and individuals for whom it is likely that their current
11employment options will be limited to working in a sheltered
12workshop for a subminimum wage.
13(Source: P.A. 101-368, eff. 1-1-20.)
 
14    (820 ILCS 97/20)
15    Sec. 20. Diversity. Participants in the Demonstration
16Pilot Program shall reflect the geographical, racial, ethnic,
17gender, and income-level diversity of the State.
18(Source: P.A. 101-368, eff. 1-1-20.)
 
19    (820 ILCS 97/25)
20    Sec. 25. Community-based agencies and staff
21qualifications. The Demonstration Pilot Program shall utilize
22a minimum of 4 Illinois non-profit community-based agencies
23that must:
24        (1) assign at least one staff member who has received

 

 

HB5354 Enrolled- 7 -LRB103 37230 SPS 67349 b

1    a certificate of completion for training in community
2    employment, with a specialization in customized
3    employment, from a recognized and qualified training
4    entity such as the Association of Community Rehabilitation
5    Educators; and
6        (2) have access to technical assistance on customized
7    employment from a recognized and qualified training entity
8    to work with each participant in the Demonstration Pilot
9    Program.
10(Source: P.A. 101-368, eff. 1-1-20.)
 
11    (820 ILCS 97/30)
12    Sec. 30. Data collection and reporting. The Department
13shall collect data regarding the successes and challenges of
14the Demonstration Pilot Program and shall submit an annual
15report to the Governor and the General Assembly on March 1st of
16each year beginning in 2026 2021 until the Demonstration Pilot
17Program terminates. The reports shall: (i) make a
18recommendation as to whether the Demonstration Pilot Program
19should be extended continue or become a statewide program;
20(ii) provide cost estimates, including the average per person
21costs; and (iii) recommend ways in which the Demonstration
22Pilot Program can be improved to better serve the needs of
23individuals with disabilities and employers. The data
24collected shall include, but not be limited to, for each
25individual served by the Demonstration Program:

 

 

HB5354 Enrolled- 8 -LRB103 37230 SPS 67349 b

1        (1) The number of individuals with an intellectual
2    disability;
3        (2) the number of individuals with a developmental
4    disability;
5        (3) the number of individuals residing in a community
6    integrated living arrangement;
7        (4) the number of individuals residing in an
8    intermediate care facility for people with a developmental
9    disability;
10        (5) the number of individuals residing in their family
11    home;
12        (6) the number of individuals residing in a State
13    operated developmental center;
14        (7) the number of individuals residing in a community
15    living facility;
16        (8) the number of individuals who were working in a
17    sheltered workshop earning subminimum wage; and
18    
    (9) the average amount of time individuals in the
19    Demonstration Program spend in each customized employed
20    phase as described in Section 10.
21(Source: P.A. 101-368, eff. 1-1-20.)
 
22    (820 ILCS 97/35)
23    Sec. 35. Advice and recommendations. In the creation,
24operation, and administration of the Demonstration Pilot
25Program, the Department shall seek the advice and

 

 

HB5354 Enrolled- 9 -LRB103 37230 SPS 67349 b

1recommendations of the State Rehabilitation Council, Illinois
2Council on Developmental Disabilities, the Illinois Task Force
3on Employment and Economic Opportunity for Persons with
4Disabilities, statewide disability advocacy groups, and
5organizations representing large, medium, and small
6businesses.
7(Source: P.A. 101-368, eff. 1-1-20.)
 
8    (820 ILCS 97/40)
9    Sec. 40. The Department may adopt administrative rules
10governing the Demonstration Pilot Program; however, the
11Demonstration Pilot Program shall not be delayed pending the
12adoption of rules.
13(Source: P.A. 101-368, eff. 1-1-20.)