Section 270.10  Purpose

 

The Department shall promulgate rules for the creation of a scientific review committee to review and assess applications for the grants authorized under this Part.

 

Section 270.20  Definitions

 

For the purposes of this Part, the following terms are defined:

 

"Autism" means a severely incapacitating life-long developmental disability that: 

 

may be manifested before a person is 30 months of age;

 

may be caused by physical disorders of the brain; and

 

is characterized by uneven intellectual development and a combination of disturbances in the rates and sequences of cognitive, affective, psychomotor, language and speech development. 

 

This syndrome is further evidenced by abnormal responses to sensory stimuli, problems in developing social relationships, and ritualistic and compulsive behavior.

 

"Autism Research Fund" means a special fund in the State Treasury that is for the purpose of funding research concerning autism. 

 

"Autism Task Force" means the task force appointed by the Secretary of the Department of Human Services that offers policy recommendations on autism services to the Secretary and that assisted in preparing the September 1, 2005 report to the Governor and the General Assembly required by Public Act 93-773.

 

"Department" means the Illinois Department of Human Services.

 

"Research" means, without limitation, expenditures to develop and advance the understanding, techniques, and modalities effective in the detection, prevention, screening, and treatment of autism and may include clinical trials.

 

"Scientific Review Committee" means the body mandated by Section 10-8 of the Department of Human Services Act [20 ILCS 1305/10-8] to review and assess applications for the grants authorized by that statute.

 

"Secretary" means the Secretary of the Illinois Department of Human Services.

 

Section 270.30  Role of the Scientific Review Committee

 

A Scientific Review Committee shall make recommendations to the Department regarding the award of grants from funds appropriated from the Autism Research Fund.  The funds are to be used to support research concerning autism.  The Scientific Review Committee's recommendations shall be based on its review and assessment of applications for these grants.

 

Section 270.40  Membership and Operations of the Scientific Review Committee

 

a)         The Scientific Review Committee shall develop specific objectives and internal procedures necessary to receive grant applications, review grant applications and form recommendations to the Department;

 

b)         The committee shall serve without compensation;

 

c)         The Scientific Review Committee shall consist of:

 

1)         the Clinical Director of the Department's Division of Developmental Disabilities, or designee, who shall serve as Chair and who shall only vote in case of a tie among the members of the Scientific Review Committee, so long as a quorum of 5 members (including the Chair) is present and voting;

 

2)         the Clinical Director of the Department's Division of Mental Health, or designee;

 

3)         one doctoral level psychologist who is an employee of the Division of Developmental Disabilities, appointed by the Director of the Division of Developmental Disabilities;

 

4)         one doctoral level psychologist who is an employee of the Division of Mental Health, appointed by the Director of the Division of Mental Health;

 

5)         one employee of the Division of Developmental Disabilities who has two or more years experience in direct clinical services, appointed by the Director of the Division of Developmental Disabilities;

 

6)         one employee of the Division of Mental Health who has two or more years experience in direct clinical services, appointed by the Director of the Division of Mental Health; and

 

7)         two representatives from the Autism Task Force, to be selected by the Autism Task Force.

 

d)         The Scientific Review Committee's review and recommendations must consider and address the following items:

 

1)         a statement of the research question or hypothesis, or a description of interventions or model programs upon which the research will be based;

 

2)         a prioritized listing of measurable objectives for the project;

 

3)         for each objective proposed for the project, a sequential listing of activities to achieve the objective, the time line for completing each activity, and identification of the individual responsible for coordinating the implementation of each objective; and

 

4)         a description of the evaluation methods to be used to measure progress in achieving objectives and a plan for monitoring the overall project.

 

e)         DHS will choose not to act on a Scientific Review Committee recommendation in the following circumstances:

 

1)         an entity recommended to receive a grant is identified by the DHS Office of Contracts as an entity whose contract with DHS has been terminated within the 10 years prior to the entity's application for failure to comply with contractual terms; or

 

2)         an entity recommended to receive a grant is identified by the DHS Office of Contracts as an entity with whom DHS has refused to contract within the 10 years prior to the entity's application for any reason other than inadequate appropriation funds.

 

Section 270.50  Application Procedures

 

            a)         All applications shall include the following:

 

1)         the applicant's name, address, telephone number, and FAX and teletypewriter (TTY) numbers, if available.

 

2)         the curriculum vitae of the principal researcher;

 

3)         a one-page, non-technical abstract including a description of the significance of the applicant's project for autism research;

 

4)         the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN);

 

5)                  the signature of an agency official authorized to certify the application;

 

6)                  the dates of the project period;

 

7)                  a detailed budget for the funding period, providing sufficient resources to carry out the project.  The budget shall be by line item category and shall provide sufficient detail to justify the use of grant funds to support project activities.  The applicant shall indicate the total cost of conducting the project, the anticipated funding request for the second and third years of the project ( if applicable), the source of other funds supporting the project, and the amount of support requested from the Department; and

 

8)                  a signed statement of assurances indicating compliance with applicable State and federal requirements, such as the Fiscal Control and Internal Auditing Act [30 ILCS 10], bribery certification, contract debarment, unlawful discrimination, Illinois Human Rights Act [775 ILCS 5], federal civil rights statutes (18 USC), Drug Free Workplace Act [30 ILCS 580], Davis-Bacon Act (40 USC 276a through 276a-5), conflict of interest provisions specified in the Illinois Purchasing Act [30 ILCS 505], the Americans With Disabilities Act (42 USC 12101 et seq.), and the protection of the confidentiality of services.

 

b)         In addition to the requirements of subsection (a), all initial applications shall include the following:

 

1)         a statement of the research question or hypothesis, or a description of interventions or model programs on which the research will be based;

 

            2)         a prioritized listing of measurable objections for the funding period;

 

3)         for each objective proposed for the first funding period of the project, a sequential listing of activities to achieve the objective, the timeline for completing each activity, and identification of the individual responsible for coordinating the implementation of each objective; and

 

4)         a description of the evaluation methods to be used to measure progress in achieving objectives and a plan for monitoring the overall project.

 

c)         In addition to the requirements of subsection (a), all continuation applications shall include the following:

 

1)         a progress report that contains a description of the findings to date, as described in subsection (b)(4);

 

            2)         a description of the applicant's progress in meeting each project objective;

 

3)         project objectives for the new funding period, along with activities and time lines for completion of each activity; and

 

4)         any revisions in the evaluation methods or the monitoring plan, along with rationale for those revisions.

 

d)         All entities receiving grants under this Part shall be entities with whom DHS has not terminated a contract in the past 10 years for failure to comply with contractual terms or shall be entities with whom DHS has not refused to contract within the 10 years previous to this contract for any reason other than unavailable appropriation funds.