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91_HB1846eng
HB1846 Engrossed LRB9105229SMdv
1 AN ACT to amend the Illinois Public Aid Code by changing
2 Sections 4-1.12 and 12-4.11 and by adding Section 12-4.17a.
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 Sections 4-1.12 and 12-4.11 and by adding Section
7 12-4.17a as follows:
8 (305 ILCS 5/4-1.12)
9 Sec. 4-1.12. Five year limitation.
10 (a) No assistance unit shall be eligible for a cash
11 grant under this Article if it includes an adult who has
12 received cash assistance as an adult for 60 months, whether
13 or not consecutive, after the effective date of this
14 amendatory Act of 1997. The Illinois Department may exempt
15 individual assistance units from the 60-month limitation or
16 determine circumstances under which a month or months would
17 not count towards the 60-month limitation even though the
18 assistance unit did receive cash assistance under this
19 Article.
20 (b) In addition to months that the Illinois Department
21 has determined or shall determine by rule not to count toward
22 the 60-month limitation, the Illinois Department shall not
23 count months in which the adult receiving assistance under
24 this Article is the primary caregiver for a disabled child
25 when the demands of caregiving are inconsistent with
26 sustained employment.
27 (Source: P.A. 90-17, eff. 7-1-97.)
28 (305 ILCS 5/12-4.11) (from Ch. 23, par. 12-4.11)
29 Sec. 12-4.11. Grant amounts.
30 (a) The Department, with due regard for and subject to
HB1846 Engrossed -2- LRB9105229SMdv
1 budgetary limitations, shall establish grant amounts for each
2 of the programs, by regulation. The grant amounts may vary
3 by program, size of assistance unit and geographic area.
4 (b) Aid payments shall not be reduced except: (1) for
5 changes in the cost of items included in the grant amounts,
6 or (2) for changes in the expenses of the recipient, or (3)
7 for changes in the income or resources available to the
8 recipient, or (4) for changes in grants resulting from
9 adoption of a consolidated grant amount.
10 (c) In fixing standards to govern payments or
11 reimbursements for funeral and burial expenses, the
12 Department shall take into account the services essential to
13 a dignified, low-cost funeral and burial, but no payment
14 shall be authorized from public aid funds for the funeral in
15 excess of $650, exclusive of reasonable amounts as may be
16 necessary for burial space and cemetery charges, and any
17 applicable taxes or other required governmental fees or
18 charges. The Department shall authorize no payment in excess
19 of $325 for a cemetery burial.
20 (d) Nothing contained in this Section or in any other
21 Section of this Code shall be construed to prohibit the
22 Illinois Department (1) from consolidating existing standards
23 on the basis of any standards which are or were in effect on,
24 or subsequent to July 1, 1969, or (2) from employing any
25 consolidated standards in determining need for public aid and
26 the amount of money payment or grant for individual
27 recipients or recipient families.
28 (e) When a recipient reports that he or she has obtained
29 employment, the Department, subject to the following
30 limitations, may project the recipient's likely earnings and
31 eligibility for assistance and grant level under Article IV:
32 (1) If, based on the recipient's report of his or
33 her projected hours and wage, the Department projects
34 that the recipient will no longer be eligible for
HB1846 Engrossed -3- LRB9105229SMdv
1 assistance under Article IV, it may terminate or cancel
2 the case. However, if, within 30 days after termination
3 or cancellation, the recipient presents evidence that the
4 actual earnings from the recipient's work, or future
5 earnings projected based on the rate of pay and number of
6 hours or days of work demonstrated by the first payment
7 from work, do not warrant termination or cancellation,
8 the recipient's cash assistance shall be restored at the
9 appropriate level for his or her actual and future
10 projected earnings.
11 (2) When the recipient first reports his or her
12 employment, the Department shall notify him or her in
13 writing of this policy and shall give him or her
14 instructions about how to provide a copy of his or her
15 first paycheck stub or other proof of his or her earnings
16 to the Department. The Department shall instruct its
17 workers to obtain income reports from newly-employed
18 recipients that are as accurate and realistic as
19 possible.
20 (Source: P.A. 89-507, eff. 7-1-97; 90-17, eff. 7-1-97;
21 90-326, eff. 8-8-97; 90-372, eff. 7-1-98; 90-655, eff.
22 7-30-98.)
23 (305 ILCS 5/12-4.17a new)
24 Sec. 12-4.17a. Customer service enhancement.
25 (a) The Department shall provide in the waiting area of
26 each local office written information regarding applicants'
27 and recipients' rights to appeal action or inaction and to
28 file a grievance, as well as sufficient quantities of appeal
29 and grievance forms.
30 (b) The Department shall establish 2-year pilot projects
31 in at least 2 local offices, at least one of which shall be
32 in a city of over 500,000, under which the local offices will
33 be open at least one weekday evening and Saturday each week
HB1846 Engrossed -4- LRB9105229SMdv
1 to accommodate the schedules of applicants and recipients who
2 cannot visit the office during normal office hours. The
3 Department shall submit a report on the pilot project to the
4 Family Self Sufficiency Advisory Council created by the
5 Department after one year of operation of the pilot and a
6 final report upon completion of the pilot. The report shall
7 describe the pilot, the expenses and savings achieved, the
8 usage of the extended hours by recipients, and the personnel
9 issues that arose.
10 (c) The Department shall charge the Family Self
11 Sufficiency Advisory Council created by the Department with
12 monitoring customer service and annually making customer
13 service recommendations to the Secretary, and support the
14 Council in carrying out that charge. For this purpose, the
15 Council shall include caseworkers, or their collective
16 bargaining representatives, as ex-officio participants in the
17 review and monitoring of customer service and the formulation
18 of recommendations.
19 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
20 becoming law.
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