(405 ILCS 30/4.3)

Sec. 4.3. Family Support Services Voucher Pilot Program.

(a) In this Section:

"Family member" means a family member as defined by rules adopted by the Department of Human Services.

"Family support services" means the services and activities described in subsection (d).

(b) The Department of Human Services shall establish a Family Support Services Voucher Pilot Program which shall be a conversion of the program defined in Section 4.1. The Department may establish no more than 5 pilot programs.

(c) The purpose of the pilot program is to do the following:

(1) Increase the number of families who are able to access family support services.

(2) Provide families with greater control over family support services.

(3) Ensure that the diverse family support services needs of families can be accommodated.

(4) Encourage a family's contribution toward payment for the family support services they receive.

(5) Serve as a pilot program to evaluate the merits of a family support services voucher program in comparison to the traditional respite program.

(d) The Department shall contract with community agencies to issue vouchers to participating families, or to employ a voucher-like method that similarly makes services available based on the choice of families. A family may use the vouchers to purchase the following services and activities or to otherwise provide for those services and activities:

(1) Services of an in-home caregiver to supervise the family member with a developmental disability in the home or in the community or both when other family members are not present.

(2) Services of a person to accompany the family member with a developmental disability on outings, community activities, and similar activities.

(3) Registration of the family member with a developmental disability in park district programs, extracurricular school activities, community college classes, and other similar types of community-based programs.

(4) Services of home health care personnel if medical training or expertise is required to meet the needs of the family member with a developmental disability.

(e) Families may employ the following types of individuals to provide family support services:

(1) Related family members who do not reside in the same home as the family member with a developmental disability.

(2) Friends or neighbors whom the family designates as capable of meeting the needs of the family member with a developmental disability.

(3) Individuals recruited from the community (for example, church members or college students).

(4) Individuals who work with the family member with a developmental disability in a different capacity (for example, classroom aide or day program staff).

(5) Persons whose services are contracted for through a home health agency licensed under the Home Health, Home Services, and Home Nursing Agency Licensing Act.

(f) Family support services moneys under the pilot program may not be used to purchase or provide for any of the following services or activities:

(1) Out-of-home medical services.

(2) Medical, therapeutic, or developmental evaluations.

(3) Any product or item (for example, sports equipment, therapeutic devices, or clothing).

(4) Family support services provided by a family member whose primary residence is the same as that of the family member with a developmental disability.

(5) Services of a person to accompany the family on an overnight trip.

(6) Any service or activity that should be provided by the school in which the family member with a developmental disability is enrolled or that occurs as part of that school's typical school routine.

(7) Child care services while the primary caretaker works.

(g) The Department of Human Services shall submit a report to the General Assembly by March 1, 2000 evaluating the merits of the pilot program.

(Source: P.A. 94-379, eff. 1-1-06.)