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Rep. Lamont J. Robinson, Jr.
Filed: 2/22/2022
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| 1 | | AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 4720
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| 2 | | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 4720, AS AMENDED, |
| 3 | | by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the |
| 4 | | following:
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| 5 | | "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Human |
| 6 | | Services Professional Loan Repayment Program Act.
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| 7 | | Section 5. Purpose. The purpose of the Human Services |
| 8 | | Professional Loan Repayment Program is to recruit and retain |
| 9 | | qualified human service professionals to work for |
| 10 | | community-based human services providers. Due to numerous |
| 11 | | factors, human services agencies have a high turnover rate and |
| 12 | | struggle to maintain consistent staffing levels. Many of these |
| 13 | | positions require degrees in human services-related fields of |
| 14 | | study. In addition, most human services positions require a |
| 15 | | graduate degree or postsecondary degree or certification. The |
| 16 | | higher education requirements for the human services workforce |
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| 1 | | often means that many students graduate with a high level of |
| 2 | | debt for a job that pays slightly above minimum wage with a |
| 3 | | great deal of stress and burnout.
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| 4 | | Section 10. Definitions. In this Act:
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| 5 | | "Commission" means the Illinois Student Assistance |
| 6 | | Commission.
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| 7 | | "Professional" means an individual employed by a human |
| 8 | | services agency that contracts with or is grant-funded by a |
| 9 | | State agency for the purposes of providing direct or indirect |
| 10 | | services that ensure that individuals have the essential |
| 11 | | elements to build and maintain physical, emotional, and |
| 12 | | economic well-being at every phase of life. |
| 13 | | "Program" means the Human Services Professional Loan |
| 14 | | Repayment Program.
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| 15 | | "Qualified program" means a program that offers an |
| 16 | | associate, bachelor's, or master's degree from an accredited |
| 17 | | college or university.
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| 18 | | "State agency" means the Department of Human Services, the |
| 19 | | Department of Children and Family Services, the Department of |
| 20 | | Juvenile Justice, the Department on Aging, and the Department |
| 21 | | of Public Health.
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| 22 | | Section 15. Establishment of the Program.
The Human |
| 23 | | Services Professional Loan Repayment Program is created and |
| 24 | | shall be administered by the Commission. Subject to |
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| 1 | | appropriation, the Program shall provide loan repayment |
| 2 | | assistance to eligible professionals practicing in a |
| 3 | | community-based, human services agency that contracts with or |
| 4 | | is grant-funded by a State agency.
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| 5 | | Section 20. Applications. Each year for which funds have |
| 6 | | been appropriated, the Commission shall receive and consider |
| 7 | | applications for loan repayment assistance under this Act. All |
| 8 | | applications must be submitted to the Commission in a form and |
| 9 | | manner prescribed by the Commission. An eligible professional |
| 10 | | must submit any supporting documents deemed necessary by the |
| 11 | | Commission at the time of application.
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| 12 | | Section 25. Award; maximum loan time; maximum amount. The |
| 13 | | Commission shall award a grant to each eligible applicant for |
| 14 | | a cumulative maximum of 4 years. The recipient of a grant |
| 15 | | awarded by the Commission under this Act must use the grant |
| 16 | | award for payments toward the recipient's educational loans |
| 17 | | from a qualified program. The amount of the grant shall not |
| 18 | | exceed: (i) $25,000 per year for a master's degree or higher; |
| 19 | | (ii) $15,000 per year for a bachelor's degree; (iii) $3,000 |
| 20 | | per year for a professional with an associate degree; and (iv) |
| 21 | | up to a $5,000 per year add-on if independently licensed as a |
| 22 | | licensed clinical social worker, a licensed clinical |
| 23 | | professional counselor, a licensed practitioner of the healing |
| 24 | | arts, a licensed marriage and family therapist, a |
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| 1 | | board-certified behavior analyst, or a registered behavior |
| 2 | | technician.
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| 3 | | Section 30. Eligibility; work requirement.
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| 4 | | (a) To be eligible to receive a grant under the Human |
| 5 | | Services Professional Loan Repayment Program, the Commission |
| 6 | | must find that the eligible professional satisfies all of the |
| 7 | | following:
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| 8 | | (1) The applicant is a resident of the State of |
| 9 | | Illinois.
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| 10 | | (2) The applicant has worked for at least 24 |
| 11 | | consecutive months as a full-time employee as a human |
| 12 | | services professional in a community-based human services |
| 13 | | agency that currently has or did have a contract with a |
| 14 | | State agency to provide human services during the duration |
| 15 | | of applicant's 24 consecutive month tenure.
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| 16 | | (3) The applicant is a borrower with an outstanding |
| 17 | | balance due on an educational loan.
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| 18 | | (4) The applicant has not defaulted on an educational |
| 19 | | loan.
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| 20 | | (5) The applicant must remain a full-time employee as |
| 21 | | a human services professional in the same community-based |
| 22 | | human services agency for at least 12 months after |
| 23 | | receiving this grant.
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| 24 | | (b) The Commission may grant preference to a previous |
| 25 | | recipient of a grant under the Program, provided that the |