HR0265 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0265 LRB102 18315 MST 26055 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The Illinois Department of Human Services' (DHS) mission is to provide equitable access to social and human services, supports, programs, and resources to enhance the lives of all it serves; and

WHEREAS, The DHS mission is conducted by multiple divisions, including the Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD), which has oversight for the Illinois system of programs and services designed for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities; and

WHEREAS, In July 2018, the Auditor General released a performance audit of the DHS oversight of the Community Integrated Living Arrangement (CILA) program, a program under the purview of DDD; and

WHEREAS, The audit found weaknesses in the licensing process for CILAs and the monitoring of CILAs by DHS, resulting in 26 recommendations to DHS to improve CILA oversight; and

WHEREAS, In July 2020, the Auditor General released a compliance audit of DHS for the period that ended June 30, 2019; this audit found that DHS had not yet fully implemented 19 of the 26 recommendations (74 percent) from the audit released in 2018; and

WHEREAS, In April 2020, the Auditor General released a management audit of the DHS process for the selection of Independent Service Coordination providers, providers that serve the front line providing information and assistance to help individuals and families make informed choices for services; and

WHEREAS, The audit found significant problems with the competitive procurement process used to select the Independent Service Coordination providers, resulting in 13 recommendations, including:

(1) 274 scoring irregularities in this one grant opportunity;

(2) Failure to uniformly apply the grant criteria to grantee proposals;

(3) Failure to maintain documentation to show how protests resolutions were made; and

(4) Failure to follow selection criteria for the grant opportunity; and

WHEREAS, The Auditor General, given the failures by DDD, could not conclude with absolute certainty that the correct proposers were selected by DHS for the awards, estimated to value over $38 million; and

WHEREAS, DDD oversees the administration of the Independent Service Coordination providers, including awarding competitively procured grants; and

WHEREAS, The Grant Accountability and Transparency Act website lists the grant opportunities available by State Agency; and

WHEREAS, DHS reported 225 grant opportunities available through the department, including 15 within DDD; and

WHEREAS, DHS received nearly $1.6 billion in appropriations in FY20 for DDD grants-in-aid and purchased care; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that the Auditor General is directed to conduct a management audit of the Department of Human Services' Division of Developmental Disabilities oversight of the CILA program and the awarding of competitively-procured grants; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the audit investigate the findings from the 2018 performance audit and 2020 management audit and include, but not be limited to, the following determinations:

(1) The process for licensing developmental services agencies and certifying CILAs for persons with developmental disabilities;

(2) Whether oversight and monitoring of licensed CILA providers complies with statutory and regulatory requirements, including site visits and inspections of records and premises;

(3) The extent and timing of follow-up and monitoring by DDD of individuals transitioned from state-operated developmental centers to CILAs, including its provision of follow-along services to support an individual's transition into new service arrangements;

(4) The role of any contractors in the administration or oversight of the CILA program and whether these contractors were selected in compliance with any required regulation and whether oversight by DHS was adequate;

(5) Whether all aspects of the competitive funding process was conducted in accordance with applicable laws, rules, regulations, and policies for grant opportunities overseen by DDD; and

(6) An examination for a sample of competitive procurements conducted by DDD of whether:

(a) The evaluative criteria guiding the selection of the award winner was adequate and were uniformly applied;

(b) Decisions concerning the selection of successful bidding agencies were adequately supported and documented;

(c) Decisions concerning the resolution of protests were adequately supported and documented; and

(d) The competitive funding process was adequately planned to allow reasonable time frames for responses from bidding agencies and review of responses by DDD; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Department of Human Services and any other entity having information relevant to this audit cooperate fully and promptly with the Auditor General's Office in the conduct of this audit; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Auditor General commence this audit as soon as possible and report his findings and recommendations upon completion in accordance with the provisions of Section 3-14 of the Illinois State Auditing Act; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be delivered to the Auditor General.