SB2313 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB102 11739 KTG 17073 b

102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
SB2313

Introduced 2/26/2021, by Sen. Sara Feigenholtz

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

20 ILCS 505/5g new

Amends the Children and Family Services Act. Provides that beginning in State Fiscal Year 2023, and for every State fiscal year thereafter, the Department of Children and Family Services shall implement the reimbursement methodology outlined in a specified provision of the Illinois Administrative Code when calculating and determining the payment reimbursements for community-based agencies that contract with the Department to provide specified services, including, but not limited to: (i) residential services; (ii) specialized, adolescent, treatment, or other non-traditional or Home-of-Relative foster care services; (iii) intact family services; and (iv) teen parenting services. Provides that the payment reimbursement calculated and determined, as provided in the amendatory Act, shall be subject to appropriation. Effective immediately.

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning State government.

WHEREAS, The Department of Children and Family Services' stated mission is to protect children who are reported to be abused or neglected and to increase their families' capacity to safely care for them; provide for the well-being of children in their care; provide appropriate, permanent families as quickly as possible for those children who cannot safely return home; support early intervention and child abuse prevention activities and work in partnerships with communities to fulfill this mission; and

WHEREAS, Community-based agencies provide care and services for more than 80% of children involved with the child welfare system on behalf of the State of Illinois, which has a moral, legal, and financial responsibility to provide them with the best possible care; and

WHEREAS, Community-based agencies serve populations of children, youth, and families of color which are disproportionately represented in the child welfare system; and

WHEREAS, The Department of Children and Family Services contracts with community-based agencies to provide services for, but not limited to, children and youth in foster care, intact families, and congregate care settings, at an established fixed reimbursement methodology which should include all costs associated with the delivery of those services; and

WHEREAS, Providers of residential services, non-traditional or Home-of-Relative foster care services, intact family services, and teen parenting services are crucial in supporting children and families, especially those who face greater challenges due to structural racism, pervasive poverty, and trauma exposure; and

WHEREAS, If such providers and their programs are inadequately reimbursed, it can lead to the most vulnerable children and families in society being left without connection to necessary services; and

WHEREAS, The community-based agencies that provide these vital services continually face rising operational and personnel expenditures such as competitive employee wages, increasing insurance premiums, employee benefits, occupancy, utilities, and training and travel expenditures, yet the reimbursements provided to the community-based agencies are not adjusted for these costs-of-doing-business expenses; and

WHEREAS, Community-based agencies employ a diverse workforce, a significant proportion of which identify as Black and Latinx; and

WHEREAS, It is the obligation of the General Assembly to promote the health, safety, and well-being of children, youth, and families in the care of the Department of Children and Family Services; and

WHEREAS, Investing in community-based agencies will help the General Assembly meet its obligation and improve outcomes for all families to reach their full potential and to ensure a stronger and more equitable future for the children, youth, and families in the care of the Department of Children and Family Services; and

WHEREAS, It is imperative that the General Assembly establish a standardized annual process that includes adjustments for the cost of doing business, as measured by the Consumer Price Index, and for evaluating and setting the reimbursement for required child welfare services to ensure sufficient resources to obtain the appropriate outcomes for children, youth, and families involved in the Illinois child welfare system; therefore

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Children and Family Services Act is amended by adding Section 5g as follows:

(20 ILCS 505/5g new)

Sec. 5g. Payment for reimbursable services.

(a) As used in this Section, "consumer price index" means the index published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor that measures the consumer price index of all items less medical care in Midwest urban areas, for all urban consumers, not seasonally adjusted.

(b) Beginning in State Fiscal Year 2023, and for every State fiscal year thereafter, the Department shall implement the reimbursement methodology outlined in 89 Ill. Adm. Code 356.50(f) when calculating and determining the payment reimbursements for community-based agencies that contract with the Department to provide any of the services enumerated in 89 Ill. Adm. Code 356.50(f) and in paragraph (1) of this subsection. Payment reimbursements calculated and determined as provided in this Section shall include an amount equal to any increase in the general inflation as determined by the consumer price index. The contractual and grant services under this Section to which the reimbursement methodology shall apply include the following:

(1) Residential services, including child care institution, group home care, independent living services, and transitional living services.

(2) Specialized, adolescent, treatment, or other non-traditional or Home-of-Relative foster care.

(3) Traditional or Home-of-Relative foster care.

(4) Intact Family Services.

(5) Teen Parenting Services.

(c) The payment reimbursements calculated and determined as provided in this Section shall be subject to appropriation.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.