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| 1 | AN ACT concerning State government.
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| 2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, | ||||||
| 3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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| 4 | Section 5. The Illinois Act on the Aging is amended by | ||||||
| 5 | adding Section 8.13 as follows: | ||||||
| 6 | (20 ILCS 105/8.13 new) | ||||||
| 7 | Sec. 8.13. Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Pilot | ||||||
| 8 | Program. | ||||||
| 9 | (a) The Department shall establish and administer a | ||||||
| 10 | Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Pilot Program to operate in | ||||||
| 11 | Will County beginning January 1, 2024 through January 1, 2027. | ||||||
| 12 | The pilot program shall allow the Senior Services Center of | ||||||
| 13 | Will County to designate an intake coordinator for Will County | ||||||
| 14 | who shall help connect grandparents raising grandchildren to | ||||||
| 15 | relevant services and resources provided by the various State | ||||||
| 16 | agencies, including, but not limited to, services and | ||||||
| 17 | resources provided by the Department of Children and Family | ||||||
| 18 | Services, the Department of Human Services, the Department on | ||||||
| 19 | Aging, the Department of Healthcare and Family Services, and | ||||||
| 20 | the State Board of Education. The intake coordinator shall | ||||||
| 21 | provide services at local Senior Services Centers located in | ||||||
| 22 | Will County and shall work with the Department on Aging to | ||||||
| 23 | create a public awareness campaign on the services and | ||||||
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| 1 | resources offered by each of the agencies. The intake | ||||||
| 2 | coordinator selected by the Department on Aging must be | ||||||
| 3 | knowledgeable on the following programs: | ||||||
| 4 | (1) The Extended Family Support Program administered | ||||||
| 5 | by the Department of Children and Family Services. | ||||||
| 6 | (2) The Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Program | ||||||
| 7 | administered by the Department on Aging. | ||||||
| 8 | (3) The Child Only Grants assistance component of the | ||||||
| 9 | Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program | ||||||
| 10 | administered by the Department of Human Services. | ||||||
| 11 | (4) The Children Health Insurance Program administered | ||||||
| 12 | by the Department of Healthcare and Family Services. | ||||||
| 13 | (b) The intake coordinator must be given the contact | ||||||
| 14 | information for the designated point of contact for each State | ||||||
| 15 | agency listed in subsection (a). Each State agency's | ||||||
| 16 | designated point of contact shall provide educational | ||||||
| 17 | materials and training on the different programs provided by | ||||||
| 18 | the State agency. The intake coordinator may receive this | ||||||
| 19 | information within 14 days after his or her selection by the | ||||||
| 20 | Department on Aging in accordance with this Section. | ||||||
| 21 | (c) By January 1 of each year beginning in 2025 until the | ||||||
| 22 | pilot program terminates, the Department on Aging shall submit | ||||||
| 23 | an annual report to the General Assembly on the number of | ||||||
| 24 | families who received referrals to relevant services from the | ||||||
| 25 | intake coordinator during the prior calendar year, the | ||||||
| 26 | specific services each family was referred to and received, | ||||||
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| 1 | and other related information on the frequency of calls and | ||||||
| 2 | visits to the office of the intake coordinator during the | ||||||
| 3 | reporting period.
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