HB2838ham001 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Rep. Lindsey LaPointe

Filed: 3/21/2023

10300HB2838ham001 LRB103 04770 RJT 59529 a

AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 2838

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 2838 by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the following:

"Section 5. The Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Administrative Act is amended by adding Sections 71B and 71C as follows:

(20 ILCS 1705/71B new)

Sec. 71B. Behavioral Health Education and Supervision Fund.

(a) The Behavioral Health Education and Supervision Fund is created in the State treasury as a special fund.

(b) The Fund is created for the purpose of funding scholarships and grants in the behavioral health field as provided in Section 71C of this Act and Section 65.120 of the Higher Education Student Assistance Act.

(20 ILCS 1705/71C new)

Sec. 71C. Intern and Supervision Access Program.

(a) As used in this Section:

"Federally qualified health center" means a health center funded under Section 330 of the federal Public Health Service Act.

"FQHC Look-Alike" means a health center that meets the requirements for receiving a grant under Section 330 of the federal Public Health Service Act but does not receive funding under that Act.

"Part-time" means working at least 20 hours a week.

"Qualified individual or entity" means:

(1) a student pursuing a degree or certificate in behavioral health who interns at a community not-for-profit behavioral health agency, federally qualified health center, or FQHC Look-Alike; or

(2) a community not-for-profit behavioral health agency, federally qualified health center, FQHC look-alike and any association representing them that seeks to establish or expand clinical supervision or supervision for supervised work experience of interns and behavioral health providers-in-training pursuing licensure as a licensed clinical social worker, licensed clinical professional counselor, and licensed marriage and family therapist.

(b) Subject to appropriation, the Department of Human Services shall establish the Intern and Supervision Access Program to provide grants to qualified individuals who intern for community not-for-profit behavioral health agencies, federally qualified health centers, or FQHC Look-Alikes and qualified entities who seek to establish or expand clinical supervision or supervision for supervised work experience of interns and behavioral health providers-in-training pursuing licensure as a licensed clinical social worker, licensed clinical professional counselor, and licensed marriage and family therapist.

(c) Under the Program, the Department shall provide financial assistance to qualified individuals and entities.

(d) A person who is a qualified individual under paragraph (1) of subsection (a) is eligible to receive a grant to compensate the individual for work as a intern. The grant amount shall provide an equivalent amount of compensation to the individual similar to the expected market rate of a person performing similar duties as the individual in either a community profit or not-for-profit behavioral health agency, federally qualified health center, or FQHC Look-Alike.

(e) A qualified entity under paragraph (2) of subsection (a) is eligible to receive a grant to establish new or expand existing clinical supervision or supervision for supervised work experience of interns and behavioral health providers-in-training pursuing licensure as a licensed clinical social worker, licensed clinical professional counselor, and licensed marriage and family therapist.

(f) The Department may use moneys from the Behavioral Health Education and Supervision Program Fund to fund the Intern and Supervision Access Program as described under this Section.

(g) The Department shall adopt rules to implement this Section.

Section 10. The State Finance Act is amended by adding Section 5.990 as follows:

(30 ILCS 105/5.990 new)

Sec. 5.990. The Behavioral Health Education and Supervision Fund.

Section 15. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act is amended by adding Section 65.120 as follows:

(110 ILCS 947/65.120 new)

Sec. 65.120. Behavioral Health Scholarship Program.

(a) As used in this Section:

"Behavioral health discipline" means:

(1) undergraduate behavioral health disciplines that may be offered through institutions of higher education, including, but not limited to, psychology, social work, and counseling;

(2) graduate behavioral health disciplines, including, but not limited to, clinical or counseling psychology, counseling, social work, and marriage and family therapy;

(3) Medical doctors, doctors of osteopathic medicine, registered nurses, advanced practice registered nurses with specialties in psychiatry or mental health; and

(4) certified behavioral health disciplines, including but not limited to certified recovery support specialists and certified peer recovery specialists.

"Eligible applicant" means a student who is enrolled in a program of study at a participating college, community college or university and who meets all of the qualifications and requirements under this Section.

"Federally qualified health center" means a health center funded under Section 330 of the federal Public Health Service Act.

"FQHC Look-Alike" means a health center that meets the requirements for receiving a grant under Section 330 of the federal Public Health Service Act but does not receive funding under that Act.

"Part-time employment" means working at least 20 hours a week.

"Participating college, community college or university" means a institution of higher education that is a party to an intergovernmental agreement entered into with the Commission in order to participate in the program established under this Section.

"Tuition, university fees, and books" includes the customary charge for instruction and books or course material and the additional fixed fees charged for purposes that are required generally of students who are not Program applicants under this Section for each academic year for which a Program applicant under this Section actually enrolls. "Tuition, university fees, and books" does not include room and board, transportation fees, fees payable only once, breakage fees, and other contingent deposits that are refundable in whole or in part. The Commission may adopt, by rule not inconsistent with this Section, detailed provisions concerning the computation of tuition, university fees, and books.

(b) Subject to appropriation, beginning with the 2024-2025 academic year, the Commission shall establish and administer the Behavioral Health Scholarship Program for the purpose of incentivizing students to pursue degrees in a behavioral health discipline. The Commission shall enter into agreements with institutions of higher education to participate in the Program. Under the Program, the Commission shall provide financial assistance to an eligible applicant.

(c) In this subsection (c), "racial minority" means a person who is a citizen of the United States or a lawful permanent resident alien of the United States and who is:

(1) Black (a person having origins in any of the black racial groups in Africa);

(2) Hispanic (a person of Spanish or Portuguese culture with origins in Mexico, South or Central America, or the Caribbean Islands, regardless of race);

(3) Asian American (a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent, or the Pacific Islands); or

(4) American Indian or Alaskan Native (a person having origins in any of the original peoples of North America).

Subject to appropriation, the Commission shall award financial assistance in the form of a scholarship to an applicant to cover the cost of tuition, university fees, and books each year for a maximum of 4 years at a participating college, community college or university if the applicant meets all of the following criteria:

(1) The applicant is a resident of this State or a child of a noncitizen of the United States.

(2) The applicant has committed to work in a community not-for-profit behavioral health agency, federally qualified health center, or FQHC Look-Alike for at least 4 years.

(3) The applicant fully graduates or fully completes the degree or certification.

The amount of the scholarship awarded to a student attending a private college or university shall be the cost of tuition, university fees, and books each year at the public university with the highest cost of tuition, university fees, and books each year in the State. Any scholarship awarded to a qualified applicant attending a private college or university may not preclude the eligible applicant from using other funding sources to pay for tuition and other costs not covered by the Program.

In awarding scholarships, the Commission shall give priority to those applicants who are members of a racial minority.

(d) Each participating college, community college or university shall post on its website the criteria and eligibility requirements to receive financial assistance under this Section and must identify that the financial assistance is for a maximum of 4 academic years, with the total amount of financial assistance awarded to an eligible applicant not to exceed the cost of tuition, university fees, and books or a higher education student loan. This information must also be reported to the Commission and the Board of Higher Education, and the Commission and the Board shall post the information on the Commission's and Board's respective websites.

(e) Prior to receiving financial assistance for any academic year, an eligible applicant under this Section shall be required by the participating college, community college or university to sign an agreement with the Commission under which the eligible applicant pledges that, within 6 months from the date of the eligible applicant's graduation or certificate completion from the participating college, community college or university, the eligible applicant must search for, apply for, and accept full-time or part-time employment at a community not-for-profit behavioral health agency, federally qualified health center, or FQHC Look-Alike. The recipient of financial assistance must, for at least 4 years, maintain this employment.

(f) The Commission shall develop rules related to scholarship repayment for recipients who (i) fail to search for, apply for, and accept full-time or part-time employment within a defined time frame, (ii) have changes to their school enrollment status, or (iii) have a terminated employment status for any reason, including for cause, prior to the program's 4-year employment requirement.

(g) The Commission may use moneys from the Behavioral Health Education and Supervision Fund to fund the Program as described under this Section.

(h) The Commission shall adopt rules to implement this Section and may adopt rules relating to its collection activities for the repayment of any financial assistance provided under this Section.

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