HB4450ham001 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Rep. Yolonda Morris

Filed: 3/11/2026

10400HB4450ham001 LRB104 17107 KTG 35390 a

AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 4450

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 4450 by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the following:

"Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Human Services Workforce Sustainability Act.

Section 5. Findings and purpose. The purpose of this Act is to invest in community-based human service providers so they can pay fair, competitive wages to their workers. Building on House Resolution 151 of the 104th General Assembly, this Act supports the more than 350,000 historically underpaid human service workers who provide vital services to all communities across Illinois. Research conducted by Illinois Partners for Human Service found that 82% of frontline human service workers self-report not making a living wage. Providers overwhelmingly report that these low wages are a result of low reimbursement rates and insufficient State contracts that do not keep up with the cost of doing business. Further research from the Illinois Partners' "Essential Expenses" report found that the actual cost of overhead expenses is on average 29% of their organizational budgets, leaving organizations to not only face low-wage opportunities for their workers but also key administrative costs hanging in the balance. As reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the inflation rate of the Consumer Price Index between July 2020 and July 2025 is 24.7%, situating community-based providers in an environment where their funding today needs to be at least 25% more than what it was in 2020 to grow and sustain the human services workforce. This Act honors their contributions and helps ensure they can thrive in the communities they serve.

Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:

"Consumer Price Index" or "CPI" means the index published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor that measures the average change in prices of goods and services purchased by all urban consumers, United States city average, all items, 1982-84 = 100.

"Grantee" or "subgrantee" means an eligible human services organization that receives grant funding or reimbursements, including those reimbursed via rate-based structures, from an eligible State agency.

"Human services organization" means a private nonprofit organization that primarily operates for the purposes of providing direct or indirect services in the areas of child care and early education services, community-integrated living arrangements, domestic violence prevention and recovery, foster care services, health care and wellness services, homeless and supportive housing services, immigrant supportive services, intellectual or developmental disability services, mobile crisis response, older adult services, workforce development, youth services, mental health services, and behavioral health and substance use services. "Human services organizations" may also include any nonprofit organizations not captured in the fields listed in the previous sentence that provide services that ensure individuals have the essential elements to build and maintain physical, emotional, and economic well-being at every phase of life, as indicated by providing examples of current or completed successful programs that satisfy this definition. "Human services organization" does not include colleges and universities, local government agencies, correctional centers and county jails, non-safety net hospitals, State police or municipal police departments, or any public or private preschools, elementary schools, or high schools.

"Human services professional" means any individual employed by a human services organization that contracts with, receives funding from, or is grant-funded by a State agency for the purposes of providing direct or indirect services that ensure that individuals have the essential elements to build and maintain physical, emotional, and economic well-being at every phase of life.

"State agency" means the Department of Human Services, the Department of Children and Family Services, the Department of Juvenile Justice, the Department on Aging, the Department of Public Health, the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, and the Illinois State Board of Education.

Section 15. Establishing minimum grant levels.

(a) By June 30, 2027, each State agency must complete a look-back calculation for each grantee and subgrantee that compares the funding amount awarded to the grantee or subgrantee in State Fiscal Years 2026 and 2021 in order to identify the percentage change in funding, if any, to the grantee or subgrantee between those fiscal years.

(b) Based on the look-back calculations required under subsection (a), each State agency shall identify the total aggregate amount of additional appropriations needed to ensure that grant amounts awarded by the State agency in State Fiscal Year 2028 are at least 25% more than the grant amounts awarded to grantees and subgrantees in State Fiscal Year 2021.

(c) By October 1, 2027, each State agency shall make available to the public, upon request, the look-back calculations and additional appropriation amounts identified in subsections (a) and (b).

(d) Using the findings of State agencies identified in subsections (a) and (b), the Governor's Office of Management and Budget shall produce a 5-year fiscal impact projection by October 1, 2027, as well as an annual report on implementation progress and metrics each year thereafter.

Section 20. Eligible grants.

(a) Except as provided in subsection (c), grants subject to this Act include all grant and reimbursement programs funded by the State and managed under those State agencies that fund roles at human services organizations.

(b) For grants awarded through a competitive bidding process, a grantee shall be eligible for a funding increase as required under this Act if the grantee was awarded grants through the competitive bidding process consecutively from State Fiscal Years 2021 through 2026 and the grantee is selected for a grant in State Fiscal Year 2028.

(c) Excluded from the provisions of this Act are grant and reimbursement programs that:

(1) were created with one-time funding investments from COVID-19 emergency funding in State Fiscal Year 2021;

(2) are subject to existing bargaining agreements; or

(3) are contracts selected through a procurement process.

Section 25. Implementation.

(a) The calculations and findings under Section 15 shall inform each State agency on the percentage increase in funding each grantee and subgrantee must receive in State Fiscal Year 2028 to ensure the total grant amount a grantee or subgrantee receives is (i) at least 25% higher than the grant amount awarded to the grantee or subgrantee in State Fiscal Year 2021 and (ii) no less than the grant amount awarded to the grantee or subgrantee in State Fiscal Year 2027.

(b) Beginning in State Fiscal Year 2029, and in each State fiscal year thereafter, all grantees and subgrantees shall receive the same grant amount it received in the previous State fiscal year, plus the greater of:

(1) a 3% increase; or

(2) the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index during the 12-month calendar year preceding the grant year.

(c) Nothing in this Section prohibits a State agency from increasing a grantee's or subgrantee's grant amount for State Fiscal Year 2027, and every State fiscal year thereafter, above the 25% minimum grant increase required under subsection (b) of Section 15 and subsection (a) of this Section.

(d) Implementation of the grant increases required under this Act is contingent on the availability of appropriations.

Section 30. Limitations. Grantees and subgrantees shall expend a minimum of 75%, subject to requirements set forth by the Director of Human Services Wage Equity, of any increased grant funding they receive directly to improve the wages and benefits of their workers. For purposes of this Section, benefits may include health insurance, retirement plans, paid time off, life and disability insurance, tuition reimbursement offerings, childcare assistance, commuter benefits, and mental health support and other wellness programs. Any remaining funds at 30% or less may be used at the discretion of the grantees and subgrantees.

Section 35. Certification. State agencies shall require each grantee and subgrantee to certify in accordance with existing budget review and reporting processes that the grantee or subgrantee used any increased grant funding it received in accordance with this Act to improve the wages and benefits of human services professionals employed by the grantee or subgrantee.

Section 40. Oversight. The Governor's Office of Management and Budget shall hire by June 30, 2027 a full-time Director of Human Services Wage Equity to:

(1) provide oversight to the implementation of this Act;

(2) support the State agencies in identifying the funding amounts necessary to comply with the requirements of Section 25;

(3) monitor the State agencies to ensure continued compliance and implementation of the funding increases described under Section 25; and

(4) design and implement a waiver process to address cases where flexibility is needed on the minimum wage expenditure requirement outlined in Section 30.

Section 45. Administration. Each State agency shall adopt rules, not inconsistent with this Act, to implement the provisions of this Act.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1, 2026.".