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    AN ACT concerning public aid.

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


 
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    Section 5. The Illinois Public Aid Code is amended  by 
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changing Sections 11-15 and 11-20.1 as follows:
 



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    (305 ILCS 5/11-15)  (from Ch. 23, par. 11-15)



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    Sec. 11-15. Application requirements. 

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    (1) An application for financial
aid shall be filed in 
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writing by the person requesting aid and, in the case
of a 
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request for family aid, by the head of that family, except as

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otherwise permitted in paragraph (2). Applications for aid 
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under Articles
III, IV, and V shall be filed in writing with 
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any local office of the Department of Human Services the county

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department of
the county in which the applicant resides in the 
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manner prescribed by the
Illinois Department. Applications for 
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aid under Article VI shall be filed
in writing with the local 
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governmental unit upon forms approved by the
Illinois 
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Department.

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    Each applicant shall provide information as to the amount 
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of
property, real and personal, owned by him or her within the 
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period of time
preceding
the application as required under 
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Sections 3-1.3, 4-1.11, and 5-2.1 of this
Code. The
applicant 
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shall also furnish information concerning
all income, money 
 


 






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contributions, and other support from any source, and
the 
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beneficiary and the amount or cash surrender or loan value of 
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all
insurance policies held by himself or herself or any member 
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of his family
for whom aid is requested.

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    (2) An application, in all instances to be in writing, may 
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be filed
in behalf of a person considered to be in need of 
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financial aid under
Articles III, IV, V, or VI only if the 
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person


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        (a) has been adjudged to be under legal disability; or


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        (b) is unable because of minority or physical or mental 
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    disability,
to execute the application; or


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        (c) in the case of need for funeral and burial, died 
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    before an
application was filed and the application is 
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    filed not more than 30 days
after the person's death, 
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    excluding the day on which the death occurred.

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    Applications in behalf of persons specified in (a) and (b) 
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shall be
filed by the applicant's legal guardian or, if a

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guardian has not been appointed or the applicant has no legal

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guardian or the guardian is not available, by a relative or 
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other
person, acceptable under the rules of the Illinois 
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Department, who is
able to furnish the required information. 
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Applications in behalf of
persons specified in (c) shall be 
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filed by any next of kin of the deceased
who is not under legal 
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disability or, if there are no such next of kin or
they are 
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unknown or unavailable, by a person, acceptable under the rules 
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of
the Illinois Department, who is able to furnish the required 
 


 






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information.

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    (3) The application shall contain a written declaration to 
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be signed
by the applicant, or in behalf of the applicant by a 
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person qualified
under paragraph (2), in substantially the 
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following form, the
parenthetical references being applicable 
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to an application filed by a
person in behalf of the applicant:

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    "I declare under penalties of perjury that I have examined 
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this form
and all accompanying statements or documents 
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pertaining to the income
and resources of myself (the 
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applicant) or any member of my family (the
applicant's family) 
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included in this application for aid, or pertaining
to any 
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other matter having bearing upon my (the applicant's) 
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eligibility
for aid, and to the best of my knowledge and belief 
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the information
supplied is true, correct, and complete".

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    (4) If an application for financial aid is filed for a 
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family, and any
person in that family is under 18 years of age, 
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the application shall be
accompanied by the following for each 
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such person under 18 years of age:


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        (i) a copy of the person's birth certificate, or


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        (ii) other reliable proof, as determined by the 
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    Department, of the
person's identity and age.

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    The Illinois Department shall provide information to all 
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families, orally
by an intake
worker and in writing when the 
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application is filed, about the availability and
location of 
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immunization services.

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    (5)  Once an applicant is determined eligible for aid, he or 
 


 






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she has the right to  request to have the case transferred to 
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another local office of the Department of Human Services for 
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his or her convenience based on one of the following factors:  
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the location of his or her employer; the location of his or her 
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child care provider; access to reliable transportation; or the 
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location of a social service provider that he or she sees on a 
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regular basis.   Within 5 business days after the request for 
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transfer, the Department shall transfer the case, assign a 
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caseworker, make appropriate entries in the computer system, 
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and issue a written notice to the recipient that includes the 
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name of and contact information for the caseworker.  The 
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location of the recipient's case may be reconsidered on the 
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recipient's request or at the time of redetermination of 
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eligibility. 
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(Source: P.A. 92-111, eff. 1-1-02.)

 



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    (305 ILCS 5/11-20.1)  (from Ch. 23, par. 11-20.1)



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    Sec. 11-20.1. Employment; Rights of recipient and 
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obligations of
Illinois Department when recipients become 
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employed; Assistance when
a recipient has employment or earned 
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income or both.
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    (a) When a recipient reports employment or earned income, 
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or both, or
the Illinois Department otherwise learns of a 
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recipient's employment or
earned income, or both, the Illinois 
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Department shall provide the recipient
with:


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        (1) An explanation of how the earned income will affect 
 


 






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    the
recipient's eligibility for a grant, and whether the 
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    recipient
must engage in additional work
activities to meet 
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    the recipient's monthly work activities requirement and 
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    what
types of activities may be approved for
that purpose, 
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    and whether the employment is sufficient to cause months of

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    continued receipt of a grant not to be
counted against the 
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    recipient's lifetime eligibility limit.


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        (2) An explanation of the Work Pays budgeting process,

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    and an explanation of how the first
month's income on a new 
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    job will be projected, and how the recipient should
report 
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    the new job to avoid the
Department overestimating the 
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    first month's income.


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        (3) An explanation of how the earned income will affect 
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    the
recipient's eligibility for food stamps, whether the 
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    recipient will
continue to receive food stamps, and, if so, 
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    the amount of food stamps.


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        (4) The names and telephone numbers of all caseworkers 
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    to whom the
recipient's case or cases are assigned or will 
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    be transferred, an
explanation of which type of case each 
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    worker will be handling, and the
effective date of the 
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    transfer.


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        (5) An explanation of the recipient's
responsibilities 
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    to report income and household circumstances, the process 
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    by
which quarterly reporting forms are
sent to recipients,

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    where and to whom the reports should be returned, the 
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    deadline by which
reports must be returned, instructions on 
 


 






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    how to fill out the reports, an
explanation of what the 
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    recipient should do if he or she does not receive
the form, 
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    advice on how to prove the report was returned by the 
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    recipient
such as by keeping a copy, and an explanation of 
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    the effects of failure to file
reports.


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        (6) If the recipient will continue to receive a grant, 
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    an explanation
of the recipient's new fiscal month and a 
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    statement as to when the
recipient will receive his or her 
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    grant.


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        (7) An explanation of Kidcare, Family Assist, Family 
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    Care, and
the 12 month extension
of medical
assistance that 
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    is available when a grant is cancelled due to earned 
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    income.


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        (8) An explanation of the medical assistance the person 
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    may be
eligible for when the 12 month extension expires and 
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    how to request or
apply for it.


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        (9) An explanation of the availability of
a child care 
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    subsidy to all families below the child care
assistance 
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    program's income limit, how to apply for the benefit 
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    through the
Child Care Resource and Referral or 
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    site-administered child care program or
both, the nature of 
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    the child care program's
sliding scale co-payments, the

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    availability of the 10% earned income disregard in 
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    determining eligibility for
child care assistance and the 
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    amount of
the parent co-payment, the right to use the 
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    subsidy for either licensed or
license exempt legal care, 
 


 






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    and the
availability of benefits when the parent is engaged 
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    in an education and
training program.


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        (10) (Blank).


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        (11) (Blank).


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        (11a) (Blank).


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        (12) (Blank).


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        (13) An explanation of the availability of payment for 
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    initial
expenses of employment and how to request or apply 
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    for it.


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        (14) An explanation of the job retention component and

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    how to participate in it, and an explanation of the 
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    recipient's
eligibility to receive supportive
services to 
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    participate in education and training programs while 
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    working.


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        (15) A statement of the types of assistance that will 
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    be provided to
the person automatically or continued and a 
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    statement of the types of
assistance for which the person 
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    must apply or reapply.


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        (16) If the recipient will not continue to receive a 
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    cash grant and
the recipient has assigned his or her right 
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    to child support to the
Illinois Department, an explanation 
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    of the recipient's right to continue to
receive child 
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    support enforcement services, the recipient's right to 
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    have
all current support paid after grant cancellation 
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    forwarded promptly to the
recipient, the procedures by 
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    which child support will be forwarded, and the
procedures 
 


 






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    by which the recipient will be informed of the collection 
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    and
distribution of child support.


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        (17) An explanation of the availability of payments if

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    the recipient experiences a decrease in or loss of earned 
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    income
during a calendar quarter as to which the monthly 
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    grant was previously
budgeted based upon the higher income.


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        (18) If the recipient will not continue to receive a 
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    cash grant, an
explanation of the procedures for reapplying 
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    for cash assistance if the
person experiences a decrease in 
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    or loss of earned income.


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        (19) An explanation of the earned income tax credit and 
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    the procedures
by which it may be obtained and the rules 
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    for disregarding it in determining
eligibility for and the 
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    amount of assistance.


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        (20) An explanation of the education and training 
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    opportunities
available to recipients.

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    (b) The information listed in subsection (a) shall be 
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provided to the
recipient on an individual basis during an 
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in-person meeting with a
representative of the Illinois 
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Department.  The individual in-person
meeting shall be held at a 
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time which does not conflict with the
recipient's work schedule 
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within 30 days of the date the recipient begins
working.  If the 
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recipient informs the Illinois Department that an
in-person 
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meeting would be inconvenient, the Illinois Department may

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provide the information during a home visit, by telephone, or 
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by mail
within 30 days of the date the recipient begins 
 


 






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working, whichever the
client prefers.

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    (c) At the conclusion of the meeting described in 
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subsection (b), the
Illinois Department shall ensure that all 
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case transfers and calculations
of benefits necessitated by the 
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recipient's employment or receipt of earned
income have been 
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performed, that applications have been made or provided
for all 
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benefits for which the person must apply or reapply, and that 
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the
person has received payment for initial expenses of 
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employment.

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    (d) In food stamp cases in which an applicant or recipient 
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reports earned income, the applicant's or recipient's 
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employment shall be presumed to be a hardship for purposes of 
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scheduling an in-person meeting with a
representative of the 
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Illinois Department and an in-person meeting shall be waived. 
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(Source: P.A. 93-598, eff. 8-26-03.)