SB0136 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB102 13154 CMG 18497 b

102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
SB0136

Introduced 2/9/2021, by Sen. Julie A. Morrison

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

20 ILCS 505/44 new

Amends the Children and Family Services Act. Beginning with the 2021-2022 academic year, requires the Department of Children and Family Services to establish and administer the Child Welfare Education Stipend Pilot Program to provide financial assistance to students who commit to seek and maintain employment at an Illinois purchase of service agency that contracts with the Department following their graduation from a participating institution of higher education with a degree in social work. Sets forth provisions concerning an intergovernmental agreement, student eligibility and renewal, the stipend amount, the student's employment obligation, repayment of a stipend, Department and institution requirements, reporting, and rulemaking. Effective July 1, 2021.

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning education.

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 44 as follows:

(20 ILCS 505/44 new)

Sec. 44. Child Welfare Education Stipend Pilot Program.

(a) The General Assembly makes all of the following findings:

(1) The Department of Children and Family Services is responsible for the administration of foster care programs throughout the State of Illinois. Caseworkers and other direct service staff support foster homes, independent living opportunities, transitional living programs, and group homes. The foster care programs ensure that youth who are in the custody of the Department are maintained in nurturing environments as their cases progress toward permanency goals set by a juvenile court. The Department contracts with many private agencies and purchase of service agencies for the administration of these programs.

(2) Due to numerous factors, including the rate of pay, purchase of service agencies have a high employee turnover rate and struggle to maintain consistent employment levels. This high turnover is disruptive to the families and youth in care that are served by the foster care programs.

(3) A number of public institutions of higher education offer child welfare social work programs that are designed to train and prepare students for employment in the child welfare social work field, including employment in the foster care programs at purchase of service agencies.

(4) The Department and institutions of higher education have a mutual interest in providing greater access to child welfare social work education for a professional workforce that is responsive to the work of the purchase of service agencies of this State.

(b) As used in this Section:

"Department" means the Department of Children and Family Services.

"Eligible applicant" means a student who is enrolled in a program of study at a participating institution of higher education and who meets all of the qualifications and requirements under this Section.

"Participating institution" means any public or not-for-profit nonpublic institution of higher education that is accredited by the Board of Higher Education and that is a party to an intergovernmental agreement entered into with the Department in order to participate in the program established under this Section.

"Tuition, other necessary fees, and books" includes the customary charge for instruction, books or course material, and the use of facilities in general and the additional fixed fees charged for specified purposes that are required generally of students who are not applicants for each academic period for which an applicant actually enrolls, but does not include fees payable only once or breakage fees and other contingent deposits that are refundable in whole or in part. The Department may adopt, by rule not inconsistent with this Section, detailed provisions concerning the computation of tuition, other necessary fees, and books.

(c) Beginning with the 2021-2022 academic year, the Department shall establish and administer the Child Welfare Education Stipend Pilot Program to provide financial assistance to students who commit to seek and maintain employment at an Illinois purchase of service agency that contracts with the Department following their graduation from a participating institution with a degree in social work. The goal of the program is to develop and support a competent and stable workforce, thus impacting the services that are provided to youth and families in purchase of service foster care programs. Pursuant to the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act, each participating institution shall enter into and adhere to all of the provisions of an intergovernmental agreement between the Department and the participating institution. Subject to appropriation, the stipend program shall be available to eligible applicants in this State pursuing either a Bachelor of Social Work or a Master of Social Work degree at a participating institution. The Department may award a stipend of up to $10,000 each year for a maximum of 2 academic years to a student under this Section if the participating institution finds that the applicant meets all of the following criteria:

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

(2) The applicant files a Free Application for Federal Student Aid and demonstrates financial need with a household income no greater than 6 times the poverty guidelines updated periodically in the Federal Register by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under the authority of 42 U.S.C. 9902(2). The household income of the applicant at the time of initial application shall be deemed to be the household income of the applicant for the duration of the program.

(3) The applicant has attained at least a junior standing at the participating institution.

(4) The applicant is a student in good standing and meets the minimum requirements established by the participating institution, including maintaining a satisfactory grade point average.

(5) The applicant is not in default on any student loan or does not owe a refund or repayment on any State or federal grant or scholarship.

(6) The applicant commits to and is eligible to work full-time at an Illinois private agency that contracts with the Department for child welfare services. Eligibility to work at an Illinois private agency includes the applicant passing a check of the Department's State Central Register and a fingerprint-based criminal history records check.

(d) The maximum number of academic terms for which a qualified student can receive a stipend under this program is 4 semesters or 6 quarters.

(e) Each participating institution shall determine renewal criteria for assistance consistent with the requirements of this Section.

(f) Each participating institution shall post on its Internet website the criteria and eligibility requirements to receive an award of funds under this Section and must include a range in the amount of individual awards. The criteria to receive an award and the amount of the award must also be reported to the Department and the Board of Higher Education, who shall post the information on their respective Internet websites.

(g) Prior to receiving a stipend for any academic year, each applicant under this Section shall be required by the participating institution to sign an agreement under which the recipient pledges that within the 6-month period following the termination of the program for which the recipient was awarded a stipend, the recipient (i) shall begin serving as a direct service provider (intact services, foster care, or adoption) for a period of not less than one year for each year of stipend assistance the recipient was awarded under this Section and (ii) shall fulfill this obligation at a nonprofit, Illinois-based purchase of service agency.

(h) If the recipient of an award under this Section fails to fulfill the requirements set forth in subsection (g), the Department shall require the recipient to repay the amount of the stipend received, prorated according to the fraction of the obligation not completed, at a rate of interest equal to 5%, and, if applicable, reasonable collection fees. The Department is authorized to establish rules relating to its collection activities for the repayment of a stipend awarded under this Section. All repayments collected under this Section shall be forwarded to the State Comptroller for deposit into the State's General Revenue Fund.

(i) Stipend recipients under this Section who withdraw from a program of social work but remain enrolled in an institution of higher education to continue their studies in another academic discipline are not required to commence repayment of their stipend so long as they remain enrolled in an institution of higher education on a full-time basis or if they can document for the Department special circumstances that warrant extension of the repayment.

(j) If the recipient of a stipend under this Section terminates qualified employment, as determined by the Department, or is terminated from qualified employment for any reason other than cause and does not accept new qualified employment within 90 days after termination, the recipient must agree to begin repayment to the Department.

(k) A stipend recipient under this Section shall not be considered in violation of the agreement entered into pursuant to subsection (g) if the recipient (i) enrolls full time as a graduate student in a course of study related to the field of social work at a qualified Illinois institution of higher education; (ii) is serving, not in excess of 3 years, as a member of the armed services of the United States; (iii) is a person with a temporary total disability for a period of time not to exceed 3 years, as established by the sworn affidavit of a qualified physician; (iv) is seeking and unable to find full-time employment as a social worker at a qualified purchase of service agency under this Section and is able to provide evidence of that fact; (v) becomes a person with a permanent total disability, as established by the sworn affidavit of a qualified physician.

(l) Each participating institution shall provide reasonable assistance to the Department in locating and obtaining repayment from any person who does not successfully complete all educational and employment requirements of the program.

(m) Each participating institution shall work with the Department to provide employment resources and recruitment opportunities to students of the program.

(n) Each participating institution shall provide to the Department satisfactory documentation of actual student costs for tuition, other necessary fees, and books up to, but not to exceed, a total of $10,000 per student per academic year or $20,000 total per student. All stipend funds distributed in accordance with this Section shall be paid to the participating institution and used only for payment of the costs for tuition, other necessary fees, and books incurred by the student in connection with the student's attendance at a participating institution. Any stipend awarded under this Section shall be applicable to 2 semesters or 3 quarters of enrollment. If the recipient of an award withdraws from enrollment prior to completion of the first academic semester or quarter for which the stipend is applicable, the participating institution shall either immediately apply the stipend to another eligible applicant or applicants or refund to the Department the full amount of the stipend prior to the conclusion of the next academic semester or quarter.

(o) If payments under this Section result in a payment to a participating institution to which the participating institution is not entitled, the Department shall give notice of the overpayment to the participating institution and the Department may withhold from payments due to the participating institution such amounts over such period of time as necessary to recover the amount of the overpayment. Nothing in this Section shall require a participating institution or the Department to act in violation of State or federal law or the Constitution of the State of Illinois. Prior to any payments from the Department, each participating institution shall provide the Department with a list and the identifying information of each recipient of an award under the program. Upon receipt of the list from each participating institution and a fully executed contract from each student participating in the program, the Department shall advance $5,000 to each participating institution for each student at the participating institution who is participating in the program.

(p) During the term of the intergovernmental agreement entered into between the Department and a participating institution, the participating institution shall provide to the Department an invoice requesting reimbursement from the Department for actual student costs for tuition, necessary fees, and books, up to a maximum of $10,000 per student participating in the program per academic year, that include a $5,000 per student advance payment of the stipend. Each participating institution shall submit financial reports, in a form agreed upon by the Department, and each participating institution shall be reimbursed for all costs, including those costs funded by the initial $5,000 per student advance payment. Payments shall be made by the Department based upon each participating institution's actual costs per student participating in the program. The Department shall process all reimbursements and send approved invoices to the State Comptroller as soon as practicable, but not longer than 2 weeks after receipt. A participating institution may not invoice or seek payment from a student for any costs paid from the stipend awarded to the student by the Department. The participating institution may not invoice or seek payment from the Department for any costs paid on behalf of the student from any other scholarship, grant, or stipend program.

(q) The Department shall provide a report and evaluation of the results of the program at each participating institution to the General Assembly and the Office of the Governor on or before October 1, 2022. Each participating institution shall track a student's eligibility during enrollment at the participating institution and shall provide the Department with regular reports on the progress of the program. Written reports regarding eligibility shall be provided by the participating institution to the Department each academic semester or quarter about students who are still completing the educational portion of the program. Each participating institution shall also notify the Department immediately if the institution becomes aware that a student has become ineligible for any reason. The Department shall, to the best of its ability, track the employment obligation of each stipend recipient after graduation and shall report to each participating institution on the overall progress of the program. A participating institution that fails to submit a report under this subsection (q) or that fails to adhere to any other requirements under this Section may not be eligible for distribution of funds under the program for the next academic year but may be eligible for distribution of funds for each academic year thereafter.

(r) The sharing and reporting of student data under subsection (q) shall be in accordance with the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 and the Illinois School Student Records Act. All parties under this Section must preserve the confidentiality of information as required by law. The names of stipend recipients under this Section are not subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act.

(s) The Department shall adopt rules to implement this Section and may adopt rules relating to its collection activities for the repayment of stipend funds under this Section.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1, 2021.