Sen. Julie A. Morrison

Filed: 4/9/2021

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 136

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 136 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4    "Section 5. The Children and Family Services Act is
5amended by adding Section 44 as follows:
 
6    (20 ILCS 505/44 new)
7    Sec. 44. Pat McGuire Child Welfare Education Fellowship
8Pilot Program.
9    (a) The General Assembly makes all of the following
10findings:
11        (1) The Department of Children and Family Services is
12    the sole State agency for the planning and coordination of
13    programs and services for the prevention of child abuse
14    and neglect. The Department also provides social services
15    to children and their families, operates children's
16    institutions, and provides certain other rehabilitative

 

 

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1    and residential services. The Department contracts with
2    many purchase of service agencies for the administration
3    of these programs.
4        (2) Due to numerous factors, including the rate of
5    pay, purchase of service agencies have a high employee
6    turnover rate and struggle to maintain consistent
7    employment levels. This high turnover is disruptive to the
8    delivery of direct child welfare services to families and
9    youth in care.
10        (3) A number of public institutions of higher
11    education in this State offer child welfare social work
12    programs that are designed to train and prepare students
13    for employment in the child welfare social work field,
14    including, but not limited to, employment at purchase of
15    service agencies that provide direct child welfare
16    services to families and youth in care.
17        (4) The Department and public institutions of higher
18    education have a mutual interest in providing greater
19    access to child welfare social work education for a
20    professional workforce that is responsive to the work of
21    the Department through purchase of service agencies.
22    (b) As used in this Section:
23    "Department" means the Department of Children and Family
24Services.
25    "Direct service" means a position in foster care services,
26intact services, foster care licensing, adoption, or

 

 

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1permanency or a supervisory position in the practice area.
2    "Eligible applicant" means a student who is enrolled in a
3social work program of study at a participating institution of
4higher education and who meets all of the qualifications as
5determined by the Department.
6    "Participating institution" means a public university in
7this State that is a party to an intergovernmental agreement
8entered into with the Department in order to participate in
9the program established under this Section.
10    "Tuition, university fees, and books" includes the
11customary charge for instruction and books or course material
12and the additional fixed fees charged for specified purposes
13that are required generally of students who are not program
14applicants under this Section for each academic year for which
15a program applicant under this Section actually enrolls, but
16does not include room and board, transportation fees, fees
17payable only once, breakage fees, and other contingent
18deposits that are refundable in whole or in part. The
19Department may adopt, by rule not inconsistent with this
20Section, detailed provisions concerning the computation of
21tuition, university fees, and books.
22    (c) Beginning with the 2021-2022 academic year and
23continuing for a period of 6 academic years, the Department
24shall establish and administer the Pat McGuire Child Welfare
25Education Fellowship Pilot Program to provide financial
26assistance to eligible students who commit to seek and

 

 

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1maintain employment at a purchase of service agency that
2contracts with the Department upon graduation from a
3participating institution with a degree in social work. The
4goal of the program is to develop and support an effective and
5stable direct service child welfare workforce. Pursuant to the
6Intergovernmental Cooperation Act, each participating
7institution shall enter into and adhere to all of the
8provisions of an intergovernmental agreement between the
9Department and the participating institution. Subject to
10appropriation, the stipend program shall be available to
11eligible applicants in this State pursuing either a Bachelor
12of Social Work or a Master of Social Work degree at a
13participating institution. The Department may award a stipend
14of up to $10,000 each academic year for a maximum of 2 academic
15years, up to a maximum total of $20,000 in stipends for the 2
16academic years combined, to a student under this Section if
17the participating institution and the Department find that the
18applicant meets all criteria established by the Department.
19    (d) Each participating institution and the Department
20shall determine renewal criteria for assistance consistent
21with the requirements of this Section.
22    (e) Each participating institution shall post on its
23Internet website the criteria and eligibility requirements to
24receive a stipend award of funds under this Section and must
25identify that the stipend awards are up to a maximum of $10,000
26per student per academic year for a maximum of 2 academic

 

 

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1years, with the total amount of stipends awarded to an
2eligible applicant or student not to exceed $20,000 for the
3duration of the eligible applicant's or student's
4participation in the program. This information must also be
5reported to the Department and the Board of Higher Education,
6and the Department and the Board shall post the information on
7their respective Internet websites.
8    (f) Prior to receiving a stipend for any academic year, an
9eligible applicant under this Section shall be required by the
10participating institution to sign an agreement with the
11Department under which the stipend recipient pledges that,
12within 6 months from the date of the stipend recipient's
13graduation from the participating institution with a Bachelor
14of Social Work or a Master of Social Work degree for which
15stipend funds were paid by the Department, the stipend
16recipient must search for, apply to, and accept full-time
17employment in a direct service position at a Department
18purchase of service agency located anywhere in this State. The
19stipend recipient must remain as a full-time employee in a
20direct service position at a Department purchase of service
21agency located anywhere in this State for at least 18 months
22for each academic year the stipend recipient received a
23stipend from the Department under the program.
24    (g) If the recipient of a stipend award under this Section
25fails to search for, apply to, and accept full-time employment
26in a direct service position at a Department purchase of

 

 

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1service agency located anywhere in this State within 6 months
2following the stipend recipient's graduation from a social
3work program at a participating institution, the Department
4shall require the stipend recipient to begin to repay the
5total amount of the stipend received within 90 calendar days
6after the end of the 6-month period or as agreed to by the
7Department. The repayment amount shall be prorated according
8to the fraction of the employment obligation not completed, at
9a rate of interest equal to 5%, and, if applicable, reasonable
10attorney's and collection fees. All repayments collected under
11this Section shall be forwarded to the State Comptroller for
12deposit into the fund from which the stipend awards were paid.
13    (h) A stipend recipient under this Section must
14immediately notify the participating institution and the
15Department of any changes to the stipend recipient's
16enrollment status or if the stipend recipient withdraws from
17the social work program for which the recipient was awarded a
18stipend under the program.
19    (i) If a stipend recipient's qualified employment is
20terminated for any reason other than for cause, a stipend
21recipient must search for, apply to, and accept new,
22qualified, full-time employment in a direct service position
23at a Department purchase of service agency located anywhere in
24this State within 90 calendar days from the stipend
25recipient's termination of full-time employment, otherwise the
26stipend recipient is subject to the repayment of stipend funds

 

 

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1to the Department.
2    (j) If a stipend recipient's qualified employment is
3terminated for cause prior to the completion of the program's
4employment requirement, the stipend recipient shall repay the
5total amount of stipends received under the program within 90
6calendar days from termination or as agreed to by the
7Department. The amount of repayment owed by the recipient
8shall be prorated based on the amount of the employment
9requirement that has been satisfied.
10    (k) On or before October 1, 2023 and each October 1
11thereafter during the Pat McGuire Child Welfare Education
12Fellowship Pilot Program, the Department shall provide a
13report and evaluation of the results of the program at each
14participating institution to the General Assembly and the
15Office of the Governor. Each participating institution shall
16track a student's eligibility under the program, the
17completion of educational requirements, the costs of each
18student's tuition, university fees, and books, and the
19application of the recipient's stipends during the recipient's
20enrollment at the participating institution. The report shall
21also include the location in this State where each stipend
22recipient was hired and shall identify the purchase of service
23agency, the duration of the recipient's employment, and the
24termination date of the recipient's employment.
25    (l) The sharing and reporting of student data under
26subsection (k) shall be in accordance with the federal Family

 

 

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1Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 and the Illinois
2School Student Records Act. All parties under this Section
3must preserve the confidentiality of information as required
4by law. The names of stipend recipients under this Section are
5not subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information
6Act.
7    (m) The Department is authorized to adopt rules to
8implement and administer this Section.
 
9    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1,
102021.".