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1 | AN ACT concerning public aid.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 5. The Illinois Public Aid Code is amended by | ||||||
5 | changing Sections 4-1, 4-1.6, 4-12, 4-22, and 9A-8 and by | ||||||
6 | adding Sections 2-18 and 4-1.6b as follows: | ||||||
7 | (305 ILCS 5/2-18 new)
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8 | Sec. 2-18. Domestic or sexual violence. "Domestic or sexual | ||||||
9 | violence" means domestic violence, sexual assault, or | ||||||
10 | stalking. Domestic or sexual violence may occur through | ||||||
11 | electronic communication. | ||||||
12 | "Domestic violence" means "abuse" as defined in Section 103 | ||||||
13 | of the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986 by a "family or | ||||||
14 | household member" as defined in Section 103 of the Illinois | ||||||
15 | Domestic Violence Act of 1986. | ||||||
16 | "Sexual assault" means any conduct proscribed by Sections | ||||||
17 | 12-13, 12-14, 12-14.1, 12-15, and 12-16 of the Criminal Code of | ||||||
18 | 1961. | ||||||
19 | "Stalking" means any conduct proscribed by Sections | ||||||
20 | 12-7.3, 12-7.4, and 12-7.5 of the Criminal Code of 1961. | ||||||
21 | "Electronic communication" includes communications via | ||||||
22 | telephone, mobile phone, computer, e-mail, video recorder, fax | ||||||
23 | machine, telex, or pager, or any other "electronic |
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1 | communication" as defined in Section 12-7.5 of the Criminal | ||||||
2 | Code of 1961.
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3 | (305 ILCS 5/4-1) (from Ch. 23, par. 4-1)
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4 | Sec. 4-1. Eligibility requirements. Financial aid in | ||||||
5 | meeting basic maintenance requirements for a livelihood
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6 | compatible with health and well-being shall be given under this | ||||||
7 | Article to
or in behalf of families with dependent children who | ||||||
8 | meet the eligibility
conditions of Sections 4-1.1 through | ||||||
9 | 4-1.11. It shall be the policy of the Illinois Department to | ||||||
10 | provide aid under this Article to all qualified persons who | ||||||
11 | seek assistance and to conduct outreach efforts to educate the | ||||||
12 | public about the program. The Department shall provide timely, | ||||||
13 | accurate, and fair service to all applicants for assistance.
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14 | Persons who meet the eligibility criteria authorized under this | ||||||
15 | Article shall
be treated equally, provided that nothing in this | ||||||
16 | Article shall be construed to
create an entitlement to a | ||||||
17 | particular grant or service level or to aid in
amounts not | ||||||
18 | authorized under this Code, nor construed to limit the | ||||||
19 | authority of
the General Assembly to change the eligibility | ||||||
20 | requirements or provisions
respecting assistance amounts. The | ||||||
21 | General Assembly recognizes that the need for aid will | ||||||
22 | fluctuate with the economic situation in Illinois and that at | ||||||
23 | times the number of people receiving aid under this Article | ||||||
24 | will increase.
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25 | The Illinois Department shall advise every applicant for |
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1 | and recipient of
aid under this Article of (i) the requirement | ||||||
2 | that all recipients move toward
self-sufficiency and (ii) the | ||||||
3 | value and benefits of employment. As a condition
of eligibility | ||||||
4 | for that aid, every person who applies for aid under this
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5 | Article on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act | ||||||
6 | of 1995 shall
prepare and submit, as part of the application or | ||||||
7 | subsequent redetermination,
a personal plan for achieving
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8 | employment and self-sufficiency.
The plan shall incorporate | ||||||
9 | the individualized assessment and employability
plan set out in | ||||||
10 | subsections (d), (f), and (g) of Section 9A-8. The plan may be
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11 | amended as the recipient's needs change. The assessment
process | ||||||
12 | to develop the plan shall include questions that screen for | ||||||
13 | domestic
violence issues and steps needed to address these | ||||||
14 | issues may be part of the
plan. If the individual indicates | ||||||
15 | that he or she is a victim of domestic
violence, he or she may | ||||||
16 | also be referred to an available domestic violence
program.
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17 | Failure of the client to follow through on the
personal plan | ||||||
18 | for employment and self-sufficiency may be a basis for sanction
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19 | under Section 4-21.
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20 | (Source: P.A. 92-111, eff. 1-1-02.)
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21 | (305 ILCS 5/4-1.6) (from Ch. 23, par. 4-1.6)
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22 | Sec. 4-1.6. Need. Income available to the family as defined | ||||||
23 | by the
Illinois Department by rule, or to the child
in the case | ||||||
24 | of a child removed from his or her home, when added to
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25 | contributions in money, substance or services from other |
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1 | sources,
including income available from parents absent from | ||||||
2 | the home or from a
stepparent, contributions made for the | ||||||
3 | benefit of the parent or other
persons necessary to provide | ||||||
4 | care and supervision to the child, and
contributions from | ||||||
5 | legally responsible relatives, must be insufficient
to equal to | ||||||
6 | or less than the grant amount established by Department | ||||||
7 | regulation for such
a person. For purposes of eligibility for | ||||||
8 | aid under this Article, the Department shall disregard all | ||||||
9 | earned income between the grant amount and 50% of the Federal | ||||||
10 | Poverty Level.
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11 | In considering income to be taken into account, | ||||||
12 | consideration shall
be given to any expenses reasonably | ||||||
13 | attributable to the earning of such
income. Three-fourths of | ||||||
14 | the earned income of a household eligible for aid under this | ||||||
15 | Article shall be disregarded when determining the level of | ||||||
16 | assistance for which a household is eligible. The Illinois | ||||||
17 | Department may also permit all or any
portion of earned or | ||||||
18 | other income to be set aside for the future
identifiable needs | ||||||
19 | of a child. The Illinois Department
may provide by rule and | ||||||
20 | regulation for the exemptions thus permitted or
required. The | ||||||
21 | eligibility of any applicant for or recipient of public
aid | ||||||
22 | under this Article is not affected by the payment of any grant | ||||||
23 | under
the "Senior Citizens and Disabled Persons Property Tax | ||||||
24 | Relief and
Pharmaceutical Assistance Act" or any distributions | ||||||
25 | or items of income
described under subparagraph (X) of
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26 | paragraph (2) of subsection (a) of Section 203 of the Illinois |
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1 | Income Tax
Act.
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2 | The Illinois Department may, by rule, set forth criteria | ||||||
3 | under which an
assistance unit is ineligible for cash | ||||||
4 | assistance under this Article for a
specified number of months | ||||||
5 | due to the receipt of a lump sum payment.
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6 | (Source: P.A. 91-676, eff. 12-23-99; 92-111, eff. 1-1-02.)
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7 | (305 ILCS 5/4-1.6b new) | ||||||
8 | Sec. 4-1.6b. Date for providing aid; employability | ||||||
9 | assessment. | ||||||
10 | (a) The Department shall provide financial aid no more than | ||||||
11 | 30 days after the date of application. | ||||||
12 | (b) During the first 30 days after the date of application, | ||||||
13 | the applicant shall undergo a thorough employability | ||||||
14 | assessment, in accordance with subsection (d) of Section 9A-8 | ||||||
15 | of this Code, and shall prepare a personal plan for achieving | ||||||
16 | employment and self-sufficiency in accordance with Section 4-1 | ||||||
17 | of this Code. The requirement to engage in work-related | ||||||
18 | activity may commence 30 days after the date of application. | ||||||
19 | (c) Financial aid under this Article shall be authorized | ||||||
20 | effective on the date of application, provided that the | ||||||
21 | applicant is eligible on that date.
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22 | (305 ILCS 5/4-12) (from Ch. 23, par. 4-12)
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23 | Sec. 4-12. Crisis assistance. Where a family has been (1) | ||||||
24 | rendered homeless
or threatened with homelessness by fire, |
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1 | flood, other natural
disaster, eviction or court order to | ||||||
2 | vacate the premises for reasons
other than nonpayment of rent, | ||||||
3 | or where a family has spouse and child have become
homeless | ||||||
4 | because they have left their the residence due to domestic or | ||||||
5 | sexual violence occupied by a spouse who was
physically abusing | ||||||
6 | the now homeless spouse or child ; (1.5) deprived of the | ||||||
7 | household's income as a result of domestic or sexual violence; | ||||||
8 | (2) deprived of
essential items of furniture or essential | ||||||
9 | clothing by fire or flood or
other natural disaster; (3) | ||||||
10 | deprived of food as a result of actions other
than loss or | ||||||
11 | theft of cash and where the deprivation cannot be promptly
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12 | alleviated through the federal food stamp program;
(4) as a | ||||||
13 | result of a documented theft or documented loss of cash, | ||||||
14 | deprived of
food or essential clothing or deprived of shelter | ||||||
15 | or
immediately threatened with deprivation of shelter as | ||||||
16 | evidenced by a court
order requiring immediate eviction due to | ||||||
17 | nonpayment of rent; or (5) rendered the victim of such other
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18 | hardships as the Illinois Department shall by rule define, the | ||||||
19 | Illinois
Department may provide assistance to alleviate such
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20 | needs. The
Illinois Department shall verify need and determine | ||||||
21 | eligibility for
crisis
assistance for families already | ||||||
22 | receiving grants from the Illinois
Department within 5 working | ||||||
23 | days following application for such assistance
and shall | ||||||
24 | determine eligibility for all other families and afford such
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25 | assistance for families found eligible within such
time limits | ||||||
26 | as the Illinois Department shall by rule provide.
The Illinois |
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1 | Department may, by rule, limit crisis assistance
to an
eligible | ||||||
2 | family to once
in any 12
consecutive months. This limitation | ||||||
3 | may be made for some or all items of
crisis assistance.
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4 | The Illinois Department by regulation shall specify the
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5 | criteria for determining eligibility and the amount and nature | ||||||
6 | of
assistance to be provided. Where deprivation of
shelter | ||||||
7 | exists or is threatened, the
Illinois Department may provide | ||||||
8 | reasonable moving expenses, short term
rental costs, including | ||||||
9 | one month's rent and a security deposit where such
expenses are | ||||||
10 | needed for relocation, and, where the Department determines
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11 | appropriate, provide assistance to prevent an imminent | ||||||
12 | eviction or
foreclosure. These amounts may be described in | ||||||
13 | established amounts or
maximums. The Illinois Department may | ||||||
14 | also describe, for each form of
assistance authorized, the | ||||||
15 | method by which the assistance shall be
delivered, including | ||||||
16 | but not limited to warrants or disbursing orders.
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17 | Annual expenditures under this
Section shall not exceed | ||||||
18 | $2,000,000. The Illinois
Department shall review
such | ||||||
19 | expenditures quarterly and shall, if necessary, reduce the | ||||||
20 | amounts or
nature of assistance authorized in order to assure | ||||||
21 | that the limit is not
exceeded.
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22 | (Source: P.A. 90-17, eff. 7-1-97.)
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23 | (305 ILCS 5/4-22)
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24 | Sec. 4-22. Domestic and sexual violence.
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25 | (a) The assessment process to develop the personal plan for |
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1 | achieving
self-sufficiency shall include questions that screen | ||||||
2 | for domestic and sexual violence
issues. If the individual | ||||||
3 | indicates that he or she is the victim of domestic or sexual
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4 | violence and indicates a need to address domestic or sexual | ||||||
5 | violence issues in order to
reach self-sufficiency, the plan | ||||||
6 | shall take this factor into account in
determining the work, | ||||||
7 | education, and training activities suitable to the client
for | ||||||
8 | achieving self-sufficiency. In addition, in such a case, | ||||||
9 | specific steps
needed to directly address the domestic or | ||||||
10 | sexual violence issues may also be made part
of the plan, | ||||||
11 | including referral to an available domestic or sexual violence | ||||||
12 | program. The Department shall conduct an individualized | ||||||
13 | assessment and grant waivers of program requirements and other | ||||||
14 | required activities for victims of domestic violence to the | ||||||
15 | fullest extent allowed by 42 U.S.C. 602(a)(7)(A), and shall | ||||||
16 | apply the same laws, regulations, and policies to victims of | ||||||
17 | sexual violence. The duration of such waivers shall be | ||||||
18 | initially determined and subsequently redetermined on a | ||||||
19 | case-by-case basis. There shall be no limitation on the total | ||||||
20 | number of months for which waivers under this Section may be | ||||||
21 | granted, but continuing eligibility for a waiver shall be | ||||||
22 | redetermined no less often than every 6 months.
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23 | (b) The Illinois Department shall develop and monitor | ||||||
24 | compliance procedures
for its employees, contractors, and | ||||||
25 | subcontractors to ensure that any
information pertaining to any | ||||||
26 | client who claims to be a past or present victim
of domestic |
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1 | violence or an individual at risk of further domestic violence,
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2 | whether provided by the victim or by a third party, will remain
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3 | confidential.
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4 | (c) The Illinois Department shall develop and implement a | ||||||
5 | domestic
violence
training
curriculum for Illinois Department | ||||||
6 | employees who serve applicants for and
recipients of aid
under | ||||||
7 | this Article. The curriculum shall be designed to better equip | ||||||
8 | those
employees to identify
and serve domestic violence | ||||||
9 | victims.
The Illinois Department may enter into a contract for | ||||||
10 | the development of the
curriculum with one or more | ||||||
11 | organizations providing
services to domestic violence victims. | ||||||
12 | The Illinois Department shall adopt
rules necessary to | ||||||
13 | implement this subsection.
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14 | (Source: P.A. 90-17, eff. 7-1-97; 91-759, eff. 1-1-01.)
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15 | (305 ILCS 5/9A-8) (from Ch. 23, par. 9A-8)
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16 | Sec. 9A-8. Operation of Program.
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17 | (a) At the time of application or redetermination of | ||||||
18 | eligibility under
Article IV, as determined by rule, the | ||||||
19 | Illinois Department shall provide
information in writing and | ||||||
20 | orally regarding the education, training and
employment | ||||||
21 | program to all applicants and recipients. The information
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22 | required shall be established by rule and shall include, but | ||||||
23 | need not be
limited to:
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24 | (1) education (including literacy training), | ||||||
25 | employment and training
opportunities available, the |
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1 | criteria for approval of those opportunities,
and the right | ||||||
2 | to request changes in the personal responsibility and
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3 | services plan to include those opportunities;
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4 | (1.1) a complete list of all activities that are | ||||||
5 | approvable activities, and
the circumstances under which | ||||||
6 | they are
approvable, including work activities, substance | ||||||
7 | abuse or mental health
treatment, activities to escape and | ||||||
8 | prevent domestic
violence, caring for a medically impaired | ||||||
9 | family member, and any other
approvable activities, | ||||||
10 | together with the right to and
procedures for amending the | ||||||
11 | responsibility and services plan to include these
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12 | activities;
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13 | (1.2) the rules concerning the lifetime limit on | ||||||
14 | eligibility, including
the current status of the applicant | ||||||
15 | or recipient in
terms of the months of remaining | ||||||
16 | eligibility, the criteria under which a month
will not | ||||||
17 | count towards the lifetime limit, and the
criteria under | ||||||
18 | which a recipient may receive benefits beyond the end of | ||||||
19 | the
lifetime limit;
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20 | (2) supportive services including child care
and the | ||||||
21 | rules regarding eligibility for and access to the child
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22 | care assistance program, transportation, initial expenses | ||||||
23 | of employment, job
retention, books and fees, and any other | ||||||
24 | supportive
services;
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25 | (3) the obligation of the Department to provide | ||||||
26 | supportive services;
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1 | (4) the rights and responsibilities of participants, | ||||||
2 | including
exemption, sanction, reconciliation, and good | ||||||
3 | cause criteria and
procedures, termination for | ||||||
4 | non-cooperation
and reinstatement rules and procedures, | ||||||
5 | and appeal and grievance procedures;
and
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6 | (5) the types and locations of child care services.
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7 | (b) The Illinois
Department shall notify the recipient in | ||||||
8 | writing of the opportunity to
volunteer to participate in the | ||||||
9 | program.
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10 | (c) (Blank).
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11 | (d) As part of the personal plan for achieving employment | ||||||
12 | and
self-sufficiency, the Department shall conduct an | ||||||
13 | individualized assessment
of
the
participant's employability. | ||||||
14 | No participant may be assigned to any
component of the | ||||||
15 | education, training and employment activity
prior to such
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16 | assessment. The plan shall
include collection of
information
on | ||||||
17 | the individual's background, proficiencies, skills | ||||||
18 | deficiencies,
education level, work history, employment goals, | ||||||
19 | interests, aptitudes, and
employment preferences, as well as | ||||||
20 | factors affecting employability or
ability to meet | ||||||
21 | participation requirements (e.g., health, physical or
mental | ||||||
22 | limitations, child care, family circumstances, domestic | ||||||
23 | violence, sexual violence,
substance abuse, and special needs | ||||||
24 | of any child of the individual). As part
of the plan,
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25 | individuals and Department staff shall work together to | ||||||
26 | identify any
supportive service needs required to enable the |
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1 | client to participate and
meet the objectives of his or her | ||||||
2 | employability plan. The
assessment may be conducted through | ||||||
3 | various methods such as interviews,
testing, counseling, and | ||||||
4 | self-assessment instruments. In the
assessment process, the | ||||||
5 | Department shall offer to include standard
literacy testing
and | ||||||
6 | a determination of
English language proficiency and shall | ||||||
7 | provide it for those who accept the
offer.
Based on the | ||||||
8 | assessment,
the
individual will be assigned to the appropriate | ||||||
9 | activity. The
decision will be based on a determination of the | ||||||
10 | individual's level of
preparation for employment as defined by | ||||||
11 | rule.
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12 | (e) Recipients determined to be exempt may volunteer to | ||||||
13 | participate
pursuant to Section 9A-4 and must be assessed.
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14 | (f) As part of the personal plan for achieving employment | ||||||
15 | and
self-sufficiency under Section 4-1, an employability plan | ||||||
16 | for recipients
shall be
developed in
consultation with the | ||||||
17 | participant. The Department shall have final
responsibility | ||||||
18 | for approving the employability plan. The employability
plan | ||||||
19 | shall:
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20 | (1) contain an employment goal of the participant;
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21 | (2) describe the services to be provided by the | ||||||
22 | Department, including
child care and other support | ||||||
23 | services;
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24 | (3) describe the activities, such as component | ||||||
25 | assignment, that will be
undertaken by the participant to | ||||||
26 | achieve the employment goal; and
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1 | (4) describe any other needs of the family that might | ||||||
2 | be met by
the Department.
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3 | (g) The employability plan shall take into account:
| ||||||
4 | (1) available program resources;
| ||||||
5 | (2) the participant's support service needs;
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6 | (3) the participant's skills level and aptitudes;
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7 | (4) local employment opportunities; and
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8 | (5) the preferences of the
participant.
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9 | (h) A reassessment shall be conducted to assess a | ||||||
10 | participant's
progress and to review the employability plan on | ||||||
11 | the following occasions:
| ||||||
12 | (1) upon completion of an activity and before
| ||||||
13 | assignment to an activity;
| ||||||
14 | (2) upon the request of the participant;
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15 | (3) if the individual is not cooperating with the | ||||||
16 | requirements of
the program; and
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17 | (4) if the individual has failed to make satisfactory | ||||||
18 | progress in an
education or training program.
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19 | Based on the reassessment, the Department may revise the | ||||||
20 | employability
plan of the participant.
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21 | (Source: P.A. 93-598, eff. 8-26-03.)
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22 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
23 | becoming law.
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