August 21, 2015

To the Honorable Members of

The Illinois House of Representatives

99th General Assembly:

Today I veto House Bill 3507 from the 99th General Assembly, which mandates that cases within the Department of Children and Family Services remain open until the ward reaches 21 years of age. This unfunded mandate places a significant financial burden on the Department, particularly because the Department would not be eligible for matching federal funds for all these services.

The Department currently provides numerous services for 18- to 21-year-old persons, including finding safe living arrangements, job placement, and scholarship funding. The federal funding match for these programs is only available for services to persons over the age of 18 if the person is in a work or educational setting or unable to be because of a disability. House Bill 3507 does not satisfy this requirement.

The Department suggested legislative provisions that would address the concerns raised by youth advocates while still maintaining federal funding. The Department’s suggestion would have incentivized youth to develop job and educational skills necessary for independence and self-sufficiency and would have maximized federal funding. Unfortunately those ideas were rejected.

Therefore, pursuant to Section 9(b) of Article IV of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, I hereby return House 3507, “AN ACT concerning State government”, with the foregoing objections, vetoed in its entirety.

Sincerely,

Bruce Rauner

GOVERNOR