Full Text of HB1143 96th General Assembly
HB1143eng 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| AN ACT concerning education.
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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 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Mental | 5 |
| Health Graduate Education Scholarship Act. | 6 |
| Section 5. Purpose. The purpose of this Act is to establish | 7 |
| a program in the Department of Human Services to upgrade mental | 8 |
| health care services for all citizens of this State by | 9 |
| providing scholarships to graduate students in mental health | 10 |
| fields who agree to practice in areas of this State | 11 |
| demonstrating the greatest need for more mental health | 12 |
| services. The program shall encourage mental health | 13 |
| practitioners to locate in areas where mental health manpower | 14 |
| shortages exist in this State. | 15 |
| Section 10. Definitions. The following terms, whenever | 16 |
| used or referred to, have the following meanings, except where | 17 |
| the context clearly indicates otherwise: | 18 |
| "Advisory Council" means the Mental Health Consortium | 19 |
| Advisory Council created under Section 35 of this Act. | 20 |
| "Approved institution" means a public or private college or | 21 |
| university located in this State. | 22 |
| "Department" means the Department of Human Services. |
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| "Designated shortage area" means an area designated by the | 2 |
| Secretary as a shortage area, a mental health underserved area, | 3 |
| or a critical mental health manpower shortage area, as defined | 4 |
| by the United States Department of Health and Human Services or | 5 |
| as further defined by the Illinois Department of Human Services | 6 |
| to enable it to effectively fulfill the purpose stated in | 7 |
| Section 5 of this Act. These areas may include the following: | 8 |
| (1) an urban or rural area; | 9 |
| (2) a population group; or | 10 |
| (3) a public or nonprofit private mental health | 11 |
| facility. | 12 |
| "Enrollment" means the establishment and maintenance of an | 13 |
| individual's status as a student in an approved institution, | 14 |
| regardless of the terms used at the institution to describe | 15 |
| such status. | 16 |
| "Fees" means those mandatory charges, in addition to | 17 |
| tuition, that all enrolled students must pay, including | 18 |
| required course or lab fees. | 19 |
| "Full-time enrollment" means enrollment by a student for at | 20 |
| least 9 hours per school term or as otherwise determined by the | 21 |
| institution of higher learning. | 22 |
| "Mental health employment obligation" means employment in | 23 |
| this State as a licensed professional counselor, licensed | 24 |
| clinical professional counselor, licensed clinical | 25 |
| psychologist, licensed social worker, or licensed clinical | 26 |
| social worker in direct patient care in a human services |
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| capacity in a designated shortage area for at least one year | 2 |
| for each year of scholarship assistance received through the | 3 |
| program.
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| "Program" means the Mental Health Graduate Scholarship | 5 |
| Program. | 6 |
| "School term" means an academic term, such as a semester, | 7 |
| quarter, trimester, or number of clock hours, as defined by an | 8 |
| approved institution. | 9 |
| "Secretary" means the Secretary of Human Services. | 10 |
| "Student in good standing" means a student maintaining a | 11 |
| cumulative grade point average equivalent to at least the | 12 |
| academic grade of a "C". | 13 |
| "Total and permanent disability" means a physical or mental | 14 |
| impairment, disease, or loss of a permanent nature that | 15 |
| prevents employment with or without reasonable accommodation. | 16 |
| Proof of disability shall be a declaration from the federal | 17 |
| Social Security Administration, the Illinois Workers' | 18 |
| Compensation Commission, the federal Department of Defense, or | 19 |
| an insurer authorized to transact business in this State who is | 20 |
| providing disability insurance coverage to a contractor. | 21 |
| "Tuition" means the established charges of an institution | 22 |
| of higher learning for instruction at that institution.
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| Section 15. Creation of program; functions of Department. | 24 |
| The Mental Health Graduate Scholarship Program is created, to | 25 |
| be administered by the Department. The Department shall prepare |
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| and supervise the issuance of public information about the | 2 |
| provisions of this Act, prescribe the form and regulate the | 3 |
| submission of applications for scholarships, determine the | 4 |
| eligibility of applicants, award the appropriate scholarships, | 5 |
| prescribe the contracts or other acknowledgments of | 6 |
| scholarship that an applicant is required to execute, and | 7 |
| determine whether all or any part of a recipient's scholarship | 8 |
| needs to be monetarily repaid or has been excused from | 9 |
| repayment and the extent of any repayment or excused repayment. | 10 |
| The Department may require a scholarship recipient to reimburse | 11 |
| the State for expenses, including, but not limited to, | 12 |
| attorney's fees, incurred by the Department or other agent of | 13 |
| this State for a successful legal action against the recipient | 14 |
| for a breach of any provision of the scholarship contract. In a | 15 |
| breach of contract, the Department may utilize referral to the | 16 |
| Department of Financial and Professional Regulation to revoke, | 17 |
| suspend, refuse to renew, place on probationary status, or take | 18 |
| other disciplinary action concerning the recipient's | 19 |
| credentials. The Department is authorized to make all necessary | 20 |
| and proper rules, not inconsistent with this Act, for the | 21 |
| efficient exercise of its functions under this Act.
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| Section 20. Scholarships.
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| (a) Beginning with the fall term of the 2009-2010 academic | 24 |
| year, the Department, in accordance with rules adopted by it | 25 |
| for this program, shall provide scholarships to individuals |
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| selected from among those applicants who qualify for | 2 |
| consideration by showing all of the following: | 3 |
| (1) That the individual has been a resident of this | 4 |
| State
for at least one year prior to application and is a | 5 |
| citizen or a lawful permanent resident alien of the United | 6 |
| States. | 7 |
| (2) That the individual enrolled in or accepted into a | 8 |
| mental health graduate program at an approved institution. | 9 |
| (3) That the individual agrees to meet the mental | 10 |
| health
employment obligation. | 11 |
| (b) If in any year the number of qualified applicants | 12 |
| exceeds the number of scholarships to be awarded, the | 13 |
| Department shall, in consultation with the Advisory Council, | 14 |
| consider the following factors in granting priority in awarding | 15 |
| scholarships: | 16 |
| (1) Financial need, as shown on a standardized
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| financial needs assessment form used by an approved | 18 |
| institution. | 19 |
| (2) A student's merit, as shown through his or
her | 20 |
| grade point average, class rank, and other academic and | 21 |
| extracurricular activities.
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| The Department may add to and further define these merit | 23 |
| criteria by rule. | 24 |
| (c) Unless otherwise indicated, scholarships shall be | 25 |
| awarded to recipients at approved institutions for a period of | 26 |
| up to 2 years if the recipient is enrolled in a master's degree |
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| program and up to 4 years if the recipient is enrolled in a | 2 |
| doctoral degree program.
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| Section 25. Requirements for scholarship recipients.
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| (a) Within 12 months after graduation from a graduate | 5 |
| program in mental health, any recipient who accepts a | 6 |
| scholarship under this Act shall begin meeting the required | 7 |
| mental health employment obligation. In order to defer his or | 8 |
| her continuous employment obligation, a recipient must request | 9 |
| the deferment in writing from the Department. A recipient shall | 10 |
| notify program staff within 30 days if he or she spends up to 4 | 11 |
| years in military service before or after graduation. If a | 12 |
| recipient receives funding through the program for a higher | 13 |
| graduate degree, the mental health employment obligation shall | 14 |
| be deferred until he or she is no longer enrolled or has | 15 |
| graduated. The recipient must begin meeting the required mental | 16 |
| health graduate employment obligation no later than 6 months | 17 |
| after the end of the deferment. | 18 |
| (b) Any person who fails to fulfill the mental health | 19 |
| employment obligation shall pay to the Department an amount | 20 |
| equal to the amount of scholarship funds received per year for | 21 |
| each unfulfilled year of the mental health employment | 22 |
| obligation, together with interest at 7% per year on the unpaid | 23 |
| balance. Payment must begin within 6 months following the date | 24 |
| of the occurrence initiating the repayment. All repayments must | 25 |
| be completed within 6 years from the date of the occurrence |
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| initiating the repayment. However, this obligation may be | 2 |
| deferred and reevaluated every 6 months if the failure to | 3 |
| fulfill the employment obligation results from involuntarily | 4 |
| leaving the profession due to a decrease in the number of | 5 |
| counselors, psychologists, or social workers employed in this | 6 |
| State or if the failure to fulfill the mental health employment | 7 |
| obligation results from total and permanent disability. The | 8 |
| repayment obligation must be excused if the failure to fulfill | 9 |
| the mental health employment obligation results from the death | 10 |
| or adjudication as incompetent of the person holding the | 11 |
| scholarship. No claim for repayment may be filed against the | 12 |
| estate of such a decedent or incompetent. | 13 |
| (c) Each person applying for a scholarship under this Act | 14 |
| shall be provided with a copy of this Section at the time of | 15 |
| application for the benefits of the scholarship.
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| Section 30. Amount of scholarship. To determine the | 17 |
| scholarship amount, the Department shall consider tuition and | 18 |
| fee charges at colleges and universities statewide and | 19 |
| projected living expenses. Scholarship amounts for graduate | 20 |
| degrees in human services at a college or university shall | 21 |
| include 75% of the weighted tuition and fees charged by public | 22 |
| universities in this State plus the uniform living allowance | 23 |
| reported in the weighted Monetary Award Program budget. The | 24 |
| Department may provide that scholarships shall be on a | 25 |
| quarterly or semi-annual basis and must be contingent upon the |
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| student's diligently pursuing mental health studies and being a | 2 |
| student in good standing. Scholarship awards may be provided to | 3 |
| part-time students; the amount shall be determined by applying | 4 |
| the proportion represented by the part-time enrollment to | 5 |
| full-time enrollment ratio to the average per term scholarship | 6 |
| amount for a student in the same mental health degree category. | 7 |
| Section 35. Advisory Council.
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| (a) The Mental Health Consortium Advisory Council is | 9 |
| created, consisting of 7 members. Two members must be appointed | 10 |
| by the Illinois Mental Health Counselors Association, 2 members | 11 |
| must be appointed by the Illinois Psychological Association, 2 | 12 |
| members must be appointed by the National Association of Social | 13 |
| Workers-Illinois Chapter, and one public member must be | 14 |
| appointed by the Secretary.
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| (b) The Advisory Council shall assist and advise the | 16 |
| Department in the administration of this Act. | 17 |
| Section 40. Student enrollment and obligations of | 18 |
| institutions.
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| (a) An approved institution is free to accept a student who | 20 |
| is a scholarship recipient under this Act in compliance with | 21 |
| its own admissions requirements, standards, and policies. The | 22 |
| Department may disburse a scholarship for tuition and fees to | 23 |
| the approved institution directly for the payment of tuition | 24 |
| and other necessary fees or for credit against the student's |
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| obligation for such tuition and fees, and, upon acceptance | 2 |
| thereof, the approved institution shall be contractually | 3 |
| obligated (i) to provide facilities and instruction to the | 4 |
| student on the same terms as to other students generally and | 5 |
| (ii) to provide the notices and information described in this | 6 |
| Section. | 7 |
| (b) If, in the course of an academic period, a student | 8 |
| enrolled in an approved institution pursuant to a scholarship | 9 |
| granted under this Act shall for any reason cease to be a | 10 |
| student in good standing, the institution shall promptly give | 11 |
| written notice to the Department concerning such change of | 12 |
| status and the reason thereof. | 13 |
| (c) A student to whom a renewal scholarship has been | 14 |
| awarded may either re-enroll in the institution that he or she | 15 |
| attended during the preceding year or enroll in any other | 16 |
| approved institution; and, in either event, the institution | 17 |
| accepting the student for such enrollment or re-enrollment | 18 |
| shall notify the Department of such acceptance.
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| Section 45. Program funding. Money for scholarships under | 20 |
| this Act shall come from the General Revenue Fund, as | 21 |
| appropriated from time to time by the General Assembly, and | 22 |
| from the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation's | 23 |
| licensure fund collected for counselor, psychologist, and | 24 |
| social worker licensure.
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| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon |
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| becoming law.
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