Full Text of HB2383 96th General Assembly
HB2383enr 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| AN ACT concerning public aid.
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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 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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| 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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| communication" as defined in Section 12-7.5 of the Criminal | 2 |
| Code of 1961.
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| (305 ILCS 5/4-1) (from Ch. 23, par. 4-1)
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| Sec. 4-1. Eligibility requirements. Financial aid in | 5 |
| meeting basic maintenance requirements for a livelihood
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| 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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| 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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| The Illinois Department shall advise every applicant for |
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| 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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| 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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| 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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| 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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| 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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| under Section 4-21.
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| (Source: P.A. 92-111, eff. 1-1-02.)
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| (305 ILCS 5/4-1.6) (from Ch. 23, par. 4-1.6)
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| 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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| contributions in money, substance or services from other |
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| 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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| 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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| paragraph (2) of subsection (a) of Section 203 of the Illinois |
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| Income Tax
Act.
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| 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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| (Source: P.A. 91-676, eff. 12-23-99; 92-111, eff. 1-1-02.)
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| (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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| (305 ILCS 5/4-12) (from Ch. 23, par. 4-12)
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| Sec. 4-12. Crisis assistance. Where a family has been (1) | 24 |
| rendered homeless
or threatened with homelessness by fire, |
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| 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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| 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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| hardships as the Illinois Department shall by rule define, the | 19 |
| Illinois
Department may provide assistance to alleviate such
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| 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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| assistance for families found eligible within such
time limits | 26 |
| as the Illinois Department shall by rule provide.
The Illinois |
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| 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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| The Illinois Department by regulation shall specify the
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| 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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| 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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| 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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| (Source: P.A. 90-17, eff. 7-1-97.)
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| (305 ILCS 5/4-22)
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| Sec. 4-22. Domestic and sexual violence.
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| (a) The assessment process to develop the personal plan for |
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| 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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| 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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| (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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| violence or an individual at risk of further domestic violence,
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| whether provided by the victim or by a third party, will remain
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| confidential.
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| (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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| (Source: P.A. 90-17, eff. 7-1-97; 91-759, eff. 1-1-01.)
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| (305 ILCS 5/9A-8) (from Ch. 23, par. 9A-8)
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| Sec. 9A-8. Operation of Program.
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| (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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| required shall be established by rule and shall include, but | 23 |
| need not be
limited to:
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| (1) education (including literacy training), | 25 |
| employment and training
opportunities available, the |
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| criteria for approval of those opportunities,
and the right | 2 |
| to request changes in the personal responsibility and
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| services plan to include those opportunities;
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| (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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| activities;
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| (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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| (2) supportive services including child care
and the | 21 |
| rules regarding eligibility for and access to the child
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| care assistance program, transportation, initial expenses | 23 |
| of employment, job
retention, books and fees, and any other | 24 |
| supportive
services;
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| (3) the obligation of the Department to provide | 26 |
| supportive services;
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| (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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| (5) the types and locations of child care services.
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| (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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| (c) (Blank).
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| (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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| 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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| individuals and Department staff shall work together to | 26 |
| identify any
supportive service needs required to enable the |
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| 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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| (e) Recipients determined to be exempt may volunteer to | 13 |
| participate
pursuant to Section 9A-4 and must be assessed.
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| (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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| (1) contain an employment goal of the participant;
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| (2) describe the services to be provided by the | 22 |
| Department, including
child care and other support | 23 |
| services;
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| (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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| (4) describe any other needs of the family that might | 2 |
| be met by
the Department.
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| (g) The employability plan shall take into account:
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| (1) available program resources;
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| (2) the participant's support service needs;
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| (3) the participant's skills level and aptitudes;
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| (4) local employment opportunities; and
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| (5) the preferences of the
participant.
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| (h) A reassessment shall be conducted to assess a | 10 |
| participant's
progress and to review the employability plan on | 11 |
| the following occasions:
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| (1) upon completion of an activity and before
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| assignment to an activity;
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| (2) upon the request of the participant;
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| (3) if the individual is not cooperating with the | 16 |
| requirements of
the program; and
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| (4) if the individual has failed to make satisfactory | 18 |
| progress in an
education or training program.
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| Based on the reassessment, the Department may revise the | 20 |
| employability
plan of the participant.
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| (Source: P.A. 93-598, eff. 8-26-03.)
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| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 23 |
| becoming law.
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