Full Text of SB2906 99th General Assembly
SB2906enr 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning public aid.
| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 5. The Illinois Public Aid Code is amended by | 5 | | changing Section 9A-8 as follows:
| 6 | | (305 ILCS 5/9A-8) (from Ch. 23, par. 9A-8)
| 7 | | Sec. 9A-8. Operation of Program.
| 8 | | (a) At the time of application or redetermination of | 9 | | eligibility under
Article IV, as determined by rule, the | 10 | | Illinois Department shall provide
information in writing and | 11 | | orally regarding the education, training and
employment | 12 | | program to all applicants and recipients. The information
| 13 | | required shall be established by rule and shall include, but | 14 | | need not be
limited to:
| 15 | | (1) education (including literacy training), | 16 | | employment and training
opportunities available, the | 17 | | criteria for approval of those opportunities,
and the right | 18 | | to request changes in the personal responsibility and
| 19 | | services plan to include those opportunities;
| 20 | | (1.1) a complete list of all activities that are | 21 | | approvable activities, and
the circumstances under which | 22 | | they are
approvable, including work activities, substance | 23 | | abuse or mental health
treatment, activities to escape and |
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| 1 | | prevent domestic
violence, caring for a medically impaired | 2 | | family member, and any other
approvable activities, | 3 | | together with the right to and
procedures for amending the | 4 | | responsibility and services plan to include these
| 5 | | activities;
| 6 | | (1.2) the rules concerning the lifetime limit on | 7 | | eligibility, including
the current status of the applicant | 8 | | or recipient in
terms of the months of remaining | 9 | | eligibility, the criteria under which a month
will not | 10 | | count towards the lifetime limit, and the
criteria under | 11 | | which a recipient may receive benefits beyond the end of | 12 | | the
lifetime limit;
| 13 | | (2) supportive services including child care
and the | 14 | | rules regarding eligibility for and access to the child
| 15 | | care assistance program, transportation, initial expenses | 16 | | of employment, job
retention, books and fees, and any other | 17 | | supportive
services;
| 18 | | (3) the obligation of the Department to provide | 19 | | supportive services;
| 20 | | (4) the rights and responsibilities of participants, | 21 | | including
exemption, sanction, reconciliation, and good | 22 | | cause criteria and
procedures, termination for | 23 | | non-cooperation
and reinstatement rules and procedures, | 24 | | and appeal and grievance procedures;
and
| 25 | | (5) the types and locations of child care services.
| 26 | | (b) The Illinois
Department shall notify the recipient in |
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| 1 | | writing of the opportunity to
volunteer to participate in the | 2 | | program.
| 3 | | (c) (Blank).
| 4 | | (d) As part of the personal plan for achieving employment | 5 | | and
self-sufficiency, the Department shall conduct an | 6 | | individualized assessment
of
the
participant's employability. | 7 | | No participant may be assigned to any
component of the | 8 | | education, training and employment activity
prior to such
| 9 | | assessment. The plan shall
include collection of
information
on | 10 | | the individual's background, proficiencies, skills | 11 | | deficiencies,
education level, work history, employment goals, | 12 | | interests, aptitudes, and
employment preferences, as well as | 13 | | factors affecting employability or
ability to meet | 14 | | participation requirements (e.g., health, physical or
mental | 15 | | limitations, child care, family circumstances, domestic | 16 | | violence, sexual violence,
substance abuse, and special needs | 17 | | of any child of the individual). As part
of the plan,
| 18 | | individuals and Department staff shall work together to | 19 | | identify any
supportive service needs required to enable the | 20 | | client to participate and
meet the objectives of his or her | 21 | | employability plan. The
assessment may be conducted through | 22 | | various methods such as interviews,
testing, counseling, and | 23 | | self-assessment instruments. In the
assessment process, the | 24 | | Department shall offer to include standard
literacy testing
and | 25 | | a determination of
English language proficiency and shall | 26 | | provide it for those who accept the
offer.
Based on the |
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| 1 | | assessment,
the
individual will be assigned to the appropriate | 2 | | activity. The
decision will be based on a determination of the | 3 | | individual's level of
preparation for employment as defined by | 4 | | rule.
| 5 | | (e) Recipients determined to be exempt may volunteer to | 6 | | participate
pursuant to Section 9A-4 and must be assessed.
| 7 | | (f) As part of the personal plan for achieving employment | 8 | | and
self-sufficiency under Section 4-1, an employability plan | 9 | | for recipients
shall be
developed in
consultation with the | 10 | | participant. The Department shall have final
responsibility | 11 | | for approving the employability plan. The employability
plan | 12 | | shall:
| 13 | | (1) contain an employment goal of the participant;
| 14 | | (2) describe the services to be provided by the | 15 | | Department, including
child care and other support | 16 | | services;
| 17 | | (3) describe the activities, such as component | 18 | | assignment, that will be
undertaken by the participant to | 19 | | achieve the employment goal . The Department shall treat | 20 | | participation in high school and high school equivalency | 21 | | programs as a core activity and count participation in high | 22 | | school and high school equivalency programs toward the | 23 | | first 20 hours per week of participation. The Department | 24 | | shall approve participation in high school or high school | 25 | | equivalency programs upon written or oral request of the | 26 | | participant if he or she has not already earned a high |
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| 1 | | school diploma or a high school equivalency certificate. | 2 | | However, participation in high school or high school | 3 | | equivalency programs may be delayed as part of an | 4 | | applicant's or recipient's personal plan for achieving | 5 | | employment and self-sufficiency if it is determined that | 6 | | the benefit from participating in another activity, such | 7 | | as, but not limited to, treatment for substance abuse or an | 8 | | English proficiency program, would be greater to the | 9 | | applicant or recipient than participation in high school or | 10 | | a high school equivalency program. The availability of high | 11 | | school and high school equivalency programs may also delay | 12 | | enrollment in those programs. The Department shall treat | 13 | | such activities as a core activity as long as satisfactory | 14 | | progress is made, as determined by the high school or high | 15 | | school equivalency program. Proof of satisfactory progress | 16 | | shall be provided by the participant or the school at the | 17 | | end of each academic term ; and
| 18 | | (4) describe any other needs of the family that might | 19 | | be met by
the Department.
| 20 | | (g) The employability plan shall take into account:
| 21 | | (1) available program resources;
| 22 | | (2) the participant's support service needs;
| 23 | | (3) the participant's skills level and aptitudes;
| 24 | | (4) local employment opportunities; and
| 25 | | (5) the preferences of the
participant.
| 26 | | (h) A reassessment shall be conducted to assess a |
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| 1 | | participant's
progress and to review the employability plan on | 2 | | the following occasions:
| 3 | | (1) upon completion of an activity and before
| 4 | | assignment to an activity;
| 5 | | (2) upon the request of the participant;
| 6 | | (3) if the individual is not cooperating with the | 7 | | requirements of
the program; and
| 8 | | (4) if the individual has failed to make satisfactory | 9 | | progress in an
education or training program.
| 10 | | Based on the reassessment, the Department may revise the | 11 | | employability
plan of the participant.
| 12 | | (Source: P.A. 96-866, eff. 7-1-10 .)
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