Full Text of SB0955 100th General Assembly
SB0955eng 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | SB0955 Engrossed | | LRB100 09548 RLC 19714 b |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning care for persons with developmental | 2 | | disabilities, which may be referred to as the Community | 3 | | Disability Living Wage Act.
| 4 | | WHEREAS, An estimated 27,000 children and adults with | 5 | | intellectual and developmental disabilities are supported in | 6 | | community-based settings in Illinois; direct support persons | 7 | | (DSPs) are trained paraprofessional staff that are engaged in | 8 | | activities of daily living and community support; these | 9 | | employees earn wages that place them and their families below | 10 | | the poverty level; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, According to the most recent Illinois industry | 12 | | surveys, the average DSP wage in Illinois is $9.35 per hour | 13 | | which is 26% below the U.S. Department of Health and Human | 14 | | Services poverty threshold of $11.83 for a family of 4 and one | 15 | | out of every four DSP jobs in provider agencies are going | 16 | | unfilled, with 34% of DSPs working in residential programs | 17 | | having been with the service provider for less than a year; low | 18 | | wages often compel DSPs to work many overtime hours or hold | 19 | | down a second job to support their families; research by the | 20 | | American Network of Community Options and Resources (ANCOR), | 21 | | inclusive of Illinois, reveals 56% of DSPs rely on public | 22 | | assistance to make ends meet, creating additional expenditures | 23 | | for State government; low wages are a consequence of the | 24 | | historically low reimbursement rates paid by the State of | 25 | | Illinois to community-based service providers; over the last 9 |
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| 1 | | fiscal years, there has been no increase in State funding to | 2 | | these agencies; by contrast, the Consumer Price Index increased | 3 | | 16% over the same period; and | 4 | | WHEREAS, The lack of adequate wages for employees who | 5 | | perform the challenging work of supporting persons with | 6 | | intellectual and developmental disabilities results in high | 7 | | employee turnover, which in turn negatively impacts the quality | 8 | | of services provided, as described in the recent Chicago | 9 | | Tribune series; higher wages are proven to reduce staff | 10 | | turnover, improving stability and quality of services while | 11 | | reducing employer training costs; and | 12 | | WHEREAS, Rising wages in several other sectors now mean, | 13 | | despite strenuous efforts to recruit new workers, agencies are | 14 | | experiencing staff vacancy rates of up to 25%; excessive | 15 | | vacancies force employers to rely more on overtime, leading to | 16 | | staff burnout and driving up costs; for the second year in a | 17 | | row the federal court monitor documented how this growing | 18 | | hiring crisis impedes the ability of community disability | 19 | | agencies to expand to accommodate persons newly approved for | 20 | | services as part of the Ligas Consent Decree; and | 21 | | WHEREAS, The General Assembly finds that in order to reduce | 22 | | turnover, increase retention, fill vacancies, and ensure DSPs | 23 | | are adequately compensated for the critically important work |
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| 1 | | they do, an increase in rates and reimbursements to | 2 | | community-based service providers to effectuate an increase in | 3 | | the hourly wage paid to DSPs is needed; and | 4 | | WHEREAS, It is the purpose of this amendatory Act to | 5 | | increase the wages of DSPs in community disability agencies | 6 | | beyond the poverty level and to a level competitive with rival | 7 | | employers, in an effort to improve the lives of DSPs and the | 8 | | lives of the vulnerable persons they support; therefore
| 9 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 10 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 11 | | Section 5. The Mental Health and Developmental | 12 | | Disabilities Administrative Act is amended by adding Section | 13 | | 55.5 as follows: | 14 | | (20 ILCS 1705/55.5 new) | 15 | | Sec. 55.5. Increased wages for front-line personnel.
The | 16 | | Department shall establish reimbursement rates which build | 17 | | toward livable wages for front-line personnel in residential | 18 | | and day programs and service coordination agencies serving | 19 | | persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities under | 20 | | Section 54 of this Act, including, but not limited to, | 21 | | intermediate care facilities for persons with developmental | 22 | | disabilities, community-integrated living arrangements, |
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| 1 | | developmental training programs, employment, and other | 2 | | residential and day programs for persons with intellectual and | 3 | | developmental disabilities supported by State funds or funding | 4 | | under Title XIX of the federal Social Security Act. | 5 | | As used in this Section, "front-line personnel" means | 6 | | direct support persons, aides, front-line supervisors, | 7 | | qualified intellectual disabilities professionals, nurses, and | 8 | | non-administrative support staff working in service settings | 9 | | outlined in this Section. The Department shall increase rates | 10 | | and reimbursements so that direct support persons earn a base | 11 | | wage of not less than $15 per hour and so that other front-line | 12 | | personnel earn a commensurate wage. | 13 | | Section 10. The Illinois Public Aid Code is amended by | 14 | | adding Section 5-5.4i as follows: | 15 | | (305 ILCS 5/5-5.4i new) | 16 | | Sec. 5-5.4i. Increased wages for front-line personnel. As | 17 | | used in this Section, "front-line personnel" means direct | 18 | | support persons, aides, front-line supervisors, qualified | 19 | | intellectual disabilities professionals, nurses, and | 20 | | non-administrative support staff working in service settings | 21 | | outlined in this Section. | 22 | | Under Section 55.5 of the Mental Health and Developmental | 23 | | Disabilities Administrative Act, the payment rate for all | 24 | | facilities licensed by the Department of Public Health under |
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| 1 | | the ID/DD Community Care Act as intermediate care for the | 2 | | developmentally disabled facilities and under the MC/DD Act as | 3 | | medically complex for the developmentally disabled facilities | 4 | | shall be increased to fund rates and reimbursements so that | 5 | | direct support persons earn a base wage of not less than $15 | 6 | | per hour and so that other front-line personnel earn a | 7 | | commensurate wage.
| 8 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 9 | | becoming law.
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