Public Act 100-0879
 
SB2628 EnrolledLRB100 18775 KTG 34011 b



    AN ACT concerning State government.

 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 
represented in the General Assembly: 



 
    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the 
Strengthening the Child Welfare Workforce for Children and 
Families Act.
 
    Section 5. Purpose. It is the purpose of this Act to create 
a task force to study the compensation and workload of child 
welfare workers to determine the role that compensation and 
workload play in the recruitment and retention of child welfare 
workers, and to determine the role that staff turnover plays in 
achieving safety and timely permanency for children.  
 
    Section 10. Task Force on Strengthening the Child Welfare 
Workforce for Children and Families.   
    (a) As used in this Act: 
    "Child welfare workers" or "staff" means child welfare 
caseworkers, child welfare specialists, and child welfare 
specialist supervisors. 
    "Child welfare services job" mean an employment position as 
a child welfare caseworker, child welfare specialist, or child 
welfare specialist supervisor.
    (b) The Task Force on Strengthening the Child Welfare 
Workforce for Children and Families is created to do all of the 
following:
        (1) Perform a policy and literature review regarding: 
    (i) compensation and caseload standards in the field of 
    child welfare; (ii) staff turnover rates; and (iii) the 
    impact compensation, caseload, and staff turnover have on 
    achieving safety and timely permanency for children.
        (2) Survey employers in the public and private sector 
    to determine:
            (A) how many child welfare service jobs exist;






            (B) the compensation paid to child welfare 
        workers;
            (C) how many child welfare service jobs are filled 
        and how many are vacant;
            (D) how many child welfare service jobs are filled 
        by persons who have at least 18 months in the position; 
            (E) the rate of turnover for child welfare workers; 
        and
            (F) the causes of turnover for child welfare 
        workers.
        (3)  Conduct a detailed time log analysis for child 
    welfare workers to determine how much time is available to 
    complete each administrative task and how much time is 
    actually spent to complete each administrative task. The 
    time log analysis shall expressly ask child welfare workers 
    the following question for each administrative task, "Is 
    this task duplicative of one that you have already 
    completed?".
        (4) Develop recommendations on how to (i) improve the 
    recruitment and retention of child welfare workers;  and 
    (ii) reduce the turnover rates for child welfare workers.
    (c) Members of the Task Force shall include:
        (1) 2 members appointed by the Governor;
        (2) 2 legislative members appointed by the Speaker of 
    the House of Representatives, one of whom shall be 
    designated as Co-Chairperson;
        (3) 2 legislative members appointed by the Minority 
    Leader of the House of Representatives, one of whom shall 
    be designated as Co-Chairperson;
        (4) 2 legislative members appointed by the President of 
    the Senate, one of whom shall be designated as 
    Co-Chairperson;
        (5) 2 legislative members appointed by the Senate 
    Minority Leader, one of whom shall be designated as 
    Co-Chairperson;
        (6) the Director of the Illinois Criminal Justice 
    Information Authority, or his or her designee; 
        (7) the Director of Children and Family Services, or 
    his or her designee;
        (8) the Director of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, 
    or his or her designee;
        (9) the Principal Investigator for the Child 
    Protection Training Academy at the University of Illinois;
        (10) a person appointed by a labor union that 
    represents State employees;
        (11) a current private sector employee appointed by the 
    Speaker of the House of Representatives; and
        (12) a person representing a non-profit, statewide 
    organization that represents private sector child welfare 
    providers.
    (d) The Children and Family Research Center of the 
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign shall provide 
administrative and other support  to the Task Force.  
    (e) The Department of Children and Family Services shall 
engage the services of a university-based consultant to aid in 
the collection, cataloguing, and analysis of child welfare data 
and whose services shall conclude when the Task Force submits 
its final report to the General Assembly and the Governor as 
required under subsection (h).
    (f) The Task Force shall consider contracting with a 
qualified company, university, or other entity with 
demonstrated experience studying and improving human resources 
management. 
    (g) The Task Force shall meet no less than 6 times. 
    (h) The Task Force shall submit a preliminary report to the 
General Assembly and the Governor no later than October 1, 
2019, and a final electronic report, along with recommendations 
and any proposed legislation, to the General Assembly and the 
Governor by January 1, 2020.
    The reports to the General Assembly shall be filed with the 
Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Secretary of the 
Senate in electronic form only, in the manner that the Clerk 
and the Secretary shall direct. 
    (i) The Task Force is dissolved on January 1, 2021.

 
    Section 15. Repeal. This Act is repealed on January 1, 
2021.
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 
becoming law.