Public Act 101-0558
 
SB1525 EnrolledLRB101 10314 KTG 55420 b


  
    AN ACT concerning State government.
  
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
 
represented in the General Assembly:
  
 
 
    Section 5. The Children and Family Services Act is amended  
by changing Section 8 as follows:
 


    (20 ILCS 505/8)  (from Ch. 23, par. 5008)




    Sec. 8. Scholarships and fee waivers; tuition waiver. 
    (a) Each year the Department shall select a minimum of 53 
students (at least 4 of whom shall be children of veterans) to 
receive scholarships and fee waivers which will enable them to 
attend and complete their post-secondary education at a 
community college, university, or college. Youth shall be 
selected from among the youth for whom the Department has  
court-ordered legal responsibility, youth who aged out of care 
at age 18 or older, or youth formerly under care
who have been 
adopted or who have been placed in private guardianship. 
Recipients must have earned a high school diploma from an 
accredited institution or a high school equivalency 
certificate or diploma or have met the State criteria for high 
school graduation before the start of the school year for which 
they are applying for the scholarship and waiver. Scholarships 
and fee waivers shall be available to students for at least 5 
years, provided they are continuing to work toward graduation. 
Unused scholarship dollars and fee waivers shall be reallocated 
to new recipients. No later than January 1, 2015, the 
Department shall promulgate rules identifying the criteria for 
"continuing to work toward graduation" and for reallocating 
unused scholarships and fee waivers. Selection shall be made on 
the
basis of several factors, including, but not limited to, 
scholastic record, aptitude, and general interest in higher

education.  The selection committee shall include at least 2 
individuals formerly under the care of the Department who have 
completed their post-secondary education. In accordance with 
this Act, tuition scholarships and fee waivers
shall be 
available to such students at any university or college 
maintained by
the State of Illinois.  The Department shall 
provide maintenance and school
expenses, except tuition and 
fees, during the academic years to supplement
the students' 
earnings or other resources so long as they consistently

maintain scholastic records which are acceptable to their 
schools and to
the Department.  Students may attend other 
colleges and universities, if
scholarships are awarded them, 
and receive the same benefits for maintenance
and other 
expenses as those students attending any Illinois State 
community
college, university, or college under this Section. 
Beginning with recipients receiving scholarships and waivers 
in August 2014, the Department shall collect data and report 
annually to the General Assembly on measures of success, 
including (i) the number of youth applying for and receiving 
scholarships or waivers, (ii) the percentage of scholarship or 
waiver recipients who complete their college or university 
degree within 5 years, (iii) the average length of time it 
takes for scholarship or waiver recipients to complete their 
college or university degree, (iv) the reasons that scholarship 
or waiver recipients are discharged or fail to complete their 
college or university degree, (v) when available, youths' 
outcomes 5 years and 10 years after being awarded the 
scholarships or waivers, and (vi) budget allocations for 
maintenance and school expenses incurred by the Department. 

    (b) Youth who are not selected to receive a scholarship or 
fee waiver under subsection (a) shall receive a tuition and fee 
waiver to assist them in attending and completing their 
post-secondary education at any community college, university, 
or college maintained by the State of Illinois if they are 
youth for whom  the Department has court-ordered legal 
responsibility, youth who aged out of care at age 18 or older, 
or youth formerly under care who have been adopted and were the 
subject of an adoption assistance agreement or who have been 
placed in private guardianship and were the subject of a 
subsidized guardianship agreement. 
    To receive a waiver under this subsection, an applicant 
must: 
        (1) have earned a high school diploma from an

    accredited institution or a high school equivalency

    certificate or have met the State criteria for high school

    graduation before the start of the school year for which 
    the applicant is applying for the waiver;
        (2) enroll in a
qualifying post-secondary education 
    before the applicant reaches the age
of 26; and
        (3) apply for federal and State grant assistance by 
    completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. 
    The community college or public university
that an 
applicant attends must waive any tuition and fee amounts that 
exceed the amounts paid to the applicant under the federal Pell 
Grant Program or the State's Monetary Award Program. 
    Tuition and fee waivers shall be available to a student for 
at least the first 5 years the student is enrolled in a 
community college, university, or college maintained by the 
State of Illinois so long as the student makes satisfactory 
progress toward completing his or her degree. The age 
requirement and 5-year cap on tuition and fee waivers under 
this subsection shall be waived and eligibility for tuition and 
fee waivers shall be extended for any applicant or student who 
the Department determines was unable to enroll in a qualifying 
post-secondary school or complete an academic term because the 
applicant or student: (i) was called into active duty with the 
United States Armed Forces; (ii) was deployed for service in 
the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps; or 
(iii) volunteered in the Peace Corps or the AmeriCorps. The 
Department shall extend eligibility for a qualifying  applicant 
or student by the total number of months or years during which 
the applicant or student served on active duty with the United 
States Armed Forces, was deployed for service in the United 
States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, or 
volunteered in the Peace Corps or the AmeriCorps. The number of 
months an applicant or student served on active duty with the 
United States Armed Forces shall be rounded up to the next 
higher year to determine the maximum length of time to extend 
eligibility for the applicant or student.
    The Department may provide the student with a stipend to 
cover maintenance and school expenses, except tuition and fees, 
during the academic years to supplement the student's earnings 
or other resources so long as the student consistently 
maintains scholastic records which are acceptable to the 
student's school and to the Department. 
    The Department shall develop outreach programs to ensure 
that youths who qualify for the tuition and fee waivers under 
this subsection who are high school students in grades 9 
through 12 or who are enrolled in a high school equivalency 
testing program are aware of the availability of the tuition 
and fee waivers. 
    (c) Subject to appropriation, the Department shall provide 
eligible youth an apprenticeship stipend to cover those costs 
associated with entering and sustaining through completion an 
apprenticeship, including, but not limited to fees, tuition for 
classes, work clothes, rain gear, boots, and 
occupation-specific tools. The following youth may be eligible 
for the apprenticeship stipend provided under this subsection: 
youth for whom the Department has court-ordered legal 
responsibility; youth who aged out of care at age 18 or older; 
or youth formerly under care who have been adopted and were the 
subject of an adoption assistance agreement or who have been 
placed in private guardianship and were the subject of a 
subsidized guardianship agreement. 
    To receive a stipend under this subsection, an applicant 
must: 
        (1) be enrolled in an apprenticeship training program 
    approved or recognized by the Illinois Department of 
    Employment Security or an apprenticeship program approved 
    by the United States Department of Labor; 
        (2) not be a recipient of a scholarship or fee waiver 
    under subsection (a) or (b); and 
        (3) be under the age of 26 before enrolling in a 
    qualified apprenticeship program. 
    Apprenticeship stipends shall be available to an eligible 
youth for a maximum of 5 years after the youth enrolls in a 
qualifying apprenticeship program so long as the youth makes 
satisfactory progress toward completing his or her 
apprenticeship. The age requirement and 5-year cap on the 
apprenticeship stipend provided under this subsection shall be 
extended for any applicant who the Department determines was 
unable to enroll in a qualifying apprenticeship program because 
the applicant: (i) was called into active duty with the United 
States Armed Forces; (ii) was deployed for service in the 
United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps; or 
(iii) volunteered in the Peace Corps or the AmeriCorps. The 
Department shall extend eligibility for a qualifying applicant 
by the total number of months or years during which the 
applicant served on active duty with the United States Armed 
Forces, was deployed for service in the United States Public 
Health Service Commissioned Corps, or volunteered in the Peace 
Corps or the AmeriCorps. The number of months an applicant 
served on active duty with the United States Armed Forces shall 
be rounded up to the next higher year to determine the maximum 
length of time to extend eligibility for the applicant. 
    The Department shall develop outreach programs to ensure 
that youths who qualify for the apprenticeship stipends under 
this subsection who are high school students in grades 9 
through 12 or who are enrolled in a high school equivalency 
testing program are aware of the availability of the 
apprenticeship stipend. 
(Source: P.A. 99-78, eff. 7-20-15; 100-1045, eff. 1-1-19.)

 
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January 
1, 2020.