Public Act 103-0479
 
SB0505 EnrolledLRB103 02957 SPS 47963 b



    AN ACT concerning employment.

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



 
 
    Section 5. The Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities 
Act is amended  by changing Section 3 as follows:
 


    (20 ILCS 2405/3)  (from Ch. 23, par. 3434)



    Sec. 3. Powers and duties. The Department shall have the 
powers and
duties enumerated
herein:

        (a) To cooperate with the federal government in the 
    administration
of the provisions of the federal 
    Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended by the Workforce

    Innovation and Opportunity Act,
and of the federal Social 
    Security Act to the extent and in the manner
provided in 
    these Acts.

        (b) To prescribe and supervise such courses of 
    vocational training
and provide such other services as may 
    be necessary for the vocational rehabilitation of persons 
    with one or more disabilities, including the

    administrative activities under subsection (e) of this 
    Section; to cooperate
 with State and local school 
    authorities and other recognized
agencies engaged in 
    vocational
rehabilitation services; and to cooperate with 
    the Department of Children
and Family Services, the 
    Illinois State Board of Education, and others regarding 
    the education of children with one
or more disabilities.

        (c) (Blank).

        (d) To report in writing, to the Governor, annually on 
    or before the
first day of December, and at such other 
    times and in such manner and
upon such subjects as the 
    Governor may require.  The annual report shall
contain (1) 
    information on the programs and activities dedicated to 
    vocational rehabilitation, independent living, and other 
    community services and supports administered by the 
    Director; (2) information on the development of vocational 
    rehabilitation services, independent living services, and 
    supporting services administered by the Director in the 
    State; and (3) information detailing the
amounts of money 
    received from federal, State, and other sources, and of

    the objects and purposes to which the respective items of 
    these several
amounts have been devoted.

        (e) (Blank).

        (f) To establish a program of services to prevent the 
    unnecessary
institutionalization of persons in need of 
    long term care and who meet the criteria for blindness or 
    disability as defined by the Social Security Act, thereby 
    enabling them to
remain in their own homes. Such 
    preventive
services include any or all of the following:

            (1) personal assistant services;

            (2) homemaker services;

            (3) home-delivered meals;

            (4) adult day care services;

            (5) respite care;

            (6) home modification or assistive equipment;

            (7) home health services;

            (8) electronic home response;

            (9) brain injury behavioral/cognitive services;

            (10) brain injury habilitation;

            (11) brain injury pre-vocational services; or

            (12) brain injury supported employment.

        The Department shall establish eligibility
standards 
    for such services taking into consideration the unique

    economic and social needs of the population for whom they 
    are to
be provided.  Such eligibility standards may be 
    based on the recipient's
ability to pay for services; 
    provided, however, that any portion of a
person's income 
    that is equal to or less than the "protected income" level

    shall not be considered by the Department in determining 
    eligibility.  The
"protected income" level shall be 
    determined by the Department, shall never be
less than the 
    federal poverty standard, and shall be adjusted each year 
    to
reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index For All 
    Urban Consumers as
determined by the United States 
    Department of Labor.  The standards must
provide that a 
    person may not have more than $10,000 in assets to be 
    eligible for the services, and the Department may increase 
    or decrease the asset limitation by rule. The Department 
    may not decrease the asset level below $10,000. Subject to 
    federal approval, the Department shall allow a recipient's 
    spouse, guardian, kin, or siblings to serve as his or her 
    provider of personal care or similar services.

        The services shall be provided, as established by the

    Department by rule, to eligible persons
to prevent 
    unnecessary or premature institutionalization, to
the 
    extent that the cost of the services, together with the

    other personal maintenance expenses of the persons, are 
    reasonably
related to the standards established for care 
    in a group facility
appropriate to their condition.  These 
    non-institutional
services, pilot projects or experimental 
    facilities may be provided as part of
or in addition to 
    those authorized by federal law or those funded and

    administered by the Illinois Department on Aging. The 
    Department shall set rates and fees for services in a fair 
    and equitable manner.  Services identical to those offered 
    by the Department on Aging shall be paid at the same rate. 

        Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph, 
    personal assistants shall be paid at a rate negotiated

    between the State and an exclusive representative of 
    personal
assistants under a collective bargaining 
    agreement. In no case
shall the Department pay personal 
    assistants an hourly wage
that is less than the federal 
    minimum wage. Within 30 days after July 6, 2017 (the 
    effective date of Public Act 100-23), the hourly wage paid 
    to personal assistants and individual maintenance home 
    health workers shall be increased by $0.48 per hour. Wages 
    and other benefits for personal assistants shall not count 
    against benefits that guardians receive as outlined in 
    Article XIa of the Probate Act of 1975. 




        Solely for the purposes of coverage under the Illinois 
    Public Labor
Relations
Act, personal assistants providing

    services under
the Department's Home Services Program 
    shall be considered to be public
employees
and the State 
    of Illinois shall be considered to be their employer as of 
    July 16, 2003 (the
effective date of Public Act 93-204), 
    but not before. Solely for the purposes of coverage under 
    the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act, home care and 
    home health workers who function as personal assistants 
    and individual maintenance home health workers and who 
    also provide services under the Department's Home Services 
    Program shall be considered to be public employees, no 
    matter whether the State provides such services through 
    direct fee-for-service arrangements, with the assistance 
    of a managed care organization or other intermediary, or 
    otherwise, and the State of Illinois shall be considered 
    to be the employer of those persons as of January 29, 2013 
    (the effective date of Public Act 97-1158), but not before 
    except as otherwise provided under this subsection (f). 
    The State
shall
engage in collective bargaining with an 
    exclusive representative of home care and home health 
    workers who function as personal assistants and individual 
    maintenance home health workers working under the Home 
    Services Program
concerning
their terms and conditions of 
    employment that are within the State's control.
Nothing in

    this paragraph shall be understood to limit the right of 
    the persons receiving
services
defined in this Section to 
    hire and fire
home care and home health workers who 
    function as personal assistants
and individual maintenance 
    home health workers working under the Home Services 
    Program or to supervise them within the limitations set by 
    the Home Services Program. The
State
shall not be 
    considered to be the employer of
home care and home health 
    workers who function as personal
assistants and individual 
    maintenance home health workers working under the Home 
    Services Program for any purposes not specifically 
    provided in Public Act 93-204 or Public Act 97-1158, 
    including but not limited to, purposes of vicarious 
    liability
in tort and
purposes of statutory retirement or 
    health insurance benefits. Home care and home health 
    workers who function as personal assistants and individual 
    maintenance home health workers and who also provide 
    services under the Department's Home Services Program 
    shall not be covered by the State Employees Group

    Insurance Act
of 1971.

        The Department shall execute, relative to nursing home 
    prescreening, as authorized by Section 4.03 of the 
    Illinois Act on the Aging,
written inter-agency agreements 
    with the Department on Aging and
the Department of 
    Healthcare and Family Services, to effect the intake 
    procedures
and eligibility criteria for those persons who 
    may need long term care.  On and after July 1, 1996, all 
    nursing
home prescreenings for individuals 18 through 59 
    years of age shall be
conducted by the Department, or a 
    designee of the
Department.

        The Department is authorized to establish a system of 
    recipient cost-sharing
for services provided under this 
    Section.  The cost-sharing shall be based upon
the 
    recipient's ability to pay for services, but in no case 
    shall the
recipient's share exceed the actual cost of the 
    services provided.  Protected
income shall not be 
    considered by the Department in its determination of the

    recipient's ability to pay a share of the cost of 
    services.  The level of
cost-sharing shall be adjusted each 
    year to reflect changes in the "protected
income" level.  
    The Department shall deduct from the recipient's share of 
    the
cost of services any money expended by the recipient 
    for disability-related
expenses.

        To the extent permitted under the federal Social 
    Security Act, the Department, or the Department's 
    authorized representative, may recover
the amount of 
    moneys expended for services provided to or in behalf of a 
    person
under this Section by a claim against the person's 
    estate or against the estate
of the person's surviving 
    spouse, but no recovery may be had until after the
death of 
    the surviving spouse, if any, and then only at such time 
    when there is
no surviving child who is under age 21 or 
    blind or who has a permanent and total disability.  This 
    paragraph, however, shall not bar recovery, at the death 
    of the
person, of moneys for services provided to the 
    person or in behalf of the
person under this Section to 
    which the person was not entitled; provided that
such 
    recovery shall not be enforced against any real estate 
    while
it is occupied as a homestead by the surviving 
    spouse or other dependent, if no
claims by other creditors 
    have been filed against the estate, or, if such
claims 
    have been filed, they remain dormant for failure of 
    prosecution or
failure of the claimant to compel 
    administration of the estate for the purpose
of payment.  
    This paragraph shall not bar recovery from the estate of a 
    spouse,
under Sections 1915 and 1924 of the Social 
    Security Act and Section 5-4 of the
Illinois Public Aid 
    Code, who precedes a person receiving services under this

    Section in death.  All moneys for services
paid to or in 
    behalf of the person under this Section shall be claimed 
    for
recovery from the deceased spouse's estate.  
    "Homestead", as used in this
paragraph, means the dwelling 
    house and
contiguous real estate occupied by a surviving 
    spouse or relative, as defined
by the rules and 
    regulations of the Department of Healthcare and Family 
    Services,
regardless of the value of the property.



        (g) To establish such subdivisions of the Department

    as shall be desirable and assign to the various 
    subdivisions the
responsibilities and duties placed upon 
    the Department by law.

        (h) To cooperate and enter into any necessary 
    agreements with the
Department of Employment Security for 
    the provision of job placement and
job referral services 
    to clients of the Department, including job
service 
    registration of such clients with Illinois Employment 
    Security
offices and making job listings maintained by the 
    Department of Employment
Security available to such 
    clients.

        (i) To possess all powers reasonable and necessary for

    the exercise and administration of the powers, duties and

    responsibilities of the Department which are provided for 
    by law.

        (j) (Blank).

        (k) (Blank).

        (l) To establish, operate, and maintain a Statewide 
    Housing Clearinghouse
of information on available 
    government subsidized housing accessible to
persons with 
    disabilities and available privately owned housing 
    accessible to
persons with disabilities.  The information 
    shall include, but not be limited to, the
location, rental 
    requirements, access features and proximity to public

    transportation of available housing.  The Clearinghouse 
    shall consist
of at least a computerized database for the 
    storage and retrieval of
information and a separate or 
    shared toll free telephone number for use by
those seeking 
    information from the Clearinghouse.  Department offices and

    personnel throughout the State shall also assist in the 
    operation of the
Statewide Housing Clearinghouse.  
    Cooperation with local, State, and federal
housing 
    managers shall be sought and extended in order to 
    frequently and
promptly update the Clearinghouse's 
    information.

        (m) To assure that the names and case records of 
    persons who received or
are
receiving services from the 
    Department, including persons receiving vocational

    rehabilitation, home services, or other services, and 
    those attending one of
the Department's schools or other 
    supervised facility shall be confidential and
not be open 
    to the general public.  Those case records and reports or 
    the
information contained in those records and reports 
    shall be disclosed by the
Director only to proper law 
    enforcement officials, individuals authorized by a
court, 
    the General Assembly or any committee or commission of the 
    General
Assembly, and other persons and for reasons as the 
    Director designates by rule.
 Disclosure by the Director 
    may be only in accordance with other applicable
law.

(Source: P.A. 102-264, eff. 8-6-21; 102-826, eff. 5-13-22.)