Public Act 103-0943
 
SB3138 EnrolledLRB103 37690 KTG 67817 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 State of Illinois High School 
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 
and completion of a certificate or degree program. 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 
to 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 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 State of Illinois High School 
    Diploma 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 continues to work 
toward graduation and completion of a certificate or degree 
program. makes satisfactory progress toward completing the 
student's 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 the youth's 
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. 102-1100, eff. 1-1-23; 103-22, eff. 8-8-23; 
103-154, eff. 6-30-23.)
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 
becoming law.