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| Public Act 096-0867 |
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AN ACT concerning public aid.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, | ||||
represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The Illinois Public Aid Code is amended by | ||||
changing Sections 11-15 and 11-20.1 as follows:
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(305 ILCS 5/11-15) (from Ch. 23, par. 11-15)
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Sec. 11-15. Application requirements.
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(1) An application for financial
aid shall be filed in | ||||
writing by the person requesting aid and, in the case
of a | ||||
request for family aid, by the head of that family, except as
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otherwise permitted in paragraph (2). Applications for aid | ||||
under Articles
III, IV, and V shall be filed in writing with | ||||
any local office of the Department of Human Services the county
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department of
the county in which the applicant resides in the | ||||
manner prescribed by the
Illinois Department. Applications for | ||||
aid under Article VI shall be filed
in writing with the local | ||||
governmental unit upon forms approved by the
Illinois | ||||
Department.
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Each applicant shall provide information as to the amount | ||||
of
property, real and personal, owned by him or her within the | ||||
period of time
preceding
the application as required under | ||||
Sections 3-1.3, 4-1.11, and 5-2.1 of this
Code. The
applicant | ||||
shall also furnish information concerning
all income, money | ||||
contributions, and other support from any source, and
the | ||
beneficiary and the amount or cash surrender or loan value of | ||
all
insurance policies held by himself or herself or any member | ||
of his family
for whom aid is requested.
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(2) An application, in all instances to be in writing, may | ||
be filed
in behalf of a person considered to be in need of | ||
financial aid under
Articles III, IV, V, or VI only if the | ||
person
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(a) has been adjudged to be under legal disability; or
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(b) is unable because of minority or physical or mental | ||
disability,
to execute the application; or
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(c) in the case of need for funeral and burial, died | ||
before an
application was filed and the application is | ||
filed not more than 30 days
after the person's death, | ||
excluding the day on which the death occurred.
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Applications in behalf of persons specified in (a) and (b) | ||
shall be
filed by the applicant's legal guardian or, if a
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guardian has not been appointed or the applicant has no legal
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guardian or the guardian is not available, by a relative or | ||
other
person, acceptable under the rules of the Illinois | ||
Department, who is
able to furnish the required information. | ||
Applications in behalf of
persons specified in (c) shall be | ||
filed by any next of kin of the deceased
who is not under legal | ||
disability or, if there are no such next of kin or
they are | ||
unknown or unavailable, by a person, acceptable under the rules | ||
of
the Illinois Department, who is able to furnish the required | ||
information.
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(3) The application shall contain a written declaration to | ||
be signed
by the applicant, or in behalf of the applicant by a | ||
person qualified
under paragraph (2), in substantially the | ||
following form, the
parenthetical references being applicable | ||
to an application filed by a
person in behalf of the applicant:
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"I declare under penalties of perjury that I have examined | ||
this form
and all accompanying statements or documents | ||
pertaining to the income
and resources of myself (the | ||
applicant) or any member of my family (the
applicant's family) | ||
included in this application for aid, or pertaining
to any | ||
other matter having bearing upon my (the applicant's) | ||
eligibility
for aid, and to the best of my knowledge and belief | ||
the information
supplied is true, correct, and complete".
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(4) If an application for financial aid is filed for a | ||
family, and any
person in that family is under 18 years of age, | ||
the application shall be
accompanied by the following for each | ||
such person under 18 years of age:
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(i) a copy of the person's birth certificate, or
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(ii) other reliable proof, as determined by the | ||
Department, of the
person's identity and age.
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The Illinois Department shall provide information to all | ||
families, orally
by an intake
worker and in writing when the | ||
application is filed, about the availability and
location of | ||
immunization services.
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(5) Once an applicant is determined eligible for aid, he or | ||
she has the right to request to have the case transferred to | ||
another local office of the Department of Human Services for | ||
his or her convenience based on one of the following factors: | ||
the location of his or her employer; the location of his or her | ||
child care provider; access to reliable transportation; or the | ||
location of a social service provider that he or she sees on a | ||
regular basis. Within 5 business days after the request for | ||
transfer, the Department shall transfer the case, assign a | ||
caseworker, make appropriate entries in the computer system, | ||
and issue a written notice to the recipient that includes the | ||
name of and contact information for the caseworker. The | ||
location of the recipient's case may be reconsidered on the | ||
recipient's request or at the time of redetermination of | ||
eligibility. | ||
(Source: P.A. 92-111, eff. 1-1-02.)
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(305 ILCS 5/11-20.1) (from Ch. 23, par. 11-20.1)
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Sec. 11-20.1. Employment; Rights of recipient and | ||
obligations of
Illinois Department when recipients become | ||
employed; Assistance when
a recipient has employment or earned | ||
income or both. | ||
(a) When a recipient reports employment or earned income, | ||
or both, or
the Illinois Department otherwise learns of a | ||
recipient's employment or
earned income, or both, the Illinois | ||
Department shall provide the recipient
with:
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(1) An explanation of how the earned income will affect | ||
the
recipient's eligibility for a grant, and whether the | ||
recipient
must engage in additional work
activities to meet | ||
the recipient's monthly work activities requirement and | ||
what
types of activities may be approved for
that purpose, | ||
and whether the employment is sufficient to cause months of
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continued receipt of a grant not to be
counted against the | ||
recipient's lifetime eligibility limit.
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(2) An explanation of the Work Pays budgeting process,
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and an explanation of how the first
month's income on a new | ||
job will be projected, and how the recipient should
report | ||
the new job to avoid the
Department overestimating the | ||
first month's income.
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(3) An explanation of how the earned income will affect | ||
the
recipient's eligibility for food stamps, whether the | ||
recipient will
continue to receive food stamps, and, if so, | ||
the amount of food stamps.
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(4) The names and telephone numbers of all caseworkers | ||
to whom the
recipient's case or cases are assigned or will | ||
be transferred, an
explanation of which type of case each | ||
worker will be handling, and the
effective date of the | ||
transfer.
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(5) An explanation of the recipient's
responsibilities | ||
to report income and household circumstances, the process | ||
by
which quarterly reporting forms are
sent to recipients,
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where and to whom the reports should be returned, the | ||
deadline by which
reports must be returned, instructions on | ||
how to fill out the reports, an
explanation of what the | ||
recipient should do if he or she does not receive
the form, | ||
advice on how to prove the report was returned by the | ||
recipient
such as by keeping a copy, and an explanation of | ||
the effects of failure to file
reports.
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(6) If the recipient will continue to receive a grant, | ||
an explanation
of the recipient's new fiscal month and a | ||
statement as to when the
recipient will receive his or her | ||
grant.
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(7) An explanation of Kidcare, Family Assist, Family | ||
Care, and
the 12 month extension
of medical
assistance that | ||
is available when a grant is cancelled due to earned | ||
income.
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(8) An explanation of the medical assistance the person | ||
may be
eligible for when the 12 month extension expires and | ||
how to request or
apply for it.
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(9) An explanation of the availability of
a child care | ||
subsidy to all families below the child care
assistance | ||
program's income limit, how to apply for the benefit | ||
through the
Child Care Resource and Referral or | ||
site-administered child care program or
both, the nature of | ||
the child care program's
sliding scale co-payments, the
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availability of the 10% earned income disregard in | ||
determining eligibility for
child care assistance and the | ||
amount of
the parent co-payment, the right to use the | ||
subsidy for either licensed or
license exempt legal care, | ||
and the
availability of benefits when the parent is engaged | ||
in an education and
training program.
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(10) (Blank).
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(11) (Blank).
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(11a) (Blank).
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(12) (Blank).
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(13) An explanation of the availability of payment for | ||
initial
expenses of employment and how to request or apply | ||
for it.
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(14) An explanation of the job retention component and
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how to participate in it, and an explanation of the | ||
recipient's
eligibility to receive supportive
services to | ||
participate in education and training programs while | ||
working.
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(15) A statement of the types of assistance that will | ||
be provided to
the person automatically or continued and a | ||
statement of the types of
assistance for which the person | ||
must apply or reapply.
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(16) If the recipient will not continue to receive a | ||
cash grant and
the recipient has assigned his or her right | ||
to child support to the
Illinois Department, an explanation | ||
of the recipient's right to continue to
receive child | ||
support enforcement services, the recipient's right to | ||
have
all current support paid after grant cancellation | ||
forwarded promptly to the
recipient, the procedures by | ||
which child support will be forwarded, and the
procedures | ||
by which the recipient will be informed of the collection | ||
and
distribution of child support.
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(17) An explanation of the availability of payments if
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the recipient experiences a decrease in or loss of earned | ||
income
during a calendar quarter as to which the monthly | ||
grant was previously
budgeted based upon the higher income.
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(18) If the recipient will not continue to receive a | ||
cash grant, an
explanation of the procedures for reapplying | ||
for cash assistance if the
person experiences a decrease in | ||
or loss of earned income.
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(19) An explanation of the earned income tax credit and | ||
the procedures
by which it may be obtained and the rules | ||
for disregarding it in determining
eligibility for and the | ||
amount of assistance.
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(20) An explanation of the education and training | ||
opportunities
available to recipients.
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(b) The information listed in subsection (a) shall be | ||
provided to the
recipient on an individual basis during an | ||
in-person meeting with a
representative of the Illinois | ||
Department. The individual in-person
meeting shall be held at a | ||
time which does not conflict with the
recipient's work schedule | ||
within 30 days of the date the recipient begins
working. If the | ||
recipient informs the Illinois Department that an
in-person | ||
meeting would be inconvenient, the Illinois Department may
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provide the information during a home visit, by telephone, or | ||
by mail
within 30 days of the date the recipient begins | ||
working, whichever the
client prefers.
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(c) At the conclusion of the meeting described in | ||
subsection (b), the
Illinois Department shall ensure that all | ||
case transfers and calculations
of benefits necessitated by the | ||
recipient's employment or receipt of earned
income have been | ||
performed, that applications have been made or provided
for all | ||
benefits for which the person must apply or reapply, and that | ||
the
person has received payment for initial expenses of | ||
employment.
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(d) In food stamp cases in which an applicant or recipient | ||
reports earned income, the applicant's or recipient's | ||
employment shall be presumed to be a hardship for purposes of | ||
scheduling an in-person meeting with a
representative of the | ||
Illinois Department and an in-person meeting shall be waived. | ||
(Source: P.A. 93-598, eff. 8-26-03.)
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Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect on | ||
January 1, 2011.
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