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91_HB1717
LRB9104207WHdv
1 AN ACT in relation to home modifications for older
2 persons and persons with disabilities.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
6 Home Modification for Prevention of Institutionalization Act.
7 Section 5. Findings. The General Assembly finds that it
8 is far preferable for older persons and adults and children
9 with disabilities to live in their own homes or in the homes
10 of family members in their own communities rather than in
11 more restrictive institutionalized settings removed from
12 their friends and loved ones. The General Assembly further
13 finds that older persons and adults and children with
14 disabilities often are unnecessarily placed or forced to
15 remain in institutionalized settings due to the lack of
16 resources needed to make modifications to their dwellings to
17 enable them to remain in or return to their homes and
18 communities. The General Assembly further finds that it is in
19 the best interests of the State of Illinois to support
20 community-based living for older persons and adults and
21 children with disabilities by implementing a program to
22 enable them to make modifications to their dwellings to avoid
23 unnecessary placement outside of their own homes and
24 communities.
25 Section 10. Purpose. The purpose of this Act is to
26 authorize the Illinois Department of Human Services to
27 establish a program to provide funding for home modifications
28 to enable older persons and adults and children with
29 disabilities to remain in or return to their homes in order
30 to allow them to live as independently as possible for as
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1 long as possible.
2 Section 15. Program. Subject to appropriation for these
3 purposes, the Illinois Department of Human Services shall
4 establish a Home Modification Grant and Loan Program.
5 Section 20. Eligibility for Program. Persons age 60 or
6 over and adults and children with disabilities shall be
7 eligible for grants or loans or both under the Home
8 Modification Grant and Loan Program if they have verifiable
9 functional limitations for which some modification of their
10 dwelling is required and they are unable to afford, because
11 of limited resources, the cost of the modification.
12 Preference shall be given to applicants who: (1) are at
13 imminent risk of institutionalization or who are already in
14 an institutional setting but are ready to return home and who
15 would be able to live at home if a modification or
16 modifications are made, (2) have inadequate resources or no
17 current access to resources as a result of the geographic
18 location of their dwelling, the lack of other available State
19 or federal funds such as the Community Development Block
20 Grant, rural housing assistance programs or income
21 limitations such as the inability to qualify for a
22 low-interest loan, or (3) have access to other resources,
23 but those resources are inadequate to complete the necessary
24 modifications.
25 Section 25. Rulemaking. The Department of Human
26 Services shall promulgate administrative rules governing the
27 Home Modification Grant and Loan Program consistent with this
28 Act.
29 Section 30. Advisory Committee. The Department of Human
30 Services shall establish an Advisory Committee for the Home
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1 Modification Grant and Loan Program to advise the Secretary
2 of Human Services on policies and procedures under which the
3 Program shall operate. The Advisory Committee shall consist
4 of no fewer than 9 nor more than 15 members and shall include
5 at least one individual with a disability, one individual
6 over the age of 60, the Director of the Department on Aging
7 or his or her designee, the Executive Director of the
8 Statewide Independent Living Council or his or her designee,
9 a representative from the construction industry who
10 specializes in home modifications for individuals with
11 disabilities and older persons, the Executive Director of the
12 Illinois Assistive Technology Project or his or her designee,
13 and the Executive Director of the Coalition of Citizens with
14 Disabilities in Illinois or his or her designee.
15 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
16 becoming law.