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Public Act 103-0479
Public Act 0479 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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Public Act 103-0479
| | SB0505 Enrolled | LRB103 02957 SPS 47963 b |
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| 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;
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| (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.)
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Effective Date: 1/1/2024
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