Public Act 90-0017 of the 90th General Assembly
Public Act 90-0017
HB0204 Enrolled LRB9001426WHmg
AN ACT regarding assistance to needy families.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Illinois Administrative Procedure Act is
amended by adding Section 5-160 as follows:
(5 ILCS 100/5-160 new)
Sec. 5-160. Certain provisions of the Illinois Public
Aid Code control over provisions of this Act. In the event
that any provisions of this Act are in conflict with the
provisions of Section 4-2 of the Illinois Public Aid Code,
the provisions of Section 4-2 of the Illinois Public Aid Code
shall control.
Section 10. The Illinois Public Aid Code is amended by
changing the heading of Article IV, by changing Sections 1-8,
4-0.5, 4-1, 4-1.1, 4-1.2, 4-1.6, 4-1.7, 4-1.9, 4-2, 4-8,
4-12, 6-1.3, 9A-3, 9A-4, 9A-7, 9A-8, 9A-9, 9A-11, 11-6,
11-6.2, 11-8, 11-8.6, 11-16, 11-20, 12-4.4, 12-4.11, and
12-10.3, and by adding Sections 1-9, 1-10, 1-11, 4-0.6,
4-1.12, 4-21, 4-22, 9A-13, and 12-13.05 as follows:
(305 ILCS 5/1-8)
Sec. 1-8. Fugitives ineligible.
(a) The following persons are not eligible for aid under
this Code, or federal food stamps or federal food stamp
benefits:
(1) A person who has fled from the jurisdiction of
any court of record of this or any other state or of the
United States to avoid prosecution for a felony or to
avoid giving testimony in any criminal proceeding
involving the alleged commission of a felony.
(2) A person who has fled to avoid imprisonment in
a correctional facility of this or any other state or the
United States for having committed a felony.
(3) A person who has escaped from a correctional
facility of this or any other state or the United States
if the person was incarcerated for having committed a
felony.
(4) A person who is violating a condition of
probation or parole imposed under federal or State law.
In this Section, "felony" means a violation of a penal
statute of this or any other state or the United States for
which a sentence to death or to a term of imprisonment in a
penitentiary for one year or more is provided.
To implement this Section, the Illinois Department may
exchange necessary information with an appropriate law
enforcement agency of this or any other state, a political
subdivision of this or any other state, or the United States.
(b) The Illinois Department shall apply for all waivers
of federal law and regulations necessary to implement this
Section, and implementation of this Section is contingent on
the Illinois Department's receipt of those waivers.
(Source: P.A. 88-554, eff. 7-26-94; 89-489, eff. 1-1-97.)
(305 ILCS 5/1-9 new)
Sec. 1-9. Misrepresentation of residence. A person who
has been convicted in federal or State court of having made a
fraudulent statement or representation with respect to
residence in order to receive assistance simultaneously from
2 or more states shall be ineligible for cash assistance
under this Code for 10 years beginning on the date of
conviction.
(305 ILCS 5/1-10 new)
Sec. 1-10. Drug convictions.
(a) Persons convicted of an offense under the Illinois
Controlled Substances Act or the Cannabis Control Act which
is a Class X felony, or a Class 1 felony, or comparable
federal criminal law which has as an element the possession,
use, or distribution of a controlled substance, as defined in
Section 102(6) of the federal Controlled Substances Act (21
U.S.C. 802(c)), shall not be eligible for cash assistance
provided under this Code.
(b) Persons convicted of any other felony under the
Illinois Controlled Substances Act or the Cannabis Control
Act which is not a Class X or Class 1 felony, or comparable
federal criminal law which has as an element the possession,
use, or distribution of a controlled substance, as defined in
Section 102(6) of the federal Controlled Substances Act (21
U.S.C. 802(c)), shall not be eligible for cash assistance
provided under this Code for 2 years from the date of
conviction. This prohibition shall not apply if the person
is in a drug treatment program, aftercare program, or similar
program as defined by rule.
(c) Persons shall not be determined ineligible for food
stamps provided under this Code based upon a conviction of
any felony or comparable federal or State criminal law which
has an element the possession, use or distribution of a
controlled substance, as defined in Section 102(6) of the
federal Controlled Substance Act (21 U.S.C. 802(c)).
(305 ILCS 5/1-11 new)
Sec. 1-11. Citizenship. To the extent not otherwise
provided in this Code or federal law, all clients who receive
cash or medical assistance under Article III, IV, V, or VI of
this Code must meet the citizenship requirements as
established in this Section. To be eligible for assistance an
individual, who is otherwise eligible, must be either a
United States citizen or included in one of the following
categories of non-citizens:
(1) United States veterans honorably discharged and
persons on active military duty, and the spouse and
unmarried dependent children of these persons;
(2) Refugees under Section 207 of the Immigration
and Nationality Act;
(3) Asylees under Section 208 of the Immigration
and Nationality Act;
(4) Persons for whom deportation has been withheld
under Section 243(h) of the Immigration and Nationality
Act;
(5) Persons granted conditional entry under Section
203(a)(7) of the Immigration and Nationality Act as in
effect prior to April 1, 1980;
(6) Persons lawfully admitted for permanent
residence under the Immigration and Nationality Act; and
(7) Parolees, for at least one year, under Section
212(d)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
Those persons who are in the categories set forth in
subdivisions 6 and 7 of this Section, who enter the United
States on or after August 22, 1996, shall not be eligible for
5 years beginning on the date the person entered the United
States.
The Illinois Department may, by rule, cover prenatal care
or emergency medical care for non-citizens who are not
otherwise eligible under this Section. Local governmental
units which do not receive State funds may impose their own
citizenship requirements and are authorized to provide any
benefits and impose any citizenship requirements as are
allowed under the Personal Responsibility and Work
Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-193).
(305 ILCS 5/Art. IV heading)
ARTICLE IV. TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE FOR NEEDY FAMILIES
AID TO FAMILIES WITH DEPENDENT CHILDREN
(305 ILCS 5/4-0.5)
Sec. 4-0.5. Aid to Families with Dependent Children
Program inoperative after June 30, 1997. Article inoperative
after December 31, 1998. The provisions of this Article IV
to provide assistance payments to families meeting the
eligibility requirements of the Aid to Families with
Dependent Children (AFDC) Program shall be inoperative after
June 30, 1997 December 31, 1998. Under the federal Temporary
Assistance for Needy Children Program the Illinois Department
shall develop an alternative program of mutual responsibility
between the Illinois Department and the client to allow the
family to become self-sufficient or employed as quickly as
possible through (i) the provision of transitional assistance
to families in the form of emergency one-time payments to
prevent job loss, temporary assistance while searching for or
being trained for work, or paternity establishment and child
support enforcement or (ii) the provision for continued work.
(Source: P.A. 89-6, eff. 3-6-95.)
(305 ILCS 5/4-0.6 new)
Sec. 4-0.6. Reference to AFDC considered a reference to
TANF. On and after the effective date of this amendatory Act
of 1997, any reference to Aid to Families with Dependent
Children or AFDC shall be considered to be a reference to
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families or TANF.
(305 ILCS 5/4-1) (from Ch. 23, par. 4-1)
Sec. 4-1. Eligibility requirements. Financial aid in
meeting basic maintenance requirements for a livelihood
compatible with health and well-being shall be given under
this Article to or in behalf of families with dependent
children who meet the eligibility conditions of Sections
4-1.1 through 4-1.11. Persons who meet the eligibility
criteria authorized under this Article shall be treated
equally, provided that nothing in this Article shall be
construed to create an entitlement to a particular grant or
service level or to aid in amounts not authorized under this
Code, nor construed to limit the authority of the General
Assembly to change the eligibility requirements or provisions
respecting assistance amounts.
The Illinois Department shall advise every applicant for
and recipient of aid under this Article of (i) the
requirement that all recipients move toward self-sufficiency
and (ii) the value and benefits of employment. As a
condition of eligibility for that aid, every person who
applies for aid under this Article on or after the effective
date of this amendatory Act of 1995 shall prepare and submit,
as part of the application or subsequent redetermination, a
personal plan for achieving employment and self-sufficiency.
The plan shall incorporate the individualized assessment and
employability plan set out in subsections (d), (f), and (g)
of Section 9A-8. The plan may be amended as the recipient's
needs change. The assessment process to develop the plan
shall include questions that screen for domestic violence
issues and steps needed to address these issues may be part
of the plan. If the individual indicates that he or she is a
victim of domestic violence, he or she may also be referred
to an available domestic violence program. As a condition of
eligibility for that aid, every person who is a recipient of
aid under this Article on the effective date of this
amendatory Act of 1995 shall, within 6 months after that
date, prepare a personal plan for achieving employment.
Failure of the client to follow through on the personal plan
for employment and self-sufficiency may be a basis for
sanction under Section 4-21. The Illinois Department may
implement this paragraph through the use of emergency rules
in accordance with Section 5-45 of the Illinois
Administrative Procedure Act. For purposes of the Illinois
Administrative Procedure Act, the adoption of rules to
implement this paragraph shall be considered an emergency and
necessary for the public interest, safety, and welfare.
The eligibility of persons who, on the effective date of
this Code, are receiving aid under Article VI of the 1949
Code, for aid under this Article, and the continuity of their
grants, shall not be affected by the enactment of this Code.
(Source: P.A. 89-6, eff. 3-6-95.)
(305 ILCS 5/4-1.1) (from Ch. 23, par. 4-1.1)
Sec. 4-1.1. Child age eligibility.
(a) Every assistance unit must include a child, except
as provided in subsections (b) and (c). The child or children
must have already been born, except as otherwise provided in
this Section, and be under age 18, or, if age 18, must be a
full-time student in a secondary school or the equivalent
level of vocational or technical training. If federal law
permits or requires the inclusion of any children age 18 or
over in the Aid to Families with Dependent Children Program
under the Social Security Act, the Illinois Department may
provide for the inclusion of such children by rule.
Notwithstanding anything in this Section, if federal law
prohibits federal reimbursement for any children under age
18, such children shall not be eligible for aid under this
Article.
(b) Grants shall be provided for assistance units
consisting exclusively of a pregnant woman with no dependent
child, and may include her husband if living with her, if the
pregnancy has been determined by medical diagnosis, to the
extent that federal law permits and federal matching funds
are available.
(c) Grants may be provided for assistance units
consisting of only adults if all the children living with
those adults are disabled and receive Supplemental Security
Income.
(Source: P.A. 84-773; revised 2-22-96.)
(305 ILCS 5/4-1.2) (from Ch. 23, par. 4-1.2)
Sec. 4-1.2. Living Arrangements - Parents - Relatives -
Foster Care.
(a) The child or children must (1) be living with his or
their father, mother, grandfather, grandmother, brother,
sister, stepfather, stepmother, stepbrother, stepsister,
uncle or aunt, or other relative approved by the Illinois
Department, in a place of residence maintained by one or more
of such relatives as his or their own home, or (2) have been
(a) removed from the home of the parents or other relatives
by judicial order under the Juvenile Court Act or the
Juvenile Court Act of 1987, as amended, (b) placed under the
guardianship of the Department of Children and Family
Services, and (c) under such guardianship, placed in a foster
family home, group home or child care institution licensed
pursuant to the "Child Care Act of 1969", approved May 15,
1969, as amended, or approved by that Department as meeting
standards established for licensing under that Act. A child
so placed in foster care who was not receiving aid under this
Article in or for the month in which the court proceedings
leading to that placement were initiated may qualify only if
he lived in the home of his parents or other relatives at the
time the proceedings were initiated, or within 6 months prior
to the month of initiation, and would have received aid in
and for that month if application had been made therefor.
(b) The Illinois Department may, by rule, establish
those persons who are living together who must be included in
the same assistance unit in order to receive cash assistance
under this Article and the income and assets of those persons
in an assistance unit which must be considered in determining
eligibility.
(c) The conditions of qualification herein specified
shall not prejudice aid granted under this Code for foster
care prior to the effective date of this 1969 Amendatory Act.
(Source: P.A. 85-1209.)
(305 ILCS 5/4-1.6) (from Ch. 23, par. 4-1.6)
Sec. 4-1.6. Need). Income available to the family as
defined by the Illinois Department by rule, or to the child
in the case of a child removed from his or her home, when
added to contributions in money, substance or services from
other sources, including income available from parents absent
from the home or from a stepparent, contributions made for
the benefit of the parent or other persons necessary to
provide care and supervision to the child, and contributions
from legally responsible relatives, must be insufficient to
equal the grant amount established by Department regulation
for such a person.
In considering income to be taken into account,
consideration shall be given to any expenses reasonably
attributable to the earning of such income. The Illinois
Department may also, subject to such limitations as may be
prescribed by federal law or regulation, permit all or any
portion of earned or other income to be set aside for the
future identifiable needs of a child. If federal law or
regulations permit or require exemption of other income of
recipients, the Illinois Department may provide by rule and
regulation for the exemptions thus permitted or required.
The eligibility of any applicant for or recipient of public
aid under this Article is not affected by the payment of any
grant under the "Senior Citizens and Disabled Persons
Property Tax Relief and Pharmaceutical Assistance Act".
The Illinois Department may, by rule, set forth criteria
under which an assistance unit is ineligible for cash
assistance under this Article for a specified number of
months due to the receipt of a lump sum payment.
(Source: P.A. 84-832.)
(305 ILCS 5/4-1.7) (from Ch. 23, par. 4-1.7)
(Text of Section before amendment by P.A. 89-507)
Sec. 4-1.7. Enforcement of Parental Child Support
Obligation.) If the parent or parents of the child are
failing to meet or are delinquent in their legal obligation
to support the child, the parent or other person having
custody of the child or the Illinois Department may request
the law enforcement officer authorized or directed by law to
so act to file action for the enforcement of such remedies as
the law provides for the fulfillment of the child support
obligation.
If a parent has a judicial remedy against the other
parent to compel child support, or if, as the result of an
action initiated by or in behalf of one parent against the
other, a child support order has been entered in respect to
which there is noncompliance or delinquency, or where the
order so entered may be changed upon petition to the court to
provide additional support, the parent or other person having
custody of the child or the Illinois Department may request
the appropriate law enforcement officer to seek enforcement
of the remedy, or of the support order, or a change therein
to provide additional support. If the law enforcement
officer is not authorized by law to so act in these
instances, the parent, or if so authorized by law the other
person having custody of the child, or the Illinois
Department may initiate an action to enforce these remedies.
A parent or other person having custody of the child who
fails or refuses to comply with the requirements of Title IV
of the federal Social Security Act, and the regulations duly
promulgated thereunder, regarding enforcement of the child
support obligation shall be denied aid or aid for that person
shall be terminated for as long as the failure or refusal
persists. The Illinois Department may provide by rule for
the grant or continuation of aid to the person for a
temporary period if he or she accepts counseling or other
services designed to increase his or her motivation to seek
enforcement of the child support obligation.
A child shall not be denied aid under this Article either
initially or subsequently because a parent or other person
having custody of the child fails or refuses to comply with
the requirements of this Section.
In addition to any other definition of failure or refusal
to comply with the requirements of Title IV of the federal
Social Security Act, in the case of failure to attend court
hearings, the parent or other person can show cooperation by
attending a court hearing or, if a court hearing cannot be
scheduled within 30 days following the court hearing that was
missed, by signing a statement that the parent or other
person is now willing to cooperate in the child support
enforcement process and will appear at any later scheduled
court date. The parent or other person can show cooperation
by signing such a statement only once. If failure to attend
the court hearing or other failure to cooperate results in
the case being dismissed, such a statement may be signed
after 2 months.
No denial or termination of medical assistance pursuant
to this Section shall commence during pregnancy of the parent
or other person having custody of the child or for 30 days
after the termination of such pregnancy. The termination of
medical assistance may commence thereafter if the Illinois
Department determines that the failure or refusal to comply
with this Section persists. Postponement of denial or
termination of medical assistance during pregnancy under this
paragraph shall be effective only to the extent it does not
conflict with federal law or regulation.
Any evidence a parent or other person having custody of
the child gives in order to comply with the requirements of
this Section shall not render him or her liable to
prosecution under Sections 11-7 or 11-8 of the "Criminal Code
of 1961", approved July 28, 1961, as amended.
When so requested, the Illinois Department shall provide
such services and assistance as the law enforcement officer
may require in connection with the filing of any action
hereunder.
The Illinois Department, and as an expense of
administration, may also provide applicants for and
recipients of aid with such services and assistance,
including assumption of the reasonable costs of prosecuting
any action or proceeding, as may be necessary to enable them
to enforce the child support liability required hereunder.
Nothing in this Section shall be construed as a
requirement that an applicant or recipient file an action for
dissolution of marriage against his or her spouse.
(Source: P.A. 85-1308.)
(Text of Section after amendment by P.A. 89-507)
Sec. 4-1.7. Enforcement of Parental Child Support
Obligation.) If the parent or parents of the child are
failing to meet or are delinquent in their legal obligation
to support the child, the parent or other person having
custody of the child or the Illinois Department of Public Aid
may request the law enforcement officer authorized or
directed by law to so act to file action for the enforcement
of such remedies as the law provides for the fulfillment of
the child support obligation.
If a parent has a judicial remedy against the other
parent to compel child support, or if, as the result of an
action initiated by or in behalf of one parent against the
other, a child support order has been entered in respect to
which there is noncompliance or delinquency, or where the
order so entered may be changed upon petition to the court to
provide additional support, the parent or other person having
custody of the child or the Illinois Department of Public Aid
may request the appropriate law enforcement officer to seek
enforcement of the remedy, or of the support order, or a
change therein to provide additional support. If the law
enforcement officer is not authorized by law to so act in
these instances, the parent, or if so authorized by law the
other person having custody of the child, or the Illinois
Department of Public Aid may initiate an action to enforce
these remedies.
A parent or other person having custody of the child must
who fails or refuses to comply with the requirements of Title
IV of the federal Social Security Act, and the regulations
duly promulgated thereunder, and any rules promulgated by the
Illinois Department regarding enforcement of the child
support obligation shall be denied aid or aid for that person
shall be terminated for as long as the failure or refusal
persists. The Illinois Department of Public Aid and the
Department of Human Services may provide by rule for the
grant or continuation of aid to the person for a temporary
period if he or she accepts counseling or other services
designed to increase his or her motivation to seek
enforcement of the child support obligation.
A child shall not be denied aid under this Article either
initially or subsequently because a parent or other person
having custody of the child fails or refuses to comply with
the requirements of this Section.
In addition to any other definition of failure or refusal
to comply with the requirements of Title IV of the federal
Social Security Act, or Illinois Department rule, in the case
of failure to attend court hearings, the parent or other
person can show cooperation by attending a court hearing or,
if a court hearing cannot be scheduled within 14 30 days
following the court hearing that was missed, by signing a
statement that the parent or other person is now willing to
cooperate in the child support enforcement process and will
appear at any later scheduled court date. The parent or
other person can show cooperation by signing such a statement
only once. If failure to attend the court hearing or other
failure to cooperate results in the case being dismissed,
such a statement may be signed after 2 months.
No denial or termination of medical assistance pursuant
to this Section shall commence during pregnancy of the parent
or other person having custody of the child or for 30 days
after the termination of such pregnancy. The termination of
medical assistance may commence thereafter if the Illinois
Department of Public Aid determines that the failure or
refusal to comply with this Section persists. Postponement
of denial or termination of medical assistance during
pregnancy under this paragraph shall be effective only to the
extent it does not conflict with federal law or regulation.
Any evidence a parent or other person having custody of
the child gives in order to comply with the requirements of
this Section shall not render him or her liable to
prosecution under Sections 11-7 or 11-8 of the "Criminal Code
of 1961", approved July 28, 1961, as amended.
When so requested, the Illinois Department of Public Aid
and the Department of Human Services shall provide such
services and assistance as the law enforcement officer may
require in connection with the filing of any action
hereunder.
The Illinois Department of Public Aid and the Department
of Human Services, and as an expense of administration, may
also provide applicants for and recipients of aid with such
services and assistance, including assumption of the
reasonable costs of prosecuting any action or proceeding, as
may be necessary to enable them to enforce the child support
liability required hereunder.
Nothing in this Section shall be construed as a
requirement that an applicant or recipient file an action for
dissolution of marriage against his or her spouse.
(Source: P.A. 89-507, eff. 7-1-97.)
(305 ILCS 5/4-1.9) (from Ch. 23, par. 4-1.9)
Sec. 4-1.9. Participation in Educational and Vocational
Training Programs.
(a) A parent or parents and a child age 16 or over not
in regular attendance in school, as defined in Section 4-1.1
as that Section existed on August 26, 1969 (the effective
date of Public Act 76-1047), for whom education and training
is suitable, must participate in the educational and
vocational training programs provided pursuant to Article
IXA.
(b) A parent who is less than 20 18 years of age and who
has not received a high school diploma or high school
equivalency certificate is required to be enrolled in school
or in an educational program that is expected to result in
the receipt of a high school diploma or high school
equivalency certificate, except 18 and 19 year old parents
may be assigned to work activities or training if it is
determined based on an individualized assessment that
secondary school is inappropriate or be subject to sanction
under Article IXA.
(Source: P.A. 88-670, eff. 12-2-94; 89-6, eff. 3-6-95.)
(305 ILCS 5/4-1.12 new)
Sec. 4-1.12. Five year limitation.
No assistance unit shall be eligible for a cash grant
under this Article if it includes an adult who has received
cash assistance as an adult for 60 months, whether or not
consecutive, after the effective date of this amendatory Act
of 1997. The Illinois Department may exempt individual
assistance units from the 60-month limitation or determine
circumstances under which a month or months would not count
towards the 60-month limitation even though the assistance
unit did receive cash assistance under this Article.
(305 ILCS 5/4-2) (from Ch. 23, par. 4-2)
Sec. 4-2. Amount of aid.
(a) The amount and nature of financial aid shall be
determined in accordance with the standards, grant amounts,
rules and regulations of the Illinois Department. Due regard
shall be given to the self-sufficiency requirements of the
family and to the income, money contributions and other
support and resources available, from whatever source.
Beginning July 1, 1992, the supplementary grants previously
paid under this Section shall no longer be paid. However,
the amount and nature of any financial aid is not affected by
the payment of any grant under the "Senior Citizens and
Disabled Persons Property Tax Relief and Pharmaceutical
Assistance Act". The aid shall be sufficient, when added to
all other income, money contributions and support to provide
the family with a grant in the amount established by
Department regulation.
(b) The Illinois Department may conduct special
projects, which may be known as Grant Diversion Projects,
under which recipients of financial aid under this Article
are placed in jobs and their grants are diverted to the
employer who in turn makes payments to the recipients in the
form of salary or other employment benefits. The Illinois
Department shall by rule specify the terms and conditions of
such Grant Diversion Projects. Such projects shall take into
consideration and be coordinated with the programs
administered under the Illinois Emergency Employment
Development Act.
(c) The amount and nature of the financial aid for a
child requiring care outside his own home shall be determined
in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Illinois
Department, with due regard to the needs and requirements of
the child in the foster home or institution in which he has
been placed.
(d) If the Department establishes grants for family
units consisting exclusively of a pregnant woman with no
dependent child or including her husband if living with her,
the grant amount for such a unit shall be equal to the grant
amount for an assistance unit consisting of one adult, or 2
persons if the husband is included. Other than as herein
described, an unborn child shall not be counted in
determining the size of an assistance unit or for calculating
grants.
Payments for basic maintenance requirements of a child or
children and the relative with whom the child or children are
living shall be prescribed, by rule, by the Illinois
Department.
These grants may be increased in the following circumstances:
1. If the child is living with both parents or with
persons standing in the relationship of parents, and if
the grant is necessitated because of the unemployment or
insufficient earnings of the parent or parents and
neither parent is receiving benefits under "The
Unemployment Compensation Act", approved June 30, 1937,
as amended, the maximum may be increased by not more than
$25.
2. If a child is age 13 or over, the maximum may be
increased by not more than $15.
The allowances provided under Article IX for recipients
participating in the training and rehabilitation programs
shall be in addition to the maximum payments established in
this Section.
Grants under this Article shall not be supplemented by
General Assistance provided under Article VI.
(e) Grants shall be paid to the parent or other person
with whom the child or children are living, except for such
amount as is paid in behalf of the child or his parent or
other relative to other persons or agencies pursuant to this
Code or the rules and regulations of the Illinois Department.
(f) An assistance unit, receiving financial aid under
this Article or temporarily ineligible to receive aid under
this Article under a penalty imposed by the Illinois
Department for failure to comply with the eligibility
requirements or that voluntarily requests termination of
financial assistance under this Article and becomes
subsequently eligible for assistance within 9 months, shall
not receive any increase in the amount of aid solely on
account of the birth of a child; except that an increase is
not prohibited when the birth is (i) of a child of a pregnant
woman who became eligible for aid under this Article during
the pregnancy, or (ii) of a child born within 10 months after
the date of implementation of this subsection, or (iii) of a
child conceived after a family became ineligible for
assistance due to income or marriage and at least 3 months of
ineligibility expired before any reapplication for
assistance. This subsection does not, however, prevent a
unit from receiving a general increase in the amount of aid
that is provided to all recipients of aid under this Article.
The Illinois Department is authorized to transfer funds,
and shall use any budgetary savings attributable to not
increasing the grants due to the births of additional
children, to supplement existing funding for employment and
training services within the JOBS or its successor program
for recipients of aid under this Article IV. The Illinois
Department shall target, to the extent the supplemental
funding allows, employment and training JOBS services to the
families who do not receive a grant increase after the birth
of a child. In addition, the Illinois Department shall
provide, to the extent the supplemental funding allows, such
families with up to 24 months of transitional child care
pursuant to Illinois Department rules. All remaining
supplemental funds shall be used for JOBS employment and
training services or transitional child care support.
In making the transfers authorized by this subsection,
the Illinois Department shall first determine, pursuant to
regulations adopted by the Illinois Department for this
purpose, the amount of savings attributable to not increasing
the grants due to the births of additional children.
Transfers may be made from General Revenue Fund
appropriations for distributive purposes authorized by
Article IV of this Code only to General Revenue Fund
appropriations for employability development services
including operating and administrative costs and related
distributive purposes under Article IXA of this Code. The
Director, with the approval of the Governor, shall certify
the amount and affected line item appropriations to the State
Comptroller.
The Illinois Department shall apply for all waivers of
federal law and regulations necessary to implement this
subsection; implementation of this subsection is contingent
on the Illinois Department receiving all necessary federal
waivers. The Illinois Department may implement this
subsection through the use of emergency rules in accordance
with Section 5-45 of the Illinois Administrative Procedure
Act. For purposes of the Illinois Administrative Procedure
Act, the adoption of rules to implement this subsection shall
be considered an emergency and necessary for the public
interest, safety, and welfare.
Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prohibit
the Illinois Department from using AFDC funds under this
Article IV to provide assistance in the form of vouchers that
may be used to pay for goods and services deemed by the
Illinois Department, by rule, as suitable for the care of the
child such as diapers, clothing, school supplies, and cribs.
(g) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Code to
the contrary, the Illinois Department is authorized to reduce
or eliminate payments for supplementary grants under the
first paragraph of this Section as necessary to implement
contingency reserves under the Emergency Budget Act of Fiscal
Year 1992, to the extent permitted by federal law. Any such
reduction or elimination shall expire on July 1, 1992.
(h) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Code,
the Illinois Department is authorized to reduce payment
levels used to determine cash grants under this Article after
December 31 of any fiscal year if the Illinois Department
determines that the caseload upon which the appropriations
for the current fiscal year are based have increased by more
than 5% and the appropriation is not sufficient to ensure
that cash benefits under this Article do not exceed the
amounts appropriated for those cash benefits. Reductions in
payment levels may be accomplished by emergency rule under
Section 5-45 of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act,
except that the limitation on the number of emergency rules
that may be adopted in a 24-month period shall not apply and
the provisions of Sections 5-115 and 5-125 of the Illinois
Administrative Procedure Act shall not apply. Increases in
payment levels shall be accomplished only in accordance with
Section 5-40 of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act.
Before any rule to increase payment levels promulgated under
this Section shall become effective, a joint resolution
approving the rule must be adopted by a roll call vote by a
majority of the members elected to each chamber of the
General Assembly.
(Source: P.A. 89-6, eff. 3-6-95; 89-193, eff. 7-21-95;
89-641, eff. 8-9-96.)
(305 ILCS 5/4-8) (from Ch. 23, par. 4-8)
Sec. 4-8. Mismanagement of assistance grant.
(a) If the County Department has reason to believe that
the money payment for basic maintenance is not being used, or
may not be used, in the best interests of the child and the
family and that there is present or potential damage to the
standards of health and well-being that the grant is intended
to assure, the County Department shall provide the parent or
other relative with the counseling and guidance services with
respect to the use of the grant and the management of other
funds available to the family as may be required to assure
use of the grant in the best interests of the child and
family. The Illinois Department shall by rule prescribe
criteria which shall constitute evidence of grant
mismanagement. The criteria shall include but not be limited
to the following:
(1) A determination that a child in the assistance
unit is not receiving proper and necessary support or
other care for which assistance is being provided under
this Code.
(2) A record establishing that the parent or
relative has been found guilty of public assistance fraud
under Article VIIIA.
(3) A determination by an appropriate person,
entity, or agency that the parent or other relative
requires treatment for alcohol or substance abuse, mental
health services, or other special care or treatment.
The Department shall at least consider non-payment of
rent for two consecutive months as evidence of grant
mismanagement by a parent or relative of a recipient who is
responsible for making rental payments for the housing or
shelter of the child or family, unless the Department
determines that the non-payment is necessary for the
protection of the health and well-being of the recipient. The
County Department shall advise the parent or other relative
grantee that continued mismanagement will result in the
application of one of the sanctions specified in this
Section.
The Illinois Department shall consider irregular school
attendance by children of elementary school age grades 1
through 8 6, as evidence of lack of proper and necessary
support or care. The Department may extend this consideration
to children in grades higher than 8.
The Illinois Department shall develop preventive programs
in collaboration with elementary school and social service
networks to encourage school attendance of children receiving
assistance under Article IV. To the extent that Illinois
Department and community resources are available, the
programs shall serve families whose children in grades 1
through 8 6 are not attending elementary school regularly, as
defined by the school. The Department may extend these
programs to families whose children are in grades higher than
8. The programs shall include referrals from the school to a
social service network, assessment and development of a
service plan by one or more network representatives, and the
Illinois Department's encouragement of the family to follow
through with the service plan. Families that fail to follow
the service plan as determined by the service provider, shall
be subject to the protective payment provisions of this
Section and Section 4-9 of this Code.
Families for whom a protective payment plan has been in
effect for at least 3 months and whose elementary school
children continue to regularly miss school shall be subject
to a sanction under Section 4-21 of the parent's portion of
the grant. The sanction shall continue until the children
demonstrate satisfactory attendance, as defined by the
school. To the extent necessary to implement this Section,
the Illinois Department shall seek appropriate waivers of
federal requirements from the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services.
The Illinois Department may implement the amendatory
changes to this Section made by this amendatory Act of 1995
through the use of emergency rules in accordance with the
provisions of Section 5-45 of the Illinois Administrative
Procedure Act. For purposes of the Illinois Administrative
Procedure Act, the adoption of rules to implement the
amendatory changes to this Section made by this amendatory
Act of 1995 shall be deemed an emergency and necessary for
the public interest, safety, and welfare.
(b) If the local office has reason to believe that a
caretaker relative is experiencing substance abuse:
(i) If there is another family member or friend who
is ensuring that the family's needs are being met, that
person, if willing, shall be assigned as protective
payee.
(ii) If there is no family member or close friend
to serve as protective payee, the Department shall
determine if a referral to the Department of Children and
Family Services is warranted and, if appropriate, make
the referral.
(iii) The Department shall contact the individual
who is thought to be experiencing substance abuse and
explain why the protective payee has been assigned and
refer the individual to treatment.
(c) This subsection (c) applies to cases other than
those described in subsection (b). If the efforts to correct
the mismanagement of the grant have failed, the County
Department, in accordance with the rules and regulations of
the Illinois Department, shall initiate one or more of the
following actions:
1. Provide for a protective payment to a substitute
payee, as provided in Section 4-9. This action may be
initiated for any assistance unit containing a child
determined to be neglected by the Department of Children
and Family Services under the Abused and Neglected Child
Reporting Act, and in any case involving a record of
public assistance fraud.
2. Provide for issuance of all or part of the grant
in the form of disbursing orders. This action may be
initiated in any case involving a record of public
assistance fraud, or upon the request of a substitute
payee designated under Section 4-9.
3. File a petition under the Juvenile Court Act of
1987 for an Order of Protection under Sections 2-25,
2-26, 3-26, and 3-27, 4-23, 4-24, 5-27, or 5-28 of that
Act.
4. Institute a proceeding under the Juvenile Court
Act of 1987 for the appointment of a guardian or legal
representative for the purpose of receiving and managing
the public aid grant.
5. If the mismanagement of the grant, together with
other factors, have rendered the home unsuitable for the
best welfare of the child, file a neglect petition under
the Juvenile Court Act of 1987, requesting the removal of
the child or children.
(Source: P.A. 88-412; 89-6, eff. 3-6-95.)
(305 ILCS 5/4-12) (from Ch. 23, par. 4-12)
Sec. 4-12. Crisis assistance. The following groups of
families who receive assistance under Section 4-1 who are
also found eligible to receive assistance under this Section
shall be provided such assistance in the amounts and within
such times as are herein specified: (1) families who receive
assistance (or who meet all eligibility criteria for receipt
of assistance) under Article IV of this Code; (2) other
families which contain a child under 21 years old and which
meet the financial eligibility criteria for assistance under
Article IV of this Code; and (3) pregnant women whose
pregnancy has been determined by medical diagnosis and where
the woman and child would have been eligible for assistance
under Article IV of this Code if the child were already born.
No assistance provided pursuant to this Section shall be
treated as income in computing the regular basic maintenance
assistance grant under any other Section.
(a) Special Assistance: Where a family has been (1)
rendered homeless or threatened with homelessness by fire,
flood, other natural disaster, eviction or court order to
vacate the premises for reasons other than nonpayment of
rent, or where a spouse and child have become homeless
because they have left the residence occupied by a spouse who
was physically abusing the now homeless spouse or child; (2)
deprived of essential items of furniture or essential
clothing by fire or flood or other natural disaster; (3)
deprived of food as a result of actions other than loss or
theft of cash and where the deprivation cannot be promptly
alleviated through the federal food stamp program; (4) as a
result of a documented theft or documented loss of cash,
deprived of food or essential clothing or deprived of shelter
or immediately threatened with deprivation of shelter as
evidenced by a court order requiring immediate eviction due
to nonpayment of rent threatened with the dissolution of the
family unit by economic necessity as evidenced by a decision
by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services
that the child would have to be placed in a foster parent
setting if the economic crisis is not alleviated; or (5)
rendered the victim of such other hardships as the Illinois
Department shall by rule define, the Illinois Department may
shall provide assistance to alleviate such special needs.
The Illinois Department shall verify need and determine
eligibility for crisis special assistance for families
already receiving grants from the Illinois Department within
5 working days following application for such assistance and
shall determine eligibility for all other families and afford
such assistance for families found eligible within such time
limits as the Illinois Department shall by rule provide. The
Illinois Department may, by rule, limit crisis special
assistance to an eligible family to once for a period not
exceeding 30 consecutive days in any 12 consecutive months.
This limitation may be made for some or all items of crisis
special assistance.
(b) Emergency Assistance: Where, as a result of
documented theft or documented loss of cash, a family has
been deprived of food or essential clothing or deprived of
shelter or immediately threatened with deprivation of shelter
as evidenced by a court order requiring immediate eviction
due to nonpayment of rent, the Illinois Department shall
provide emergency assistance to alleviate such deprivation.
The Illinois Department may provide emergency assistance in
cases where it would otherwise provide special assistance if
such emergency assistance payments are eligible for federal
reimbursement under Section 406(e) of the Social Security
Act. Emergency assistance shall be available to an eligible
family for a period not exceeding 30 consecutive days in any
12 consecutive months. The Illinois Department shall verify
need for, determine eligibility for, and deliver assistance
to or for the benefit of families determined eligible for
emergency assistance within time periods which are consonant
with the requirements for provision of emergency assistance
under Section 406(e) of the Social Security Act. The Illinois
Department may also enter into written agreements with
private and public social service agencies in order to
provide food, essential clothing, and shelter to recipients
of assistance under Section 4-1 who are without lodging,
food, or essential clothing during a weekend or holiday when
the Department's offices are closed. Such contracts shall
require the social service agency to report any such
assistance to the Department's recipient's local office on
the first business day occurring after the social service
agency provides such assistance.
(c) The Illinois Department by regulation shall specify
the criteria for determining eligibility and the amount and
nature of assistance to be provided in each of the situations
described in subparagraphs (a) and (b) above. Where
deprivation of shelter exists or is threatened, the Illinois
Department may provide reasonable moving expenses, short term
rental costs, including one month's rent and a security
deposit where such expenses are needed for relocation, and,
where the Department determines appropriate, provide
assistance to prevent an imminent eviction or foreclosure.
These amounts may be described in established amounts or
maximums. The Illinois Department may also describe, for
each form of assistance authorized, the method by which the
assistance shall be delivered, including but not limited to
warrants or disbursing orders.
(d) Financial Limitations: Annual expenditures under
this Section shall not exceed $2,000,000 $3,000,000. The
Illinois Department shall review such expenditures quarterly
and shall, if necessary, reduce the amounts or nature of
assistance authorized in order to assure that the limit is
not exceeded.
(e) The Illinois Department may implement the amendatory
changes to this Section made by this amendatory Act of 1991
through the use of emergency rules in accordance with the
provisions of Section 5-45 of the Illinois Administrative
Procedure Act. For purposes of the Illinois Administrative
Procedure Act, the adoption of rules to implement the
amendatory changes to this Section made by this amendatory
Act of 1991 shall be deemed an emergency and necessary for
the public interest, safety and welfare.
(Source: P.A. 87-14; 87-860.)
(305 ILCS 5/4-21 new)
Sec. 4-21. Sanctions.
(a) The Illinois Department shall, by rule, establish a
system of sanctions for persons who fail to cooperate,
without good cause, with employment and training programs or
other programs under this Article or Article IXA or who fail
to cooperate with child support programs under this Article,
Article X, or Title IV of the federal Social Security Act.
The sanctions may discontinue all or part of the cash grant
provided under this Article. The sanctions may be time
limited or continue until the person cooperates in the
program. The sanctions may be progressive in that a second,
third, or further sanction may be progressively more severe
or last longer.
(b) The Illinois Department shall, by rule, define what
constitutes failure to cooperate and what constitutes good
cause which would excuse that failure.
(305 ILCS 5/4-22 new)
Sec. 4-22. Domestic violence.
(a) The assessment process to develop the personal plan
for achieving self-sufficiency shall include questions that
screen for domestic violence issues. If the individual
indicates that he or she is the victim of domestic violence
and indicates a need to address domestic violence issues in
order to reach self-sufficiency, the plan shall take this
factor into account in determining the work, education, and
training activities suitable to the client for achieving
self-sufficiency. In addition, in such a case, specific
steps needed to directly address the domestic violence issues
may also be made part of the plan, including referral to an
available domestic violence program.
(b) The Illinois Department shall develop and monitor
compliance procedures for its employees, contractors, and
subcontractors to ensure that any information pertaining to
any client who claims to be a past or present victim of
domestic violence or an individual at risk of further
domestic violence, whether provided by the victim or by a
third party, will remain confidential.
(305 ILCS 5/6-1.3) (from Ch. 23, par. 6-1.3)
(Text of Section before amendment by P.A. 89-507)
Sec. 6-1.3. Utilization of Aid Available Under Other
Provisions of Code.) The person must have been determined
ineligible for aid under the federally funded programs to aid
refugees and Articles III, IV or V. Nothing in this Section
shall prevent the use of General Assistance funds to pay any
portion of the costs of care and maintenance in a residential
drug abuse treatment program licensed by the Department of
Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, or in a County Nursing Home,
or in a private nursing home, retirement home or other
facility for the care of the elderly, of a person otherwise
eligible to receive General Assistance except for the
provisions of this paragraph.
A person otherwise eligible for aid under the federally
funded programs to aid refugees or Articles III, IV or V who
fails or refuses to comply with provisions of this Code or
other laws, or rules and regulations of the Illinois
Department, which would qualify him for aid under those
programs or Articles, shall not receive General Assistance
under this Article nor shall any of his dependents whose
eligibility is contingent upon such compliance receive
General Assistance.
(Source: P.A. 83-1528.)
(Text of Section after amendment by P.A. 89-507)
Sec. 6-1.3. Utilization of Aid Available Under Other
Provisions of Code. The person must have been determined
ineligible for aid under the federally funded programs to aid
refugees and Articles III, IV or V. Nothing in this Section
shall prevent the use of General Assistance funds to pay any
portion of the costs of care and maintenance in a residential
drug abuse treatment program licensed by the Department of
Human Services, or in a County Nursing Home, or in a private
nursing home, retirement home or other facility for the care
of the elderly, of a person otherwise eligible to receive
General Assistance except for the provisions of this
paragraph.
A person otherwise eligible for aid under the federally
funded programs to aid refugees or Articles III, IV or V who
fails or refuses to comply with provisions of this Code or
other laws, or rules and regulations of the Illinois
Department, which would qualify him for aid under those
programs or Articles, shall not receive General Assistance
under this Article nor shall any of his dependents whose
eligibility is contingent upon such compliance receive
General Assistance.
Persons and families who are ineligible for aid under
Article IV due to having received benefits under Article IV
for any maximum time limits set under the Illinois Temporary
Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) Plan shall not be
eligible for General Assistance under this Article unless the
Illinois Department or the local governmental unit, by rule,
specifies that those persons or families may be eligible.
(Source: P.A. 89-507, eff. 7-1-97.)
(305 ILCS 5/9A-3) (from Ch. 23, par. 9A-3)
Sec. 9A-3. Establishment of Program and Level of
Services.
(a) The Illinois Department shall establish and maintain
a program to provide recipients with services consistent with
the purposes and provisions of this Article. The program
offered in different counties of the State may vary depending
on the resources available to the State to provide a program
under this Article, and no program may be offered in some
counties, depending on the resources available. Services may
be provided directly by the Illinois Department or through
contract, as allowed by federal law. References to the
Illinois Department or staff of the Illinois Department shall
include contractors when the Illinois Department has entered
into contracts for these purposes. The Illinois Department
shall provide each recipient who participates with such
services available under the program as are necessary to
achieve his employability plan as specified in the plan.
(b) The Illinois Department, in operating the program,
shall cooperate with public and private education and
vocational training or retraining agencies or facilities, the
Illinois State Board of Education, the Illinois Community
College Board, the Departments of Employment Security and
Commerce and Community Affairs or other sponsoring
organizations funded under the federal Job Training
Partnership Act and other public or licensed private
employment agencies.
(c) The Illinois Department shall target resources to
the following groups:
(1) current recipients who have received Aid to
Families with Dependent Children for any 36 of the
preceding 60 months;
(2) applicants for Aid to Families with Dependent
Children who have received Aid to Families with Dependent
Children for any 36 of the 60 months immediately
preceding the most recent month for which application has
been made;
(3) custodial parents under age 24 who have not
completed high school or have little or no work
experience within the preceding year; or
(4) members of families in which the youngest child
is within 2 years of being ineligible for assistance
under this Article because of age.
(Source: P.A. 86-1184; 86-1381; 86-1475; 87-860.)
(305 ILCS 5/9A-4) (from Ch. 23, par. 9A-4)
Sec. 9A-4. Participation.
(a) Except for those exempted under subsection (b)
below, and to the extent resources permit, the Illinois
Department as a condition of eligibility for public aid, may,
as provided by rule, require all recipients to participate in
an education, training, and employment program, which shall
include accepting suitable employment and refraining from
terminating employment or reducing earnings without good
cause.
(b) Recipients shall be exempt from the requirement of
participation in the education, training, and employment
program in the following circumstances:
(1) The recipient is a person over age 60 (i) is
not a parent and is under age 16 or (ii) is age 60 or
older; or
(2) The recipient is a person with a child under
age one. temporarily medically unable to participate,
including a period of recuperation after childbirth;
(3) The recipient is chronically medically unable
to participate;
(4) The recipient resides in an area so remote, as
defined by rule, as to preclude effective participation
in the program;
(5) The recipient is needed in the home because of
the illness or incapacity of another member of the
household;
(6) The recipient works 30 or more hours a week;
(7) The recipient, age 16 through 18, is attending
full time an elementary, secondary, vocational or
technical school (If the individual loses this exemption
because he or she is no longer in school, the exemption
is no longer applicable even if the individual returns to
school);
(8) The recipient is in the 4th month of pregnancy
or later;
(9) The recipient is the parent or other relative
of a child under 3 years of age who is personally
providing care for the child;
(10) The recipient is enrolled full time as a VISTA
volunteer under Title I of the 1973 Domestic Volunteer
Services Act (42 U.S.C. 4951 et seq.).
(c) Notwithstanding subsections (a) and (b) above, a
custodial parent who is under 20 years of age, has not earned
a high school diploma or its equivalent and is not exempt
from participation under any exemption other than the one
based upon the age of the child found in paragraph (9) of
subsection (b) of this Section, is not exempt from
participation in educational activities directed toward
obtaining a high school diploma or its equivalent. Such
educational activities may be on a full-time basis (as
defined by the educational provider).
(d) A custodial parent age 16 or 17 may be excused from
educational activities directed toward obtaining a high
school diploma (or equivalent) if the parent is unable to
participate due to his or her own mental or physical illness
or that of his or her spouse or child, or is homeless, or is
experiencing family or personal crisis.
(e) A custodial parent who is age 18 or 19 may
participate in training or work activities instead of
educational activities if one of the following conditions is
met:
(1) prior to any assignment of the parent to
educational activities, it is determined, based on an
educational assessment and the employment goal
established in the parents' employability plan, that
participation in educational activities is not
appropriate; or
(2) the parent fails to make good progress in
successfully completing educational activities, and it is
determined based on an individual assessment, and the
employment plan that the educational activity is not
appropriate.
(Source: P.A. 88-412; 89-6, eff. 3-6-95.)
(305 ILCS 5/9A-7) (from Ch. 23, par. 9A-7)
Sec. 9A-7. Good Cause and Pre-Sanction Process
Conciliation.
(a) The Department shall establish by rule what
constitutes good cause for failure to participate in
education, training and employment programs, failure to
accept suitable employment or terminating employment or
reducing earnings.
The Department shall establish, by rule, a pre-sanction
process to assist in resolving disputes over proposed
sanctions and in determining if good cause exists. Good cause
shall may include, but not be limited to:
(1) temporary illness for its duration illness or
incapacity;
(2) court required appearance or temporary
incarceration;
(3) (blank) family crisis;
(4) death in the family;
(5) (blank) breakdown in child care arrangements;
(6) (blank) sudden and unexpected emergency;
(7) (blank) unavailability of otherwise suitable
child care;
(8) (blank) breakdown in transportation
arrangements or lack of reasonable available
transportation;
(9) extreme inclement weather;
(10) (blank) the job referral does not meet
appropriate work or training criteria;
(11) lack of any support service even though the
necessary service is not specifically provided under the
Department program, to the extent the lack of the needed
service presents a significant barrier to participation;
(12) if an individual is engaged in employment or
training or both that is consistent with the employment
related goals of the program, if such employment and
training is later approved by Department staff;
(13) (blank) failure to cooperate due to symptoms
of conditions for which the participant may need
rehabilitation services;
(14) failure of Department staff to correctly
forward the information to other Department staff;
(15) failure of the participant to cooperate
because of attendance at a test or a mandatory class or
function at an educational program (including college),
when an education or training program is officially
approved by the Department;
(16) failure of the participant due to his or her
illiteracy;
(17) failure of the participant because it is
determined that he or she should be in a different
activity component;
(18) non-receipt by the participant of a notice
advising him or her of a participation requirement, if
documented by the participant. Documentation can include,
but is not limited to: a written statement from the post
office or other informed individual: the notice not sent
to the participant's last known address in Department
records; return of the notice by the post office; other
returned mail; proof of previous mail theft problems.
When determining whether or not the participant has
demonstrated non-receipt, the Department shall take into
consideration a participant's history of cooperation or
non-cooperation in the past. If the documented
non-receipt of mail occurs frequently, the Department
shall explore an alternative means of providing notices
of participation requests to participants;
(19) (blank) not accepting employment that would
result in a net loss of cash income. Net loss of cash
income results if the family's gross income less actual
necessary work-related expenses is less than cash
assistance the individual was receiving at the time the
offer of employment is made;
(20) non-comprehension of English, either written
or oral or both;
(21) (blank) failure of Department staff to make an
appropriate employability assessment or plan or both;
(22) (blank) the individual personally provides
care for a child under age 6 and the employment would
require working more than 20 hours per week;
(23) child care (or day care for an incapacitated
individual living in the same home as a dependent child)
is necessary for the participation or employment and such
care is not available for a child under age 13;
(24) failure to participate in an activity due to a
scheduled job interview;
(25) the individual is homeless. Homeless
individuals (including the family) have no current
residence and no expectation of acquiring one in the next
30 days. This includes individuals residing in overnight
and transitional (temporary) shelters. This does not
include individuals who are sharing a residence with
friends or relatives on a continuing basis;
(26) circumstances beyond the control of the
participant which prevent the participant from completing
program requirements; or
(27) (blank) other reasons not listed that
Department staff determine are appropriate.
(b) (Blank) No determination of failure of a recipient
to participate in the education, training and employment
programs or refusing to accept employment or terminating
employment or reducing earnings may be made and no sanction
may be imposed without documentation in the case file that
there has been a good cause determination and a Conciliation
Process as established by Department rule pursuant to
subsection (c) of this Section.
(c) (1) The Department shall establish a reconciliation
conciliation procedure to assist in resolving disputes
related to any aspect of participation, including
exemptions, good cause, sanctions or proposed sanctions,
supportive services, orientation, assessments,
responsibility and service plans, employability plans,
assignment to activities components, suitability of
employment, or refusals of offers of employment. Through
the reconciliation process the Department shall have a
mechanism to identify good cause, ensure that the client
is aware of the issue, and enable the client to perform
required activities without facing sanction.
(2) A participant may request reconciliation
conciliation and receive notice in writing of a meeting.
Conciliation must begin within 14 work days upon request
of the participants or from the participant's failure to
meet requirements. At least one face-to-face meeting may
be scheduled to resolve misunderstandings or
disagreements related to program participation and
situations which may lead to a potential sanction. The
meeting will address the underlying reason for the
dispute and plan a resolution to enable the individual to
participate in TANF employment and work activity
requirements.
(2.5) If the individual fails to appear at the
reconciliation meeting without good cause, the
reconciliation is unsuccessful and a sanction shall be
imposed.
(3) The reconciliation conciliation process shall
continue after it is determined that the individual did
not have good cause for non-cooperation. Any necessary
demonstration of cooperation on the part of the
participant will be part of the reconciliation
conciliation process and will last no more than 30 days.
Failure to demonstrate cooperation will result in
immediate sanction.
(4) For the first instance of non-cooperation, if
the client reaches agreement to cooperate, the client
shall be allowed 30 days to demonstrate cooperation
before any sanction activity may be imposed. In any
subsequent instances of non-cooperation, the client shall
be provided the opportunity to show good cause or remedy
the situation by immediately complying with the
requirement. During the conciliation process, the
following activities shall be completed:
(A) a discussion of the nature of the problem
or dispute and potential resolution;
(B) an explanation of the individual's rights
and responsibilities;
(C) a review of the employability plan;
(D) a discussion of expectations of the
participant and the Department; and
(E) development of a conciliation agreement
and fulfillment of it following the conciliation
meeting. The requirement of the agreement cannot be
contrary to component participation requirements.
(5) The Department shall document in the case
record the proceedings of the reconciliation conciliation
and provide the client in writing with a reconciliation
conciliation agreement.
(6) If reconciliation conciliation resolves the
dispute, no sanction shall be imposed and any previous
failure to participate without good cause shall not count
as a sanctionable event in the future. If the client
fails to comply with the reconciliation agreement, the
Department shall then immediately impose the original
sanction. If the dispute cannot be resolved during
reconciliation conciliation, a sanction shall not be
imposed until the reconciliation conciliation process is
complete.
(Source: P.A. 86-1184; 86-1381; 86-1475.)
(305 ILCS 5/9A-8) (from Ch. 23, par. 9A-8)
Sec. 9A-8. Operation of Program.
(a) At the time of application or redetermination of
eligibility under Article IV, as determined by rule, the
Illinois Department shall provide information in writing and
orally regarding the education, training and employment
program to all applicants and recipients. The information
required shall be established by rule, and shall include all
information required by federal regulations, including:
(1) education, employment and training
opportunities available;
(2) supportive services including child care;
(3) the obligation of the Department to provide
supportive services;
(4) the rights and responsibilities of
participants, including exemption and good cause criteria
and procedures; and
(5) the types and locations of child care services.
(b) Within the time period required by federal law The
Illinois Department shall notify the recipient in writing of
the opportunity to volunteer to participate in the program.
(c) (Blank). The Illinois Department shall provide an
orientation to each recipient who attends, which describes
all rights and responsibilities under the program. At the
orientation meeting the Department shall inform the
participant of participation requirements, distribute a copy
of the Department handbook to participants and explain its
contents. The Department handbook shall contain program
information including the following:
(1) an overview of the Department's education and
training program;
(2) the exemption criteria and the procedure for
obtaining an exemption;
(3) a description of all components, eligibility
criteria, and specific participation requirements for
each component;
(4) general participation requirements;
(5) the support services available;
(6) the initial assessment process and reassessment
including review of the employability plan; and
(7) the result of the participant's failure to
cooperate without good cause.
Expenses for transportation and child care services shall
be provided to enable participants to attend the orientation
meeting, if requested.
(d) As part of the personal plan for achieving
employment and self-sufficiency, the Department shall conduct
an individualized assessment of the participant's
employability. Except as to participation in the Get-A-Job
Program, no participant may be assigned to any component of
the education, training and employment activity program prior
to such assessment, provided that a participant may be
assigned up to 4 weeks of Job Search prior to such
assessment. The plan initial assessment shall include
collection of information on the individual's background,
proficiencies, skills deficiencies, education level, work
history, employment goals, interests, aptitudes, and
employment preferences, as well as factors affecting
employability or ability to meet participation requirements
(e.g., health, physical or mental limitations, child care,
family circumstances, domestic violence, substance abuse, and
special and problems which may include the needs of any child
of the individual). In addition, facts relevant to a
determination of whether the individual qualifies for an
exemption shall be elicited. A determination of whether the
individual qualifies for an exemption may take place at any
time the client requests or Department staff perceive a
reason for exemption during the individual's participation in
the program. As part of the plan assessment process,
individuals and Department staff shall work together to
identify any supportive service needs required to enable the
client to participate and meet the objectives of his or her
employability plan. The initial assessment may be conducted
through various methods such as interviews, testing,
counseling, and self-assessment instruments. The assessment
process shall include standard literacy testing and a
determination of English language proficiency for those who
display a potential need for literacy or language services.
For those individuals subject to a job search demonstration,
there may be an abbreviated assessment, as defined by rule,
and neither literacy testing nor a determination of English
language proficiency is required. Based on the initial
assessment, the individual will be assigned to the
appropriate component activity. The decision will be based
on a determination of the individual's level of preparation
for employment as defined by rule.
(e) Recipients determined to be exempt may volunteer to
participate pursuant to Section 9A-4 and must be assessed.
(f) As part of the personal plan for achieving
employment and self-sufficiency under Section 4-1, an
employability plan for recipients shall be developed in
consultation with the participant. The Department shall have
final responsibility for approving the employability plan.
The employability plan shall:
(1) contain an employment goal of the participant;
(2) describe the services to be provided by the
Department, including child care and other support
services;
(3) describe the activities, such as component
assignment, that will be undertaken by the participant to
achieve the employment goal; and
(4) describe any other needs of the family that
might be met by the Department.
(g) The employability plan shall take into account:
(1) available program resources;
(2) the participant's support service needs;
(3) the participant's skills level and aptitudes;
(4) local employment opportunities; and
(5) to the maximum extent possible, the preferences
of the participant.
Additionally, the employability plan shall not be
considered a contract, final approval of the plan rests with
the Department and the participant shall be offered a copy of
the employability plan.
(h) A reassessment shall be conducted to assess a
participant's progress and to review the employability plan
on the following occasions:
(1) upon completion of an a component activity and
before assignment to an a component activity;
(2) upon the request of the participant;
(3) if the individual is not cooperating with the
requirements of the program; and
(4) if the individual has failed to make
satisfactory progress in an education or training
program.
Based on the reassessment, the Department may revise the
employability plan of the participant.
(Source: P.A. 89-6, eff. 3-6-95; 89-289, eff. 1-1-96; 89-626,
eff. 8-9-96.)
(305 ILCS 5/9A-9) (from Ch. 23, par. 9A-9)
Sec. 9A-9. Program Activities Components. The Department
shall establish education, training and placement activities
components by rule. Not all of the same activities
components need be provided in each county in the State.
Such activities components may include the following:
(a) Education (Below post secondary). Participants who
are determined ready to participate but in need of education
are referred to the education component. In the Education
(below post secondary) activity this component, the
individual receives information, referral, counseling
services and support services to increase the individual's
employment potential. Participants may be referred to
testing, counseling and education resources. Educational
activities will include basic and remedial education; English
proficiency classes; high school or its equivalency (e.g.,
GED) or alternative education at the secondary level; and
with any educational program, structured study time to
enhance successful participation. An individual's
participation in an education program such as literacy, basic
adult education, high school equivalency (GED), or a remedial
program shall be limited to 2 years unless the individual
also is working or participating in a work activity approved
by the Illinois Department as defined by rule; this
requirement does not apply, however, to students enrolled in
high school.
(b) Job Skills Training (Vocational). Job Skills
Training is designed to increase the individual's ability to
obtain and maintain employment. Job Skills Training
activities will include vocational skill classes designed to
increase a participant's ability to obtain and maintain
employment. Job Skills Training may include certificate
programs.
(c) Job Readiness. The job readiness activity component
is designed to enhance the quality of the individual's level
of participation in the world of work while learning the
necessary essentials to obtain and maintain employment. This
activity component helps individuals gain the necessary job
finding skills to help them find and retain employment that
will lead to economic independence.
(d) Job Search. Job Search may be conducted
individually or in groups. Job Search includes the provision
of counseling, job seeking skills training and information
dissemination. Group job search may include training in a
group session. Assignment exclusively to job search cannot be
in excess of 8 consecutive weeks (or its equivalent) in any
period of 12 consecutive months.
(e) Work Experience. Near job ready participants who do
not receive aid to families with dependent children --
unemployed, who have not found employment, and who need
orientation to work, work experience or training, in order to
prevent deterioration of or to enhance existing skills, may
be referred to the Work Experience component. Work
Experience assignments may be with private employers or
not-for-profit or public agencies in the State. The Illinois
Department shall provide workers' compensation coverage.
Participants who are not members of a 2-parent assistance
unit may not be assigned more hours than their cash grant
amount plus food stamps divided by the minimum wage. Private
employers and not-for-profit and public agencies shall not
use Work Experience participants to displace regular
employees. Participants in Work Experience may perform work
in the public interest (which otherwise meets the
requirements of this Section) for a federal office or agency
with its consent, and notwithstanding the provisions of 31
U.S.C. 1342, or any other provision of law, such agency may
accept such services, but participants shall not be
considered federal employees for any purpose. A participant
shall be reassessed at the end of assignment to Work
Experience. The participant may be reassigned to Work
Experience or assigned to another activity component, based
on the reassessment. A participant shall not be assigned to
Work Experience for more than a total of 6 months in any 12
consecutive month period. This 6 month limitation does not
apply to parents in families eligible for assistance under
Article IV due to unemployment of the principal wage earner.
(f) On the Job Training. In On the Job Training, a
participant is hired by a private or public employer and
while engaged in productive work receives training that
provides knowledge or skills essential to full and adequate
performance of the job.
(g) Work Supplementation. In work supplementation, the
Department pays a wage subsidy to an employer who hires a
participant. The cash grant which a participant would receive
if not employed is diverted and the diverted cash grant is
used to pay the wage subsidy.
(h) Post Secondary Education. Individuals may be
referred to post secondary education programs. Post
secondary education must be administered by an educational
institution accredited under requirements of State law. The
Illinois Department may not approve an individual's
participation in any post-secondary education program, other
than full-time, short-term vocational training for a specific
job, unless the individual also is employed part-time, as
defined by the Illinois Department by rule.
(i) Self Initiated Education. Participants who are
attending an institution of higher education or a vocational
or technical program of their own choosing at the time they
enter the Project Chance program and who are in good
standing, may continue to attend and receive supportive
services only if the educational program is approved by the
Department, and is in conformity with the participant's
personal plan for achieving employment and self-sufficiency
and the participant is employed part-time, as defined by the
Illinois Department by rule.
(j) Job Development and Placement. Department staff
shall develop through contacts with public and private
employers unsubsidized job openings for participants. Job
interviews will be secured for clients by the marketing of
participants for specific job openings. Job ready individuals
may be assigned to Job Development and Placement.
(k) Job Retention. The job retention component is
designed to assist participants in retaining employment.
Initial employment expenses and job retention services are
provided. The individual's support service needs are assessed
and the individual receives counseling regarding job
retention skills. Counseling may continue up to 3 months
after employment.
(l) (Blank). Unemployed Parents Work Experience.
Unemployed parents who receive aid to families with dependent
children -- unemployed may be required to participate in the
Unemployed Parents Work Experience component. Unemployed
Parents Work Experience assignments shall be for at least 16
hours per week with private employers and not-for-profit and
public agencies. Those employers and agencies may not use
Unemployed Parents Work Experience participants to displace
regular employees. Every Unemployed Parents Work Experience
participant shall be reassessed at least once in every
12-month period for participation in this component.
(m) A parent may be required to participate in a
pay-after-performance program in which the parent must work a
specified number of hours to earn the grant. The program
shall comply with provisions of this Code governing work
experience programs.
(Source: P.A. 88-124; 89-289, eff. 1-1-96.)
(305 ILCS 5/9A-11) (from Ch. 23, par. 9A-11)
Sec. 9A-11. Child Care.
(a) The General Assembly recognizes that families with
children need child care in order to work. Child care is
expensive and families with low incomes, including those who
are transitioning from welfare to work, often struggle to pay
the costs of day care. The General Assembly understands the
importance of helping low income working families become and
remain self-sufficient. The General Assembly also believes
that it is the responsibility of families to share in the
costs of child care. It is also the preference of the
General Assembly that all working poor families should be
treated equally, regardless of their welfare status.
Department shall guarantee child care:
(1) for each family with a dependent child
requiring such care, to the extent that such care is
determined by the Department to be necessary for an
individual in the family to accept employment or remain
employed, and to the extent resources permit; and
(2) for each individual participating in employment
and training activities, to the extent resources permit,
if the Department has approved the activity and has
determined that the individual is satisfactorily
participating in the activity.
(b) To the extent resources permit, the Illinois
Department shall provide child care services to parents or
other relatives as defined by rule who are working or
participating in employment or Department approved education
or training programs. At a minimum, the Illinois Department
shall cover the following categories of families:
(1) recipients of TANF under Article IV
participating in work and training activities as
specified in the personal plan for employment and
self-sufficiency;
(2) families transitioning from TANF to work;
(3) families at risk of becoming recipients of
TANF;
(4) families with special needs as defined by rule;
and
(5) working families with very low incomes as
defined by rule.
The Department shall specify by rule the conditions of
eligibility, the application process, and the types, amounts,
and duration of services. Eligibility for child care
benefits and the amount of child care provided may vary based
on family size, income, and other factors as specified by
rule. In determining income eligibility for child care
benefits, the Department shall establish, by rule, one income
threshold for each family size, in relation to percentage of
State median income for a family of that size, that makes
families with incomes below the specified threshold eligible
for assistance and families with incomes above the specified
threshold ineligible for assistance. In determining
eligibility for assistance, the Department shall not give
preference to any category of recipients or give preference
to individuals based on their receipt of benefits under this
Code. It is the intent of the General Assembly that, for
fiscal year 1998, to the extent resources permit, the
Department shall establish an income eligibility threshold of
50% of the State median income. Notwithstanding the income
level at which families become eligible to receive child care
assistance, any family that is already receiving child care
assistance on the effective date of this amendatory Act of
1997 shall remain eligible for assistance for fiscal year
1998. Nothing in this Section shall be construed as
conferring entitlement status to eligible families. The
Illinois Department is authorized to lower income eligibility
ceilings, raise parent co-payments, create waiting lists, or
take such other actions during a fiscal year as are necessary
to ensure that child care benefits paid under this Article do
not exceed the amounts appropriated for those child care
benefits. These changes may be accomplished by emergency
rule under Section 5-45 of the Illinois Administrative
Procedure Act, except that the limitation on the number of
emergency rules that may be adopted in a 24-month period
shall not apply. The Illinois Department may contract with
other State agencies or child care organizations for the
administration of child care services. Child care shall be
provided for a dependent child of a person receiving Aid to
Families with Dependent Children to allow such individual to
participate in an education or training program or related
activities. Eligibility shall also be extended to families
with children who meet the criteria of this Section who
would be dependent except for the receipt of benefits under
the Supplemental Security Income Program (Title XVI of the
Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.) or the receipt
of foster care under Title IV-E of the Social Security Act
(42 U.S.C. 670 et seq.) and the caretaker relative is also a
member of a household receiving Aid to Families with
Dependent Children.
(c) Payment shall be made for child care that otherwise
meets the requirements of this Section and applicable
standards of State and local law and regulation, including
any requirements the Illinois Department promulgates by rule
in addition to the, but not limited to, licensure
requirements promulgated by the Department of Children and
Family Services and Fire Prevention and Safety requirements
promulgated by the Office of the State Fire Marshal and is
provided in any of the following:
(1) a child care center which is licensed or exempt
from licensure pursuant to Section 2.09 of the Child Care
Act of 1969;
(2) a licensed child care home or home exempt from
licensing;
(3) a licensed group child care home;
(4) other types of child care, including child care
provided by relatives or persons living in the same home
as the child, as determined by the Illinois Department by
rule relatives and babysitters, provided, the relative is
not the mother or father of the child or in the same
assistance grant as the child and, provided, a
non-relative providing care in the child's home cannot be
in the same assistance grant as the child.
The provisions of this subsection are not applicable to
families using the child care disregard.
(d) The Illinois Department shall, by rule, require
co-payments for child care services by any parent, including
parents whose only income is from assistance under this Code.
The co-payment shall be assessed based on a sliding scale
based on family income, family size, and the number of
children in care will provide child care for an individual
receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children who is
waiting to enter an approved education or training program,
component or employment for a period not to exceed 2 weeks or
for a period not to exceed one month where child care
arrangements would otherwise be lost and the subsequent
activity is scheduled to begin within that period.
(e) The Illinois Department shall conduct a market rate
survey based on the cost of care and other relevant factors
which shall be completed by July 1, 1998 Rates of payment for
child care will be made in amounts not to exceed the maximum
rates per child as established by the Department of Children
and Family Services.
(f) The Illinois Department shall, by rule, set rates to
be paid for the various types of child care. Child care may
be provided through one of the following methods:
(1) arranging the child care through eligible
providers by use of purchase of service contracts or
vouchers;
(2) arranging with other agencies and community
volunteer groups for non-reimbursed child care;
(3) (blank) using the child care disregard; or
(4) adopting such other arrangements as the
Department determines appropriate which facilitate
service delivery and do not disadvantage the family
receiving the service.
(g) Families eligible for assistance under this Section
shall be given the following options:
(1) receiving a child care certificate issued by
the Department or a subcontractor of the Department that
may be used by the parents as payment for child care and
development services only; or
(2) if space is available, enrolling the child with
a child care provider that has a purchase of service
contract with the Department or a subcontractor of the
Department for the provision of child care and
development services. The Department may identify
particular priority populations for whom they may request
special consideration by a provider with purchase of
service contracts, provided that the providers shall be
permitted to maintain a balance of clients in terms of
household incomes and families and children with special
needs, as defined by rule.
(Source: P.A. 86-1381; 87-860.)
(305 ILCS 5/9A-13 new)
Sec. 9A-13. Work activity; anti-displacement provisions.
(a) As used in this Section "work activity" means any
workfare, earnfare, pay-after-performance,
work-off-the-grant, work experience, or other activity under
Sections 9A-9, 9A-12, or any other Section of this Code in
which a recipient of public assistance performs work for any
employer as a condition of receiving the public assistance,
and the employer does not pay wages for the work; or as any
grant diversion, wage supplementation, or similar program in
which the public assistance grant is provided to the employer
as a subsidy for the wages of any recipient in its workforce.
(b) An employer may not utilize a work activity
participant if such utilization would result in:
(1) the displacement or partial displacement of
current employees, including but not limited to a
reduction in hours of non-overtime or overtime work,
wages, or employment benefits; or
(2) the filling of a position that would otherwise
be a promotional opportunity for current employees; or
(3) the filling of a position created by or causing
termination, layoff, a hiring freeze, or a reduction in
the workforce; or
(4) the placement of a participant in any
established unfilled vacancy; or
(5) the performance of work by a participant if
there is a strike, lockout, or other labor dispute in
which the employer is engaged.
(c) An employer who wishes to utilize work activity
participants shall, at least 15 days prior to utilizing such
participants, notify the labor organization of the name, work
location, and the duties to be performed by the participant.
(d) The Department of Human Services shall establish a
grievance procedure for employees and labor organizations to
utilize in the event of any alleged violation of this
Section. Notwithstanding the above, a labor organization may
utilize the established grievance or arbitration procedure in
its collective bargaining agreement to contest violations of
this Section.
(305 ILCS 5/11-6) (from Ch. 23, par. 11-6)
Sec. 11-6. Decisions on applications. Within 10 days
after a decision is reached on an application, the applicant
shall be notified in writing of the decision. The Department
shall consider eligibility for, and the notice shall contain
a decision on, each of the following assistance programs for
which the client may be eligible based on the information
contained in the application: Temporary Assistance to Needy
Families Aid to Families with Dependent Children, Medical
Assistance, Aid to the Aged, Blind and Disabled, General
Assistance (in the City of Chicago), Aid to the Medically
Indigent and food stamps. No decision shall be required for
any assistance program for which the applicant has expressly
declined in writing to apply. If the applicant is determined
to be eligible, the notice shall include a statement of the
amount of financial aid to be provided and a statement of the
reasons for any partial grant amounts. If the applicant is
determined ineligible for any public assistance the notice
shall include the reason why the applicant is ineligible. If
the application for any public assistance is denied, the
notice shall include a statement defining the applicant's
right to appeal the decision. The Illinois Department, by
rule, shall determine the date on which assistance shall
begin for applicants determined eligible. That date may be
no later than 30 days after the date of the application.
Under no circumstances may any application be denied
solely to meet an application-processing deadline.
(Source: P.A. 85-943.)
(305 ILCS 5/11-6.2)
Sec. 11-6.2. Electronic fingerprinting.
(a) The Illinois Department shall implement a
demonstration project to determine the cost-effectiveness of
preventing multiple enrollments of aid recipients through the
use of an electronic automated 2-digit fingerprint matching
identification system in local offices. The demonstration
project shall be implemented in one or more local offices in
each of 3 counties as follows:
(1) A county having a population of 3,000,000 or
more.
(2) A county contiguous to a county having a
population of 3,000,000 or more.
(3) A county having a population less than
3,000,000 that is not described in item (2).
The Illinois Department shall apply for any federal
waivers or approvals necessary to conduct this demonstration
project. The demonstration project shall become operational
(i) 12 months after the effective date of this amendatory Act
of 1994 or (ii) after the Illinois Department's receipt of
all necessary federal waivers and approvals, whichever occurs
later, and shall operate for 36 12 months.
(b) The fingerprints or their electronic representations
collected and maintained through the use of an automated
fingerprint matching identification system as authorized by
this Section may not be used, disclosed, or redisclosed for
any purpose other than the prevention of multiple enrollments
of aid recipients, may not be used or admitted in any
criminal or civil investigation, prosecution, or proceeding,
other than a proceeding pursuant to Article VIII-A, and may
not be disclosed in response to a subpoena or other
compulsory legal process or warrant or upon the request or
order of any agency, authority, division, office, or other
private or public entity or person, except that nothing
contained in this subsection prohibits disclosure in response
to a subpoena issued by or on behalf of the applicant or
recipient who is the subject of the record maintained as a
part of the system. A person who knowingly makes or obtains
any unauthorized disclosure of data collected and maintained
under this Section through the use of an automated
fingerprint matching identification system is guilty of a
Class A misdemeanor. Data collected and maintained on the
automated fingerprint matching identification system shall be
subject to the provisions of this Code relating to
unauthorized disclosure of confidential client information.
(c) The Illinois Department shall develop a competitive
request for a proposal for an automated 2-digit fingerprint
matching identification system and shall thereafter contract
for the services of a firm able to design and implement an
automated 2-digit fingerprint matching identification system.
The system shall include the use of a photographic
identification for every aid recipient. Before the award of a
contract, the Illinois Department shall certify that the
design of the demonstration project fulfills all the
requirements of this Section. After the contract is awarded,
the Illinois Department shall insure that the demonstration
project is carried out in accordance with the requirements of
this Section and that adequate training for county department
staff involved with the project will be provided and shall
take any actions necessary to bring the demonstration project
into compliance with this Section. The contractual
arrangement shall ensure that State payments for the
contractor's necessary and legitimate expenses for
administering the demonstration project are limited to
amounts specified in advance and that those amounts do not
exceed the amounts appropriated for that purpose.
(d) Before the demonstration project becomes
operational, the Illinois Department shall give written
notice of the provisions of this Section to applicants for
and recipients of aid served by the local offices selected
for the demonstration project. The notice shall state that,
by applying or maintaining eligibility for any assistance
program, applicants and recipients must submit to the
electronic collection of their fingerprints as an additional
method of establishing eligibility. Applicants for and
recipients of aid who fail to submit to electronic
fingerprinting shall be declared ineligible for assistance as
permitted by federal waiver. An applicant for aid whose
application is denied, or a recipient of aid whose case is
cancelled, in any demonstration location after the
demonstration project begins but before the applicant or
recipient has submitted to electronic fingerprinting may be
required to submit to electronic fingerprinting before
re-establishing eligibility for assistance in any other
office.
(e) This Section does not authorize or permit the
termination, suspension, or diminution of aid except as
elsewhere specifically authorized in this Code. If the basis
of a proposed sanction is a determination of a fraudulent
multiple enrollment based on the use of an automated
fingerprint matching identification system authorized
pursuant to this Section, the sanction may not be imposed
unless the county department has verified the results of the
automated fingerprint matching identification system by means
of a manual match conducted by a person who is qualified to
perform fingerprint identifications.
(f) The Illinois Department shall conduct periodic
audits to monitor compliance with all laws and regulations
regarding the automated fingerprint matching identification
system to insure that: (i) any records maintained as part
of the system are accurate and complete; (ii) effective
software and hardware designs have been instituted with
security features to prevent unauthorized access to records;
(iii) access to record information system facilities, systems
operating environments, and data file contents, whether while
in use or when stored in a media library, is restricted to
authorized personnel; (iv) operational programs are used that
will prohibit inquiry, record updates, or destruction of
records from any terminal other than automated fingerprint
matching identification system terminals that are so
designated; (v) operational programs are used to detect and
store for the output of designated Illinois Department and
county department employees all unauthorized attempts to
penetrate any electronic automated fingerprint matching
identification system, program, or file; and (vi) adequate
and timely procedures exist to insure the recipient's or
applicant's right to access and review of records for the
purpose of accuracy and completeness, including procedures
for review of information maintained about those individuals
and for administrative review (including procedures for
administrative appeal) and necessary correction of any claim
by the individual to whom the information relates that the
information is inaccurate or incomplete.
(g) On or before December 1, 1997, the Illinois
Department shall report to the Governor and the General
Assembly concerning the operation of the demonstration
project. The report shall include an analysis of the
cost-effectiveness of the demonstration project, information
concerning instances of multiple enrollments detected through
use of the electronic automated fingerprint matching
identification system, and a detailed summary of the results
of audits required by subsection (f). The report shall
include recommendations regarding whether the program should
be discontinued, expanded, or otherwise modified.
(h) The Illinois Department shall apply for all waivers
of federal law and regulations necessary to conduct the
demonstration project under this Section.
(i) The Illinois Department may establish a retinal eye
identification system instead of an electronic fingerprinting
system in one of the sites described in subsection (a). Any
retinal eye identification system must comply with the
requirements of subsections (a) through (h) as they apply to
retinal eye identification.
(Source: P.A. 88-554, eff. 7-26-94.)
(305 ILCS 5/11-8) (from Ch. 23, par. 11-8)
Sec. 11-8. Appeals - To Whom taken. Applicants or
recipients of aid may, at any time within 60 days after the
decision of the County Department or local governmental unit,
as the case may be, appeal a decision denying or terminating
aid, or granting aid in an amount which is deemed inadequate,
or changing, cancelling, revoking or suspending grants as
provided in Section 11-16, or determining to make a
protective payment under the provisions of Sections 3-5a or
4-9, or a decision by an administrative review board to
impose administrative safeguards as provided in Section 8A-8.
An appeal shall also lie when an application is not acted
upon within the 30 days after the filing of the application,
or within a different time period after filing of the
application as provided by rule of the Illinois Department,
if an adjustment is necessary to conform with Federal
requirements.
If an appeal is not made, the action of the County
Department or local governmental unit shall be final.
Appeals by applicants or recipients under Articles III,
IV, V or VII shall be taken to the Illinois Department.
Appeals by applicants or recipients under Article VI
shall be taken as follows:
(1) In counties under township organization (except
such counties in which the governing authority is a Board
of Commissioners) appeals shall be to a Public Aid
Committee consisting of the Chairman of the County Board,
and 4 members who are township supervisors of general
assistance, appointed by the Chairman, with the advice
and consent of the county board.
(2) In counties in excess of 3,000,000 population
and under township organization in which the governing
authority is a Board of Commissioners, appeals of persons
from government units outside the corporate limits of a
city, village or incorporated town of more than 500,000
population, and of persons from incorporated towns which
have superseded civil townships in respect to aid under
Article VI, shall be to a Public Aid Committee consisting
of 2 supervisors and 3 persons knowledgeable in the area
of General Assistance and the regulations of the Illinois
Department pertaining thereto and who are not officers,
agents or employees of any township. The 5 member
committee shall be appointed by the township supervisors.
The first appointments shall be made with one person
serving a one year term, 2 persons serving a 2 year term,
and 2 persons serving a 3 year term. Committee members
shall thereafter serve 3 year terms. In any appeal
involving a local governmental unit whose supervisor of
general assistance is a member of the Committee, such
supervisor shall not act as a member of the Committee for
the purposes of such appeal.
(3) In counties described in paragraph (2) appeals
of persons from a city, village or incorporated town of
more than 500,000 population shall be to a Commissioner
of Appeals, appointed as an employee of the County
Department of Public Aid in accordance with and subject
to the provisions of Section 12-21.3.
(4) In counties not under township organization,
appeals shall be to the County Board of Commissioners
which shall for this purpose be the Public Aid Committee
of the County.
In counties designated in paragraph (1) the Chairman or
President of the County Board shall appoint, with the advice
and consent of the county board, one or more alternate
members of the Public Aid Committee. All regular and
alternate members shall be Supervisors of General Assistance.
In any appeal involving a local governmental unit whose
Supervisor of General Assistance is a member of the
Committee, he shall be replaced for that appeal by an
alternate member designated by the Chairman or President of
the County Board, with the advice and consent of the county
board. In these counties not more than 3 of the 5 regular
appointees shall be members of the same political party
unless the political composition of the Supervisors of the
General Assistance precludes such a limitation. In these
counties at least one member of the Public Aid Committee
shall be a person knowledgeable in the area of general
assistance and the regulations of the Illinois Department
pertaining thereto. If no member of the Committee possesses
such knowledge, the Illinois Department shall designate an
employee of the Illinois Department having such knowledge to
be present at the Committee hearings to advise the Committee.
In every county the County Board shall provide facilities
for the conduct of hearings on appeals under Article VI. All
expenses incident to such hearings shall be borne by the
county except that in counties under township organization in
which the governing authority is a Board of Commissioners (1)
the salary and other expenses of the Commissioner of Appeals
shall be paid from General Assistance funds available for
administrative purposes, and (2) all expenses incident to
such hearings shall be borne by the township and the per diem
and traveling expenses of the township supervisors serving on
the Public Aid Committee shall be fixed and paid by their
respective townships. In all other counties the members of
the Public Aid Committee shall receive the compensation and
expenses provided by law for attendance at meetings of the
County Board.
In appeals under Article VI involving a governmental unit
receiving State funds, the Public Aid Committee and the
Commissioner of Appeals shall be bound by the rules and
regulations of the Illinois Department which are relevant to
the issues on appeal, and shall file such reports concerning
appeals as the Illinois Department requests.
An appeal shall be without cost to the appellant and
shall be made, at the option of the appellant, either upon
forms provided and prescribed by the Illinois Department or,
for appeals to a Public Aid Committee, upon forms prescribed
by the County Board; or an appeal may be made by calling a
toll-free number provided for that purpose by the Illinois
Department and providing the necessary information. The
Illinois Department may assist County Boards or a
Commissioner of Appeals in the preparation of appeal forms,
or upon request of a County Board or Commissioner of Appeals
may furnish such forms. County Departments and local
governmental units shall render all possible aid to persons
desiring to make an appeal. The provisions of Sections 11-8.1
to 11-8.7, inclusive, shall apply to all such appeals.
(Source: P.A. 87-630.)
(305 ILCS 5/11-8.6) (from Ch. 23, par. 11-8.6)
Sec. 11-8.6. Decision-Time and effect.
A decision on appeal shall be given to the interested
parties within 90 60 days from the date of the filing of the
appeal, unless additional time is required for a proper
disposition of the appeal. All decisions on appeals shall be
binding upon and complied with by the County Departments and
local governmental units.
(Source: Laws 1967, p. 2302.)
(305 ILCS 5/11-16) (from Ch. 23, par. 11-16)
Sec. 11-16. Changes in grants; cancellations,
revocations, suspensions. All grants of financial aid under
this Code shall be considered as frequently as may be
required by the rules of the Illinois Department. After such
investigation as may be necessary, the amount and manner of
giving aid may be changed or the aid may be entirely
withdrawn if the County Department, local governmental unit,
or Illinois Department finds that the recipient's
circumstances have altered sufficiently to warrant such
action. Financial aid may at any time be canceled or revoked
for cause or suspended for such period as may be proper.
(b) Whenever any such grant of financial aid is
cancelled, revoked, reduced, or terminated because of the
failure of the recipient to cooperate with the Department,
including but not limited to the failure to keep an
appointment, attend a meeting, or produce proof or
verification of eligibility or need, the grant shall be
reinstated in full, retroactive to the date of the change in
or termination of the grant, provided that within 10 working
days after the first day the financial aid would have been
available, the recipient cooperates with the Department and
is not otherwise ineligible for benefits for the period in
question. This subsection (b) does not apply to sanctions
imposed for the failure of any recipient to participate as
required in the child support enforcement program or in any
educational, training, or employment program under this Code
or any other sanction under Section 4-21, nor does this
subsection (b) apply to any cancellation, revocation,
reduction, termination, or sanction imposed for the failure
of any recipient to cooperate in the monthly reporting
process or the quarterly reporting process.
(Source: P.A. 87-860; 87-1273; 88-554, eff. 7-26-94.)
(305 ILCS 5/11-20) (from Ch. 23, par. 11-20)
Sec. 11-20. Employment Registration - Persons "Able to
Engage in Employment" - Duty to Accept Employment -
Conditions Under Which Employment May Be Refused -
Exemptions). This Section applies to employment and training
programs other than those for recipients of assistance under
Article IV.
(1) Each applicant or recipient and dependent member of
the family age 16 or over who is able to engage in employment
and who is unemployed, or employed for less than the full
working time for the occupation in which he or she is
engaged, shall maintain a current registration for employment
or additional employment with the system of free public
employment offices maintained in this State by the State
Department of Employment Security under "An Act relating to
employment offices and agencies", approved May 11, 1903, as
amended, and shall utilize the job placement services and
other facilities of such offices unless the Illinois
Department otherwise provides by rule for programs
administered by the Illinois Department.
(2) Every person age 16 or over shall be deemed "able to
engage in employment", as that term is used herein, unless
(a) the person has an illness certified by the attending
practitioner as precluding his or her engagement in
employment of any type for a time period stated in the
practitioner's certification; or (b) the person has a
medically determinable physical or mental impairment, disease
or loss of indefinite duration and of such severity that he
or she cannot perform labor or services in any type of
gainful work which exists in the national economy, including
work adjusted for persons with physical or mental handicap;
or (c) the person is among the classes of persons exempted by
paragraph 5 of this Section. A person described in clauses
(a), (b) or (c) of the preceding sentence shall be classified
as "temporarily unemployable". The Illinois Department shall
provide by rule for periodic review of the circumstances of
persons classified as "temporarily unemployable".
(3) The Illinois Department shall provide through rules
and regulations for sanctions against applicants and
recipients of aid under this Code who fail or refuse to
cooperate, without good cause, as defined by rule of the
Illinois Department, to accept a bona fide offer of
employment in which he or she is able to engage either in the
community of the person's residence or within reasonable
commuting distance therefrom.
Individuals receiving aid under Article IV of this Code
who fail to cooperate with the regulations and requirements
established pursuant to this Section, may lose their
eligibility to receive aid under Article IV of this Code for
up to 3 months for the first occurrence and for up to 6
months for the second and subsequent occurrences. If the
sanctioned individual is not the principal earner as defined
by Federal law in an assistance unit receiving aid under
Article IV of this Code, only that individual is ineligible
for public assistance during the sanction period. If the
sanctioned individual is the principal earner in an
assistance unit receiving aid under Article IV of this Code,
the entire assistance unit is ineligible for public
assistance during the sanction period.
The Illinois Department may provide by rule for the grant
or continuation of aid for a temporary period, if federal law
or regulation so permits or requires, to a person who refuses
employment without good cause if he or she accepts counseling
or other services designed to increase motivation and
incentives for accepting employment.
(4) Without limiting other criteria which the Illinois
Department may establish, it shall be good cause of refusal
if
(a) the wage does not meet applicable minimum wage
requirements, or
(b) there being no applicable minimum wage as determined
in (a), the wage is certified by the Illinois Department of
Labor as being less than that which is appropriate for the
work to be performed.
(c) acceptance of the offer involves a substantial
threat to the health or safety of the person or any of his or
her dependents.
(5) The requirements of registration and acceptance of
employment shall not apply (a) to a parent or other person
needed at home to provide personal care and supervision to a
child or children unless, in accordance with the rules and
regulations of the Illinois Department, suitable arrangements
have or can be made for such care and supervision during the
hours of the day the parent or other person is out of the
home because of employment; (b) to a person age 16 or over in
regular attendance in school, as defined in Section 4-1.1; or
(c) to a person whose presence in the home on a substantially
continuous basis is required because of the illness or
incapacity of another member of the household.
The Illinois Department may implement a demonstration
project limited to one county of less than 3 million
population that would require registration for and acceptance
of employment by parents or another person needed at home to
provide personal care and supervision to a child or children
age 3 and over, as allowed by federal law and subject to
rules and regulations of the Illinois Department, provided
suitable arrangements have been or can be made for such care
and supervision during the hours of the day the parents or
other person are out of the home because of employment. Such
suitable arrangements must meet standards and requirements
established under the Child Care Act of 1969, as now or
hereafter amended. Such requirements shall not apply to
parents or another caretaker with a child or children at home
under the age of 3.
(Source: P.A. 85-1156.)
(305 ILCS 5/12-4.4) (from Ch. 23, par. 12-4.4)
(Text of Section before amendment by P.A. 89-507)
Sec. 12-4.4. Administration of federally-aided programs.
Direct County Departments of Public Aid in the administration
of the federally funded food stamp program, programs to aid
refugees and Articles III, IV, V and VII of this Code. The
Illinois Department may also, upon its own motion, review any
decision made by a County Department and consider any
application upon which a decision has not been made by the
County Department within 30 days. It may require a County
Department to transmit its files and all papers and documents
pertaining to any applicant or recipient.
Beginning July 1, 1992, or upon approval by the Food and
Nutrition Service of the United States Department of
Agriculture, the Illinois Department shall operate a Food
Stamp Employment and Training (FSE&T) program in compliance
with federal law. The FSE&T program will have an Earnfare
component. The Earnfare component shall be available in
selected geographic areas based on criteria established by
the Illinois Department by rule. Participants in Earnfare
will, to the extent resources allow, earn their assistance.
Participation in the Earnfare program is voluntary, except
when ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction.
Eligibility for Earnfare shall be limited to only 6 months
out of any 12 consecutive month period. Clients are not
entitled to be placed in an Earnfare slot. Earnfare slots
shall be made available only as resources permit. Earnfare
shall be available to persons receiving food stamps who meet
eligibility criteria established by the Illinois Department
by rule. Receipt of food stamps is not an eligibility
requirement of Earnfare when a court of competent
jurisdiction orders an individual to participate in the
Earnfare Program. To the extent resources permit, the
Earnfare program will allow participants to engage in
work-related activities to earn monthly financial assistance
payments and to improve participants' employability in order
for them to succeed in obtaining employment. The Illinois
Department may enter into contracts with other public
agencies including State agencies, with local governmental
units, and with not-for-profit community based organizations
to carry out the elements of the Program that the Department
deems appropriate.
The Earnfare Program shall contain the following
elements:
(1) To the extent resources allow and slots exist,
the Illinois Department shall refer recipients of food
stamp assistance who meet eligibility criteria, as
established by rule. Receipt of food stamps is not an
eligibility requirement of Earnfare when a court of
competent jurisdiction orders an individual to
participate in the Earnfare Program.
(2) Persons participating in Earnfare shall engage
in employment assigned activities equal to the amount of
the food stamp benefits divided by the federal minimum
wage and subsequently shall earn minimum wage assistance
for each additional hour of performance in Earnfare
activity. Earnfare participants shall be offered the
opportunity to earn up to $154. The Department may
establish a higher amount by rule provided resources
permit. If a court of competent jurisdiction orders an
individual to participate in the Earnfare program, hours
engaged in employment assigned activities shall first be
applied for a $50 payment made to the custodial parent as
a support obligation. If the individual receives food
stamps, the individual shall engage in employment
assigned activities equal to the amount of the food stamp
benefits divided by the federal minimum wage and
subsequently shall earn minimum wage assistance for each
additional hour of performance in Earnfare activity.
(3) To the extent appropriate slots are available,
the Illinois Department shall assign Earnfare
participants to Earnfare activities based on an
assessment of the person's age, literacy, education,
educational achievement, job training, work experience,
and recent institutionalization, whenever these factors
are known to the Department or to the contractor and are
relevant to the individual's success in carrying out the
assigned activities and in ultimately obtaining
employment.
(4) The Department shall consider the participant's
preferences and personal employment goals in making
assignments to the extent administratively possible and
to the extent that resources allow.
(5) The Department may enter into cooperative
agreements with local governmental units (which may, in
turn, enter into agreements with not-for-profit community
based organizations): with other public, including State,
agencies; directly with not-for-profit community based
organizations, and with private employers to create
Earnfare activities for program participants.
(6) To the extent resources permit, the Department
shall provide the Earnfare participants with the costs of
transportation in looking for work and in getting to and
from the assigned Earnfare job site and initial expenses
of employment.
(7) All income and asset limitations of the Federal
Food Stamp Program will govern continued Earnfare
participation, except that court ordered participants
shall participate for 6 months unless the court orders
otherwise.
(8) Earnfare participants shall not displace or
substitute for regular, full time or part time employees,
regardless of whether or not the employee is currently
working, on a leave of absence or in a position or
similar position where a layoff has taken place or the
employer has terminated the employment of any regular
employee or otherwise reduced its workforce with the
effect of filling the vacancy so created with a
participant subsidized under this program, or is or has
been involved in a labor dispute between a labor
organization and the sponsor.
(9) Persons who fail to cooperate with the FSE&T
program shall become ineligible for food stamp assistance
according to Food Stamp regulations, and for Earnfare
participation. Failure to participate in Earnfare for
all of the hours assigned is not a failure to cooperate
unless so established by the employer pursuant to
Department rules. If a person who is ordered by a court
of competent jurisdiction to participate in the Earnfare
Program fails to cooperate with the Program, the person
shall be referred to the court for failure to comply with
the court order.
(Source: P.A. 89-6, eff. 3-6-95; 89-21, eff. 7-1-95.)
(Text of Section after amendment by P.A. 89-507)
Sec. 12-4.4. Administration of federally-aided programs.
Direct County Departments of Public Aid in the administration
of the federally funded food stamp program, programs to aid
refugees and Articles III, IV, V and VII of this Code. The
Illinois Department of Human Services may also, upon its own
motion, review any decision made by a County Department and
consider any application upon which a decision has not been
made by the County Department within 30 days. It may require
a County Department to transmit its files and all papers and
documents pertaining to any applicant or recipient.
Beginning July 1, 1992, or upon approval by the Food and
Nutrition Service of the United States Department of
Agriculture, the Illinois Department of Human Services shall
operate a Food Stamp Employment and Training (FSE&T) program
in compliance with federal law. The FSE&T program will have
an Earnfare component. The Earnfare component shall be
available in selected geographic areas based on criteria
established by the Illinois Department of Human Services by
rule. Participants in Earnfare will, to the extent resources
allow, earn their assistance. Participation in the Earnfare
program is voluntary, except when ordered by a court of
competent jurisdiction. Eligibility for Earnfare may shall
be limited to only 6 months out of any 12 consecutive month
period. Clients are not entitled to be placed in an Earnfare
slot. Earnfare slots shall be made available only as
resources permit. Earnfare shall be available to persons
receiving food stamps who meet eligibility criteria
established by the Illinois Department of Human Services by
rule. The Illinois Department may, by rule, extend the
Earnfare Program to clients who do not receive food stamps.
Receipt of food stamps is not an eligibility requirement of
Earnfare when a court of competent jurisdiction orders an
individual to participate in the Earnfare Program. To the
extent resources permit, the Earnfare program will allow
participants to engage in work-related activities to earn
monthly financial assistance payments and to improve
participants' employability in order for them to succeed in
obtaining employment. The Illinois Department of Human
Services may enter into contracts with other public agencies
including State agencies, with local governmental units, and
with not-for-profit community based organizations to carry
out the elements of the Program that the Department of Human
Services deems appropriate.
The Earnfare Program shall contain the following
elements:
(1) To the extent resources allow and slots exist,
the Illinois Department of Human Services shall refer
recipients of food stamp assistance who meet eligibility
criteria, as established by rule. Receipt of food stamps
is not an eligibility requirement of Earnfare when a
court of competent jurisdiction orders an individual to
participate in the Earnfare Program.
(2) Persons participating in Earnfare shall engage
in employment assigned activities equal to the amount of
the food stamp benefits divided by the federal minimum
wage and subsequently shall earn minimum wage assistance
for each additional hour of performance in Earnfare
activity. Earnfare participants shall be offered the
opportunity to earn up to $154. The Department of Human
Services may establish a higher amount by rule provided
resources permit. If a court of competent jurisdiction
orders an individual to participate in the Earnfare
program, hours engaged in employment assigned activities
shall first be applied for a $50 payment made to the
custodial parent as a support obligation. If the
individual receives food stamps, the individual shall
engage in employment assigned activities equal to the
amount of the food stamp benefits divided by the federal
minimum wage and subsequently shall earn minimum wage
assistance for each additional hour of performance in
Earnfare activity.
(3) To the extent appropriate slots are available,
the Illinois Department of Human Services shall assign
Earnfare participants to Earnfare activities based on an
assessment of the person's age, literacy, education,
educational achievement, job training, work experience,
and recent institutionalization, whenever these factors
are known to the Department of Human Services or to the
contractor and are relevant to the individual's success
in carrying out the assigned activities and in ultimately
obtaining employment.
(4) The Department of Human Services shall consider
the participant's preferences and personal employment
goals in making assignments to the extent
administratively possible and to the extent that
resources allow.
(5) The Department of Human Services may enter into
cooperative agreements with local governmental units
(which may, in turn, enter into agreements with
not-for-profit community based organizations): with other
public, including State, agencies; directly with
not-for-profit community based organizations, and with
private employers to create Earnfare activities for
program participants.
(6) To the extent resources permit, the Department
of Human Services shall provide the Earnfare participants
with the costs of transportation in looking for work and
in getting to and from the assigned Earnfare job site and
initial expenses of employment.
(7) All income and asset limitations of the Federal
Food Stamp Program will govern continued Earnfare
participation, except that court ordered participants
shall participate for 6 months unless the court orders
otherwise.
(8) Earnfare participants shall not displace or
substitute for regular, full time or part time employees,
regardless of whether or not the employee is currently
working, on a leave of absence or in a position or
similar position where a layoff has taken place or the
employer has terminated the employment of any regular
employee or otherwise reduced its workforce with the
effect of filling the vacancy so created with a
participant subsidized under this program, or is or has
been involved in a labor dispute between a labor
organization and the sponsor.
(9) Persons who fail to cooperate with the FSE&T
program shall become ineligible for food stamp assistance
according to Food Stamp regulations, and for Earnfare
participation. Failure to participate in Earnfare for
all of the hours assigned is not a failure to cooperate
unless so established by the employer pursuant to
Department of Human Services rules. If a person who is
ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction to
participate in the Earnfare Program fails to cooperate
with the Program, the person shall be referred to the
court for failure to comply with the court order.
(Source: P.A. 89-6, eff. 3-6-95; 89-21, eff. 7-1-95; 89-507,
eff. 7-1-97.)
(305 ILCS 5/12-4.11) (from Ch. 23, par. 12-4.11)
(Text of Section before amendment by P.A. 89-507)
Sec. 12-4.11. Standards of assistance; content;
limitations; grant amounts. Establish specific standards, by
rule, by which grant amounts and need for public aid will be
determined and amend the standards from time to time as
circumstances may require.
The standards shall provide a livelihood compatible with
health and well-being for persons eligible for financial aid
under any Article of this Code. They shall include
recognition of any special needs occasioned by the handicaps
and infirmities of age, blindness, or disability. They shall
include recognition of the special clothing needs of school
age children occasioned by cold weather conditions during the
winter season. Standards established to determine the
eligibility of medically indigent persons for aid under
Articles V or VII shall take into account the requirements of
the spouse or other dependent or dependents of the applicant
for medical aid.
The quantity and quality of the items included in the
standards established for food, clothing, and other basic
maintenance needs shall take account of the buying and
consumption patterns of self-supporting persons and families
of low income, as determined from time to time by the United
States Department of Agriculture, the United States Bureau of
Labor Statistics, and other nationally recognized research
authorities in the fields of nutrition and family living.
The items in the standards shall be priced annually for
changes in cost, as provided in Section 12-4.15, and prices
of the standards adjusted as indicated by the findings of
these surveys. The Department, with due regard for and
subject to budgetary limitations, shall establish grant
amounts for each of the programs, by regulation. The grant
amounts may be less than the prices of the standards and may
vary by program, size of assistance unit and geographic area
and may be established in the form of a percentage of the
standards for any or all programs. Beginning July 1, 1991,
the annual appropriations law of the Illinois Department of
Public Aid shall, in respect to Articles IV and VI, specify
the percentage of the current Standard of Need, that the
current fiscal year appropriation is intended to cover as of
the beginning of that fiscal year. Nothing in the preceding
sentence shall be construed to require any grant increase at
any time during the remainder of that fiscal year.
In recognition of the inability of low income households
to afford the rising costs of energy, payments made by the
Department under Articles IV and VI shall include an amount
of money to offset, in whole or in part, the costs of energy
associated with seasonal variations. The Department may by
rule establish the amount of such energy payments which may
vary in accordance with the size of the assistance unit. The
Department for reasons of administrative simplicity may
provide the amounts in equal monthly payments.
During the first month that the Department pays grants
which include amounts authorized in the preceding paragraph,
the grant amounts for all sized assistance units within each
program the Department administers under Article IV of this
Code and for assistance units of more than one person under
Article VI of this Code shall be adjusted to approach more
closely a single percentage of the standard of assistance
established under this Section, with grant amounts expressed
in whole dollar amounts. The percentage used for Article IV
need not be the same percentage used for Article VI. Energy
Assistance money provided in a separate payment and
identified as being exclusively for energy assistance shall
not be considered as a part of the grant for the purposes of
this paragraph; all of the grant amount, including any
portion thereof that may be provided for the purpose of
energy assistance provided under the preceding paragraph,
shall be considered under this paragraph.
Aid payments shall not be reduced except: (1) for changes
in the cost of items included in the standards, or (2) for
changes in the expenses of the recipient, or (3) for changes
in the income or resources available to the recipient, or (4)
for changes in grants resulting from adoption of a
consolidated standard, or (5) to accomplish the adjustment
described in the preceding paragraph, or (6) beginning July
1, 1992, to reduce grant amounts for recipients of cash
assistance under Sections 3-1a and 6-11 of this Code during
fiscal year 1993.
If recipients can obtain adequate shelter only if a
security deposit is given the landlord, the Department may
furnish one month's rent as a security deposit. This
provision shall be operative only to the extent that it does
not foster the granting of duplicate assistance.
In fixing standards to govern payments or reimbursements
for funeral and burial expenses, the Department shall take
into account the services essential to a dignified, low-cost
funeral and burial, but no payment shall be authorized from
public aid funds for the funeral in excess of $630, exclusive
of reasonable amounts as may be necessary for burial space
and cemetery charges, and any applicable taxes or other
required governmental fees or charges. The Department shall
authorize no payment in excess of $315 for a cemetery burial.
Nothing contained in this Section or in any other Section
of this Code shall be construed to prohibit the Illinois
Department (1) from consolidating existing standards on the
basis of any standards which are or were in effect on, or
subsequent to July 1, 1969, or (2) from employing any
consolidated standards in determining need for public aid and
the amount of money payment or grant for individual
recipients or recipient families.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Code to the
contrary, the Illinois Department is authorized to reduce
payment levels under Article VI as necessary to implement
contingency reserves under the Emergency Budget Act of Fiscal
Year 1992, to the extent permitted by federal law. Any such
reduction shall expire on July 1, 1992.
(Source: P.A. 86-127; 86-430; 86-1028; 86-1457; 87-528;
87-838; 87-860.)
(Text of Section after amendment by P.A. 89-507)
Sec. 12-4.11. Standards of assistance; content;
limitations; Grant amounts. Establish specific standards, by
rule, by which grant amounts and need for public aid will be
determined and amend the standards from time to time as
circumstances may require.
The standards shall provide a livelihood compatible with
health and well-being for persons eligible for financial aid
under any Article of this Code. They shall include
recognition of any special needs occasioned by the handicaps
and infirmities of age, blindness, or disability. They shall
include recognition of the special clothing needs of school
age children occasioned by cold weather conditions during the
winter season. Standards established to determine the
eligibility of medically indigent persons for aid under
Articles V or VII shall take into account the requirements of
the spouse or other dependent or dependents of the applicant
for medical aid.
The quantity and quality of the items included in the
standards established for food, clothing, and other basic
maintenance needs shall take account of the buying and
consumption patterns of self-supporting persons and families
of low income, as determined from time to time by the United
States Department of Agriculture, the United States Bureau of
Labor Statistics, and other nationally recognized research
authorities in the fields of nutrition and family living.
The items in the standards shall be priced annually for
changes in cost, as provided in Section 12-4.15, and prices
of the standards adjusted as indicated by the findings of
these surveys. The Department, with due regard for and
subject to budgetary limitations, shall establish grant
amounts for each of the programs, by regulation. The grant
amounts may be less than the prices of the standards and may
vary by program, size of assistance unit and geographic area.
and may be established in the form of a percentage of the
standards for any or all programs. Beginning July 1, 1991,
the annual appropriations law of the Illinois Department
shall, in respect to Articles IV and VI, specify the
percentage of the current Standard of Need, that the current
fiscal year appropriation is intended to cover as of the
beginning of that fiscal year. Nothing in the preceding
sentence shall be construed to require any grant increase at
any time during the remainder of that fiscal year.
In recognition of the inability of low income households
to afford the rising costs of energy, payments made by the
Department under Articles IV and VI shall include an amount
of money to offset, in whole or in part, the costs of energy
associated with seasonal variations. The Department may by
rule establish the amount of such energy payments which may
vary in accordance with the size of the assistance unit. The
Department for reasons of administrative simplicity may
provide the amounts in equal monthly payments.
During the first month that the Department pays grants
which include amounts authorized in the preceding paragraph,
the grant amounts for all sized assistance units within each
program the Department administers under Article IV of this
Code and for assistance units of more than one person under
Article VI of this Code shall be adjusted to approach more
closely a single percentage of the standard of assistance
established under this Section, with grant amounts expressed
in whole dollar amounts. The percentage used for Article IV
need not be the same percentage used for Article VI. Energy
Assistance money provided in a separate payment and
identified as being exclusively for energy assistance shall
not be considered as a part of the grant for the purposes of
this paragraph; all of the grant amount, including any
portion thereof that may be provided for the purpose of
energy assistance provided under the preceding paragraph,
shall be considered under this paragraph.
Aid payments shall not be reduced except: (1) for changes
in the cost of items included in the grant amounts standards,
or (2) for changes in the expenses of the recipient, or (3)
for changes in the income or resources available to the
recipient, or (4) for changes in grants resulting from
adoption of a consolidated grant amount standard, or (5) to
accomplish the adjustment described in the preceding
paragraph, or (6) beginning July 1, 1992, to reduce grant
amounts for recipients of cash assistance under Sections 3-1a
and 6-11 of this Code during fiscal year 1993.
If recipients can obtain adequate shelter only if a
security deposit is given the landlord, the Department may
furnish one month's rent as a security deposit. This
provision shall be operative only to the extent that it does
not foster the granting of duplicate assistance.
In fixing standards to govern payments or reimbursements
for funeral and burial expenses, the Department shall take
into account the services essential to a dignified, low-cost
funeral and burial, but no payment shall be authorized from
public aid funds for the funeral in excess of $630, exclusive
of reasonable amounts as may be necessary for burial space
and cemetery charges, and any applicable taxes or other
required governmental fees or charges. The Department shall
authorize no payment in excess of $315 for a cemetery burial.
Nothing contained in this Section or in any other Section
of this Code shall be construed to prohibit the Illinois
Department (1) from consolidating existing standards on the
basis of any standards which are or were in effect on, or
subsequent to July 1, 1969, or (2) from employing any
consolidated standards in determining need for public aid and
the amount of money payment or grant for individual
recipients or recipient families.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Code to the
contrary, the Illinois Department is authorized to reduce
payment levels under Article VI as necessary to implement
contingency reserves under the Emergency Budget Act of Fiscal
Year 1992, to the extent permitted by federal law. Any such
reduction shall expire on July 1, 1992.
(Source: P.A. 89-507, eff. 7-1-97.)
(305 ILCS 5/12-10.3) (from Ch. 23, par. 12-10.3)
Sec. 12-10.3. Employment and Training Fund; uses.
(a) The Employment and Training Fund is hereby created
in the State Treasury for the purpose of receiving and
disbursing moneys in accordance with the provisions of Title
IV-F of the federal Social Security Act, known as the Job
Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) Program and, on and
after July 1, 1997, Title IV-A of the federal Social Security
Act; the Food Stamp Act, Title 7 of the United States Code;
and related rules and regulations governing the use of those
moneys for the purposes of providing employment and training
services.
(b) All federal funds received by the Illinois
Department as reimbursement for expenditures for employment
and training programs made by the Illinois Department from
grants, gifts, or legacies as provided in Section 12-4.18 or
by an entity other than the Department, except as a result of
appropriations made for the costs of providing adult
education to public assistance recipients, shall be deposited
into the Employment and Training Fund; provided, however,
that all funds, except those that are specified in the
interagency agreement between the Illinois Community College
Board and the Department, that are received by the Department
as reimbursement under Title IV-F of the federal Social
Security Act the JOBS programs for expenditures that are made
by the Illinois Community College Board or by any public
community college of this State shall be credited to a
special account that the State Treasurer shall establish and
maintain within the Employment and Training Fund for the
purpose and in the manner provided in Section 12-5.
(c) Except as provided in subsection (d) of this
Section, the Employment and Training Fund shall be
administered by the Illinois Department, and the Illinois
Department may make payments from the Employment and Training
Fund to clients for supportive services or to public and
private entities for employment and training services. Such
payments shall not include any funds generated by Illinois
community colleges as part of the Opportunities Program.
(d) On or before the 10th day of August, 1992, and on or
before the 10th day of each month thereafter, the State
Treasurer and State Comptroller shall automatically transfer
to the TANF AFDC Opportunities Fund of the Illinois Community
College Board from the special account established and
maintained in the Employment and Training Fund all amounts
credited to that special account as provided in Section 12-5
during the preceding month as reimbursement for expenditures
under Title IV-F of the federal Social Security Act the JOBS
programs made by the Illinois Community College Board or any
public community college of this State.
(e) The Illinois Department shall execute a written
contract when purchasing employment and training services
from entities qualified to provide services under the
programs. The contract shall be filed with the Illinois
Department and the State Comptroller.
(Source: P.A. 88-429; 89-641, eff. 8-9-96.)
(305 ILCS 5/12-13.05 new)
Sec. 12-13.05. Emergency rules to implement amendatory
changes. The Illinois Department may implement the
amendatory changes to this Code made by this amendatory Act
of 1997 and any other changes made as the result of
implementing the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families
Program under the Personal Responsibility and Work
Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-193) through
the use of emergency rules in accordance with the provisions
of Section 5-45 of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act.
For purposes of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act,
the adoption of rules to implement these changes shall be
deemed an emergency and necessary for the public interest,
safety, and welfare. The emergency rulemaking powers
authorized in this Section apply only to rules filed to
implement the TANF plan effective July 1, 1997.
All rules regulating the Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families program and all other rules regulating the
amendatory changes to this Code made by this amendatory Act
of 1997 shall be promulgated pursuant to this Section. All
rules regulating the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
program and all other rules regulating the amendatory changes
to this Code made by this amendatory Act of 1997 are repealed
on June 1, 1999. On and after June 1, 1999, the Illinois
Department may not promulgate any rules regulating the
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program or regulating
the amendatory changes to this Code made by this amendatory
Act of 1997.
(305 ILCS 5/4-1.2b rep.)
(305 ILCS 5/4-1.3 rep.)
(305 ILCS 5/4-1.4 rep.)
(305 ILCS 5/4-1.11 rep.)
(305 ILCS 5/4-5 rep.)
(305 ILCS 5/4-16 rep.)
(305 ILCS 5/9-6.3 rep.)
(305 ILCS 5/9-6.4 rep.)
(305 ILCS 5/9A-6 rep.)
(305 ILCS 5/12-4.15 rep.)
Section 15. The Illinois Public Aid Code is amended by
repealing Sections 4-1.2b, 4-1.3, 4-1.4, 4-1.11, 4-5, 4-16,
9-6.3, 9-6.4, 9A-6, and 12-4.15.
Section 95. No acceleration or delay. Where this Act
makes changes in a statute that is represented in this Act by
text that is not yet or no longer in effect (for example, a
Section represented by multiple versions), the use of that
text does not accelerate or delay the taking effect of (i)
the changes made by this Act or (ii) provisions derived from
any other Public Act.
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July
1, 1997, except that this Section and the provisions changing
Section 11-6.2 of the Illinois Public Aid Code take effect
upon becoming law.