Public Act 90-0804 of the 90th General Assembly
Public Act 90-0804
SB1838 Re-enrolled LRB9011663DJcd
AN ACT to amend the Community Services Act by adding
Section 4.3.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Community Services Act is amended by
adding Section 4.3 as follows:
(405 ILCS 30/4.3 new)
Sec. 4.3. Family Support Services Voucher Pilot Program.
(a) In this Section:
"Family member" means a family member as defined by rules
adopted by the Department of Human Services.
"Family support services" means the services and
activities described in subsection (d).
(b) The Department of Human Services shall establish a
Family Support Services Voucher Pilot Program which shall be
a conversion of the program defined in Section 4.1. The
Department may establish no more than 5 pilot programs.
(c) The purpose of the pilot program is to do the
following:
(1) Increase the number of families who are able to
access family support services.
(2) Provide families with greater control over
family support services.
(3) Ensure that the diverse family support services
needs of families can be accommodated.
(4) Encourage a family's contribution toward
payment for the family support services they receive.
(5) Serve as a pilot program to evaluate the merits
of a family support services voucher program in
comparison to the traditional respite program.
(d) The Department shall contract with community
agencies to issue vouchers to participating families, or to
employ a voucher-like method that similarly makes services
available based on the choice of families. A family may use
the vouchers to purchase the following services and
activities or to otherwise provide for those services and
activities:
(1) Services of an in-home caregiver to supervise
the family member with a developmental disability in the
home or in the community or both when other family
members are not present.
(2) Services of a person to accompany the family
member with a developmental disability on outings,
community activities, and similar activities.
(3) Registration of the family member with a
developmental disability in park district programs,
extracurricular school activities, community college
classes, and other similar types of community-based
programs.
(4) Services of home health care personnel if
medical training or expertise is required to meet the
needs of the family member with a developmental
disability.
(e) Families may employ the following types of
individuals to provide family support services:
(1) Related family members who do not reside in the
same home as the family member with a developmental
disability.
(2) Friends or neighbors whom the family designates
as capable of meeting the needs of the family member with
a developmental disability.
(3) Individuals recruited from the community (for
example, church members or college students).
(4) Individuals who work with the family member
with a developmental disability in a different capacity
(for example, classroom aide or day program staff).
(5) Persons whose services are contracted for
through a home health agency licensed under the Home
Health Agency Licensing Act.
(f) Family support services moneys under the pilot
program may not be used to purchase or provide for any of the
following services or activities:
(1) Out-of-home medical services.
(2) Medical, therapeutic, or developmental
evaluations.
(3) Any product or item (for example, sports
equipment, therapeutic devices, or clothing).
(4) Family support services provided by a family
member whose primary residence is the same as that of the
family member with a developmental disability.
(5) Services of a person to accompany the family on
an overnight trip.
(6) Any service or activity that should be provided
by the school in which the family member with a
developmental disability is enrolled or that occurs as
part of that school's typical school routine.
(7) Child care services while the primary caretaker
works.
(g) The Department of Human Services shall submit a
report to the General Assembly by March 1, 2000 evaluating
the merits of the pilot program.
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect
January 1, 1999.