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| Public Act 101-0103
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| HB3129 Enrolled | LRB101 07343 KTG 52383 b |
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AN ACT concerning public aid.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The Illinois Public Aid Code is amended by |
changing Sections 4-2, 4-21, 9A-7, and 12-4.11 as follows:
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(305 ILCS 5/4-2) (from Ch. 23, par. 4-2)
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Sec. 4-2. Amount of aid.
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(a) The amount and nature of financial aid shall be |
determined in accordance
with the grant amounts, rules and |
regulations of the Illinois Department. Due
regard shall be |
given to the self-sufficiency requirements of the family and to
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the income, money contributions and other support and resources |
available, from
whatever source. However, the amount and nature |
of any financial aid is not
affected by the payment of any |
grant under the "Senior Citizens and Persons with Disabilities |
Property Tax Relief Act" or any
distributions or items of |
income described under subparagraph (X) of paragraph
(2) of |
subsection (a) of Section 203 of the Illinois Income Tax 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.
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Subject to appropriation, beginning on July 1, 2008, the |
Department of Human Services shall increase TANF grant amounts |
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in effect on June 30, 2008 by 15%. The Department is authorized |
to administer this increase but may not otherwise adopt any |
rule to implement this increase. |
(a-5) For the purposes of this subsection, TANF grant |
amounts shall consist of the following portions: |
(1) 75% shall be designated for the child or children |
of the assistance unit; and |
(2) 25% shall be designated for the adult member or |
members of the assistance unit. |
(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.
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(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.
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(d) If the Department establishes grants for family units |
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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.
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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.
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Grants under this Article shall not be supplemented by |
General
Assistance provided under Article VI.
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(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.
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(f) Subject to subsection (f-5), an assistance unit, |
receiving
financial
aid under this Article or
temporarily |
ineligible to receive aid under this Article under a penalty
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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 |
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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
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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.
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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 for recipients of aid under this Article IV. The |
Illinois
Department shall target, to the extent the |
supplemental funding allows,
employment and training 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 employment and
training |
services or transitional child care support.
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In making the transfers authorized by this subsection, the |
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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
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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.
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Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prohibit |
the Illinois
Department from using 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
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Department, by rule, as suitable for the care of the child such |
as diapers,
clothing, school supplies, and cribs.
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(f-5) Subsection (f) shall not apply to affect the monthly |
assistance
amount of
any family as a result of the birth of a |
child on or after January 1, 2004.
As resources permit after |
January 1, 2004, the Department may
cease applying subsection |
(f) to limit assistance to families receiving
assistance under |
this Article on January 1, 2004, with respect to children
born |
prior to that date. In any event, subsection (f) shall be |
completely
inoperative on and after July 1, 2007.
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(g) (Blank).
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(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
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appropriation is not sufficient to ensure that
cash benefits |
under this Article do not exceed the amounts appropriated for
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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
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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.
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(Source: P.A. 99-143, eff. 7-27-15.)
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(305 ILCS 5/4-21)
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Sec. 4-21. Sanctions.
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(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.
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(a-1) The Illinois Department shall, by rule, impose a 30% |
reduction of the portion of the grant amount designated for the |
adult member or members of the assistance unit when an adult |
member is found to be in noncompliance without good cause. |
(a-2) No sanction shall reduce the portion of the grant |
amount that is designated for the child or children of the |
assistance unit. |
(a-3) The full grant amount must be restored on the first |
day of the month following a determination that the adult |
member or members of the assistance unit are in compliance with |
program requirements and are otherwise eligible for |
assistance. |
(b) The Illinois Department shall, by rule, define what |
constitutes failure
to cooperate and what constitutes good |
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cause which would excuse that failure.
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(Source: P.A. 90-17, eff. 7-1-97.)
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(305 ILCS 5/9A-7) (from Ch. 23, par. 9A-7)
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Sec. 9A-7. Good Cause and Pre-Sanction Process.
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(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.
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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 |
include, but not be limited to:
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(1) temporary illness for its duration;
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(2) court required appearance or temporary |
incarceration;
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(3) (blank);
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(4) death in the family;
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(5) (blank);
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(6) (blank);
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(7) (blank);
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(8) (blank);
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(9) extreme inclement weather;
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(10) (blank);
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(11) lack of any support service even though the |
necessary service
is not specifically provided under the |
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Department program, to the extent
the lack of the needed |
service presents a significant barrier to participation;
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(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;
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(13) (blank);
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(14) failure of Department staff to correctly forward |
the information
to other Department staff;
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(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;
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(16) failure of the participant due to his or her |
illiteracy;
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(17) failure of the participant because it is |
determined that he or she
should be in a different |
activity;
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(18) non-receipt by the participant of a notice |
advising him or her of a
participation requirement. If
the |
non-receipt of mail occurs frequently, the Department |
shall
explore an alternative means of providing notices of |
participation requests
to participants;
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(19) (blank);
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(20) non-comprehension of English, either written or |
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oral or both;
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(21) (blank);
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(22) (blank);
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(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;
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(24) failure to participate in an activity due to a |
scheduled job
interview, medical appointment for the |
participant or a household member, or
school appointment;
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(25) if an individual or family is experiencing |
homelessness; an individual or family is experiencing |
homelessness if the individual or family: (i) lacks a |
fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, or |
shares the housing of other persons due to the loss of |
housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason; (ii) is |
living in a motel, hotel, trailer park, or camping ground |
due to the lack of alternative accommodations; (iii) is |
living in an emergency or transitional shelter; (iv) |
resides in a primary nighttime residence that is a public |
or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a |
regular sleeping accommodation for human beings; or (v) is |
living in a car, park, public space, abandoned building, |
substandard housing, bus, train station, or similar |
settings; the individual is homeless. Homeless individuals |
(including the
family) have no current residence and no |
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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;
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(26) circumstances beyond the control of the |
participant which prevent
the participant from completing |
program requirements; or
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(27) (blank); .
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(28) if an individual or family receives an eviction |
notice; |
(29) if an individual's or family's utilities are |
disconnected; |
(30) if an individual or family receives an utility |
disconnection notice; or |
(31) if an individual is exiting a publicly funded |
institution or system of care (such as a health-care |
facility, a mental health facility, foster care or other |
youth facility, or correction program or institution) |
without an option to move to a fixed, adequate night time |
residence. |
(b) (Blank).
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(c) (1) The Department shall establish a reconciliation |
procedure to
assist in resolving disputes related to any |
aspect of participation,
including exemptions, good cause, |
sanctions or proposed sanctions,
supportive services, |
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assessments, responsibility and service
plans,
assignment |
to activities, 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.
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(2) A participant may request reconciliation and
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receive notice in
writing of a meeting. 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.
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(2.5) If the individual fails to appear at the |
reconciliation meeting
without good cause, the |
reconciliation is unsuccessful and a sanction shall be
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imposed.
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(3) The reconciliation 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
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the reconciliation process. Failure to demonstrate |
cooperation will result in immediate
sanction.
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(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
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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.
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(5) The Department shall document in the case record |
the proceedings
of the reconciliation and provide the |
client in writing
with a reconciliation
agreement.
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(6) If reconciliation resolves the dispute, no
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sanction shall be imposed.
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, a |
sanction shall not be imposed
until the reconciliation |
process is complete.
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(Source: P.A. 95-331, eff. 8-21-07.)
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(305 ILCS 5/12-4.11) (from Ch. 23, par. 12-4.11)
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Sec. 12-4.11. Grant amounts. 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
vary by program, size of |
assistance unit and geographic area. Grant amounts under the |
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program may not |
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vary on the basis of a TANF recipient's county of residence.
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Aid payments shall not be reduced except: (1) for changes |
in the cost of
items included in the grant amounts, 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.
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The maximum benefit levels provided to TANF recipients |
shall increase as follows: beginning October 1, 2018, the |
Department of Human Services shall increase TANF grant amounts |
in effect on September 30, 2018 to at least 30% of the most |
recent United States Department of Health and Human Services |
Federal Poverty Guidelines for each family size. Beginning |
October 1, 2019, and each October 1 thereafter, the maximum |
benefit levels shall be annually adjusted to remain equal to at |
least 30% of the most recent poverty guidelines updated |
periodically in the Federal Register by the U.S. Department
of |
Health and Human Services under the authority of 42 U.S.C. |
9902(2) for each family size. |
TANF grants for child-only assistance units shall be at |
least 75% of TANF grants for assistance units of the same size |
that consist of a caretaker relative with children. |
In fixing standards to govern payments or reimbursements |
for funeral
and burial expenses, the Department shall establish |
a minimum allowable
amount of
not less than
$1,000 for |
Department payment of funeral services and not less than $500 |
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for
Department payment of burial or cremation services. On |
January 1, 2006, July 1, 2006, and July 1, 2007, the Department |
shall increase the minimum reimbursement amount for funeral and |
burial expenses under this Section by a percentage equal to the |
percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban |
Consumers, if any, during the 12 months immediately preceding |
that January 1 or July 1. In establishing the minimum
allowable
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amount, the Department shall take into account the services
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essential to a dignified, low-cost (i) funeral and (ii) burial |
or
cremation, including reasonable
amounts that may be |
necessary for
burial space and cemetery charges, and any |
applicable taxes or other
required governmental fees or |
charges. If no
person has agreed to pay the total cost of the |
(i) funeral and
(ii) burial or cremation
charges, the |
Department shall pay the vendor the actual costs of the (i)
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funeral
and
(ii) burial or cremation, or the minimum allowable |
amount for each service as
established by
the Department, |
whichever is less, provided that the Department reduces its
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payments by
the amount available from the following sources: |
the decedent's assets
and
available resources and the |
anticipated amounts of any death benefits available
to the
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decedent's estate, and amounts paid and arranged to be paid by |
the
decedent's legally
responsible relatives. A legally |
responsible relative is expected to pay
(i) funeral and (ii) |
burial
or cremation expenses unless financially unable to do |
so.
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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
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or recipient families.
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(Source: P.A. 100-587, eff. 6-4-18.)
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Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon |
becoming law.
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INDEX
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Statutes amended in order of appearance
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