Bill Text: IL HB5259 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Amends the Illinois Public Aid Code. Adds the Refugee Social Services Article to the Code. Requires the Department of Human Services to allocate appropriated federal funds, or appropriated State funds, for refugee social services programs to each county impacted by refugee arrivals and, at the Department's discretion, to a qualified nonprofit organization, based on the number of refugees receiving aid in the county or the number of refugees who reside in the eligible county. Permits the Department to utilize funding adjustments based on the length of time that the refugees have resided in the United States. Permits the Department to allocate any federal funds from the Office of Refugee Resettlement among eligible counties and qualified nonprofit organizations consistent with federal law. Permits the Department to contract with, or award grants to, qualified nonprofit organizations for the purpose of administering refugee social services programs within a county. Requires reporting, monitoring, and audits of services funded by such contracts or grants. Provides that counties administering refugee services must designate an agency to develop and implement a plan for the provision of services funded by refugee social services funds. Set forth minimum requirements for such county plans. Contains provisions concerning extended refugee social services. Requires each refugee social services program to provide culturally appropriate and responsive case management services. Requires the Department to, in collaboration with service providers, determine outcome metrics to define program success.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-02-09 - Referred to Rules Committee [HB5259 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-HB5259-Introduced.html

103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
HB5259

Introduced , by Rep. Hoan Huynh

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
305 ILCS 5/2-12 from Ch. 23, par. 2-12
305 ILCS 5/Art. XVII heading new
305 ILCS 5/17-1 new
305 ILCS 5/17-2 new
305 ILCS 5/17-3 new
305 ILCS 5/17-4 new
305 ILCS 5/17-5 new

Amends the Illinois Public Aid Code. Adds the Refugee Social Services Article to the Code. Requires the Department of Human Services to allocate appropriated federal funds, or appropriated State funds, for refugee social services programs to each county impacted by refugee arrivals and, at the Department's discretion, to a qualified nonprofit organization, based on the number of refugees receiving aid in the county or the number of refugees who reside in the eligible county. Permits the Department to utilize funding adjustments based on the length of time that the refugees have resided in the United States. Permits the Department to allocate any federal funds from the Office of Refugee Resettlement among eligible counties and qualified nonprofit organizations consistent with federal law. Permits the Department to contract with, or award grants to, qualified nonprofit organizations for the purpose of administering refugee social services programs within a county. Requires reporting, monitoring, and audits of services funded by such contracts or grants. Provides that counties administering refugee services must designate an agency to develop and implement a plan for the provision of services funded by refugee social services funds. Set forth minimum requirements for such county plans. Contains provisions concerning extended refugee social services. Requires each refugee social services program to provide culturally appropriate and responsive case management services. Requires the Department to, in collaboration with service providers, determine outcome metrics to define program success.
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A BILL FOR

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1 AN ACT concerning public aid.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. The Illinois Public Aid Code is amended by
5changing Section 2-12 and by adding Article XVII as follows:
6 (305 ILCS 5/2-12) (from Ch. 23, par. 2-12)
7 Sec. 2-12. "Illinois Department"; "Department". In this
8Code, "Illinois Department" or "Department", when a particular
9entity is not specified, means the following:
10 (1) In the case of a function performed before July 1, 1997
11(the effective date of the Department of Human Services Act),
12the term means the Department of Public Aid.
13 (2) In the case of a function to be performed on or after
14July 1, 1997 under Article III, IV, VI, IX, or IXA, XVI, or
15XVII, the term means the Department of Human Services as
16successor to the Illinois Department of Public Aid.
17 (3) In the case of a function to be performed on or after
18July 1, 1997 under Article V, V-A, V-B, V-C, V-D, V-E, X, XIV,
19or XV, the term means the Department of Healthcare and Family
20Services (formerly Illinois Department of Public Aid).
21 (4) In the case of a function to be performed on or after
22July 1, 1997 under Article I, II, VIIIA, XI, XII, or XIII, the
23term means the Department of Human Services (acting as

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1successor to the Illinois Department of Public Aid) or the
2Department of Healthcare and Family Services (formerly
3Illinois Department of Public Aid) or both, according to
4whether that function, in the specific context, has been
5allocated to the Department of Human Services or the
6Department of Healthcare and Family Services (formerly
7Department of Public Aid) or both of those departments.
8(Source: P.A. 95-331, eff. 8-21-07.)
9 (305 ILCS 5/Art. XVII heading new)
10
ARTICLE XVII. REFUGEE SOCIAL SERVICES
11 (305 ILCS 5/17-1 new)
12 Sec. 17-1. Definitions. As used in this Article:
13 (a) "Eligible county" means a county or city and county
14designated as impacted using a formula developed by the
15Department based upon the refugee arrivals in the county
16during the preceding 60-month period for which the Department
17has data.
18 (b) "Qualified nonprofit organization" means a nonprofit
19organization that is exempt from federal income taxation under
20Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and that
21satisfies any additional eligibility criteria established by
22the Department.
23 (c) "Refugee social services" include, but are not limited
24to, English language and employment training, as funded

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1through federal appropriations, or as funded through State
2appropriations as described in Section 17-4.
3 (305 ILCS 5/17-2 new)
4 Sec. 17-2. Funding of refugee social services.
5 (a)(1) After setting aside the necessary State
6administrative funds, the Department shall allocate
7appropriated federal funds, or appropriated State funds as
8described in Section 17-4, for refugee social services
9programs to each eligible county and, if the Department
10exercises its discretion in accordance with subsection (b), to
11a qualified nonprofit organization, based on the number of
12refugees receiving aid in the eligible county or the number of
13refugees who reside in the eligible county. The Department
14may, at its discretion, utilize funding adjustments based on
15the length of time that the refugees have resided in the United
16States.
17 (2) If an eligible county or qualified nonprofit
18organization that receives funds under paragraph (1) declines
19all or part of those funds, or returns unexpended funds, the
20Department may exercise its discretion to reallocate the
21declined or returned funds among eligible counties and
22qualified nonprofit organizations.
23 (3) If the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement provides
24funding in addition to the annual appropriation described in
25paragraph (1) or designates funding for services to a specific

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1population of eligible individuals, the Department may
2exercise its discretion to allocate those funds among eligible
3counties and qualified nonprofit organizations consistent with
4federal law.
5 (b)(1) Notwithstanding any other law, and to the extent
6permitted by federal law, the Department may, at its
7discretion, contract with, or award grants to, qualified
8nonprofit organizations for the purpose of administering
9refugee social services programs within a county. An eligible
10county providing refugee social services in accordance with
11this Article may continue to administer those services while a
12contractor or grantee is also providing refugee social
13services in accordance with this Article within the county.
14 (2) If an eligible county and a qualified nonprofit
15organization are administering refugee social services
16simultaneously within the same county, the Department shall,
17at its discretion, determine the amount of the funds to be
18distributed to the eligible county and qualified nonprofit
19organization.
20 (3) Contracts or grants awarded in accordance with this
21subsection shall require reporting, monitoring, or audits of
22services provided, as determined by the Department.
23 (305 ILCS 5/17-3 new)
24 Sec. 17-3. Implementation; plan requirements.
25 (a) The Department shall notify each eligible county's

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1board of the availability of funds described in subsection (a)
2of Section 17-2 or in subsection (b) of Section 17-4.
3 (b) A county administering refugee social services shall
4designate an agency that is responsible for developing and
5implementing a plan for the provision of services funded by
6refugee social services funds.
7 (c)(1) The plan developed in accordance with subsection
8(b) shall reflect the full intent of this Article that the
9funding for, and provision of, refugee social services shall
10lead to successful self-sufficiency and social integration for
11all refugee recipients of refugee social services, in
12accordance with guidelines issued by the Department.
13 (2) Any plan developed in accordance with subsection (b)
14shall, at a minimum, meet all of the following requirements:
15 (A) Each eligible county's board shall ensure that the
16 county planning process is designed in such a way as to
17 facilitate refugee participation and public input in that
18 process.
19 (B) The plan shall include a description of how
20 available funds will be used to provide services to
21 refugees.
22 (C) The plan shall specifically address how services
23 will be delivered to refugees receiving aid in each
24 county.
25 (D) The plan shall provide for the priority
26 consideration for funding refugee community-based

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1 organizations if they demonstrate the capacity to
2 implement the proposed programs, which capacity shall be
3 comparable to that of other competitors who qualify for
4 funding.
5 (305 ILCS 5/17-4 new)
6 Sec. 17-4. Applicability; eligibility.
7 (a) The requirements established by this Article shall be
8applicable only so long as federal funds are available for its
9purposes, or so long as State funds are available as provided
10in subsection (b).
11 (b)(1) This subsection shall be implemented only to the
12extent an appropriation of State funds is made in the annual
13Budget Act or another statute for the purpose of this
14subsection.
15 (2) If a refugee recipient of refugee social services
16under the federal Reception and Placement Program administered
17by the U.S. Department of State completes 90 days of those
18services and exhausts the federal funds allocated for that
19recipient, the recipient shall be eligible for a 90-day
20extension of refugee social services using State funds within
21the first 12 months of arrival to the United States.
22 (3)(A) If a recipient completes the 90-day extension
23described in paragraph (2) and seeks additional refugee social
24services, the designated case manager shall conduct an
25assessment of the recipient's needs and shall determine

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1whether to grant the recipient an additional extension of
2those services using State funds.
3 (B) The case manager's determination in subparagraph (A)
4shall be on a case-by-case basis and subject to a finding by
5the case manager that the recipient demonstrates extreme need
6in accordance with criteria set forth by the Department. A
7finding of extreme need shall be based on the level of need for
8services as defined in subsection (c) of Section 17-1 or case
9management services as described in subsection (b) of Section
1017-5.
11 (C) An additional extension granted under this paragraph
12shall be at a minimum 90 days and at a maximum 180 days,
13resulting in a combined duration of no more than 270 days for
14the extensions described in paragraph (2) and this paragraph
15beyond the original 90 days under the federal Reception and
16Placement Program, for a total of no more than 360 days of
17those services. If the recipient is approved for the
18additional extension in accordance with this paragraph, the
19case manager shall determine the number of extension days
20granted based on the assessment and on the level of the
21recipient's extreme need.
22 (4) The refugee social services covered under this
23subsection shall include the services as defined in subsection
24(c) of Section 17-1 and the case management services described
25in subsection (b) of Section 17-5.
26 (5) The refugee social services covered under this

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1subsection may be provided by a qualified nonprofit
2organization, as defined in Section 17-1, including a
3community-based organization, or by an eligible county, as
4defined in Section 17-1, or by any office or affiliate of the
5agencies authorized under the federal Reception and Placement
6Program, as applicable.
7 (305 ILCS 5/17-5 new)
8 Sec. 17-5. Required services.
9 (a)(1) Each refugee social services program established in
10accordance with Section 17-2 shall provide culturally
11appropriate and responsive case management services for
12refugees, asylees, and other vulnerable noncitizens for up to
13180 days, or as specified in paragraph (2), within the first
14year following the grant of asylum or after having been deemed
15eligible for services under Article 16.
16 (2)(A) If a recipient completes 180 days of case
17management services as provided under paragraph (1) and seeks
18an extension of those services, the designated case manager
19shall conduct an assessment of the recipient's needs and shall
20determine whether to grant the recipient the extension.
21 (B) The case manager's determination in subparagraph (A)
22shall be on a case-by-case basis and subject to a finding by
23the case manager that the recipient demonstrates extreme need
24under criteria set forth by the Department. A finding of
25extreme need shall be based on the level of need for services

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1as defined in subsection (c) of Section 17-1 or case
2management services as described in subsection (b).
3 (C) An additional extension granted under this paragraph
4shall be at a minimum 90 days and at a maximum 180 days, for a
5total of no more than 360 days of case management services. If
6the recipient is approved for the additional extension under
7this paragraph, the case manager shall determine the number of
8extension days granted based on the assessment and on the
9level of the recipient's extreme need.
10 (b) Case management services under each program shall
11include assistance in identifying and applying for all
12benefits to which the person is legally entitled, including
13cultural orientation and integration programs, support in
14accessing and navigating the public benefits and health care
15systems, housing assistance, community connection and
16relationship building, English language instruction, and
17enrollment in an educational program or institution, financial
18literacy education, employment training, job placement
19assistance, and professional recredentialing and licensing
20application assistance.
21 (c) Case management services under each program may be
22provided by a qualified nonprofit organization, as defined in
23Section 17-1, including a community-based organization, or by
24any office or affiliate of the agencies authorized under the
25federal Reception and Placement Program administered by the
26U.S. Department of State, as applicable.

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