Public Act 103-0498

SB1794 Enrolled LRB103 26871 KTG 53235 b

AN ACT concerning State government.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,

represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Department of Human Services Act is amended

by adding Section 10-16 as follows:

(20 ILCS 1305/10-16 new)

Sec. 10-16. Home visiting program.

(a) The General Assembly finds that research-informed home

visiting programs work to strengthen families' functioning and

support parents in caring for their children to ensure optimal

child development.

(b) The Department shall establish a home visiting program

to support communities in providing intensive home visiting

programs to pregnant persons and families with children from

birth up to elementary school enrollment. Services shall be

offered on a voluntary basis to families. In awarding grants

under the program, the Department shall prioritize populations

or communities in need of such services, as determined by the

Department, based on data including, but not limited to,

statewide home visiting needs assessments. Eligibility under

the program shall also take into consideration requirements of

the federal Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home

Visiting Program and Head Start and Early Head Start to ensure

appropriate alignment. The overall goals for these services

are to:

(1) improve maternal and newborn health;

(2) prevent child abuse and neglect;

(3) promote children's development and readiness to

participate in school; and

(4) connect families to needed community resources and

supports.

(b) Allowable uses of funding include:

(1) Grants to community-based organizations to

implement home visiting and family support services with

fidelity to research-informed home visiting program

models, as defined by the Department. Services may

include, but are not limited to:

(A) personal visits with a child and the child's

parent or caregiver at a periodicity aligned with the

model being implemented;

(B) opportunities for connections with other

parents and caregivers in their community and other

social and community supports;

(C) enhancements to research-informed home

visiting program models based on community needs

including doula services, and other program

innovations as approved by the Department; and

(D) referrals to other resources needed by

families.

(2) Infrastructure supports for grantees, including,

but not limited to, professional development for the

workforce, technical assistance and capacity-building,

data system and supports, infant and early childhood

mental health consultation, trauma-informed practices,

research, universal newborn screening, and coordinated

intake.

(c) Subject to appropriation, the Department shall award

grants to community-based agencies in accordance with this

Section and any other rules that may be adopted by the

Department. Successful grantees under this program shall

comply with policies and procedures on program, data, and

expense reporting as developed by the Department.

(d) Funds received under this Section shall supplement,

not supplant, other existing or new federal, State, or local

sources of funding for these services. Any new federal funding

received shall supplement and not supplant funding for this

program.

(e) The Department shall collaborate with relevant

agencies to support the coordination and alignment of home

visiting services provided through other State and federal

funds, to the extent possible. The Department shall

collaborate with the State Board of Education, the Department

of Healthcare and Family Services, and Head Start and Early

Head Start in the implementation of these services to support

alignment with home visiting services provided through the

Early Childhood Block Grant and the State's Medical Assistance

Program, respectively, to the extent possible.

(f) An advisory committee shall advise the Department

concerning the implementation of the home visiting program.

The advisory committee shall make recommendations on policy

and implementation. The Department shall determine whether the

advisory committee shall be a newly created body or an

existing body such as a committee of the Illinois Early

Learning Council. The advisory committee shall consist of one

or more representatives of the Department, other members

representing public and private entities that serve and

interact with the families served under the home visiting

program, with the input of families engaged in home visiting

or related services themselves. Family input may be secured by

engaging families as members of this advisory committee or as

a separate committee of family representatives.

(g) The Department may adopt any rules necessary to

implement this Section.