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1		AN ACT concerning State government.
2		Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3		represented in the General Assembly:
4		Section 5. The Children and Family Services Act is amended
5		by changing Section 8 as follows:
6		(20 ILCS 505/8) (from Ch. 23, par. 5008)
7		Sec. 8. Scholarships and fee waivers; tuition waiver.
8		(a) Each year the Department shall select a minimum of 53
9		students (at least 4 of whom shall be children of veterans) to
10		receive scholarships and fee waivers which will enable them to
11		attend and complete their post-secondary education at a
12		community college, university, or college. Youth shall be
13		selected from among the youth for whom the Department has
14		court-ordered legal responsibility, youth who aged out of care
15		at age 18 or older, or youth formerly under care who have been
16		adopted or who have been placed in private guardianship.
17		Recipients must have earned a high school diploma from an
18		accredited institution or a State of Illinois High School
19		Diploma or have met the State criteria for high school
20		graduation before the start of the school year for which they
21		are applying for the scholarship and waiver. Scholarships and
22		fee waivers shall be available to students for at least 5
23		years, provided they are continuing to work toward graduation

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1		and completion of a certificate or degree program. Unused
2		scholarship dollars and fee waivers shall be reallocated to
3		new recipients. No later than January 1, 2015, the Department
4		shall promulgate rules identifying the criteria for
5		"continuing to work toward graduation" and for reallocating
6		unused scholarships and fee waivers. Selection shall be made
7		on the basis of several factors, including, but not limited
8		to, scholastic record, aptitude, and general interest in
9		higher education. The selection committee shall include at
10		least 2 individuals formerly under the care of the Department
11		who have completed their post-secondary education. In
12		accordance with this Act, tuition scholarships and fee waivers
13		shall be available to such students at any university or
14		college maintained by the State of Illinois. The Department
15		shall provide maintenance and school expenses, except tuition
16		and fees, during the academic years to supplement the
17		students' earnings or other resources so long as they
18		consistently maintain scholastic records which are acceptable
19		to their schools and to the Department. Students may attend
20		other colleges and universities, if scholarships are awarded
21		to them, and receive the same benefits for maintenance and
22		other expenses as those students attending any Illinois State
23		community college, university, or college under this Section.
24		Beginning with recipients receiving scholarships and waivers
25		in August 2014, the Department shall collect data and report
26		annually to the General Assembly on measures of success,

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1		including (i) the number of youth applying for and receiving
2		scholarships or waivers, (ii) the percentage of scholarship or
3		waiver recipients who complete their college or university
4		degree within 5 years, (iii) the average length of time it
5		takes for scholarship or waiver recipients to complete their
6		college or university degree, (iv) the reasons that
7		scholarship or waiver recipients are discharged or fail to
8		complete their college or university degree, (v) when
9		available, youths' outcomes 5 years and 10 years after being
10		awarded the scholarships or waivers, and (vi) budget
11		allocations for maintenance and school expenses incurred by
12		the Department.
13		(b) Youth shall receive a tuition and fee waiver to assist
14		them in attending and completing their post-secondary
15		education at any community college, university, or college
16		maintained by the State of Illinois if they are youth for whom
17		the Department has court-ordered legal responsibility, youth
18		who aged out of care at age 18 or older, or youth formerly
19		under care who have been adopted and were the subject of an
20		adoption assistance agreement or who have been placed in
21		private guardianship and were the subject of a subsidized
22		guardianship agreement.
23		To receive a waiver under this subsection, an applicant
24		must:
25		(1) have earned a high school diploma from an
26		accredited institution or a State of Illinois High School

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1		Diploma or have met the State criteria for high school
2		graduation before the start of the school year for which
3		the applicant is applying for the waiver;
4		(2) enroll in a qualifying post-secondary education
5		before the applicant reaches the age of 26; and
6		(3) apply for federal and State grant assistance by
7		completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
8		The community college or public university that an
9		applicant attends must waive any tuition and fee amounts that
10		exceed the amounts paid to the applicant under the federal
11		Pell Grant Program or the State's Monetary Award Program.
12		Tuition and fee waivers shall be available to a student
13		for at least the first 5 years the student is enrolled in a
14		community college, university, or college maintained by the
15		State of Illinois so long as the student continues to work
16		toward graduation and completion of a certificate or degree
17		program. makes satisfactory progress toward completing the
18		student's degree. The age requirement and 5-year cap on
19		tuition and fee waivers under this subsection shall be waived
20		and eligibility for tuition and fee waivers shall be extended
21		for any applicant or student who the Department determines was
22		unable to enroll in a qualifying post-secondary school or
23		complete an academic term because the applicant or student:
24		(i) was called into active duty with the United States Armed
25		Forces; (ii) was deployed for service in the United States
26		Public Health Service Commissioned Corps; or (iii) volunteered

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1		in the Peace Corps or the AmeriCorps. The Department shall
2		extend eligibility for a qualifying applicant or student by
3		the total number of months or years during which the applicant
4		or student served on active duty with the United States Armed
5		Forces, was deployed for service in the United States Public
6		Health Service Commissioned Corps, or volunteered in the Peace
7		Corps or the AmeriCorps. The number of months an applicant or
8		student served on active duty with the United States Armed
9		Forces shall be rounded up to the next higher year to determine
10		the maximum length of time to extend eligibility for the
11		applicant or student.
12		The Department may provide the student with a stipend to
13		cover maintenance and school expenses, except tuition and
14		fees, during the academic years to supplement the student's
15		earnings or other resources so long as the student
16		consistently maintains scholastic records which are acceptable
17		to the student's school and to the Department.
18		The Department shall develop outreach programs to ensure
19		that youths who qualify for the tuition and fee waivers under
20		this subsection who are high school students in grades 9
21		through 12 or who are enrolled in a high school equivalency
22		testing program are aware of the availability of the tuition
23		and fee waivers.
24		(c) Subject to appropriation, the Department shall provide
25		eligible youth an apprenticeship stipend to cover those costs
26		associated with entering and sustaining through completion an

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1		apprenticeship, including, but not limited to fees, tuition
2		for classes, work clothes, rain gear, boots, and
3		occupation-specific tools. The following youth may be eligible
4		for the apprenticeship stipend provided under this subsection:
5		youth for whom the Department has court-ordered legal
6		responsibility; youth who aged out of care at age 18 or older;
7		or youth formerly under care who have been adopted and were the
8		subject of an adoption assistance agreement or who have been
9		placed in private guardianship and were the subject of a
10		subsidized guardianship agreement.
11		To receive a stipend under this subsection, an applicant
12		must:
13		(1) be enrolled in an apprenticeship training program
14		approved or recognized by the Illinois Department of
15		Employment Security or an apprenticeship program approved
16		by the United States Department of Labor;
17		(2) not be a recipient of a scholarship or fee waiver
18		under subsection (a) or (b); and
19		(3) be under the age of 26 before enrolling in a
20		qualified apprenticeship program.
21		Apprenticeship stipends shall be available to an eligible
22		youth for a maximum of 5 years after the youth enrolls in a
23		qualifying apprenticeship program so long as the youth makes
24		satisfactory progress toward completing the youth's
25		apprenticeship. The age requirement and 5-year cap on the
26		apprenticeship stipend provided under this subsection shall be

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1		extended for any applicant who the Department determines was
2		unable to enroll in a qualifying apprenticeship program
3		because the applicant: (i) was called into active duty with
4		the United States Armed Forces; (ii) was deployed for service
5		in the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps;
6		or (iii) volunteered in the Peace Corps or the AmeriCorps. The
7		Department shall extend eligibility for a qualifying applicant
8		by the total number of months or years during which the
9		applicant served on active duty with the United States Armed
10		Forces, was deployed for service in the United States Public
11		Health Service Commissioned Corps, or volunteered in the Peace
12		Corps or the AmeriCorps. The number of months an applicant
13		served on active duty with the United States Armed Forces
14		shall be rounded up to the next higher year to determine the
15		maximum length of time to extend eligibility for the
16		applicant.
17		The Department shall develop outreach programs to ensure
18		that youths who qualify for the apprenticeship stipends under
19		this subsection who are high school students in grades 9
20		through 12 or who are enrolled in a high school equivalency
21		testing program are aware of the availability of the
22		apprenticeship stipend.
23		(Source: P.A. 102-1100, eff. 1-1-23; 103-22, eff. 8-8-23;
24		103-154, eff. 6-30-23.)