HB4831 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

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93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2003 and 2004
HB4831

Introduced 02/04/04, by Cynthia Soto, William Delgado, Carole Pankau

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

20 ILCS 505/17a-15 new

Amends the Children and Family Services Act. Requires the Department of Human Services to establish a program to award grants to area projects to plan, establish, operate, coordinate, and evaluate community services programs. Requires the Department to establish eligibility requirements for grants. Sets forth procedures for grant awards. Effective immediately.

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning community development.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Children and Family Services Act is amended by adding Section 17a-15 as follows:

(20 ILCS 505/17a-15 new)

Sec. 17a-15. Community service programs; Department of Human Services.

(a) The Department of Human Services must establish a program to award grants to area projects to plan, establish, operate, coordinate, and evaluate community services programs. For purposes of this Section, "area project" means an entity whose purpose is to develop, manage, provide, and coordinate a community services program and "community services program" means a program, based on the Chicago Area Project Model, aimed at changing social, cultural, and environmental conditions that prevent youth and families from maximizing their potential and that place youth in a condition that increases their tendency to become involved in the juvenile justice or child welfare systems.

(b) The Department of Human Services must, by rule, establish the eligibility criteria for an area project, including the composition and responsibilities of the governing authority of an area project, application requirements, service components of community services programs, and the review and monitoring of community services program plans. At a minimum, an area project must be must be a not-for-profit organization or local board (i)(A) whose preponderance of resources is directed to community services programs that are different than intervention-oriented youth services or (B) that creates through an amendment to its by-laws or other binding agreement a specific body whose purpose is to develop, manage, provide, and coordinate a community services program and (ii) that includes representation from any community committee, as defined by rule of the Department of Human Services, of the area project and may also include business and industry leaders, educators, and other concerned citizens.

(c) The Department of Human Services shall fund community services programs by grants made through negotiated contracts, which are written agreements mutually agreed upon by the Department and the area project. The payment of funds to area projects under the community services program shall be in the form of a grant paid in equal monthly installments. The Department shall review such contracts in order to determine that the area project is complying with the provisions of the current contract and providing effective services which meet the goals of the contract. Subsequent contracts may be negotiated and renewed, based on the availability of funds, but they shall not be open for bidding under a request-for-proposal process. In all cases, the Secretary of Human Services or designee shall make the final decision in the renewal of community services contracts. In the event of reduced or insufficient funding, existing grants shall receive proportionate reductions. The funding of new programs shall be based on the availability of new, additional funding.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.