HR0932 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0932 LRB094 19637 DRJ 56004 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The General Assembly finds that it is in the best interests of Illinois and of Illinois families and children that families escape poverty and achieve financial progress through employment; and

WHEREAS, It is in the best interests of Illinois employers and the Illinois economy that workers be healthy, stable, and productive; and

WHEREAS, The General Assembly has created programs that support the work effort of lower income workers, including the programs under Articles IV, V, and VI of the Illinois Public Aid Code, as well as the Food Stamp Program and the programs under the Children's Health Insurance Program Act; and

WHEREAS, The General Assembly finds that data and reports submitted by the Department of Human Services will be useful in determining whether the administration of certain of these programs is effective in helping the programs accomplish their purpose of supporting the work effort of lower income workers; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that the Department of Human Services has agreed to the following provisions and will develop outcome statements, measures, data-based performance indicators or targets, and reports necessary to reflect current program participation and the delivery of services in the local offices; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the outcome measures will address but not be limited to program participation and the delivery of quality services in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, the Food Stamp program, and all medical assistance programs for children and families; and be it further

RESOLVED, That for each outcome measure, the Department of Human Services shall develop performance indicators to help assess the level of attainment of the outcome measures; to the extent possible, the performance indicators shall be drawn from administrative data available; and be it further

RESOLVED, That in first year of enactment by July 2006, the Department shall provide the established outcomes statements and designated indicators to the Social Services Advisory Council for comment; after the year of enactment, the Social Services Advisory Council shall be consulted by the Department on changes to the outcomes and indicators; and be it further

RESOLVED, That in determining program participation for all relevant programs, indicators or targets shall include, but need not be limited to, the following:

(1) as of the date of the data collected for the initial report, a caseload profile for each Department of Human Services local office showing the numbers of cases receiving Food Stamps, Medicaid, TANF, and Medical Assistance (including KidCare and Family Care); for each program, the caseload profile as to each local office shall also show the percentage of caseload employed; for TANF, the caseload profile as to each local office shall also show the percentage employed full-time, the percentage employed part-time, and the percentage of caseload engaged in documented social, health, or educational activities instead of employment; by program, aggregate data shall be provided that is relevant and available;

(2) as available, statewide, the number of people enrolled in one program who are income-eligible for one or more other programs and the number of those who are enrolled in such other programs;

(3) statewide, the number of participants in TANF who are participating, as full or partial compliance in program work requirements, in activities related to mental illness/depression, substance abuse, low literacy, domestic violence, or a physical disability; as part of this indicator, the number of people in the caseload identified as having one or more of these barriers to employment, the number of funded "slots" for employment and training, the extent to which these slots are filled, and the numbers of people needing these services who are not receiving them due to the unavailability of a funded program "slot";

(4) as available, the number of individuals in any of these programs whose first language is not English, and the number who are provided translation services; in addition, the number of families whose first language is not English who participate in TANF or Food Stamps and who are participating in English as a Second Language classes; and

(5) as available, the number and percentage of program exits based on increased income, compared to the number and percentage of exits based on other factors; and be it further

RESOLVED, That in developing an outcome related to the delivery of quality services in the local offices, indicators can include, but need not be limited to:

(A) the ratio of caseworkers to cases in each program by local office;

(B) the ratio of non-English-speaking cases to caseworkers who speak the appropriate language by office;

(C) the impact in service delivery improvement by technological upgrades made in local offices, case processing, and application processes;

(D) the average time elapsed between the date of application and the date of disposition of the application in each program;

(E) as available, the number and percentage of recipient families transitioning from Medicaid to Family Care;

(F) as available, the number and percentage of recipient families transitioning from Medicaid to Kid Care Assist, from Kid Care Assist to KidCare Share, and from KidCare Share to KidCare Premium;

(G) as available, the number of applications denied and the number of cases closed for procedural reasons (reasons other than substantive eligibility criteria based on income and family circumstances); and

(H) as available, the number of administrative appeals filed or related data to such information; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Department of Human Services shall conduct a hearing on the administration of public assistance programs at the local office level not later than May 2007; the hearing shall include testimony of people randomly selected from the Department's caseload who have used the programs, officials familiar with the status of technology used in the administration of programs in the local offices, and Department workers engaged in the administration of programs in the local offices; the hearing shall be held so that the proceedings may be included in the October 2007 report; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Department of Human Services shall examine the feasibility of retaining external assistance to develop a report on an estimate of the number of people in Illinois potentially eligible for each program, and the number of people enrolled in each program broken down as to both potential eligibles and actual enrollees by categories of race, national origin, and work status, insofar as the administrative date for each program tracks race and national origin; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Department of Human Services shall prepare a report and present it to the Social Services Advisory Council on October 1, 2006 reflecting existing outcome measures and available data, indicators, or targets covering the period July 1, 2005 to June 30, 2006; thereafter, the Department shall prepare an annual report of performance indicators based on data for the previous fiscal year July 1 to June 30 and, to the extent possible, include indicators listed herein; it shall also include a summary of the testimony provided at the hearing as well as information available pertaining to the estimate of all eligible populations; pending concurrence between the Department and the Social Services Advisory Council, additional performance indicators may be added to the report; and be it further

RESOLVED, That subsequent to the submittal and review of the October 2007 report, the Department of Human Services in conjunction with the Social Services Advisory Council will determine what additional action is necessary, including the need for additional hearings and reports; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be delivered to the Director of Human Services.