Sen. Kimberly A. Lightford

Filed: 4/16/2021

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 929

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 929 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4    "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Task
5Force on Grandparents Raising their Grandchildren Act.
 
6    Section 5. Findings. The General Assembly finds the
7following:
8        (1) In Illinois, over 200,000 children under the age
9    of 18 are living with and being cared for by more than
10    100,000 grandparents.
11        (2) Grandparent caregivers, the majority of whom are
12    single women ranging in age from 30 to 90 with an average
13    annual income of $15,000 to $25,000, typically raise one
14    to 2 grandchildren and have been doing so for 5 years or
15    longer.
16        (3) Factors contributing to the growing number of

 

 

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1    grandparents raising grandchildren include, but are not
2    limited to, alcohol and drug abuse, neglect, abuse,
3    abandonment, death of a parent, HIV/AIDS, divorce,
4    unemployment, poverty, parental incarceration, teen
5    pregnancy, and welfare reform.
6        (4) Due to their assumed caregiving responsibilities,
7    many grandparents deplete their savings and retirement
8    income and face severe financial risk and economic strains
9    while struggling to pay for expenses related to caring for
10    their grandchildren, such as, but not limited to, food,
11    diapers, clothing, child care, medical treatment, legal
12    assistance, and housing needs.
13        (5) Many grandparents take custody of and raise their
14    grandchildren after a harmful incident has been suffered
15    by their grandchildren that has caused the Department of
16    Children and Family Services to designate them to be "at
17    risk".
18        (6) Many other grandparents take preventive measures
19    by choosing to take custody of and raise their
20    grandchildren prior to their grandchildren suffering a
21    harmful incident when they recognize that their
22    grandchildren's health, safety, and welfare are at risk.
23        (7) Grandparents who take custody of their
24    grandchildren prior to the grandchildren's suffering of a
25    harmful incident are ineligible for foster care funding
26    and assistance from the Department of Children and Family

 

 

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1    Services.
2        (8) The only financial assistance option for this
3    group of grandparents is "child only" grants from the
4    Department of Human Services' Temporary Assistance to
5    Needy Families (TANF) program.
6        (9) The Department of Children and Family Services'
7    foster care program provides monthly financial assistance
8    that is 3 to 4 times greater than the TANF "child only"
9    grants, and it also provides counseling, child care
10    support, education services, college scholarships, and
11    health services.
12        (10) Grandparents raising grandchildren who are not in
13    the foster care program are as valuable to the
14    grandchildren and to the State as those who are in the
15    foster care program.
16        (11) A significant function of government is to
17    promote the health, safety, and welfare of its citizens.
 
18    Section 10. Task Force on Grandparents Raising their
19Grandchildren.
20    (a) The Task Force on Grandparents Raising their
21Grandchildren is created and shall be comprised of 10 members
22of the General Assembly appointed as follows:
23        (1) Three members of the Senate, one of whom shall be
24    co-chairperson, appointed by the President of the Senate.
25        (2) Two members of the Senate appointed by the

 

 

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1    Minority Leader of the Senate.
2        (3) Three members of the House of Representatives, one
3    of whom shall be co-chairperson, appointed by the Speaker
4    of the House of Representatives.
5        (4) Two members of the House of Representatives
6    appointed by the Minority Leader of the House of
7    Representatives.
8    (b) Task Force members shall serve without compensation.
9The Department on Aging shall provide administrative support
10to the Task Force.
 
11    Section 15. Agency reports. The Department on Aging, in
12collaboration with the Departments of Children and Family
13Services, Healthcare and Family Services, and Human Services
14and any other relevant agencies, shall issue a report to the
15Task Force no later than July 1, 2021 that assesses existing
16State and federal assistance programs that include the
17following:
18        (1) a review of all guaranteed benefits and other
19    available support provided to grandparents through the
20    Department of Children and Family Services' foster care
21    program, including counseling, child care support,
22    education services, college scholarships, and health
23    services; the Children's Health Insurance Program; the
24    Covering ALL KIDS Health Insurance program; and other
25    relevant programs;

 

 

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1        (2) a review of all guaranteed benefits and other
2    available support provided to grandparents through the
3    Department of Human Services' Temporary Assistance for
4    Needy Families (TANF) program and other relevant programs;
5        (3) a review of all other means of grandparent-related
6    support provided by State-funded and federally funded
7    programs; and
8        (4) the estimated cost to the State if grandparents
9    were not willing to or refused to take custody of and raise
10    their grandchildren.
 
11    Section 20. Public hearings. The Task Force shall hold
12public hearings throughout the State regarding services needed
13by and available to grandparents raising their grandchildren.
 
14    Section 25. Task Force reports. The Task Force shall issue
15a report to the General Assembly no later than January 1, 2022
16that makes recommendations on changes that should be made to
17services provided to grandparents raising their grandchildren
18through the foster care and TANF "child-only" grant programs.
 
19    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
20becoming law.".