820 ILCS 97/10

(820 ILCS 97/10)

(Text of Section before amendment by P.A. 103-709)

Sec. 10. Customized Employment Pilot Program. The Department of Human Services, through its Division of Rehabilitation Services and in collaboration with the Division of Developmental Disabilities, shall establish a 5-year Customized Employment Pilot Program that serves a minimum of 25 individuals by the second year of the Pilot Program. The Pilot Program shall include the following components:

(1) An intensive discovery phase during which the unique needs, abilities, and interests of the individual will be explored by the individual at his or her direction with assistance from family, friends, colleagues, advocates, community-based service agencies, and others as determined by the individual.

(2) A customized person-centered planning process based upon information gathered during the discovery phase that involves capturing, organizing, and presenting the information in a blueprint for the job search.

(3) An employer negotiation process in which job duties and employee expectations are negotiated to align the skills and interests of the individual with the needs of an employer. The negotiation process may result in agreement on options such as (i) carving out a job for the individual, (ii) creating a new job description, (iii) creating a new job, (iv) job-sharing, and (v) agreeing on job supports, transportation needs, assistive technology, work hours, location, or supervision needs.

(4) A flexible timeline for a comprehensive discovery, planning, and job placement process to accommodate the unique needs of the individual.

The Customized Employment Pilot Program shall be implemented through an individualized plan for employment developed by the individual with a disability and the vocational rehabilitation counselor employed by the Division of Rehabilitation Services. The individual with a disability may choose to have a personal representative participate in the development of the individualized plan for employment.

(Source: P.A. 101-368, eff. 1-1-20.)

(Text of Section after amendment by P.A. 103-709)

Sec. 10. Customized Employment Demonstration Program. The Department of Human Services, through its Division of Rehabilitation Services and in collaboration with the Division of Developmental Disabilities, shall establish a 5-year Customized Employment Demonstration Program that serves a minimum of 40 individuals by July 1, 2025, with a goal of serving at least 75 individuals by July 1, 2027.

The Demonstration program shall comply with the document titled "The Essential Elements of Customized Employment for Universal Application", published June 2017 by the Workforce Innovation Technical Assistance Center and the Youth Technical Assistance Center under grants from the federal Department of Education. The Demonstration Program shall include the following components for each participant:

(1) "Phase One: Consultation and Initiation" means pre-discovery activities introducing the participant to customized employment activities, roles and responsibilities, and expected outcomes and introducing the customized employment provider to the participant and the participant's support team, including family, guardians, friends, colleagues, advocates, community-based service agencies, and others as determined by the participant or the participant's guardian. If the participant or participant's guardian chooses to proceed with the customized employment provider, the Division of Rehabilitation Services shall develop an Initial Discovery Action Plan.

(2) "Phase Two: Discovery" means a person-centered planning process that shall be used to determine the participant's interests, skills, preferences, and ideal employment conditions that shall guide the development of a customized job. The unique needs, abilities, and interests of the participant shall be explored by the participant at his or her direction or the direction of his or her guardian, with assistance from family, friends, colleagues, advocates, community-based service agencies, and others as determined by the participant or the participant's guardian. The exploration of the unique needs of the participant shall include the participant's assistive technology needs and the participant's need for work incentives benefits counseling. During this phase, a plan for completing the discovery process shall be developed that contains a timeline for completing the discovery process, assignment of who shall gather which piece of information, how the information shall be gathered, who shall receive the information, and who shall make up the core support team for the participant. The plan for completing the discovery service shall be shared and discussed by the customized employment provider with the participant and the Division of Rehabilitation Services, and the service provider shall bill for this service. A Discovery Profile, containing all of the information learned from the discovery process, shall be shared and discussed by the provider with the participant, the participant's guardian, and Division of Rehabilitation Services, and the service provider shall bill for this service.

(3) "Phase Three: Customized Employment Planning" means an opportunity to use the information learned during the discovery process to develop a plan for competitive and integrated employment for the participant.

(4) "Phase Four: Job Development and Negotiation" means a process of working collaboratively with the participant, the participant's guardian, and the customized employment employer to negotiate a customized job, including, terms of employment, conditions necessary for success, and the specific unmet needs of the employer that shall be fulfilled by the participant's contributions.

(5) "Phase Five: Post-Employment Support and Monitoring" means support and monitoring from the customized employment service to ensure satisfactory results for both the participant and the employer.

The Customized Employment Demonstration Program shall be based on an individualized plan for employment developed by the individual with a disability, the community based agency, the individual's support team, and the vocational rehabilitation counselor employed by the Division of Rehabilitation Services. The individual with a disability may choose to have a personal representative participate in the development of the individualized plan for employment.

(Source: P.A. 103-709, eff. 1-1-25.)