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92_HB0971
LRB9207383ARsb
1 AN ACT in relation to home modifications for older
2 persons and persons with disabilities.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
6 Home Modification for Prevention of Institutionalization Act.
7 Section 5. Findings. The General Assembly finds that it
8 is far preferable for older persons and adults and children
9 with disabilities to live in their own homes or in the homes
10 of family members in their own communities rather than in
11 more restrictive institutionalized settings removed from
12 their friends and loved ones. The General Assembly further
13 finds that older persons and adults and children with
14 disabilities often are unnecessarily placed or forced to
15 remain in institutionalized settings due to the lack of
16 resources needed to make modifications to their dwellings to
17 enable them to remain in or return to their homes and
18 communities. The General Assembly further finds that it is in
19 the best interests of the State of Illinois to support
20 community-based living for older persons and adults and
21 children with disabilities by implementing a program to
22 enable them to make modifications to their dwellings to avoid
23 unnecessary placement outside of their own homes and
24 communities.
25 Section 10. Purpose. The purpose of this Act is to
26 authorize the Department of Human Services and the Department
27 on Aging to jointly establish a program to provide funding
28 for necessary home modifications and assistive technology to
29 enable older persons and adults and children with
30 disabilities to remain in or return to their homes in order
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1 to allow them to live as independently as possible for as
2 long as possible.
3 Section 15. Program. Subject to appropriation for these
4 purposes, the Department of Human Services and the Department
5 on Aging shall jointly establish a Home Modification Grant
6 and Loan Program. The Program shall have 2 components. One
7 component shall be administered by the Department of Human
8 Services and the other component shall be administered by the
9 Department on Aging. The Department of Human Services and
10 the Department on Aging shall cooperate in the overall
11 administration of the Program.
12 Section 20. Eligibility. Persons age 60 or over and
13 adults and children with disabilities shall be eligible for
14 grants or loans or both under the Home Modification Grant and
15 Loan Program if they have verifiable functional limitations
16 for which some modification of their dwelling is required and
17 they are unable to afford, because of limited resources, the
18 cost of the modification. Preference shall be given to
19 applicants who: (1) are at imminent risk of
20 institutionalization or who are already in an institutional
21 setting but are ready to return home and who would be able to
22 live at home if a modification or modifications are made, (2)
23 have inadequate resources or no current access to resources
24 as a result of the geographic location of their dwelling, the
25 lack of other available State or federal funds such as the
26 Community Development Block Grant, rural housing assistance
27 programs or income limitations such as the inability to
28 qualify for a low-interest loan, or (3) have access to other
29 resources, but those resources are inadequate to complete the
30 necessary modifications. Adults under 60 years of age with
31 disabilities and children with disabilities shall receive
32 services under the component of the Program administered by
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1 the Department of Human Services. An adult 60 years of age
2 or older may elect to receive services under the component
3 administered by the Department of Human Services if, at the
4 time he or she reached age 60, he or she was already
5 receiving home services under subsection (f) of Section 3 of
6 the Disabled Persons Rehabilitation Act and he or she was
7 already receiving services under the component of the Program
8 administered by the Department of Human Services. All other
9 adults 60 years of age or older receiving services under the
10 Program shall receive services under the component
11 administered by the Department on Aging.
12 Section 25. Rulemaking. The Department of Human
13 Services and the Department on Aging shall jointly promulgate
14 administrative rules governing the Home Modification Grant
15 and Loan Program consistent with this Act.
16 Section 30. Advisory Committee. The Department of Human
17 Services and the Department on Aging shall jointly establish
18 an Advisory Committee for the Home Modification Grant and
19 Loan Program to advise the Secretary of Human Services and
20 the Director on Aging on policies and procedures under which
21 the Program shall operate. The Advisory Committee shall
22 consist of no fewer than 9 nor more than 15 members and shall
23 include at least one individual with a disability, one
24 individual over the age of 60, the Secretary of Human
25 Services or his or her designee, the Director of Aging or his
26 or her designee, a representative of an Area Agency on Aging,
27 the Executive Director of the Statewide Independent Living
28 Council or his or her designee, a representative from the
29 construction industry who specializes in home modifications
30 for individuals with disabilities and older persons, the
31 Executive Director of the Illinois Assistive Technology
32 Project or his or her designee, and the Executive Director of
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1 the Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities in Illinois or
2 his or her designee.
3 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
4 becoming law.