Public Act 103-0709
 
HB5354 EnrolledLRB103 37230 SPS 67349 b

    AN ACT concerning employment.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Customized Employment for Individuals with
Disabilities Act is amended by changing Sections 10, 15, 20,
25, 30, 35, and 40 and by adding Section 6 as follows:
 
    (820 ILCS 97/6 new)
    Sec. 6. Definition. As used in this Act, "customized
employment" means competitive integrated employment for an
individual with a significant disability that is based on an
individualized determination of the strengths, needs, and
interests of the individual with a significant disability,
designed to meet the specific abilities of the individual with
a significant disability and the business needs of the
employer, establishes a relationship between the employer and
the employee that is negotiated to meet the needs of both
parties, and is based on an exchange of specific contributions
by the employee for pay by the employer that is at or above the
applicable minimum wage.
 
    (820 ILCS 97/10)
    Sec. 10. Customized Employment Demonstration 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 Demonstration Pilot Program that
serves a minimum of 40 25 individuals by July 1, 2025, with a
goal of serving at least 75 individuals by July 1, 2027 the
second year of the Pilot Program.
    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 The Pilot 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 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) "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 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) "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 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) "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
    A flexible timeline for a comprehensive discovery,
    planning, and job placement process to accommodate the
    unique needs of the individual.
        (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 Pilot Program
shall be based on implemented through 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. 101-368, eff. 1-1-20.)
 
    (820 ILCS 97/15)
    Sec. 15. Selection of participants. Individuals shall be
identified and referred to the Department to participate in
the Demonstration Pilot Program by community-based agencies
serving persons with intellectual or developmental
disabilities. A team of individuals identified during the
discovery phase shall be created to work with the individual
during the process. The team shall include at least one
qualified staff person as described in Section 25. Selection
preference shall be given to individuals who are currently
working in a sheltered workshop setting for a subminimum wage
and individuals for whom it is likely that their current
employment options will be limited to working in a sheltered
workshop for a subminimum wage.
(Source: P.A. 101-368, eff. 1-1-20.)
 
    (820 ILCS 97/20)
    Sec. 20. Diversity. Participants in the Demonstration
Pilot Program shall reflect the geographical, racial, ethnic,
gender, and income-level diversity of the State.
(Source: P.A. 101-368, eff. 1-1-20.)
 
    (820 ILCS 97/25)
    Sec. 25. Community-based agencies and staff
qualifications. The Demonstration Pilot Program shall utilize
a minimum of 4 Illinois non-profit community-based agencies
that must:
        (1) assign at least one staff member who has received
    a certificate of completion for training in community
    employment, with a specialization in customized
    employment, from a recognized and qualified training
    entity such as the Association of Community Rehabilitation
    Educators; and
        (2) have access to technical assistance on customized
    employment from a recognized and qualified training entity
    to work with each participant in the Demonstration Pilot
    Program.
(Source: P.A. 101-368, eff. 1-1-20.)
 
    (820 ILCS 97/30)
    Sec. 30. Data collection and reporting. The Department
shall collect data regarding the successes and challenges of
the Demonstration Pilot Program and shall submit an annual
report to the Governor and the General Assembly on March 1st of
each year beginning in 2026 2021 until the Demonstration Pilot
Program terminates. The reports shall: (i) make a
recommendation as to whether the Demonstration Pilot Program
should be extended continue or become a statewide program;
(ii) provide cost estimates, including the average per person
costs; and (iii) recommend ways in which the Demonstration
Pilot Program can be improved to better serve the needs of
individuals with disabilities and employers. The data
collected shall include, but not be limited to, for each
individual served by the Demonstration Program:
        (1) The number of individuals with an intellectual
    disability;
        (2) the number of individuals with a developmental
    disability;
        (3) the number of individuals residing in a community
    integrated living arrangement;
        (4) the number of individuals residing in an
    intermediate care facility for people with a developmental
    disability;
        (5) the number of individuals residing in their family
    home;
        (6) the number of individuals residing in a State
    operated developmental center;
        (7) the number of individuals residing in a community
    living facility;
        (8) the number of individuals who were working in a
    sheltered workshop earning subminimum wage; and
    
    (9) the average amount of time individuals in the
    Demonstration Program spend in each customized employed
    phase as described in Section 10.
(Source: P.A. 101-368, eff. 1-1-20.)
 
    (820 ILCS 97/35)
    Sec. 35. Advice and recommendations. In the creation,
operation, and administration of the Demonstration Pilot
Program, the Department shall seek the advice and
recommendations of the State Rehabilitation Council, Illinois
Council on Developmental Disabilities, the Illinois Task Force
on Employment and Economic Opportunity for Persons with
Disabilities, statewide disability advocacy groups, and
organizations representing large, medium, and small
businesses.
(Source: P.A. 101-368, eff. 1-1-20.)
 
    (820 ILCS 97/40)
    Sec. 40. The Department may adopt administrative rules
governing the Demonstration Pilot Program; however, the
Demonstration Pilot Program shall not be delayed pending the
adoption of rules.
(Source: P.A. 101-368, eff. 1-1-20.)

Effective Date: 1/1/2025