IL
Illinois House Bill HB2838

Illinois 2023-2024 Regular Session

Illinois House Bill HB2838 Compare Versions

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11 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB2838 Introduced , by Rep. Lindsey LaPointe SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: 30 ILCS 105/5.990 new20 ILCS 1705/71B new20 ILCS 1705/71C new20 ILCS 1705/71D new Amends the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Administrative Act. Provides that, beginning with the 2023-2024 academic year, the Department of Human Services shall establish and administer the Behavioral Health Scholarship Program for the purpose of incentivizing students to pursue degrees in a behavioral health discipline. Provides that the Department shall award financial assistance in the form of a scholarship to cover the cost of tuition, university fees, and books each year for a maximum of 4 years at a participating university if the applicant meets certain conditions. Sets forth rules, regulations, and other requirements for the Program. Provides that the Department shall establish the Employment Funding Grant Program to provide grants to qualified individuals who work for a community not-for-profit behavioral health agency or a federally qualified health center. Defines who is a qualified individual. Sets forth rules, regulations, and other requirements for the Program. Amends the State Finance Act to create the Behavioral Health Education Program Fund. Makes other changes. LRB103 04770 RJT 49779 b A BILL FOR 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB2838 Introduced , by Rep. Lindsey LaPointe SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: 30 ILCS 105/5.990 new20 ILCS 1705/71B new20 ILCS 1705/71C new20 ILCS 1705/71D new 30 ILCS 105/5.990 new 20 ILCS 1705/71B new 20 ILCS 1705/71C new 20 ILCS 1705/71D new Amends the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Administrative Act. Provides that, beginning with the 2023-2024 academic year, the Department of Human Services shall establish and administer the Behavioral Health Scholarship Program for the purpose of incentivizing students to pursue degrees in a behavioral health discipline. Provides that the Department shall award financial assistance in the form of a scholarship to cover the cost of tuition, university fees, and books each year for a maximum of 4 years at a participating university if the applicant meets certain conditions. Sets forth rules, regulations, and other requirements for the Program. Provides that the Department shall establish the Employment Funding Grant Program to provide grants to qualified individuals who work for a community not-for-profit behavioral health agency or a federally qualified health center. Defines who is a qualified individual. Sets forth rules, regulations, and other requirements for the Program. Amends the State Finance Act to create the Behavioral Health Education Program Fund. Makes other changes. LRB103 04770 RJT 49779 b LRB103 04770 RJT 49779 b A BILL FOR
22 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB2838 Introduced , by Rep. Lindsey LaPointe SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
33 30 ILCS 105/5.990 new20 ILCS 1705/71B new20 ILCS 1705/71C new20 ILCS 1705/71D new 30 ILCS 105/5.990 new 20 ILCS 1705/71B new 20 ILCS 1705/71C new 20 ILCS 1705/71D new
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88 Amends the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Administrative Act. Provides that, beginning with the 2023-2024 academic year, the Department of Human Services shall establish and administer the Behavioral Health Scholarship Program for the purpose of incentivizing students to pursue degrees in a behavioral health discipline. Provides that the Department shall award financial assistance in the form of a scholarship to cover the cost of tuition, university fees, and books each year for a maximum of 4 years at a participating university if the applicant meets certain conditions. Sets forth rules, regulations, and other requirements for the Program. Provides that the Department shall establish the Employment Funding Grant Program to provide grants to qualified individuals who work for a community not-for-profit behavioral health agency or a federally qualified health center. Defines who is a qualified individual. Sets forth rules, regulations, and other requirements for the Program. Amends the State Finance Act to create the Behavioral Health Education Program Fund. Makes other changes.
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1414 1 AN ACT concerning State government.
1515 2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
1616 3 represented in the General Assembly:
1717 4 Section 5. The State Finance Act is amended by adding
1818 5 Section 5.990 as follows:
1919 6 (30 ILCS 105/5.990 new)
2020 7 Sec. 5.990. The Behavioral Health Education Program Fund.
2121 8 Section 10. The Mental Health and Developmental
2222 9 Disabilities Administrative Act is amended by adding Sections
2323 10 71B, 71C, and 71D as follows:
2424 11 (20 ILCS 1705/71B new)
2525 12 Sec. 71B. Behavioral Health Education Program Fund.
2626 13 (a) The Behavioral Health Education Program Fund is
2727 14 created in the State treasury as a special fund.
2828 15 (b) The Fund is created for the purpose of funding
2929 16 scholarships and employment opportunities in the behavioral
3030 17 health field as provided in Sections 71C and 71D.
3131 18 (20 ILCS 1705/71C new)
3232 19 Sec. 71C. Behavioral Health Scholarship Program.
3333 20 (a) Definitions. As used in this Section:
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3737 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB2838 Introduced , by Rep. Lindsey LaPointe SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
3838 30 ILCS 105/5.990 new20 ILCS 1705/71B new20 ILCS 1705/71C new20 ILCS 1705/71D new 30 ILCS 105/5.990 new 20 ILCS 1705/71B new 20 ILCS 1705/71C new 20 ILCS 1705/71D new
3939 30 ILCS 105/5.990 new
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4141 20 ILCS 1705/71C new
4242 20 ILCS 1705/71D new
4343 Amends the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Administrative Act. Provides that, beginning with the 2023-2024 academic year, the Department of Human Services shall establish and administer the Behavioral Health Scholarship Program for the purpose of incentivizing students to pursue degrees in a behavioral health discipline. Provides that the Department shall award financial assistance in the form of a scholarship to cover the cost of tuition, university fees, and books each year for a maximum of 4 years at a participating university if the applicant meets certain conditions. Sets forth rules, regulations, and other requirements for the Program. Provides that the Department shall establish the Employment Funding Grant Program to provide grants to qualified individuals who work for a community not-for-profit behavioral health agency or a federally qualified health center. Defines who is a qualified individual. Sets forth rules, regulations, and other requirements for the Program. Amends the State Finance Act to create the Behavioral Health Education Program Fund. Makes other changes.
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7474 1 "Behavioral health discipline" means:
7575 2 (1) undergraduate behavioral health disciplines that
7676 3 may be offered through universities or community colleges,
7777 4 including psychology, social work, and community health;
7878 5 (2) graduate behavioral health disciplines, including
7979 6 clinical or counseling psychology, mental health or
8080 7 addiction counseling, social work, marriage and family
8181 8 therapy, and mental health or psychiatric nursing; and
8282 9 (3) certified behavioral health disciplines, including
8383 10 certified recovery support specialists, certified peer
8484 11 recovery specialists, or certified community health
8585 12 workers.
8686 13 "Eligible applicant" means a student who is enrolled in a
8787 14 program of study at a participating university and who meets
8888 15 all of the qualifications and requirements under this Section.
8989 16 "Federally qualified health center" has the meaning given
9090 17 to that term in Section 1905(1)(2)(B) of the federal Social
9191 18 Security Act.
9292 19 "Participating university" means a public university in
9393 20 this State that is a party to an intergovernmental agreement
9494 21 entered into with the Department in order to participate in
9595 22 the program established under this Section.
9696 23 "Tuition, university fees, and books" includes the
9797 24 customary charge for instruction and books or course material
9898 25 and the additional fixed fees charged for purposes that are
9999 26 required generally of students who are not Program applicants
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110110 1 under this Section for each academic year for which a Program
111111 2 applicant under this Section actually enrolls. "Tuition,
112112 3 university fees, and books" does not include room and board,
113113 4 transportation fees, fees payable only once, breakage fees,
114114 5 and other contingent deposits that are refundable in whole or
115115 6 in part. The Department may adopt, by rule not inconsistent
116116 7 with this Section, detailed provisions concerning the
117117 8 computation of tuition, university fees, and books.
118118 9 (b) Subject to appropriation, beginning with the 2023-2024
119119 10 academic year, the Department shall establish and administer
120120 11 the Behavioral Health Scholarship Program for the purpose of
121121 12 incentivizing students to pursue degrees in a behavioral
122122 13 health discipline. The Department shall enter
123123 14 intergovernmental agreements with public universities in this
124124 15 State to participate in the Program. Under the Program, the
125125 16 Department shall provide financial assistance to an eligible
126126 17 applicant.
127127 18 (c) Subject to appropriation, the Department shall award
128128 19 financial assistance in the form of a scholarship to an
129129 20 applicant to cover the cost of tuition, university fees, and
130130 21 books each year for a maximum of 4 years at a participating
131131 22 university if the applicant meets all of the following
132132 23 criteria:
133133 24 (1) The applicant is a resident of this State or a
134134 25 child of a noncitizen of the United States.
135135 26 (2) The applicant has committed to work in a community
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146146 1 not-for-profit behavioral health agency or a federally
147147 2 qualified health center for at least 6 years.
148148 3 (3) The applicant maintains at least a grade point
149149 4 average of no less than 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.
150150 5 (d) Each participating university shall post on its
151151 6 website the criteria and eligibility requirements to receive
152152 7 financial assistance under this Section and must identify that
153153 8 the financial assistance is for a maximum of 4 academic years,
154154 9 with the total amount of financial assistance awarded to an
155155 10 eligible applicant not to exceed the cost of tuition,
156156 11 university fees, and books or a higher education student loan.
157157 12 This information must also be reported to the Department and
158158 13 the Board of Higher Education, and the Department and the
159159 14 Board shall post the information on the Department's and
160160 15 Board's respective websites.
161161 16 (e) Prior to receiving financial assistance for any
162162 17 academic year, an eligible applicant under this Section shall
163163 18 be required by the participating university to sign an
164164 19 agreement with the Department under which the eligible
165165 20 applicant pledges that, within 6 months from the date of the
166166 21 eligible applicant's graduation from the participating
167167 22 university, the eligible applicant must search for, apply for,
168168 23 and accept full-time employment at a community not-for-profit
169169 24 behavioral health agency or a federally qualified health
170170 25 center. The recipient of financial assistance must, for at
171171 26 least 6 years, maintain this employment.
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182182 1 (f) If the recipient of financial assistance under this
183183 2 Section fails to search for, apply for, and accept full-time
184184 3 employment as required under subsection (e) within 6 months
185185 4 following his or her graduation from a participating
186186 5 university, the Department shall require the recipient to
187187 6 begin to repay the total amount of any financial assistance
188188 7 received no later than 90 calendar days after the end of the
189189 8 6-month period or as otherwise agreed to by the Department.
190190 9 The Department may include in the amount to be repaid (i)
191191 10 interest at a rate of 5% per year beginning 6 months following
192192 11 the recipient's graduation from a participating university and
193193 12 (ii) if applicable, reasonable attorney's fees and collection
194194 13 fees. The repayment amount shall be prorated according to the
195195 14 fraction of the employment obligation not completed if the
196196 15 recipient accepts full-time employment at a community
197197 16 not-for-profit behavioral health agency or a federally
198198 17 qualified health center. All repayments collected under this
199199 18 Section shall be forwarded to the State Comptroller for
200200 19 deposit into the Behavioral Health Education Program Fund.
201201 20 (g) A student recipient of financial assistance under this
202202 21 Section must immediately notify the participating university
203203 22 and the Department of any changes to the recipient's
204204 23 enrollment status or if the recipient withdraws from the
205205 24 academic program for which the recipient was awarded financial
206206 25 assistance in accordance with this Section. The Department
207207 26 shall require the student recipient to begin to repay the
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218218 1 total amount of any financial assistance received no later
219219 2 than 90 calendar days after the end of the 6 months after the
220220 3 student's enrollment status changes or after the recipient
221221 4 withdraws, whichever is earlier, or as otherwise agreed to by
222222 5 the Department. The Department may include in the amount to be
223223 6 repaid (i) interest at a rate of 5% per year beginning 6 months
224224 7 after the student's enrollment status changes or after the
225225 8 recipient withdraws, whichever is earlier and (ii) if
226226 9 applicable, reasonable attorney's fees and collection fees. If
227227 10 the student reenrolls at the participating university in the
228228 11 same academic program and begins attending classes again, then
229229 12 no more repayments are necessary by the student if the student
230230 13 graduates.
231231 14 (h) If a recipient's qualified employment is terminated
232232 15 for any reason other than for cause prior to the completion of
233233 16 the Program's 6-year employment requirement, the recipient
234234 17 shall, within 90 calendar days from the recipient's
235235 18 termination of full-time employment, search for, apply for,
236236 19 and accept new, qualified, full-time employment as a mental
237237 20 health or substance use clinician, counselor, therapist, case
238238 21 manager, community health worker, social worker, mental health
239239 22 or detox nurse, or similar position providing direct care
240240 23 services to Medicaid patients for a contracted or
241241 24 subcontracted provider of the Department or another State
242242 25 agency, otherwise the recipient must repay the awarded
243243 26 financial assistance to the Department as provided in
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254254 1 subsection (f).
255255 2 (i) If a recipient's qualified employment is terminated
256256 3 for cause prior to the completion of the Program's 6-year
257257 4 employment requirement, the recipient shall repay the total
258258 5 amount of financial assistance received under the Program no
259259 6 later than 90 calendar days from termination or as otherwise
260260 7 agreed to by the Department. The amount of repayment owed by
261261 8 the recipient shall be prorated based on the amount of the
262262 9 employment requirement that has been satisfied. The Department
263263 10 may include in the amount to be repaid (i) interest at a rate
264264 11 of 5% per year beginning at the date the recipient is
265265 12 terminated and (ii) if applicable, reasonable attorney's fees
266266 13 and collection fees.
267267 14 (j) Repayments and interest payments made under this
268268 15 Section shall be deposited into the Behavioral Health
269269 16 Education Program Fund.
270270 17 (k) The Department may use moneys from the Behavioral
271271 18 Health Education Program Fund to fund the Program as described
272272 19 under this Section.
273273 20 (l) The Department shall adopt rules to implement this
274274 21 Section and may adopt rules relating to its collection
275275 22 activities for the repayment of any financial assistance
276276 23 provided under this Section.
277277 24 (20 ILCS 1705/71D new)
278278 25 Sec. 71D. Employment Funding Grant Program.
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289289 1 (a) As used in this Section, "qualified individual"means:
290290 2 (1) a student pursuing a degree in behavioral health
291291 3 who works at a community not-for-profit behavioral health
292292 4 agency or a federally qualified health center as an unpaid
293293 5 intern or volunteer;
294294 6 (2) a person who is hired within the 6 months prior to
295295 7 applying for a grant under this Section as a paid employee
296296 8 or contractor on a full-time, part-time, or hourly basis;
297297 9 or
298298 10 (3) a faculty member, staff member, postdoctoral
299299 11 student or fellow, individual who has received an
300300 12 applied-research fellowship, or graduate student at an
301301 13 institution of higher education who engages in applied
302302 14 work at a community not-for-profit behavioral health
303303 15 agency or a federally qualified health center to improve
304304 16 the quality and consistency of clinical supervision, help
305305 17 implement research-supported or evidenced-based
306306 18 interventions, or improve the effectiveness or cost
307307 19 effectiveness of the behavioral health agency or the
308308 20 federally qualified health center.
309309 21 (b) Subject to appropriation, the Department shall
310310 22 establish the Employment Funding Grant Program to provide
311311 23 grants to qualified individuals who work for community
312312 24 not-for-profit behavioral health agencies or federally
313313 25 qualified health centers.
314314 26 (c) Under the Program, the Department shall provide
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325325 1 financial assistance to qualified individuals.
326326 2 (d) A person who is a qualified individual under paragraph
327327 3 (1) of subsection (a) is eligible to receive a grant to
328328 4 compensate the individual for work as a unpaid intern or
329329 5 volunteer. The grant amount shall provide an equivalent amount
330330 6 of compensation to the individual similar to the expected
331331 7 market rate of a person performing similar duties as the
332332 8 individual in either a community profit or not-for-profit
333333 9 behavioral health agency or a federally qualified health
334334 10 center.
335335 11 (e) A person who is a qualified individual under paragraph
336336 12 (2) of subsection (a) is eligible to receive a grant as a bonus
337337 13 for the individual for working at a community not-for-profit
338338 14 behavioral health agency or federally qualified health center.
339339 15 The grant may be renewed every 6 months and renewed up to 4
340340 16 times per qualified individual based on meeting performance
341341 17 standards set by the Department. The grant amount shall be
342342 18 determined by the Department.
343343 19 (f) A person who is a qualified individual under paragraph
344344 20 (3) of subsection (a) is eligible to receive a grant covering
345345 21 the time that the individual does applied work at the
346346 22 behavioral health agency or the federally qualified health
347347 23 center. The grant amount shall provide an equivalent amount of
348348 24 compensation to the individual similar to the expected market
349349 25 rate of a person performing similar duties to the individual
350350 26 in a community profit behavioral health agency, not-for-profit
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361361 1 behavioral health agency, or federally qualified health
362362 2 center. If a qualified individual under paragraph (3) of
363363 3 subsection (a) is a graduate student, then the graduate
364364 4 student shall be eligible for a grant to cover tuition costs.
365365 5 The grant may be renewed every 6 months and renewed up to 4
366366 6 times per qualified individual.
367367 7 (g) The Department may use moneys from the Behavioral
368368 8 Health Education Program Fund to fund the Program as described
369369 9 under this Section.
370370 10 (h) The Department shall adopt rules to implement this
371371 11 Section.
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