Bill Text: IL HB5354 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Customized Employment for Individuals with Disabilities Act. Changes the name of the Customized Employment Pilot Program to the Customized Employment Demonstration Program. Provides that the program shall consist of components consistent with specified standards published by the Workforce Innovation Technical Assistance Center and the Youth Technical Assistance Center under grants from the federal Department of Education. Provides that the Division of Rehabilitation Services of the Department of Human Services shall collect data concerning the successes and challenges of the program and shall submit an annual report to the Governor and the General Assembly on March 1st of each year beginning in 2026 until the program terminates. Defines "customized employment".

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 11-3)

Status: (Passed) 2024-07-19 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 103-0709 [HB5354 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-HB5354-Introduced.html

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103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB5354 Introduced , by Rep. Lindsey LaPointe SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
820 ILCS 97/6 new
820 ILCS 97/10
820 ILCS 97/15
820 ILCS 97/20
820 ILCS 97/25
820 ILCS 97/30
820 ILCS 97/35
820 ILCS 97/40
Amends the Customized Employment for Individuals with Disabilities Act. Changes the name of the Customized Employment Pilot Program to the Customized Employment Demonstration Program. Provides that the program shall consist of components consistent with specified standards published by the Workforce Innovation Technical Assistance Center and the Youth Technical Assistance Center under grants from the federal Department of Education. Provides that the Division of Rehabilitation Services of the Department of Human Services shall collect data concerning the successes and challenges of the program and shall submit an annual report to the Governor and the General Assembly on March 1st of each year beginning in 2026 until the program terminates. Defines "customized employment".
LRB103 37230 SPS 67349 b
A BILL FOR
HB5354 LRB103 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

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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 100 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

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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

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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"

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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

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identified and referred to the Division of Rehabilitation
Services 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:

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(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 Division of
Rehabilitation Services 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; (i
i) 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,

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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

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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.)