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| 1 | AN ACT concerning State government.
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| 2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| 3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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| 4 | Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the 21st | ||||||
| 5 | Century Human Services Reorganization Commission Act.
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| 6 | Section 5. Legislative findings. | ||||||
| 7 | (1) The economic well-being of Illinois families is | ||||||
| 8 | supported by temporary subsistence programs, income supports | ||||||
| 9 | to support those seeking training or who are working, quality | ||||||
| 10 | early childhood services, education to develop workforce | ||||||
| 11 | skills, economic development, job training, health supports, | ||||||
| 12 | higher education, increased financial capability, asset | ||||||
| 13 | building, and employers who provide jobs, including micro, | ||||||
| 14 | small, and large employers. | ||||||
| 15 | (2) The State of Illinois depends upon public and private | ||||||
| 16 | service providers to deliver many critical human services | ||||||
| 17 | necessary to protect and enhance the welfare of its citizens, | ||||||
| 18 | including its most vulnerable populations. Many of these | ||||||
| 19 | traditional services are best delivered as part of the health | ||||||
| 20 | care or public health systems. | ||||||
| 21 | (3) The citizens of Illinois and their communities depend | ||||||
| 22 | upon the array of economic well-being services to address the | ||||||
| 23 | social determinants of poor health and to protect public | ||||||
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| 1 | health, to support individual and family well-being, to improve | ||||||
| 2 | public safety, to revitalize local economies, and to enhance | ||||||
| 3 | learning to better develop the workforce of the future. | ||||||
| 4 | (4) Human services, child support services, public health | ||||||
| 5 | services, services to the elderly, and financial supports play | ||||||
| 6 | a vital role in every community and legislative district across | ||||||
| 7 | the State, making economic stability a reality for families | ||||||
| 8 | with or without children, youth, refugee and immigrant workers, | ||||||
| 9 | the elderly, people with disabilities, and other vulnerable | ||||||
| 10 | populations. | ||||||
| 11 | (5) In the 21st Century, integrated services will address | ||||||
| 12 | needs, support families, and help families build their own | ||||||
| 13 | economic security as part of the workforce moving to the new | ||||||
| 14 | middle class. | ||||||
| 15 | (6) In the 21st Century, Illinois will need to reconfigure | ||||||
| 16 | State government and focus on the individuals being served by | ||||||
| 17 | delivering services across program silos to address the food, | ||||||
| 18 | housing, and economic insecurity of a household or of a family | ||||||
| 19 | and to transition them to achieve their potential and to have | ||||||
| 20 | economic stability.
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| 21 | Section 10. Commission created; duties. The 21st Century | ||||||
| 22 | Human Services Reorganization Commission is created to review | ||||||
| 23 | all human services and economic support programs provided by | ||||||
| 24 | the State and to make recommendations to the Governor and to | ||||||
| 25 | the General Assembly on how to reorganize and simplify human | ||||||
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| 1 | services in order to (i) integrate those services in a | ||||||
| 2 | cost-effective manner, (ii) streamline government, (iii) | ||||||
| 3 | reduce redundant applications, and (iv) cross program silos and | ||||||
| 4 | deliver these services when needed to achieve measurable | ||||||
| 5 | income, security, economic stability, and asset building | ||||||
| 6 | outcomes.
These recommendations shall include, but not be | ||||||
| 7 | limited to, the following matters: | ||||||
| 8 | (1) Maintaining compliance with federal statutes, | ||||||
| 9 | regulations, and rules and any applicable court orders. | ||||||
| 10 | (2) Providing strength-based, integrated services to | ||||||
| 11 | Illinois residents with measurable results. | ||||||
| 12 | (3) Exploring the best ways to develop support for | ||||||
| 13 | economic stability and for the reduction in asset poverty | ||||||
| 14 | among Illinois residents. | ||||||
| 15 | (4) Fostering economic upward mobility with public | ||||||
| 16 | expenditures and policy. | ||||||
| 17 | (5) Consolidating State programs or coordinating the | ||||||
| 18 | delivery of services, including services provided from | ||||||
| 19 | other agencies. | ||||||
| 20 | (6) Exploring the transformation of the State's health | ||||||
| 21 | care services as a result of Medicaid expansion under the | ||||||
| 22 | Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and legislative | ||||||
| 23 | efforts to reform the State's health care system. | ||||||
| 24 | The Commission shall consult with social service agencies, | ||||||
| 25 | local government, health providers, and the program | ||||||
| 26 | administrators of all affected programs.
The Commission shall | ||||||
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| 1 | hold at least 5 public hearings: one in the City of Chicago, | ||||||
| 2 | one in Dupage County, one in Southern Illinois, one in Central | ||||||
| 3 | Illinois, and one in Western Illinois.
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| 4 | Section 15. Membership and appointments. | ||||||
| 5 | (a) The Commission shall include members from both public | ||||||
| 6 | and private organizations, and its membership shall reflect the | ||||||
| 7 | regional, racial, and cultural diversity of the State to ensure | ||||||
| 8 | the needs of all Illinois residents are represented. | ||||||
| 9 | (b) The Commission shall include the following members | ||||||
| 10 | appointed as follows: | ||||||
| 11 | (1) three members appointed by the President of the | ||||||
| 12 | Senate; | ||||||
| 13 | (2) three members appointed by the Minority Leader of | ||||||
| 14 | the Senate; | ||||||
| 15 | (3) three members appointed by the Speaker of the House | ||||||
| 16 | of Representatives; | ||||||
| 17 | (4) three members appointed by the Minority Leader of | ||||||
| 18 | the House of Representatives; and | ||||||
| 19 | (5) eight other members appointed by the Governor. | ||||||
| 20 | (c) The Governor's appointments shall include, without | ||||||
| 21 | limitation, the following: | ||||||
| 22 | (1) a co-chair from the Office of the Governor; | ||||||
| 23 | (2) a co-chair not employed by the State of Illinois | ||||||
| 24 | who is knowledgeable about government services, including | ||||||
| 25 | the services delivered on behalf of the State by | ||||||
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| 1 | non-governmental organizations. | ||||||
| 2 | (d) The Directors or Secretaries of the following State | ||||||
| 3 | agencies, or their designees, shall all serve as ex-officio, | ||||||
| 4 | non-voting members: | ||||||
| 5 | (1) The Department of Human Services. | ||||||
| 6 | (2) The Department of Children and Family Services. | ||||||
| 7 | (3) The Department of Healthcare and Family Services. | ||||||
| 8 | (4) The Illinois Community College Board. | ||||||
| 9 | (5) The Department of Employment Security. | ||||||
| 10 | (6) The Department on Aging. | ||||||
| 11 | (7) The Department of Juvenile Justice. | ||||||
| 12 | (8) The Department of Corrections. | ||||||
| 13 | (9) The Department of Public Health. | ||||||
| 14 | (10) The Board of Education. | ||||||
| 15 | (11) The Department of Veterans' Affairs. | ||||||
| 16 | (e) Members appointed to the Commission shall include | ||||||
| 17 | stakeholders with an interest in human services, public health, | ||||||
| 18 | economic development, business, and asset building, and shall | ||||||
| 19 | include representatives of the following private-sector fields | ||||||
| 20 | and constituencies: | ||||||
| 21 | (1) Early childhood education and development. | ||||||
| 22 | (2) Child welfare and youth services. | ||||||
| 23 | (3) Child support. | ||||||
| 24 | (4) Developmental disabilities. | ||||||
| 25 | (5) Mental health and substance abuse. | ||||||
| 26 | (6) Employment and training for youth, the unemployed, | ||||||
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| 1 | and the underemployed. | ||||||
| 2 | (7) Refugee resettlement. | ||||||
| 3 | (8) Food insecurity and SNAP outreach. | ||||||
| 4 | (9) Civil rights. | ||||||
| 5 | (10) Seniors. | ||||||
| 6 | (11) Asset building. | ||||||
| 7 | (12) Economic development. | ||||||
| 8 | (13) Micro-enterprise. | ||||||
| 9 | (14) Small business. | ||||||
| 10 | (15) Philanthropy. | ||||||
| 11 | (16) Income supports. | ||||||
| 12 | (f) Members shall serve without compensation; however, to | ||||||
| 13 | the extent funds are available, they shall be reimbursed for | ||||||
| 14 | reasonable expenses incurred in the performance of their duties | ||||||
| 15 | as members of the Commission. | ||||||
| 16 | (g) Any vacancy occurring in the membership of the | ||||||
| 17 | Commission shall be filled in the same manner as the original | ||||||
| 18 | appointment. | ||||||
| 19 | (h) Appointments shall be based on the expertise of the | ||||||
| 20 | appointee and not on organizational or institutional | ||||||
| 21 | affiliation.
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| 22 | Section 20. Meetings. | ||||||
| 23 | (a) The Commission shall convene once after at least 11 | ||||||
| 24 | members have been appointed. Meetings shall be held with the | ||||||
| 25 | required frequency, but not less than quarterly. | ||||||
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| 1 | (b) The Commission may establish committees, however the | ||||||
| 2 | committees shall not be authorized to participate in any | ||||||
| 3 | Commission action but shall present their findings and | ||||||
| 4 | recommendations to the Commission. | ||||||
| 5 | (c) The Commission is authorized to conduct business over | ||||||
| 6 | conference telephone or computer voice or video calling or its | ||||||
| 7 | equivalent. Commission members attending via electronic | ||||||
| 8 | communications shall count towards determining a quorum and | ||||||
| 9 | shall vote or otherwise participate.
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| 10 | Section 25. Administrative support. The Department of | ||||||
| 11 | Human Services shall provide administrative support to the | ||||||
| 12 | Commission.
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| 13 | Section 30. Report. The Commission shall report to the | ||||||
| 14 | Governor and to the General Assembly on its findings and | ||||||
| 15 | recommendations by January 5, 2017.
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