DHS-DEMENTIA TRAINING

Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of SB2971

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104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
SB2971

Introduced 1/27/2026, by Sen. Cristina Castro

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

20 ILCS 2405/3

from Ch. 23, par. 3434

Amends the Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities Act. Requires
direct service workers employed by the Department of Human Services, or an
agency contracted with the Department, to provide services under the Home
Services Program to complete at least 2 hours of dementia training at the
start of their employment and annually thereafter. Requires the training
to cover subjects concerning Alzheimer's disease and dementia, safety
risks, and communication and behavior. Requires the Department to provide
contractors with dementia training curriculum on the required subjects.
Provides that any other laws or rules that impose more rigorous dementia
training for direct service workers under the Home Services Program shall
apply. Exempts from the training requirements direct service workers who
provide proof that they obtained equivalent dementia training in
compliance with another law or rule. For personal assistants covered by a
collective bargaining agreement, requires the Department to establish, in
consultation with the joint training committee created under the
collective bargaining agreement, different parameters and specific topics
for curriculum covering dementia training.
LRB104 17614 KTG 31045 b

A BILL FOR

SB2971
LRB104 17614 KTG 31045 b
1

AN ACT concerning State government.

2

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3
represented in the General Assembly:

4

Section 5.
The Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities
5
Act is amended by changing Section 3 as follows:

6

(20 ILCS 2405/3)

(from Ch. 23, par. 3434)
7

Sec. 3.
Powers and duties.
The Department shall have the
8
powers and duties enumerated herein:
9

(a) To cooperate with the federal government in the
10

administration of the provisions of the federal
11

Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended by the Workforce
12

Innovation and Opportunity Act, and of the federal Social
13

Security Act to the extent and in the manner provided in
14

these Acts.
15

(b) To prescribe and supervise such courses of
16

vocational training and provide such other services as may
17

be necessary for the vocational rehabilitation of persons
18

with one or more disabilities, including the
19

administrative activities under subsection (e) of this
20

Section; to cooperate with State and local school
21

authorities and other recognized agencies engaged in
22

vocational rehabilitation services; and to cooperate with
23

the Department of Children and Family Services, the

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LRB104 17614 KTG 31045 b
1

Illinois State Board of Education, and others regarding
2

the education of children with one or more disabilities.
3

(c) (Blank).
4

(d) To report in writing, to the Governor, annually on
5

or before the first day of December, and at such other
6

times and in such manner and upon such subjects as the
7

Governor may require. The annual report shall contain (1)
8

information on the programs and activities dedicated to
9

vocational rehabilitation, independent living, and other
10

community services and supports administered by the
11

Director; (2) information on the development of vocational
12

rehabilitation services, independent living services, and
13

supporting services administered by the Director in the
14

State; and (3) information detailing the amounts of money
15

received from federal, State, and other sources, and of
16

the objects and purposes to which the respective items of
17

these several amounts have been devoted.
18

(e) (Blank).
19

(f) To establish a program of services to prevent the
20

unnecessary institutionalization of persons in need of
21

long term care and who meet the criteria for blindness or
22

disability as defined by the Social Security Act, thereby
23

enabling them to remain in their own homes. Such
24

preventive services include any or all of the following:
25

(1) personal assistant services;
26

(2) homemaker services;

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(3) home-delivered meals;
2

(4) adult day care services;
3

(5) respite care;
4

(6) home modification or assistive equipment;
5

(7) home health services;
6

(8) electronic home response;
7

(9) brain injury behavioral/cognitive services;
8

(10) brain injury habilitation;
9

(11) brain injury pre-vocational services; or
10

(12) brain injury supported employment.
11

The Department shall establish eligibility standards
12

for such services taking into consideration the unique
13

economic and social needs of the population for whom they
14

are to be provided. Such eligibility standards may be
15

based on the recipient's ability to pay for services;
16

provided, however, that any portion of a person's income
17

that is equal to or less than the "protected income" level
18

shall not be considered by the Department in determining
19

eligibility. The "protected income" level shall be
20

determined by the Department, shall never be less than the
21

federal poverty standard, and shall be adjusted each year
22

to reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index For All
23

Urban Consumers as determined by the United States
24

Department of Labor. The standards must provide that a
25

person may not have more than $10,000 in assets to be
26

eligible for the services, and the Department may increase

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or decrease the asset limitation by rule. The Department
2

may not decrease the asset level below $10,000. Subject to
3

federal approval, the Department shall allow a recipient's
4

spouse, guardian, kin, or siblings to serve as his or her
5

provider of personal care or similar services.
6

The services shall be provided, as established by the
7

Department by rule, to eligible persons to prevent
8

unnecessary or premature institutionalization, to the
9

extent that the cost of the services, together with the
10

other personal maintenance expenses of the persons, are
11

reasonably related to the standards established for care
12

in a group facility appropriate to their condition. These
13

non-institutional services, pilot projects or experimental
14

facilities may be provided as part of or in addition to
15

those authorized by federal law or those funded and
16

administered by the Illinois Department on Aging. The
17

Department shall set rates and fees for services in a fair
18

and equitable manner. Services identical to those offered
19

by the Department on Aging shall be paid at the same rate.
20

Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph,
21

personal assistants shall be paid at a rate negotiated
22

between the State and an exclusive representative of
23

personal assistants under a collective bargaining
24

agreement. In no case shall the Department pay personal
25

assistants an hourly wage that is less than the federal
26

minimum wage. Within 30 days after July 6, 2017 (the

SB2971
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1

effective date of Public Act 100-23), the hourly wage paid
2

to personal assistants and individual maintenance home
3

health workers shall be increased by $0.48 per hour. Wages
4

and other benefits for personal assistants shall not count
5

against benefits that guardians receive as outlined in
6

Article XIa of the Probate Act of 1975.
7

Solely for the purposes of coverage under the Illinois
8

Public Labor Relations Act, personal assistants providing
9

services under the Department's Home Services Program
10

shall be considered to be public employees and the State
11

of Illinois shall be considered to be their employer as of
12

July 16, 2003 (the effective date of Public Act 93-204),
13

but not before. Solely for the purposes of coverage under
14

the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act, home care and
15

home health workers who function as personal assistants
16

and individual maintenance home health workers and who
17

also provide services under the Department's Home Services
18

Program shall be considered to be public employees, no
19

matter whether the State provides such services through
20

direct fee-for-service arrangements, with the assistance
21

of a managed care organization or other intermediary, or
22

otherwise, and the State of Illinois shall be considered
23

to be the employer of those persons as of January 29, 2013
24

(the effective date of Public Act 97-1158), but not before
25

except as otherwise provided under this subsection (f).
26

The State shall engage in collective bargaining with an

SB2971
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LRB104 17614 KTG 31045 b
1

exclusive representative of home care and home health
2

workers who function as personal assistants and individual
3

maintenance home health workers working under the Home
4

Services Program concerning their terms and conditions of
5

employment that are within the State's control. Nothing in
6

this paragraph shall be understood to limit the right of
7

the persons receiving services defined in this Section to
8

hire and fire home care and home health workers who
9

function as personal assistants and individual maintenance
10

home health workers working under the Home Services
11

Program or to supervise them within the limitations set by
12

the Home Services Program. The State shall not be
13

considered to be the employer of home care and home health
14

workers who function as personal assistants and individual
15

maintenance home health workers working under the Home
16

Services Program for any purposes not specifically
17

provided in Public Act 93-204 or Public Act 97-1158,
18

including but not limited to, purposes of vicarious
19

liability in tort and purposes of statutory retirement or
20

health insurance benefits. Home care and home health
21

workers who function as personal assistants and individual
22

maintenance home health workers and who also provide
23

services under the Department's Home Services Program
24

shall not be covered by the State Employees Group
25

Insurance Act of 1971.
26

The Department shall execute, relative to nursing home

SB2971
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LRB104 17614 KTG 31045 b
1

prescreening, as authorized by Section 4.03 of the
2

Illinois Act on the Aging, written inter-agency agreements
3

with the Department on Aging and the Department of
4

Healthcare and Family Services, to effect the intake
5

procedures and eligibility criteria for those persons who
6

may need long term care. On and after July 1, 1996, all
7

nursing home prescreenings for individuals 18 through 59
8

years of age shall be conducted by the Department, or a
9

designee of the Department.
10

The Department is authorized to establish a system of
11

recipient cost-sharing for services provided under this
12

Section. The cost-sharing shall be based upon the
13

recipient's ability to pay for services, but in no case
14

shall the recipient's share exceed the actual cost of the
15

services provided. Protected income shall not be
16

considered by the Department in its determination of the
17

recipient's ability to pay a share of the cost of
18

services. The level of cost-sharing shall be adjusted each
19

year to reflect changes in the "protected income" level.
20

The Department shall deduct from the recipient's share of
21

the cost of services any money expended by the recipient
22

for disability-related expenses.
23

To the extent permitted under the federal Social
24

Security Act, the Department, or the Department's
25

authorized representative, may recover the amount of
26

moneys expended for services provided to or in behalf of a

SB2971
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1

person under this Section by a claim against the person's
2

estate or against the estate of the person's surviving
3

spouse, but no recovery may be had until after the death of
4

the surviving spouse, if any, and then only at such time
5

when there is no surviving child who is under age 21 or
6

blind or who has a permanent and total disability. This
7

paragraph, however, shall not bar recovery, at the death
8

of the person, of moneys for services provided to the
9

person or in behalf of the person under this Section to
10

which the person was not entitled; provided that such
11

recovery shall not be enforced against any real estate
12

while it is occupied as a homestead by the surviving
13

spouse or other dependent, if no claims by other creditors
14

have been filed against the estate, or, if such claims
15

have been filed, they remain dormant for failure of
16

prosecution or failure of the claimant to compel
17

administration of the estate for the purpose of payment.
18

This paragraph shall not bar recovery from the estate of a
19

spouse, under Sections 1915 and 1924 of the Social
20

Security Act and Section 5-4 of the Illinois Public Aid
21

Code, who precedes a person receiving services under this
22

Section in death. All moneys for services paid to or in
23

behalf of the person under this Section shall be claimed
24

for recovery from the deceased spouse's estate.
25

"Homestead", as used in this paragraph, means the dwelling
26

house and contiguous real estate occupied by a surviving

SB2971
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LRB104 17614 KTG 31045 b
1

spouse or relative, as defined by the rules and
2

regulations of the Department of Healthcare and Family
3

Services, regardless of the value of the property.
4

This paragraph applies to direct service workers
5

employed by the Department, or by an agency that is
6

contracted with the Department, to provide services to
7

individuals participating in the Home Services Program.
8

Direct service workers employed by the Department or a
9

contractor shall complete at least 2 hours of dementia
10

training at the start of their employment. Direct service
11

workers who are employees of the Department or a
12

contractor on the effective date of this amendatory Act of
13

the 104th General Assembly shall complete this training
14

within 6 months after the effective date of this
15

amendatory Act of the 104th General Assembly. The training
16

shall cover the following subjects: (1) Alzheimer's
17

disease and dementia; (2) safety risks; and (3)
18

communication and behavior. Annual continuing education
19

training shall include at least 2 hours of dementia
20

training covering the subjects described in this
21

paragraph. The Department shall provide contractors with
22

dementia training curriculum on the subjects described in
23

this paragraph. The purpose of this paragraph is to
24

improve the quality of training for direct service workers
25

under the Home Services Program. If laws or rules existing
26

on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 104th

SB2971
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LRB104 17614 KTG 31045 b
1

General Assembly contain more rigorous dementia training
2

requirements for Department employees or contractors
3

providing direct services under the Home Services Program,
4

then those laws or rules shall apply. An individual who is
5

required to receive dementia training under any other law
6

or rule may be considered exempt from the requirements of
7

this paragraph, if the other law's or rule's training
8

requirement includes a minimum 2 hours of dementia
9

training. The individual shall be required to show proof
10

that he or she received dementia training equivalent to
11

the training required under this paragraph. For personal
12

assistants covered by a collective bargaining agreement,
13

the Department shall work with the joint training
14

committee established by the collective bargaining
15

agreement covering personal assistants to discuss
16

parameters and specific topics for curriculum covering
17

dementia training as part of the provided training for
18

personal assistants.

19

(g) To establish such subdivisions of the Department
20

as shall be desirable and assign to the various
21

subdivisions the responsibilities and duties placed upon
22

the Department by law.
23

(h) To cooperate and enter into any necessary
24

agreements with the Department of Employment Security for
25

the provision of job placement and job referral services
26

to clients of the Department, including job service

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1

registration of such clients with Illinois Employment
2

Security offices and making job listings maintained by the
3

Department of Employment Security available to such
4

clients.
5

(i) To possess all powers reasonable and necessary for
6

the exercise and administration of the powers, duties and
7

responsibilities of the Department which are provided for
8

by law.
9

(j) (Blank).
10

(k) (Blank).
11

(l) To establish, operate, and maintain a Statewide
12

Housing Clearinghouse of information on available
13

government subsidized housing accessible to persons with
14

disabilities and available privately owned housing
15

accessible to persons with disabilities. The information
16

shall include, but not be limited to, the location, rental
17

requirements, access features and proximity to public
18

transportation of available housing. The Clearinghouse
19

shall consist of at least a computerized database for the
20

storage and retrieval of information and a separate or
21

shared toll free telephone number for use by those seeking
22

information from the Clearinghouse. Department offices and
23

personnel throughout the State shall also assist in the
24

operation of the Statewide Housing Clearinghouse.
25

Cooperation with local, State, and federal housing
26

managers shall be sought and extended in order to

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LRB104 17614 KTG 31045 b
1

frequently and promptly update the Clearinghouse's
2

information.
3

(m) To assure that the names and case records of
4

persons who received or are receiving services from the
5

Department, including persons receiving vocational
6

rehabilitation, home services, or other services, and
7

those attending one of the Department's schools or other
8

supervised facility shall be confidential and not be open
9

to the general public. Those case records and reports or
10

the information contained in those records and reports
11

shall be disclosed by the Director only to proper law
12

enforcement officials, individuals authorized by a court,
13

the General Assembly or any committee or commission of the
14

General Assembly, and other persons and for reasons as the
15

Director designates by rule. Disclosure by the Director
16

may be only in accordance with other applicable law.
17
(Source: P.A. 102-264, eff. 8-6-21; 102-826, eff. 5-13-22;
18
103-479, eff. 1-1-24
.)

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