Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 38, September 20, 2024
a) As a condition of eligibility, unless the
Department determines there is good cause for refusing, a caretaker relative
(see 89 Ill. Adm. Code
101.20 for
definition of "caretaker relative") must cooperate with the Department in:
1) identifying and locating the responsible
relative of a child for whom aid is claimed;
2) establishing the paternity of a child for
whom aid is claimed;
3) obtaining
support from the responsible relative; and
4) enforcing support obligations.
b) If the caretaker relative and
his or her spouse are in the home and are included in the assistance grant,
both must comply with the cooperation requirements. A caretaker relative who
fails or refuses, without good cause (see Sections
160.35
through
160.45
), to cooperate in the enforcement of support obligations shall be ineligible
for medical assistance for himself or herself. If a caretaker states, without
good cause, a refusal to cooperate with child support enforcement requirements,
the family is not eligible for cash benefits. A caretaker who fails to
cooperate, without valid reason, is subject to the following provisions:
1) For the first instance of non-cooperation,
the cash assistance payment will be reduced by 50 percent of the family's
Payment Level until the cooperation requirement is met. If the cooperation
requirement is not met after three months of reduced payments, the entire cash
payment will be stopped.
2) For the
second instance of non-cooperation, the cash assistance payment will be reduced
by 50 percent of the family's Payment Level for three months. If the
cooperation requirement is not met after three months of reduced payments, the
entire cash payment will be stopped.
3) For the third (or more) instance of
non-cooperation, the family's entire cash assistance payment will be stopped
for at least three months. Cash assistance will be reinstated for the fourth
month if the cooperation requirement is met during the three-month sanction
period.
4) Sanction penalties
accumulate during any single period of continuous assistance. A loss of all
cash assistance due to sanction shall not be considered a break in assistance.
If a family member's non-cooperation occurs during a sanction period which was
the result of another member's non-cooperation, the next progressive sanction
penalty shall apply.
5) No sanction
will be imposed until staff have a reconciliation meeting to determine whether
the client had valid reason for failing to comply with requirements and the
client has either failed to attend the meeting, failed to return required
documents or failed to show valid reason. If the client fails to show valid
reason, the reconciliation process will continue to enable resolution of
disputes. Failure of the client to appear for a scheduled reconciliation
meeting is not considered an instance of noncooperation.
6) The Department shall establish a
reconciliation procedure to assist in resolving disputes related to any aspect
of cooperation. Through the reconciliation process, the Department will have a
mechanism to identify good cause and valid reason, ensure that the client is
aware of the issue and enable the client to perform the required activity
without facing sanction.
c) "Cooperating with the Department" in the
context of subsection (a) of this Section means any of the following actions
that are relevant to, or necessary for, the achievement of the objectives
specified in subsection (a) of this Section:
1) appearing at, or failing to return the
required documents to, such places as an office of the Department or the
Department's legal representative (such as the Attorney General or his
designee), as necessary, to provide verbal or written information, or
documentary evidence, known to, possessed by, or reasonably obtainable by the
caretaker relative;
2) appearing
and testifying as a witness at judicial or administrative
proceedings;
3) paying to the
Department any child support payments received from the responsible relative;
and
4) providing information, or
attesting to the lack of information, under penalty of perjury (for the penalty
for perjury, see Section 32-2 of the Criminal Code [720 ILCS
5/32-2] ). All caretaker relatives must sign a
statement attesting that:
A) he or she has, to
the best of his or her ability, provided all information requested of him or
her; and
B) all information which
he or she has provided is true and correct, to the best of his or her
knowledge.
d)
Grounds for a determination that a caretaker relative has failed or refused to
cooperate with the requirements of subsection (c) of this Section are as
follows:
1) failure or refusal, without a
valid reason, to appear for an appointment or interview at, or to return the
required documents to, such places as the Department's or the Department's
legal representative's office;
2)
failure or refusal, without a valid reason, to appear and testify as a witness
at a judicial or administrative proceeding;
3) failure or refusal, without a valid
reason, to submit to a court or administratively-ordered genetic test;
or
4) failure or refusal to attest
under penalty of perjury that:
A) he or she
has provided all verbal or written information or documentary evidence known
to, possessed by or reasonably obtainable by him or her about the identity and
location of the responsible relative; and
B) the information provided is true and
correct, to the best of his or her knowledge.
5) A caretaker relative may claim a valid
reason for failure or refusal to appear for an appointment or interview, to
return required documents, to appear and testify as a witness at a judicial or
administrative proceeding or to submit to a court or administratively-ordered
genetic test.
A) Examples of valid reasons
for failure or refusal to cooperate include, but are not limited to:
i) illness;
ii) incapacity (for example, a broken leg,
information of a scheduled surgery or recuperation from surgery);
iii) death in the family;
iv) non-Child Support Enforcement court
required appearance;
v) temporary
incarceration;
vi) family
crisis;
vii) breakdown in child
care arrangements;
viii) sudden or
unexpected emergency;
ix)
unavailability of otherwise suitable child care;
x) breakdown in transportation arrangements
or lack of reasonably available transportation; or
xi) non-receipt of notice of appointment or
interview, court date or genetic test date.
B) The Department will not require a
caretaker relative to provide proof of a valid reason for failure or refusal to
cooperate unless:
i) the caretaker relative
has failed or refused to return required documents, to appear for an
appointment or interview, judicial or administrative proceeding or genetic test
on at least one other occasion within a 30-day day period from the first
failure to appear; or
ii) evidence,
independent of the explanation of valid reason, contradicts the caretaker
relative's explanation.
C) When the Department requests proof of a
valid reason, the caretaker relative must provide such proof (for example,
physician's statement, dated pharmacy statement, hospital admission statement,
statements by witnesses) within ten calendar days of the request. The
Department shall allow an additional ten calendar days to provide proof at the
request of the caretaker relative. If the caretaker relative does not provide
the proof, the Department shall reject the claim of a valid reason.
D) The sanction for failure or refusal to
return required documents, to appear for an appointment or interview, judicial
or administrative proceeding or genetic test shall be rescinded at any level of
the appeal process up through and until the final agency decision and any lost
benefits will be restored, if the caretaker relative establishes a valid reason
for his or her failure or refusal.
e) If a caretaker relative, who is subject to
the penalty at subsection (b) of this Section because of a failure or refusal
to cooperate indicates that he or she is willing to cooperate within the
three-month penalty period, he or she will be given the opportunity to
cooperate. The caretaker relative will be determined to have cooperated if he
or she complies with the requirements that he or she previously failed or
refused to meet as follows:
1) In the case of
a caretaker relative for whom a sanction was imposed for missing an interview
or appointment or for failing to return requested documents, he or she may
demonstrate cooperation by appearing at a new interview or appointment or
completing and returning the requested documents to the Department or its legal
representatives. If the caretaker relative notifies the Department that he or
she is willing to cooperate, the Department will schedule a new interview or
appointment no later than three weeks from the date of such notification. If
the caretaker relative appears at the new interview or appointment, the
Department will authorize assistance as of the date the caretaker relative
notified the Department that he or she was willing to cooperate if this is the
first penalty, or as of the first day of the fourth month if it is the second
or third penalty.
2) In the case of
a caretaker relative for whom a sanction was imposed for failure to submit to a
genetic test to establish paternity, he or she may demonstrate cooperation by
submitting to the genetic test. If the caretaker relative notifies the
Department that he or she is willing to cooperate, the Department will schedule
a genetic test within three weeks from the date of such notification. If the
caretaker relative submits to the genetic test, the Department will authorize
assistance as of the date the caretaker relative notified the Department that
he or she was willing to cooperate if this is the first penalty, or as of the
first day of the fourth month if it is the second or third penalty.
3) In the case of a caretaker relative for
whom a sanction was imposed for not attending a court or administrative
appearance, he or she may demonstrate cooperation by attending the next court
or administrative appearance or, once in a court or administrative case after
30 days have passed since the missed appearance, by signing a statement that he
or she is now willing to cooperate and will attend the next scheduled court or
administrative appearance. Assistance for the caretaker relative shall be
authorized as of the date he or she demonstrates cooperation by either method
if this is the first penalty, or as of the first day of the fourth month if it
is the second or third penalty.
4)
In the case of a caretaker relative for whom a sanction was imposed for failure
to attend a court or administrative appearance or other failure to cooperate
resulted in the dismissal of the court or administrative case, he or she may
demonstrate cooperation by doing what he or she failed to do or, once in a
court or administrative case after 60 days have passed since the dismissal, by
signing a statement that he or she is now willing to cooperate. Assistance for
the caretaker relative shall be authorized as of the date he or she
demonstrates cooperation by either method if this is the first penalty, or as
of the first day of the fourth month if it is the second or third
penalty.
5) In the case of a
caretaker relative for whom a sanction was imposed for not attesting, he or she
may demonstrate cooperation by executing the attestation described in
subsection (d)(4) of this Section. Assistance for the caretaker relative shall
be authorized as of the date he or she executes the attestation if this is the
first penalty, or as of the first day of the fourth month if it is the second
or third penalty.
6) The Department
shall not deny or terminate a pregnant caretaker relative's medical assistance
because of the caretaker relative's failure to cooperate with the requirements
of subsection (c) of this Section until at least 30 days have elapsed since
termination of the pregnancy.
f) A sanction for failure or refusal to
comply with the requirements of subsection (c) of this Section shall be
rescinded at any level of the appeal process up through and including the final
agency decision and any lost benefits will be restored, if the caretaker
relative establishes good cause for failure or refusal.
g) Sanctions under this Section, employment
and training programs and the Responsibility and Services Plan (89 Ill. Adm.
Code
112.79) , and the
School Attendance Initiative (89 Ill. Adm. Code
112.68(c)
) shall be considered along one track. After a sanction is taken under one
Section, a subsequent sanction under that Section or either of the other two
Sections will be at the next sanction level, as described in Section
160.30(b)(1), (2) and
(3) of this Section.
