Illinois Administrative Code › Title 89 - SOCIAL SERVICES › Part 525 - GRANTS AND CONTRACTS › Section 525.10 - Non-Discrimination Compliance Requirements

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 28, July 12, 2024
a) The Department of Human Services (DHS)
			 shall not enter into any contract, agreement or grant with subrecipients who
			 are not in compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, as amended, (
			 29 U.S.C.A. 794 ), Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Handicap in Programs and
			 Activities Receiving or Benefiting from Federal Financial Assistance ( 34 CFR
			 104 ), the Illinois Human Rights Act [775 ILCS 5 ], the Illinois Accessibility
			 Code (71 Ill. Adm. Code 400), the Environmental Barriers Act [410 ILCS 25 ] and
			 Article I, Section 19 of the Illinois Constitution. These statutes and rules
			 require subrecipients to be accessible (attainable by elimination of
			 architectural, transportation and communication barriers facing persons with
			 disabilities) in terms of employment practices, programs and physical
			 structure.
b) "Subrecipient" is
			 defined as any entity with which DHS enters into service contracts, agreements
			 or grants, which serves more than one individual at a time.
c) Prior to a contract, agreement or grant
			 being signed or renewed, each new and current subrecipient shall submit a
			 statement of compliance with the requirements stated in subsection
			 (a).
d) Subrecipients are subject
			 to a compliance review whenever a complaint is received by a client or DHS
			 staff or prior to recommendation to the Secretary of DHS for entering into a
			 contract, agreement or grant. The complaint shall be made in writing to the
			 local DHS office, who will send a copy to the DHS regional office and the
			 Administrator of Field Operations. DHS regional staff shall use the statutes
			 and rules contained in subsection (a) as standards to determine if the
			 subrecipient is in compliance. If found in compliance, regional staff shall
			 notify the subrecipient in writing with a copy to the Administrator of Field
			 Operations. If found not to be in compliance, the subrecipient may appeal per
			 89 Ill. Adm. Code 510.
e) If the
			 subrecipient is not in compliance, the following actions shall occur:
1) the subrecipient shall be placed on notice
			 by regional staff in writing that the following must occur:
A) DHS regional staff must receive a letter
			 of assurance from the subrecipient within 60 calendar days from the date that
			 the subrecipient was notified that they were out of compliance. The letter of
			 assurance shall be approved by the subrecipient's Board of Directors, Chief
			 Executive Officer or President, acknowledging the compliance deficiencies.
			 Included with this letter shall be a plan of action, approved by the Board of
			 Directors, Chief Executive Officer or President to correct the deficiencies.
			 Time frames for each of the activities shall be included.
B) Within 10 calendar days the regional staff
			 shall review the letter and plan, make recommendations regarding adoption,
			 modification or rejection based on the requirements of subsection (a), and
			 forward the recommendations to the Administrator of Field Operations. The
			 Administrator of Field Operations shall then receive approval of the
			 recommendations from the Deputy Director.
C) The Associate Director - Office of
			 Rehabilitation Services of DHS shall make the final decision regarding the
			 continued referrals to the program and possible termination of the contract,
			 agreement or grant. Continued referrals are contingent upon the subrecipient's
			 plan of action, per subsection (e)(1)(A), meeting the standards in subsection
			 (a) and the subrecipient's meeting the time frames specified in the plan.
			 Referrals shall continue as long as the plan meets the requirements in
			 subsection (a) and the time frames are being met. Written notification will be
			 forwarded to the subrecipient within 30 calendar days of receipt of the letter
			 and proposed plan by the regional office. For subrecipients whose plan does not
			 meet the requirements in subsection (a) or for those subrecipients who do not
			 meet the time frames specified in their plan of action, the contracts,
			 agreements, or grants shall be terminated per subsection (e)(4). The Associate
			 Director - Office of Rehabilitation Services decision may be appealed through
			 the court system.