Section 125.10  Program Objectives

 

The purpose of the program is to make grants, fund additional services, and conduct additional research relating to veterans' post traumatic stress disorder, veterans' homelessness, the health insurance costs of veterans, veterans' disability benefits, long-term care of veterans, and veteran employment and employment training.

 

(Source:  Amended at 37 Ill. Reg. 12098, effective July 10, 2013)

 

Section 125.15  Definitions

 

The following words and terms, when used in this Part, shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

 

"Act" means Section 21.6 of the Illinois Lottery Law [20 ILCS 1605/21.6].

 

"Committee" means the Funding Authorization Committee created under Section 125.70.

 

"Department" means the Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs.

 

"Director" means the Director of the Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs.

 

"Post Traumatic Stress Disorder" or "PTSD" means an anxiety disorder that develops after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal related to time served in the military in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened.

 

"TBI" means traumatic brain injury.

 

"Veterans Service Officer" means a person who has successfully completed the Training, Responsibility, Involvement and Preparation of Claims Program and has been so certified by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.

 

"Veterans Service Organization" or "VSO" means an organization that is federally chartered and/or recognized or approved by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for purposes of preparation, presentation and prosecution of claims under laws administered by the VA.

 

"Veterans Services" means the representation of veterans in federal hearings to secure benefits for veterans and their spouses and beneficiaries, including:

 

Disability compensation benefits;

 

Disability pension benefits;

 

Dependents' indemnity compensation;

 

Widow's death pension;

 

Burial benefits;

 

Confirmed and continued claims;

 

Vocational rehabilitation and education;

 

Waivers of indebtedness.

 

(Source:  Amended at 38 Ill. Reg. 7328, effective March 12, 2014)

 

Section 125.20  Eligibility Requirements

 

Government agencies and tax-exempt entities currently providing veterans' assistance or similar assistance to non-veterans and wishing to expand to veterans' assistance are the only organizations eligible for grants under this program.

 

Section 125.30  Assistance Formula

 

All grants are subject to the terms of the Illinois Grant Funds Recovery Act [30 ILCS 705]. The grant program may provide up to a maximum of 100% funding assistance on total approved project costs. Maximum grant awards for health insurance costs are limited to 20% of the total funds appropriated. A $100,000 limit is established per annual project grant.  No grants from the Veterans' Scratch-off Lottery Program shall be made for construction that is not an expansion of an already existing program facility. 

 

Section 125.40  General Procedures for Grant Applications and Awards

 

a)         Grant applications for funding assistance under this program may be submitted at any time, but will not be considered until the Committee meeting after the quarter in which they are received (i.e., grant applications received during the first quarter of the year will not be considered until the meeting held during the second quarter). Necessary application forms and instructions are available through the Department.  Awarding of grants will be on a competitive basis and will be made under the authority of the Director of the Department of Veterans' Affairs.

 

b)         Project grant applications shall consist of the following basic components, at a minimum:

 

1)         local project sponsor's name, address and telephone number;

 

2)         existing similar programs within the same geographic area;

 

3)         itemized proposed project cost estimate containing at least 3 price quotes from suppliers of durable equipment;

 

4)         project narrative statement describing the need for the project, the project concept, location and objectives, anticipated benefits, proposed number of veterans assisted and methods of financing or accomplishing the project, including applicant's method of funding costs and expenses not covered by this grant and how the project can be sustained in future years without additional Veterans' Scratch-off Lottery Program grants;

 

5)         proof of status as a governmental or tax-exempt agency;

 

6)         proof the entity is properly licensed to conduct the service proposed;

 

7)         statement of any outstanding obligations owed by the applicant to the State of Illinois.

 

c)         A program information packet may be obtained from the Grant Administrator, Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs, 833 S. Spring Street, Springfield IL 62794-9432, telephone (217) 782-6153, or from the Department web site at www.veterans.illinois.gov.

 

(Source:  Amended at 38 Ill. Reg. 7328, effective March 12, 2014)

 

Section 125.50  Eligible Project Costs

 

a)         Grant assistance may be obtained for the following items:

 

1)         Research or services relating to veterans' PTSD or TBI, including such things as contract payments to physicians or psychologists, laboratory researchers and/or laboratory fees, contract labor, job training, computer/software purchase/lease, and necessary office equipment and supplies.  The Department will consider, on a case-by-case basis, building lease arrangements when no government-owned facility is available and:

 

A)        State statute or local ordinance prohibits a unit of local government from entering into a rental agreement; or

 

B)        Other circumstances beyond the control of the unit of local government or non-governmental tax exempt organization prohibit other arrangements.

 

2)         Programs designed to prevent, eliminate or alleviate veterans' homelessness, including such things as renovation of existing shelters to better serve homeless veterans, expansion of existing shelters for homeless veterans, contract payment to counselors or caseworkers, training and education, employment assistance, and necessary supplies.

 

3)         Veterans' disability benefits, such as assistance in obtaining benefits, counseling, prosthetics, job training, accessibility of the home of a disabled veteran, and automobile modifications to accommodate the veteran's disability.  Veterans Service Organizations receiving funding pursuant to Section 25 of the Department of Veterans' Affairs Act [20 ILCS 2805/25] shall be ineligible for grant funding from this program for Veteran Service Officers during the same period of time covered by the Section 25 award, and Veterans Service Organizations that elect to accept a grant from this program for Veterans Service Officer funding are ineligible for Section 25 awards for the year covered by this program grant.

 

4)         Long-term veterans' care, including remodeling existing facilities, supplies, equipment, clothing, medicine, and all things necessary for the morale, welfare and recreation of the veterans being served. 

 

5)         Health insurance costs for veterans.

 

6)         Veteran employment and employment training.

 

b)         No assistance from this fund shall be used to supplant existing moneys that the Department currently expends for the purposes listed in subsection (a).  All grants that are to benefit the Illinois Veterans Homes shall be limited to 50% of the total expenditure made by the grantee on behalf of a Veterans Home.

 

c)         Project costs for which grant funding is sought cannot be incurred by the project applicant until after grant approval notification.  Costs incurred prior to Department approval are ineligible for grant assistance.

 

(Source:  Amended at 37 Ill. Reg. 12098, effective July 10, 2013)

 

Section 125.60  Project Evaluation Priorities

 

The following factors are used by the Department in evaluating and recommending project applications for funding assistance consideration (see Appendix A):

 

a)         The applicant must be a government agency or a registered tax exempt organization at the time of application;

 

b)         projects providing services to a currently unserved or underserved population of veterans;

 

c)         projects located in areas of high demand or readily accessible to major population centers;

 

d)         projects proposing innovative research or benefits;

 

e)         projects for which long-term operations and maintenance capability is clearly demonstrated by the local sponsor and the degree to which the applicant relies upon program grant funding;

 

f)         the applicant's record of providing benefits to veterans or the applicant's  record of providing services to non-veterans similar to the proposed services to be provided to veterans and the applicant's understanding of veterans' service and issues.

 

(Source:  Amended at 37 Ill. Reg. 12098, effective July 10, 2013)

 

Section 125.70  Funding Authorization Committee Program Compliance Requirements

 

The Funding Authorization Committee shall consist of three members appointed by the Director. One of the three members  shall be a member of the Veterans' Advisory Council.  The Director shall appoint one member of the Committee as chair.  Staff members from the Department, as determined by the Director, shall advise the Committee.  The Committee shall meet no less than quarterly at times and places announced by the Department.

 

a)         Funding Authorization Committee Actions

 

1)         The Committee may recommend that a grant application be:

 

A)        approved;

 

B)        not approved;

 

C)        supplemented with more information and reconsidered at the next meeting;

 

D)        held for reconsideration at the next meeting of the Committee; or

 

E)        approved pending meeting standards (see Sections 125.50 and 125.60) not presented to the Committee. 

 

2)         Failure of an application to receive a two-thirds vote reflecting subsection (a)(1)(A), (C), (D) or (E) shall be considered to be not approved by the Committee.

 

b)         The Director may veto an approved application, but may not overrule a failure to approve.  The Committee may not overrule the Director's veto.

 

c)         Property acquired or developed with program grant assistance may not be converted to a use that would deny use for veterans as provided by terms of the Grant Agreement without prior Department approval.

 

d)         Financial records on approved projects must be maintained and retained by the project sponsor for possible State audit for a period of 5 years after final payment is made by the Department.

 

e)         Grant funds may not be used except pursuant to a written Grant Agreement.  In the event of a disbursement of grant funds without a proper Grant Agreement, that disbursement is void and the Department will take action under the Grant Funds Recovery Act [30 ILCS 705] to recover any funds disbursed. At a minimum, a Grant Agreement must:

 

1)         Describe the purpose of the grant and be signed by the Director and the grantee;

 

2)         Specify the manner in which payments will be made, what constitutes permissible expenditure of the grant funds, and the financial controls applicable to the grant;

 

3)         The period of time for which the grant is valid;

 

4)         Contain a provision that any grantees receiving grant funds are required to permit the Department, the Auditor General, or the Attorney General to inspect and audit any books, records, or papers related to the program, project, or use for which grant funds were provided;

 

5)         Contain a provision that all funds remaining at the end of the Grant Agreement or at the expiration of the period of time grant funds are available for expenditure or obligation by the grantee shall be returned to the State within 45 days; and

 

6)         Contain a provision in which the grantee certifies under oath that all information in the Grant Agreement is true and correct to the best of the grantee's knowledge, information, and belief; that the funds shall be used only for the purposes described in the Grant Agreement; and that the award of grant funds is conditioned upon such certification. [730 ILCS 705/4(b)(3) through (6)]

 

f)         The local sponsoring agency is required to enter into a Grant Agreement with the Department for an amount agreed upon as necessary to complete the approved project, specifying the related grant amount and program activity.

 

g)         All grant recipients shall publically acknowledge the grant by a statement on any written material being distributed, a sign located where it may be seen by the general public at the location of real property used by the recipient, a sign or decal on any vehicles or durable equipment purchased pursuant to a grant, or other appropriate public acknowledgement of the grant.

 

h)         It shall be understood by the project sponsor that a Department representative may make periodic inspections of the project as the project progresses, and that an audit must be made by a representative of the Department prior to acceptance of the completed project.

 

i)          Grants are for a period of one year.  Expenditure authorizations passed by the Committee may be extended by the Department for no more than 12 months.

 

j)          For those grants in excess of $25,000, the filing of quarterly reports describing the progress of the program, project, or use and the expenditure of the grant funds related to it shall be submitted to the Department. [30 ILCS 705/4(b)(2)]

 

k)         Each recipient of a program grant must file a report with the Department no later than 30 days after the conclusion of the grant period, detailing the expenditures made by the grantee.  If a service grant, the report shall include:  specific assistance given to veterans; how many veterans were assisted; an evaluation of whether the service achieved its goals and is valuable enough to continue in operation; and whether the service may continue without continued use of program funding.  If a research grant, the report shall include the results of the research, any conclusion that can be drawn from the research, and a report suitable for inclusion in a peer review publication.

 

l)          The sponsoring agency shall indemnify, protect, defend and hold harmless the Department from any and all liability, costs, damages, expenses or claims arising under, through or by virtue of the operation and maintenance of grant-assisted facilities or programs.  

 

m)        The applicant's previous grant history with the Department will be considered when reviewing grant applications.

 

(Source:  Amended at 38 Ill. Reg. 7328, effective March 12, 2014)

 

Section 125.80  Disqualification

 

No grant may be approved:

 

a)         For any amount in excess of $100,000.

 

b)         To an applicant that is not a governmental entity or a tax exempt entity.

 

c)         To an applicant that is non-compliant on a previous grant, including the failure to supply a proper concluding report.

 

d)         To an applicant delinquent in any payments to the State of Illinois.

 

e)         For any purpose other than research or service relating to the program objectives.

 

f)         For a service grant to any applicant who will not be performing the service within the State of Illinois.

 

g)         For travel costs for out-of-state travel.

 

h)         For salaries, except for a Veteran Service Organization that meets the provisions of Section 25(c) of the Department of Veterans Affairs Act [20 ILCS 2805/25(c)] and secures federal veteran-related benefits for veterans and/or their survivors, or for specific services authorized in the grant agreement.

 

(Source:  Amended at 38 Ill. Reg. 7328, effective March 12, 2014)

 

Section 125.APPENDIX A   Project Evaluation Criteria

 

a)         NEED − 25%

 

1)         Population served (Proximity to high population areas)

 

2)         Project of national, State, regional or local significance

 

3)         General − first service in service area

 

A)        Major expansion to existing service system or significant additional service in service area

 

B)        Addresses a major safety issue

 

b)         CHARACTERISTICS OF SERVICE − 25%

 

1)         Complements existing service plans

 

2)         Unique service

 

3)         Adjacent services compatible

 

4)         Safety hazards (negative)

 

5)         Multiple benefits (PSTD, homelessness, etc.) bonus

 

c)         DEVELOPMENT PLAN − 25%

 

d)         ABILITY TO MAINTAIN − 25%