Section 312.230  Apprenticeship Incentive Program Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible for the Apprenticeship Incentive Program, an applicant must:

a)         Be a youth for whom the Department is legally responsible, an adopted youth, or a youth in private guardianship, as those terms are defined in Section 312.20.

1)         If the applicant is a youth in private guardianship, the applicant must have been placed in private guardianship under a subsidized guardianship agreement with the Department.

2)         If the applicant is an adopted youth, the applicant must have been adopted under an adoption assistance agreement with the Department.

b)         Have earned a diploma from an accredited high school, or earned a high school equivalency certificate, or met State criteria for graduation from an accredited high school.

c)         Enroll in an apprenticeship training program approved or recognized by the Illinois Department of Employment Security or an apprenticeship program approved by the United States Department of Labor or Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity before reaching the age of 26.

1)         The age requirement shall be waived and the applicant's eligibility for apprenticeship incentives shall be extended if the Department determines that the applicant was unable to enroll in a qualifying apprenticeship program because the applicant:

A)        was called into active duty with the United States Armed Forces;

B)        was deployed for service in the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps; or

C)        volunteered in the Peace Corps or the AmeriCorps. [20 ILCS 505/8(c)]

2)         If the Department determines that an applicant was unable to enroll due to any of these circumstances, it shall extend eligibility for a qualifying applicant by the total number of months or years during which the applicant served on active duty with the United States Armed Forces, was deployed for service in the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, or volunteered in the Peace Corps or the AmeriCorps. The number of months an applicant served on active duty with the United States Armed Forces shall be rounded up to the next higher year to determine the maximum length of time to extend eligibility for the applicant. [20 ILCS 505/8(c)]

(Source:  Added at 50 Ill. Reg. 9789, effective July 6, 2026)