# Illinois HB1562: DHS-OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY PILOT

Illinois HB1562, DHS-OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY PILOT, is a 104th General Assembly (2025–2026) House bill sponsored by Charles Meier (Republican); status in committee, last action 2026-03-27 (Rule 19(a) / Re-referred to Rules Committee) (as of 2026-11-01).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/IL-HB1562-2025-2026
- As of: 2026-11-01
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Illinois HB1562
- State: Illinois
- Session: 104th General Assembly (2025–2026)
- Title: DHS-OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY PILOT
- Status: in committee
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2025-01-21
- Last action: 2026-03-27, Rule 19(a) / Re-referred to Rules Committee
- Sponsor: Charles Meier (Republican)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Subjects: appropriations-health and human services
- Touches household money: no
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 0

## Summary

Amends the Department of Human Services Act. Requires the Department of Human Services to establish and administer, no later than January 1, 2026, a 5-year pilot program that integrates an occupational therapy component into the State's home-delivered meals program, commonly known as Meals on Wheels, authorized under the federal Older Americans Act. Provides that under the pilot program, the Department shall award grants funded under the Section 14(c) transition program to eligible community agencies for the purpose of training and employing qualifying workers with disabilities to accompany Meals on Wheels drivers on their regular delivery routes and assist in the delivery of meals to homebound meal recipients who opt to participate in the pilot program. Provides that at the option of a participating homebound meal recipient, a qualifying worker may remain with the recipient for up to 2 hours after meal delivery to provide an opportunity for social engagement and interaction. Provides that a direct support professional shall travel with and supervise all deliveries made by a worker whose disability makes the worker less independent. Sets forth qualification requirements under the program for workers with disabilities. Provides that all workers with disabilities selected to participate in the pilot program shall be compensated at a rate level consistent with those wage standards applied for workers engaged in competitive integrated employment as defined in the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Requires community agencies selected to receive grant funding under the pilot program to have active or pending subminimum wage certificates authorized under Section 14(c) of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 and meet any other eligibility requirements established by the Department by rule. Requires the Department to conduct annual surveys during the duration of the pilot program on participating homebound meal recipients and workers with disabilities to gauge such participants' overall satisfaction with the pilot program and to document any other additional benefits to program participants. Effective July 1, 2025.

## Bill overview

No economic impacts identified for this bill.

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Charles Meier (Republican), House

## Actions (7)

- 2026-03-27: Rule 19(a) / Re-referred to Rules Committee (House)
- 2026-03-18: Assigned to Appropriations-Health and Human Services Committee (House)
- 2025-03-21: Rule 19(a) / Re-referred to Rules Committee (House)
- 2025-02-18: Assigned to Appropriations-Health and Human Services Committee (House)
- 2025-01-28: Referred to Rules Committee (House)
- 2025-01-28: First Reading (House)
- 2025-01-21: Filed with the Clerk by Rep. Charles Meier (House)

## Bill text

- Introduced: [PDF](https://www.ilga.gov/documents/legislation/104/HB/PDF/10400HB1562.pdf)

## Related bills

- HB5198: AFFORDABLE HOUSING-CILAS (passed house)
- SB1937: PENSION CODE-VARIOUS (passed senate)
- HB2563: CONDO-RESERVE STUDY (in committee)
- HB4701: LIMITATIONS FACILITY FEES ACT (in committee)
- SB3008: DHS-ABLE PROGRAM INFO MATERIAL (passed senate)
- SB3484: VEH CD-PLATES-REGISTRATION (signed)

## Sources
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://www.ilga.gov/documents/legislation/104/HB/PDF/10400HB1562.pdf)

## Related
- [HB5198: AFFORDABLE HOUSING-CILAS](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/IL-HB5198-2025-2026)
- [SB1937: PENSION CODE-VARIOUS](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/IL-SB1937-2025-2026)
- [HB2563: CONDO-RESERVE STUDY](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/IL-HB2563-2025-2026)
- [HB4701: LIMITATIONS FACILITY FEES ACT](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/IL-HB4701-2025-2026)
- [SB3008: DHS-ABLE PROGRAM INFO MATERIAL](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/IL-SB3008-2025-2026)
- [SB3484: VEH CD-PLATES-REGISTRATION](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/IL-SB3484-2025-2026)
- [Illinois bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/illinois/bills)
- [Illinois state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/illinois)
- [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/IL-HB1562-2025-2026 (as of 2026-11-01).