101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
HB1462

 

Introduced , by Rep. Sara Feigenholtz

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
New Act
5 ILCS 140/7.5

    Creates the Children's Mental Health Ombudsman Program Act. Provides that the Children's Mental Health Ombudsman Program (Program) is created in the Office of the Governor for specified purposes, including for the purposes of advocating on behalf of children with mental health disorders, identifying barriers to effective mental health treatment and proposed solutions; monitoring and ensuring compliance with relevant statutes, regulations, rules, and policies pertaining to children's behavioral health services; and investigating complaints that a State or a government agency has engaged in activities, practices, or omissions that constitute violations of applicable court orders, statutes, or regulations or that may have an adverse effect upon the health, safety, welfare, or rights of children. Provides that the Governor shall appoint the Children's Mental Health Ombudsman (Ombudsman). Requires the Ombudsman, in consultation with other specified persons, to establish policies and procedures as needed to facilitate compliance with the provisions of the Program, including procedures for filing, investigating, and resolving complaints. Grants the Ombudsman subpoena powers. Requires the Ombudsman to: (i) monitor federal, State, and local statutes, rules, regulations, and policies regarding services and supports for children with mental health disorders; (ii) maintain complete records of complaints received; (iii) submit annual reports to the Governor and the General Assembly on the activities of the Program; (iv) adopt rules that are necessary for performing the required activities of the Program; and other matters. Amends the Freedom of Information Act. Exempts from disclosure all information and records acquired by the Ombudsman during the performance of his or her duties.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

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1    AN ACT concerning children.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5Children's Mental Health Ombudsman Program Act.
 
6    Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act:
7    "Mental health disorder" has the same meaning as "mental
8illness" under Section 1-129 of the Mental Health and
9Developmental Disabilities Code.
10    "Ombudsman" means the Children's Mental Health Ombudsman.
 
11    Section 10. Children's Mental Health Ombudsman Program.
12There is created in the Office of the Governor a Children's
13Mental Health Ombudsman Program for the purposes of: advocating
14on behalf of children with mental health disorders, and
15identifying barriers to effective mental health treatment and
16proposed solutions; monitoring and ensuring compliance with
17relevant statutes, regulations, rules, and policies pertaining
18to children's behavioral health services; and receiving,
19investigating, and resolving through administrative action, as
20described in Section 20, complaints filed by a child or by
21individuals legally authorized to act on behalf of a child or
22children or by any individual, organization, or government

 

 

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1agency that has reason to believe that any entity regulated by
2the State or a government agency has engaged in activities,
3practices, or omissions that constitute violations of
4applicable court orders, statutes, rules, or regulations or
5that may have an adverse effect upon the health, safety,
6welfare, or rights of children. The Children's Mental Health
7Ombudsman, appointed by the Governor as provided in Section 15,
8has the authority to temporarily order State agencies and local
9educational authorities to assume full or partial
10responsibility for payment of costs of services for which a
11child has been determined eligible when the delivery of those
12services is delayed more than 14 days because agreement on
13responsibility for payment cannot be reached.
 
14    Section 15. Children's Mental Health Ombudsman;
15appointment. The Governor shall appoint the Children's Mental
16Health Ombudsman who shall be a person qualified by training
17and experience to perform the duties of the Children's Mental
18Health Ombudsman Program. The Ombudsman, in consultation with
19the Secretary of Human Services, the Director of Healthcare and
20Family Services, the Director of the Division of Mental Health
21within the Department of Human Services, and the State
22Superintendent of Education, shall establish policies and
23procedures as needed to facilitate compliance with the
24Children's Mental Health Ombudsman Program. These policies and
25procedures shall include procedures for filing complaints,

 

 

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1investigating complaints, and taking action to implement
2resolutions to these complaints, including the use of State
3agency enforcement authority to resolve complaints as
4recommended by the Ombudsman.
 
5    Section 20. Investigations.
6    (a) The Children's Mental Health Ombudsman has the power to
7subpoena witnesses and compel the production of all documents,
8papers, books, records, reports, reviews, recommendations,
9correspondence, data, and other evidence that the Ombudsman
10reasonably believes is relevant to his or her investigations
11authorized under this Act. If any person to whom a subpoena is
12issued fails to appear or, having appeared, refuses to give
13testimony or fails to produce the evidence required, the
14Ombudsman may apply to any circuit court to issue an order to
15compel the testimony and production of documents of any such
16witness. The failure to comply with the order of the court
17issued in response thereto shall be punished as a contempt.
18    (b) No discriminatory or retaliatory action shall be taken
19against any person who communicates with or provides
20information to the Ombudsman. Any person who knowingly or
21willfully discriminates or retaliates against such a person
22shall be liable to such person for treble damages, costs, and
23attorney's fees.
24    (c) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the
25disclosure of information to the Ombudsman in accordance with

 

 

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1this Act is not prohibited. Any information considered to be
2confidential under State law shall be submitted for the
3Ombudsman's review upon the determination of the Ombudsman that
4the review of the information is necessary. The Ombudsman shall
5ensure that no information submitted for his or her review is
6disseminated to parties outside the Children's Mental Health
7Ombudsman Program, except when disclosure may be necessary to
8enable the Ombudsman to perform his or her duties. Under no
9circumstances shall the Ombudsman or any employee of the
10Children's Mental Health Ombudsman Program violate the
11confidentiality provisions of any law of this State, except as
12authorized under subsection (e).
13    Any and all information and records acquired by the
14Ombudsman in the exercise of his or her purposes and duties
15under this Act are confidential and not subject to disclosure
16under the Freedom of Information Act.
17    Information, documents, and records of the Ombudsman and
18the Children's Mental Health Ombudsman Program are not subject
19to subpoena, discovery, or introduction into evidence in any
20civil or criminal proceeding; however, information, documents,
21and records otherwise available from any other source are not
22immune from subpoena, discovery, or introduction into evidence
23through these sources solely because they were presented during
24the Ombudsman's investigation or maintained by the Children's
25Mental Health Ombudsman Program.
26    (d) Statistical compilations of data that do not contain

 

 

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1any information that would permit the identification of any
2person may be disclosed to the public.
3    (e) The restrictions of this Section do not preclude the
4Ombudsman from sharing with the Governor, the Attorney General,
5a United States district attorney, an agency or other agency
6personnel, or the chairs of the Senate Human Services Committee
7and the House Special Needs Services Committee the report of,
8or the results of, a critical incident investigation involving
9that agency. Any executive or legislative branch employees who
10receive or read such a document are bound by the
11confidentiality requirements of this Section.
 
12    Section 25. Duties. To ensure the goals of the Children's
13Mental Health Ombudsman Program, as described in Section 10,
14are met:
15        (1) the Ombudsman shall monitor the development and
16    implementation of federal, State, and local statutes,
17    rules, regulations, and policies regarding services and
18    supports for children with mental health disorders,
19    including the education of these children;
20        (2) the Ombudsman shall maintain complete records of
21    complaints received, the actions taken, findings,
22    outcomes, and recommendations in response to those
23    complaints and other actions, including those taken by the
24    State and private agency responses to serious complaints;
25        (3) each quarter, the Ombudsman shall send a report to

 

 

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1    each State agency about which complaints were received by
2    the Ombudsman during the relevant period, listing the
3    complaints involving that State agency that were received
4    during the past quarter, and shall meet regularly with the
5    Office of the Governor, the Secretary of Human Services,
6    the Director of Healthcare and Family Services, the
7    Director of the Division of Mental Health within the
8    Department of Human Services, and the State Superintendent
9    of Education, and shall report on any system-wide problems
10    that the Ombudsman has identified, and potential
11    solutions;
12        (4) the Ombudsman shall report annually, within 120
13    days of the end of the fiscal year, to the Governor and the
14    General Assembly on the activities of the Children's Mental
15    Health Ombudsman Program, including complaints that are
16    relevant to the Ombudsman, an analysis of patterns in
17    complaints made through the Ombudsman, and requests for
18    assistance made through the Department of Insurance, the
19    Department of Children and Family Services' Office of the
20    Inspector General, and the Department of Human Services'
21    Office of the Inspector General, and shall make
22    recommendations for legislation, policy, or programmatic
23    changes related to the protection of the rights of children
24    with mental health disorders. These reports shall be
25    publicly available and published on the Office of the
26    Governor's website. The requirement for reporting to the

 

 

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1    General Assembly shall be satisfied by filing copies of the
2    report as required by Section 3.1 of the General Assembly
3    Organization Act, and filing such additional copies with
4    the State Government Report Distribution Center for the
5    General Assembly as is required under paragraph (t) of
6    Section 7 of the State Library Act.
 
7    Section 30. Additional policies. The Ombudsman shall adopt
8rules, policies, and procedures as necessary for performing the
9required activities of the Children's Mental Health Ombudsman
10Program.
 
11    Section 35. The Freedom of Information Act is amended by
12changing Section 7.5 as follows:
 
13    (5 ILCS 140/7.5)
14    Sec. 7.5. Statutory exemptions. To the extent provided for
15by the statutes referenced below, the following shall be exempt
16from inspection and copying:
17        (a) All information determined to be confidential
18    under Section 4002 of the Technology Advancement and
19    Development Act.
20        (b) Library circulation and order records identifying
21    library users with specific materials under the Library
22    Records Confidentiality Act.
23        (c) Applications, related documents, and medical

 

 

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1    records received by the Experimental Organ Transplantation
2    Procedures Board and any and all documents or other records
3    prepared by the Experimental Organ Transplantation
4    Procedures Board or its staff relating to applications it
5    has received.
6        (d) Information and records held by the Department of
7    Public Health and its authorized representatives relating
8    to known or suspected cases of sexually transmissible
9    disease or any information the disclosure of which is
10    restricted under the Illinois Sexually Transmissible
11    Disease Control Act.
12        (e) Information the disclosure of which is exempted
13    under Section 30 of the Radon Industry Licensing Act.
14        (f) Firm performance evaluations under Section 55 of
15    the Architectural, Engineering, and Land Surveying
16    Qualifications Based Selection Act.
17        (g) Information the disclosure of which is restricted
18    and exempted under Section 50 of the Illinois Prepaid
19    Tuition Act.
20        (h) Information the disclosure of which is exempted
21    under the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act, and
22    records of any lawfully created State or local inspector
23    general's office that would be exempt if created or
24    obtained by an Executive Inspector General's office under
25    that Act.
26        (i) Information contained in a local emergency energy

 

 

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1    plan submitted to a municipality in accordance with a local
2    emergency energy plan ordinance that is adopted under
3    Section 11-21.5-5 of the Illinois Municipal Code.
4        (j) Information and data concerning the distribution
5    of surcharge moneys collected and remitted by carriers
6    under the Emergency Telephone System Act.
7        (k) Law enforcement officer identification information
8    or driver identification information compiled by a law
9    enforcement agency or the Department of Transportation
10    under Section 11-212 of the Illinois Vehicle Code.
11        (l) Records and information provided to a residential
12    health care facility resident sexual assault and death
13    review team or the Executive Council under the Abuse
14    Prevention Review Team Act.
15        (m) Information provided to the predatory lending
16    database created pursuant to Article 3 of the Residential
17    Real Property Disclosure Act, except to the extent
18    authorized under that Article.
19        (n) Defense budgets and petitions for certification of
20    compensation and expenses for court appointed trial
21    counsel as provided under Sections 10 and 15 of the Capital
22    Crimes Litigation Act. This subsection (n) shall apply
23    until the conclusion of the trial of the case, even if the
24    prosecution chooses not to pursue the death penalty prior
25    to trial or sentencing.
26        (o) Information that is prohibited from being

 

 

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1    disclosed under Section 4 of the Illinois Health and
2    Hazardous Substances Registry Act.
3        (p) Security portions of system safety program plans,
4    investigation reports, surveys, schedules, lists, data, or
5    information compiled, collected, or prepared by or for the
6    Regional Transportation Authority under Section 2.11 of
7    the Regional Transportation Authority Act or the St. Clair
8    County Transit District under the Bi-State Transit Safety
9    Act.
10        (q) Information prohibited from being disclosed by the
11    Personnel Record Records Review Act.
12        (r) Information prohibited from being disclosed by the
13    Illinois School Student Records Act.
14        (s) Information the disclosure of which is restricted
15    under Section 5-108 of the Public Utilities Act.
16        (t) All identified or deidentified health information
17    in the form of health data or medical records contained in,
18    stored in, submitted to, transferred by, or released from
19    the Illinois Health Information Exchange, and identified
20    or deidentified health information in the form of health
21    data and medical records of the Illinois Health Information
22    Exchange in the possession of the Illinois Health
23    Information Exchange Authority due to its administration
24    of the Illinois Health Information Exchange. The terms
25    "identified" and "deidentified" shall be given the same
26    meaning as in the Health Insurance Portability and

 

 

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1    Accountability Act of 1996, Public Law 104-191, or any
2    subsequent amendments thereto, and any regulations
3    promulgated thereunder.
4        (u) Records and information provided to an independent
5    team of experts under the Developmental Disability and
6    Mental Health Safety Act (also known as Brian's Law).
7        (v) Names and information of people who have applied
8    for or received Firearm Owner's Identification Cards under
9    the Firearm Owners Identification Card Act or applied for
10    or received a concealed carry license under the Firearm
11    Concealed Carry Act, unless otherwise authorized by the
12    Firearm Concealed Carry Act; and databases under the
13    Firearm Concealed Carry Act, records of the Concealed Carry
14    Licensing Review Board under the Firearm Concealed Carry
15    Act, and law enforcement agency objections under the
16    Firearm Concealed Carry Act.
17        (w) Personally identifiable information which is
18    exempted from disclosure under subsection (g) of Section
19    19.1 of the Toll Highway Act.
20        (x) Information which is exempted from disclosure
21    under Section 5-1014.3 of the Counties Code or Section
22    8-11-21 of the Illinois Municipal Code.
23        (y) Confidential information under the Adult
24    Protective Services Act and its predecessor enabling
25    statute, the Elder Abuse and Neglect Act, including
26    information about the identity and administrative finding

 

 

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1    against any caregiver of a verified and substantiated
2    decision of abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation of an
3    eligible adult maintained in the Registry established
4    under Section 7.5 of the Adult Protective Services Act.
5        (z) Records and information provided to a fatality
6    review team or the Illinois Fatality Review Team Advisory
7    Council under Section 15 of the Adult Protective Services
8    Act.
9        (aa) Information which is exempted from disclosure
10    under Section 2.37 of the Wildlife Code.
11        (bb) Information which is or was prohibited from
12    disclosure by the Juvenile Court Act of 1987.
13        (cc) Recordings made under the Law Enforcement
14    Officer-Worn Body Camera Act, except to the extent
15    authorized under that Act.
16        (dd) Information that is prohibited from being
17    disclosed under Section 45 of the Condominium and Common
18    Interest Community Ombudsperson Act.
19        (ee) Information that is exempted from disclosure
20    under Section 30.1 of the Pharmacy Practice Act.
21        (ff) Information that is exempted from disclosure
22    under the Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act.
23        (gg) Information that is prohibited from being
24    disclosed under Section 7-603.5 of the Illinois Vehicle
25    Code.
26        (hh) Records that are exempt from disclosure under

 

 

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1    Section 1A-16.7 of the Election Code.
2        (ii) Information which is exempted from disclosure
3    under Section 2505-800 of the Department of Revenue Law of
4    the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois.
5        (jj) Information and reports that are required to be
6    submitted to the Department of Labor by registering day and
7    temporary labor service agencies but are exempt from
8    disclosure under subsection (a-1) of Section 45 of the Day
9    and Temporary Labor Services Act.
10        (kk) Information prohibited from disclosure under the
11    Seizure and Forfeiture Reporting Act.
12        (ll) Information the disclosure of which is restricted
13    and exempted under Section 5-30.8 of the Illinois Public
14    Aid Code.
15        (mm) (ll) Records that are exempt from disclosure under
16    Section 4.2 of the Crime Victims Compensation Act.
17        (nn) (ll) Information that is exempt from disclosure
18    under Section 70 of the Higher Education Student Assistance
19    Act.
20        (oo) Information that is exempt from disclosure under
21    Section 15 of the Children's Mental Health Ombudsman
22    Program Act.
23(Source: P.A. 99-78, eff. 7-20-15; 99-298, eff. 8-6-15; 99-352,
24eff. 1-1-16; 99-642, eff. 7-28-16; 99-776, eff. 8-12-16;
2599-863, eff. 8-19-16; 100-20, eff. 7-1-17; 100-22, eff. 1-1-18;
26100-201, eff. 8-18-17; 100-373, eff. 1-1-18; 100-464, eff.

 

 

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18-28-17; 100-465, eff. 8-31-17; 100-512, eff. 7-1-18; 100-517,
2eff. 6-1-18; 100-646, eff. 7-27-18; 100-690, eff. 1-1-19;
3100-863, eff. 8-14-18; 100-887, eff. 8-14-18; revised
410-12-18.)