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Public Act 92-0473
SB1504 Enrolled LRB9206158LBmb
AN ACT in relation to health care.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Mental Health and Developmental
Disabilities Administrative Act is amended by adding Section
7.3 as follows:
(20 ILCS 1705/7.3 new)
Sec. 7.3. Nurse aide registry; finding of abuse or
neglect. The Department shall require that no facility,
service agency, or support agency providing mental health or
developmental disability services that is licensed,
certified, operated, or funded by the Department shall employ
a person, in any capacity, who is identified by the nurse
aide registry as having been subject of a substantiated
finding of abuse or neglect of a service recipient. The
Department shall establish and maintain the rules that are
necessary or appropriate to effectuate the intent of this
Section. The provisions of this Section shall not apply to
any facility, service agency, or support agency licensed or
certified by a State agency other than the Department, unless
operated by the Department of Human Services.
Section 10. The Abused and Neglected Long Term Care
Facility Residents Reporting Act is amended by changing
Section 6.2 as follows:
(210 ILCS 30/6.2) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 4166.2)
(Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2002)
Sec. 6.2. Inspector General.
(a) The Governor shall appoint, and the Senate shall
confirm, an Inspector General who shall function within the
Department of Human Services and report to the Secretary of
Human Services and the Governor. The Inspector General shall
investigate reports of suspected abuse or neglect (as those
terms are defined in Section 3 of this Act) of patients or
residents in any mental health or developmental disabilities
facility operated by the Department of Human Services and
shall have authority to investigate and take immediate action
on reports of abuse or neglect of recipients, whether
patients or residents, in any mental health or developmental
disabilities facility or program that is licensed or
certified by the Department of Human Services (as successor
to the Department of Mental Health and Developmental
Disabilities) or that is funded by the Department of Human
Services (as successor to the Department of Mental Health and
Developmental Disabilities) and is not licensed or certified
by any agency of the State. At the specific, written request
of an agency of the State other than the Department of Human
Services (as successor to the Department of Mental Health and
Developmental Disabilities), the Inspector General may
cooperate in investigating reports of abuse and neglect of
persons with mental illness or persons with developmental
disabilities. The Inspector General shall have no
supervision over or involvement in routine, programmatic,
licensure, or certification operations of the Department of
Human Services or any of its funded agencies.
The Inspector General shall promulgate rules establishing
minimum requirements for reporting allegations of abuse and
neglect and initiating, conducting, and completing
investigations. The promulgated rules shall clearly set
forth that in instances where 2 or more State agencies could
investigate an allegation of abuse or neglect, the Inspector
General shall not conduct an investigation that is redundant
to an investigation conducted by another State agency. The
rules shall establish criteria for determining, based upon
the nature of the allegation, the appropriate method of
investigation, which may include, but need not be limited to,
site visits, telephone contacts, or requests for written
responses from agencies. The rules shall also clarify how
the Office of the Inspector General shall interact with the
licensing unit of the Department of Human Services in
investigations of allegations of abuse or neglect. Any
allegations or investigations of reports made pursuant to
this Act shall remain confidential until a final report is
completed. The resident or patient who allegedly was abused
or neglected and his or her legal guardian shall be informed
by the facility or agency of the report of alleged abuse or
neglect. Final reports regarding unsubstantiated or unfounded
allegations shall remain confidential, except that final
reports may be disclosed pursuant to Section 6 of this Act.
The Inspector General shall be appointed for a term of 4
years.
When the Office of the Inspector General has
substantiated a case of abuse or neglect, the Inspector
General shall include in the final report any mitigating or
aggravating circumstances that were identified during the
investigation. Upon determination that a report of neglect
is substantiated, the Inspector General shall then determine
whether such neglect rises to the level of egregious neglect.
(b) The Inspector General shall within 24 hours after
receiving a report of suspected abuse or neglect determine
whether the evidence indicates that any possible criminal act
has been committed. If he determines that a possible criminal
act has been committed, or that special expertise is required
in the investigation, he shall immediately notify the
Department of State Police. The Department of State Police
shall investigate any report indicating a possible murder,
rape, or other felony. All investigations conducted by the
Inspector General shall be conducted in a manner designed to
ensure the preservation of evidence for possible use in a
criminal prosecution.
(b-5) The Inspector General shall make a determination
to accept or reject a preliminary report of the investigation
of alleged abuse or neglect based on established
investigative procedures. Notice of the Inspector General's
determination must be given to the person who claims to be
the victim of the abuse or neglect, to the person or persons
alleged to have been responsible for abuse or neglect, and to
the facility or agency. The facility or agency or the person
or persons alleged to have been responsible for the abuse or
neglect and the person who claims to be the victim of the
abuse or neglect may request clarification or reconsideration
based on additional information. For cases where the
allegation of abuse or neglect is substantiated, the
Inspector General shall require the facility or agency to
submit a written response. The written response from a
facility or agency shall address in a concise and reasoned
manner the actions that the agency or facility will take or
has taken to protect the resident or patient from abuse or
neglect, prevent reoccurrences, and eliminate problems
identified and shall include implementation and completion
dates for all such action.
(c) The Inspector General shall, within 10 calendar days
after the transmittal date of a completed investigation where
abuse or neglect is substantiated or administrative action is
recommended, provide a complete report on the case to the
Secretary of Human Services and to the agency in which the
abuse or neglect is alleged to have happened. The complete
report shall include a written response from the agency or
facility operated by the State to the Inspector General that
addresses in a concise and reasoned manner the actions that
the agency or facility will take or has taken to protect the
resident or patient from abuse or neglect, prevent
reoccurrences, and eliminate problems identified and shall
include implementation and completion dates for all such
action. The Secretary of Human Services shall accept or
reject the response and establish how the Department will
determine whether the facility or program followed the
approved response. The Secretary may require Department
personnel to visit the facility or agency for training,
technical assistance, programmatic, licensure, or
certification purposes. Administrative action, including
sanctions, may be applied should the Secretary reject the
response or should the facility or agency fail to follow the
approved response. The facility or agency shall inform the
resident or patient and the legal guardian whether the
reported allegation was substantiated, unsubstantiated, or
unfounded. There shall be an appeals process for any person
or agency that is subject to any action based on a
recommendation or recommendations.
(d) The Inspector General may recommend to the
Departments of Public Health and Human Services sanctions to
be imposed against mental health and developmental
disabilities facilities under the jurisdiction of the
Department of Human Services for the protection of residents,
including appointment of on-site monitors or receivers,
transfer or relocation of residents, and closure of units.
The Inspector General may seek the assistance of the Attorney
General or any of the several State's attorneys in imposing
such sanctions.
(e) The Inspector General shall establish and conduct
periodic training programs for Department employees
concerning the prevention and reporting of neglect and abuse.
(f) The Inspector General shall at all times be granted
access to any mental health or developmental disabilities
facility operated by the Department, shall establish and
conduct unannounced site visits to those facilities at least
once annually, and shall be granted access, for the purpose
of investigating a report of abuse or neglect, to any
facility or program funded by the Department that is subject
under the provisions of this Section to investigation by the
Inspector General for a report of abuse or neglect.
(g) Nothing in this Section shall limit investigations
by the Department of Human Services that may otherwise be
required by law or that may be necessary in that Department's
capacity as the central administrative authority responsible
for the operation of State mental health and developmental
disability facilities.
(g-5) After notice and an opportunity for a hearing that
is separate and distinct from the Office of the Inspector
General's appeals process as implemented under subsection (c)
of this Section, the Inspector General shall report to the
Department of Public Health's nurse aide registry under
Section 3-206.01 of the Nursing Home Care Act the identity of
individuals against whom there has been a substantiated
finding of physical or sexual abuse or egregious neglect of a
service recipient.
Nothing in this subsection shall diminish or impair the
rights of a person who is a member of a collective bargaining
unit pursuant to the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act or
pursuant to any federal labor statute. An individual who is
a member of a collective bargaining unit as described above
shall not be reported to the Department of Public Health's
nurse aide registry until the exhaustion of that individual's
grievance and arbitration rights, or until 3 months after the
initiation of the grievance process, whichever occurs first,
provided that the Department of Human Services' hearing under
subsection (c), that is separate and distinct from the Office
of the Inspector General's appeals process, has concluded.
Notwithstanding anything hereinafter or previously provided,
if an action taken by an employer against an individual as a
result of the circumstances that led to a finding of physical
or sexual abuse or egregious neglect is later overturned
under a grievance or arbitration procedure provided for in
Section 8 of the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act or under
a collective bargaining agreement, the report must be removed
from the registry.
The Department of Human Services shall promulgate or
amend rules as necessary or appropriate to establish
procedures for reporting to the registry, including the
definition of egregious neglect, procedures for notice to the
individual and victim, appeal and hearing procedures, and
petition for removal of the report from the registry. The
portion of the rules pertaining to hearings shall provide
that, at the hearing, both parties may present written and
oral evidence. The Department shall be required to
establish by a preponderance of the evidence that the Office
of the Inspector General's finding of physical or sexual
abuse or egregious neglect warrants reporting to the
Department of Public Health's nurse aide registry under
Section 3-206.01 of the Nursing Home Care Act.
Notice to the individual shall include a clear and
concise statement of the grounds on which the report to the
registry is based and notice of the opportunity for a hearing
to contest the report. The Department of Human Services shall
provide the notice by certified mail to the last known
address of the individual. The notice shall give the
individual an opportunity to contest the report in a hearing
before the Department of Human Services or to submit a
written response to the findings instead of requesting a
hearing. If the individual does not request a hearing or if
after notice and a hearing the Department of Human Services
finds that the report is valid, the finding shall be included
as part of the registry, as well as a brief statement from
the reported individual if he or she chooses to make a
statement. The Department of Public Health shall make
available to the public information reported to the registry.
In a case of inquiries concerning an individual listed in the
registry, any information disclosed concerning a finding of
abuse or neglect shall also include disclosure of the
individual's brief statement in the registry relating to the
reported finding or include a clear and accurate summary of
the statement.
At any time after the report of the registry, an
individual may petition the Department of Human Services for
removal from the registry of the finding against him or her.
Upon receipt of such a petition, the Department of Human
Services shall conduct an investigation and hearing on the
petition. Upon completion of the investigation and hearing,
the Department of Human Services shall report the removal of
the finding to the registry unless the Department of Human
Services determines that removal is not in the public
interest.
(h) This Section is repealed on January 1, 2002.
(Source: P.A. 90-252, eff. 7-29-97; 90-512, eff. 8-22-97;
90-655, eff. 7-30-98; 91-169, eff. 7-16-99.)
Section 15. The Nursing Home Care Act is amended by
changing Section 3-206.1 as follows:
(210 ILCS 45/3-206.01) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par.
4153-206.01)
Sec. 3-206.01. Nurse aide registry.
(a) The Department shall establish and maintain a
registry of all individuals who have satisfactorily completed
the training required by Section 3-206. The registry shall
include the name of the nursing assistant, habilitation aide,
or child care aide, his or her current address, Social
Security number, and the date and location of the training
course completed by the individual, and the date of the
individual's last criminal records check. Any individual
placed on the registry is required to inform the Department
of any change of address within 30 days. A facility shall not
employ an individual as a nursing assistant, habilitation
aide, or child care aide unless the facility has inquired of
the Department as to information in the registry concerning
the individual and shall not employ anyone not on the
registry unless the individual is enrolled in a training
program under paragraph (5) of subsection (a) of Section
3-206 of this Act.
If the Department finds that a nursing assistant,
habilitation aide, or child care aide has abused a resident,
neglected a resident, or misappropriated resident property in
a facility, the Department shall notify the individual of
this finding by certified mail sent to the address contained
in the registry. The notice shall give the individual an
opportunity to contest the finding in a hearing before the
Department or to submit a written response to the findings in
lieu of requesting a hearing. If, after a hearing or if the
individual does not request a hearing, the Department finds
that the individual abused a resident, neglected a resident,
or misappropriated resident property in a facility, the
finding shall be included as part of the registry as well as
a brief statement from the individual, if he or she chooses
to make such a statement. The Department shall make
information in the registry available to the public. In the
case of inquiries to the registry concerning an individual
listed in the registry, any information disclosed concerning
such a finding shall also include disclosure of any statement
in the registry relating to the finding or a clear and
accurate summary of the statement.
(b) The Department shall add to the nurse aide registry
records of findings as reported by the Inspector General or
remove from the nurse aide registry records of findings as
reported by the Department of Human Services, under Section
6.2 of the Abuse and Neglected Long Term Care Facility
Residents Reporting Act.
(Source: P.A. 91-598, eff. 1-1-00.)
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect on
January 1, 2002.
Passed in the General Assembly May 31, 2001.
Approved August 22, 2001.
Effective January 01, 2002.
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