Section 270.225  Organizational Standards and Responsibilities: Adult Protective Services Provider Agencies

a)         In accordance with Section 270.220, the designated APS provider agency shall enter into a written contract with the Department to provide services.

b)         The APS provider agency shall provide these services to an adult with disabilities or a person aged 60 or older in accordance with the Act and this Part.

c)         The APS provider agency shall be open for business and available to receive reports of abuse, neglect, financial exploitation, or self-neglect not less than 246 working days per calendar year under the following conditions:

1)         The APS provider agency shall not be closed for more than four consecutive days, unless an alternative method of receiving reports is approved by and on file with the regional administrative agency and the Department.

2)         If a recorded message is activated during business hours, there has to be an option to talk directly to a report taker at that time, rather than leaving a message on voice mail.

3)         A report taker has to be available at least seven hours each working day.

d)         The APS provider agency will not serve as a legal guardian or an agent under the Illinois Power of Attorney Act for any client in the program.

e)         The APS provider agency shall retain all books, records and other documents relevant to the operation of the program as directed by the Department.  The APS provider agency has to insure that records are purged per Department standards.

f)         A contract to provide adult protective services may be terminated by the APS provider agency in accordance with the termination clause in the contract.  The APS provider agency will assist in the transition to a replacement APS provider agency for the specific geographic area.

g)         Pursuant to the terms of their contract, APS provider agencies shall maintain sufficient staff to perform all duties and responsibilities of the program for which an agreement to perform is in effect. 

h)         APS supervisors have to be involved in guiding and directing abuse, neglect, financial exploitation, or self-neglect cases and share responsibility in the case workers' decisions and actions in those cases.

i)          Qualifications

1)         APS supervisors shall have:

A)        Education

i)          a Master's Degree in health, social sciences, social work, health care administration, gerontology, disability studies, criminal justice or public administration, and one year experience in health or human services; or

ii)         a Registered Nursing license, or a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (B.S.N.) or a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)/Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in health, social sciences, social work, health care administration, gerontology, or criminal justice and three years' experience in health or human services, including either one year of supervisory experience or one year of experience in aging, adults with disabilities or domestic violence programs or services;

B)        Department sponsored APS case worker certification and on-line forms training;

C)        Department sponsored Phase II certification training within six months after the APS case worker certification, to be placed on the Department's list of APS Case Workers;

D)        Department sponsored APS supervisor's certification training;

E)        Fourteen hours of participation by actual attendance at in-service training and/or webinars on abuse of eligible adults, rights of older adults and adults with disabilities, self-neglect, and domestic violence subjects within a calendar year.  For partial years of employment, training shall be prorated to equal approximately 45 minutes for each full month of employment.  Participation by actual attendance at regional, State or national conferences on abuse of older adults and adults with disabilities and rights of older adults and adults with disabilities, self-neglect, and domestic violence qualify as in-service training.  Participation should be documented and included in the employee's personnel file; and

F)         Eleven hours of qualifying recertification every three years, which must be documented in the employee's personnel file.

2)         APS case workers shall have:

A)        Education

i)          Master's Degree in health, social services, social work, health care administration, gerontology, disability studies, criminal justice or public administration;

ii)         a Registered Nursing license, or a B.S.N. or a B.A./B.S. in health, social sciences, social work, health care administration, gerontology, or criminal justice and one year experience in health or human services; or

iii)        a Practical Nursing license, with two years' experience in health or human services;

B)        Department sponsored APS case worker certification and on-line forms training;

C)        Department sponsored Phase II certification training within six months after the APS case worker certification, to be listed on the Department's list of APS Case Workers;

D)        Twelve hours of participation by actual attendance at in-service training and/or webinars on abuse of eligible adults, rights of older adults and adults with disabilities, self-neglect, and domestic violence subjects within a calendar year.  For partial years of employment, training shall be prorated to equal approximately 45 minutes for each full month of employment.  Participation by actual attendance at regional, State or national conferences on abuse of older adults and adults with disabilities and rights of older adults and adults with disabilities, self-neglect, and domestic violence qualify as in-service training.  Participation should be documented and included in the employee's personnel file; and

E)        Eleven hours of qualifying recertification every three years, which must be documented in the employee's personnel file.

j)          The Department will suspend or remove from the Department's list of APS Case Workers any case worker or supervisor who fails or refuses to perform the duties of a case worker or supervisor in accordance with this Part.

k)         The APS provider agency must return to the Department, within 15 days, any identification card of a case worker or supervisor who separates from employment.

(Source:  Amended at 42 Ill. Reg. 9226, effective July 1, 2018)