97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2011 and 2012
SB3622

 

Introduced 2/10/2012, by Sen. William Delgado

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
20 ILCS 2405/3  from Ch. 23, par. 3434

    Amends the Disabled Persons Rehabilitation Act. Requires the Department of Human Services to make its annual report to the Governor on the existing condition of comprehensive rehabilitation services, habilitation, and rehabilitation in the State publicly available on the Department's website no later than the first day of January of each year. Removes language concerning the payment rates for personal care attendants. Requires the Department of Human Services to post on its website a copy of its joint report with the Department on Aging concerning specified programs and services no less than 3 calendar days after the report is submitted to the Governor and the General Assembly.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

SB3622LRB097 19430 KTG 64683 b

1    AN ACT concerning State government.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Disabled Persons Rehabilitation Act is
5amended by changing Section 3 as follows:
 
6    (20 ILCS 2405/3)  (from Ch. 23, par. 3434)
7    Sec. 3. Powers and duties. The Department shall have the
8powers and duties enumerated herein:
9    (a) To co-operate with the federal government in the
10administration of the provisions of the federal Rehabilitation
11Act of 1973, as amended, of the Workforce Investment Act of
121998, and of the federal Social Security Act to the extent and
13in the manner provided in these Acts.
14    (b) To prescribe and supervise such courses of vocational
15training and provide such other services as may be necessary
16for the habilitation and rehabilitation of persons with one or
17more disabilities, including the administrative activities
18under subsection (e) of this Section, and to co-operate with
19State and local school authorities and other recognized
20agencies engaged in habilitation, rehabilitation and
21comprehensive rehabilitation services; and to cooperate with
22the Department of Children and Family Services regarding the
23care and education of children with one or more disabilities.

 

 

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1    (c) (Blank).
2    (d) To report in writing, to the Governor, annually on or
3before the first day of December, and at such other times and
4in such manner and upon such subjects as the Governor may
5require. The annual report shall contain (1) a statement of the
6existing condition of comprehensive rehabilitation services,
7habilitation, and rehabilitation in the State; (2) a statement
8of suggestions and recommendations with reference to the
9development of comprehensive rehabilitation services,
10habilitation, and rehabilitation in the State; and (3) an
11itemized statement of the amounts of money received from
12federal, State, and other sources, and of the objects and
13purposes to which the respective items of these several amounts
14have been devoted. This annual report must be made publicly
15available on the Department's website no later than the first
16day of January of each year.
17    (e) (Blank).
18    (f) To establish a program of services to prevent
19unnecessary institutionalization of persons with Alzheimer's
20disease and related disorders or persons in need of long term
21care who are established as blind or disabled as defined by the
22Social Security Act, thereby enabling them to remain in their
23own homes or other living arrangements. Such preventive
24services may include, but are not limited to, any or all of the
25following:
26        (1) home health services;

 

 

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1        (2) home nursing services;
2        (3) homemaker services;
3        (4) chore and housekeeping services;
4        (5) day care services;
5        (6) home-delivered meals;
6        (7) education in self-care;
7        (8) personal care services;
8        (9) adult day health services;
9        (10) habilitation services;
10        (11) respite care; or
11        (12) other nonmedical social services that may enable
12    the person to become self-supporting.
13    The Department shall establish eligibility standards for
14such services taking into consideration the unique economic and
15social needs of the population for whom they are to be
16provided. Such eligibility standards may be based on the
17recipient's ability to pay for services; provided, however,
18that any portion of a person's income that is equal to or less
19than the "protected income" level shall not be considered by
20the Department in determining eligibility. The "protected
21income" level shall be determined by the Department, shall
22never be less than the federal poverty standard, and shall be
23adjusted each year to reflect changes in the Consumer Price
24Index For All Urban Consumers as determined by the United
25States Department of Labor. The standards must provide that a
26person may have not more than $10,000 in assets to be eligible

 

 

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1for the services, and the Department may increase the asset
2limitation by rule. Additionally, in determining the amount and
3nature of services for which a person may qualify,
4consideration shall not be given to the value of cash, property
5or other assets held in the name of the person's spouse
6pursuant to a written agreement dividing marital property into
7equal but separate shares or pursuant to a transfer of the
8person's interest in a home to his spouse, provided that the
9spouse's share of the marital property is not made available to
10the person seeking such services.
11    The services shall be provided to eligible persons to
12prevent unnecessary or premature institutionalization, to the
13extent that the cost of the services, together with the other
14personal maintenance expenses of the persons, are reasonably
15related to the standards established for care in a group
16facility appropriate to their condition. These
17non-institutional services, pilot projects or experimental
18facilities may be provided as part of or in addition to those
19authorized by federal law or those funded and administered by
20the Illinois Department on Aging.
21    Personal care attendants shall be paid:
22        (i) A $5 per hour minimum rate beginning July 1, 1995.
23        (ii) A $5.30 per hour minimum rate beginning July 1,
24    1997.
25        (iii) A $5.40 per hour minimum rate beginning July 1,
26    1998.

 

 

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1    Solely for the purposes of coverage under the Illinois
2Public Labor Relations Act (5 ILCS 315/), personal care
3attendants and personal assistants providing services under
4the Department's Home Services Program shall be considered to
5be public employees and the State of Illinois shall be
6considered to be their employer as of the effective date of
7this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly, but not
8before. The State shall engage in collective bargaining with an
9exclusive representative of personal care attendants and
10personal assistants working under the Home Services Program
11concerning their terms and conditions of employment that are
12within the State's control. Nothing in this paragraph shall be
13understood to limit the right of the persons receiving services
14defined in this Section to hire and fire personal care
15attendants and personal assistants or supervise them within the
16limitations set by the Home Services Program. The State shall
17not be considered to be the employer of personal care
18attendants and personal assistants for any purposes not
19specifically provided in this amendatory Act of the 93rd
20General Assembly, including but not limited to, purposes of
21vicarious liability in tort and purposes of statutory
22retirement or health insurance benefits. Personal care
23attendants and personal assistants shall not be covered by the
24State Employees Group Insurance Act of 1971 (5 ILCS 375/).
25    The Department shall execute, relative to the nursing home
26prescreening project, as authorized by Section 4.03 of the

 

 

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1Illinois Act on the Aging, written inter-agency agreements with
2the Department on Aging and the Department of Public Aid (now
3Department of Healthcare and Family Services), to effect the
4following: (i) intake procedures and common eligibility
5criteria for those persons who are receiving non-institutional
6services; and (ii) the establishment and development of
7non-institutional services in areas of the State where they are
8not currently available or are undeveloped. On and after July
91, 1996, all nursing home prescreenings for individuals 18
10through 59 years of age shall be conducted by the Department.
11    The Department is authorized to establish a system of
12recipient cost-sharing for services provided under this
13Section. The cost-sharing shall be based upon the recipient's
14ability to pay for services, but in no case shall the
15recipient's share exceed the actual cost of the services
16provided. Protected income shall not be considered by the
17Department in its determination of the recipient's ability to
18pay a share of the cost of services. The level of cost-sharing
19shall be adjusted each year to reflect changes in the
20"protected income" level. The Department shall deduct from the
21recipient's share of the cost of services any money expended by
22the recipient for disability-related expenses.
23    The Department, or the Department's authorized
24representative, shall recover the amount of moneys expended for
25services provided to or in behalf of a person under this
26Section by a claim against the person's estate or against the

 

 

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1estate of the person's surviving spouse, but no recovery may be
2had until after the death of the surviving spouse, if any, and
3then only at such time when there is no surviving child who is
4under age 21, blind, or permanently and totally disabled. This
5paragraph, however, shall not bar recovery, at the death of the
6person, of moneys for services provided to the person or in
7behalf of the person under this Section to which the person was
8not entitled; provided that such recovery shall not be enforced
9against any real estate while it is occupied as a homestead by
10the surviving spouse or other dependent, if no claims by other
11creditors have been filed against the estate, or, if such
12claims have been filed, they remain dormant for failure of
13prosecution or failure of the claimant to compel administration
14of the estate for the purpose of payment. This paragraph shall
15not bar recovery from the estate of a spouse, under Sections
161915 and 1924 of the Social Security Act and Section 5-4 of the
17Illinois Public Aid Code, who precedes a person receiving
18services under this Section in death. All moneys for services
19paid to or in behalf of the person under this Section shall be
20claimed for recovery from the deceased spouse's estate.
21"Homestead", as used in this paragraph, means the dwelling
22house and contiguous real estate occupied by a surviving spouse
23or relative, as defined by the rules and regulations of the
24Department of Healthcare and Family Services, regardless of the
25value of the property.
26    The Department and the Department on Aging shall cooperate

 

 

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1in the development and submission of an annual report on
2programs and services provided under this Section. Such joint
3report shall be filed with the Governor and the General
4Assembly on or before March 30 each year. The Department must
5post on its website a copy of the report filed with the
6Governor and the General Assembly no less than 3 calendar days
7after the report is submitted to the Governor and the General
8Assembly.
9    The requirement for reporting to the General Assembly shall
10be satisfied by filing copies of the report with the Speaker,
11the Minority Leader and the Clerk of the House of
12Representatives and the President, the Minority Leader and the
13Secretary of the Senate and the Legislative Research Unit, as
14required by Section 3.1 of the General Assembly Organization
15Act, and filing additional copies with the State Government
16Report Distribution Center for the General Assembly as required
17under paragraph (t) of Section 7 of the State Library Act.
18    (g) To establish such subdivisions of the Department as
19shall be desirable and assign to the various subdivisions the
20responsibilities and duties placed upon the Department by law.
21    (h) To cooperate and enter into any necessary agreements
22with the Department of Employment Security for the provision of
23job placement and job referral services to clients of the
24Department, including job service registration of such clients
25with Illinois Employment Security offices and making job
26listings maintained by the Department of Employment Security

 

 

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1available to such clients.
2    (i) To possess all powers reasonable and necessary for the
3exercise and administration of the powers, duties and
4responsibilities of the Department which are provided for by
5law.
6    (j) To establish a procedure whereby new providers of
7personal care attendant services shall submit vouchers to the
8State for payment two times during their first month of
9employment and one time per month thereafter. In no case shall
10the Department pay personal care attendants an hourly wage that
11is less than the federal minimum wage.
12    (k) To provide adequate notice to providers of chore and
13housekeeping services informing them that they are entitled to
14an interest payment on bills which are not promptly paid
15pursuant to Section 3 of the State Prompt Payment Act.
16    (l) To establish, operate and maintain a Statewide Housing
17Clearinghouse of information on available, government
18subsidized housing accessible to disabled persons and
19available privately owned housing accessible to disabled
20persons. The information shall include but not be limited to
21the location, rental requirements, access features and
22proximity to public transportation of available housing. The
23Clearinghouse shall consist of at least a computerized database
24for the storage and retrieval of information and a separate or
25shared toll free telephone number for use by those seeking
26information from the Clearinghouse. Department offices and

 

 

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1personnel throughout the State shall also assist in the
2operation of the Statewide Housing Clearinghouse. Cooperation
3with local, State and federal housing managers shall be sought
4and extended in order to frequently and promptly update the
5Clearinghouse's information.
6    (m) To assure that the names and case records of persons
7who received or are receiving services from the Department,
8including persons receiving vocational rehabilitation, home
9services, or other services, and those attending one of the
10Department's schools or other supervised facility shall be
11confidential and not be open to the general public. Those case
12records and reports or the information contained in those
13records and reports shall be disclosed by the Director only to
14proper law enforcement officials, individuals authorized by a
15court, the General Assembly or any committee or commission of
16the General Assembly, and other persons and for reasons as the
17Director designates by rule. Disclosure by the Director may be
18only in accordance with other applicable law.
19(Source: P.A. 94-252, eff. 1-1-06; 95-331, eff. 8-21-07.)