Public Act 098-1041
 
HB4525 EnrolledLRB098 17703 ZMM 52818 b


  
    AN ACT concerning regulation.
  
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
 
represented in the General Assembly:
  


 
    Section 5. The Health Care Worker Background Check Act is 
amended  by changing Section 70  as follows:
 
    (225 ILCS 46/70)
    Sec. 70. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMMS) 
grant; Voluntary FBI Fingerprint Demonstration Project.
    (a) The General Assembly authorizes the establishment of 
the Voluntary FBI Fingerprint Demonstration Project 
(Demonstration Project), which shall be consistent with the 
provisions of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services 
grant awarded to and distributed by the Department of Public 
Health pursuant to Title VI, Subtitle B, Part III, Subtitle C, 
Section 6201 of the Affordable Care Act of 2010. The 
Demonstration Project is authorized to operate for the period 
of January 1, 2014 through December 31, 2014 and shall operate 
until the conclusion of this grant period or until the 
long-term care facility terminates its participation in the 
Demonstration Project, whichever occurs sooner.
    (b) The Long-Term Care Facility Advisory Board established 
under the Nursing Home Care Act shall act in an advisory 
capacity to the Demonstration Project.
    (c) Long-term care facilities voluntarily participating in 
the Demonstration Project shall, in addition to the provisions 
of this Section, comply with all requirements set forth in this 
Act. When conflict between the Act and the provisions of this 
Section occurs, the provisions of this Section shall supersede 
until the conclusion of the grant period or until the long-term 
care facility terminates its participation in the 
Demonstration Project, whichever occurs sooner.
    (d) The Department of Public Health shall select at least 
one facility in the State to participate in the Demonstration 
Project.
    (e) For the purposes of determining who shall be required 
to undergo a State and an FBI fingerprint-based criminal 
history records check under the Demonstration Project, "direct 
access employee" means any individual who has access to a 
patient or resident of a long-term care facility or provider 
through employment or through a contract with a long-term care 
facility or provider and has duties that involve or may involve 
one-on-one contact with a resident of the facility or provider, 
as determined by the State for purposes of the Demonstration 
Project.
    (f) All long-term care facilities licensed under the 
Nursing Home Care Act are qualified to volunteer for the 
Demonstration Project.
    (g) The Department of Public Health shall notify qualified 
long-term care facilities within 30 days after the effective 
date of this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly of the 
opportunity to volunteer for the Demonstration Project. The 
notice shall include information concerning application 
procedures and deadlines, termination rights, requirements for 
participation, the selection process, and a 
question-and-answer document addressing potential conflicts 
between this Act and the provisions of this Section.
    (h) Qualified long-term care facilities shall be given a 
minimum of 30 days after the date of receiving the notice to 
inform the Department of Public Health, in the form and manner 
prescribed by the Department of Public Health, of their 
interest in volunteering for the Demonstration Project.  
Facilities selected for the Demonstration Project shall be 
notified, within 30 days after the date of application, of the 
effective date that their participation in the Demonstration 
Project will begin, which may vary.
    (i) The individual applicant shall be responsible for the 
cost of each individual fingerprint inquiry, which may be 
offset with grant funds, if available. 
    (a) In this Section:

    "Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMMS) grant" 
means the grant awarded to and distributed by the Department of 
Public Health to enhance the conduct of criminal history 
records checks of certain health care employees.  The CMMS grant 
is authorized by Section 307 of the federal Medicare 
Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, 
which establishes the framework for a program to evaluate 
national and state background checks on prospective employees 
with direct access to patients of long-term care facilities or 
providers.
    "Selected health care employer" means any of the following 
selected to participate in the CMMS grant:
        (1) a community living facility as defined in the 
    Community Living Facility Act;
        (2) a long-term care facility as defined in the Nursing 
    Home Care Act;
        (3) a home health agency as defined in the Home Health, 
    Home Services, and Home Nursing Agency Licensing Act;
        (4) a full hospice as defined in the Hospice Licensing 
    Act;
        (5) an establishment licensed under the Assisted 
    Living and Shared Housing Act;
        (6) a supportive living facility as defined in the 
    Illinois Public Aid Code;
        (7) a day training program certified by the Department 
    of Human Services;
        (8) a community integrated living arrangement operated 
    by a community mental health and developmental service 
    agency as defined in the Community Integrated Living 
    Arrangements Licensing and Certification Act; or

        (9)  a long-term care hospital or hospital with swing 
    beds.

    (b) Selected health care employers shall be phased in to 
participate in the CMMS grant between January 1, 2006 and 
January 1, 2007, as prescribed by the Department of Public 
Health by rule.
    (c) With regards to individuals hired on or after January 
1, 2006 who have direct access to residents, patients, or 
clients of the selected health care employer, selected health 
care employers must comply with Section 25 of this Act.
    "Individuals who have direct access" includes, but is not 
limited to, (i) direct care workers as described in subsection 
(a) of Section 25; (ii) individuals licensed by the Department 
of Financial and Professional Regulation, such as nurses,  
social workers, physical therapists, occupational therapists, 
and pharmacists; (iii) individuals who provide services on 
site, through contract; and (iv) non-direct care workers, such 
as those who work in environmental services, food service, and 
administration.
    "Individuals who have direct access" does not include 
physicians or volunteers.
    The Department of Public Health may further define 
"individuals who have direct access" by rule.

    (j) (d) Each applicant seeking employment in a position 
described in subsection (e) (c) of this Section with a selected 
health care employer shall, as a condition of employment, have 
his or her fingerprints submitted to the Department of State 
Police in an electronic format that complies with the form and 
manner for requesting and furnishing criminal history record 
information by the Department of State Police and the Federal 
Bureau of Investigation criminal history record databases now 
and hereafter filed. The Department of State Police shall 
forward the fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of Investigation 
for a national criminal history records check. The Department 
of State Police shall charge a fee for conducting the criminal 
history records check, which shall not exceed the actual cost 
of the records check and shall be deposited into the State 
Police Services Fund. The Department of State Police shall 
furnish, pursuant to positive identification, records of 
Illinois convictions to the Department of Public Health.
    (e) A selected health care employer who makes a conditional 
offer of employment to an applicant shall:
        (1) ensure that the applicant has complied with the 
    fingerprinting requirements of this Section;
        (2) complete documentation relating to any criminal 
    history record, as revealed by the applicant, as prescribed 
    by rule by the Department of Public Health;
        (3) complete documentation of the applicant's personal 
    identifiers as prescribed by rule by the Department of 
    Public Health; and
        (4) provide supervision, as prescribed by rule by the 
    licensing agency, if the applicant is hired and allowed to 
    work prior to the results of the criminal history records 
    check being obtained.
    (f) A selected health care employer having actual knowledge 
from a source that an individual with direct access to a 
resident, patient, or client has been convicted of committing 
or attempting to commit one of the offenses enumerated in 
Section 25 of this Act shall contact the licensing agency or 
follow other instructions as prescribed by administrative 
rule.
    (k) (g) A fingerprint-based criminal history records check 
submitted in accordance with subsection (j) (d) of this Section 
shall must be submitted as a fee applicant inquiry in the form 
and manner prescribed by the Department of State Police.

    (l) A long-term care facility may terminate its 
participation in the Demonstration Project without prejudice 
by providing the Department of Public Health with notice of its 
intent to terminate at least 30 days prior to its voluntary 
termination.
    (m) (h) This Section shall be inapplicable upon the 
conclusion of the CMMS grant period.


(Source: P.A. 94-665, eff. 1-1-06; 94-931, eff. 6-26-06; 
95-331, eff. 8-21-07; revised 11-14-13.)
 

    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 
becoming law.


Effective Date:  8/25/2014