Public Act 097-0245
 
HB0286 EnrolledLRB097 06663 KTG 46749 b

    AN ACT concerning children.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
Administration of Psychotropic Medications to Children Act.
 
    Section 2. Legislative Findings. The General Assembly
recognizes that:
    (a) Mental illnesses among children and adolescents can be
severely debilitating and, if untreated, can have a negative
effect on their education, their families and communities, and
their future lives as productive citizens of Illinois.
    (b) Psychotropic medications, when used carefully and
appropriately, can be safe and effective treatments for
children with serious mental illnesses.
    (c) Psychotropic medications, like most other medications,
may pose serious risks and side effects, particularly if their
use is not carefully monitored.
    (d) Under Illinois law, minors cannot give consent to
medical treatment, including psychotropic medications.
    (e) Under Illinois law, in the absence of an emergency,
medical treatment, including the administration of
psychotropic medications, may only be provided to a minor with
the consent of a parent, a guardian, or some other person
authorized by law to give consent.
    (f) The Department of Children and Family Services has
responsibility for providing informed consent for medical
treatment, including the administration of psychotropic
medications, for thousands of children and adolescents.
    (g) The health, safety, and well-being of children and
adolescents who are the legal responsibility of the Department
depend on the existence and enforcement of appropriate
standards and procedures through which the Department may
determine when the use of psychotropic medications is
appropriate for these children and adolescents.
 
    Section 5. Administration of psychotropic medications. On
or before October 1, 2011, the Department of Children and
Family Services shall promulgate final rules, amending its
current rules establishing and maintaining standards and
procedures to govern the administration of psychotropic
medications. Such amendments to its rules shall include, but
are not limited to, the following:
    (a) The role of the Department in the administration of
psychotropic medications to youth for whom it is legally
responsible and who are in facilities operated by the Illinois
Department of Corrections or the Illinois Department of
Juvenile Justice.
    (b) Provisions regarding the administration of
psychotropic medications for youth for whom the Department is
legally responsible and who are in residential facilities,
group homes, transitional living programs, or foster homes
where the youth is under the age of 18 or where the youth is 18
or older and has provided the Department with appropriate
consent.
    (c) Provisions regarding the administration of
psychotropic medications for youth for whom the Department is
legally responsible and who are in psychiatric hospitals.
    (d) Provisions concerning the emergency use of
psychotropic medications, including appropriate and timely
reporting.
    (e) Provisions prohibiting the administration of
psychotropic medications to persons for whom the Department is
legally responsible as punishment for bad behavior, for the
convenience of staff or caregivers, or as a substitute for
adequate mental health care or other services.
    (f) The creation of a committee to develop, post on a
website, and periodically review materials listing which
psychotropic medications are approved for use with youth for
whom the Department has legal responsibility. The materials
shall include guidelines for the use of psychotropic
medications and may include the acceptable range of dosages,
contraindications, and time limits, if any, and such other
topics necessary to ensure the safe and appropriate use of
psychotropic medications.
    (g) Provisions regarding the appointment, qualifications,
and training of employees of the Department who are authorized
to consent to the administration of psychotropic medications to
youth for whom the Department has legal responsibility,
including the scope of the authority of such persons.
    (h) Provisions regarding training and materials for
parents, foster parents, and relative caretakers concerning
the rules governing the use of psychotropic medications with
youth for whom the Department has legal responsibility.
    (i) With respect to any youth under the age of 18 for whom
the Department has legal responsibility and who does not assent
to the administration of recommended psychotropic medication,
provisions providing standards and procedures for reviewing
the youth's concerns. With respect to any youth over the age of
18 for whom the Department has legal responsibility and who
does not consent to the administration of recommended
psychotropic medication, provisions providing standards and
procedures for reviewing the youth's concerns upon the youth's
request and with the youth's consent. Standards and procedures
developed under this subsection shall not be inconsistent with
the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code.
    (j) Provisions ensuring that, subject to all relevant
confidentiality laws, service plans for youth for whom the
Department has legal responsibility include the following
information:
        (1) Identification by name and dosage of the
    psychotropic medication known by the Department to have
    been administered to the youth since the last service plan.
        (2) The benefits of the psychotropic medication.
        (3) The negative side effects of the psychotropic
    medication.
 
    Section 10. Failure to comply with Department rules. The
Department must establish and maintain rules designed to ensure
compliance with any rules promulgated pursuant to Section 5 of
this Act. Such rules shall include, but are not limited to, the
following:
    (a) Standards and procedures for notifying physicians,
residential treatment facilities, and psychiatric hospitals
when they have violated any rule enacted or maintained pursuant
to Section 5 of this Act.
    (b) Standards and procedures for issuing written warnings
to physicians, residential treatment facilities, and
psychiatric hospitals when they have violated any rule enacted
or maintained pursuant to Section 5 of this Act.
    (c) Standards and procedures for notifying the Department
of Financial and Professional Regulation when a physician has
repeatedly violated any rule enacted or maintained pursuant to
Section 5 of this Act after having received a written warning
on one or more occasions. This subsection is not intended to
limit the Department's authority to make a report to the
Department of Financial and Professional Regulation when a
physician has violated a rule and has not received a written
warning when the Department determines it is in the minor's and
society's interest to make the report.
    (d) Standards and procedures for notifying the Department
of Public Health when any facility licensed by that Department
has repeatedly violated any rule enacted or maintained pursuant
to Section 5 of this Act after having received a written
warning on one or more occasions. This subsection is not
intended to limit the Department's authority to make a report
to the Department of Public Health when a facility has violated
a rule and has not received a written warning when the
Department determines it is in the minor's and society's
interest to make the report.
    (e) Standards and procedures for notifying the guardian ad
litem appointed pursuant to Section 2-17 of the Juvenile Court
Act of 1987, of a ward who has been administered psychotropic
medication in violation of any rule enacted or maintained
pursuant to Section 5 of this Act, where the guardian ad litem
has requested notification and provides the Department with
documentation verifying that pursuant to the Mental Health and
Developmental Disabilities Confidentiality Act, the court has
entered an order granting the guardian ad litem authority to
receive and review this information.
    (f) Standards and procedures for notifying the
Department's licensing division when a residential facility or
group home licensed by the Department has repeatedly violated
any rule enacted or maintained pursuant to Section 5 of this
Act.
 
    Section 15. Annual report.
    (a) No later than December 31 of each year, the Department
shall prepare and submit an annual report, covering the
previous fiscal year, to the General Assembly concerning the
administration of psychotropic medication to persons for whom
it is legally responsible. This report shall include, but is
not limited to, the following:
        (1) The number of violations of any rule enacted
    pursuant to Section 5 of this Act.
        (2) The number of warnings issued pursuant to
    subsection (b) of Section 10 of this Act.
        (3) The number of physicians who have been issued
    warnings pursuant to subsection (b) of Section 10 of this
    Act.
        (4) The number of physicians who have been reported to
    the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation
    pursuant to subsection (c) of Section 10 of this Act, and,
    if available, the results of such reports.
        (5) The number of facilities that have been reported to
    the Department of Public Health pursuant to subsection (d)
    of Section 10 of this Act and, if available, the results of
    such reports.
        (6) The number of Department-licensed facilities that
    have been the subject of licensing complaints pursuant to
    subsection (f) of Section 10 of this Act, and if available,
    the results of the complaint investigations.
        (7) Any recommendations for legislative changes or
    amendments to any of its rules or procedures established or
    maintained in compliance with this Act.
    (b) The requirement for reporting to the General Assembly
shall be satisfied by filing copies of the report with the
Speaker, the Minority Leader, and the Clerk of the House of
Representatives, the President, the Minority Leader, and the
Secretary of the Senate, and the Legislative Research Unit, as
required by Section 3.1 of the General Assembly Organization
Act and by filing additional copies with the State Government
Report Distribution Center for the General Assembly as required
under paragraph (t) of Section 7 of the State Library Act.
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.