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.