HB0286eng 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB0286 Engrossed LRB097 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.