94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2005 and 2006
SB3010

 

Introduced 1/20/2006, by Sen. John J. Cullerton

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
210 ILCS 30/6.2   from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 4166.2

    Amends the Abused and Neglected Long Term Care Facility Residents Reporting Act. Provides that a person required to make reports of allegations of abuse or neglect under the Act or cause such reports to be made, as provided in rules, who willfully fails to comply with those reporting requirements is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor. Effective immediately.


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CORRECTIONAL BUDGET AND IMPACT NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

SB3010 LRB094 15526 DRJ 50725 b

1     AN ACT concerning regulation.
 
2     Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
 
4     Section 5. The Abused and Neglected Long Term Care Facility
5 Residents Reporting Act is amended by changing Section 6.2 as
6 follows:
 
7     (210 ILCS 30/6.2)  (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 4166.2)
8     Sec. 6.2. Inspector General.
9     (a) The Governor shall appoint, and the Senate shall
10 confirm, an Inspector General. The Inspector General shall be
11 appointed for a term of 4 years and shall function within the
12 Department of Human Services and report to the Secretary of
13 Human Services and the Governor. The Inspector General shall
14 function independently within the Department of Human Services
15 with respect to the operations of the office, including the
16 performance of investigations and issuance of findings and
17 recommendations. The appropriation for the Office of Inspector
18 General shall be separate from the overall appropriation for
19 the Department of Human Services. The Inspector General shall
20 investigate reports of suspected abuse or neglect (as those
21 terms are defined in Section 3 of this Act) of patients or
22 residents in any mental health or developmental disabilities
23 facility operated by the Department of Human Services and shall
24 have authority to investigate and take immediate action on
25 reports of abuse or neglect of recipients, whether patients or
26 residents, in any mental health or developmental disabilities
27 facility or program that is licensed or certified by the
28 Department of Human Services (as successor to the Department of
29 Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities) or that is funded
30 by the Department of Human Services (as successor to the
31 Department of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities)
32 and is not licensed or certified by any agency of the State. At

 

 

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1 the specific, written request of an agency of the State other
2 than the Department of Human Services (as successor to the
3 Department of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities),
4 the Inspector General may cooperate in investigating reports of
5 abuse and neglect of persons with mental illness or persons
6 with developmental disabilities. The Inspector General shall
7 have no supervision over or involvement in routine,
8 programmatic, licensure, or certification operations of the
9 Department of Human Services or any of its funded agencies.
10     The Inspector General shall promulgate rules establishing
11 minimum requirements for reporting allegations of abuse and
12 neglect and initiating, conducting, and completing
13 investigations. The promulgated rules shall clearly set forth
14 that in instances where 2 or more State agencies could
15 investigate an allegation of abuse or neglect, the Inspector
16 General shall not conduct an investigation that is redundant to
17 an investigation conducted by another State agency. The rules
18 shall establish criteria for determining, based upon the nature
19 of the allegation, the appropriate method of investigation,
20 which may include, but need not be limited to, site visits,
21 telephone contacts, or requests for written responses from
22 agencies. The rules shall also clarify how the Office of the
23 Inspector General shall interact with the licensing unit of the
24 Department of Human Services in investigations of allegations
25 of abuse or neglect. Any allegations or investigations of
26 reports made pursuant to this Act shall remain confidential
27 until a final report is completed. The resident or patient who
28 allegedly was abused or neglected and his or her legal guardian
29 shall be informed by the facility or agency of the report of
30 alleged abuse or neglect. Final reports regarding
31 unsubstantiated or unfounded allegations shall remain
32 confidential, except that final reports may be disclosed
33 pursuant to Section 6 of this Act.
34     A person required to make reports or cause reports to be
35 made under this Section as set forth in 59 Illinois
36 Administrative Code, Chapter I, Section 50, Part 50.20 who

 

 

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1 willfully fails to comply with the reporting requirements is
2 guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.
3     When the Office of the Inspector General has substantiated
4 a case of abuse or neglect, the Inspector General shall include
5 in the final report any mitigating or aggravating circumstances
6 that were identified during the investigation. Upon
7 determination that a report of neglect is substantiated, the
8 Inspector General shall then determine whether such neglect
9 rises to the level of egregious neglect.
10     (b) The Inspector General shall, within 24 hours after
11 determining that a reported allegation of suspected abuse or
12 neglect indicates that any possible criminal act has been
13 committed or that special expertise is required in the
14 investigation, immediately notify the Department of State
15 Police or the appropriate law enforcement entity. The
16 Department of State Police shall investigate any report from a
17 State-operated facility indicating a possible murder, rape, or
18 other felony. All investigations conducted by the Inspector
19 General shall be conducted in a manner designed to ensure the
20 preservation of evidence for possible use in a criminal
21 prosecution.
22     (b-5) The Inspector General shall make a determination to
23 accept or reject a preliminary report of the investigation of
24 alleged abuse or neglect based on established investigative
25 procedures. Notice of the Inspector General's determination
26 must be given to the person who claims to be the victim of the
27 abuse or neglect, to the person or persons alleged to have been
28 responsible for abuse or neglect, and to the facility or
29 agency. The facility or agency or the person or persons alleged
30 to have been responsible for the abuse or neglect and the
31 person who claims to be the victim of the abuse or neglect may
32 request clarification or reconsideration based on additional
33 information. For cases where the allegation of abuse or neglect
34 is substantiated, the Inspector General shall require the
35 facility or agency to submit a written response. The written
36 response from a facility or agency shall address in a concise

 

 

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1 and reasoned manner the actions that the agency or facility
2 will take or has taken to protect the resident or patient from
3 abuse or neglect, prevent reoccurrences, and eliminate
4 problems identified and shall include implementation and
5 completion dates for all such action.
6     (c) The Inspector General shall, within 10 calendar days
7 after the transmittal date of a completed investigation where
8 abuse or neglect is substantiated or administrative action is
9 recommended, provide a complete report on the case to the
10 Secretary of Human Services and to the agency in which the
11 abuse or neglect is alleged to have happened. The complete
12 report shall include a written response from the agency or
13 facility operated by the State to the Inspector General that
14 addresses in a concise and reasoned manner the actions that the
15 agency or facility will take or has taken to protect the
16 resident or patient from abuse or neglect, prevent
17 reoccurrences, and eliminate problems identified and shall
18 include implementation and completion dates for all such
19 action. The Secretary of Human Services shall accept or reject
20 the response and establish how the Department will determine
21 whether the facility or program followed the approved response.
22 The Secretary may require Department personnel to visit the
23 facility or agency for training, technical assistance,
24 programmatic, licensure, or certification purposes.
25 Administrative action, including sanctions, may be applied
26 should the Secretary reject the response or should the facility
27 or agency fail to follow the approved response. Within 30 days
28 after the Secretary has approved a response, the facility or
29 agency making the response shall provide an implementation
30 report to the Inspector General on the status of the corrective
31 action implemented. Within 60 days after the Secretary has
32 approved the response, the facility or agency shall send notice
33 of the completion of the corrective action or shall send an
34 updated implementation report. The facility or agency shall
35 continue sending updated implementation reports every 60 days
36 until the facility or agency sends a notice of the completion

 

 

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1 of the corrective action. The Inspector General shall review
2 any implementation plan that takes more than 120 days. The
3 Inspector General shall monitor compliance through a random
4 review of completed corrective actions. This monitoring may
5 include, but need not be limited to, site visits, telephone
6 contacts, or requests for written documentation from the
7 facility or agency to determine whether the facility or agency
8 is in compliance with the approved response. The facility or
9 agency shall inform the resident or patient and the legal
10 guardian whether the reported allegation was substantiated,
11 unsubstantiated, or unfounded. There shall be an appeals
12 process for any person or agency that is subject to any action
13 based on a recommendation or recommendations.
14     (d) The Inspector General may recommend to the Departments
15 of Public Health and Human Services sanctions to be imposed
16 against mental health and developmental disabilities
17 facilities under the jurisdiction of the Department of Human
18 Services for the protection of residents, including
19 appointment of on-site monitors or receivers, transfer or
20 relocation of residents, and closure of units. The Inspector
21 General may seek the assistance of the Attorney General or any
22 of the several State's attorneys in imposing such sanctions.
23 Whenever the Inspector General issues any recommendations to
24 the Secretary of Human Services, the Secretary shall provide a
25 written response.
26     (e) The Inspector General shall establish and conduct
27 periodic training programs for Department of Human Services
28 employees concerning the prevention and reporting of neglect
29 and abuse.
30     (f) The Inspector General shall at all times be granted
31 access to any mental health or developmental disabilities
32 facility operated by the Department of Human Services, shall
33 establish and conduct unannounced site visits to those
34 facilities at least once annually, and shall be granted access,
35 for the purpose of investigating a report of abuse or neglect,
36 to the records of the Department of Human Services and to any

 

 

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1 facility or program funded by the Department of Human Services
2 that is subject under the provisions of this Section to
3 investigation by the Inspector General for a report of abuse or
4 neglect.
5     (g) Nothing in this Section shall limit investigations by
6 the Department of Human Services that may otherwise be required
7 by law or that may be necessary in that Department's capacity
8 as the central administrative authority responsible for the
9 operation of State mental health and developmental disability
10 facilities.
11     (g-5) After notice and an opportunity for a hearing that is
12 separate and distinct from the Office of the Inspector
13 General's appeals process as implemented under subsection (c)
14 of this Section, the Inspector General shall report to the
15 Department of Public Health's nurse aide registry under Section
16 3-206.01 of the Nursing Home Care Act the identity of
17 individuals against whom there has been a substantiated finding
18 of physical or sexual abuse or egregious neglect of a service
19 recipient.
20     Nothing in this subsection shall diminish or impair the
21 rights of a person who is a member of a collective bargaining
22 unit pursuant to the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act or
23 pursuant to any federal labor statute. An individual who is a
24 member of a collective bargaining unit as described above shall
25 not be reported to the Department of Public Health's nurse aide
26 registry until the exhaustion of that individual's grievance
27 and arbitration rights, or until 3 months after the initiation
28 of the grievance process, whichever occurs first, provided that
29 the Department of Human Services' hearing under subsection (c),
30 that is separate and distinct from the Office of the Inspector
31 General's appeals process, has concluded. Notwithstanding
32 anything hereinafter or previously provided, if an action taken
33 by an employer against an individual as a result of the
34 circumstances that led to a finding of physical or sexual abuse
35 or egregious neglect is later overturned under a grievance or
36 arbitration procedure provided for in Section 8 of the Illinois

 

 

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1 Public Labor Relations Act or under a collective bargaining
2 agreement, the report must be removed from the registry.
3     The Department of Human Services shall promulgate or amend
4 rules as necessary or appropriate to establish procedures for
5 reporting to the registry, including the definition of
6 egregious neglect, procedures for notice to the individual and
7 victim, appeal and hearing procedures, and petition for removal
8 of the report from the registry. The portion of the rules
9 pertaining to hearings shall provide that, at the hearing, both
10 parties may present written and oral evidence. The Department
11 shall be required to establish by a preponderance of the
12 evidence that the Office of the Inspector General's finding of
13 physical or sexual abuse or egregious neglect warrants
14 reporting to the Department of Public Health's nurse aide
15 registry under Section 3-206.01 of the Nursing Home Care Act.
16     Notice to the individual shall include a clear and concise
17 statement of the grounds on which the report to the registry is
18 based and notice of the opportunity for a hearing to contest
19 the report. The Department of Human Services shall provide the
20 notice by certified mail to the last known address of the
21 individual. The notice shall give the individual an opportunity
22 to contest the report in a hearing before the Department of
23 Human Services or to submit a written response to the findings
24 instead of requesting a hearing. If the individual does not
25 request a hearing or if after notice and a hearing the
26 Department of Human Services finds that the report is valid,
27 the finding shall be included as part of the registry, as well
28 as a brief statement from the reported individual if he or she
29 chooses to make a statement. The Department of Public Health
30 shall make available to the public information reported to the
31 registry. In a case of inquiries concerning an individual
32 listed in the registry, any information disclosed concerning a
33 finding of abuse or neglect shall also include disclosure of
34 the individual's brief statement in the registry relating to
35 the reported finding or include a clear and accurate summary of
36 the statement.

 

 

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1     At any time after the report of the registry, an individual
2 may petition the Department of Human Services for removal from
3 the registry of the finding against him or her. Upon receipt of
4 such a petition, the Department of Human Services shall conduct
5 an investigation and hearing on the petition. Upon completion
6 of the investigation and hearing, the Department of Human
7 Services shall report the removal of the finding to the
8 registry unless the Department of Human Services determines
9 that removal is not in the public interest.
10 (Source: P.A. 93-636, eff. 12-31-03; 94-428, eff. 8-2-05.)
 
11     Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
12 becoming law.