HB0746enr 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB0746 Enrolled LRB096 04731 DRJ 14794 b

AN ACT concerning public aid.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Disabilities Services Act of 2003 is amended by adding the heading of Article IV and Section 60 as follows:

(20 ILCS 2407/Art. IV heading new)

ARTICLE IV. RAPID REINTEGRATION PILOT PROGRAM

(20 ILCS 2407/60 new)

Sec. 60. Rapid Reintegration Pilot Program.

(a) The Department of Human Services shall operate a Rapid Reintegration Pilot Program. The purpose of the pilot program is to demonstrate that, with appropriate support and services, individuals with physical disabilities and individuals with mental illness who need a short-term placement of 6 months or less in a nursing facility can successfully return to the community without experiencing unnecessary institutionalization. The initial pilot program sites shall be those initiated or operated by the Department in Fiscal Year 2009. The pilot program may be expanded to other sites as funding becomes available for that purpose.

(b) The Department of Human Services shall secure the cooperation of hospitals in the geographic areas served by the pilot program so that hospitals will coordinate with the Service Coordination Agencies and the Home Services Program to verify whether the individual is expected to have a short-term stay of 6 months or less in a nursing facility upon discharge from the hospital.

(c) The Service Coordination Agencies and the Home Services Program in the pilot areas shall make an initial assessment and a post-admission assessment to ascertain whether an individual needs a nursing facility level of care and whether the individual is expected to be in the nursing facility for a short-term stay of 6 months or less.

(d) The Service Coordination Agencies and the Home Services Program shall make necessary and appropriate efforts to reintegrate any individual who is found to need nursing facility level of care and is expected to be in a nursing home for a short-term stay of 6 months or less, including collaboration with local service providers, such as centers for independent living and community mental health agencies.

(e) If an individual who, through the pilot program, has been identified as needing a short-term stay of 6 months or less is admitted to a nursing facility, the individual shall be assessed for eligibility for an enhanced Community Home Maintenance Allowance to allow the individual to retain income for a period of up to 6 months in order to retain his or her home.

(f) The pilot program shall operate for not less than 3 years after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly. The Department of Human Services shall assess the effectiveness of the pilot program in preventing the unnecessary institutionalization of individuals with physical disabilities or mental illness and allowing them to successfully return to their pre-admission living arrangements.

(g) The pilot program established under this Article shall not apply to facilities that qualify under federal law as institutions for mental disease.

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