Public Act 094-0853
 
SB3010 Enrolled LRB094 15526 DRJ 50725 b

    AN ACT concerning regulation.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Abused and Neglected Long Term Care Facility
Residents Reporting Act is amended by changing Sections 4 and
6.2 as follows:
 
    (210 ILCS 30/4)  (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 4164)
    Sec. 4. Any long term care facility administrator, agent or
employee or any physician, hospital, surgeon, dentist,
osteopath, chiropractor, podiatrist, accredited religious
practitioner who provides treatment by spiritual means alone
through prayer in accordance with the tenets and practices of
the accrediting church Christian Science practitioner,
coroner, social worker, social services administrator,
registered nurse, law enforcement officer, field personnel of
the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services
Public Aid, field personnel of the Illinois Department of
Public Health and County or Municipal Health Departments,
personnel of the Department of Human Services (acting as the
successor to the Department of Mental Health and Developmental
Disabilities or the Department of Public Aid), personnel of the
Guardianship and Advocacy Commission, personnel of the State
Fire Marshal, local fire department inspectors or other
personnel, or personnel of the Illinois Department on Aging, or
its subsidiary Agencies on Aging, or employee of a facility
licensed under the Assisted Living and Shared Housing Act,
having reasonable cause to believe any resident with whom they
have direct contact has been subjected to abuse or neglect
shall immediately report or cause a report to be made to the
Department. Persons required to make reports or cause reports
to be made under this Section include all employees of the
State of Illinois who are involved in providing services to
residents, including professionals providing medical or
rehabilitation services and all other persons having direct
contact with residents; and further include all employees of
community service agencies who provide services to a resident
of a public or private long term care facility outside of that
facility. Any long term care surveyor of the Illinois
Department of Public Health who has reasonable cause to believe
in the course of a survey that a resident has been abused or
neglected and initiates an investigation while on site at the
facility shall be exempt from making a report under this
Section but the results of any such investigation shall be
forwarded to the central register in a manner and form
described by the Department.
    The requirement of this Act shall not relieve any long term
care facility administrator, agent or employee of
responsibility to report the abuse or neglect of a resident
under Section 3-610 of the Nursing Home Care Act.
    In addition to the above persons required to report
suspected resident abuse and neglect, any other person may make
a report to the Department, or to any law enforcement officer,
if such person has reasonable cause to suspect a resident has
been abused or neglected.
    This Section also applies to residents whose death occurs
from suspected abuse or neglect before being found or brought
to a hospital.
    A person required to make reports or cause reports to be
made under this Section who fails to comply with the
requirements of this Section is guilty of a Class A
misdemeanor.
(Source: P.A. 91-656, eff. 1-1-01; revised 12-15-05.)
 
    (210 ILCS 30/6.2)  (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 4166.2)
    Sec. 6.2. Inspector General.
    (a) The Governor shall appoint, and the Senate shall
confirm, an Inspector General. The Inspector General shall be
appointed for a term of 4 years and shall function within the
Department of Human Services and report to the Secretary of
Human Services and the Governor. The Inspector General shall
function independently within the Department of Human Services
with respect to the operations of the office, including the
performance of investigations and issuance of findings and
recommendations. The appropriation for the Office of Inspector
General shall be separate from the overall appropriation for
the Department of Human Services. The Inspector General shall
investigate reports of suspected abuse or neglect (as those
terms are defined in Section 3 of this Act) of patients or
residents in any mental health or developmental disabilities
facility operated by the Department of Human Services and shall
have authority to investigate and take immediate action on
reports of abuse or neglect of recipients, whether patients or
residents, in any mental health or developmental disabilities
facility or program that is licensed or certified by the
Department of Human Services (as successor to the Department of
Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities) or that is funded
by the Department of Human Services (as successor to the
Department of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities)
and is not licensed or certified by any agency of the State. At
the specific, written request of an agency of the State other
than the Department of Human Services (as successor to the
Department of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities),
the Inspector General may cooperate in investigating reports of
abuse and neglect of persons with mental illness or persons
with developmental disabilities. The Inspector General shall
have no supervision over or involvement in routine,
programmatic, licensure, or certification operations of the
Department of Human Services or any of its funded agencies.
    The Inspector General shall promulgate rules establishing
minimum requirements for reporting allegations of abuse and
neglect and initiating, conducting, and completing
investigations. The promulgated rules shall clearly set forth
that in instances where 2 or more State agencies could
investigate an allegation of abuse or neglect, the Inspector
General shall not conduct an investigation that is redundant to
an investigation conducted by another State agency. The rules
shall establish criteria for determining, based upon the nature
of the allegation, the appropriate method of investigation,
which may include, but need not be limited to, site visits,
telephone contacts, or requests for written responses from
agencies. The rules shall also clarify how the Office of the
Inspector General shall interact with the licensing unit of the
Department of Human Services in investigations of allegations
of abuse or neglect. Any allegations or investigations of
reports made pursuant to this Act shall remain confidential
until a final report is completed. The resident or patient who
allegedly was abused or neglected and his or her legal guardian
shall be informed by the facility or agency of the report of
alleged abuse or neglect. Final reports regarding
unsubstantiated or unfounded allegations shall remain
confidential, except that final reports may be disclosed
pursuant to Section 6 of this Act.
    For purposes of this Section, "required reporter" means a
person who suspects, witnesses, or is informed of an allegation
of abuse or neglect at a State-operated facility or a community
agency and who is either: (i) a person employed at a
State-operated facility or a community agency on or off site
who is providing or monitoring services to an individual or
individuals or is providing services to the State-operated
facility or the community agency; or (ii) any person or
contractual agent of the Department of Human Services involved
in providing, monitoring, or administering mental health or
developmental disability services, including, but not limited
to, payroll personnel, contractors, subcontractors, and
volunteers. A required reporter shall report the allegation of
abuse or neglect, or cause a report to be made, to the Office
of the Inspector General (OIG) Hotline no later than 4 hours
after the initial discovery of the incident of alleged abuse or
neglect. A required reporter as defined in this paragraph who
willfully fails to comply with the reporting requirement is
guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.
    For purposes of this Section, "State-operated facility"
means a mental health facility or a developmental disability
facility as defined in Sections 1-114 and 1-107 of the Mental
Health and Developmental Disabilities Code.
    For purposes of this Section, "community agency" or
"agency" means any community entity or program providing mental
health or developmental disabilities services that is
licensed, certified, or funded by the Department of Human
Services and is not licensed or certified by any other human
services agency of the State (for example, the Department of
Public Health, the Department of Children and Family Services,
or the Department of Healthcare and Family Services).
    When the Office of the Inspector General has substantiated
a case of abuse or neglect, the Inspector General shall include
in the final report any mitigating or aggravating circumstances
that were identified during the investigation. Upon
determination that a report of neglect is substantiated, the
Inspector General shall then determine whether such neglect
rises to the level of egregious neglect.
    (b) The Inspector General shall, within 24 hours after
determining that a reported allegation of suspected abuse or
neglect indicates that any possible criminal act has been
committed or that special expertise is required in the
investigation, immediately notify the Department of State
Police or the appropriate law enforcement entity. The
Department of State Police shall investigate any report from a
State-operated facility indicating a possible murder, rape, or
other felony. All investigations conducted by the Inspector
General shall be conducted in a manner designed to ensure the
preservation of evidence for possible use in a criminal
prosecution.
    (b-5) The Inspector General shall make a determination to
accept or reject a preliminary report of the investigation of
alleged abuse or neglect based on established investigative
procedures. Notice of the Inspector General's determination
must be given to the person who claims to be the victim of the
abuse or neglect, to the person or persons alleged to have been
responsible for abuse or neglect, and to the facility or
agency. The facility or agency or the person or persons alleged
to have been responsible for the abuse or neglect and the
person who claims to be the victim of the abuse or neglect may
request clarification or reconsideration based on additional
information. For cases where the allegation of abuse or neglect
is substantiated, the Inspector General shall require the
facility or agency to submit a written response. The written
response from a facility or agency shall address in a concise
and reasoned manner the actions that the agency or facility
will take or has taken to protect the resident or patient from
abuse or neglect, prevent reoccurrences, and eliminate
problems identified and shall include implementation and
completion dates for all such action.
    (c) The Inspector General shall, within 10 calendar days
after the transmittal date of a completed investigation where
abuse or neglect is substantiated or administrative action is
recommended, provide a complete report on the case to the
Secretary of Human Services and to the agency in which the
abuse or neglect is alleged to have happened. The complete
report shall include a written response from the agency or
facility operated by the State to the Inspector General that
addresses in a concise and reasoned manner the actions that the
agency or facility will take or has taken to protect the
resident or patient from abuse or neglect, prevent
reoccurrences, and eliminate problems identified and shall
include implementation and completion dates for all such
action. The Secretary of Human Services shall accept or reject
the response and establish how the Department will determine
whether the facility or program followed the approved response.
The Secretary may require Department personnel to visit the
facility or agency for training, technical assistance,
programmatic, licensure, or certification purposes.
Administrative action, including sanctions, may be applied
should the Secretary reject the response or should the facility
or agency fail to follow the approved response. Within 30 days
after the Secretary has approved a response, the facility or
agency making the response shall provide an implementation
report to the Inspector General on the status of the corrective
action implemented. Within 60 days after the Secretary has
approved the response, the facility or agency shall send notice
of the completion of the corrective action or shall send an
updated implementation report. The facility or agency shall
continue sending updated implementation reports every 60 days
until the facility or agency sends a notice of the completion
of the corrective action. The Inspector General shall review
any implementation plan that takes more than 120 days. The
Inspector General shall monitor compliance through a random
review of completed corrective actions. This monitoring may
include, but need not be limited to, site visits, telephone
contacts, or requests for written documentation from the
facility or agency to determine whether the facility or agency
is in compliance with the approved response. The facility or
agency shall inform the resident or patient and the legal
guardian whether the reported allegation was substantiated,
unsubstantiated, or unfounded. There shall be an appeals
process for any person or agency that is subject to any action
based on a recommendation or recommendations.
    (d) The Inspector General may recommend to the Departments
of Public Health and Human Services sanctions to be imposed
against mental health and developmental disabilities
facilities under the jurisdiction of the Department of Human
Services for the protection of residents, including
appointment of on-site monitors or receivers, transfer or
relocation of residents, and closure of units. The Inspector
General may seek the assistance of the Attorney General or any
of the several State's attorneys in imposing such sanctions.
Whenever the Inspector General issues any recommendations to
the Secretary of Human Services, the Secretary shall provide a
written response.
    (e) The Inspector General shall establish and conduct
periodic training programs for Department of Human Services
employees concerning the prevention and reporting of neglect
and abuse.
    (f) The Inspector General shall at all times be granted
access to any mental health or developmental disabilities
facility operated by the Department of Human Services, shall
establish and conduct unannounced site visits to those
facilities at least once annually, and shall be granted access,
for the purpose of investigating a report of abuse or neglect,
to the records of the Department of Human Services and to any
facility or program funded by the Department of Human Services
that is subject under the provisions of this Section to
investigation by the Inspector General for a report of abuse or
neglect.
    (g) Nothing in this Section shall limit investigations by
the Department of Human Services that may otherwise be required
by law or that may be necessary in that Department's capacity
as the central administrative authority responsible for the
operation of State mental health and developmental disability
facilities.
    (g-5) After notice and an opportunity for a hearing that is
separate and distinct from the Office of the Inspector
General's appeals process as implemented under subsection (c)
of this Section, the Inspector General shall report to the
Department of Public Health's nurse aide registry under Section
3-206.01 of the Nursing Home Care Act the identity of
individuals against whom there has been a substantiated finding
of physical or sexual abuse or egregious neglect of a service
recipient.
    Nothing in this subsection shall diminish or impair the
rights of a person who is a member of a collective bargaining
unit pursuant to the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act or
pursuant to any federal labor statute. An individual who is a
member of a collective bargaining unit as described above shall
not be reported to the Department of Public Health's nurse aide
registry until the exhaustion of that individual's grievance
and arbitration rights, or until 3 months after the initiation
of the grievance process, whichever occurs first, provided that
the Department of Human Services' hearing under subsection (c),
that is separate and distinct from the Office of the Inspector
General's appeals process, has concluded. Notwithstanding
anything hereinafter or previously provided, if an action taken
by an employer against an individual as a result of the
circumstances that led to a finding of physical or sexual abuse
or egregious neglect is later overturned under a grievance or
arbitration procedure provided for in Section 8 of the Illinois
Public Labor Relations Act or under a collective bargaining
agreement, the report must be removed from the registry.
    The Department of Human Services shall promulgate or amend
rules as necessary or appropriate to establish procedures for
reporting to the registry, including the definition of
egregious neglect, procedures for notice to the individual and
victim, appeal and hearing procedures, and petition for removal
of the report from the registry. The portion of the rules
pertaining to hearings shall provide that, at the hearing, both
parties may present written and oral evidence. The Department
shall be required to establish by a preponderance of the
evidence that the Office of the Inspector General's finding of
physical or sexual abuse or egregious neglect warrants
reporting to the Department of Public Health's nurse aide
registry under Section 3-206.01 of the Nursing Home Care Act.
    Notice to the individual shall include a clear and concise
statement of the grounds on which the report to the registry is
based and notice of the opportunity for a hearing to contest
the report. The Department of Human Services shall provide the
notice by certified mail to the last known address of the
individual. The notice shall give the individual an opportunity
to contest the report in a hearing before the Department of
Human Services or to submit a written response to the findings
instead of requesting a hearing. If the individual does not
request a hearing or if after notice and a hearing the
Department of Human Services finds that the report is valid,
the finding shall be included as part of the registry, as well
as a brief statement from the reported individual if he or she
chooses to make a statement. The Department of Public Health
shall make available to the public information reported to the
registry. In a case of inquiries concerning an individual
listed in the registry, any information disclosed concerning a
finding of abuse or neglect shall also include disclosure of
the individual's brief statement in the registry relating to
the reported finding or include a clear and accurate summary of
the statement.
    At any time after the report of the registry, an individual
may petition the Department of Human Services for removal from
the registry of the finding against him or her. Upon receipt of
such a petition, the Department of Human Services shall conduct
an investigation and hearing on the petition. Upon completion
of the investigation and hearing, the Department of Human
Services shall report the removal of the finding to the
registry unless the Department of Human Services determines
that removal is not in the public interest.
(Source: P.A. 93-636, eff. 12-31-03; 94-428, eff. 8-2-05.)
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.