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Public Act 099-0323 | ||||
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AN ACT concerning State government.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The Department of Human Services Act is amended | ||||
by changing Section 1-17 as follows:
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(20 ILCS 1305/1-17)
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Sec. 1-17. Inspector General. | ||||
(a) Nature and purpose. It is the express intent of the | ||||
General Assembly to ensure the health, safety, and financial | ||||
condition of individuals receiving services in this State due | ||||
to mental illness, developmental disability, or both by | ||||
protecting those persons from acts of abuse, neglect, or both | ||||
by service providers. To that end, the Office of the Inspector | ||||
General for the Department of Human Services is created to | ||||
investigate and report upon allegations of the abuse, neglect, | ||||
or financial exploitation of individuals receiving services | ||||
within mental health facilities, developmental disabilities | ||||
facilities, and community agencies operated, licensed, funded | ||||
or certified by the Department of Human Services, but not | ||||
licensed or certified by any other State agency. | ||||
(b) Definitions. The following definitions apply to this | ||||
Section: | ||||
"Adult student with a disability" means an adult student, |
age 18 through 21, inclusive, with an Individual Education | ||
Program, other than a resident of a facility licensed by the | ||
Department of Children and Family Services in accordance with | ||
the Child Care Act of 1969. For purposes of this definition, | ||
"through age 21, inclusive", means through the day before the | ||
student's 22nd birthday. | ||
"Agency" or "community agency" means (i) a community agency | ||
licensed, funded, or certified by the Department, but not | ||
licensed or certified by any other human services agency of the | ||
State, to provide mental health service or developmental | ||
disabilities service, or (ii) a program licensed, funded, or | ||
certified by the Department, but not licensed or certified by | ||
any other human services agency of the State, to provide mental | ||
health service or developmental disabilities service. | ||
"Aggravating circumstance" means a factor that is | ||
attendant to a finding and that tends to compound or increase | ||
the culpability of the accused. | ||
"Allegation" means an assertion, complaint, suspicion, or | ||
incident involving any of the following conduct by an employee, | ||
facility, or agency against an individual or individuals: | ||
mental abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, or | ||
financial exploitation. | ||
"Day" means working day, unless otherwise specified. | ||
"Deflection" means a situation in which an individual is | ||
presented for admission to a facility or agency, and the | ||
facility staff or agency staff do not admit the individual. |
"Deflection" includes triage, redirection, and denial of | ||
admission. | ||
"Department" means the Department of Human Services. | ||
"Developmentally disabled" means having a developmental | ||
disability. | ||
"Developmental disability" means "developmental | ||
disability" as defined in the Mental Health and Developmental | ||
Disabilities Code. | ||
"Egregious neglect" means a finding of neglect as | ||
determined by the Inspector General that (i) represents a gross | ||
failure to adequately provide for, or a callused indifference | ||
to, the health, safety, or medical needs of an individual and | ||
(ii) results in an individual's death or other serious | ||
deterioration of an individual's physical condition or mental | ||
condition. | ||
"Employee" means any person who provides services at the | ||
facility or agency on-site or off-site. The service | ||
relationship can be with the individual or with the facility or | ||
agency. Also, "employee" includes any employee or contractual | ||
agent of the Department of Human Services or the community | ||
agency involved in providing or monitoring or administering | ||
mental health or developmental disability services. This | ||
includes but is not limited to: owners, operators, payroll | ||
personnel, contractors, subcontractors, and volunteers. | ||
"Facility" or "State-operated facility" means a mental | ||
health facility or developmental disabilities facility |
operated by the Department. | ||
"Financial exploitation" means taking unjust advantage of | ||
an individual's assets, property, or financial resources | ||
through deception, intimidation, or conversion for the | ||
employee's, facility's, or agency's own advantage or benefit. | ||
"Finding" means the Office of Inspector General's | ||
determination regarding whether an allegation is | ||
substantiated, unsubstantiated, or unfounded. | ||
"Health care worker registry" or "registry" means the | ||
health care worker registry created by the Nursing Home Care | ||
Act. | ||
"Individual" means any person receiving mental health | ||
service, developmental disabilities service, or both from a | ||
facility or agency, while either on-site or off-site. | ||
"Mental abuse" means the use of demeaning, intimidating, or | ||
threatening words, signs, gestures, or other actions by an | ||
employee about an individual and in the presence of an | ||
individual or individuals that results in emotional distress or | ||
maladaptive behavior, or could have resulted in emotional | ||
distress or maladaptive behavior, for any individual present. | ||
"Mental illness" means "mental illness" as defined in the | ||
Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code. | ||
"Mentally ill" means having a mental illness. | ||
"Mitigating circumstance" means a condition that (i) is | ||
attendant to a finding, (ii) does not excuse or justify the | ||
conduct in question, but (iii) may be considered in evaluating |
the severity of the conduct, the culpability of the accused, or | ||
both the severity of the conduct and the culpability of the | ||
accused. | ||
"Neglect" means an employee's, agency's, or facility's | ||
failure to provide adequate medical care, personal care, or | ||
maintenance and that, as a consequence, (i) causes an | ||
individual pain, injury, or emotional distress, (ii) results in | ||
either an individual's maladaptive behavior or the | ||
deterioration of an individual's physical condition or mental | ||
condition, or (iii) places the individual's health or safety at | ||
substantial risk. | ||
"Physical abuse" means an employee's non-accidental and | ||
inappropriate contact with an individual that causes bodily | ||
harm. "Physical abuse" includes actions that cause bodily harm | ||
as a result of an employee directing an individual or person to | ||
physically abuse another individual. | ||
"Recommendation" means an admonition, separate from a | ||
finding, that requires action by the facility, agency, or | ||
Department to correct a systemic issue, problem, or deficiency | ||
identified during an investigation. | ||
"Required reporter" means any employee who suspects, | ||
witnesses, or is informed of an allegation of any one or more | ||
of the following: mental abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, | ||
neglect, or financial exploitation. | ||
"Secretary" means the Chief Administrative Officer of the | ||
Department. |
"Sexual abuse" means any sexual contact or intimate | ||
physical contact between an employee and an individual, | ||
including an employee's coercion or encouragement of an | ||
individual to engage in sexual behavior that results in sexual | ||
contact, intimate physical contact, sexual behavior, or | ||
intimate physical behavior. Sexual abuse also includes (i) an | ||
employee's actions that result in the sending or showing of | ||
sexually explicit images to an individual via computer, | ||
cellular phone, electronic mail, portable electronic device, | ||
or other media with or without contact with the individual or | ||
(ii) an employee's posting of sexually explicit images of an | ||
individual online or elsewhere whether or not there is contact | ||
with the individual. | ||
"Sexually explicit images" includes, but is not limited to, | ||
any material which depicts nudity, sexual conduct, or | ||
sado-masochistic abuse, or which contains explicit and | ||
detailed verbal descriptions or narrative accounts of sexual | ||
excitement, sexual conduct, or sado-masochistic abuse. | ||
"Substantiated" means there is a preponderance of the | ||
evidence to support the allegation. | ||
"Unfounded" means there is no credible evidence to support | ||
the allegation. | ||
"Unsubstantiated" means there is credible evidence, but | ||
less than a preponderance of evidence to support the | ||
allegation. | ||
(c) Appointment. 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 and the Governor. | ||
(d) Operation and appropriation. The Inspector General | ||
shall function independently within the Department 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. | ||
(e) Powers and duties. The Inspector General shall | ||
investigate reports of suspected mental abuse, physical abuse, | ||
sexual abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation of | ||
individuals in any mental health or developmental disabilities | ||
facility or agency and shall have authority to take immediate | ||
action to prevent any one or more of the following from | ||
happening to individuals under its jurisdiction: mental abuse, | ||
physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, or financial | ||
exploitation. Upon written request of an agency of this State, | ||
the Inspector General may assist another agency of the State in | ||
investigating reports of the abuse, neglect, or abuse and | ||
neglect of persons with mental illness, persons with | ||
developmental disabilities, or persons with both. To comply | ||
with the requirements of subsection (k) of this Section, the | ||
Inspector General shall also review all reportable deaths for |
which there is no allegation of abuse or neglect. Nothing in | ||
this Section shall preempt any duties of the Medical Review | ||
Board set forth in the Mental Health and Developmental | ||
Disabilities Code. The Inspector General shall have no | ||
authority to investigate alleged violations of the State | ||
Officials and Employees Ethics Act. Allegations of misconduct | ||
under the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act shall be | ||
referred to the Office of the Governor's Executive Inspector | ||
General for investigation. | ||
(f) Limitations. The Inspector General shall not conduct an | ||
investigation within an agency or facility if that | ||
investigation would be redundant to or interfere with an | ||
investigation conducted by another State agency. The Inspector | ||
General shall have no supervision over, or involvement in, the | ||
routine programmatic, licensing, funding, or certification | ||
operations of the Department. Nothing in this subsection limits | ||
investigations by the Department that may otherwise be required | ||
by law or that may be necessary in the Department's capacity as | ||
central administrative authority responsible for the operation | ||
of the State's mental health and developmental disabilities | ||
facilities. | ||
(g) Rulemaking authority. The Inspector General shall | ||
promulgate rules establishing minimum requirements for | ||
reporting allegations as well as for initiating, conducting, | ||
and completing investigations based upon the nature of the | ||
allegation or allegations. The rules shall clearly establish |
that if 2 or more State agencies could investigate an | ||
allegation, the Inspector General shall not conduct an | ||
investigation that would be redundant to, or interfere with, an | ||
investigation conducted by another State agency. The rules | ||
shall further clarify the method and circumstances under which | ||
the Office of Inspector General may interact with the | ||
licensing, funding, or certification units of the Department in | ||
preventing further occurrences of mental abuse, physical | ||
abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, egregious neglect, and financial | ||
exploitation. | ||
(h) Training programs. The Inspector General shall (i) | ||
establish a comprehensive program to ensure that every person | ||
authorized to conduct investigations receives ongoing training | ||
relative to investigation techniques, communication skills, | ||
and the appropriate means of interacting with persons receiving | ||
treatment for mental illness, developmental disability, or | ||
both mental illness and developmental disability, and (ii) | ||
establish and conduct periodic training programs for facility | ||
and agency employees concerning the prevention and reporting of | ||
any one or more of the following: mental abuse, physical abuse, | ||
sexual abuse, neglect, egregious neglect, or financial | ||
exploitation. Nothing in this Section shall be deemed to | ||
prevent the Office of Inspector General from conducting any | ||
other training as determined by the Inspector General to be | ||
necessary or helpful. | ||
(i) Duty to cooperate. |
(1) The Inspector General shall at all times be granted | ||
access to any facility or agency for the purpose of | ||
investigating any allegation, conducting unannounced site | ||
visits, monitoring compliance with a written response, or | ||
completing any other statutorily assigned duty. The | ||
Inspector General shall conduct unannounced site visits to | ||
each facility at least annually for the purpose of | ||
reviewing and making recommendations on systemic issues | ||
relative to preventing, reporting, investigating, and | ||
responding to all of the following: mental abuse, physical | ||
abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, egregious neglect, or | ||
financial exploitation. | ||
(2) Any employee who fails to cooperate with an Office | ||
of the Inspector General investigation is in violation of | ||
this Act. Failure to cooperate with an investigation | ||
includes, but is not limited to, any one or more of the | ||
following: (i) creating and transmitting a false report to | ||
the Office of the Inspector General hotline, (ii) providing | ||
false information to an Office of the Inspector General | ||
Investigator during an investigation, (iii) colluding with | ||
other employees to cover up evidence, (iv) colluding with | ||
other employees to provide false information to an Office | ||
of the Inspector General investigator, (v) destroying | ||
evidence, (vi) withholding evidence, or (vii) otherwise | ||
obstructing an Office of the Inspector General | ||
investigation. Additionally, any employee who, during an |
unannounced site visit or written response compliance | ||
check, fails to cooperate with requests from the Office of | ||
the Inspector General is in violation of this Act. | ||
(j) Subpoena powers. The Inspector General shall have the | ||
power to subpoena witnesses and compel the production of all | ||
documents and physical evidence relating to his or her | ||
investigations and any hearings authorized by this Act. This | ||
subpoena power shall not extend to persons or documents of a | ||
labor organization or its representatives insofar as the | ||
persons are acting in a representative capacity to an employee | ||
whose conduct is the subject of an investigation or the | ||
documents relate to that representation. Any person who | ||
otherwise fails to respond to a subpoena or who knowingly | ||
provides false information to the Office of the Inspector | ||
General by subpoena during an investigation is guilty of a | ||
Class A misdemeanor. | ||
(k) Reporting allegations and deaths. | ||
(1) Allegations. If an employee witnesses, is told of, | ||
or has reason to believe an incident of mental abuse, | ||
physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, or financial | ||
exploitation has occurred, the employee, agency, or | ||
facility shall report the allegation by phone to the Office | ||
of the Inspector General hotline according to the agency's | ||
or facility's procedures, but in no event later than 4 | ||
hours after the initial discovery of the incident, | ||
allegation, or suspicion of any one or more of the |
following: mental abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, | ||
neglect, or financial exploitation. A required reporter as | ||
defined in subsection (b) of this Section who knowingly or | ||
intentionally fails to comply with these reporting | ||
requirements is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor. | ||
(2) Deaths. Absent an allegation, a required reporter | ||
shall, within 24 hours after initial discovery, report by | ||
phone to the Office of the Inspector General hotline each | ||
of the following: | ||
(i) Any death of an individual occurring within 14 | ||
calendar days after discharge or transfer of the | ||
individual from a residential program or facility. | ||
(ii) Any death of an individual occurring within 24 | ||
hours after deflection from a residential program or | ||
facility. | ||
(iii) Any other death of an individual occurring at | ||
an agency or facility or at any Department-funded site. | ||
(3) Retaliation. It is a violation of this Act for any | ||
employee or administrator of an agency or facility to take | ||
retaliatory action against an employee who acts in good | ||
faith in conformance with his or her duties as a required | ||
reporter. | ||
(l) Reporting to law enforcement. | ||
(1) Reporting criminal acts. Within 24 hours after | ||
determining that there is credible evidence indicating | ||
that a criminal act may have been committed or that special |
expertise may be required in an investigation, the | ||
Inspector General shall notify the Department of State | ||
Police or other appropriate law enforcement authority, or | ||
ensure that such notification is made. The Department of | ||
State Police shall investigate any report from a | ||
State-operated facility indicating a possible murder, | ||
sexual assault, or other felony by an employee. 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. | ||
(2) Reporting allegations of adult students with | ||
disabilities. Upon receipt of a reportable allegation | ||
regarding an adult student with a disability, the | ||
Department's Office of the Inspector General shall | ||
determine whether the allegation meets the criteria for the | ||
Domestic Abuse Program under the Abuse of Adults with | ||
Disabilities Intervention Act. If the allegation is | ||
reportable to that program, the Office of the Inspector | ||
General shall initiate an investigation. If the allegation | ||
is not reportable to the Domestic Abuse Program, the Office | ||
of the Inspector General shall make an expeditious referral | ||
to the respective law enforcement entity. If the alleged | ||
victim is already receiving services from the Department, | ||
the Office of the Inspector General shall also make a | ||
referral to the respective Department of Human Services' | ||
Division or Bureau. |
(m) Investigative reports. Upon completion of an | ||
investigation, the Office of Inspector General shall issue an | ||
investigative report identifying whether the allegations are | ||
substantiated, unsubstantiated, or unfounded. Within 10 | ||
business days after the transmittal of a completed | ||
investigative report substantiating an allegation, or if a | ||
recommendation is made, the Inspector General shall provide the | ||
investigative report on the case to the Secretary and to the | ||
director of the facility or agency where any one or more of the | ||
following occurred: mental abuse, physical abuse, sexual | ||
abuse, neglect, egregious neglect, or financial exploitation. | ||
In a substantiated case, the investigative report shall include | ||
any mitigating or aggravating circumstances that were | ||
identified during the investigation. If the case involves | ||
substantiated neglect, the investigative report shall also | ||
state whether egregious neglect was found. An investigative | ||
report may also set forth recommendations. All investigative | ||
reports prepared by the Office of the Inspector General shall | ||
be considered confidential and shall not be released except as | ||
provided by the law of this State or as required under | ||
applicable federal law. Unsubstantiated and unfounded reports | ||
shall not be disclosed except as allowed under Section 6 of the | ||
Abused and Neglected Long Term Care Facility Residents | ||
Reporting Act. Raw data used to compile the investigative | ||
report shall not be subject to release unless required by law | ||
or a court order. "Raw data used to compile the investigative |
report" includes, but is not limited to, any one or more of the | ||
following: the initial complaint, witness statements, | ||
photographs, investigator's notes, police reports, or incident | ||
reports. If the allegations are substantiated, the accused | ||
shall be provided with a redacted copy of the investigative | ||
report. Death reports where there was no allegation of abuse or | ||
neglect shall only be released pursuant to applicable State or | ||
federal law or a valid court order. | ||
(n) Written responses and reconsideration requests. | ||
(1) Written responses. Within 30 calendar days from | ||
receipt of a substantiated investigative report or an | ||
investigative report which contains recommendations, | ||
absent a reconsideration request, the facility or agency | ||
shall file a written response that addresses, in a concise | ||
and reasoned manner, the actions taken to: (i) protect the | ||
individual; (ii) prevent recurrences; and (iii) eliminate | ||
the problems identified. The response shall include the | ||
implementation and completion dates of such actions. If the | ||
written response is not filed within the allotted 30 | ||
calendar day period, the Secretary shall determine the | ||
appropriate corrective action to be taken. | ||
(2) Reconsideration requests. The facility, agency, | ||
victim or guardian, or the subject employee may request | ||
that the Office of Inspector General reconsider or clarify | ||
its finding based upon additional information. | ||
(o) Disclosure of the finding by the Inspector General. The |
Inspector General shall disclose the finding of an | ||
investigation to the following persons: (i) the Governor, (ii) | ||
the Secretary, (iii) the director of the facility or agency, | ||
(iv) the alleged victims and their guardians, (v) the | ||
complainant, and (vi) the accused. This information shall | ||
include whether the allegations were deemed substantiated, | ||
unsubstantiated, or unfounded. | ||
(p) Secretary review. Upon review of the Inspector | ||
General's investigative report and any agency's or facility's | ||
written response, the Secretary shall accept or reject the | ||
written response and notify the Inspector General of that | ||
determination. The Secretary may further direct that other | ||
administrative action be taken, including, but not limited to, | ||
any one or more of the following: (i) additional site visits, | ||
(ii) training, (iii) provision of technical assistance | ||
relative to administrative needs, licensure or certification, | ||
or (iv) the imposition of appropriate sanctions. | ||
(q) Action by facility or agency. Within 30 days of the | ||
date the Secretary approves the written response or directs | ||
that further administrative action be taken, the facility or | ||
agency shall provide an implementation report to the Inspector | ||
General that provides the status of the action taken. The | ||
facility or agency shall be allowed an additional 30 days to | ||
send notice of completion of the action or to send an updated | ||
implementation report. If the action has not been completed | ||
within the additional 30 day period, the facility or agency |
shall send updated implementation reports every 60 days until | ||
completion. The Inspector General shall conduct a review of any | ||
implementation plan that takes more than 120 days after | ||
approval to complete, and shall monitor compliance through a | ||
random review of approved written responses, which may include, | ||
but are not limited to: (i) site visits, (ii) telephone | ||
contact, and (iii) requests for additional documentation | ||
evidencing compliance. | ||
(r) Sanctions. Sanctions, if imposed by the Secretary under | ||
Subdivision (p)(iv) of this Section, shall be designed to | ||
prevent further acts of mental abuse, physical abuse, sexual | ||
abuse, neglect, egregious neglect, or financial exploitation | ||
or some combination of one or more of those acts at a facility | ||
or agency, and may include any one or more of the following: | ||
(1) Appointment of on-site monitors. | ||
(2) Transfer or relocation of an individual or | ||
individuals. | ||
(3) Closure of units. | ||
(4) Termination of any one or more of the following: | ||
(i) Department licensing, (ii) funding, or (iii) | ||
certification. | ||
The Inspector General may seek the assistance of the | ||
Illinois Attorney General or the office of any State's Attorney | ||
in implementing sanctions. | ||
(s) Health care worker registry. | ||
(1) Reporting to the registry. The Inspector General |
shall report to the Department of Public Health's health | ||
care worker registry, a public registry, the identity and | ||
finding of each employee of a facility or agency against | ||
whom there is a final investigative report containing a | ||
substantiated allegation of physical or sexual abuse, | ||
financial exploitation, or egregious neglect of an | ||
individual. | ||
(2) Notice to employee. Prior to reporting the name of | ||
an employee, the employee shall be notified of the | ||
Department's obligation to report and shall be granted an | ||
opportunity to request an administrative hearing, the sole | ||
purpose of which is to determine if the substantiated | ||
finding warrants reporting to the registry. Notice to the | ||
employee shall contain a clear and concise statement of the | ||
grounds on which the report to the registry is based, offer | ||
the employee an opportunity for a hearing, and identify the | ||
process for requesting such a hearing. Notice is sufficient | ||
if provided by certified mail to the employee's last known | ||
address. If the employee fails to request a hearing within | ||
30 days from the date of the notice, the Inspector General | ||
shall report the name of the employee to the registry. | ||
Nothing in this subdivision (s)(2) shall diminish or impair | ||
the rights of a person who is a member of a collective | ||
bargaining unit under the Illinois Public Labor Relations | ||
Act or under any other federal labor statute. | ||
(3) Registry hearings. If the employee requests an |
administrative hearing, the employee shall be granted an | ||
opportunity to appear before an administrative law judge to | ||
present reasons why the employee's name should not be | ||
reported to the registry. The Department shall bear the | ||
burden of presenting evidence that establishes, by a | ||
preponderance of the evidence, that the substantiated | ||
finding warrants reporting to the registry. After | ||
considering all the evidence presented, the administrative | ||
law judge shall make a recommendation to the Secretary as | ||
to whether the substantiated finding warrants reporting | ||
the name of the employee to the registry. The Secretary | ||
shall render the final decision. The Department and the | ||
employee shall have the right to request that the | ||
administrative law judge consider a stipulated disposition | ||
of these proceedings. | ||
(4) Testimony at registry hearings. A person who makes | ||
a report or who investigates a report under this Act shall | ||
testify fully in any judicial proceeding resulting from | ||
such a report, as to any evidence of abuse or neglect, or | ||
the cause thereof. No evidence shall be excluded by reason | ||
of any common law or statutory privilege relating to | ||
communications between the alleged perpetrator of abuse or | ||
neglect, or the individual alleged as the victim in the | ||
report, and the person making or investigating the report. | ||
Testimony at hearings is exempt from the confidentiality | ||
requirements of subsection (f) of Section 10 of the Mental |
Health and Developmental Disabilities Confidentiality Act. | ||
(5) Employee's rights to collateral action. No | ||
reporting to the registry shall occur and no hearing shall | ||
be set or proceed if an employee notifies the Inspector | ||
General in writing, including any supporting | ||
documentation, that he or she is formally contesting an | ||
adverse employment action resulting from a substantiated | ||
finding by complaint filed with the Illinois Civil Service | ||
Commission, or which otherwise seeks to enforce the | ||
employee's rights pursuant to any applicable collective | ||
bargaining agreement. If an action taken by an employer | ||
against an employee as a result of a finding of physical | ||
abuse, sexual abuse, or egregious neglect is overturned | ||
through an action filed with the Illinois Civil Service | ||
Commission or under any applicable collective bargaining | ||
agreement and if that employee's name has already been sent | ||
to the registry, the employee's name shall be removed from | ||
the registry. | ||
(6) Removal from registry. At any time after the report | ||
to the registry, but no more than once in any 12-month | ||
period, an employee may petition the Department in writing | ||
to remove his or her name from the registry. Upon receiving | ||
notice of such request, the Inspector General shall conduct | ||
an investigation into the petition. Upon receipt of such | ||
request, an administrative hearing will be set by the | ||
Department. At the hearing, the employee shall bear the |
burden of presenting evidence that establishes, by a | ||
preponderance of the evidence, that removal of the name | ||
from the registry is in the public interest. The parties | ||
may jointly request that the administrative law judge | ||
consider a stipulated disposition of these proceedings. | ||
(t) Review of Administrative Decisions. The Department | ||
shall preserve a record of all proceedings at any formal | ||
hearing conducted by the Department involving health care | ||
worker registry hearings. Final administrative decisions of | ||
the Department are subject to judicial review pursuant to | ||
provisions of the Administrative Review Law. | ||
(u) Quality Care Board. There is created, within the Office | ||
of the Inspector General, a Quality Care Board to be composed | ||
of 7 members appointed by the Governor with the advice and | ||
consent of the Senate. One of the members shall be designated | ||
as chairman by the Governor. Of the initial appointments made | ||
by the Governor, 4 Board members shall each be appointed for a | ||
term of 4 years and 3 members shall each be appointed for a | ||
term of 2 years. Upon the expiration of each member's term, a | ||
successor shall be appointed for a term of 4 years. In the case | ||
of a vacancy in the office of any member, the Governor shall | ||
appoint a successor for the remainder of the unexpired term. | ||
Members appointed by the Governor shall be qualified by | ||
professional knowledge or experience in the area of law, | ||
investigatory techniques, or in the area of care of the | ||
mentally ill or developmentally disabled. Two members |
appointed by the Governor shall be persons with a disability or | ||
a parent of a person with a disability. Members shall serve | ||
without compensation, but shall be reimbursed for expenses | ||
incurred in connection with the performance of their duties as | ||
members. | ||
The Board shall meet quarterly, and may hold other meetings | ||
on the call of the chairman. Four members shall constitute a | ||
quorum allowing the Board to conduct its business. The Board | ||
may adopt rules and regulations it deems necessary to govern | ||
its own procedures. | ||
The Board shall monitor and oversee the operations, | ||
policies, and procedures of the Inspector General to ensure the | ||
prompt and thorough investigation of allegations of neglect and | ||
abuse. In fulfilling these responsibilities, the Board may do | ||
the following: | ||
(1) Provide independent, expert consultation to the | ||
Inspector General on policies and protocols for | ||
investigations of alleged abuse, neglect, or both abuse and | ||
neglect. | ||
(2) Review existing regulations relating to the | ||
operation of facilities. | ||
(3) Advise the Inspector General as to the content of | ||
training activities authorized under this Section. | ||
(4) Recommend policies concerning methods for | ||
improving the intergovernmental relationships between the | ||
Office of the Inspector General and other State or federal |
offices. | ||
(v) Annual report. The Inspector General shall provide to | ||
the General Assembly and the Governor, no later than January 1 | ||
of each year, a summary of reports and investigations made | ||
under this Act for the prior fiscal year with respect to | ||
individuals receiving mental health or developmental | ||
disabilities services. The report shall detail the imposition | ||
of sanctions, if any, and the final disposition of any | ||
corrective or administrative action directed by the Secretary. | ||
The summaries shall not contain any confidential or identifying | ||
information of any individual, but shall include objective data | ||
identifying any trends in the number of reported allegations, | ||
the timeliness of the Office of the Inspector General's | ||
investigations, and their disposition, for each facility and | ||
Department-wide, for the most recent 3-year time period. The | ||
report shall also identify, by facility, the staff-to-patient | ||
ratios taking account of direct care staff only. The report | ||
shall also include detailed recommended administrative actions | ||
and matters for consideration by the General Assembly. | ||
(w) Program audit. The Auditor General shall conduct a | ||
program audit of the Office of the Inspector General on an | ||
as-needed basis, as determined by the Auditor General. The | ||
audit shall specifically include the Inspector General's | ||
compliance with the Act and effectiveness in investigating | ||
reports of allegations occurring in any facility or agency. The | ||
Auditor General shall conduct the program audit according to |
the provisions of the Illinois State Auditing Act and shall | ||
report its findings to the General Assembly no later than | ||
January 1 following the audit period.
| ||
(x) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to mean that | ||
a patient is a victim of abuse or neglect because of health | ||
care services appropriately provided or not provided by health | ||
care professionals. | ||
(y) Nothing in this Section shall require a facility, | ||
including its employees, agents, medical staff members, and | ||
health care professionals, to provide a service to a patient in | ||
contravention of that patient's stated or implied objection to | ||
the provision of that service on the ground that that service | ||
conflicts with the patient's religious beliefs or practices, | ||
nor shall the failure to provide a service to a patient be | ||
considered abuse under this Section if the patient has objected | ||
to the provision of that service based on his or her religious | ||
beliefs or practices.
| ||
(Source: P.A. 98-49, eff. 7-1-13; 98-711, eff. 7-16-14.)
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Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||
becoming law.
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