HB4327 EngrossedLRB098 18752 KTG 53897 b

1    AN ACT concerning aging.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Adult Protective Services Act is amended by
5changing Section 7.5 as follows:
 
6    (320 ILCS 20/7.5)
7    Sec. 7.5. Health Care Worker Registry.
8    (a) Reporting to the Registry. The Department on Aging
9shall report to the Department of Public Health's Health Care
10Worker Registry the identity and administrative finding of a
11verified and substantiated decision of abuse, neglect, or
12financial exploitation of an eligible adult under this Act that
13is made against any caregiver, including consultants and
14volunteers, employed by a provider licensed, certified, or
15regulated by, or paid with public funds from, the Department of
16Public Health, Healthcare and Family Services, or Human
17Services, or the Department on Aging. For uncompensated or
18privately paid caregivers, the Department on Aging shall report
19only a verified and substantiated decision of significant
20abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation of an eligible adult
21under this Act. An administrative finding placed in the
22Registry shall preclude any caregiver from providing direct
23access or other services, including consulting and

 

 

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1volunteering, in a position with a provider that is licensed,
2certified, or regulated by, or paid with public funds from or
3on behalf of, the State of Illinois or any Department thereof,
4that permits the caregiver direct access to an adult aged 60 or
5older or an adult, over 18, with a disability or to that
6individual's living quarters or personal, financial, or
7medical records.
8    (b) Definitions. As used in this Section:
9    "Direct care" includes, but is not limited to, direct
10access to an individual, his or her living quarters, or his or
11her personal, financial, or medical records for the purpose of
12providing nursing care or assistance with feeding, dressing,
13movement, bathing, toileting, other personal needs and
14activities of daily living, or assistance with financial
15transactions.
16    "Privately paid caregiver" means any caregiver who has been
17paid with resources other than public funds, regardless of
18licensure, certification, or regulation by the State of
19Illinois and any Department thereof. A privately paid caregiver
20does not include any caregiver that has been licensed,
21certified, or regulated by a State agency, or paid with public
22funds.
23    "Significant" means a finding of abuse, neglect, or
24financial exploitation as determined by the Department that (i)
25represents a meaningful failure to adequately provide for, or a
26material indifference to, the financial, health, safety, or

 

 

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1medical needs of an eligible adult or (ii) results in an
2eligible adult's death or other serious deterioration of an
3eligible adult's financial resources, physical condition, or
4mental condition.
5    "Uncompensated caregiver" means a caregiver who, in an
6informal capacity, assists an eligible adult with activities of
7daily living, financial transactions, or chore housekeeping
8type duties. "Uncompensated caregiver" does not refer to an
9individual serving in a formal capacity as a volunteer with a
10provider licensed, certified, or regulated by a State agency.
11    (c) Access to and use of the Registry. Access to the
12Registry shall be limited to licensed, certified, or regulated
13providers by the Department of Public Health, Healthcare and
14Family Service, or Human Services, or the Department on Aging.
15The State of Illinois, any Department thereof, or a provider
16licensed, certified, or regulated, or paid with public funds
17by, from, or on behalf of the Department of Public Health,
18Healthcare and Family Services, or Human Services, or the
19Department on Aging, shall not hire or compensate any person
20seeking employment, retain any contractors, or accept any
21volunteers to provide direct care without first conducting an
22online check of the person through the Department of Public
23Health's Health Care Worker Registry. The provider shall
24maintain a copy of the results of the online check to
25demonstrate compliance with this requirement. The provider is
26prohibited from hiring, compensating, or accepting a person,

 

 

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1including as a consultant or volunteer, for whom the online
2check reveals a verified and substantiated claim of abuse,
3neglect, or financial exploitation, to provide direct access to
4any adult aged 60 or older or any adult, over 18, with a
5disability. Additionally, a provider is prohibited from
6retaining a person for whom they gain knowledge of a verified
7and substantiated claim of abuse, neglect, or financial
8exploitation in a position that permits the caregiver direct
9access to provide direct care to any adult aged 60 or older or
10any adult, over 18, with a disability or direct access to that
11individual's living quarters or personal, financial, or
12medical records. Failure to comply with this requirement may
13subject such a provider to corrective action by the appropriate
14regulatory agency or other lawful remedies provided under the
15applicable licensure, certification, or regulatory laws and
16rules.
17    (d) Notice to caregiver. The Department on Aging shall
18establish rules concerning notice to the caregiver in cases of
19abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation.
20    (e) Notification to eligible adults, guardians, or agents.
21As part of its investigation, the Department on Aging shall
22notify an eligible adult, or an eligible adult's guardian or
23agent, that a caregiver's name may be placed on the Registry
24based on a finding as described in subsection (a) (a-1) of this
25Section.
26    (f) Notification to employer. A provider licensed,

 

 

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1certified, or regulated by the Department of Public Health,
2Healthcare and Family Services, or Human Services, or the
3Department on Aging shall be notified of an administrative
4finding against any caregiver who is an employee, consultant,
5or volunteer of a verified and substantiated decision of abuse,
6neglect, or financial exploitation of an eligible adult under
7this Act. If there is an imminent risk of danger to the
8eligible adult or an imminent risk of misuse of personal,
9medical, or financial information, the caregiver shall
10immediately be barred from direct access to the eligible adult,
11his or her living quarters, or his or her personal, financial,
12or medical records, pending the outcome of any challenge,
13criminal prosecution, or other type of collateral action.
14    (g) Caregiver challenges. The Department on Aging shall
15establish, by rule, procedures concerning caregiver
16challenges.
17    (h) Caregiver's rights to collateral action. The
18Department on Aging shall not make any report to the Registry
19if a caregiver notifies the Department in writing, including
20any supporting documentation, that he or she is formally
21challenging an adverse employment action resulting from a
22verified and substantiated finding of abuse, neglect, or
23financial exploitation by complaint filed with the Illinois
24Civil Service Commission, or by another means which seeks to
25enforce the caregiver's rights pursuant to any applicable
26collective bargaining agreement. If an action taken by an

 

 

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1employer against a caregiver as a result of a finding of abuse,
2neglect, or financial exploitation is overturned through an
3action filed with the Illinois Civil Service Commission or
4under any applicable collective bargaining agreement after
5that caregiver's name has already been sent to the Registry,
6the caregiver's name shall be removed from the Registry.
7    (i) Removal from Registry. At any time after a report to
8the Registry, but no more than once in each successive 3-year
9period thereafter, for a maximum of 3 such requests, a
10caregiver may write to the Director of the Department on Aging
11to request removal of his or her name from the Registry in
12relationship to a single incident. The caregiver shall bear the
13burden of showing cause that establishes, by a preponderance of
14the evidence, that removal of his or her name from the Registry
15is in the public interest. Upon receiving such a request, the
16Department on Aging shall conduct an investigation and consider
17any evidentiary material provided. The Department shall issue a
18decision either granting or denying removal within 60 calendar
19days, and shall issue such decision to the caregiver and the
20Registry. The waiver process at the Department of Public Health
21does not apply to Registry reports from the Department on
22Aging. The Department on Aging shall establish standards for
23the removal of a name from the Registry by rule.
24    (j) Referral of Registry reports to health care facilities.
25In the event an eligible adult receiving services from a
26provider agency changes his or her residence from a domestic

 

 

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1living situation to that of a health care facility, the
2provider agency shall use reasonable efforts to promptly inform
3the health care facility and the appropriate Regional Long Term
4Care Ombudsman about any Registry reports relating to the
5eligible adult. For purposes of this Section, a health care
6facility includes, but is not limited to, any residential
7facility licensed, certified, or regulated by the Department of
8Public Health, Healthcare and Family Services, or Human
9Services.
10    (k) The Department on Aging shall have immunity, except for
11willful or wanton misconduct, from any liability, civil or
12criminal, for reporting information to the Health Care Worker
13Registry.
14(Source: P.A. 98-49, eff. 1-1-14; revised 11-12-13.)
 
15    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
16becoming law.