Rep. Greg Harris

Filed: 3/24/2014

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 4327

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 4327 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
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

 

 

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1Services, or the Department on Aging. For uncompensated or
2privately paid caregivers, the Department on Aging shall report
3only a verified and substantiated decision of significant
4abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation of an eligible adult
5under this Act. An administrative finding placed in the
6Registry shall preclude any caregiver from providing direct
7access or other services, including consulting and
8volunteering, in a position with a provider that is licensed,
9certified, or regulated by, or paid with public funds from or
10on behalf of, the State of Illinois or any Department thereof,
11that permits the caregiver direct access to an adult aged 60 or
12older or an adult, over 18, with a disability or to that
13individual's living quarters or personal, financial, or
14medical records.
15    (b) Definitions. As used in this Section:
16    "Direct care" includes, but is not limited to, direct
17access to an individual, his or her living quarters, or his or
18her personal, financial, or medical records for the purpose of
19providing nursing care or assistance with feeding, dressing,
20movement, bathing, toileting, other personal needs and
21activities of daily living, or assistance with financial
22transactions.
23    "Privately paid caregiver" means any caregiver who has been
24paid with resources other than public funds, regardless of
25licensure, certification, or regulation by the State of
26Illinois and any Department thereof. A privately paid caregiver

 

 

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1does not include any caregiver that has been licensed,
2certified, or regulated by a State agency, or paid with public
3funds.
4    "Significant" means a finding of abuse, neglect, or
5financial exploitation as determined by the Department that (i)
6represents a meaningful failure to adequately provide for, or a
7material indifference to, the financial, health, safety, or
8medical needs of an eligible adult or (ii) results in an
9eligible adult's death or other serious deterioration of an
10eligible adult's financial resources, physical condition, or
11mental condition.
12    "Uncompensated caregiver" means a caregiver who, in an
13informal capacity, assists an eligible adult with activities of
14daily living, financial transactions, or chore housekeeping
15type duties. "Uncompensated caregiver" does not refer to an
16individual serving in a formal capacity as a volunteer with a
17provider licensed, certified, or regulated by a State agency.
18    (c) Access to and use of the Registry. Access to the
19Registry shall be limited to licensed, certified, or regulated
20providers by the Department of Public Health, Healthcare and
21Family Service, or Human Services, or the Department on Aging.
22The State of Illinois, any Department thereof, or a provider
23licensed, certified, or regulated, or paid with public funds
24by, from, or on behalf of the Department of Public Health,
25Healthcare and Family Services, or Human Services, or the
26Department on Aging, shall not hire or compensate any person

 

 

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1seeking employment, retain any contractors, or accept any
2volunteers to provide direct care without first conducting an
3online check of the person through the Department of Public
4Health's Health Care Worker Registry. The provider shall
5maintain a copy of the results of the online check to
6demonstrate compliance with this requirement. The provider is
7prohibited from hiring, compensating, or accepting a person,
8including as a consultant or volunteer, for whom the online
9check reveals a verified and substantiated claim of abuse,
10neglect, or financial exploitation, to provide direct access to
11any adult aged 60 or older or any adult, over 18, with a
12disability. Additionally, a provider is prohibited from
13retaining a person for whom they gain knowledge of a verified
14and substantiated claim of abuse, neglect, or financial
15exploitation in a position that permits the caregiver direct
16access to provide direct care to any adult aged 60 or older or
17any adult, over 18, with a disability or direct access to that
18individual's living quarters or personal, financial, or
19medical records. Failure to comply with this requirement may
20subject such a provider to corrective action by the appropriate
21regulatory agency or other lawful remedies provided under the
22applicable licensure, certification, or regulatory laws and
23rules.
24    (d) Notice to caregiver. The Department on Aging shall
25establish rules concerning notice to the caregiver in cases of
26abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation.

 

 

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1    (e) Notification to eligible adults, guardians, or agents.
2As part of its investigation, the Department on Aging shall
3notify an eligible adult, or an eligible adult's guardian or
4agent, that a caregiver's name may be placed on the Registry
5based on a finding as described in subsection (a) (a-1) of this
6Section.
7    (f) Notification to employer. A provider licensed,
8certified, or regulated by the Department of Public Health,
9Healthcare and Family Services, or Human Services, or the
10Department on Aging shall be notified of an administrative
11finding against any caregiver who is an employee, consultant,
12or volunteer of a verified and substantiated decision of abuse,
13neglect, or financial exploitation of an eligible adult under
14this Act. If there is an imminent risk of danger to the
15eligible adult or an imminent risk of misuse of personal,
16medical, or financial information, the caregiver shall
17immediately be barred from direct access to the eligible adult,
18his or her living quarters, or his or her personal, financial,
19or medical records, pending the outcome of any challenge,
20criminal prosecution, or other type of collateral action.
21    (g) Caregiver challenges. The Department on Aging shall
22establish, by rule, procedures concerning caregiver
23challenges.
24    (h) Caregiver's rights to collateral action. The
25Department on Aging shall not make any report to the Registry
26if a caregiver notifies the Department in writing, including

 

 

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1any supporting documentation, that he or she is formally
2challenging an adverse employment action resulting from a
3verified and substantiated finding of abuse, neglect, or
4financial exploitation by complaint filed with the Illinois
5Civil Service Commission, or by another means which seeks to
6enforce the caregiver's rights pursuant to any applicable
7collective bargaining agreement. If an action taken by an
8employer against a caregiver as a result of a finding of abuse,
9neglect, or financial exploitation is overturned through an
10action filed with the Illinois Civil Service Commission or
11under any applicable collective bargaining agreement after
12that caregiver's name has already been sent to the Registry,
13the caregiver's name shall be removed from the Registry.
14    (i) Removal from Registry. At any time after a report to
15the Registry, but no more than once in each successive 3-year
16period thereafter, for a maximum of 3 such requests, a
17caregiver may write to the Director of the Department on Aging
18to request removal of his or her name from the Registry in
19relationship to a single incident. The caregiver shall bear the
20burden of showing cause that establishes, by a preponderance of
21the evidence, that removal of his or her name from the Registry
22is in the public interest. Upon receiving such a request, the
23Department on Aging shall conduct an investigation and consider
24any evidentiary material provided. The Department shall issue a
25decision either granting or denying removal within 60 calendar
26days, and shall issue such decision to the caregiver and the

 

 

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1Registry. The waiver process at the Department of Public Health
2does not apply to Registry reports from the Department on
3Aging. The Department on Aging shall establish standards for
4the removal of a name from the Registry by rule.
5    (j) Referral of Registry reports to health care facilities.
6In the event an eligible adult receiving services from a
7provider agency changes his or her residence from a domestic
8living situation to that of a health care facility, the
9provider agency shall use reasonable efforts to promptly inform
10the health care facility and the appropriate Regional Long Term
11Care Ombudsman about any Registry reports relating to the
12eligible adult. For purposes of this Section, a health care
13facility includes, but is not limited to, any residential
14facility licensed, certified, or regulated by the Department of
15Public Health, Healthcare and Family Services, or Human
16Services.
17    (k) The Department on Aging shall have immunity, except for
18willful or wanton misconduct, from any liability, civil or
19criminal, for reporting information to the Health Care Worker
20Registry.
21(Source: P.A. 98-49, eff. 1-1-14; revised 11-12-13.)
 
22    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
23becoming law.".