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91_HB4396
LRB9110552ACmg
1 AN ACT concerning the nurse aide registry.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. The Mental Health and Developmental
5 Disabilities Administrative Act is amended by adding Section
6 7.3 as follows:
7 (20 ILCS 1705/7.3 new)
8 Sec. 7.3. Nurse aide registry; finding of abuse or
9 neglect. The Department shall be empowered to require that
10 no facility or program providing mental health or
11 developmental disability services that is licensed,
12 certified, or funded by the Department shall employ a person,
13 in any capacity, who is identified by the nurse aide registry
14 as having been previously terminated by a program or facility
15 licensed, certified, or funded by the Department pursuant to
16 a substantiated finding of abuse or neglect of a service
17 recipient. The Department may establish and maintain such
18 rules as are necessary or appropriate to effectuate the
19 intent of this Section.
20 Section 10. The Abused and Neglected Long Term Care
21 Facility Residents Reporting Act is amended by changing
22 Section 6.2 as follows:
23 (210 ILCS 30/6.2) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 4166.2)
24 (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2002)
25 Sec. 6.2. Inspector General.
26 (a) The Governor shall appoint, and the Senate shall
27 confirm, an Inspector General who shall function within the
28 Department of Human Services and report to the Secretary of
29 Human Services and the Governor. The Inspector General shall
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1 investigate reports of suspected abuse or neglect (as those
2 terms are defined in Section 3 of this Act) of patients or
3 residents in any mental health or developmental disabilities
4 facility operated by the Department of Human Services and
5 shall have authority to investigate and take immediate action
6 on reports of abuse or neglect of recipients, whether
7 patients or residents, in any mental health or developmental
8 disabilities facility or program that is licensed or
9 certified by the Department of Human Services (as successor
10 to the Department of Mental Health and Developmental
11 Disabilities) or that is funded by the Department of Human
12 Services (as successor to the Department of Mental Health and
13 Developmental Disabilities) and is not licensed or certified
14 by any agency of the State. At the specific, written request
15 of an agency of the State other than the Department of Human
16 Services (as successor to the Department of Mental Health and
17 Developmental Disabilities), the Inspector General may
18 cooperate in investigating reports of abuse and neglect of
19 persons with mental illness or persons with developmental
20 disabilities. The Inspector General shall have no
21 supervision over or involvement in routine, programmatic,
22 licensure, or certification operations of the Department of
23 Human Services or any of its funded agencies.
24 The Inspector General shall promulgate rules establishing
25 minimum requirements for reporting allegations of abuse and
26 neglect and initiating, conducting, and completing
27 investigations. The promulgated rules shall clearly set
28 forth that in instances where 2 or more State agencies could
29 investigate an allegation of abuse or neglect, the Inspector
30 General shall not conduct an investigation that is redundant
31 to an investigation conducted by another State agency. The
32 rules shall establish criteria for determining, based upon
33 the nature of the allegation, the appropriate method of
34 investigation, which may include, but need not be limited to,
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1 site visits, telephone contacts, or requests for written
2 responses from agencies. The rules shall also clarify how
3 the Office of the Inspector General shall interact with the
4 licensing unit of the Department of Human Services in
5 investigations of allegations of abuse or neglect. Any
6 allegations or investigations of reports made pursuant to
7 this Act shall remain confidential until a final report is
8 completed. The resident or patient who allegedly was abused
9 or neglected and his or her legal guardian shall be informed
10 by the facility or agency of the report of alleged abuse or
11 neglect. Final reports regarding unsubstantiated or unfounded
12 allegations shall remain confidential, except that final
13 reports may be disclosed pursuant to Section 6 of this Act.
14 The Inspector General shall be appointed for a term of 4
15 years.
16 (b) The Inspector General shall within 24 hours after
17 receiving a report of suspected abuse or neglect determine
18 whether the evidence indicates that any possible criminal act
19 has been committed. If he determines that a possible criminal
20 act has been committed, or that special expertise is required
21 in the investigation, he shall immediately notify the
22 Department of State Police. The Department of State Police
23 shall investigate any report indicating a possible murder,
24 rape, or other felony. All investigations conducted by the
25 Inspector General shall be conducted in a manner designed to
26 ensure the preservation of evidence for possible use in a
27 criminal prosecution.
28 (b-5) The Inspector General shall make a determination
29 to accept or reject a preliminary report of the investigation
30 of alleged abuse or neglect based on established
31 investigative procedures. The facility or agency may request
32 clarification or reconsideration based on additional
33 information. For cases where the allegation of abuse or
34 neglect is substantiated, the Inspector General shall require
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1 the facility or agency to submit a written response. The
2 written response from a facility or agency shall address in a
3 concise and reasoned manner the actions that the agency or
4 facility will take or has taken to protect the resident or
5 patient from abuse or neglect, prevent reoccurrences, and
6 eliminate problems identified and shall include
7 implementation and completion dates for all such action.
8 (c) The Inspector General shall, within 10 calendar days
9 after the transmittal date of a completed investigation where
10 abuse or neglect is substantiated or administrative action is
11 recommended, provide a complete report on the case to the
12 Secretary of Human Services and to the agency in which the
13 abuse or neglect is alleged to have happened. The complete
14 report shall include a written response from the agency or
15 facility operated by the State to the Inspector General that
16 addresses in a concise and reasoned manner the actions that
17 the agency or facility will take or has taken to protect the
18 resident or patient from abuse or neglect, prevent
19 reoccurrences, and eliminate problems identified and shall
20 include implementation and completion dates for all such
21 action. The Secretary of Human Services shall accept or
22 reject the response and establish how the Department will
23 determine whether the facility or program followed the
24 approved response. The Secretary may require Department
25 personnel to visit the facility or agency for training,
26 technical assistance, programmatic, licensure, or
27 certification purposes. Administrative action, including
28 sanctions, may be applied should the Secretary reject the
29 response or should the facility or agency fail to follow the
30 approved response. The facility or agency shall inform the
31 resident or patient and the legal guardian whether the
32 reported allegation was substantiated, unsubstantiated, or
33 unfounded. There shall be an appeals process for any person
34 or agency that is subject to any action based on a
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1 recommendation or recommendations.
2 (d) The Inspector General may recommend to the
3 Departments of Public Health and Human Services sanctions to
4 be imposed against mental health and developmental
5 disabilities facilities under the jurisdiction of the
6 Department of Human Services for the protection of residents,
7 including appointment of on-site monitors or receivers,
8 transfer or relocation of residents, and closure of units.
9 The Inspector General may seek the assistance of the Attorney
10 General or any of the several State's attorneys in imposing
11 such sanctions.
12 (e) The Inspector General shall establish and conduct
13 periodic training programs for Department employees
14 concerning the prevention and reporting of neglect and abuse.
15 (f) The Inspector General shall at all times be granted
16 access to any mental health or developmental disabilities
17 facility operated by the Department, shall establish and
18 conduct unannounced site visits to those facilities at least
19 once annually, and shall be granted access, for the purpose
20 of investigating a report of abuse or neglect, to any
21 facility or program funded by the Department that is subject
22 under the provisions of this Section to investigation by the
23 Inspector General for a report of abuse or neglect.
24 (g) Nothing in this Section shall limit investigations
25 by the Department of Human Services that may otherwise be
26 required by law or that may be necessary in that Department's
27 capacity as the central administrative authority responsible
28 for the operation of State mental health and developmental
29 disability facilities.
30 (g-5) The Inspector General shall report to the
31 Department of Public Health, for inclusion on its nurse aide
32 registry, the identity of any individual whose employment is
33 terminated by a facility or program providing mental health
34 or developmental disability services that is licensed,
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1 certified, or funded by the Department of Human Services
2 pursuant to a substantiated finding of abuse or neglect of a
3 service recipient. The Department of Human Services may
4 establish and maintain such rules as are necessary or
5 appropriate to effectuate the intent of this subsection.
6 (h) This Section is repealed on January 1, 2002.
7 (Source: P.A. 90-252, eff. 7-29-97; 90-512, eff. 8-22-97;
8 90-655, eff. 7-30-98; 91-169, eff. 7-16-99.)
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