Section 400.110  General Requirements

a)         There shall be a central register of all cases of suspected long term care facility resident abuse or neglect reported and maintained by the Department under the Act.  Through the recording of initial, preliminary, progress, and final reports, the central register shall be operated in such a manner as to enable the Department to:

1)         Immediately identify and locate prior reports or cases of abuse or neglect;

2)         Continuously monitor the current status of all cases of abuse or neglect being provided services under the Act; and

3)         Regularly evaluate the effectiveness of existing laws and programs through the development and analysis of statistical and other information. (Section 14 of the Act)

b)         There shall be a single statewide, toll-free telephone number established and maintained by the Department which all persons, whether or not mandated by law, may use to report suspected long term care facility resident abuse or neglect at any hour of the day or night, on any day of the week. Any other person may use the statewide number to obtain assistance or information concerning the handling of long term care facility resident abuse and neglect cases. (Section 13 of the Act). The Central Complaint Registry operates a toll-free statewide telephone line, twenty-four hours a day. Calls are received Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., at the Department's offices at 525 W. Jefferson, Springfield, Illinois 62761. Coverage of the Central Complaint Registry continues after 5:30 p.m. and weekends and holidays by Central Complaint Registry staff, who are contacted at private telephones by an answering service.