SB1614sam001 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Sen. Heather A. Steans

Filed: 3/8/2011

09700SB1614sam001 LRB097 09399 KTG 51924 a

AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 1614

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 1614 by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the following:

"Section 5. The Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Administrative Act is amended by adding Section 4.4 as follows:

(20 ILCS 1705/4.4 new)

Sec. 4.4. State-operated 6-bed group homes.

(a) Findings. The General Assembly finds that the Department of Human Services' Division of Developmental Disabilities is steadily shifting service provision from State-operated developmental centers to smaller community-based settings. Whether that process is due to changes in philosophy on how to best serve individuals with disabilities, changing individual and family choices, or an attempt to capture cost savings from the substantially lower wages and benefits paid to the direct care workers in alternative settings, one indisputable outcome of this process is the replacement of a highly experienced and adequately compensated workforce with a poorly compensated and much more transitory workforce. Inadequate compensation is one of the primary causes of the high employee turnover rate in community settings. Numerous studies have shown that a more stable and experienced workforce creates better outcomes for individuals with developmental disabilities. Conversely, very high turnover can contribute to emotional distress and disruption in the lives of individuals. The failure to develop a fairly compensated and stable workforce has been a key obstacle to creating a uniformly high quality system of care in community-based settings.

(b) Pilot program. In order to determine the efficacy of improving quality of care by ensuring a more fairly compensated workforce, and in consultation with stakeholders, including the collective bargaining representative of the majority of employees working in State-operated developmental centers, the Department of Human Services' Division of Developmental Disabilities shall develop a pilot program of State-operated community-based group homes.

(c) Residential accommodations. Each State-operated community-based group home shall provide residential accommodations for up to 6 individuals with developmental disabilities.

(d) Staffing. The State-operated community-based group homes shall be staffed by Department employees whose compensation and rights shall be governed by existing collective bargaining agreements.".