HB4578 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB102 22495 KTG 31636 b

102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
HB4578

Introduced 1/21/2022, by Rep. Camille Y. Lilly

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

New Act

Creates the Recognize, Assist, Include, Support, and Engage (RAISE) Family Caregivers Act. Requires the Director on Aging, in consultation with the heads of other appropriate State agencies, to develop jointly with the Family Caregiving Advisory Council (Advisory Council) a Family Caregiving Strategy (Strategy). Requires the Director to submit the Strategy to the Senate Subcommittee on Long-Term Care and Aging and to the House Workforce Development Subcommittee, and to other State agencies responsible for carrying out family caregiver programs, and to make the Strategy publicly available on the Department on Aging's website. Provides that the Strategy shall identify recommended actions that State agencies, units of local government, communities, health care providers, long-term services and supports providers, and others are taking, or may take, to recognize and support family caregivers in a manner that reflects their diverse needs, including with respect to promoting greater adoption of person-centered and family-centered care in all health and long-term services and supports settings. Requires the Director on Aging to: (1) oversee the collection and public dissemination of certain information submitted by the Advisory Council in its initial report concerning the development, maintenance, and updating of the Strategy; (2) oversee the coordination and assessment of existing State programs and activities to recognize and support family caregivers while ensuring maximum effectiveness and avoiding unnecessary duplication; (3) develop, publish, and submit to specified committees and other State agencies, an initial Strategy that incorporates the items addressed in the Advisory Council's initial report; and other duties. Requires the Director to convene the Advisory Council to advise and provide recommendations to the Director on recognizing and supporting family caregivers. Contains provisions concerning the Advisory Council's membership, meetings, and annual reports. Provides that no additional funds are authorized to be appropriated to carry out the Act. Provides that the authority and obligations established under the Act shall terminate on the date that is 3 years after the effective date of the Act. Provides that the Act is repealed 4 years after its effective date.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning aging.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Recognize, Assist, Include, Support, and Engage (RAISE) Family Caregivers Act.

Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act:

(1) "Advisory Council" means the Family Caregiving Advisory Council.

(2) "Family caregiver" means an adult family member or other individual who has a significant relationship with, and who provides a broad range of assistance to, an individual with a chronic or other health condition, disability, or functional limitation.

(3) "Director" means the Director on Aging.

(4) "Strategy" means the Family Caregiving Strategy.

Section 10. Family Caregiving Strategy.

(a) In general. The Director, in consultation with the heads of other appropriate State agencies, shall develop jointly with the Advisory Council and submit to the Senate Subcommittee on Long-Term Care and Aging and to the House Workforce Development Subcommittee, and to any other State agencies responsible for carrying out family caregiver programs, and make publicly available on the website of the Department on Aging, a Family Caregiving Strategy.

(b) Contents. The Strategy shall identify recommended actions that State agencies, units of local government, communities, health care providers, long-term services and supports providers, and others are taking, or may take, to recognize and support family caregivers in a manner that reflects their diverse needs, including with respect to the following:

(1) Promoting greater adoption of person-centered and family-centered care in all health and long-term services and supports settings, with the person receiving services and supports and the family caregiver (as appropriate) at the center of care teams.

(2) Assessment and service planning (including care transitions and coordination) involving family caregivers and care recipients.

(3) Information, education and training supports, referral, and care coordination, including with respect to hospice care, palliative care, and advance planning services.

(4) Respite options.

(5) Financial security and workplace issues.

(6) Delivering services based on the performance, mission, and purpose of a program while eliminating redundancies.

(c) Duties of the Director. The Director, in carrying out subsection (a), shall oversee the following:

(1) Collecting and making publicly available information submitted by the Advisory Council under subsection (d) of Section 15 to the Senate Subcommittee on Long-Term Care and Aging and to the House Workforce Development Subcommittee, including evidence-based or promising practices and innovative models (both domestic and foreign) regarding the provision of care by family caregivers or support for family caregivers.

(2) Coordinating and assessing existing State programs and activities to recognize and support family caregivers while ensuring maximum effectiveness and avoiding unnecessary duplication.

(3) Providing technical assistance, as appropriate, such as disseminating identified best practices and information sharing based on reports provided under subsection (d) of Section 15, to State or local efforts to support family caregivers.

(d) Initial strategy; updates. The Director shall:

(1) not later than 18 months after the effective date of this Act, develop, publish, and submit to the Senate Subcommittee on Long-Term Care and Aging and to the House Workforce Development Subcommittee, an initial Strategy incorporating the items addressed in the Advisory Council's initial report under subsection (d) of Section 15 and other relevant information, including best practices, for recognizing and supporting family caregivers; and

(2) biennially update, republish, and submit to the Senate Subcommittee on Long-Term Care and Aging and to the House Workforce Development Subcommittee the Strategy, taking into account the most recent annual report submitted under paragraph (1) of subsection (d) of Section 15:

(A) to reflect new developments, challenges, opportunities, and solutions; and

(B) to review progress based on recommendations for recognizing and supporting family caregivers in the Strategy and, based on the results of such review, recommend priority actions for improving the implementation of such recommendations, as appropriate.

(e) Process for public input. The Director shall establish a process for public input to inform the development of, and updates to, the Strategy, including a process for the public to submit recommendations to the Advisory Council and an opportunity for public comment on the proposed Strategy.

(f) No preemption. Nothing in this Act preempts any authority of a unit of local government to recognize or support family caregivers.

(g) Rule of construction. Nothing in this Act shall be construed to permit the Director (through rule, guidance, grant criteria, or otherwise) to:

(1) mandate, direct, or control the allocation of State or local resources;

(2) mandate the use of any of the best practices identified in the reports required under this Act; or

(3) otherwise expand the authority of the Director beyond that expressly provided to the Director in this Act.

Section 15. Family Caregiving Advisory Council.

(a) Convening. The Director shall convene a Family Caregiving Advisory Council to advise and provide recommendations, including identified best practices, to the Director on recognizing and supporting family caregivers.

(b) Membership.

(1) In general. The members of the Advisory Council shall consist of:

(A) the appointed members under paragraph (2); and

(B) the State members under paragraph (3).

(2) Appointed members. In addition to the State members under paragraph (3), the Director shall appoint not more than 15 voting members of the Advisory Council who are not representatives of State departments or agencies and who shall include at least one representative of each of the following:

(A) Family caregivers.

(B) Older adults with long-term services and supports needs.

(C) Individuals with disabilities.

(D) Health care and social service providers.

(E) Long-term services and supports providers.

(F) Employers.

(G) Paraprofessional workers.

(H) State and local officials.

(I) Accreditation bodies.

(J) Veterans.

(K) As appropriate, other experts and advocacy organizations engaged in family caregiving.

(3) State members. The State members of the Advisory Council, who shall be nonvoting members, shall consist of the following:

(A) The Director of Healthcare and Family Services or his or her designee.

(B) The Secretary of Human Services or his or her designee who has experience in both aging and disability.

(C) The Director of Veterans' Affairs or his or her designee.

(D) The heads of other State departments or agencies (or their designees), including relevant departments or agencies that oversee labor and workforce, economic, government financial policies, community service, and other impacted populations, as appointed by the Director or the Chair of the Advisory Council.

(4) Diverse representation. The Director shall ensure that the membership of the Advisory Council reflects the diversity of family caregivers and individuals receiving services and supports.

(c) Meetings. The Advisory Council shall meet quarterly during the one-year period beginning on the effective date of this Act and at least 3 times during each year thereafter. Meetings of the Advisory Council shall be open to the public.

(d) Advisory Council annual reports.

(1) In general. Not later than 12 months after the effective date of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Advisory Council shall submit to the Senate Subcommittee on Long-Term Care and Aging and to the House Workforce Development Subcommittee, and make publicly available on the website of the Department on Aging, a report concerning the development, maintenance, and updating of the Strategy, including a description of the outcomes of the recommendations and any priorities included in the initial report in accordance with paragraph (2), as appropriate.

(2) Initial report. The Advisory Council's initial report under paragraph (1) shall include:

(A) an inventory and assessment of all State-funded efforts to recognize and support family caregivers and the outcomes of such efforts, including analyses of the extent to which State-funded efforts are reaching family caregivers and gaps in such efforts;

(B) recommendations:

(i) to improve and better coordinate State programs and activities to recognize and support family caregivers, as well as opportunities to improve the coordination of such State programs and activities with programs administered by units of local government; and

(ii) to effectively deliver services based on the performance, mission, and purpose of a program while eliminating redundancies, avoiding unnecessary duplication and overlap, and ensuring the needs of family caregivers are met;

(C) the identification of challenges faced by family caregivers, including financial, health, and other challenges, and existing approaches to address such challenges; and

(D) an evaluation of how family caregiving impacts the Medicare program, the Medical Assistance program under Article V of the Illinois Public Aid Code, and other State programs.

Section 20. Funding. No additional funds are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act. This Act shall be carried out using funds otherwise authorized.

Section 25. Termination. The authority and obligations established by this Act shall terminate on the date that is 3 years after the effective date of this Act.

Section 30. Repealer. This Act is repealed 4 years after the effective date of this Act.