94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2005 and 2006
HB1357

 

Introduced 02/09/05, by Rep. Joseph M. Lyons - John D'Amico - Maria Antonia Berrios

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
New Act

    Creates the Independent Living Projects Act. Requires the Department on Aging and the Department of Human Services to contract with independent living projects in different regions of the State to demonstrate the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of using low-cost home care and other residential alternatives to nursing home care and to achieve other goals. Sets forth criteria that such projects must meet. Requires the Department on Aging to conduct a public awareness campaign.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

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1     AN ACT concerning long-term care.
 
2     Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
 
4     Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5 Independent Living Projects Act.
 
6     Section 5. Purpose; objectives.
7     (a) The purpose of implementing independent living
8 projects under this Act is to demonstrate a new cooperative
9 strategy for the long-term care system in the State of
10 Illinois. The projects are part of the plan to create a new
11 community-based care paradigm for long-term care in Illinois in
12 order to maximize independence of the older adult population
13 and to ensure cost-effective use of financial and human
14 resources. The goals for the strategy are to:
15         (1) achieve a broad awareness and use of low-cost home
16     care and other residential alternatives to nursing homes;
17         (2) develop a statewide system of information and
18     assistance to enable easy access to long-term care
19     services;
20         (3) develop sufficient alternatives to nursing homes
21     to serve the increased number of people needing long-term
22     care;
23         (4) restrict new construction of nursing home beds and
24     to lower the percentage of elderly persons served in
25     institutional settings; and
26         (5) build a community-based approach and community
27     commitment to delivering long-term care services for
28     elderly persons in their homes.
29     (b) The objective for the strategy is to continue at least
30 4 but not more than 6 projects in anticipation of a statewide
31 program. These projects will continue the process of
32 implementing:

 

 

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1         (1) a coordinated planning and administrative process;
2         (2) a refocused function of the preadmission screening
3     program;
4         (3) the development of additional home, community, and
5     residential alternatives to nursing homes;
6         (4) a program to support the informal caregivers for
7     elderly persons;
8         (5) programs to strengthen the use of volunteers; and
9         (6) programs to support the building of community
10     commitment to provide long-term care for elderly persons.
11      The services offered through these projects shall be made
12 available to those who have their own funds to pay for
13 services, as well as to persons who are eligible for medical
14 assistance under Article V of the Illinois Public Aid Code to
15 the maximum extent authorized in this Act.
 
16     Section 10. Definitions. In this Act, "Department" means
17 the Department on Aging or the Department of Human Services, as
18 applicable.
 
19     Section 15. Independent living projects.
20     (a) The Department on Aging and the Department of Human
21 Services shall contract with independent living projects in 4
22 to 6 service regions of the State to demonstrate the
23 feasibility and cost-effectiveness of a local long-term care
24 strategy that is consistent with the State's long-term care
25 goals identified in Section 5. Each department shall publish a
26 notice in the Illinois Procurement Bulletin announcing the
27 availability of project funding and giving instructions for
28 making an application for funding. The instructions for the
29 application shall identify the amount of funding available for
30 project components.
31     (b) To be selected for the project, an applicant must
32 establish a long-term care coordinating team consisting of
33 social service agencies, public health nursing service
34 agencies, local boards of health, a representative of local

 

 

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1 nursing home providers, a representative of local home care
2 providers, and the area agencies on aging in a geographic area.
3 The team is responsible for:
4         (1) developing a local long-term care strategy
5     consistent with State goals and objectives;
6         (2) submitting an application to be selected as a
7     project;
8         (3) coordinating planning for funds to provide
9     services to elderly persons, including: funds received
10     under Title III of the Older Americans Act or Title XX of
11     the Social Security Act; appropriated State and local
12     funds; and other public or private available funds; and
13         (4) ensuring efficient services provision and
14     nonduplication of funding.
15     (c) The applicant must designate a public agency to serve
16 as the lead agency. The lead agency shall receive and manage
17 the project funds from the State and is responsible for the
18 implementation of the local strategy. If selected as a project,
19 the local long-term care coordinating team must evaluate the
20 progress of the local long-term care strategy in meeting State
21 measures of performance and results as established in the
22 contract. The team must conduct such an evaluation every 6
23 months.
24     (d) Each member of the local coordinating team must
25 indicate its endorsement of the local strategy. The local
26 long-term care coordinating team may include in its membership
27 other units of government that provide funding for services to
28 the frail elderly. The team must cooperate with consumers and
29 other public and private agencies, including nursing homes, in
30 the geographic area in order to develop and offer a variety of
31 cost-effective services to the elderly and their caregivers.
32     (e) An applicant must apply to be selected as a project. If
33 the project is selected, the Department on Aging or the
34 Department of Human Services, as applicable, shall contract
35 with the lead agency for the project and shall provide
36 additional administrative funds for implementing the

 

 

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1 provisions of the contract, within the appropriation available
2 for this purpose.
3     (f) A project may not be selected unless it demonstrates
4 that:
5         (1) the objectives of the local project will help to
6     achieve the State's long-term care goals as defined in
7     Section 5;
8         (2) there is a designated local lead agency that is
9     empowered to make contracts with the State and local
10     vendors on behalf of all participants;
11         (3) the project proposal demonstrates that the local
12     cooperating agencies have the ability to perform the
13     project as described and that the implementation of the
14     project has a reasonable chance of achieving its
15     objectives; and
16         (4) the local coordinating team documents efforts of
17     cooperation with consumers and other agencies and
18     organizations, both public and private, in planning for
19     service delivery.
 
20     Section 20. Long-term care strategy. The local long-term
21 care strategy must list performance outcomes and indicators
22 that meet the State's objectives. The local strategy must
23 provide for the following:
24         (1) Accessible information, assessment, and
25     preadmission screening activities as described in Section
26     25.
27         (2) An increase in numbers of alternative care clients
28     served, including those who are relocated from nursing
29     homes, which results in a reduction of the medical
30     assistance nursing home caseload.
31         (3) The development of additional services, such as
32     adult family foster care homes; family adult day care;
33     assisted living projects and congregate housing service
34     projects in apartment buildings; expanded home care
35     services for evenings and weekends; expanded volunteer

 

 

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1     services; and caregiver support and respite care projects.
2     The applicant selected for the project shall be required to
3 comply with federal regulations, alternative care funding
4 policies, and federal waiver programs' policies.
 
5     Section 25. Accessible information, screening, and
6 assessment function.
7     (a) A project selected by and under contract with the
8 Department shall establish an accessible information,
9 screening, and assessment function for persons who need
10 assistance and information regarding long-term care. This
11 accessible information, screening, and assessment function
12 shall include information and referral, early intervention,
13 follow-up contacts, telephone screening, home visits,
14 assessments, preadmission screening, and relocation case
15 management for the frail elderly and their caregivers in the
16 area served by the project. The purpose is to ensure that
17 information and help is provided to elderly persons and their
18 families in a timely fashion, when they are making decisions
19 about long-term care. These functions may be split among
20 various agencies, but must be coordinated by the local
21 long-term care coordinating team.
22     (b) The lead agency or the agencies under contract with the
23 lead agency that are responsible for the accessible
24 information, screening, and assessment function must complete
25 the forms and reports required by the Department as specified
26 in the contract.
 
27     Section 30. Service development and delivery. In addition
28 to the access, screening, and assessment function described in
29 Section 25, each local strategy may include provisions for the
30 following:
31         (1) The addition of a full-time staff person who is
32     responsible to develop the following services and recruit
33     providers as established in the contract:
34             (A) Additional adult family foster care homes.

 

 

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1             (B) Family adult day care providers.
2             (C) An assisted living program in an apartment.
3             (D) A congregate housing service project in a
4         subsidized housing project.
5             (E) The expansion of evening and weekend coverage
6         of home care services as deemed necessary by the local
7         strategic plan.
8         (2) Small incentive grants to new adult family care
9     providers for renovations needed to meet licensure
10     requirements.
11         (3) A plan to apply for a congregate housing service
12     project, authorized by the Department, to the extent that
13     funds are available.
14         (4) A plan to divert new applicants to nursing homes
15     and to relocate a targeted population from nursing homes,
16     using an individual's own resources or the funding
17     available for services.
18         (5) One or more caregiver support and respite care
19     projects, as described in Section 35.
 
20     Section 35. Caregiver support and respite care.
21     (a) The Department shall establish up to 6 projects to
22 expand the respite care network in the State and to support
23 caregivers in their responsibilities for care. The purpose of
24 each project shall be to:
25         (1) establish a local coordinated network of volunteer
26     and paid respite workers;
27         (2) coordinate assignment of respite workers to
28     clients and care receivers and assure the health and safety
29     of the client; and
30         (3) provide training for caregivers and ensure that
31     support groups are available in the community.
32     (b) The caregiver support and respite care funds shall be
33 available to the 4 to 6 local long-term care strategy projects
34 designated under this Act.
35     (c) The Department shall publish a notice in the Illinois

 

 

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1 Procurement Bulletin to solicit proposals from public or
2 private nonprofit agencies for the projects not included in the
3 4 to 6 local long-term care strategy projects defined in
4 Section 15. An agency may, alone or in combination with other
5 agencies, apply for caregiver support and respite care project
6 funds. A public or nonprofit agency within a designated
7 independent living project area may apply for project funds if
8 the agency has a letter of agreement with the service region in
9 which services will be developed, stating the intention to
10 coordinate the activities with those projects.
11     (d) The Department shall select grantees based on the
12 following criteria:
13         (1) The ability of the proposal to demonstrate need in
14     the area served, as evidenced by a community needs
15     assessment or other demographic data.
16         (2) The ability of the proposal to clearly describe how
17     the project will achieve the purpose set forth in
18     subsection (a).
19         (3) The ability of the proposal to reach underserved
20     populations.
21         (4) The ability of the proposal to demonstrate
22     community commitment to the project, as evidenced by
23     letters of support and cooperation as well as formation of
24     a community task force.
25         (5) The ability of the proposal to clearly describe the
26     process for recruiting, training, and retraining
27     volunteers.
28         (6) The inclusion in the proposal of the plan to
29     promote the project in the community, including outreach to
30     persons needing the services.
31     (e) Funds for all projects under this Section may be used
32 to do the following:
33         (1) Hire a coordinator to develop a coordinated network
34     of volunteer and paid respite care services and assign
35     workers to clients.
36         (2) Recruit and train volunteer providers.

 

 

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1         (3) Train caregivers.
2         (4) Ensure the development of support groups for
3     caregivers.
4         (5) Advertise the availability of the caregiver
5     support and respite care project.
6         (6) Purchase equipment to maintain a system of
7     assigning workers to clients.
8     (f) Project funds may not be used to supplant existing
9 funding sources.
 
10     Section 40. Independent living projects evaluation. The
11 Department shall evaluate the success of the independent living
12 projects against the objective stated in subsection (b) of
13 Section 5, and recommend to the legislature the continuation or
14 expansion of the long-term care strategy by February 15, 2008.
 
15     Section 45. Public awareness campaign. The Department
16 shall contract for a public awareness campaign to educate the
17 general public, seniors, consumers, caregivers, and
18 professionals about the aging process, the long-term care
19 system, and alternatives available including alternative care
20 and residential alternatives. Particular emphasis shall be
21 given to informing consumers on how to access the alternatives
22 and obtain information on the long-term care system. The
23 Department shall pursue the development of new names for
24 preadmission screening, alternative care, foster care, and
25 other services as deemed necessary for the public awareness
26 campaign.
 
27     Section 50. Community service grants. The Department shall
28 award contracts for grants to public and private nonprofit
29 agencies to establish services that strengthen a community's
30 ability to provide a system of home and community-based
31 services for elderly persons. The Department shall use a
32 request for proposal process. The Department shall give
33 preference when awarding grants under this Section to areas

 

 

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1 where nursing facility closures have occurred or are occurring.
2 The Department shall consider grants for the following:
3         (1) Caregiver support and respite care projects under
4     Section 35.
5         (2) On-site coordination.
6         (3) Services identified as needed for community
7     transition.