97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2011 and 2012
HB4541

 

Introduced , by Rep. Joe Sosnowski

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
20 ILCS 2405/3  from Ch. 23, par. 3434

    Amends the Disabled Persons Rehabilitation Act. Provides that a person is not eligible for employment as a personal care attendant or personal assistant under the Department of Human Services' Home Services Program if that person has been convicted of a felony, has been arrested for a criminal offense, or is an immediate family member of the individual receiving services under the Program.


LRB097 16788 KTG 61968 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB4541LRB097 16788 KTG 61968 b

1    AN ACT concerning State government.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Disabled Persons Rehabilitation Act is
5amended by changing Section 3 as follows:
 
6    (20 ILCS 2405/3)  (from Ch. 23, par. 3434)
7    Sec. 3. Powers and duties. The Department shall have the
8powers and duties enumerated herein:
9    (a) To co-operate with the federal government in the
10administration of the provisions of the federal Rehabilitation
11Act of 1973, as amended, of the Workforce Investment Act of
121998, and of the federal Social Security Act to the extent and
13in the manner provided in these Acts.
14    (b) To prescribe and supervise such courses of vocational
15training and provide such other services as may be necessary
16for the habilitation and rehabilitation of persons with one or
17more disabilities, including the administrative activities
18under subsection (e) of this Section, and to co-operate with
19State and local school authorities and other recognized
20agencies engaged in habilitation, rehabilitation and
21comprehensive rehabilitation services; and to cooperate with
22the Department of Children and Family Services regarding the
23care and education of children with one or more disabilities.

 

 

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1    (c) (Blank).
2    (d) To report in writing, to the Governor, annually on or
3before the first day of December, and at such other times and
4in such manner and upon such subjects as the Governor may
5require. The annual report shall contain (1) a statement of the
6existing condition of comprehensive rehabilitation services,
7habilitation and rehabilitation in the State; (2) a statement
8of suggestions and recommendations with reference to the
9development of comprehensive rehabilitation services,
10habilitation and rehabilitation in the State; and (3) an
11itemized statement of the amounts of money received from
12federal, State and other sources, and of the objects and
13purposes to which the respective items of these several amounts
14have been devoted.
15    (e) (Blank).
16    (f) To establish a program of services to prevent
17unnecessary institutionalization of persons with Alzheimer's
18disease and related disorders or persons in need of long term
19care who are established as blind or disabled as defined by the
20Social Security Act, thereby enabling them to remain in their
21own homes or other living arrangements. Such preventive
22services may include, but are not limited to, any or all of the
23following:
24        (1) home health services;
25        (2) home nursing services;
26        (3) homemaker services;

 

 

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1        (4) chore and housekeeping services;
2        (5) day care services;
3        (6) home-delivered meals;
4        (7) education in self-care;
5        (8) personal care services;
6        (9) adult day health services;
7        (10) habilitation services;
8        (11) respite care; or
9        (12) other nonmedical social services that may enable
10    the person to become self-supporting.
11    The Department shall establish eligibility standards for
12such services taking into consideration the unique economic and
13social needs of the population for whom they are to be
14provided. Such eligibility standards may be based on the
15recipient's ability to pay for services; provided, however,
16that any portion of a person's income that is equal to or less
17than the "protected income" level shall not be considered by
18the Department in determining eligibility. The "protected
19income" level shall be determined by the Department, shall
20never be less than the federal poverty standard, and shall be
21adjusted each year to reflect changes in the Consumer Price
22Index For All Urban Consumers as determined by the United
23States Department of Labor. The standards must provide that a
24person may have not more than $10,000 in assets to be eligible
25for the services, and the Department may increase the asset
26limitation by rule. Additionally, in determining the amount and

 

 

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1nature of services for which a person may qualify,
2consideration shall not be given to the value of cash, property
3or other assets held in the name of the person's spouse
4pursuant to a written agreement dividing marital property into
5equal but separate shares or pursuant to a transfer of the
6person's interest in a home to his spouse, provided that the
7spouse's share of the marital property is not made available to
8the person seeking such services.
9    The services shall be provided to eligible persons to
10prevent unnecessary or premature institutionalization, to the
11extent that the cost of the services, together with the other
12personal maintenance expenses of the persons, are reasonably
13related to the standards established for care in a group
14facility appropriate to their condition. These
15non-institutional services, pilot projects or experimental
16facilities may be provided as part of or in addition to those
17authorized by federal law or those funded and administered by
18the Illinois Department on Aging.
19    Personal care attendants shall be paid:
20        (i) A $5 per hour minimum rate beginning July 1, 1995.
21        (ii) A $5.30 per hour minimum rate beginning July 1,
22    1997.
23        (iii) A $5.40 per hour minimum rate beginning July 1,
24    1998.
25    Solely for the purposes of coverage under the Illinois
26Public Labor Relations Act (5 ILCS 315/), personal care

 

 

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1attendants and personal assistants providing services under
2the Department's Home Services Program shall be considered to
3be public employees and the State of Illinois shall be
4considered to be their employer as of the effective date of
5this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly, but not
6before. The State shall engage in collective bargaining with an
7exclusive representative of personal care attendants and
8personal assistants working under the Home Services Program
9concerning their terms and conditions of employment that are
10within the State's control. Nothing in this paragraph shall be
11understood to limit the right of the persons receiving services
12defined in this Section to hire and fire personal care
13attendants and personal assistants or supervise them within the
14limitations set by the Home Services Program. The State shall
15not be considered to be the employer of personal care
16attendants and personal assistants for any purposes not
17specifically provided in this amendatory Act of the 93rd
18General Assembly, including but not limited to, purposes of
19vicarious liability in tort and purposes of statutory
20retirement or health insurance benefits. Personal care
21attendants and personal assistants shall not be covered by the
22State Employees Group Insurance Act of 1971 (5 ILCS 375/).
23    A person is not eligible for employment as a personal care
24attendant or personal assistant under the Department's Home
25Services Program if that person has been convicted of a felony,
26has been arrested for a criminal offense, or is an immediate

 

 

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1family member of the individual receiving services under the
2Program.
3    The Department shall execute, relative to the nursing home
4prescreening project, as authorized by Section 4.03 of the
5Illinois Act on the Aging, written inter-agency agreements with
6the Department on Aging and the Department of Public Aid (now
7Department of Healthcare and Family Services), to effect the
8following: (i) intake procedures and common eligibility
9criteria for those persons who are receiving non-institutional
10services; and (ii) the establishment and development of
11non-institutional services in areas of the State where they are
12not currently available or are undeveloped. On and after July
131, 1996, all nursing home prescreenings for individuals 18
14through 59 years of age shall be conducted by the Department.
15    The Department is authorized to establish a system of
16recipient cost-sharing for services provided under this
17Section. The cost-sharing shall be based upon the recipient's
18ability to pay for services, but in no case shall the
19recipient's share exceed the actual cost of the services
20provided. Protected income shall not be considered by the
21Department in its determination of the recipient's ability to
22pay a share of the cost of services. The level of cost-sharing
23shall be adjusted each year to reflect changes in the
24"protected income" level. The Department shall deduct from the
25recipient's share of the cost of services any money expended by
26the recipient for disability-related expenses.

 

 

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1    The Department, or the Department's authorized
2representative, shall recover the amount of moneys expended for
3services provided to or in behalf of a person under this
4Section by a claim against the person's estate or against the
5estate of the person's surviving spouse, but no recovery may be
6had until after the death of the surviving spouse, if any, and
7then only at such time when there is no surviving child who is
8under age 21, blind, or permanently and totally disabled. This
9paragraph, however, shall not bar recovery, at the death of the
10person, of moneys for services provided to the person or in
11behalf of the person under this Section to which the person was
12not entitled; provided that such recovery shall not be enforced
13against any real estate while it is occupied as a homestead by
14the surviving spouse or other dependent, if no claims by other
15creditors have been filed against the estate, or, if such
16claims have been filed, they remain dormant for failure of
17prosecution or failure of the claimant to compel administration
18of the estate for the purpose of payment. This paragraph shall
19not bar recovery from the estate of a spouse, under Sections
201915 and 1924 of the Social Security Act and Section 5-4 of the
21Illinois Public Aid Code, who precedes a person receiving
22services under this Section in death. All moneys for services
23paid to or in behalf of the person under this Section shall be
24claimed for recovery from the deceased spouse's estate.
25"Homestead", as used in this paragraph, means the dwelling
26house and contiguous real estate occupied by a surviving spouse

 

 

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1or relative, as defined by the rules and regulations of the
2Department of Healthcare and Family Services, regardless of the
3value of the property.
4    The Department and the Department on Aging shall cooperate
5in the development and submission of an annual report on
6programs and services provided under this Section. Such joint
7report shall be filed with the Governor and the General
8Assembly on or before March 30 each year.
9    The requirement for reporting to the General Assembly shall
10be satisfied by filing copies of the report with the Speaker,
11the Minority Leader and the Clerk of the House of
12Representatives and the President, the Minority Leader and the
13Secretary of the Senate and the Legislative Research Unit, as
14required by Section 3.1 of the General Assembly Organization
15Act, and filing additional copies with the State Government
16Report Distribution Center for the General Assembly as required
17under paragraph (t) of Section 7 of the State Library Act.
18    (g) To establish such subdivisions of the Department as
19shall be desirable and assign to the various subdivisions the
20responsibilities and duties placed upon the Department by law.
21    (h) To cooperate and enter into any necessary agreements
22with the Department of Employment Security for the provision of
23job placement and job referral services to clients of the
24Department, including job service registration of such clients
25with Illinois Employment Security offices and making job
26listings maintained by the Department of Employment Security

 

 

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1available to such clients.
2    (i) To possess all powers reasonable and necessary for the
3exercise and administration of the powers, duties and
4responsibilities of the Department which are provided for by
5law.
6    (j) To establish a procedure whereby new providers of
7personal care attendant services shall submit vouchers to the
8State for payment two times during their first month of
9employment and one time per month thereafter. In no case shall
10the Department pay personal care attendants an hourly wage that
11is less than the federal minimum wage.
12    (k) To provide adequate notice to providers of chore and
13housekeeping services informing them that they are entitled to
14an interest payment on bills which are not promptly paid
15pursuant to Section 3 of the State Prompt Payment Act.
16    (l) To establish, operate and maintain a Statewide Housing
17Clearinghouse of information on available, government
18subsidized housing accessible to disabled persons and
19available privately owned housing accessible to disabled
20persons. The information shall include but not be limited to
21the location, rental requirements, access features and
22proximity to public transportation of available housing. The
23Clearinghouse shall consist of at least a computerized database
24for the storage and retrieval of information and a separate or
25shared toll free telephone number for use by those seeking
26information from the Clearinghouse. Department offices and

 

 

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1personnel throughout the State shall also assist in the
2operation of the Statewide Housing Clearinghouse. Cooperation
3with local, State and federal housing managers shall be sought
4and extended in order to frequently and promptly update the
5Clearinghouse's information.
6    (m) To assure that the names and case records of persons
7who received or are receiving services from the Department,
8including persons receiving vocational rehabilitation, home
9services, or other services, and those attending one of the
10Department's schools or other supervised facility shall be
11confidential and not be open to the general public. Those case
12records and reports or the information contained in those
13records and reports shall be disclosed by the Director only to
14proper law enforcement officials, individuals authorized by a
15court, the General Assembly or any committee or commission of
16the General Assembly, and other persons and for reasons as the
17Director designates by rule. Disclosure by the Director may be
18only in accordance with other applicable law.
19(Source: P.A. 94-252, eff. 1-1-06; 95-331, eff. 8-21-07.)