Sen. Mattie Hunter

Filed: 4/2/2014

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 227

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 227 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4    "Section 5. The Department of Human Services Act is amended
5by changing Section 1-17 as follows:
 
6    (20 ILCS 1305/1-17)
7    Sec. 1-17. Inspector General.
8    (a) Nature and purpose. It is the express intent of the
9General Assembly to ensure the health, safety, and financial
10condition of individuals receiving services in this State due
11to mental illness, developmental disability, or both by
12protecting those persons from acts of abuse, neglect, or both
13by service providers. To that end, the Office of the Inspector
14General for the Department of Human Services is created to
15investigate and report upon allegations of the abuse, neglect,
16or financial exploitation of individuals receiving services

 

 

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1within mental health facilities, developmental disabilities
2facilities, and community agencies operated, licensed, funded
3or certified by the Department of Human Services, but not
4licensed or certified by any other State agency.
5    (b) Definitions. The following definitions apply to this
6Section:
7    "Adult student with a disability" means an adult student,
8age 18 through 21, inclusive, with an Individual Education
9Program, other than a resident of a facility licensed by the
10Department of Children and Family Services in accordance with
11the Child Care Act of 1969. For purposes of this definition,
12"through age 21, inclusive", means through the day before the
13student's 22nd birthday.
14    "Agency" or "community agency" means (i) a community agency
15licensed, funded, or certified by the Department, but not
16licensed or certified by any other human services agency of the
17State, to provide mental health service or developmental
18disabilities service, or (ii) a program licensed, funded, or
19certified by the Department, but not licensed or certified by
20any other human services agency of the State, to provide mental
21health service or developmental disabilities service.
22    "Aggravating circumstance" means a factor that is
23attendant to a finding and that tends to compound or increase
24the culpability of the accused.
25    "Allegation" means an assertion, complaint, suspicion, or
26incident involving any of the following conduct by an employee,

 

 

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1facility, or agency against an individual or individuals:
2mental abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, or
3financial exploitation.
4    "Day" means working day, unless otherwise specified.
5    "Deflection" means a situation in which an individual is
6presented for admission to a facility or agency, and the
7facility staff or agency staff do not admit the individual.
8"Deflection" includes triage, redirection, and denial of
9admission.
10    "Department" means the Department of Human Services.
11    "Developmentally disabled" means having a developmental
12disability.
13    "Developmental disability" means "developmental
14disability" as defined in the Mental Health and Developmental
15Disabilities Code.
16    "Egregious neglect" means a finding of neglect as
17determined by the Inspector General that (i) represents a gross
18failure to adequately provide for, or a callused indifference
19to, the health, safety, or medical needs of an individual and
20(ii) results in an individual's death or other serious
21deterioration of an individual's physical condition or mental
22condition.
23    "Employee" means any person who provides services at the
24facility or agency on-site or off-site. The service
25relationship can be with the individual or with the facility or
26agency. Also, "employee" includes any employee or contractual

 

 

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1agent of the Department of Human Services or the community
2agency involved in providing or monitoring or administering
3mental health or developmental disability services. This
4includes but is not limited to: owners, operators, payroll
5personnel, contractors, subcontractors, and volunteers.
6    "Facility" or "State-operated facility" means a mental
7health facility or developmental disabilities facility
8operated by the Department.
9    "Financial exploitation" means taking unjust advantage of
10an individual's assets, property, or financial resources
11through deception, intimidation, or conversion for the
12employee's, facility's, or agency's own advantage or benefit.
13    "Finding" means the Office of Inspector General's
14determination regarding whether an allegation is
15substantiated, unsubstantiated, or unfounded.
16    "Health care worker registry" or "registry" means the
17health care worker registry created by the Nursing Home Care
18Act.
19    "Individual" means any person receiving mental health
20service, developmental disabilities service, or both from a
21facility or agency, while either on-site or off-site.
22    "Mental abuse" means the use of demeaning, intimidating, or
23threatening words, signs, gestures, or other actions by an
24employee about an individual and in the presence of an
25individual or individuals that results in emotional distress or
26maladaptive behavior, or could have resulted in emotional

 

 

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1distress or maladaptive behavior, for any individual present.
2    "Mental illness" means "mental illness" as defined in the
3Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code.
4    "Mentally ill" means having a mental illness.
5    "Mitigating circumstance" means a condition that (i) is
6attendant to a finding, (ii) does not excuse or justify the
7conduct in question, but (iii) may be considered in evaluating
8the severity of the conduct, the culpability of the accused, or
9both the severity of the conduct and the culpability of the
10accused.
11    "Neglect" means an employee's, agency's, or facility's
12failure to provide adequate medical care, personal care, or
13maintenance and that, as a consequence, (i) causes an
14individual pain, injury, or emotional distress, (ii) results in
15either an individual's maladaptive behavior or the
16deterioration of an individual's physical condition or mental
17condition, or (iii) places the individual's health or safety at
18substantial risk.
19    "Physical abuse" means an employee's non-accidental and
20inappropriate contact with an individual that causes bodily
21harm. "Physical abuse" includes actions that cause bodily harm
22as a result of an employee directing an individual or person to
23physically abuse another individual.
24    "Recommendation" means an admonition, separate from a
25finding, that requires action by the facility, agency, or
26Department to correct a systemic issue, problem, or deficiency

 

 

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1identified during an investigation.
2    "Required reporter" means any employee who suspects,
3witnesses, or is informed of an allegation of any one or more
4of the following: mental abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse,
5neglect, or financial exploitation.
6    "Secretary" means the Chief Administrative Officer of the
7Department.
8    "Sexual abuse" means any sexual contact or intimate
9physical contact between an employee and an individual,
10including an employee's coercion or encouragement of an
11individual to engage in sexual behavior that results in sexual
12contact, intimate physical contact, sexual behavior, or
13intimate physical behavior.
14    "Substantiated" means there is a preponderance of the
15evidence to support the allegation.
16    "Unfounded" means there is no credible evidence to support
17the allegation.
18    "Unsubstantiated" means there is credible evidence, but
19less than a preponderance of evidence to support the
20allegation.
21    (c) Appointment. The Governor shall appoint, and the Senate
22shall confirm, an Inspector General. The Inspector General
23shall be appointed for a term of 4 years and shall function
24within the Department of Human Services and report to the
25Secretary and the Governor.
26    (d) Operation and appropriation. The Inspector General

 

 

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1shall function independently within the Department with
2respect to the operations of the Office, including the
3performance of investigations and issuance of findings and
4recommendations. The appropriation for the Office of Inspector
5General shall be separate from the overall appropriation for
6the Department.
7    (e) Powers and duties. The Inspector General shall
8investigate reports of suspected mental abuse, physical abuse,
9sexual abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation of
10individuals in any mental health or developmental disabilities
11facility or agency and shall have authority to take immediate
12action to prevent any one or more of the following from
13happening to individuals under its jurisdiction: mental abuse,
14physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, or financial
15exploitation. Upon written request of an agency of this State,
16the Inspector General may assist another agency of the State in
17investigating reports of the abuse, neglect, or abuse and
18neglect of persons with mental illness, persons with
19developmental disabilities, or persons with both. To comply
20with the requirements of subsection (k) of this Section, the
21Inspector General shall also review all reportable deaths for
22which there is no allegation of abuse or neglect. Nothing in
23this Section shall preempt any duties of the Medical Review
24Board set forth in the Mental Health and Developmental
25Disabilities Code. The Inspector General shall have no
26authority to investigate alleged violations of the State

 

 

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1Officials and Employees Ethics Act. Allegations of misconduct
2under the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act shall be
3referred to the Office of the Governor's Executive Inspector
4General for investigation.
5    (f) Limitations. The Inspector General shall not conduct an
6investigation within an agency or facility if that
7investigation would be redundant to or interfere with an
8investigation conducted by another State agency. The Inspector
9General shall have no supervision over, or involvement in, the
10routine programmatic, licensing, funding, or certification
11operations of the Department. Nothing in this subsection limits
12investigations by the Department that may otherwise be required
13by law or that may be necessary in the Department's capacity as
14central administrative authority responsible for the operation
15of the State's mental health and developmental disabilities
16facilities.
17    (g) Rulemaking authority. The Inspector General shall
18promulgate rules establishing minimum requirements for
19reporting allegations as well as for initiating, conducting,
20and completing investigations based upon the nature of the
21allegation or allegations. The rules shall clearly establish
22that if 2 or more State agencies could investigate an
23allegation, the Inspector General shall not conduct an
24investigation that would be redundant to, or interfere with, an
25investigation conducted by another State agency. The rules
26shall further clarify the method and circumstances under which

 

 

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1the Office of Inspector General may interact with the
2licensing, funding, or certification units of the Department in
3preventing further occurrences of mental abuse, physical
4abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, egregious neglect, and financial
5exploitation.
6    (h) Training programs. The Inspector General shall (i)
7establish a comprehensive program to ensure that every person
8authorized to conduct investigations receives ongoing training
9relative to investigation techniques, communication skills,
10and the appropriate means of interacting with persons receiving
11treatment for mental illness, developmental disability, or
12both mental illness and developmental disability, and (ii)
13establish and conduct periodic training programs for facility
14and agency employees concerning the prevention and reporting of
15any one or more of the following: mental abuse, physical abuse,
16sexual abuse, neglect, egregious neglect, or financial
17exploitation. Nothing in this Section shall be deemed to
18prevent the Office of Inspector General from conducting any
19other training as determined by the Inspector General to be
20necessary or helpful.
21    (i) Duty to cooperate.
22        (1) The Inspector General shall at all times be granted
23    access to any facility or agency for the purpose of
24    investigating any allegation, conducting unannounced site
25    visits, monitoring compliance with a written response, or
26    completing any other statutorily assigned duty. The

 

 

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1    Inspector General shall conduct unannounced site visits to
2    each facility at least annually for the purpose of
3    reviewing and making recommendations on systemic issues
4    relative to preventing, reporting, investigating, and
5    responding to all of the following: mental abuse, physical
6    abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, egregious neglect, or
7    financial exploitation.
8        (2) Any employee who fails to cooperate with an Office
9    of the Inspector General investigation is in violation of
10    this Act. Failure to cooperate with an investigation
11    includes, but is not limited to, any one or more of the
12    following: (i) creating and transmitting a false report to
13    the Office of the Inspector General hotline, (ii) providing
14    false information to an Office of the Inspector General
15    Investigator during an investigation, (iii) colluding with
16    other employees to cover up evidence, (iv) colluding with
17    other employees to provide false information to an Office
18    of the Inspector General investigator, (v) destroying
19    evidence, (vi) withholding evidence, or (vii) otherwise
20    obstructing an Office of the Inspector General
21    investigation. Additionally, any employee who, during an
22    unannounced site visit or written response compliance
23    check, fails to cooperate with requests from the Office of
24    the Inspector General is in violation of this Act.
25    (j) Subpoena powers. The Inspector General shall have the
26power to subpoena witnesses and compel the production of all

 

 

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1documents and physical evidence relating to his or her
2investigations and any hearings authorized by this Act. This
3subpoena power shall not extend to persons or documents of a
4labor organization or its representatives insofar as the
5persons are acting in a representative capacity to an employee
6whose conduct is the subject of an investigation or the
7documents relate to that representation. Any person who
8otherwise fails to respond to a subpoena or who knowingly
9provides false information to the Office of the Inspector
10General by subpoena during an investigation is guilty of a
11Class A misdemeanor.
12    (k) Reporting allegations and deaths.
13        (1) Allegations. If an employee witnesses, is told of,
14    or has reason to believe an incident of mental abuse,
15    physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, or financial
16    exploitation has occurred, the employee, agency, or
17    facility shall report the allegation by phone to the Office
18    of the Inspector General hotline according to the agency's
19    or facility's procedures, but in no event later than 4
20    hours after the initial discovery of the incident,
21    allegation, or suspicion of any one or more of the
22    following: mental abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse,
23    neglect, or financial exploitation. A required reporter as
24    defined in subsection (b) of this Section who knowingly or
25    intentionally fails to comply with these reporting
26    requirements is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.

 

 

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1        (2) Deaths. Absent an allegation, a required reporter
2    shall, within 24 hours after initial discovery, report by
3    phone to the Office of the Inspector General hotline each
4    of the following:
5            (i) Any death of an individual occurring within 14
6        calendar days after discharge or transfer of the
7        individual from a residential program or facility.
8            (ii) Any death of an individual occurring within 24
9        hours after deflection from a residential program or
10        facility.
11            (iii) Any other death of an individual occurring at
12        an agency or facility or at any Department-funded site.
13        (3) Retaliation. It is a violation of this Act for any
14    employee or administrator of an agency or facility to take
15    retaliatory action against an employee who acts in good
16    faith in conformance with his or her duties as a required
17    reporter.
18    (l) Reporting to law enforcement.
19        (1) Reporting criminal acts. Within 24 hours after
20    determining that there is credible evidence indicating
21    that a criminal act may have been committed or that special
22    expertise may be required in an investigation, the
23    Inspector General shall notify the Department of State
24    Police or other appropriate law enforcement authority, or
25    ensure that such notification is made. The Department of
26    State Police shall investigate any report from a

 

 

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1    State-operated facility indicating a possible murder,
2    sexual assault, or other felony by an employee. All
3    investigations conducted by the Inspector General shall be
4    conducted in a manner designed to ensure the preservation
5    of evidence for possible use in a criminal prosecution.
6        (2) Reporting allegations of adult students with
7    disabilities. Upon receipt of a reportable allegation
8    regarding an adult student with a disability, the
9    Department's Office of the Inspector General shall
10    determine whether the allegation meets the criteria for the
11    Domestic Abuse Program under the Abuse of Adults with
12    Disabilities Intervention Act. If the allegation is
13    reportable to that program, the Office of the Inspector
14    General shall initiate an investigation. If the allegation
15    is not reportable to the Domestic Abuse Program, the Office
16    of the Inspector General shall make an expeditious referral
17    to the respective law enforcement entity. If the alleged
18    victim is already receiving services from the Department,
19    the Office of the Inspector General shall also make a
20    referral to the respective Department of Human Services'
21    Division or Bureau.
22    (m) Investigative reports. Upon completion of an
23investigation, the Office of Inspector General shall issue an
24investigative report identifying whether the allegations are
25substantiated, unsubstantiated, or unfounded. Within 10
26business days after the transmittal of a completed

 

 

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1investigative report substantiating an allegation, or if a
2recommendation is made, the Inspector General shall provide the
3investigative report on the case to the Secretary and to the
4director of the facility or agency where any one or more of the
5following occurred: mental abuse, physical abuse, sexual
6abuse, neglect, egregious neglect, or financial exploitation.
7In a substantiated case, the investigative report shall include
8any mitigating or aggravating circumstances that were
9identified during the investigation. If the case involves
10substantiated neglect, the investigative report shall also
11state whether egregious neglect was found. An investigative
12report may also set forth recommendations. All investigative
13reports prepared by the Office of the Inspector General shall
14be considered confidential and shall not be released except as
15provided by the law of this State or as required under
16applicable federal law. Unsubstantiated and unfounded reports
17shall not be disclosed except as allowed under Section 6 of the
18Abused and Neglected Long Term Care Facility Residents
19Reporting Act. Raw data used to compile the investigative
20report shall not be subject to release unless required by law
21or a court order. "Raw data used to compile the investigative
22report" includes, but is not limited to, any one or more of the
23following: the initial complaint, witness statements,
24photographs, investigator's notes, police reports, or incident
25reports. If the allegations are substantiated, the accused
26shall be provided with a redacted copy of the investigative

 

 

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1report. Death reports where there was no allegation of abuse or
2neglect shall only be released pursuant to applicable State or
3federal law or a valid court order.
4    (n) Written responses and reconsideration requests.
5        (1) Written responses. Within 30 calendar days from
6    receipt of a substantiated investigative report or an
7    investigative report which contains recommendations,
8    absent a reconsideration request, the facility or agency
9    shall file a written response that addresses, in a concise
10    and reasoned manner, the actions taken to: (i) protect the
11    individual; (ii) prevent recurrences; and (iii) eliminate
12    the problems identified. The response shall include the
13    implementation and completion dates of such actions. If the
14    written response is not filed within the allotted 30
15    calendar day period, the Secretary shall determine the
16    appropriate corrective action to be taken.
17        (2) Reconsideration requests. The facility, agency,
18    victim or guardian, or the subject employee may request
19    that the Office of Inspector General reconsider or clarify
20    its finding based upon additional information.
21    (o) Disclosure of the finding by the Inspector General. The
22Inspector General shall disclose the finding of an
23investigation to the following persons: (i) the Governor, (ii)
24the Secretary, (iii) the director of the facility or agency,
25(iv) the alleged victims and their guardians, (v) the
26complainant, and (vi) the accused. This information shall

 

 

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1include whether the allegations were deemed substantiated,
2unsubstantiated, or unfounded.
3    (p) Secretary review. Upon review of the Inspector
4General's investigative report and any agency's or facility's
5written response, the Secretary shall accept or reject the
6written response and notify the Inspector General of that
7determination. The Secretary may further direct that other
8administrative action be taken, including, but not limited to,
9any one or more of the following: (i) additional site visits,
10(ii) training, (iii) provision of technical assistance
11relative to administrative needs, licensure or certification,
12or (iv) the imposition of appropriate sanctions.
13    (q) Action by facility or agency. Within 30 days of the
14date the Secretary approves the written response or directs
15that further administrative action be taken, the facility or
16agency shall provide an implementation report to the Inspector
17General that provides the status of the action taken. The
18facility or agency shall be allowed an additional 30 days to
19send notice of completion of the action or to send an updated
20implementation report. If the action has not been completed
21within the additional 30 day period, the facility or agency
22shall send updated implementation reports every 60 days until
23completion. The Inspector General shall conduct a review of any
24implementation plan that takes more than 120 days after
25approval to complete, and shall monitor compliance through a
26random review of approved written responses, which may include,

 

 

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1but are not limited to: (i) site visits, (ii) telephone
2contact, and (iii) requests for additional documentation
3evidencing compliance.
4    (r) Sanctions. Sanctions, if imposed by the Secretary under
5Subdivision (p)(iv) of this Section, shall be designed to
6prevent further acts of mental abuse, physical abuse, sexual
7abuse, neglect, egregious neglect, or financial exploitation
8or some combination of one or more of those acts at a facility
9or agency, and may include any one or more of the following:
10        (1) Appointment of on-site monitors.
11        (2) Transfer or relocation of an individual or
12    individuals.
13        (3) Closure of units.
14        (4) Termination of any one or more of the following:
15    (i) Department licensing, (ii) funding, or (iii)
16    certification.
17    The Inspector General may seek the assistance of the
18Illinois Attorney General or the office of any State's Attorney
19in implementing sanctions.
20    (s) Health care worker registry.
21        (1) Reporting to the registry. The Inspector General
22    shall report to the Department of Public Health's health
23    care worker registry, a public registry, the identity and
24    finding of each employee of a facility or agency against
25    whom there is a final investigative report containing a
26    substantiated allegation of physical or sexual abuse,

 

 

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1    financial exploitation, or egregious neglect of an
2    individual.
3        (2) Notice to employee. Prior to reporting the name of
4    an employee, the employee shall be notified of the
5    Department's obligation to report and shall be granted an
6    opportunity to request an administrative hearing, the sole
7    purpose of which is to determine if the substantiated
8    finding warrants reporting to the registry. Notice to the
9    employee shall contain a clear and concise statement of the
10    grounds on which the report to the registry is based, offer
11    the employee an opportunity for a hearing, and identify the
12    process for requesting such a hearing. Notice is sufficient
13    if provided by certified mail to the employee's last known
14    address. If the employee fails to request a hearing within
15    30 days from the date of the notice, the Inspector General
16    shall report the name of the employee to the registry.
17    Nothing in this subdivision (s)(2) shall diminish or impair
18    the rights of a person who is a member of a collective
19    bargaining unit under the Illinois Public Labor Relations
20    Act or under any other federal labor statute.
21        (3) Registry hearings. If the employee requests an
22    administrative hearing, the employee shall be granted an
23    opportunity to appear before an administrative law judge to
24    present reasons why the employee's name should not be
25    reported to the registry. The Department shall bear the
26    burden of presenting evidence that establishes, by a

 

 

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1    preponderance of the evidence, that the substantiated
2    finding warrants reporting to the registry. After
3    considering all the evidence presented, the administrative
4    law judge shall make a recommendation to the Secretary as
5    to whether the substantiated finding warrants reporting
6    the name of the employee to the registry. The Secretary
7    shall render the final decision. The Department and the
8    employee shall have the right to request that the
9    administrative law judge consider a stipulated disposition
10    of these proceedings.
11        (4) Testimony at registry hearings. A person who makes
12    a report or who investigates a report under this Act shall
13    testify fully in any judicial proceeding resulting from
14    such a report, as to any evidence of abuse or neglect, or
15    the cause thereof. No evidence shall be excluded by reason
16    of any common law or statutory privilege relating to
17    communications between the alleged perpetrator of abuse or
18    neglect, or the individual alleged as the victim in the
19    report, and the person making or investigating the report.
20    Testimony at hearings is exempt from the confidentiality
21    requirements of subsection (f) of Section 10 of the Mental
22    Health and Developmental Disabilities Confidentiality Act.
23        (5) Employee's rights to collateral action. No
24    reporting to the registry shall occur and no hearing shall
25    be set or proceed if an employee notifies the Inspector
26    General in writing, including any supporting

 

 

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1    documentation, that he or she is formally contesting an
2    adverse employment action resulting from a substantiated
3    finding by complaint filed with the Illinois Civil Service
4    Commission, or which otherwise seeks to enforce the
5    employee's rights pursuant to any applicable collective
6    bargaining agreement. If an action taken by an employer
7    against an employee as a result of a finding of physical
8    abuse, sexual abuse, or egregious neglect is overturned
9    through an action filed with the Illinois Civil Service
10    Commission or under any applicable collective bargaining
11    agreement and if that employee's name has already been sent
12    to the registry, the employee's name shall be removed from
13    the registry.
14        (6) Removal from registry. At any time after the report
15    to the registry, but no more than once in any 12-month
16    period, an employee may petition the Department in writing
17    to remove his or her name from the registry. Upon receiving
18    notice of such request, the Inspector General shall conduct
19    an investigation into the petition. Upon receipt of such
20    request, an administrative hearing will be set by the
21    Department. At the hearing, the employee shall bear the
22    burden of presenting evidence that establishes, by a
23    preponderance of the evidence, that removal of the name
24    from the registry is in the public interest. The parties
25    may jointly request that the administrative law judge
26    consider a stipulated disposition of these proceedings.

 

 

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1    (t) Review of Administrative Decisions. The Department
2shall preserve a record of all proceedings at any formal
3hearing conducted by the Department involving health care
4worker registry hearings. Final administrative decisions of
5the Department are subject to judicial review pursuant to
6provisions of the Administrative Review Law.
7    (u) Quality Care Board. There is created, within the Office
8of the Inspector General, a Quality Care Board to be composed
9of 7 members appointed by the Governor with the advice and
10consent of the Senate. One of the members shall be designated
11as chairman by the Governor. Of the initial appointments made
12by the Governor, 4 Board members shall each be appointed for a
13term of 4 years and 3 members shall each be appointed for a
14term of 2 years. Upon the expiration of each member's term, a
15successor shall be appointed for a term of 4 years. In the case
16of a vacancy in the office of any member, the Governor shall
17appoint a successor for the remainder of the unexpired term.
18    Members appointed by the Governor shall be qualified by
19professional knowledge or experience in the area of law,
20investigatory techniques, or in the area of care of the
21mentally ill or developmentally disabled. Two members
22appointed by the Governor shall be persons with a disability or
23a parent of a person with a disability. Members shall serve
24without compensation, but shall be reimbursed for expenses
25incurred in connection with the performance of their duties as
26members.

 

 

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1    The Board shall meet quarterly, and may hold other meetings
2on the call of the chairman. Four members shall constitute a
3quorum allowing the Board to conduct its business. The Board
4may adopt rules and regulations it deems necessary to govern
5its own procedures.
6    The Board shall monitor and oversee the operations,
7policies, and procedures of the Inspector General to ensure the
8prompt and thorough investigation of allegations of neglect and
9abuse. In fulfilling these responsibilities, the Board may do
10the following:
11        (1) Provide independent, expert consultation to the
12    Inspector General on policies and protocols for
13    investigations of alleged abuse, neglect, or both abuse and
14    neglect.
15        (2) Review existing regulations relating to the
16    operation of facilities.
17        (3) Advise the Inspector General as to the content of
18    training activities authorized under this Section.
19        (4) Recommend policies concerning methods for
20    improving the intergovernmental relationships between the
21    Office of the Inspector General and other State or federal
22    offices.
23    (v) Annual report. The Inspector General shall provide to
24the General Assembly and the Governor, no later than January 1
25of each year, a summary of reports and investigations made
26under this Act for the prior fiscal year with respect to

 

 

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1individuals receiving mental health or developmental
2disabilities services. The report shall detail the imposition
3of sanctions, if any, and the final disposition of any
4corrective or administrative action directed by the Secretary.
5The summaries shall not contain any confidential or identifying
6information of any individual, but shall include objective data
7identifying any trends in the number of reported allegations,
8the timeliness of the Office of the Inspector General's
9investigations, and their disposition, for each facility and
10Department-wide, for the most recent 3-year time period. The
11report shall also identify, by facility, the staff-to-patient
12ratios taking account of direct care staff only. The report
13shall also include detailed recommended administrative actions
14and matters for consideration by the General Assembly.
15    (w) Program audit. The Auditor General shall conduct a
16program audit of the Office of the Inspector General on an
17as-needed basis, as determined by the Auditor General. The
18audit shall specifically include the Inspector General's
19compliance with the Act and effectiveness in investigating
20reports of allegations occurring in any facility or agency. The
21Auditor General shall conduct the program audit according to
22the provisions of the Illinois State Auditing Act and shall
23report its findings to the General Assembly no later than
24January 1 following the audit period.
25    (x) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to mean that
26a patient is a victim of abuse or neglect because of health

 

 

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1care services appropriately provided or not provided by health
2care professionals.
3    (y) Nothing in this Section shall require a facility,
4including its employees, agents, medical staff members, and
5health care professionals, to provide a service to a patient in
6contravention of that patient's stated or implied objection to
7the provision of that service on the ground that that service
8conflicts with the patient's religious beliefs or practices,
9nor shall the failure to provide a service to a patient be
10considered abuse under this Section if the patient has objected
11to the provision of that service based on his or her religious
12beliefs or practices.
13(Source: P.A. 98-49, eff. 7-1-13.)
 
14    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
15becoming law.".