093_HB0776eng

 
HB0776 Engrossed                     LRB093 05306 DRJ 05396 b

 1        AN ACT concerning assisted living.

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

 4        Section 5.  The Assisted Living and Shared Housing Act is
 5    amended by changing Section 5 as follows:

 6        (210 ILCS 9/5)
 7        Sec. 5.  Legislative purpose.  The purpose of this Act is
 8    to  permit   the  development  and  availability  of assisted
 9    living establishments and shared housing establishments based
10    on a social model  that promotes the dignity,  individuality,
11    privacy, independence, autonomy,  and decision-making ability
12    and  the  right  to  negotiated  risk   of  those persons; to
13    provide  for  the  health,  safety,  and   welfare  of  those
14    residents residing in  assisted  living  and  shared  housing
15    establishments  in this State; to promote  continuous quality
16    improvement  in  assisted  living;  and  to   encourage   the
17    development  of  innovative and  affordable  assisted  living
18    establishments   and    shared    housing    with     service
19    establishments for elderly persons of all income  levels.  It
20    is  the  public policy of this State that assisted  living is
21    an important part of the continuum of  long  term  care.   In
22    support  of  the goal of aging in place within the parameters
23    established by this Act, assisted  living and shared  housing
24    establishments shall  be operated as residential environments
25    with  supportive   services  designed  to meet the individual
26    resident's changing  needs and preferences.  The  residential
27    environment  shall  be   designed  to  encourage  family  and
28    community  involvement.  The services available to residents,
29    either directly  or  through  contracts  or  agreements,  are
30    intended   to   help  residents   remain  as  independent  as
31    possible. Assisted living, which  promotes  resident  choice,
 
HB0776 Engrossed            -2-      LRB093 05306 DRJ 05396 b
 1    autonomy, and decision making, should  be based on a contract
 2    model  designed  to result in a  negotiated agreement between
 3    the resident  or    the  resident's  representative  and  the
 4    provider,  clearly  identifying  the services to be provided.
 5    This model assumes that residents are able to direct services
 6    provided for them and  will  designate  a  representative  to
 7    direct these services if they themselves are unable to do so.
 8    This   model   supports  the  principle   that  there  is  an
 9    acceptable  balance   between    consumer    protection   and
10    resident  willingness to accept risk and that  most consumers
11    are competent to make their own judgments about the  services
12    they   are   obtaining.    Regulation    of  assisted  living
13    establishments and  shared  housing  establishments  must  be
14    sufficiently  flexible  to  allow  residents  to age in place
15    within the parameters of this Act. The administration of this
16    Act and services provided  must  therefore  ensure  that  the
17    residents  have the rights and responsibilities to direct the
18    scope of services they receive and to make individual choices
19    based on their needs and preferences.   These  establishments
20    shall  be  operated  in  a  manner  that  provides  the least
21    restrictive and most homelike environment and  that  promotes
22    independence,  autonomy, individuality, privacy, dignity, and
23    the right to negotiated risk in residential surroundings.  It
24    is not the intent of the State that  establishments  licensed
25    under  this  Act  be  used  as halfway houses for alcohol and
26    substance abusers.
27    (Source: P.A. 91-656, eff. 1-1-01.)