Full Text of SB0857 103rd General Assembly
SB0857sam001 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY | Sen. Laura Fine Filed: 3/22/2024 | | 10300SB0857sam001 | | LRB103 03316 KTG 71194 a |
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| 1 | | AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 857
| 2 | | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 857 by replacing | 3 | | everything after the enacting clause with the following: | 4 | | "Section 5. The Department of Human Services Act is | 5 | | amended by 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 | 9 | | General Assembly to ensure the health, safety, and financial | 10 | | condition of individuals receiving services in this State due | 11 | | to mental illness, developmental disability, or both by | 12 | | protecting those persons from acts of abuse, neglect, or both | 13 | | by service providers. To that end, the Office of the Inspector | 14 | | General for the Department of Human Services is created to | 15 | | investigate and report upon allegations of the abuse, neglect, | 16 | | or financial exploitation of individuals receiving services |
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| 1 | | within mental health facilities, developmental disabilities | 2 | | facilities, and community agencies operated, licensed, funded, | 3 | | or certified by the Department of Human Services, but not | 4 | | licensed or certified by any other State agency. | 5 | | (b) Definitions. The following definitions apply to this | 6 | | Section: | 7 | | "Agency" or "community agency" means (i) a community | 8 | | agency licensed, funded, or certified by the Department, but | 9 | | not licensed or certified by any other human services agency | 10 | | of the State, to provide mental health service or | 11 | | developmental disabilities service, or (ii) a program | 12 | | licensed, funded, or certified by the Department, but not | 13 | | licensed or certified by any other human services agency of | 14 | | the State, to provide mental health service or developmental | 15 | | disabilities service. | 16 | | "Aggravating circumstance" means a factor that is | 17 | | attendant to a finding and that tends to compound or increase | 18 | | the culpability of the accused. | 19 | | "Allegation" means an assertion, complaint, suspicion, or | 20 | | incident involving any of the following conduct by an | 21 | | employee, facility, or agency against an individual or | 22 | | individuals: mental abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, | 23 | | neglect, or financial exploitation , or material obstruction of | 24 | | an investigation . | 25 | | "Day" means working day, unless otherwise specified. | 26 | | "Deflection" means a situation in which an individual is |
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| 1 | | presented for admission to a facility or agency, and the | 2 | | facility staff or agency staff do not admit the individual. | 3 | | "Deflection" includes triage, redirection, and denial of | 4 | | admission. | 5 | | "Department" means the Department of Human Services. | 6 | | "Developmental disability" means "developmental | 7 | | disability" as defined in the Mental Health and Developmental | 8 | | Disabilities Code. | 9 | | "Egregious neglect" means a finding of neglect as | 10 | | determined by the Inspector General that (i) represents a | 11 | | gross failure to adequately provide for, or a callused | 12 | | indifference to, the health, safety, or medical needs of an | 13 | | individual and (ii) results in an individual's death or other | 14 | | serious deterioration of an individual's physical condition or | 15 | | mental condition. | 16 | | "Employee" means any person who provides services at the | 17 | | facility or agency on-site or off-site. The service | 18 | | relationship can be with the individual or with the facility | 19 | | or agency. Also, "employee" includes any employee or | 20 | | contractual agent of the Department of Human Services or the | 21 | | community agency involved in providing or monitoring or | 22 | | administering mental health or developmental disability | 23 | | services. This includes but is not limited to: owners, | 24 | | operators, payroll personnel, contractors, subcontractors, and | 25 | | volunteers. | 26 | | "Facility" or "State-operated facility" means a mental |
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| 1 | | health facility or developmental disabilities facility | 2 | | operated by the Department. | 3 | | "Financial exploitation" means taking unjust advantage of | 4 | | an individual's assets, property, or financial resources | 5 | | through deception, intimidation, or conversion for the | 6 | | employee's, facility's, or agency's own advantage or benefit. | 7 | | "Finding" means the Office of Inspector General's | 8 | | determination regarding whether an allegation is | 9 | | substantiated, unsubstantiated, or unfounded. | 10 | | "Health Care Worker Registry" or "Registry" means the | 11 | | Health Care Worker Registry under the Health Care Worker | 12 | | Background Check Act. | 13 | | "Individual" means any person receiving mental health | 14 | | service, developmental disabilities service, or both from a | 15 | | facility or agency, while either on-site or off-site. | 16 | | "Material obstruction of an investigation" means the | 17 | | purposeful interference with an investigation of physical | 18 | | abuse, sexual abuse, mental abuse, neglect, or financial | 19 | | exploitation and includes, but is not limited to, the | 20 | | withholding or altering of documentation or recorded evidence; | 21 | | influencing, threatening, or impeding witness testimony; | 22 | | presenting untruthful information during an interview; failing | 23 | | to cooperate with an investigation conducted by the Office of | 24 | | the Inspector General. If an employee, following a criminal | 25 | | investigation of physical abuse, sexual abuse, mental abuse, | 26 | | neglect, or financial exploitation, is convicted of an offense |
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| 1 | | that is factually predicated on the employee presenting | 2 | | untruthful information during the course of the investigation, | 3 | | that offense constitutes obstruction of an investigation. | 4 | | Obstruction of an investigation does not include: an | 5 | | employee's lawful exercising of his or her constitutional | 6 | | right against self-incrimination, an employee invoking his or | 7 | | her lawful rights to union representation as provided by a | 8 | | collective bargaining agreement or the Illinois Public Labor | 9 | | Relations Act, or a union representative's lawful activities | 10 | | providing representation under a collective bargaining | 11 | | agreement or the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act. | 12 | | Obstruction of an investigation is considered material when it | 13 | | could significantly impair an investigator's ability to gather | 14 | | all relevant facts. An employee shall not be placed on the | 15 | | Health Care Worker Registry for presenting untruthful | 16 | | information during an interview conducted by the Office of the | 17 | | Inspector General, unless, prior to the interview, the | 18 | | employee was provided with any previous signed statements he | 19 | | or she made during the course of the investigation. | 20 | | "Mental abuse" means the use of demeaning, intimidating, | 21 | | or threatening words, signs, gestures, or other actions by an | 22 | | employee about an individual and in the presence of an | 23 | | individual or individuals that results in emotional distress | 24 | | or maladaptive behavior, or could have resulted in emotional | 25 | | distress or maladaptive behavior, for any individual present. | 26 | | "Mental illness" means "mental illness" as defined in the |
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| 1 | | Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code. | 2 | | "Mentally ill" means having a mental illness. | 3 | | "Mitigating circumstance" means a condition that (i) is | 4 | | attendant to a finding, (ii) does not excuse or justify the | 5 | | conduct in question, but (iii) may be considered in evaluating | 6 | | the severity of the conduct, the culpability of the accused, | 7 | | or both the severity of the conduct and the culpability of the | 8 | | accused. | 9 | | "Neglect" means an employee's, agency's, or facility's | 10 | | failure to provide adequate medical care, personal care, or | 11 | | maintenance and that, as a consequence, (i) causes an | 12 | | individual pain, injury, or emotional distress, (ii) results | 13 | | in either an individual's maladaptive behavior or the | 14 | | deterioration of an individual's physical condition or mental | 15 | | condition, or (iii) places the individual's health or safety | 16 | | at substantial risk. | 17 | | "Person with a developmental disability" means a person | 18 | | having a developmental disability. | 19 | | "Physical abuse" means an employee's non-accidental and | 20 | | inappropriate contact with an individual that causes bodily | 21 | | harm. "Physical abuse" includes actions that cause bodily harm | 22 | | as a result of an employee directing an individual or person to | 23 | | physically abuse another individual. | 24 | | "Presenting untruthful information" means making a false | 25 | | statement, material to an investigation of physical abuse, | 26 | | sexual abuse, mental abuse, neglect, or financial |
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| 1 | | exploitation, knowing the statement is false. | 2 | | "Recommendation" means an admonition, separate from a | 3 | | finding, that requires action by the facility, agency, or | 4 | | Department to correct a systemic issue, problem, or deficiency | 5 | | identified during an investigation. "Recommendation" can also | 6 | | mean an admonition to correct a systemic issue, problem or | 7 | | deficiency during a review. | 8 | | "Required reporter" means any employee who suspects, | 9 | | witnesses, or is informed of an allegation of any one or more | 10 | | of the following: mental abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, | 11 | | neglect, or financial exploitation. | 12 | | "Secretary" means the Chief Administrative Officer of the | 13 | | Department. | 14 | | "Sexual abuse" means any sexual contact or intimate | 15 | | physical contact between an employee and an individual, | 16 | | including an employee's coercion or encouragement of an | 17 | | individual to engage in sexual behavior that results in sexual | 18 | | contact, intimate physical contact, sexual behavior, or | 19 | | intimate physical behavior. Sexual abuse also includes (i) an | 20 | | employee's actions that result in the sending or showing of | 21 | | sexually explicit images to an individual via computer, | 22 | | cellular phone, electronic mail, portable electronic device, | 23 | | or other media with or without contact with the individual or | 24 | | (ii) an employee's posting of sexually explicit images of an | 25 | | individual online or elsewhere whether or not there is contact | 26 | | with the individual. |
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| 1 | | "Sexually explicit images" includes, but is not limited | 2 | | to, any material which depicts nudity, sexual conduct, or | 3 | | sado-masochistic abuse, or which contains explicit and | 4 | | detailed verbal descriptions or narrative accounts of sexual | 5 | | excitement, sexual conduct, or sado-masochistic abuse. | 6 | | "Substantiated" means there is a preponderance of the | 7 | | evidence to support the allegation. | 8 | | "Unfounded" means there is no credible evidence to support | 9 | | the allegation. | 10 | | "Unsubstantiated" means there is credible evidence, but | 11 | | less than a preponderance of evidence to support the | 12 | | allegation. | 13 | | (c) Appointment. The Governor shall appoint, and the | 14 | | Senate shall confirm, an Inspector General. The Inspector | 15 | | General shall be appointed for a term of 4 years and shall | 16 | | function within the Department of Human Services and report to | 17 | | the Secretary and the Governor. | 18 | | (d) Operation and appropriation. The Inspector General | 19 | | shall function independently within the Department with | 20 | | respect to the operations of the Office, including the | 21 | | performance of investigations and issuance of findings and | 22 | | recommendations and the performance of site visits and reviews | 23 | | of facilities and community agencies . The appropriation for | 24 | | the Office of Inspector General shall be separate from the | 25 | | overall appropriation for the Department. | 26 | | (e) Powers and duties. The Inspector General shall |
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| 1 | | investigate reports of suspected mental abuse, physical abuse, | 2 | | sexual abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation of | 3 | | individuals in any mental health or developmental disabilities | 4 | | facility or agency and shall have authority to take immediate | 5 | | action to prevent any one or more of the following from | 6 | | happening to individuals under its jurisdiction: mental abuse, | 7 | | physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, or financial | 8 | | exploitation. The Inspector General shall also investigate | 9 | | allegations of material obstruction of an investigation by an | 10 | | employee. Upon written request of an agency of this State, the | 11 | | Inspector General may assist another agency of the State in | 12 | | investigating reports of the abuse, neglect, or abuse and | 13 | | neglect of persons with mental illness, persons with | 14 | | developmental disabilities, or persons with both. The | 15 | | Inspector General shall conduct annual site visits of each | 16 | | facility and may conduct reviews of facilities and community | 17 | | agencies. To comply with the requirements of subsection (k) of | 18 | | this Section, the Inspector General shall also review all | 19 | | reportable deaths for which there is no allegation of abuse or | 20 | | neglect. Nothing in this Section shall preempt any duties of | 21 | | the Medical Review Board set forth in the Mental Health and | 22 | | Developmental Disabilities Code. The Inspector General shall | 23 | | have no authority to investigate alleged violations of the | 24 | | State Officials and Employees Ethics Act. Allegations of | 25 | | misconduct under the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act | 26 | | shall be referred to the Office of the Governor's Executive |
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| 1 | | Inspector General for investigation. | 2 | | (f) Limitations. The Inspector General shall not conduct | 3 | | an investigation within an agency or facility if that | 4 | | investigation would be redundant to or interfere with an | 5 | | investigation conducted by another State agency. The Inspector | 6 | | General shall have no supervision over, or involvement in, the | 7 | | routine programmatic, licensing, funding, or certification | 8 | | operations of the Department. Nothing in this subsection | 9 | | limits investigations by the Department that may otherwise be | 10 | | required by law or that may be necessary in the Department's | 11 | | capacity as central administrative authority responsible for | 12 | | the operation of the State's mental health and developmental | 13 | | disabilities facilities. | 14 | | (g) Rulemaking authority. The Inspector General shall | 15 | | promulgate rules establishing minimum requirements for | 16 | | reporting allegations as well as for initiating, conducting, | 17 | | and completing investigations based upon the nature of the | 18 | | allegation or allegations. The rules shall clearly establish | 19 | | that if 2 or more State agencies could investigate an | 20 | | allegation, the Inspector General shall not conduct an | 21 | | investigation that would be redundant to, or interfere with, | 22 | | an investigation conducted by another State agency. The rules | 23 | | shall further clarify the method and circumstances under which | 24 | | the Office of Inspector General may interact with the | 25 | | licensing, funding, or certification units of the Department | 26 | | in preventing further occurrences of mental abuse, physical |
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| 1 | | abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, egregious neglect, and financial | 2 | | exploitation , and material obstruction of an investigation . | 3 | | (g-5) Site visits and review authority. | 4 | | (1) Site visits. The Inspector General shall conduct | 5 | | unannounced site visits to each facility at least annually | 6 | | for the purpose of reviewing and making recommendations on | 7 | | systemic issues relative to preventing, reporting, | 8 | | investigating, and responding to all of the following: | 9 | | mental abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, | 10 | | egregious neglect, financial exploitation, or material | 11 | | obstruction of an investigation. | 12 | | (2) Review authority. In response to complaints or | 13 | | information gathered from investigations, the Inspector | 14 | | General shall have and may exercise the authority to | 15 | | initiate reviews of facilities and agencies related to | 16 | | preventing, reporting, investigating, and responding to | 17 | | all of the following: mental abuse, physical abuse, sexual | 18 | | abuse, neglect, egregious neglect, financial exploitation, | 19 | | or material obstruction of an investigation. Upon | 20 | | concluding a review, the Inspector General shall issue a | 21 | | written report setting forth its conclusions and | 22 | | recommendations. The report shall be distributed to the | 23 | | Secretary and to the director of the facility or agency | 24 | | that was the subject of review. Within 45 calendar days, | 25 | | the facility or agency shall submit a written response | 26 | | addressing the Inspector General's conclusions and |
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| 1 | | recommendations and, in a concise and reasoned manner, the | 2 | | actions taken, if applicable, to: (i) protect the | 3 | | individual or individuals; (ii) prevent recurrences; and | 4 | | (iii) eliminate the problems identified. The response | 5 | | shall include the implementation and completion dates of | 6 | | such actions. | 7 | | (h) Training programs. The Inspector General shall (i) | 8 | | establish a comprehensive program to ensure that every person | 9 | | authorized to conduct investigations receives ongoing training | 10 | | relative to investigation techniques, communication skills, | 11 | | and the appropriate means of interacting with persons | 12 | | receiving treatment for mental illness, developmental | 13 | | disability, or both mental illness and developmental | 14 | | disability, and (ii) establish and conduct periodic training | 15 | | programs for facility and agency employees concerning the | 16 | | prevention and reporting of any one or more of the following: | 17 | | mental abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, egregious | 18 | | neglect, or financial exploitation , or material obstruction of | 19 | | an investigation . The Inspector General shall further ensure | 20 | | (i) every person authorized to conduct investigations at | 21 | | community agencies receives ongoing training in Title 59, | 22 | | Parts 115, 116, and 119 of the Illinois Administrative Code, | 23 | | and (ii) every person authorized to conduct investigations | 24 | | shall receive ongoing training in Title 59, Part 50 of the | 25 | | Illinois Administrative Code. Nothing in this Section shall be | 26 | | deemed to prevent the Office of Inspector General from |
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| 1 | | conducting any other training as determined by the Inspector | 2 | | General to be necessary or helpful. | 3 | | (i) Duty to cooperate. | 4 | | (1) The Inspector General shall at all times be | 5 | | granted access to any facility or agency for the purpose | 6 | | of investigating any allegation, conducting unannounced | 7 | | site visits, monitoring compliance with a written | 8 | | response, conducting reviews of facilities and agencies, | 9 | | or completing any other statutorily assigned duty. The | 10 | | Inspector General shall conduct unannounced site visits to | 11 | | each facility at least annually for the purpose of | 12 | | reviewing and making recommendations on systemic issues | 13 | | relative to preventing, reporting, investigating, and | 14 | | responding to all of the following: mental abuse, physical | 15 | | abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, egregious neglect, or | 16 | | financial exploitation. | 17 | | (2) Any employee who fails to cooperate with an Office | 18 | | of the Inspector General investigation is in violation of | 19 | | this Act. Failure to cooperate with an investigation | 20 | | includes, but is not limited to, any one or more of the | 21 | | following: (i) creating and transmitting a false report to | 22 | | the Office of the Inspector General hotline, (ii) | 23 | | providing false information to an Office of the Inspector | 24 | | General Investigator during an investigation, (iii) | 25 | | colluding with other employees to cover up evidence, (iv) | 26 | | colluding with other employees to provide false |
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| 1 | | information to an Office of the Inspector General | 2 | | investigator, (v) destroying evidence, (vi) withholding | 3 | | evidence, or (vii) otherwise obstructing an Office of the | 4 | | Inspector General investigation. Additionally, any | 5 | | employee who, during an unannounced site visit , or written | 6 | | response compliance check, or review fails to cooperate | 7 | | with requests from the Office of the Inspector General is | 8 | | in violation of this Act. | 9 | | (j) Subpoena powers. The Inspector General shall have the | 10 | | power to subpoena witnesses and compel the production of all | 11 | | documents and physical evidence relating to his or her | 12 | | investigations and reviews and any hearings authorized by this | 13 | | Act. This subpoena power shall not extend to persons or | 14 | | documents of a labor organization or its representatives | 15 | | insofar as the persons are acting in a representative capacity | 16 | | to an employee whose conduct is the subject of an | 17 | | investigation or the documents relate to that representation. | 18 | | Any person who otherwise fails to respond to a subpoena or who | 19 | | knowingly provides false information to the Office of the | 20 | | Inspector General by subpoena during an investigation is | 21 | | guilty of a Class A misdemeanor. | 22 | | (k) Reporting allegations and deaths. | 23 | | (1) Allegations. If an employee witnesses, is told of, | 24 | | or has reason to believe an incident of mental abuse, | 25 | | physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, or financial | 26 | | exploitation , or material obstruction of an investigation |
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| 1 | | has occurred, the employee, agency, or facility shall | 2 | | report the allegation by phone to the Office of the | 3 | | Inspector General hotline according to the agency's or | 4 | | facility's procedures, but in no event later than 4 hours | 5 | | after the initial discovery of the incident, allegation, | 6 | | or suspicion of any one or more of the following: mental | 7 | | abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, or financial | 8 | | exploitation , or material obstruction of an investigation . | 9 | | A required reporter as defined in subsection (b) of this | 10 | | Section who knowingly or intentionally fails to comply | 11 | | with these reporting requirements is guilty of a Class A | 12 | | misdemeanor. | 13 | | (2) Deaths. Absent an allegation, a required reporter | 14 | | shall, within 24 hours after initial discovery, report by | 15 | | phone to the Office of the Inspector General hotline each | 16 | | of the following: | 17 | | (i) Any death of an individual occurring within 14 | 18 | | calendar days after discharge or transfer of the | 19 | | individual from a residential program or facility. | 20 | | (ii) Any death of an individual occurring within | 21 | | 24 hours after deflection from a residential program | 22 | | or facility. | 23 | | (iii) Any other death of an individual occurring | 24 | | at an agency or facility or at any Department-funded | 25 | | site. | 26 | | (3) Retaliation. It is a violation of this Act for any |
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| 1 | | employee or administrator of an agency or facility to take | 2 | | retaliatory action against an employee who acts in good | 3 | | faith in conformance with his or her duties as a required | 4 | | reporter. | 5 | | (l) Reporting to law enforcement. Reporting criminal acts. | 6 | | Within 24 hours after determining that there is credible | 7 | | evidence indicating that a criminal act may have been | 8 | | committed or that special expertise may be required in an | 9 | | investigation, the Inspector General shall notify the Illinois | 10 | | State Police or other appropriate law enforcement authority, | 11 | | or ensure that such notification is made. The Illinois State | 12 | | Police shall investigate any report from a State-operated | 13 | | facility indicating a possible murder, sexual assault, or | 14 | | other felony by an employee. All investigations conducted by | 15 | | the Inspector General shall be conducted in a manner designed | 16 | | to ensure the preservation of evidence for possible use in a | 17 | | criminal prosecution. | 18 | | (m) Investigative reports. Upon completion of an | 19 | | investigation, the Office of Inspector General shall issue an | 20 | | investigative report identifying whether the allegations are | 21 | | substantiated, unsubstantiated, or unfounded. Within 10 | 22 | | business days after the transmittal of a completed | 23 | | investigative report substantiating an allegation, finding an | 24 | | allegation is unsubstantiated, or if a recommendation is made, | 25 | | the Inspector General shall provide the investigative report | 26 | | on the case to the Secretary and to the director of the |
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| 1 | | facility or agency where any one or more of the following | 2 | | occurred: mental abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, | 3 | | egregious neglect, financial exploitation, or material | 4 | | obstruction of an investigation. The director of the facility | 5 | | or agency shall be responsible for maintaining the | 6 | | confidentiality of the investigative report consistent with | 7 | | State and federal law. In a substantiated case, the | 8 | | investigative report shall include any mitigating or | 9 | | aggravating circumstances that were identified during the | 10 | | investigation. If the case involves substantiated neglect, the | 11 | | investigative report shall also state whether egregious | 12 | | neglect was found. An investigative report may also set forth | 13 | | recommendations. All investigative reports prepared by the | 14 | | Office of the Inspector General shall be considered | 15 | | confidential and shall not be released except as provided by | 16 | | the law of this State or as required under applicable federal | 17 | | law. Unsubstantiated and unfounded reports shall not be | 18 | | disclosed except as allowed under Section 6 of the Abused and | 19 | | Neglected Long Term Care Facility Residents Reporting Act. Raw | 20 | | data used to compile the investigative report shall not be | 21 | | subject to release unless required by law or a court order. | 22 | | "Raw data used to compile the investigative report" includes, | 23 | | but is not limited to, any one or more of the following: the | 24 | | initial complaint, witness statements, photographs, | 25 | | investigator's notes, police reports, or incident reports. If | 26 | | the allegations are substantiated, the victim, the victim's |
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| 1 | | guardian, and the accused shall be provided with a redacted | 2 | | copy of the investigative report. Death reports where there | 3 | | was no allegation of abuse or neglect shall only be released | 4 | | pursuant to applicable State or federal law or a valid court | 5 | | order. Unredacted investigative reports, as well as raw data, | 6 | | may be shared with a local law enforcement entity, a State's | 7 | | Attorney's office, or a county coroner's office upon written | 8 | | request. | 9 | | (n) Written responses, clarification requests, and | 10 | | reconsideration requests. | 11 | | (1) Written responses. Within 30 calendar days from | 12 | | receipt of a substantiated investigative report or an | 13 | | investigative report which contains recommendations, | 14 | | absent a reconsideration request, the facility or agency | 15 | | shall file a written response that addresses, in a concise | 16 | | and reasoned manner, the actions taken to: (i) protect the | 17 | | individual; (ii) prevent recurrences; and (iii) eliminate | 18 | | the problems identified. The response shall include the | 19 | | implementation and completion dates of such actions. If | 20 | | the written response is not filed within the allotted 30 | 21 | | calendar day period, the Secretary | | | , or the Secretary's | 22 | | designee, shall determine the appropriate corrective | 23 | | action to be taken. | 24 | | (2) Requests for clarification. The facility, agency, | 25 | | victim or guardian, or the subject employee may request | 26 | | that the Office of Inspector General clarify the finding |
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| 1 | | or findings for which clarification is sought. | 2 | | (3) Requests for reconsideration. The facility, | 3 | | agency, victim or guardian, or the subject employee may | 4 | | request that the Office of the Inspector General | 5 | | reconsider the finding or findings or the recommendations. | 6 | | A request for reconsideration shall be subject to a | 7 | | multi-layer review and shall include at least one reviewer | 8 | | who did not participate in the investigation or approval | 9 | | of the original investigative report. After the | 10 | | multi-layer review process has been completed, the | 11 | | Inspector General shall make the final determination on | 12 | | the reconsideration request. The investigation shall be | 13 | | reopened if the reconsideration determination finds that | 14 | | additional information is needed to complete the | 15 | | investigative record. | 16 | | (o) Disclosure of the finding by the Inspector General. | 17 | | The Inspector General shall disclose the finding of an | 18 | | investigation to the following persons: (i) the Governor, (ii) | 19 | | the Secretary, (iii) the director of the facility or agency, | 20 | | (iv) the alleged victims and their guardians, (v) the | 21 | | complainant, and (vi) the accused. This information shall | 22 | | include whether the allegations were deemed substantiated, | 23 | | unsubstantiated, or unfounded. | 24 | | (p) Secretary review. Upon review of the Inspector | 25 | | General's investigative report and any agency's or facility's | 26 | | written response, the Secretary , or the Secretary's designee, |
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| 1 | | shall accept or reject the written response and notify the | 2 | | Inspector General of that determination. The Secretary , or the | 3 | | Secretary's designee, may further direct that other | 4 | | administrative action be taken, including, but not limited to, | 5 | | any one or more of the following: (i) additional site visits, | 6 | | (ii) training, (iii) provision of technical assistance | 7 | | relative to administrative needs, licensure, or certification, | 8 | | or (iv) the imposition of appropriate sanctions. | 9 | | (q) Action by facility or agency. Within 30 days of the | 10 | | date the Secretary , or the Secretary's designee, approves the | 11 | | written response or directs that further administrative action | 12 | | be taken, the facility or agency shall provide an | 13 | | implementation report to the Inspector General that provides | 14 | | the status of the action taken. The facility or agency shall be | 15 | | allowed an additional 30 days to send notice of completion of | 16 | | the action or to send an updated implementation report. If the | 17 | | action has not been completed within the additional 30-day | 18 | | period, the facility or agency shall send updated | 19 | | implementation reports every 60 days until completion. The | 20 | | Inspector General shall conduct a review of any implementation | 21 | | plan that takes more than 120 days after approval to complete, | 22 | | and shall monitor compliance through a random review of | 23 | | approved written responses, which may include, but are not | 24 | | limited to: (i) site visits, (ii) telephone contact, and (iii) | 25 | | requests for additional documentation evidencing compliance. | 26 | | (r) Sanctions. Sanctions, if imposed by the Secretary |
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| 1 | | under Subdivision (p)(iv) of this Section, shall be designed | 2 | | to prevent further acts of mental abuse, physical abuse, | 3 | | sexual abuse, neglect, egregious neglect, or financial | 4 | | exploitation or some combination of one or more of those acts | 5 | | at a facility or agency, and may include any one or more of the | 6 | | following: | 7 | | (1) Appointment of on-site monitors. | 8 | | (2) Transfer or relocation of an individual or | 9 | | individuals. | 10 | | (3) Closure of units. | 11 | | (4) Termination of any one or more of the following: | 12 | | (i) Department licensing, (ii) funding, or (iii) | 13 | | certification. | 14 | | The Inspector General may seek the assistance of the | 15 | | Illinois Attorney General or the office of any State's | 16 | | Attorney in implementing sanctions. | 17 | | (s) Health Care Worker Registry. | 18 | | (1) Reporting to the Registry. The Inspector General | 19 | | shall report to the Department of Public Health's Health | 20 | | Care Worker Registry, a public registry, the identity and | 21 | | finding of each employee of a facility or agency against | 22 | | whom there is a final investigative report prepared by the | 23 | | Office of the Inspector General containing a substantiated | 24 | | allegation of physical or sexual abuse, financial | 25 | | exploitation, egregious neglect of an individual, or | 26 | | material obstruction of an investigation, unless the |
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| 1 | | Inspector General requests a stipulated disposition of the | 2 | | investigative report that does not include the reporting | 3 | | of the employee's name to the Health Care Worker Registry | 4 | | and the Secretary of Human Services agrees with the | 5 | | requested stipulated disposition. | 6 | | (2) Notice to employee. Prior to reporting the name of | 7 | | an employee, the employee shall be notified of the | 8 | | Department's obligation to report and shall be granted an | 9 | | opportunity to request an administrative hearing, the sole | 10 | | purpose of which is to determine if the substantiated | 11 | | finding warrants reporting to the Registry. Notice to the | 12 | | employee shall contain a clear and concise statement of | 13 | | the grounds on which the report to the Registry is based, | 14 | | offer the employee an opportunity for a hearing, and | 15 | | identify the process for requesting such a hearing. Notice | 16 | | is sufficient if provided by certified mail to the | 17 | | employee's last known address. If the employee fails to | 18 | | request a hearing within 30 days from the date of the | 19 | | notice, the Inspector General shall report the name of the | 20 | | employee to the Registry. Nothing in this subdivision | 21 | | (s)(2) shall diminish or impair the rights of a person who | 22 | | is a member of a collective bargaining unit under the | 23 | | Illinois Public Labor Relations Act or under any other | 24 | | federal labor statute. | 25 | | (3) Registry hearings. If the employee requests an | 26 | | administrative hearing, the employee shall be granted an |
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| 1 | | opportunity to appear before an administrative law judge | 2 | | to present reasons why the employee's name should not be | 3 | | reported to the Registry. The Department shall bear the | 4 | | burden of presenting evidence that establishes, by a | 5 | | preponderance of the evidence, that the substantiated | 6 | | finding warrants reporting to the Registry. After | 7 | | considering all the evidence presented, the administrative | 8 | | law judge shall make a recommendation to the Secretary as | 9 | | to whether the substantiated finding warrants reporting | 10 | | the name of the employee to the Registry. The Secretary | 11 | | shall render the final decision. The Department and the | 12 | | employee shall have the right to request that the | 13 | | administrative law judge consider a stipulated disposition | 14 | | of these proceedings. | 15 | | (4) Testimony at Registry hearings. A person who makes | 16 | | a report or who investigates a report under this Act shall | 17 | | testify fully in any judicial proceeding resulting from | 18 | | such a report, as to any evidence of physical abuse, | 19 | | sexual abuse, egregious neglect, financial exploitation, | 20 | | or material obstruction of an investigation abuse or | 21 | | neglect , or the cause thereof. No evidence shall be | 22 | | excluded by reason of any common law or statutory | 23 | | privilege relating to communications between the alleged | 24 | | perpetrator of abuse or neglect, or the individual alleged | 25 | | as the victim in the report, and the person making or | 26 | | investigating the report. Testimony at hearings is exempt |
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| 1 | | from the confidentiality requirements of subsection (f) of | 2 | | Section 10 of the Mental Health and Developmental | 3 | | Disabilities Confidentiality Act. | 4 | | (5) Employee's rights to collateral action. No | 5 | | reporting to the Registry shall occur and no hearing shall | 6 | | be set or proceed if an employee notifies the Inspector | 7 | | General in writing, including any supporting | 8 | | documentation, that he or she is formally contesting an | 9 | | adverse employment action resulting from a substantiated | 10 | | finding by complaint filed with the Illinois Civil Service | 11 | | Commission, or which otherwise seeks to enforce the | 12 | | employee's rights pursuant to any applicable collective | 13 | | bargaining agreement. If an action taken by an employer | 14 | | against an employee as a result of a finding of physical | 15 | | abuse, sexual abuse, or egregious neglect , financial | 16 | | exploitation, or material obstruction of an investigation | 17 | | is overturned through an action filed with the Illinois | 18 | | Civil Service Commission or under any applicable | 19 | | collective bargaining agreement and if that employee's | 20 | | name has already been sent to the Registry, the employee's | 21 | | name shall be removed from the Registry. | 22 | | (6) Removal from Registry. At any time after the | 23 | | report to the Registry, but no more than once in any | 24 | | 12-month period, an employee may petition the Department | 25 | | in writing to remove his or her name from the Registry. | 26 | | Upon receiving notice of such request, the Inspector |
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| 1 | | General shall conduct an investigation into the petition. | 2 | | Upon receipt of such request, an administrative hearing | 3 | | will be set by the Department. At the hearing, the | 4 | | employee shall bear the burden of presenting evidence that | 5 | | establishes, by a preponderance of the evidence, that | 6 | | removal of the name from the Registry is in the public | 7 | | interest. The parties may jointly request that the | 8 | | administrative law judge consider a stipulated disposition | 9 | | of these proceedings. | 10 | | (t) Review of Administrative Decisions. The Department | 11 | | shall preserve a record of all proceedings at any formal | 12 | | hearing conducted by the Department involving Health Care | 13 | | Worker Registry hearings. Final administrative decisions of | 14 | | the Department are subject to judicial review pursuant to | 15 | | provisions of the Administrative Review Law. | 16 | | (u) Quality Care Board. There is created, within the | 17 | | Office of the Inspector General, a Quality Care Board to be | 18 | | composed of 7 members appointed by the Governor with the | 19 | | advice and consent of the Senate. One of the members shall be | 20 | | designated as chairman by the Governor. Of the initial | 21 | | appointments made by the Governor, 4 Board members shall each | 22 | | be appointed for a term of 4 years and 3 members shall each be | 23 | | appointed for a term of 2 years. Upon the expiration of each | 24 | | member's term, a successor shall be appointed for a term of 4 | 25 | | years. In the case of a vacancy in the office of any member, | 26 | | the Governor shall appoint a successor for the remainder of |
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| 1 | | the unexpired term. | 2 | | Members appointed by the Governor shall be qualified by | 3 | | professional knowledge or experience in the area of law, | 4 | | investigatory techniques, or in the area of care of the | 5 | | mentally ill or care of persons with developmental | 6 | | disabilities. Two members appointed by the Governor shall be | 7 | | persons with a disability or parents of persons with a | 8 | | disability. Members shall serve without compensation, but | 9 | | shall be reimbursed for expenses incurred in connection with | 10 | | the performance of their duties as members. | 11 | | The Board shall meet quarterly, and may hold other | 12 | | meetings on the call of the chairman. Four members shall | 13 | | constitute a quorum allowing the Board to conduct its | 14 | | business. The Board may adopt rules and regulations it deems | 15 | | necessary to govern its own procedures. | 16 | | The Board shall monitor and oversee the operations, | 17 | | policies, and procedures of the Inspector General to ensure | 18 | | the prompt and thorough investigation of allegations of | 19 | | neglect and abuse. In fulfilling these responsibilities, the | 20 | | Board may do the following: | 21 | | (1) Provide independent, expert consultation to the | 22 | | Inspector General on policies and protocols for | 23 | | investigations of alleged abuse, neglect, or both abuse | 24 | | and neglect. | 25 | | (2) Review existing regulations relating to the | 26 | | operation of facilities. |
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| 1 | | (3) Advise the Inspector General as to the content of | 2 | | training activities authorized under this Section. | 3 | | (4) Recommend policies concerning methods for | 4 | | improving the intergovernmental relationships between the | 5 | | Office of the Inspector General and other State or federal | 6 | | offices. | 7 | | (v) Annual report. The Inspector General shall provide to | 8 | | the General Assembly and the Governor, no later than January 1 | 9 | | of each year, a summary of reports and investigations made | 10 | | under this Act for the prior fiscal year with respect to | 11 | | individuals receiving mental health or developmental | 12 | | disabilities services. The report shall detail the imposition | 13 | | of sanctions, if any, and the final disposition of any | 14 | | corrective or administrative action directed by the Secretary. | 15 | | The summaries shall not contain any confidential or | 16 | | identifying information of any individual, but shall include | 17 | | objective data identifying any trends in the number of | 18 | | reported allegations, the timeliness of the Office of the | 19 | | Inspector General's investigations, and their disposition, for | 20 | | each facility and Department-wide, for the most recent 3-year | 21 | | time period. The report shall also identify, by facility, the | 22 | | staff-to-patient ratios taking account of direct care staff | 23 | | only. The report shall also include detailed recommended | 24 | | administrative actions and matters for consideration by the | 25 | | General Assembly. | 26 | | (w) Program audit. The Auditor General shall conduct a |
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| 1 | | program audit of the Office of the Inspector General on an | 2 | | as-needed basis, as determined by the Auditor General. The | 3 | | audit shall specifically include the Inspector General's | 4 | | compliance with the Act and effectiveness in investigating | 5 | | reports of allegations occurring in any facility or agency. | 6 | | The Auditor General shall conduct the program audit according | 7 | | to the provisions of the Illinois State Auditing Act and shall | 8 | | report its findings to the General Assembly no later than | 9 | | January 1 following the audit period. | 10 | | (x) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to mean | 11 | | that an individual is a victim of abuse or neglect because of | 12 | | health care services appropriately provided or not provided by | 13 | | health care professionals. | 14 | | (y) Nothing in this Section shall require a facility, | 15 | | including its employees, agents, medical staff members, and | 16 | | health care professionals, to provide a service to an | 17 | | individual in contravention of that individual's stated or | 18 | | implied objection to the provision of that service on the | 19 | | ground that that service conflicts with the individual's | 20 | | religious beliefs or practices, nor shall the failure to | 21 | | provide a service to an individual be considered abuse under | 22 | | this Section if the individual has objected to the provision | 23 | | of that service based on his or her religious beliefs or | 24 | | practices. | 25 | | (Source: P.A. 102-538, eff. 8-20-21; 102-883, eff. 5-13-22; | 26 | | 102-1071, eff. 6-10-22; 103-76, eff. 6-9-23; 103-154, eff. |
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| 1 | | 6-30-23.)". |
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