Full Text of HR0201 96th General Assembly
HR0201enr 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION 201
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| WHEREAS, Research has demonstrated over and over that | 3 |
| people with disabilities are far more likely to suffer from | 4 |
| abuse and neglect and to become victims of crime than are | 5 |
| people without disabilities; and
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| WHEREAS, In Illinois, responsibility for addressing abuse, | 7 |
| neglect and/or exploitation of people with disabilities lies | 8 |
| primarily with: the Department of Public Health (DPH), the | 9 |
| Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), the | 10 |
| Department on Aging (DOA), and the Department of Human | 11 |
| Services' Office of Inspector General (DHS/OIG); and
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| WHEREAS, Each of these agencies has responsibility for | 13 |
| investigating abuse, neglect and/or exploitation of different | 14 |
| populations in different settings; and
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| WHEREAS, Not all populations and not all settings are | 16 |
| covered by the current investigatory system to address the | 17 |
| abuse, neglect or exploitation of people with disabilities, | 18 |
| resulting in serious gaps in protection; and
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| WHEREAS, The fragmented nature of Illinois' investigatory | 20 |
| system has resulted in wide-spread confusion among the public | 21 |
| on where to properly report incidents of abuse, neglect and/or |
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HR0201 Enrolled |
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| exploitation of people with disabilities and also confusion | 2 |
| among agency staff regarding the proper investigative body; and
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| WHEREAS, Many people with mental illness living in nursing | 4 |
| homes in Illinois attend off-site psychiatric day programs that | 5 |
| are not licensed, certified or regulated by any State or | 6 |
| federal agency; consequently, there is no requirement or | 7 |
| mechanism for reporting or investigating abuse, neglect or | 8 |
| exploitation of the individuals in these programs; and | 9 |
| WHEREAS, The General Assembly has passed P.A. 95-0651, | 10 |
| requiring all Illinois board and care homes to be licensed by | 11 |
| DPH, which will presumably provide oversight of these | 12 |
| facilities; however, due to the previous lack of oversight of | 13 |
| board and care homes, their identities and locations are | 14 |
| generally unknown; and | 15 |
| WHEREAS, Non-public therapeutic day schools serving | 16 |
| students (aged 6-21) with disabilities in Illinois are subject | 17 |
| to less stringent regulations regarding use of restraints and | 18 |
| isolated time-outs, are not strictly monitored, and are not | 19 |
| required to report allegations of abuse or neglect to the | 20 |
| Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), leaving children in | 21 |
| these settings with fewer protections than those in other | 22 |
| settings; and |
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| WHEREAS, Federal and State law require Illinois to maintain | 2 |
| an information registry relating to individuals who are | 3 |
| qualified to work in settings that serve adults or children | 4 |
| with disabilities and also those individuals who are prohibited | 5 |
| from such employment due to substantiated findings of abuse, | 6 |
| neglect or exploitation; and | 7 |
| WHEREAS, DPH maintains a Health Care Worker Registry | 8 |
| containing the names of certain health care staff working in | 9 |
| facilities serving adults that are licensed, funded or | 10 |
| certified by DPH or DHS, who have received required training | 11 |
| and are subject to a criminal background check; and | 12 |
| WHEREAS, DCFS maintains a separate registry, known as the | 13 |
| State Central Register, containing the names of and information | 14 |
| relating to individuals who have abused or neglected children; | 15 |
| and | 16 |
| WHEREAS, There is no cross-checking requirement or | 17 |
| mechanism between the two registries, making it possible for an | 18 |
| abuser to switch from working with one age group to the other; | 19 |
| and | 20 |
| WHEREAS, To be effective, investigatory systems charged | 21 |
| with responsibility for addressing abuse and neglect of people | 22 |
| with disabilities must provide a comprehensive and cohesive |
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| structure that ensures the safety and well-being of the people | 2 |
| the system is mandated to protect; and | 3 |
| WHEREAS, Illinois' current investigatory system has been | 4 |
| mandated to address an ever-increasing set of issues and | 5 |
| settings without being provided increased resources needed to | 6 |
| effectively protect people with disabilities from abuse, | 7 |
| neglect and exploitation; and | 8 |
| WHEREAS, Equip for Equality (EFE) is the organization | 9 |
| designated to implement the federal Protection and Advocacy | 10 |
| (P&A) system for people with disabilities in Illinois; and | 11 |
| WHEREAS, Over the last five years, EFE has conducted | 12 |
| hundreds of unannounced visits to public and private facilities | 13 |
| and programs for people with disabilities, reviewed records, | 14 |
| identified, monitored and investigated dangerous conditions | 15 |
| and practices, issued recommendations, and distributed alerts | 16 |
| to service providers; and | 17 |
| WHEREAS, As a result of those activities, EFE has | 18 |
| identified and made recommendations regarding these and other | 19 |
| inadequacies in Illinois' investigatory system to address the | 20 |
| abuse, neglect and/or exploitation of people with | 21 |
| disabilities, which are detailed in a public report entitled, | 22 |
| "Ensuring the Safety of Children and Adults with Disabilities: |
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| Filling the Gaps in Illinois' System that Investigates | 2 |
| Allegations of Abuse and Neglect"; and | 3 |
| WHEREAS, The Illinois Guardianship and Advocacy Commission | 4 |
| (GAC) has identified further gaps in Illinois' investigatory | 5 |
| system with respect to reports of abuse and/or neglect of | 6 |
| people with mental illness in hospital settings; therefore, be | 7 |
| it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 9 |
| NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 10 |
| the Abuse and Neglect Investigatory System Work Group is | 11 |
| created within the Department of Human Services to study and | 12 |
| recommend how Illinois' investigatory system to address the | 13 |
| abuse, neglect and exploitation of people with disabilities | 14 |
| should be changed to provide a comprehensive, cohesive system | 15 |
| that provides maximum protection for the safety and well-being | 16 |
| of people with disabilities of all ages and in all settings; | 17 |
| and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That the Department of Human Services shall | 19 |
| convene the Work Group, and the Secretary of Human Services | 20 |
| shall designate a chairperson of the Work Group; due to its | 21 |
| unique position and experience, the House requests that Equip | 22 |
| for Equality serve in an advisory capacity to the Work Group; | 23 |
| and be it further |
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HR0201 Enrolled |
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| RESOLVED, That additional members of the Work Group shall | 2 |
| include at least one representative each from DPH, DCFS, DOA, | 3 |
| DHS, DHS/OIG, DHFS, GAC, and ISBE; and be it further | 4 |
| RESOLVED, That additional members of the Work Group shall | 5 |
| include at least one representative of each of the following: | 6 |
| the medical community, the long-term care community, and | 7 |
| hospitals; and be it further | 8 |
| RESOLVED, That the Department of Human Services shall | 9 |
| invite other disability advocacy groups and individuals with | 10 |
| disabilities to serve as members of the Work Group; and be it | 11 |
| further | 12 |
| RESOLVED, That the designated State agencies shall | 13 |
| cooperate and participate with the Department of Human Services | 14 |
| in this collaborative effort and shall provide any necessary | 15 |
| research, office or meeting space, or other assistance; and be | 16 |
| it further | 17 |
| RESOLVED, That the Work Group shall, with input from all | 18 |
| members of the Work Group, develop recommendations and a plan | 19 |
| for closing the gaps in Illinois' current investigatory system | 20 |
| and improving its overall effectiveness, to include the | 21 |
| implementation of a statewide centralized hotline for |
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HR0201 Enrolled |
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| reporting incidents of abuse and neglect; and be it further | 2 |
| RESOLVED, That the Work Group shall further consider and | 3 |
| make recommendations regarding possible funding sources to | 4 |
| meet the increasing demands on Illinois' investigatory system | 5 |
| to address abuse, neglect and exploitation of people with | 6 |
| disabilities; and be it further | 7 |
| RESOLVED, That the Work Group shall submit its | 8 |
| recommendations and plan to the General Assembly no later than | 9 |
| May 31, 2010.
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