Public Act 0577 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB3779 Enrolled LRB096 09286 DRJ 22208 b

Public Act 096-0577

AN ACT concerning regulation.

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

Section 5. The Home Health, Home Services, and Home Nursing Agency Licensing Act is amended by changing Sections 2.08, 6.3, and 6.7 as follows:

(210 ILCS 55/2.08)

Sec. 2.08. "Home services agency" means an agency that provides services directly, or acts as a placement agency, for the purpose of placing individuals as workers providing home services for consumers in their personal residences. "Home services agency" does not include agencies licensed under the Nurse Agency Licensing Act, the Hospital Licensing Act, the Nursing Home Care Act, or the Assisted Living and Shared Housing Act and does not include an agency that limits its business exclusively to providing housecleaning services. Programs providing services exclusively through the Community Care Program of the Illinois Department on Aging, or the Department of Human Services Office of Rehabilitation Services, or the United States Department of Veterans Affairs are not considered to be a home services agency under this Act.

(Source: P.A. 94-379, eff. 1-1-06.)

(210 ILCS 55/6.3)

Sec. 6.3. Home services agencies; standards; fees.

(a) Before January 1, 2008, the Department shall adopt standards for the licensure and operation of home services agencies operated in this State. The structure of the standards shall be based on the concept of home services and its focus on assistance with activities of daily living, housekeeping, personal laundry, and companionship being provided to an individual intended to enable that individual to remain safely and comfortably in his or her own personal residence. As home services do not include services that would be required to be performed by an individual licensed under the Nurse Practice Act, the standards shall be developed from a similar concept. After consideration and recommendations by the Home Health and Home Services Advisory Committee, the Department shall adopt such rules and regulations as are necessary for the proper regulation of home services agencies. Requirements for licensure as a home services agency shall include the following:

(1) Compliance with the requirements of the Health Care Worker Background Check Act.

(2) Notification, in a form and manner established by the Department by rule, to home services workers and consumers as to the party or parties responsible under State and federal laws for payment of employment taxes, social security taxes, and workers' compensation, liability, the day-to-day supervision of workers, and the hiring, firing, and discipline of workers with the placement arrangement for home services.

(3) Compliance with rules, as adopted by the Department, in regard to (i) reporting by the licensee of any known or suspected incidences of abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation of an eligible adult, as defined in the Elder Abuse and Neglect Act, by a home services worker employed by or placed by the licensee or (ii) reports to a law enforcement agency in connection with any other individual protected under the laws of the State of Illinois.

(4) Compliance with rules, as adopted by the Department, addressing the health, safety, and well-being of clients receiving home services.

(b) The Department may establish fees for home services agency licensure in rules in a manner that will make the program self-supporting. The amount of the licensure fees shall be based on the funding required for operation of the licensure program. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section, the Department may not charge any fee to a certified local health department in connection with the licensure of a home services agency.

(Source: P.A. 94-379, eff. 1-1-06; 95-639, eff. 10-5-07.)

(210 ILCS 55/6.7)

Sec. 6.7. Home nursing agencies; standards; fees.

(a) Before January 1, 2008, the Department shall adopt standards for the licensure and operation of home nursing agencies operated in this State. After consideration and recommendations by the Home Health and Home Services Advisory Committee, the Department shall adopt such rules as are necessary for the proper regulation of home nursing agencies. Requirements for licensure as a home nursing agency shall include the following:

(1) Compliance with the requirements of the Health Care Worker Background Check Act.

(2) Notification, in a form and manner established by the Department by rule, to home nursing agency workers and consumers as to the party or parties responsible under State and federal laws for payment of employment taxes, social security taxes, and workers' compensation, liability, the day-to-day supervision of workers, and the hiring, firing, and discipline of workers with the placement arrangement for home nursing services.

(3) Compliance with rules, as adopted by the Department, in regard to (i) reporting by the licensee of any known or suspected incidences of abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation of an eligible adult, as defined in the Elder Abuse and Neglect Act, by a home nursing care worker employed by or placed by the licensee or (ii) reports to a law enforcement agency in connection with any other individual protected under the laws of the State of Illinois.

(4) Compliance with rules, as adopted by the Department, addressing the health, safety, and well-being of clients receiving home nursing services.

(b) The Department may establish fees for home nursing agency licensure in rules in a manner that will make the program self-supporting. The amount of the licensure fees shall be based on the funding required for the operation of the licensure program. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section, the Department may not charge any fee to a certified local health department in connection with the licensure of a home nursing agency.

(Source: P.A. 94-379, eff. 1-1-06.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.