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| Public Act 097-1019 | ||||
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AN ACT concerning State government.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The Disabled Persons Rehabilitation Act is | ||||
amended by changing Section 3 as follows:
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(20 ILCS 2405/3) (from Ch. 23, par. 3434)
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Sec. 3. Powers and duties. The Department shall have the | ||||
powers and
duties enumerated
herein:
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(a) To co-operate with the federal government in the | ||||
administration
of the provisions of the federal Rehabilitation | ||||
Act of 1973, as amended,
of the Workforce Investment Act of | ||||
1998,
and of the federal Social Security Act to the extent and | ||||
in the manner
provided in these Acts.
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(b) To prescribe and supervise such courses of vocational | ||||
training
and provide such other services as may be necessary | ||||
for the habilitation
and rehabilitation of persons with one or | ||||
more disabilities, including the
administrative activities | ||||
under subsection (e) of this Section, and to
co-operate with | ||||
State and local school authorities and other recognized
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agencies engaged in habilitation, rehabilitation and | ||||
comprehensive
rehabilitation services; and to cooperate with | ||||
the Department of Children
and Family Services regarding the | ||||
care and education of children with one
or more disabilities.
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(c) (Blank).
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(d) To report in writing, to the Governor, annually on or | ||
before the
first day of December, and at such other times and | ||
in such manner and
upon such subjects as the Governor may | ||
require. The annual report shall
contain (1) a statement of the | ||
existing condition of comprehensive
rehabilitation services, | ||
habilitation and rehabilitation in the State;
(2) a statement | ||
of suggestions and recommendations with reference to the
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development of comprehensive rehabilitation services, | ||
habilitation and
rehabilitation in the State; and (3) an | ||
itemized statement of the
amounts of money received from | ||
federal, State and other sources, and of
the objects and | ||
purposes to which the respective items of these several
amounts | ||
have been devoted.
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(e) (Blank).
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(f) To establish a program of services to prevent the | ||
unnecessary
institutionalization of persons with Alzheimer's | ||
disease and related
disorders or persons in need of long term | ||
care and who meet the criteria for blindness or disability are | ||
established as blind
or disabled as defined by the Social | ||
Security Act, thereby enabling them to
remain in their own | ||
homes or other living arrangements. Such preventive
services | ||
may include, but are not limited to, any or all of the | ||
following:
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(1) personal assistant services home health services;
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(2) homemaker services home nursing services;
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(3) home-delivered meals homemaker services;
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(4) adult day care services chore and housekeeping | ||
services;
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(5) respite care day care services;
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(6) home modification or assistive equipment | ||
home-delivered meals;
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(7) home health services education in self-care;
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(8) electronic home response personal care services;
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(9) brain injury behavioral/cognitive services adult | ||
day health services;
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(10) brain injury habilitation habilitation services;
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(11) brain injury pre-vocational services respite | ||
care; or
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(12) brain injury supported employment other | ||
nonmedical social services that may enable the person to
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become self-supporting.
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The Department shall establish eligibility
standards for | ||
such services taking into consideration the unique
economic and | ||
social needs of the population for whom they are to
be | ||
provided. Such eligibility standards may be based on the | ||
recipient's
ability to pay for services; provided, however, | ||
that any portion of a
person's income that is equal to or less | ||
than the "protected income" level
shall not be considered by | ||
the Department in determining eligibility. The
"protected | ||
income" level shall be determined by the Department, shall | ||
never be
less than the federal poverty standard, and shall be | ||
adjusted each year to
reflect changes in the Consumer Price | ||
Index For All Urban Consumers as
determined by the United | ||
States Department of Labor. The standards must
provide that a | ||
person may not have not more than $10,000 in assets to be | ||
eligible for the services, and the Department may increase or | ||
decrease the asset limitation by rule. The Department may not | ||
decrease the asset level below $10,000. Additionally, in
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determining the amount and nature of services for which a | ||
person may qualify,
consideration shall not be given to the | ||
value of cash, property or other assets
held in the name of the | ||
person's spouse pursuant to a written agreement
dividing | ||
marital property into equal but separate shares or pursuant to | ||
a
transfer of the person's interest in a home to his spouse, | ||
provided that the
spouse's share of the marital property is not | ||
made available to the person
seeking such services.
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The services shall be provided, as established by the
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Department by rule, to eligible persons
to prevent unnecessary | ||
or premature institutionalization, to
the extent that the cost | ||
of the services, together with the
other personal maintenance | ||
expenses of the persons, are reasonably
related to the | ||
standards established for care in a group facility
appropriate | ||
to their condition. These non-institutional
services, pilot | ||
projects or experimental facilities may be provided as part of
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or in addition to those authorized by federal law or those | ||
funded and
administered by the Illinois Department on Aging.
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Personal assistants shall be paid at a rate negotiated
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between the State and an exclusive representative of personal
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assistants under a collective bargaining agreement. In no case
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shall the Department pay personal assistants an hourly wage
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that is less than the federal minimum wage. care attendants | ||
shall be paid:
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(i) A $5 per hour minimum rate beginning July 1, 1995.
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(ii) A $5.30 per hour minimum rate beginning July 1, | ||
1997.
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(iii) A $5.40 per hour minimum rate beginning July 1, | ||
1998.
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Solely for the purposes of coverage under the Illinois | ||
Public Labor
Relations
Act
(5 ILCS 315/), personal care | ||
attendants and personal assistants providing
services under
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the Department's Home Services Program shall be considered to | ||
be public
employees
and the State of Illinois shall be | ||
considered to be their employer as of the
effective date of
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this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly, but not | ||
before. The State
shall
engage in collective bargaining with an | ||
exclusive representative of personal
care
attendants and | ||
personal assistants working under the Home Services Program
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concerning
their terms and conditions of employment that are | ||
within the State's control.
Nothing in
this paragraph shall be | ||
understood to limit the right of the persons receiving
services
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defined in this Section to hire and fire personal care | ||
attendants and
personal assistants
or supervise them within the | ||
limitations set by the Home Services Program. The
State
shall | ||
not be considered to be the employer of personal care | ||
attendants and
personal
assistants for any purposes not | ||
specifically provided in this amendatory Act of
the 93rd
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General Assembly, including but not limited to, purposes of | ||
vicarious liability
in tort and
purposes of statutory | ||
retirement or health insurance benefits. Personal care
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attendants
and personal assistants shall not be covered by the | ||
State Employees Group
Insurance Act
of 1971 (5 ILCS 375/).
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The Department shall execute, relative to the nursing home | ||
prescreening
project, as authorized by Section 4.03 of the | ||
Illinois Act on the Aging,
written inter-agency agreements with | ||
the Department on Aging and
the Department of Public Aid (now | ||
Department of Healthcare and Family Services), to effect the | ||
following: (i) intake procedures
and common eligibility | ||
criteria for those persons who may need long term care are | ||
receiving
non-institutional services; and (ii) the | ||
establishment and development of
non-institutional services in | ||
areas of the State where they are not
currently available or | ||
are undeveloped. On and after July 1, 1996, all nursing
home | ||
prescreenings for individuals 18 through 59 years of age shall | ||
be
conducted by the Department, or a designee of the
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Department.
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The Department is authorized to establish a system of | ||
recipient cost-sharing
for services provided under this | ||
Section. The cost-sharing shall be based upon
the recipient's | ||
ability to pay for services, but in no case shall the
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recipient's share exceed the actual cost of the services | ||
provided. Protected
income shall not be considered by the | ||
Department in its determination of the
recipient's ability to | ||
pay a share of the cost of services. The level of
cost-sharing | ||
shall be adjusted each year to reflect changes in the | ||
"protected
income" level. The Department shall deduct from the | ||
recipient's share of the
cost of services any money expended by | ||
the recipient for disability-related
expenses.
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To the extent permitted under the federal Social Security | ||
Act, the The Department, or the Department's authorized | ||
representative, may shall recover
the amount of moneys expended | ||
for services provided to or in behalf of a person
under this | ||
Section by a claim against the person's estate or against the | ||
estate
of the person's surviving spouse, but no recovery may be | ||
had until after the
death of the surviving spouse, if any, and | ||
then only at such time when there is
no surviving child who is | ||
under age 21, blind, or permanently and totally
disabled. This | ||
paragraph, however, shall not bar recovery, at the death of the
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person, of moneys for services provided to the person or in | ||
behalf of the
person under this Section to which the person was | ||
not entitled; provided that
such recovery shall not be enforced | ||
against any real estate while
it is occupied as a homestead by | ||
the surviving spouse or other dependent, if no
claims by other | ||
creditors have been filed against the estate, or, if such
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claims have been filed, they remain dormant for failure of | ||
prosecution or
failure of the claimant to compel administration | ||
of the estate for the purpose
of payment. This paragraph shall | ||
not bar recovery from the estate of a spouse,
under Sections | ||
1915 and 1924 of the Social Security Act and Section 5-4 of the
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Illinois Public Aid Code, who precedes a person receiving | ||
services under this
Section in death. All moneys for services
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paid to or in behalf of the person under this Section shall be | ||
claimed for
recovery from the deceased spouse's estate. | ||
"Homestead", as used in this
paragraph, means the dwelling | ||
house and
contiguous real estate occupied by a surviving spouse | ||
or relative, as defined
by the rules and regulations of the | ||
Department of Healthcare and Family Services,
regardless of the | ||
value of the property.
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The Department shall submit and the Department on Aging | ||
shall cooperate
in the development and submission of an annual | ||
report on programs and
services provided under this Section. | ||
The Such joint report shall be filed
with the Governor and the | ||
General Assembly on or before March
30
each year.
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The requirement for reporting to the General Assembly shall | ||
be satisfied
by filing copies of the report with the Speaker, | ||
the Minority Leader and
the Clerk of the House of | ||
Representatives and the President, the Minority
Leader and the | ||
Secretary of the Senate and the Legislative Research Unit,
as | ||
required by Section 3.1 of the General Assembly Organization | ||
Act, and filing
additional copies with the State
Government | ||
Report Distribution Center for the General Assembly as
required | ||
under paragraph (t) of Section 7 of the State Library Act.
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(g) To establish such subdivisions of the Department
as | ||
shall be desirable and assign to the various subdivisions the
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responsibilities and duties placed upon the Department by law.
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(h) To cooperate and enter into any necessary agreements | ||
with the
Department of Employment Security for the provision of | ||
job placement and
job referral services to clients of the | ||
Department, including job
service registration of such clients | ||
with Illinois Employment Security
offices and making job | ||
listings maintained by the Department of Employment
Security | ||
available to such clients.
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(i) To possess all powers reasonable and necessary for
the | ||
exercise and administration of the powers, duties and
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responsibilities of the Department which are provided for by | ||
law.
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(j) (Blank). To establish a procedure whereby new providers | ||
of
personal care attendant services shall submit vouchers to | ||
the State for
payment two times during their first month of | ||
employment and one time per
month thereafter. In no case shall | ||
the Department pay personal care
attendants an hourly wage that | ||
is less than the federal minimum wage.
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(k) (Blank). To provide adequate notice to providers of | ||
chore and housekeeping
services informing them that they are | ||
entitled to an interest payment on
bills which are not promptly | ||
paid pursuant to Section 3 of the State Prompt
Payment Act.
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(l) To establish, operate and maintain a Statewide Housing | ||
Clearinghouse
of information on available, government | ||
subsidized housing accessible to
disabled persons and | ||
available privately owned housing accessible to
disabled | ||
persons. The information shall include but not be limited to | ||
the
location, rental requirements, access features and | ||
proximity to public
transportation of available housing. The | ||
Clearinghouse shall consist
of at least a computerized database | ||
for the storage and retrieval of
information and a separate or | ||
shared toll free telephone number for use by
those seeking | ||
information from the Clearinghouse. Department offices and
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personnel throughout the State shall also assist in the | ||
operation of the
Statewide Housing Clearinghouse. Cooperation | ||
with local, State and federal
housing managers shall be sought | ||
and extended in order to frequently and
promptly update the | ||
Clearinghouse's information.
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(m) To assure that the names and case records of persons | ||
who received or
are
receiving services from the Department, | ||
including persons receiving vocational
rehabilitation, home | ||
services, or other services, and those attending one of
the | ||
Department's schools or other supervised facility shall be | ||
confidential and
not be open to the general public. Those case | ||
records and reports or the
information contained in those | ||
records and reports shall be disclosed by the
Director only to | ||
proper law enforcement officials, individuals authorized by a
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court, the General Assembly or any committee or commission of | ||
the General
Assembly, and other persons and for reasons as the | ||
Director designates by rule.
Disclosure by the Director may be | ||
only in accordance with other applicable
law.
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(Source: P.A. 94-252, eff. 1-1-06; 95-331, eff. 8-21-07.)
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Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||
becoming law. | ||