SB0281eng 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SB0281 Engrossed LRB097 04882 KTG 44922 b

AN ACT concerning State government.

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

Section 5. The Disabled Persons Rehabilitation Act is amended by changing Section 3 as follows:

(20 ILCS 2405/3) (from Ch. 23, par. 3434)

Sec. 3. Powers and duties. The Department shall have the powers and duties enumerated herein:

(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.

(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 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.

(c) (Blank).

(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 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. This annual report must be made publicly available on the Department's website no later than the first day of January of each year.

(e) (Blank).

(f) To establish a program of services to prevent unnecessary institutionalization of persons with Alzheimer's disease and related disorders or persons in need of long term care who 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:

(1) home health services;

(2) home nursing services;

(3) homemaker services;

(4) chore and housekeeping services;

(5) day care services;

(6) home-delivered meals;

(7) education in self-care;

(8) personal care services;

(9) adult day health services;

(10) habilitation services;

(11) respite care; or

(12) other nonmedical social services that may enable the person to become self-supporting.

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 have not more than $10,000 in assets to be eligible for the services, and the Department may increase the asset limitation by rule. Additionally, in 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.

The services shall be provided 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 or in addition to those authorized by federal law or those funded and administered by the Illinois Department on Aging.

Personal care attendants shall be paid:

(i) A $5 per hour minimum rate beginning July 1, 1995.

(ii) A $5.30 per hour minimum rate beginning July 1, 1997.

(iii) A $5.40 per hour minimum rate beginning July 1, 1998.

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 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 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 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 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 General Assembly, including but not limited to, purposes of vicarious liability in tort and purposes of statutory retirement or health insurance benefits. Personal care attendants and personal assistants shall not be covered by the State Employees Group Insurance Act of 1971 (5 ILCS 375/).

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 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.

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 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.

The Department, or the Department's authorized representative, 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 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 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 Illinois Public Aid Code, who precedes a person receiving services under this Section in death. All moneys for services 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.

The Department and the Department on Aging shall cooperate in the development and submission of an annual report on programs and services provided under this Section. Such joint report shall be filed with the Governor and the General Assembly on or before March 30 each year. The Department must post on its website a copy of the report filed with the Governor and the General Assembly no less than 3 calendar days after the report is submitted to the Governor and the General Assembly.

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.

(g) To establish such subdivisions of the Department as shall be desirable and assign to the various subdivisions the responsibilities and duties placed upon the Department by law.

(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.

(i) To possess all powers reasonable and necessary for the exercise and administration of the powers, duties and responsibilities of the Department which are provided for by law.

(j) 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.

(k) 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.

(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 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.

(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 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.

(Source: P.A. 94-252, eff. 1-1-06; 95-331, eff. 8-21-07.)