410 ILCS 70/9.5

(410 ILCS 70/9.5)

(Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2025)

Sec. 9.5. Sexual Assault Medical Forensic Services Implementation Task Force.

(a) The Sexual Assault Medical Forensic Services Implementation Task Force is created to assist hospitals and approved pediatric health care facilities with the implementation of the changes made by Public Act 100-775. The Task Force shall consist of the following members, who shall serve without compensation:

(1) one member of the Senate appointed by the President of the Senate, who may designate an alternate member;

(2) one member of the Senate appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate, who may designate an alternate member;

(3) one member of the House of Representatives appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, who may designate an alternate member;

(4) one member of the House of Representatives appointed by the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, who may designate an alternate member;

(5) two members representing the Office of the Attorney General appointed by the Attorney General, one of whom shall be the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Coordinator for the State of Illinois;

(6) one member representing the Department of Public Health appointed by the Director of Public Health;

(7) one member representing the Illinois State Police appointed by the Director of the Illinois State Police;

(8) one member representing the Department of Healthcare and Family Services appointed by the Director of Healthcare and Family Services;

(9) six members representing hospitals appointed by the head of a statewide organization representing the interests of hospitals in Illinois, at least one of whom shall represent small and rural hospitals and at least one of these members shall represent urban hospitals;

(10) one member representing physicians appointed by the head of a statewide organization representing the interests of physicians in Illinois;

(11) one member representing emergency physicians appointed by the head of a statewide organization representing the interests of emergency physicians in Illinois;

(12) two members representing child abuse pediatricians appointed by the head of a statewide organization representing the interests of child abuse pediatricians in Illinois, at least one of whom shall represent child abuse pediatricians providing medical forensic services in rural locations and at least one of whom shall represent child abuse pediatricians providing medical forensic services in urban locations;

(13) one member representing nurses appointed by the head of a statewide organization representing the interests of nurses in Illinois;

(14) two members representing sexual assault nurse examiners appointed by the head of a statewide organization representing the interests of forensic nurses in Illinois, at least one of whom shall represent pediatric/adolescent sexual assault nurse examiners and at least one of these members shall represent adult/adolescent sexual assault nurse examiners;

(15) one member representing State's Attorneys appointed by the head of a statewide organization representing the interests of State's Attorneys in Illinois;

(16) three members representing sexual assault survivors appointed by the head of a statewide organization representing the interests of sexual assault survivors and rape crisis centers, at least one of whom shall represent rural rape crisis centers and at least one of whom shall represent urban rape crisis centers;

(17) two members representing children's advocacy centers appointed by the head of a statewide organization representing the interests of children's advocacy centers in Illinois, one of whom represents rural child advocacy centers and one of whom represents urban child advocacy centers; and

(18) one member representing approved federally qualified health centers appointed by the Director of Public Health.

The members representing the Office of the Attorney General and the Department of Public Health shall serve as co-chairpersons of the Task Force. The Office of the Attorney General shall provide administrative and other support to the Task Force.

(b) The first meeting of the Task Force shall be called by the co-chairpersons no later than 90 days after the effective date of this Section.

(c) The goals of the Task Force shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

(1) to facilitate the development of areawide treatment plans among hospitals and pediatric health care facilities;

(2) to facilitate the development of on-call systems of qualified medical providers and assist hospitals with the development of plans to employ or contract with a qualified medical provider to initiate medical forensic services to a sexual assault survivor within 90 minutes of the patient presenting to the hospital as required in subsection (a-7) of Section 5;

(3) to identify photography and storage options for hospitals to comply with the photo documentation requirements in Sections 5 and 5.1;

(4) to develop a model written agreement for use by rape crisis centers, hospitals, and approved pediatric health care facilities with sexual assault treatment plans to comply with subsection (c) of Section 2;

(5) to develop and distribute educational information regarding the implementation of this Act to hospitals, health care providers, rape crisis centers, children's advocacy centers, State's Attorney's offices;

(6) to examine the role of telemedicine in the provision of medical forensic services under this Act and to develop recommendations for statutory change and standards and procedures for the use of telemedicine to be adopted by the Department;

(7) to seek inclusion of the International Association of Forensic Nurses Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Education Guidelines for nurses within the registered nurse training curriculum in Illinois nursing programs and the American College of Emergency Physicians Management of the Patient with the Complaint of Sexual Assault for emergency physicians within the Illinois residency training curriculum for emergency physicians; and

(8) to submit a report to the General Assembly by January 1, 2024 regarding the status of implementation of Public Act 100-775, including, but not limited to, the impact of transfers to out-of-state hospitals on sexual assault survivors, the availability of treatment hospitals in Illinois, and the status of pediatric sexual assault care. The report shall also cover the impact of medical forensic services provided at approved federally qualified health centers on sexual assault survivors. The report to the General Assembly shall be filed with the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate in electronic form only, in the manner that the Clerk and the Secretary shall direct.

(d) This Section is repealed on January 1, 2025.

(Source: P.A. 102-538, eff. 8-20-21; 102-1097, eff. 6-16-22; 102-1106, eff. 12-14-22; 103-154, eff. 6-30-23.)