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91_HB1309 LRB9102098DHmg 1 AN ACT to amend the Illinois Act on the Aging by changing 2 Section 4.02. 3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 4 represented in the General Assembly: 5 Section 5. The Illinois Act on the Aging is amended by 6 changing Section 4.02 as follows: 7 (20 ILCS 105/4.02) (from Ch. 23, par. 6104.02) 8 Sec. 4.02. The Department shall establish a program of 9 services to prevent unnecessary institutionalization of 10 persons age 60 and older in need of long term care or who are 11 established as persons who suffer from Alzheimer's disease or 12 a related disorder under the Alzheimer's Disease Assistance 13 Act, thereby enabling them to remain in their own homes or in 14 other living arrangements. Such preventive services, which 15 may be coordinated with other programs for the aged and 16 monitored by area agencies on aging in cooperation with the 17 Department, may include, but are not limited to, any or all 18 of the following: 19 (a) home health services; 20 (b) home nursing services; 21 (c) homemaker services; 22 (d) chore and housekeeping services; 23 (e) day care services; 24 (f) home-delivered meals; 25 (g) education in self-care; 26 (h) personal care services; 27 (i) adult day health services; 28 (j) habilitation services; 29 (k) respite care; or 30 (l) other nonmedical social services that may enable the 31 person to become self-supporting. -2- LRB9102098DHmg 1 The Department shall establish eligibility standards for 2 such services taking into consideration the unique economic 3 and social needs of the target population for whom they are 4 to be provided. Such eligibility standards shall be based on 5 the recipient's ability to pay for services; provided, 6 however, that in determining the amount and nature of 7 services for which a person may qualify, consideration shall 8 not be given to the value of cash, property or other assets 9 held in the name of the person's spouse pursuant to a written 10 agreement dividing marital property into equal but separate 11 shares or pursuant to a transfer of the person's interest in 12 a home to his spouse, provided that the spouse's share of the 13 marital property is not made available to the person seeking 14 such services. The Department shall, in conjunction with the 15 Department of Public Aid, seek appropriate amendments under 16 Sections 1915 and 1924 of the Social Security Act. The 17 purpose of the amendments shall be to extend eligibility for 18 home and community based services under Sections 1915 and 19 1924 of the Social Security Act to persons who transfer to or 20 for the benefit of a spouse those amounts of income and 21 resources allowed under Section 1924 of the Social Security 22 Act. Subject to the approval of such amendments, the 23 Department shall extend the provisions of Section 5-4 of the 24 Illinois Public Aid Code to persons who, but for the 25 provision of home or community-based services, would require 26 the level of care provided in an institution, as is provided 27 for in federal law. Those persons no longer found to be 28 eligible for receiving noninstitutional services due to 29 changes in the eligibility criteria shall be given 60 days 30 notice prior to actual termination. Those persons receiving 31 notice of termination may contact the Department and request 32 the determination be appealed at any time during the 60 day 33 notice period. With the exception of the lengthened notice 34 and time frame for the appeal request, the appeal process -3- LRB9102098DHmg 1 shall follow the normal procedure. In addition, each person 2 affected regardless of the circumstances for discontinued 3 eligibility shall be given notice and the opportunity to 4 purchase the necessary services through the Community Care 5 Program. If the individual does not elect to purchase 6 services, the Department shall advise the individual of 7 alternative services. The target population identified for 8 the purposes of this Section are persons age 60 and older 9 with an identified service need. Priority shall be given to 10 those who are at imminent risk of institutionalization. The 11 services shall be provided to eligible persons age 60 and 12 older to the extent that the cost of the services together 13 with the other personal maintenance expenses of the persons 14 are reasonably related to the standards established for care 15 in a group facility appropriate to the person's condition. 16 These non-institutional services, pilot projects or 17 experimental facilities may be provided as part of or in 18 addition to those authorized by federal law or those funded 19 and administered by the Department of Human Services. The 20 Departments of Human Services, Public Aid, Public Health, 21 Veterans' Affairs, and Commerce and Community Affairs and 22 other appropriate agencies of State, federal and local 23 governments shall cooperate with the Department on Aging in 24 the establishment and development of the non-institutional 25 services. The Department shall require an annual audit from 26 all chore/housekeeping and homemaker vendors contracting with 27 the Department under this Section. The annual audit shall 28 assure that each audited vendor's procedures are in 29 compliance with Department's financial reporting guidelines 30 requiring a 27% administrative cost split and a 73% employee 31 wages and benefits cost split. The audit is a public record 32 under the Freedom of Information Act. The Department shall 33 execute, relative to the nursing home prescreening project, 34 written inter-agency agreements with the Department of Human -4- LRB9102098DHmg 1 Services and the Department of Public Aid, to effect the 2 following: (1) intake procedures and common eligibility 3 criteria for those persons who are receiving 4 non-institutional services; and (2) the establishment and 5 development of non-institutional services in areas of the 6 State where they are not currently available or are 7 undeveloped. On and after July 1, 1996, all nursing home 8 prescreenings for individuals 60 years of age or older shall 9 be conducted by the Department. 10 The Department is authorized to establish a system of 11 recipient copayment for services provided under this Section, 12 such copayment to be based upon the recipient's ability to 13 pay but in no case to exceed the actual cost of the services 14 provided. Additionally, any portion of a person's income 15 which is equal to or less than the federal poverty standard 16 shall not be considered by the Department in determining the 17 copayment. The level of such copayment shall be adjusted 18 whenever necessary to reflect any change in the officially 19 designated federal poverty standard. 20 The Department, or the Department's authorized 21 representative, shall recover the amount of moneys expended 22 for services provided to or in behalf of a person under this 23 Section by a claim against the person's estate or against the 24 estate of the person's surviving spouse, but no recovery may 25 be had until after the death of the surviving spouse, if any, 26 and then only at such time when there is no surviving child 27 who is under age 21, blind, or permanently and totally 28 disabled. This paragraph, however, shall not bar recovery, 29 at the death of the person, of moneys for services provided 30 to the person or in behalf of the person under this Section 31 to which the person was not entitled; provided that such 32 recovery shall not be enforced against any real estate while 33 it is occupied as a homestead by the surviving spouse or 34 other dependent, if no claims by other creditors have been -5- LRB9102098DHmg 1 filed against the estate, or, if such claims have been filed, 2 they remain dormant for failure of prosecution or failure of 3 the claimant to compel administration of the estate for the 4 purpose of payment. This paragraph shall not bar recovery 5 from the estate of a spouse, under Sections 1915 and 1924 of 6 the Social Security Act and Section 5-4 of the Illinois 7 Public Aid Code, who precedes a person receiving services 8 under this Section in death. All moneys for services paid to 9 or in behalf of the person under this Section shall be 10 claimed for recovery from the deceased spouse's estate. 11 "Homestead", as used in this paragraph, means the dwelling 12 house and contiguous real estate occupied by a surviving 13 spouse or relative, as defined by the rules and regulations 14 of the Illinois Department of Public Aid, regardless of the 15 value of the property. 16 The Department shall develop procedures to enhance 17 availability of services on evenings, weekends, and on an 18 emergency basis to meet the respite needs of caregivers. 19 Procedures shall be developed to permit the utilization of 20 services in successive blocks of 24 hours up to the monthly 21 maximum established by the Department. Workers providing 22 these services shall be appropriately trained. 23 The Department shall work in conjunction with the 24 Alzheimer's Task Force and members of the Alzheimer's 25 Association and other senior citizens' organizations in 26 developing these procedures by December 30, 1991. 27 Beginning on the effective date of this Amendatory Act of 28 1991, no person may perform chore/housekeeping and homemaker 29 services under a program authorized by this Section unless 30 that person has been issued a certificate of pre-service to 31 do so by his or her employing agency. Information gathered 32 to effect such certification shall include (i) the person's 33 name, (ii) the date the person was hired by his or her 34 current employer, and (iii) the training, including dates and -6- LRB9102098DHmg 1 levels. Persons engaged in the program authorized by this 2 Section before the effective date of this amendatory Act of 3 1991 shall be issued a certificate of all pre- and in-service 4 training from his or her employer upon submitting the 5 necessary information. The employing agency shall be 6 required to retain records of all staff pre- and in-service 7 training, and shall provide such records to the Department 8 upon request and upon termination of the employer's contract 9 with the Department. In addition, the employing agency is 10 responsible for the issuance of certifications of in-service 11 training completed to their employees. 12 The Department is required to develop a system to ensure 13 that persons working as homemakers and chore housekeepers 14 receive increases in their wages when the federal minimum 15 wage is increased by requiring vendors to certify that they 16 are meeting the federal minimum wage statute for homemakers 17 and chore housekeepers. An employer that cannot ensure that 18 the minimum wage increase is being given to homemakers and 19 chore housekeepers shall be denied any increase in 20 reimbursement costs. 21 The Department on Aging and the Department of Human 22 Services shall cooperate in the development and submission of 23 an annual report on programs and services provided under this 24 Section. Such joint report shall be filed with the Governor 25 and the General Assembly on or before September 30 each year. 26 The requirement for reporting to the General Assembly 27 shall be satisfied by filing copies of the report with the 28 Speaker, the Minority Leader and the Clerk of the House of 29 Representatives and the President, the Minority Leader and 30 the Secretary of the Senate and the Legislative Research 31 Unit, as required by Section 3.1 of the General Assembly 32 Organization Act and filing such additional copies with the 33 State Government Report Distribution Center for the General 34 Assembly as is required under paragraph (t) of Section 7 of -7- LRB9102098DHmg 1 the State Library Act. 2 Those persons previously found eligible for receiving 3 non-institutional services whose services were discontinued 4 under the Emergency Budget Act of Fiscal Year 1992, and who 5 do not meet the eligibility standards in effect on or after 6 July 1, 1992, shall remain ineligible on and after July 1, 7 1992. Those persons previously not required to cost-share 8 and who were required to cost-share effective March 1, 1992, 9 shall continue to meet cost-share requirements on and after 10 July 1, 1992. Beginning July 1, 1992, all clients will be 11 required to meet eligibility, cost-share, and other 12 requirements and will have services discontinued or altered 13 when they fail to meet these requirements. 14 Any person that provides any of these services, having 15 reasonable cause to believe an individual with whom he or she 16 has direct contact while providing any of these services has 17 been subjected to abuse or neglect, shall immediately report 18 or cause a report to be made to the Department of Public 19 Health. This paragraph also applies to an individual whose 20 death occurs from suspected abuse or neglect before being 21 found or brought to a hospital. A person required to make 22 reports or cause reports to be made under this paragraph who 23 fails to comply with the requirements of this paragraph is 24 guilty of a Class A misdemeanor. 25 (Source: P.A. 89-21, eff. 7-1-95; 89-507, eff. 7-1-97.)