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91_HB1942enr HB1942 Enrolled LRB9100355JSks 1 AN ACT to amend the Abused and Neglected Long Term Care 2 Facility Residents Reporting Act by changing Section 6.2. 3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 4 represented in the General Assembly: 5 Section 5. The Abused and Neglected Long Term Care 6 Facility Residents Reporting Act is amended by changing 7 Section 6.2 as follows: 8 (210 ILCS 30/6.2) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 4166.2) 9 (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2000) 10 Sec. 6.2. Inspector General. 11 (a) The Governor shall appoint, and the Senate shall 12 confirm, an Inspector General who shall function within the 13 Department of Human Services and report to the Secretary of 14 Human Services and the Governor. The Inspector General shall 15 investigate reports of suspected abuse or neglect (as those 16 terms are defined in Section 3 of this Act) of patients or 17 residents in any mental health or developmental disabilities 18 facility operated by the Department of Human Services and 19 shall have authority to investigate and take immediate action 20 on reports of abuse or neglect of recipients, whether 21 patients or residents, in any mental health or developmental 22 disabilities facility or program that is licensed or 23 certified by the Department of Human Services (as successor 24 to the Department of Mental Health and Developmental 25 Disabilities) or that is funded by the Department of Human 26 Services (as successor to the Department of Mental Health and 27 Developmental Disabilities) and is not licensed or certified 28 by any agency of the State. At the specific, written request 29 of an agency of the State other than the Department of Human 30 Services (as successor to the Department of Mental Health and 31 Developmental Disabilities), the Inspector General may HB1942 Enrolled -2- LRB9100355JSks 1 cooperate in investigating reports of abuse and neglect of 2 persons with mental illness or persons with developmental 3 disabilities. The Inspector General shall have no 4 supervision over or involvement in routine, programmatic, 5 licensure, or certification operations of the Department of 6 Human Services or any of its funded agencies. 7 The Inspector General shall promulgate rules establishing 8 minimum requirements for reporting allegations of abuse and 9 neglect and initiating, conducting, and completing 10 investigations. The promulgated rules shall clearly set 11 forth that in instances where 2 or more State agencies could 12 investigate an allegation of abuse or neglect, the Inspector 13 General shall not conduct an investigation that is redundant 14 to an investigation conducted by another State agency. The 15 rules shall establish criteria for determining, based upon 16 the nature of the allegation, the appropriate method of 17 investigation, which may include, but need not be limited to, 18 site visits, telephone contacts, or requests for written 19 responses from agencies. The rules shall also clarify how 20 the Office of the Inspector General shall interact with the 21 licensing unit of the Department of Human Services in 22 investigations of allegations of abuse or neglect. Any 23 allegations or investigations of reports made pursuant to 24 this Act shall remain confidential until a final report is 25 completed. The resident or patient who allegedly was abused 26 or neglected and his or her legal guardian shall be informed 27 by the facility or agency of the report of alleged abuse or 28 neglect. Final reports regarding unsubstantiated or unfounded 29 allegations shall remain confidential, except that final 30 reports may be disclosed pursuant to Section 6 of this Act. 31 The Inspector General shall be appointed for a term of 4 32 years. 33 (b) The Inspector General shall within 24 hours after 34 receiving a report of suspected abuse or neglect determine HB1942 Enrolled -3- LRB9100355JSks 1 whether the evidence indicates that any possible criminal act 2 has been committed. If he determines that a possible criminal 3 act has been committed, or that special expertise is required 4 in the investigation, he shall immediately notify the 5 Department of State Police. The Department of State Police 6 shall investigate any report indicating a possible murder, 7 rape, or other felony. All investigations conducted by the 8 Inspector General shall be conducted in a manner designed to 9 ensure the preservation of evidence for possible use in a 10 criminal prosecution. 11 (b-5) The Inspector General shall make a determination 12 to accept or reject a preliminary report of the investigation 13 of alleged abuse or neglect based on established 14 investigative procedures. The facility or agency may request 15 clarification or reconsideration based on additional 16 information. For cases where the allegation of abuse or 17 neglect is substantiated, the Inspector General shall require 18 the facility or agency to submit a written response. The 19 written response from a facility or agency shall address in a 20 concise and reasoned manner the actions that the agency or 21 facility will take or has taken to protect the resident or 22 patient from abuse or neglect, prevent reoccurrences, and 23 eliminate problems identified and shall include 24 implementation and completion dates for all such action. 25 (c) The Inspector General shall, within 10 calendar days 26 after the transmittal date of a completed investigation where 27 abuse or neglect is substantiated or administrative action is 28 recommended, provide a complete report on the case to the 29 Secretary of Human Services and to the agency in which the 30 abuse or neglect is alleged to have happened. The complete 31 report shall include a written response from the agency or 32 facility operated by the State to the Inspector General that 33 addresses in a concise and reasoned manner the actions that 34 the agency or facility will take or has taken to protect the HB1942 Enrolled -4- LRB9100355JSks 1 resident or patient from abuse or neglect, prevent 2 reoccurrences, and eliminate problems identified and shall 3 include implementation and completion dates for all such 4 action. The Secretary of Human Services shall accept or 5 reject the response and establish how the Department will 6 determine whether the facility or program followed the 7 approved response. The Secretary may require Department 8 personnel to visit the facility or agency for training, 9 technical assistance, programmatic, licensure, or 10 certification purposes. Administrative action, including 11 sanctions, may be applied should the Secretary reject the 12 response or should the facility or agency fail to follow the 13 approved response. Within 30 days after the Secretary has 14 approved a response, the facility or agency making the 15 response shall provide an implementation report to the 16 Inspector General on the status of the corrective action 17 implemented. Within 60 days after receiving the 18 implementation report, the Inspector General shall conduct an 19 investigation to determine whether the facility or agency is 20 in compliance with the approved response. The facility or 21 agency shall inform the resident or patient and the legal 22 guardian whether the reported allegation was substantiated, 23 unsubstantiated, or unfounded. There shall be an appeals 24 process for any person or agency that is subject to any 25 action based on a recommendation or recommendations. 26 (d) The Inspector General may recommend to the 27 Departments of Public Health and Human Services sanctions to 28 be imposed against mental health and developmental 29 disabilities facilities under the jurisdiction of the 30 Department of Human Services for the protection of residents, 31 including appointment of on-site monitors or receivers, 32 transfer or relocation of residents, and closure of units. 33 The Inspector General may seek the assistance of the Attorney 34 General or any of the several State's attorneys in imposing HB1942 Enrolled -5- LRB9100355JSks 1 such sanctions. 2 (e) The Inspector General shall establish and conduct 3 periodic training programs for Department employees 4 concerning the prevention and reporting of neglect and abuse. 5 (f) The Inspector General shall at all times be granted 6 access to any mental health or developmental disabilities 7 facility operated by the Department, shall establish and 8 conduct unannounced site visits to those facilities at least 9 once annually, and shall be granted access, for the purpose 10 of investigating a report of abuse or neglect, to any 11 facility or program funded by the Department that is subject 12 under the provisions of this Section to investigation by the 13 Inspector General for a report of abuse or neglect. 14 (g) Nothing in this Section shall limit investigations 15 by the Department of Human Services that may otherwise be 16 required by law or that may be necessary in that Department's 17 capacity as the central administrative authority responsible 18 for the operation of State mental health and developmental 19 disability facilities. 20 (h) This Section is repealed on January 1, 2000. 21 (Source: P.A. 89-427, eff. 12-7-95; 89-507, eff. 7-1-97; 22 90-252, eff. 7-29-97; 90-512, eff. 8-22-97; 90-655, eff. 23 7-30-98.)