SB1947 Engrossed LRB099 09970 KTG 30189 b
1		AN ACT concerning State government.
2		Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3		represented in the General Assembly:
4		Section 5. The Department of Human Services Act is amended
5		by changing Section 1-17 as follows:
6		(20 ILCS 1305/1-17)
7		Sec. 1-17. Inspector General.
8		(a) Nature and purpose. It is the express intent of the
9		General Assembly to ensure the health, safety, and financial
10		condition of individuals receiving services in this State due
11		to mental illness, developmental disability, or both by
12		protecting those persons from acts of abuse, neglect, or both
13		by service providers. To that end, the Office of the Inspector
14		General for the Department of Human Services is created to
15		investigate and report upon allegations of the abuse, neglect,
16		or financial exploitation of individuals receiving services
17		within mental health facilities, developmental disabilities
18		facilities, and community agencies operated, licensed, funded
19		or certified by the Department of Human Services, but not
20		licensed or certified by any other State agency.
21		(b) Definitions. The following definitions apply to this
22		Section:
23		"Adult student with a disability" means an adult student,

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1		age 18 through 21, inclusive, with an Individual Education
2		Program, other than a resident of a facility licensed by the
3		Department of Children and Family Services in accordance with
4		the Child Care Act of 1969. For purposes of this definition,
5		"through age 21, inclusive", means through the day before the
6		student's 22nd birthday.
7		"Agency" or "community agency" means (i) a community agency
8		licensed, funded, or certified by the Department, but not
9		licensed or certified by any other human services agency of the
10		State, to provide mental health service or developmental
11		disabilities service, or (ii) a program licensed, funded, or
12		certified by the Department, but not licensed or certified by
13		any other human services agency of the State, to provide mental
14		health service or developmental disabilities service.
15		"Aggravating circumstance" means a factor that is
16		attendant to a finding and that tends to compound or increase
17		the culpability of the accused.
18		"Allegation" means an assertion, complaint, suspicion, or
19		incident involving any of the following conduct by an employee,
20		facility, or agency against an individual or individuals:
21		mental abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, or
22		financial exploitation.
23		"Day" means working day, unless otherwise specified.
24		"Deflection" means a situation in which an individual is
25		presented for admission to a facility or agency, and the
26		facility staff or agency staff do not admit the individual.

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1		"Deflection" includes triage, redirection, and denial of
2		admission.
3		"Department" means the Department of Human Services.
4		"Developmentally disabled" means having a developmental
5		disability.
6		"Developmental disability" means "developmental
7		disability" as defined in the Mental Health and Developmental
8		Disabilities Code.
9		"Egregious neglect" means a finding of neglect as
10		determined by the Inspector General that (i) represents a gross
11		failure to adequately provide for, or a callused indifference
12		to, the health, safety, or medical needs of an individual and
13		(ii) results in an individual's death or other serious
14		deterioration of an individual's physical condition or mental
15		condition.
16		"Employee" means any person who provides services at the
17		facility or agency on-site or off-site. The service
18		relationship can be with the individual or with the facility or
19		agency. Also, "employee" includes any employee or contractual
20		agent of the Department of Human Services or the community
21		agency involved in providing or monitoring or administering
22		mental health or developmental disability services. This
23		includes but is not limited to: owners, operators, payroll
24		personnel, contractors, subcontractors, and volunteers.
25		"Facility" or "State-operated facility" means a mental
26		health facility or developmental disabilities facility

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1		operated by the Department.
2		"Financial exploitation" means taking unjust advantage of
3		an individual's assets, property, or financial resources
4		through deception, intimidation, or conversion for the
5		employee's, facility's, or agency's own advantage or benefit.
6		"Finding" means the Office of Inspector General's
7		determination regarding whether an allegation is
8		substantiated, unsubstantiated, or unfounded.
9		"Health care worker registry" or "registry" means the
10		health care worker registry created by the Nursing Home Care
11		Act.
12		"Individual" means any person receiving mental health
13		service, developmental disabilities service, or both from a
14		facility or agency, while either on-site or off-site.
15		"Mental abuse" means the use of demeaning, intimidating, or
16		threatening words, signs, gestures, or other actions by an
17		employee about an individual and in the presence of an
18		individual or individuals that results in emotional distress or
19		maladaptive behavior, or could have resulted in emotional
20		distress or maladaptive behavior, for any individual present.
21		"Mental illness" means "mental illness" as defined in the
22		Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code.
23		"Mentally ill" means having a mental illness.
24		"Mitigating circumstance" means a condition that (i) is
25		attendant to a finding, (ii) does not excuse or justify the
26		conduct in question, but (iii) may be considered in evaluating

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1		the severity of the conduct, the culpability of the accused, or
2		both the severity of the conduct and the culpability of the
3		accused.
4		"Neglect" means an employee's, agency's, or facility's
5		failure to provide adequate medical care, personal care, or
6		maintenance and that, as a consequence, (i) causes an
7		individual pain, injury, or emotional distress, (ii) results in
8		either an individual's maladaptive behavior or the
9		deterioration of an individual's physical condition or mental
10		condition, or (iii) places the individual's health or safety at
11		substantial risk.
12		"Physical abuse" means an employee's non-accidental and
13		inappropriate contact with an individual that causes bodily
14		harm. "Physical abuse" includes actions that cause bodily harm
15		as a result of an employee directing an individual or person to
16		physically abuse another individual.
17		"Recommendation" means an admonition, separate from a
18		finding, that requires action by the facility, agency, or
19		Department to correct a systemic issue, problem, or deficiency
20		identified during an investigation.
21		"Required reporter" means any employee who suspects,
22		witnesses, or is informed of an allegation of any one or more
23		of the following: mental abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse,
24		neglect, or financial exploitation.
25		"Secretary" means the Chief Administrative Officer of the
26		Department.

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1		"Sexual abuse" means any sexual contact or intimate
2		physical contact between an employee and an individual,
3		including an employee's coercion or encouragement of an
4		individual to engage in sexual behavior that results in sexual
5		contact, intimate physical contact, sexual behavior, or
6		intimate physical behavior. Sexual abuse also includes (i) an
7		employee's actions that result in the sending or showing of
8		sexually explicit images to an individual via computer,
9		cellular phone, electronic mail, portable electronic device,
10		or other media with or without contact with the individual or
11		(ii) an employee's posting of sexually explicit images of an
12		individual online or elsewhere whether or not there is contact
13		with the individual.
14		"Sexually explicit images" includes, but is not limited to,
15		any material which depicts nudity, sexual conduct, or
16		sado-masochistic abuse, or which contains explicit and
17		detailed verbal descriptions or narrative accounts of sexual
18		excitement, sexual conduct, or sado-masochistic abuse.
19		"Substantiated" means there is a preponderance of the
20		evidence to support the allegation.
21		"Unfounded" means there is no credible evidence to support
22		the allegation.
23		"Unsubstantiated" means there is credible evidence, but
24		less than a preponderance of evidence to support the
25		allegation.
26		(c) Appointment. The Governor shall appoint, and the Senate

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1		shall confirm, an Inspector General. The Inspector General
2		shall be appointed for a term of 4 years and shall function
3		within the Department of Human Services and report to the
4		Secretary and the Governor.
5		(d) Operation and appropriation. The Inspector General
6		shall function independently within the Department with
7		respect to the operations of the Office, including the
8		performance of investigations and issuance of findings and
9		recommendations. The appropriation for the Office of Inspector
10		General shall be separate from the overall appropriation for
11		the Department.
12		(e) Powers and duties. The Inspector General shall
13		investigate reports of suspected mental abuse, physical abuse,
14		sexual abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation of
15		individuals in any mental health or developmental disabilities
16		facility or agency and shall have authority to take immediate
17		action to prevent any one or more of the following from
18		happening to individuals under its jurisdiction: mental abuse,
19		physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, or financial
20		exploitation. Upon written request of an agency of this State,
21		the Inspector General may assist another agency of the State in
22		investigating reports of the abuse, neglect, or abuse and
23		neglect of persons with mental illness, persons with
24		developmental disabilities, or persons with both. To comply
25		with the requirements of subsection (k) of this Section, the
26		Inspector General shall also review all reportable deaths for

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1		which there is no allegation of abuse or neglect. Nothing in
2		this Section shall preempt any duties of the Medical Review
3		Board set forth in the Mental Health and Developmental
4		Disabilities Code. The Inspector General shall have no
5		authority to investigate alleged violations of the State
6		Officials and Employees Ethics Act. Allegations of misconduct
7		under the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act shall be
8		referred to the Office of the Governor's Executive Inspector
9		General for investigation.
10		(f) Limitations. The Inspector General shall not conduct an
11		investigation within an agency or facility if that
12		investigation would be redundant to or interfere with an
13		investigation conducted by another State agency. The Inspector
14		General shall have no supervision over, or involvement in, the
15		routine programmatic, licensing, funding, or certification
16		operations of the Department. Nothing in this subsection limits
17		investigations by the Department that may otherwise be required
18		by law or that may be necessary in the Department's capacity as
19		central administrative authority responsible for the operation
20		of the State's mental health and developmental disabilities
21		facilities.
22		(g) Rulemaking authority. The Inspector General shall
23		promulgate rules establishing minimum requirements for
24		reporting allegations as well as for initiating, conducting,
25		and completing investigations based upon the nature of the
26		allegation or allegations. The rules shall clearly establish

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1		that if 2 or more State agencies could investigate an
2		allegation, the Inspector General shall not conduct an
3		investigation that would be redundant to, or interfere with, an
4		investigation conducted by another State agency. The rules
5		shall further clarify the method and circumstances under which
6		the Office of Inspector General may interact with the
7		licensing, funding, or certification units of the Department in
8		preventing further occurrences of mental abuse, physical
9		abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, egregious neglect, and financial
10		exploitation.
11		(h) Training programs. The Inspector General shall (i)
12		establish a comprehensive program to ensure that every person
13		authorized to conduct investigations receives ongoing training
14		relative to investigation techniques, communication skills,
15		and the appropriate means of interacting with persons receiving
16		treatment for mental illness, developmental disability, or
17		both mental illness and developmental disability, and (ii)
18		establish and conduct periodic training programs for facility
19		and agency employees concerning the prevention and reporting of
20		any one or more of the following: mental abuse, physical abuse,
21		sexual abuse, neglect, egregious neglect, or financial
22		exploitation. Nothing in this Section shall be deemed to
23		prevent the Office of Inspector General from conducting any
24		other training as determined by the Inspector General to be
25		necessary or helpful.
26		(i) Duty to cooperate.

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1		(1) The Inspector General shall at all times be granted
2		access to any facility or agency for the purpose of
3		investigating any allegation, conducting unannounced site
4		visits, monitoring compliance with a written response, or
5		completing any other statutorily assigned duty. The
6		Inspector General shall conduct unannounced site visits to
7		each facility at least annually for the purpose of
8		reviewing and making recommendations on systemic issues
9		relative to preventing, reporting, investigating, and
10		responding to all of the following: mental abuse, physical
11		abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, egregious neglect, or
12		financial exploitation.
13		(2) Any employee who fails to cooperate with an Office
14		of the Inspector General investigation is in violation of
15		this Act. Failure to cooperate with an investigation
16		includes, but is not limited to, any one or more of the
17		following: (i) creating and transmitting a false report to
18		the Office of the Inspector General hotline, (ii) providing
19		false information to an Office of the Inspector General
20		Investigator during an investigation, (iii) colluding with
21		other employees to cover up evidence, (iv) colluding with
22		other employees to provide false information to an Office
23		of the Inspector General investigator, (v) destroying
24		evidence, (vi) withholding evidence, or (vii) otherwise
25		obstructing an Office of the Inspector General
26		investigation. Additionally, any employee who, during an

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1		unannounced site visit or written response compliance
2		check, fails to cooperate with requests from the Office of
3		the Inspector General is in violation of this Act.
4		(j) Subpoena powers. The Inspector General shall have the
5		power to subpoena witnesses and compel the production of all
6		documents and physical evidence relating to his or her
7		investigations and any hearings authorized by this Act. This
8		subpoena power shall not extend to persons or documents of a
9		labor organization or its representatives insofar as the
10		persons are acting in a representative capacity to an employee
11		whose conduct is the subject of an investigation or the
12		documents relate to that representation. Any person who
13		otherwise fails to respond to a subpoena or who knowingly
14		provides false information to the Office of the Inspector
15		General by subpoena during an investigation is guilty of a
16		Class A misdemeanor.
17		(k) Reporting allegations and deaths.
18		(1) Allegations. If an employee witnesses, is told of,
19		or has reason to believe an incident of mental abuse,
20		physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, or financial
21		exploitation has occurred, the employee, agency, or
22		facility shall report the allegation by phone to the Office
23		of the Inspector General hotline according to the agency's
24		or facility's procedures, but in no event later than 4
25		hours after the initial discovery of the incident,
26		allegation, or suspicion of any one or more of the

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1		following: mental abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse,
2		neglect, or financial exploitation. A required reporter as
3		defined in subsection (b) of this Section who knowingly or
4		intentionally fails to comply with these reporting
5		requirements is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.
6		(2) Deaths. Absent an allegation, a required reporter
7		shall, within 24 hours after initial discovery, report by
8		phone to the Office of the Inspector General hotline each
9		of the following:
10		(i) Any death of an individual occurring within 14
11		calendar days after discharge or transfer of the
12		individual from a residential program or facility.
13		(ii) Any death of an individual occurring within 24
14		hours after deflection from a residential program or
15		facility.
16		(iii) Any other death of an individual occurring at
17		an agency or facility or at any Department-funded site.
18		(3) Retaliation. It is a violation of this Act for any
19		employee or administrator of an agency or facility to take
20		retaliatory action against an employee who acts in good
21		faith in conformance with his or her duties as a required
22		reporter.
23		(l) Reporting to law enforcement.
24		(1) Reporting criminal acts. Within 24 hours after
25		determining that there is credible evidence indicating
26		that a criminal act may have been committed or that special

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1		expertise may be required in an investigation, the
2		Inspector General shall notify the Department of State
3		Police or other appropriate law enforcement authority, or
4		ensure that such notification is made. The Department of
5		State Police shall investigate any report from a
6		State-operated facility indicating a possible murder,
7		sexual assault, or other felony by an employee. All
8		investigations conducted by the Inspector General shall be
9		conducted in a manner designed to ensure the preservation
10		of evidence for possible use in a criminal prosecution.
11		(2) Reporting allegations of adult students with
12		disabilities. Upon receipt of a reportable allegation
13		regarding an adult student with a disability, the
14		Department's Office of the Inspector General shall
15		determine whether the allegation meets the criteria for the
16		Domestic Abuse Program under the Abuse of Adults with
17		Disabilities Intervention Act. If the allegation is
18		reportable to that program, the Office of the Inspector
19		General shall initiate an investigation. If the allegation
20		is not reportable to the Domestic Abuse Program, the Office
21		of the Inspector General shall make an expeditious referral
22		to the respective law enforcement entity. If the alleged
23		victim is already receiving services from the Department,
24		the Office of the Inspector General shall also make a
25		referral to the respective Department of Human Services'
26		Division or Bureau.

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1		(m) Investigative reports. Upon completion of an
2		investigation, the Office of Inspector General shall issue an
3		investigative report identifying whether the allegations are
4		substantiated, unsubstantiated, or unfounded. Within 10
5		business days after the transmittal of a completed
6		investigative report substantiating an allegation, or if a
7		recommendation is made, the Inspector General shall provide the
8		investigative report on the case to the Secretary and to the
9		director of the facility or agency where any one or more of the
10		following occurred: mental abuse, physical abuse, sexual
11		abuse, neglect, egregious neglect, or financial exploitation.
12		In a substantiated case, the investigative report shall include
13		any mitigating or aggravating circumstances that were
14		identified during the investigation. If the case involves
15		substantiated neglect, the investigative report shall also
16		state whether egregious neglect was found. An investigative
17		report may also set forth recommendations. All investigative
18		reports prepared by the Office of the Inspector General shall
19		be considered confidential and shall not be released except as
20		provided by the law of this State or as required under
21		applicable federal law. Unsubstantiated and unfounded reports
22		shall not be disclosed except as allowed under Section 6 of the
23		Abused and Neglected Long Term Care Facility Residents
24		Reporting Act. Raw data used to compile the investigative
25		report shall not be subject to release unless required by law
26		or a court order. "Raw data used to compile the investigative

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1		report" includes, but is not limited to, any one or more of the
2		following: the initial complaint, witness statements,
3		photographs, investigator's notes, police reports, or incident
4		reports. If the allegations are substantiated, the accused
5		shall be provided with a redacted copy of the investigative
6		report. Death reports where there was no allegation of abuse or
7		neglect shall only be released pursuant to applicable State or
8		federal law or a valid court order.
9		(n) Written responses and reconsideration requests.
10		(1) Written responses. Within 30 calendar days from
11		receipt of a substantiated investigative report or an
12		investigative report which contains recommendations,
13		absent a reconsideration request, the facility or agency
14		shall file a written response that addresses, in a concise
15		and reasoned manner, the actions taken to: (i) protect the
16		individual; (ii) prevent recurrences; and (iii) eliminate
17		the problems identified. The response shall include the
18		implementation and completion dates of such actions. If the
19		written response is not filed within the allotted 30
20		calendar day period, the Secretary shall determine the
21		appropriate corrective action to be taken.
22		(2) Reconsideration requests. The facility, agency,
23		victim or guardian, or the subject employee may request
24		that the Office of Inspector General reconsider or clarify
25		its finding based upon additional information.
26		(o) Disclosure of the finding by the Inspector General. The

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1		Inspector General shall disclose the finding of an
2		investigation to the following persons: (i) the Governor, (ii)
3		the Secretary, (iii) the director of the facility or agency,
4		(iv) the alleged victims and their guardians, (v) the
5		complainant, and (vi) the accused. This information shall
6		include whether the allegations were deemed substantiated,
7		unsubstantiated, or unfounded.
8		(p) Secretary review. Upon review of the Inspector
9		General's investigative report and any agency's or facility's
10		written response, the Secretary shall accept or reject the
11		written response and notify the Inspector General of that
12		determination. The Secretary may further direct that other
13		administrative action be taken, including, but not limited to,
14		any one or more of the following: (i) additional site visits,
15		(ii) training, (iii) provision of technical assistance
16		relative to administrative needs, licensure or certification,
17		or (iv) the imposition of appropriate sanctions.
18		(q) Action by facility or agency. Within 30 days of the
19		date the Secretary approves the written response or directs
20		that further administrative action be taken, the facility or
21		agency shall provide an implementation report to the Inspector
22		General that provides the status of the action taken. The
23		facility or agency shall be allowed an additional 30 days to
24		send notice of completion of the action or to send an updated
25		implementation report. If the action has not been completed
26		within the additional 30 day period, the facility or agency

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1		shall send updated implementation reports every 60 days until
2		completion. The Inspector General shall conduct a review of any
3		implementation plan that takes more than 120 days after
4		approval to complete, and shall monitor compliance through a
5		random review of approved written responses, which may include,
6		but are not limited to: (i) site visits, (ii) telephone
7		contact, and (iii) requests for additional documentation
8		evidencing compliance.
9		(r) Sanctions. Sanctions, if imposed by the Secretary under
10		Subdivision (p)(iv) of this Section, shall be designed to
11		prevent further acts of mental abuse, physical abuse, sexual
12		abuse, neglect, egregious neglect, or financial exploitation
13		or some combination of one or more of those acts at a facility
14		or agency, and may include any one or more of the following:
15		(1) Appointment of on-site monitors.
16		(2) Transfer or relocation of an individual or
17		individuals.
18		(3) Closure of units.
19		(4) Termination of any one or more of the following:
20		(i) Department licensing, (ii) funding, or (iii)
21		certification.
22		The Inspector General may seek the assistance of the
23		Illinois Attorney General or the office of any State's Attorney
24		in implementing sanctions.
25		(s) Health care worker registry.
26		(1) Reporting to the registry. The Inspector General

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1		shall report to the Department of Public Health's health
2		care worker registry, a public registry, the identity and
3		finding of each employee of a facility or agency against
4		whom there is a final investigative report containing a
5		substantiated allegation of physical or sexual abuse,
6		financial exploitation, or egregious neglect of an
7		individual.
8		(2) Notice to employee. Prior to reporting the name of
9		an employee, the employee shall be notified of the
10		Department's obligation to report and shall be granted an
11		opportunity to request an administrative hearing, the sole
12		purpose of which is to determine if the substantiated
13		finding warrants reporting to the registry. Notice to the
14		employee shall contain a clear and concise statement of the
15		grounds on which the report to the registry is based, offer
16		the employee an opportunity for a hearing, and identify the
17		process for requesting such a hearing. Notice is sufficient
18		if provided by certified mail to the employee's last known
19		address. If the employee fails to request a hearing within
20		30 days from the date of the notice, the Inspector General
21		shall report the name of the employee to the registry.
22		Nothing in this subdivision (s)(2) shall diminish or impair
23		the rights of a person who is a member of a collective
24		bargaining unit under the Illinois Public Labor Relations
25		Act or under any other federal labor statute.
26		(3) Registry hearings. If the employee requests an

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1		administrative hearing, the employee shall be granted an
2		opportunity to appear before an administrative law judge to
3		present reasons why the employee's name should not be
4		reported to the registry. The Department shall bear the
5		burden of presenting evidence that establishes, by a
6		preponderance of the evidence, that the substantiated
7		finding warrants reporting to the registry. After
8		considering all the evidence presented, the administrative
9		law judge shall make a recommendation to the Secretary as
10		to whether the substantiated finding warrants reporting
11		the name of the employee to the registry. The Secretary
12		shall render the final decision. The Department and the
13		employee shall have the right to request that the
14		administrative law judge consider a stipulated disposition
15		of these proceedings.
16		(4) Testimony at registry hearings. A person who makes
17		a report or who investigates a report under this Act shall
18		testify fully in any judicial proceeding resulting from
19		such a report, as to any evidence of abuse or neglect, or
20		the cause thereof. No evidence shall be excluded by reason
21		of any common law or statutory privilege relating to
22		communications between the alleged perpetrator of abuse or
23		neglect, or the individual alleged as the victim in the
24		report, and the person making or investigating the report.
25		Testimony at hearings is exempt from the confidentiality
26		requirements of subsection (f) of Section 10 of the Mental

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1		Health and Developmental Disabilities Confidentiality Act.
2		(5) Employee's rights to collateral action. No
3		reporting to the registry shall occur and no hearing shall
4		be set or proceed if an employee notifies the Inspector
5		General in writing, including any supporting
6		documentation, that he or she is formally contesting an
7		adverse employment action resulting from a substantiated
8		finding by complaint filed with the Illinois Civil Service
9		Commission, or which otherwise seeks to enforce the
10		employee's rights pursuant to any applicable collective
11		bargaining agreement. If an action taken by an employer
12		against an employee as a result of a finding of physical
13		abuse, sexual abuse, or egregious neglect is overturned
14		through an action filed with the Illinois Civil Service
15		Commission or under any applicable collective bargaining
16		agreement and if that employee's name has already been sent
17		to the registry, the employee's name shall be removed from
18		the registry.
19		(6) Removal from registry. At any time after the report
20		to the registry, but no more than once in any 12-month
21		period, an employee may petition the Department in writing
22		to remove his or her name from the registry. Upon receiving
23		notice of such request, the Inspector General shall conduct
24		an investigation into the petition. Upon receipt of such
25		request, an administrative hearing will be set by the
26		Department. At the hearing, the employee shall bear the

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1		burden of presenting evidence that establishes, by a
2		preponderance of the evidence, that removal of the name
3		from the registry is in the public interest. The parties
4		may jointly request that the administrative law judge
5		consider a stipulated disposition of these proceedings.
6		(t) Review of Administrative Decisions. The Department
7		shall preserve a record of all proceedings at any formal
8		hearing conducted by the Department involving health care
9		worker registry hearings. Final administrative decisions of
10		the Department are subject to judicial review pursuant to
11		provisions of the Administrative Review Law.
12		(u) Quality Care Board. There is created, within the Office
13		of the Inspector General, a Quality Care Board to be composed
14		of 7 members appointed by the Governor with the advice and
15		consent of the Senate. One of the members shall be designated
16		as chairman by the Governor. Of the initial appointments made
17		by the Governor, 4 Board members shall each be appointed for a
18		term of 4 years and 3 members shall each be appointed for a
19		term of 2 years. Upon the expiration of each member's term, a
20		successor shall be appointed for a term of 4 years. In the case
21		of a vacancy in the office of any member, the Governor shall
22		appoint a successor for the remainder of the unexpired term.
23		Members appointed by the Governor shall be qualified by
24		professional knowledge or experience in the area of law,
25		investigatory techniques, or in the area of care of the
26		mentally ill or developmentally disabled. Two members

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1		appointed by the Governor shall be persons with a disability or
2		a parent of a person with a disability. Members shall serve
3		without compensation, but shall be reimbursed for expenses
4		incurred in connection with the performance of their duties as
5		members.
6		The Board shall meet quarterly, and may hold other meetings
7		on the call of the chairman. Four members shall constitute a
8		quorum allowing the Board to conduct its business. The Board
9		may adopt rules and regulations it deems necessary to govern
10		its own procedures.
11		The Board shall monitor and oversee the operations,
12		policies, and procedures of the Inspector General to ensure the
13		prompt and thorough investigation of allegations of neglect and
14		abuse. In fulfilling these responsibilities, the Board may do
15		the following:
16		(1) Provide independent, expert consultation to the
17		Inspector General on policies and protocols for
18		investigations of alleged abuse, neglect, or both abuse and
19		neglect.
20		(2) Review existing regulations relating to the
21		operation of facilities.
22		(3) Advise the Inspector General as to the content of
23		training activities authorized under this Section.
24		(4) Recommend policies concerning methods for
25		improving the intergovernmental relationships between the
26		Office of the Inspector General and other State or federal

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1		offices.
2		(v) Annual report. The Inspector General shall provide to
3		the General Assembly and the Governor, no later than January 1
4		of each year, a summary of reports and investigations made
5		under this Act for the prior fiscal year with respect to
6		individuals receiving mental health or developmental
7		disabilities services. The report shall detail the imposition
8		of sanctions, if any, and the final disposition of any
9		corrective or administrative action directed by the Secretary.
10		The summaries shall not contain any confidential or identifying
11		information of any individual, but shall include objective data
12		identifying any trends in the number of reported allegations,
13		the timeliness of the Office of the Inspector General's
14		investigations, and their disposition, for each facility and
15		Department-wide, for the most recent 3-year time period. The
16		report shall also identify, by facility, the staff-to-patient
17		ratios taking account of direct care staff only. The report
18		shall also include detailed recommended administrative actions
19		and matters for consideration by the General Assembly.
20		(w) Program audit. The Auditor General shall conduct a
21		program audit of the Office of the Inspector General on an
22		as-needed basis, as determined by the Auditor General. The
23		audit shall specifically include the Inspector General's
24		compliance with the Act and effectiveness in investigating
25		reports of allegations occurring in any facility or agency. The
26		Auditor General shall conduct the program audit according to

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1		the provisions of the Illinois State Auditing Act and shall
2		report its findings to the General Assembly no later than
3		January 1 following the audit period.
4		(x) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to mean that
5		a patient is a victim of abuse or neglect because of health
6		care services appropriately provided or not provided by health
7		care professionals.
8		(y) Nothing in this Section shall require a facility,
9		including its employees, agents, medical staff members, and
10		health care professionals, to provide a service to a patient in
11		contravention of that patient's stated or implied objection to
12		the provision of that service on the ground that that service
13		conflicts with the patient's religious beliefs or practices,
14		nor shall the failure to provide a service to a patient be
15		considered abuse under this Section if the patient has objected
16		to the provision of that service based on his or her religious
17		beliefs or practices.
18		(Source: P.A. 98-49, eff. 7-1-13; 98-711, eff. 7-16-14.)
19		Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
20		becoming law.