Bill Text: IL HB5656 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Nursing Home Care Act. In provisions concerning screening prior to admission, provides that if the results of the background check are inconclusive, the facility shall initiate a fingerprint-based check, unless the fingerprint check is waived by the Director of Public Health or the Director's designee (rather than only by the Director) based on verification provided by the facility that the resident has decreased mobility (rather than is completely immobile) or that the resident meets other criteria related to the resident's health (rather than the resident meets other criteria related to the resident's health or lack of potential risk which may be established by Departmental rule). Provides that a waiver shall be valid only while the criteria supporting the waiver exist (rather than a waiver shall be valid only while the resident is immobile or while the criteria supporting the waiver exist). In provisions concerning a criminal history report, provides that the Illinois State Police shall provide the criminal history report to a licensed forensic psychologist, a licensed clinical social worker, or a licensed clinical professional counselor (rather than only to a licensed forensic psychologist). Provides that after consideration of the criminal history report, consultation with the facility administrator or the facility medical director, or the administrator's or medical director's designee (rather than or both the administrator and director), and review of certain information, the licensed forensic psychologist, licensed clinical social worker, or licensed clinical professional counselor (rather than only a licensed forensic psychologist) shall prepare an identified offender report and recommendation. Makes other changes.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-02-09 - Referred to Rules Committee [HB5656 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-HB5656-Introduced.html

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103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB5656 Introduced 2/9/2024, by Rep. Debbie Meyers-Martin SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
210 ILCS 45/2-201.5
210 ILCS 45/2-201.6
Amends the Nursing Home Care Act. In provisions concerning screening prior to admission, provides that if the results of the background check are inconclusive, the facility shall initiate a fingerprint-based check, unless the fingerprint check is waived by the Director of Public Health or the Director's designee (rather than only by the Director) based on verification provided by the facility that the resident has decreased mobility (rather than is completely immobile) or that the resident meets other criteria related to the resident's health (rather than the resident meets other criteria related to the resident's health or lack of potential risk which may be established by Departmental rule). Provides that a waiver shall be valid only while the criteria supporting the waiver exist (rather than a waiver shall be valid only while the resident is immobile or while the criteria supporting the waiver exist). In provisions concerning a criminal history report, provides that the Illinois State Police shall provide the criminal history report to a licensed forensic psychologist, a licensed clinical social worker, or a licensed clinical professional counselor (rather than only to a licensed forensic psychologist). Provides that after consideration of the criminal history report, consultation with the facility administrator or the facility medical director, or the administrator's or medical director's designee (rather than or both the administrator and director), and review of certain information, the licensed forensic psychologist, licensed clinical social worker, or licensed clinical professional counselor (rather than only a licensed forensic psychologist) shall prepare an identified offender report and recommendation. Makes other changes.
LRB103 31173 BMS 57986 b
A BILL FOR
HB5656 LRB103 31173 BMS 57986 b
AN ACT concerning regulation.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Nursing Home Care Act is amended by
changing Sections 2-201.5 and 2-201.6 as follows:
(210 ILCS 45/2-201.5)
Sec. 2-201.5. Screening prior to admission.
(a) All persons age 18 or older seeking admission to a
nursing facility must be screened to determine the need for
nursing facility services prior to being admitted, regardless
of income, assets, or funding source. Screening for nursing
facility services shall be administered through procedures
established by administrative rule. Screening may be done by
agencies other than the Department as established by
administrative rule. This Section applies on and after July 1,
1996. No later than October 1, 2010, the Department of
Healthcare and Family Services, in collaboration with the
Department on Aging, the Department of Human Services, and the
Department of Public Health, shall file administrative rules
providing for the gathering, during the screening process, of
information relevant to determining each person's potential
for placing other residents, employees, and visitors at risk
of harm.

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(a-1) Any screening performed pursuant to subsection (a)
of this Section shall include a determination of whether any
person is being considered for admission to a nursing facility
due to a need for mental health services. For a person who
needs mental health services, the screening shall also include
an evaluation of whether there is permanent supportive
housing, or an array of community mental health services,
including but not limited to supported housing, assertive
community treatment, and peer support services, that would
enable the person to live in the community. The person shall be
told about the existence of any such services that would
enable the person to live safely and humanely and about
available appropriate nursing home services that would enable
the person to live safely and humanely, and the person shall be
given the assistance necessary to avail himself or herself of
any available services.
(a-2) Pre-screening for persons with a serious mental
illness shall be performed by a psychiatrist, a psychologist,
a registered nurse certified in psychiatric nursing, a
licensed clinical professional counselor, or a licensed
clinical social worker, who is competent to (i) perform a
clinical assessment of the individual, (ii) certify a
diagnosis, (iii) make a determination about the individual's
current need for treatment, including substance abuse
treatment, and recommend specific treatment, and (iv)
determine whether a facility or a community-based program is

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able to meet the needs of the individual.
For any person entering a nursing facility, the
pre-screening agent shall make specific recommendations about
what care and services the individual needs to receive,
beginning at admission, to attain or maintain the individual's
highest level of independent functioning and to live in the
most integrated setting appropriate for his or her physical
and personal care and developmental and mental health needs.
These recommendations shall be revised as appropriate by the
pre-screening or re-screening agent based on the results of
resident review and in response to changes in the resident's
wishes, needs, and interest in transition.
Upon the person entering the nursing facility, the
Department of Human Services or its designee shall assist the
person in establishing a relationship with a community mental
health agency or other appropriate agencies in order to (i)
promote the person's transition to independent living and (ii)
support the person's progress in meeting individual goals.
(a-3) The Department of Human Services, by rule, shall
provide for a prohibition on conflicts of interest for
pre-admission screeners. The rule shall provide for waiver of
those conflicts by the Department of Human Services if the
Department of Human Services determines that a scarcity of
qualified pre-admission screeners exists in a given community
and that, absent a waiver of conflicts, an insufficient number
of pre-admission screeners would be available. If a conflict

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is waived, the pre-admission screener shall disclose the
conflict of interest to the screened individual in the manner
provided for by rule of the Department of Human Services. For
the purposes of this subsection, a "conflict of interest"
includes, but is not limited to, the existence of a
professional or financial relationship between (i) a PAS-MH
corporate or a PAS-MH agent and (ii) a community provider or
long-term care facility.
(b) In addition to the screening required by subsection
(a), a facility, except for those licensed under the MC/DD
Act, shall, within 24 hours after admission, request a
criminal history background check pursuant to the Illinois
Uniform Conviction Information Act for all persons age 18 or
older seeking admission to the facility, unless (i) a
background check was initiated by a hospital pursuant to
subsection (d) of Section 6.09 of the Hospital Licensing Act
or a pre-admission background check was conducted by the
Department of Veterans' Affairs 30 days prior to admittance
into an Illinois Veterans Home; (ii) the transferring resident
is immobile; or (iii) the transferring resident is moving into
hospice. The exemption provided in item (ii) or (iii) of this
subsection (b) shall apply only if a background check was
completed by the facility the resident resided at prior to
seeking admission to the facility and the resident was
transferred to the facility with no time passing during which
the resident was not institutionalized. If item (ii) or (iii)

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of this subsection (b) applies, the prior facility shall
provide a copy of its background check of the resident and all
supporting documentation, including, when applicable, the
criminal history report and the security assessment, to the
facility to which the resident is being transferred.
Background checks conducted pursuant to this Section shall be
based on the resident's name, date of birth, and other
identifiers as required by the Illinois State Police. If the
results of the background check are inconclusive, the facility
shall initiate a fingerprint-based check, unless the
fingerprint check is waived by the Director of Public Health
or the Director's designee based on verification provided by
the facility that the resident has decreased mobility is
completely immobile or that the resident meets other criteria
related to the resident's health, including that the resident
lacks the mental capacity to consent to fingerprinting, has
missing finger digits, lacks fingerprints, or exhibits minimal
risk or lack of potential risk which may be established by
Departmental rule. A waiver issued pursuant to this Section
shall be valid only while the resident is immobile or while the
criteria supporting the waiver exist. The facility shall
provide for or arrange for any required fingerprint-based
checks to be taken on the premises of the facility. If a
fingerprint-based check is required, the facility shall
arrange for it to be conducted in a manner that is respectful
of the resident's dignity and that minimizes any emotional or

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physical hardship to the resident.
(c) If the results of a resident's criminal history
background check reveal that the resident is an identified
offender as defined in Section 1-114.01, the facility shall do
the following:
(1) Immediately notify the Illinois State Police, in
the form and manner required by the Illinois State Police,
in collaboration with the Department of Public Health,
that the resident is an identified offender.
(2) Within 72 hours, arrange for a fingerprint-based
criminal history record inquiry to be requested on the
identified offender resident. The inquiry shall be based
on the subject's name, sex, race, date of birth,
fingerprint images, and other identifiers required by the
Illinois State Police. The inquiry shall be processed
through the files of the Illinois State Police and the
Federal Bureau of Investigation to locate any criminal
history record information that may exist regarding the
subject. The Federal Bureau of Investigation shall furnish
to the Illinois State Police, pursuant to an inquiry under
this paragraph (2), any criminal history record
information contained in its files.
The facility shall comply with all applicable provisions
contained in the Illinois Uniform Conviction Information Act.
All name-based and fingerprint-based criminal history
record inquiries shall be submitted to the Illinois State

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Police electronically in the form and manner prescribed by the
Illinois State Police. The Illinois State Police may charge
the facility a fee for processing name-based and
fingerprint-based criminal history record inquiries. The fee
shall be deposited into the State Police Services Fund. The
fee shall not exceed the actual cost of processing the
inquiry.
(d) (Blank).
(e) The Department shall develop and maintain a
de-identified database of residents who have injured facility
staff, facility visitors, or other residents, and the
attendant circumstances, solely for the purposes of evaluating
and improving resident pre-screening and assessment procedures
(including the Criminal History Report prepared under Section
2-201.6) and the adequacy of Department requirements
concerning the provision of care and services to residents. A
resident shall not be listed in the database until a
Department survey confirms the accuracy of the listing. The
names of persons listed in the database and information that
would allow them to be individually identified shall not be
made public. Neither the Department nor any other agency of
State government may use information in the database to take
any action against any individual, licensee, or other entity,
unless the Department or agency receives the information
independent of this subsection (e). All information collected,
maintained, or developed under the authority of this

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subsection (e) for the purposes of the database maintained
under this subsection (e) shall be treated in the same manner
as information that is subject to Part 21 of Article VIII of
the Code of Civil Procedure.
(Source: P.A. 102-538, eff. 8-20-21.)
(210 ILCS 45/2-201.6)
Sec. 2-201.6. Criminal History Report.
(a) The Illinois State Police shall prepare a Criminal
History Report when it receives information, through the
criminal history background check required pursuant to
subsection (d) of Section 6.09 of the Hospital Licensing Act
or subsection (c) of Section 2-201.5, or through any other
means, that a resident of a facility is an identified
offender.
(b) The Illinois State Police shall complete the Criminal
History Report within 10 business days after receiving
information under subsection (a) that a resident is an
identified offender.
(c) The Criminal History Report shall include, but not be
limited to, the following:
(1) (Blank).
(2) (Blank).
(3) (Blank).
(3.5) Copies of the identified offender's parole,
mandatory supervised release, or probation orders.

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(4) An interview with the identified offender.
(5) (Blank).
(6) A detailed summary of the entire criminal history
of the offender, including arrests, convictions, and the
date of the identified offender's last conviction relative
to the date of admission to a long-term care facility.
(7) If the identified offender is a convicted or
registered sex offender, a review of any and all sex
offender evaluations conducted on that offender. If there
is no sex offender evaluation available, the Illinois
State Police shall arrange, through the Department of
Public Health, for a sex offender evaluation to be
conducted on the identified offender. If the convicted or
registered sex offender is under supervision by the
Illinois Department of Corrections or a county probation
department, the sex offender evaluation shall be arranged
by and at the expense of the supervising agency. All
evaluations conducted on convicted or registered sex
offenders under this Act shall be conducted by sex
offender evaluators approved by the Sex Offender
Management Board.
(d) The Illinois State Police shall provide the Criminal
History Report to a licensed forensic psychologist, a licensed
clinical social worker, or a licensed clinical professional
counselor. After (i) consideration of the Criminal History
Report, (ii) consultation with the facility administrator or

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the facility medical director, or the administrator's or
medical director's designee both, regarding the mental and
physical condition of the identified offender, and (iii)
reviewing the facility's file on the identified offender,
including all incident reports, all information regarding
medication and medication compliance, and all information
regarding previous discharges or transfers from other
facilities, the licensed forensic psychologist, licensed
clinical social worker, or licensed clinical professional
counselor shall prepare an Identified Offender Report and
Recommendation. The Identified Offender Report and
Recommendation shall detail whether and to what extent the
identified offender's criminal history necessitates the
implementation of security measures within the long-term care
facility. If the identified offender is a convicted or
registered sex offender or if the Identified Offender Report
and Recommendation reveals that the identified offender poses
a significant risk of harm to others within the facility, the
offender shall be required to have his or her own room and a
public bath within the facility.
(e) The licensed forensic psychologist, licensed clinical
social worker, or licensed clinical professional counselor
shall complete the Identified Offender Report and
Recommendation within 14 business days after receiving the
Criminal History Report and shall promptly provide the
Identified Offender Report and Recommendation to the Illinois

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State Police, which shall provide the Identified Offender
Report and Recommendation to the following:
(1) The long-term care facility within which the
identified offender resides.
(2) The Chief of Police of the municipality in which
the facility is located.
(3) The State of Illinois Long Term Care Ombudsman.
(4) The Department of Public Health.
(e-5) The Department of Public Health shall keep a
continuing record of all residents determined to be identified
offenders as defined in Section 1-114.01 and shall report the
number of identified offender residents annually to the
General Assembly.
(f) The facility shall incorporate the Identified Offender
Report and Recommendation into the identified offender's care
plan created pursuant to 42 CFR 483.20.
(g) If, based on the Identified Offender Report and
Recommendation, a facility determines that it cannot manage
the identified offender resident safely within the facility,
it shall commence involuntary transfer or discharge
proceedings pursuant to Section 3-402.
(h) Except for willful and wanton misconduct, any person
authorized to participate in the development of a Criminal
History Report or Identified Offender Report and
Recommendation is immune from criminal or civil liability for
any acts or omissions as the result of his or her good faith

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effort to comply with this Section.
(Source: P.A. 102-538, eff. 8-20-21.)