Bill Text: IL SB1947 | 2015-2016 | 99th General Assembly | Chaptered

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Bill Title: Amends the Department of Human Services Act. Expands the definition of "sexual abuse" to include (i) an employee's actions that result in the sending or showing of sexually explicit images to an individual via computer, cellular phone, electronic mail, portable electronic device, or other media with or without contact with the individual or (ii) an employee's posting of sexually explicit images of an individual online or elsewhere whether or not there is contact with the individual. Defines "sexually explicit images" to include, but not be limited to, any material which depicts nudity, sexual conduct, or sado-masochistic abuse, or which contains explicit and detailed verbal descriptions or narrative accounts of sexual excitement, sexual conduct, or sado-masochistic abuse.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 7-3)

Status: (Passed) 2015-08-07 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 99-0323 [SB1947 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2015-SB1947-Chaptered.html

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Public Act 099-0323
SB1947 Enrolled LRB099 09970 KTG 30189 b
AN ACT concerning State government.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Department of Human Services Act is amended
by changing Section 1-17 as follows:
(20 ILCS 1305/1-17)
Sec. 1-17. Inspector General.
(a) Nature and purpose. It is the express intent of the
General Assembly to ensure the health, safety, and financial
condition of individuals receiving services in this State due
to mental illness, developmental disability, or both by
protecting those persons from acts of abuse, neglect, or both
by service providers. To that end, the Office of the Inspector
General for the Department of Human Services is created to
investigate and report upon allegations of the abuse, neglect,
or financial exploitation of individuals receiving services
within mental health facilities, developmental disabilities
facilities, and community agencies operated, licensed, funded
or certified by the Department of Human Services, but not
licensed or certified by any other State agency.
(b) Definitions. The following definitions apply to this
Section:
"Adult student with a disability" means an adult student,

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

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

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

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

"Sexual abuse" means any sexual contact or intimate
physical contact between an employee and an individual,
including an employee's coercion or encouragement of an
individual to engage in sexual behavior that results in sexual
contact, intimate physical contact, sexual behavior, or
intimate physical behavior. Sexual abuse also includes (i) an
employee's actions that result in the sending or showing of
sexually explicit images to an individual via computer,
cellular phone, electronic mail, portable electronic device,
or other media with or without contact with the individual or
(ii) an employee's posting of sexually explicit images of an
individual online or elsewhere whether or not there is contact
with the individual.
"Sexually explicit images" includes, but is not limited to,
any material which depicts nudity, sexual conduct, or
sado-masochistic abuse, or which contains explicit and
detailed verbal descriptions or narrative accounts of sexual
excitement, sexual conduct, or sado-masochistic abuse.
"Substantiated" means there is a preponderance of the
evidence to support the allegation.
"Unfounded" means there is no credible evidence to support
the allegation.
"Unsubstantiated" means there is credible evidence, but
less than a preponderance of evidence to support the
allegation.
(c) Appointment. The Governor shall appoint, and the Senate

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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