20 ILCS 1705/77: Community day services.

(This Section may contain text from a Public Act with a delayed effective date)

(a) Community day services certification. An applicant for certification as a CDS provider under this Act shall submit an application in accordance with the application process established by the Department by rule and shall pay an application fee in an amount established by the Department, which amount shall not be more than $200.

(1) If an applicant meets the requirements established by the Department to be certified as a CDS provider under this Act, after payment of the certification fee, the Department shall issue a certificate valid for 2 years from the date thereof unless suspended or revoked by the Department or voluntarily surrendered by the CDS provider.

(2) Upon application to the Department, the Department may issue a temporary certificate to an applicant for up to a 2-year period to allow the holder of such certificate reasonable time to become eligible for a certificate under this Act.

(3) The Department may conduct site visits to a CDS provider, program, or site certified under this Act to inspect the records or premises, or both, of such provider, program, or site as it deems appropriate, for the purpose of determining compliance with this Act, the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code, and applicable Department rules and regulations. The Department shall conduct inspections of the records and premises of each CDS provider certified under this Act at least once every 2 years.

(4) If the Department determines that a CDS provider certified under this Act is not in compliance with this Act or the rules and regulations adopted in accordance with this Act, the Department shall serve a notice of deficiency upon the certified CDS provider. Each notice of deficiency shall be prepared in writing and shall specify the nature of the deficiency, the statutory provision or rule alleged to have been violated, and, if required, that the CDS provider submit a plan of correction to the Department. The notice shall also inform the certified CDS provider of any other action that the Department might take in accordance with this Act and the CDS provider's right to a hearing.

(5) As determined by the Department, a disproportionate number or percentage of certification complaints; a disproportionate number or percentage of substantiated cases of abuse, neglect, or exploitation involving a CDS provider; an apparent unnatural death of an individual served by a CDS provider; any egregious or life-threatening abuse or neglect caused by a CDS provider; or any other significant event as determined by the Department shall initiate a review of the CDS provider's certificate by the Department, as well as a review of its agreement for funding. The Department shall adopt rules to establish the process by which the determination to initiate a review shall be made and the timeframe to initiate a review upon the making of such determination.

(6) Upon the expiration of a CDS provider's certificate issued under this Act, the CDS provider shall be required to submit a certification renewal application and pay a certificate renewal fee in an amount to be determined by the Department, which amount shall not be more than $200.

(7) A former CDS provider that has had a certification revoked under this Act may not apply for or possess a certificate under a different name.

(b) Registry checks for employees. The Department shall require all certified and funded CDS providers to conduct, for each employee, checks of the Health Care Worker Registry, the Illinois Sex Offender Registry, and the Provider Sanctions List maintained by the Department of Healthcare and Family Services' Office of the Inspector General. The Department shall also require certified and funded CDS agencies to conduct a Child Abuse and Neglect Tracking System (CANTS) check of the Department of Children and Family Services' State Central Register, and to initiate a criminal history background check conducted by the Illinois State Police. These required registry checks on employees must be completed at the time of hire and annually thereafter during employment. A person may not be employed if he or she is found to have disqualifying convictions or substantiated cases of abuse or neglect. At the time of the annual registry checks, if a current employee's name has been placed on a registry with disqualifying convictions or disqualifying substantiated cases of abuse or neglect, then the employee must be terminated. Disqualifying convictions or disqualifying substantiated cases of abuse or neglect are defined for the Department of Children and Family Services' State Central Register by the Department of Children and Family Services' standards for background checks in Part 385 of Title 89 of the Illinois Administrative Code. Disqualifying convictions or disqualifying substantiated cases of abuse or neglect are defined for the Health Care Worker Registry by the Health Care Worker Background Check Act and the Department's standards for abuse and neglect investigations in Section 1-17 of the Department of Human Services Act.

(1) The CANTS check must be submitted to the Department of Children and Family Services and be in the review process prior to the new employee's start date.

(2) A new employee may begin employment while the outcome of the CANTS check is pending.

(3) CANTS inquiries shall not occur more than 30 days prior to the first day of employment.

(c) CANTS or Health Care Worker Registry waiver. In collaboration with the Department of Children and Family Services, the Department of Human Services shall establish a waiver process from the prohibition of employment or termination of employment requirements in subsection (b) for any applicant or employee listed in CANTS. The waiver process for applicants and employees outlined under Section 40 of the Health Care Worker Background Check Act shall remain in effect for individuals listed on the Health Care Worker Registry.

(d) Reports. In collaboration with the Department of Children and Family Services and that Department's Office of Inspector General, as necessary, the Department of Human Services shall review intake and investigation reports.