Statutes > Illinois Statutes > CHAPTER 405 MENTAL HEALTH > 405 ILCS 82/ Developmental Disability and Mental Health Safety Act (aka Brian's Law).

405 ILCS 82/ Developmental Disability and Mental Health Safety Act (aka Brian's Law).

    (405 ILCS 82/1)
    Sec. 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Developmental Disability and Mental Health Safety Act or Brian's Law.
(Source: P.A. 96‑1235, eff. 1‑1‑11.)

    (405 ILCS 82/5)
    Sec. 5. Legislative Findings. The General Assembly finds all of the following:
    (a) As a result of decades of significant under‑funding of Illinois' developmental disabilities and mental health service delivery system, the quality of life of individuals with disabilities has been negatively impacted and, in an unacceptable number of instances, has resulted in serious health consequences and even death.
    (b) In response to growing concern over the safety of the State‑operated developmental disability facilities, following a series of resident deaths, the agency designated by the Governor pursuant to the Protection and Advocacy for Developmentally Disabled Persons Act opened a systemic investigation to examine all such deaths for a period of time, including the death of a young man in his twenties, Brian Kent, on October 30, 2002, and released a public report, "Life and Death in State‑Operated Developmental Disability Institutions," which included findings and recommendations aimed at preventing such tragedies in the future.
    (c) The documentation of substandard medical care and treatment of individual residents living in the State‑operated facilities cited in that report necessitate that the State of Illinois take immediate action to prevent further injuries and deaths.
    (d) The agency designated by the Governor pursuant to the Protection and Advocacy for Developmentally Disabled Persons Act has also reviewed conditions and deaths of individuals with disabilities living in or transferred to community‑based facilities and found similar problems in some of those settings.
    (e) The circumstances associated with deaths in both State‑operated facilities and community‑based facilities, and review of the State's investigations and findings regarding these incidents, demonstrate that the current federal and State oversight and investigatory systems are seriously under‑funded.
    (f) An effective mortality review process enables state service systems to focus on individual deaths and consider the broader issues, policies, and practices that may contribute to these tragedies. This critical information, when shared with public and private facilities, can help to reduce circumstances that place individuals at high risk of serious harm and even death.
    (g) The purpose of this Act is to establish within the Department of Human Services a low‑cost, volunteer‑based mortality review process conducted by an independent team of experts that will enhance the health and safety of the individuals served by Illinois' developmental disability and mental health service delivery systems.
    (h) This independent team of experts will be comparable to 2 existing types of oversight teams: the Abuse Prevention Review Team created under the jurisdiction of the Department of Public Health, which examines deaths of individuals living in long‑term care facilities, and Child Death Review Teams created under the jurisdiction of the Department of Children and Family Services, which reviews the deaths of children.
(Source: P.A. 96‑1235, eff. 1‑1‑11.)

    (405 ILCS 82/10)
    Sec. 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:
    "Community agency" means (i) a community agency licensed, funded, or certified by the Department of Human Services, but not licensed or certified by any other human services agency of the State, to provide developmental disabilities service or mental health service or (ii) a program licensed, funded, or certified by the Department of Human Services, but not licensed or certified by any other human services agency of the State, to provide developmental disabilities service or mental health service.
    "Facility" means a developmental disabilities facility or mental health facility operated by the Department of Human Services.
(Source: P.A. 96‑1235, eff. 1‑1‑11.)

    (405 ILCS 82/15)
    Sec. 15. Mortality Review Process.
    (a) The Department of Human Services shall develop an independent team of experts from the academic, private, and public sectors to examine all deaths at facilities and community agencies.
    (b) The Secretary of Human Services, in consultation with the Director of Public Health, shall appoint members to the independent team of experts, which shall consist of at least one member from each of the following categories:
        1. Physicians experienced in providing medical care
    to individuals with developmental disabilities.
        2. Physicians experienced in providing medical care
    to individuals with mental illness.
        3. Registered nurses experienced in providing medical
    care to individuals with developmental disabilities.
        4. Registered nurses experienced in providing medical
    care to individuals with mental illness.
        5. Psychiatrists.
        6. Psychologists.
        7. Representatives of the Department of Human
    Services who are not employed at the facility at which the death occurred.
        8. Representatives of the Department of Public Health.
        9. Representatives of the agency designated by the
    Governor pursuant to the Protection and Advocacy for Developmentally Disabled Persons Act.
        10. State's Attorneys or State's Attorneys'
    representatives.
        11. Coroners or forensic pathologists.
        12. Representatives of local hospitals, trauma
    centers, or providers of emergency medical services.
        13. Other categories of persons, as the Secretary of
    Human Services may see fit.
    The independent team of experts may make recommendations to the Secretary of Human Services concerning additional appointments. Each team member must have demonstrated experience and an interest in investigating, treating, or preventing the deaths of individuals with disabilities. The Secretary of Human Services shall appoint additional teams if the Secretary or the existing team determines that more teams are necessary to accomplish the purposes of this Act. The members of a team shall be appointed for 2‑year staggered terms and shall be eligible for reappointment upon the expiration of their terms. Each independent team shall select a Chairperson from among its members.
    (c) The independent team of experts shall examine the deaths of all individuals who have died while under the care of a facility or community agency.
    (d) The purpose of the independent team of experts' examination of such deaths is to do the following:
        1. Review the cause and manner of the individual's
    death.
        2. Review all actions taken by the facility, State
    agencies, or other entities to address the cause or causes of death and the adequacy of medical care and treatment.
        3. Evaluate the means, if any, by which the death
    might have been prevented.
        4. Report its observations and conclusions to the
    Secretary of Human Services and make recommendations that may help to reduce the number of unnecessary deaths.
        5. Promote continuing education for professionals
    involved in investigating and preventing the unnecessary deaths of individuals under the care of a facility or community agency.
        6. Make specific recommendations to the Secretary of
    Human Services concerning the prevention of unnecessary deaths of individuals under the care of facilities and community agencies, including changes in policies and practices that will prevent harm to individuals with disabilities, and the establishment of protocols for investigating the deaths of these individuals.
    (e) The independent team of experts must examine the cases submitted to it on a quarterly basis. The team shall meet at least once in each calendar quarter if there are cases to be examined. The Department of Human Services shall forward cases within 90 days after completion of a review or an investigation into the death of an individual residing at a facility or community agency.
    (f) Within 90 days after receiving recommendations made by the independent team of experts under subsection (d) of this Section, the Secretary of Human Services must review those recommendations, as feasible and appropriate, and shall respond to the team in writing to explain the implementation of those recommendations.
    (g) The Secretary of Human Services shall establish protocols governing the operation of the independent team. Those protocols shall include the creation of sub‑teams to review the case records or portions of the case records and report to the full team. The members of a sub‑team shall be composed of team members specially qualified to examine those records. In any instance in which the independent team does not operate in accordance with established protocol, the Secretary of Human Services shall take any necessary actions to bring the team into compliance with the protocol.
(Source: P.A. 96‑1235, eff. 1‑1‑11.)

    (405 ILCS 82/20)
    Sec. 20. Independent team of experts' access to information.
    (a) The Secretary of Human Services shall provide to the independent team of experts, on the request of the team Chairperson, all records and information in the Department's possession that are relevant to the team's examination of a death of the sort described in subsection (c) of Section 10, including records and information concerning previous reports or investigations of any matter, as determined by the team.
    (b) The independent team shall have access to all records and information that are relevant to its review of a death and in the possession of a State or local governmental agency or other entity. These records and information shall include, without limitation, death certificates, all relevant medical and mental health records, records of law enforcement agency investigations, records of coroner or medical examiner investigations, records of the Department of Corrections concerning a person's parole, records of a probation and court services department, and records of a social services agency that provided services to the person who died.
(Source: P.A. 96‑1235, eff. 1‑1‑11.)

    (405 ILCS 82/25)
    Sec. 25. Public access to and confidentiality of information.
    (a) Meetings of the independent team of experts shall be closed to the public.
    (b) Records and information provided to the independent team of experts are confidential. Nothing contained in this subsection (b) prevents the sharing or disclosure of records, other than those produced by the independent team, relating or pertaining to the death of an individual.
    (c) Members of the independent team of experts are not subject to examination, in any civil or criminal proceeding, concerning information presented to members of the team or opinions formed by members of the team based on that information. A person may, however, be examined concerning information provided to the team that is otherwise available to the public.
    (d) Records and information produced by the team are not subject to discovery or subpoena and are not admissible as evidence in any civil or criminal proceeding. Those records and information are, however, subject to discovery or a subpoena, and are admissible as evidence to the extent they are otherwise available to the public.
(Source: P.A. 96‑1235, eff. 1‑1‑11.)

    (405 ILCS 82/30)
    Sec. 30. Indemnification. The State shall indemnify and hold harmless members of the independent team for all their acts, omissions, decisions, or other conduct arising out of the scope of their service on the team, except those involving willful or wanton misconduct. The method of providing indemnification shall be as provided in the State Employee Indemnification Act.
(Source: P.A. 96‑1235, eff. 1‑1‑11.)

    (405 ILCS 82/35)
    Sec. 35. Department's annual report. The Department of Human Services shall include in its annual report to the General Assembly a report of the activities of the independent team of experts, the results of the team's observations and conclusions, categories of members of the team as prescribed in Section 10 of this Act which are currently vacant, recommendations made by the team to the Governor, State agencies, or other entities, and, as applicable, either (i) the implementation of the recommendations or (ii) the reasons the recommendations were not implemented.
(Source: P.A. 96‑1235, eff. 1‑1‑11.)

    (405 ILCS 82/40)
    Sec. 40. Rights information. The Department of Human Services shall ensure that individuals with disabilities and their guardians and families receive sufficient information regarding their rights, including the right to be safe, the right to be free from abuse and neglect, the right to receive quality services, and the right to an adequate discharge plan and timely transition to the least restrictive setting to meet their individual needs and desires. The Department shall provide this information, which shall be developed in collaboration with the agency designated by the Governor pursuant to the Protection and Advocacy for Developmentally Disabled Persons Act, in order to allow individuals with disabilities and their guardians and families to make informed decisions regarding the provision of services that can meet the individual's needs and desires. The Department shall provide this information to all facilities and community agencies to be made available upon admission and at least annually thereafter for as long as the individual remains in the facility.
(Source: P.A. 96‑1235, eff. 1‑1‑11.)

    (405 ILCS 82/90)
    Sec. 90. (Amendatory provisions; text omitted).
(Source: P.A. 96‑1235, eff. 1‑1‑11; text omitted.)

    (405 ILCS 82/95)
    Sec. 95. (Amendatory provisions; text omitted).
(Source: P.A. 96‑1235, eff. 1‑1‑11; text omitted.)

    (405 ILCS 82/100)
    Sec. 100. (Amendatory provisions; text omitted).
(Source: P.A. 96‑1235, eff. 1‑1‑11; text omitted.)

    (405 ILCS 82/105)
    Sec. 105. The Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code is amended by repealing Section 5‑100A.
(Source: P.A. 96‑1235, eff. 1‑1‑11.)

    (405 ILCS 82/110)
    Sec. 110. (Amendatory provisions; text omitted).
(Source: P.A. 96‑1235, eff. 1‑1‑11; text omitted.)