Creates the Home Care Consumer and Worker Protection Act. If an agency places a home care worker with a consumer to provide home care services, requires the agency to give the worker and the consumer a notice setting forth the rights and responsibilities of each of them as well as appropriate phone numbers and addresses of the Department on Aging. Provides that the Act does not apply to nursing homes, home health agencies, and certain other agencies. Provides that an agency subject to the Act must comply with the Health Care Worker Background Check Act and must ensure that every home care worker placed by the agency for hire by a consumer has the appropriate credentials and is appropriately licensed or certified as required by law. Authorizes the Department on Aging to investigate complaints of violations of the Act, issue cease-and-desist orders, and seek injunctive relief. Provides for a civil penalty of $1,000 per day for each day that a violation continues. Effective January 1, 2006.
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Creates the Loan Repayment Assistance for Physicians Act. Requires the Department of Public Health to establish an educational loan repayment assistance program for physicians who practice in Illinois. Provides that beginning July 1, 2005, the Department shall consider applications for assistance under the program. Sets forth eligibility requirements for applicants. Provides that for each year that a qualified applicant practices full-time as a physician, the Department shall, subject to appropriation, award a grant to that person in an amount equal to the amount in educational loans that the person must repay that year. Provides that the total amount in grants that a person may be awarded shall not exceed $25,000. Provides that loan payment recipients who fail to practice full-time in Illinois for 3 years shall repay the Department a sum equal to 3 times the amount received under the program. Effective July 1, 2005.
Amends the Hospital Licensing Act. Requires a hospital's discharge planner to provide the patient with information to enable the patient to contact the Department on Aging's case coordination unit. Requires that hospital procedures in connection with giving a discharge notice include prohibitions against discharges or referrals to unlicensed, uncertified, or unregistered facilities or service providers that are required to be licensed, certified, or registered. Effective immediately.
Amends the Abandoned Newborn Infant Protection Act. Repeals a provision that repeals the Act on July 1, 2007.
Amends the School Code. Requires teachers to teach students character education, which includes the teaching of respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, trustworthiness, and citizenship in order to raise pupils' honesty and kindness, justice, discipline, respect for others, and moral courage for the purpose of lessening crime and raising the standard of good character (now, requires teachers to teach pupils honesty, kindness, justice, discipline, respect for others, and moral courage for the purpose of lessening crime and raising the standard of good citizenship). Effective immediately.
Amends the Film Production Services Tax Credit Act. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning applications for certification.
Amends the Illinois Public Aid Code. In provisions concerning Medicaid payment rates for nursing homes, provides that the transition period for implementing the new MDS payment methodology for the nursing component of the rate may not exceed 3 (instead of 2) years. Effective immediately.
Amends the Illinois State Auditing Act. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning the definition of "Office of Auditor General".
Creates the Helping Heroes Child Care Program Act and amends the State Finance Act. Establishes the Helping Heroes Child Care Program for the purpose of providing vouchers for child care to Illinois families who have one or more parents deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan by the armed services. Provides for the program to be administered by the Department of Human Services, but only if federal funding is made available for that purpose. Provides that any such federal moneys received by the State shall be deposited into the Fund for Child Care for Deployed Military Personnel, which is created as a special fund in the State treasury. Provides for income eligibility criteria to be established by the Department by rule. Provides that a family that received child care assistance before the parent's deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan is eligible only for a voucher for the cost of any additional hours of child care that are necessary by reason of that deployment. Provides that a family is not eligible for a child care voucher if the family receives child care services from the United States military. Repeals the Act on July 1, 2010. Effective immediately.
Urges continued support and full funding of the Community Development Block Grant Program.