§ 1-37 — Streamlined auditing and accreditation system

(a) As used in this Section, "State human services agency" means the Department of Children and Family Services, the Department of Human Services, the Department of Healthcare and Family Services, and the Department of Public Health. (b) Each State human services agency shall conduct an internal review and coordinate with other State human services agencies to file a unified report with the General Assembly summarizing the provider contracts issued by the agencies; auditing requirements related to these contracts; licensing and training requirements subject to audits; mandated reporting requirements for grant recipients and contractual providers; the extent to which audits or rules are redundant or result in duplication; and proposed actions to address the redundancy or duplication. The proposed actions shall seek to accomplish the development of a streamlined auditing and accreditation system and the streamlining of agency rules to reduce administrative costs associated with multiple and duplicative program and accreditation audits and duplication in agency oversight. To the extent feasible, the report shall include (i) necessary statutory changes and (ii) proposed rule changes needed to implement the proposed actions. The Department of Human Services shall serve as the lead agency in the development of the unified report. (c) In addition to the information required by subsection (b), the portion of the report related to the Department of Human Services shall also include recommendations on how to address potential inefficiencies in the current oversight of agency providers and the potential outcomes from implementing system changes related to the following: (1) Addressing redundant checks of policies and procedures which have already been reviewed for a particular provider, with the focus of the review instead on any changes which may have been made to policies or procedures. (2) The use of consumer rights statements with terminology that is not consumer friendly and the need for a statewide, standardized consumer rights statement. (3) Streamlining of review of individualized service plan requirements to ensure that sufficient review of plans occurs while eliminating the need for redundant reviews. (4) The need for flexibility in scheduling service plan meetings to allow for time extensions in circumstances where a guardian may not be able to attend due to illness or other temporary reasons. (5) Standardization of staff training curriculum to expedite the review of curriculum and training previously approved by the Department of Human Services. (6) The current use of random review of staff training documents instead of focusing reviews on newly hired individuals, which results in multiple reviews of the same file year after year. (7) The use of redundant surveys for providers who consistently demonstrate compliance in previous surveys instead of focusing survey efforts on agencies with on-going compliance issues. (d) Recommendations in the report shall include a primary focus on developing a coordinated, non-redundant process for providing quality, effective, and efficient oversight of grant recipients and contractual providers in a manner which ensures patient safety, the provision of quality treatment, and the limitation of fraud and abuse. (e) The final unified report shall be filed with the General Assembly by January 1, 2011.

Legislative History

(Source: P.A. 96-1141, eff. 7-21-10.)