Illinois Administrative Code
Title 77 - PUBLIC HEALTH
Part 955 - HEALTH CARE WORKER BACKGROUND CHECK CODE
Section 955.165 - Fingerprint-Based Criminal History Records Check
Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 12, March 22, 2024
a) Educational entities, other than secondary schools, and health care employers are required to check the Health Care Worker Registry before allowing a student to enter a training program or hiring an employee to determine:
b) If the individual has not had a background check or is not active on the Health Care Worker Registry, then the health care employer shall initiate a fingerprint-based criminal history records check. (Section 33(g) of the Act)
c) Educational entities and health care employers shall conduct Internet searches on certain web sites, includingwithout limitation the Illinois Sex Offender Registry, the Department of Corrections' Sex Offender Search Engine, the Department of Corrections' Inmate Search Engine, the Department of Corrections Wanted Fugitives Search Engine, the National Sex Offender Public Registry, and the website of the Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General to determine if the applicant has been adjudicated a sex offender, has been a prison inmate, or has committed Medicare or Medicaid fraud, or shall conduct similar searches as provided by the web-based application. (Section 15 of the Act)
d) Any student, applicant, or employee to whom the Act and this Part apply and who desires to be included on the Department of Public Health's Health Care Worker Registry shall authorize the Department of Public Health or its designee to request a fingerprint-based criminal history records check to determine if the individual has a conviction for a disqualifying offense by completing and signing an authorization and disclosure form. This authorization shall allow the Department of Public Health to request and receive information and assistance from any State or local governmental agency. (Section 33(b) of the Act)
e) An educational entity, other than a secondary school, conducting a certified nursing assistant training program shall initiate a fingerprint-based criminal history records check required by the Act and this Part prior to entry of an individual intothe training program. (Section 33(c) of the Act)
f) A health care employer who makes a conditional offer of employment to an applicant who is not exempt under Section 955.130, for a positionas an employee, shall initiate a fingerprint-based criminal history records check on the applicant, if such a background check has not been previously conducted. A health care employer shall not use the fingerprint-based criminal history records check process provided in the Act and this Part to initiate background checks for applicants for employment positions to which the Act and this Part do not apply. (Section 33(d) of the Act)
g) Workforce intermediaries and organizations providing pro bono legal services may initiate a fingerprint-based criminal history record check if a conditional offer of employment has not been made and a background check has not been previously conducted for an individual who has a disqualifying conviction and is receiving services from a workforce intermediary or an organization providing pro bono legal services. (Section 33(d) of the Act)
h) When initiating a background check, an educational entity, health care employer, staffing agency, workforce intermediary, or organization that provides pro bono legal services shall electronically submit to the Department of Public Health the student's, applicant's, or employee's social security number, demographics, disclosure and authorization information in a format prescribed by the Department of Public Health within 2 working days after the authorization is secured. (Section 33 (e) of the Act)
i) The student, applicant, or employee shall go to a livescan vendor and have his or her fingerprints collected electronically and transmitted to the Department of State Police within 10 working days after signing the authorization and disclosure form. Each individual shall submit his or her fingerprints in an electronic manner prescribed by the Department of State Police. (Section 33(e) of the Act)
j) The educational entity, health care employer, staffing agency, workforce intermediary, or organization that provides pro bono legal services shall transmit all necessary information and fees to the livescan vendor and Department of State Police within 10 working days after receipt of the authorization for a criminal history records check. (Section 33(e) of the Act)
k) The results of the criminal historyrecords checks shall be maintained by the Department of Public Health's Health Care Worker Registry as long as the employee stays active on the Registry. (Section 33(e) of the Act)
l) A health care employeror long-term care facilitymay conditionally employ an applicant for up to three months pending the results of afingerprint-basedcriminal history records check required by the Act and this Part. During this time, the employee shall have adequate supervision, which is the type and frequency of supervision required to prevent abuse, neglect, or theft regarding patients, clients, or residents. (Section 33(l) of the Act)
m) The livescan vendors may act as the designee for individuals, educational entities, staffing agencies, workforce intermediaries, organizations that provide pro bono legal services, or health care employers in the collection of Department of State Police fees and deposit those fees into the State Police Services Fund. (Section 33(b) of the Act)
n) If the individual is not active on the Health Care Worker Registry, then the health care employer shall initiate a fingerprint-based criminal history record check required by the Act and this Part. (Section 33(g) of the Act)
o) If the Department of State Police notifies the Department of Public Health that an employee has a new conviction of a disqualifying offense, based upon fingerprints that were previously submitted, then:
p) The Health Care Worker Registry will indicate only those criminal convictions that are disqualifying under the Act. Nothing in this Part shall prohibit the health care employer from developing policies concerning employment of individuals whose criminal history records checks indicate convictions for offenses that are not disqualifying.