Contact: Kevin Kavanaugh Director of Public Affairs (773) 478-6613 kkavanaugh@nursinghome.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 20, 2005

Illinois Council on Long Term Care Develops Action Plan 
for Sex Offenders Living in Nursing Homes

Council Also Working with Attorney General’s Office on New State Legislation to Promote Resident and Community Safety

(CHICAGO) – To maximize nursing home resident safety and protect citizens in surrounding communities, the Illinois Council on Long Term Care, an association of nursing home professionals, has unveiled a new action plan for sex offenders and other offenders on parole or probation who are living in nursing homes. The Illinois Council also is working with the Attorney General’s office on new legislation that will incorporate the recommendations from this new action plan. 

“The Illinois Council is committed to working collaboratively with all interested parties in addressing this challenging issue,” said Terrence Sullivan, executive director of the Illinois Council on Long Term Care. “We are dealing with this important topic seriously and deliberatively. The Illinois Council has and will continue to work with the Attorney General, state agencies, senior organizations and other providers to protect the 100,000 residents living in Illinois nursing homes. Ensuring a safe and secure environment is our highest priority."

By law, convicted sex offenders have the right to receive needed long-term medical and psychiatric care services. The challenge for state policymakers is: How and where do you care for the offenders who need specialized treatment? For more than a year, the Illinois nursing home community has been working proactively with a task force of advocates and state agencies to address this difficult issue.

Since this task force began, communication among state agencies has greatly improved and convicted sex offenders in nursing homes are now more closely monitored. Yet, the Illinois Council believes that much more can and needs to be done to promote resident safety and protect local communities. 

According to the Illinois Council’s action plan:

• No nursing home should admit a sex offender or other offenders on parole or probation unless they are able to provide needed specialized treatment. If the home provides specialized treatment, it must have the means to protect other residents;
  
  
• Only a few select nursing homes identified by the state should specialize in providing the appropriate medical and psychiatric care for sex offenders and others on parole or probation. These facilities should be certified by the state and should be required to follow strict regulations for the treatment of sex offenders and the protection of all residents;
  
  
• Sex offenders and others on parole or probation that are currently residing in nursing homes around the state should be moved to the certified, regulated facilities that can specialize in the care and treatment they need;
  
  
• The Department of Public Health should establish a series of regulations requiring these specialized homes to do a complete risk assessment of sex offenders and others on parole or probation, a comprehensive care plan, a treatment plan addressing their previous conviction issues, special staff training programs, and security measures to protect all residents;
  
  
• Those nursing homes specializing in the treatment of sex offenders and others on parole or probation should be entitled to all prior information on the identified offenders from the Department of Corrections, so appropriate care and treatment can be planned and delivered;
  
  
• The state nursing home screening agencies should check the sex offenders registry and the Department of Corrections parolee list on every nursing home resident prior to admission, so none of the identified offenders is admitted to a nursing home without the prior knowledge of the state, Department of Corrections or the nursing home;
  
  
• All nursing homes should check the sex offenders registry and the Department of Corrections parolee/probation list on all of their current residents, to ensure that none of the identified offenders were admitted without the knowledge of the nursing home; and
  
  
• If a nursing home admits sex offenders or others on parole or probation, the other residents, as well as the chief of police or sheriff in the county in which the facility is located, should be notified.

The Illinois Council believes that these action steps will make a profound difference in promoting resident safety and protecting local communities.

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Editor’s Note: To interview Terrence Sullivan, author of the Illinois Council’s new action plan, please contact Kevin Kavanaugh at 773/478-6613.