(a) All persons age 18 or older seeking admission to a nursing facility must be screened to determine the need for nursing facility services prior to being admitted, regardless of income, assets, or funding source. Screening for nursing facility services shall be administered through procedures established by administrative rule. Screening may be done by agencies other than the Department as established by administrative rule. This Section applies on and after July 1, 1996. No later than October 1, 2010, the Department of Healthcare and Family Services, in collaboration with the Department on Aging, the Department of Human Services, and the Department of Public Health, shall file administrative rules providing for the gathering, during the screening process, of information relevant to determining each person’s potential for placing other residents, employees, and visitors at risk of harm.
     (a-1) Any screening performed pursuant to subsection (a) of this Section shall include a determination of whether any person is being considered for admission to a nursing facility due to a need for mental health services. For a person who needs mental health services, the screening shall also include an evaluation of whether there is permanent supportive housing, or an array of community mental health services, including but not limited to supported housing, assertive community treatment, and peer support services, that would enable the person to live in the community. The person shall be told about the existence of any such services that would enable the person to live safely and humanely and about available appropriate nursing home services that would enable the person to live safely and humanely, and the person shall be given the assistance necessary to avail himself or herself of any available services.
     (a-2) Pre-screening for persons with a serious mental illness shall be performed by a psychiatrist, a psychologist, a registered nurse certified in psychiatric nursing, a licensed clinical professional counselor, or a licensed clinical social worker, who is competent to (i) perform a clinical assessment of the individual, (ii) certify a diagnosis, (iii) make a determination about the individual’s current need for treatment, including substance abuse treatment, and recommend specific treatment, and (iv) determine whether a facility or a community-based program is able to meet the needs of the individual.
     For any person entering a nursing facility, the pre-screening agent shall make specific recommendations about what care and services the individual needs to receive, beginning at admission, to attain or maintain the individual’s highest level of independent functioning and to live in the most integrated setting appropriate for his or her physical and personal care and developmental and mental health needs. These recommendations shall be revised as appropriate by the pre-screening or re-screening agent based on the results of resident review and in response to changes in the resident’s wishes, needs, and interest in transition.
     Upon the person entering the nursing facility, the Department of Human Services or its designee shall assist the person in establishing a relationship with a community mental health agency or other appropriate agencies in order to (i) promote the person’s transition to independent living and (ii) support the person’s progress in meeting individual goals.
     (a-3) The Department of Human Services, by rule, shall provide for a prohibition on conflicts of interest for pre-admission screeners. The rule shall provide for waiver of those conflicts by the Department of Human Services if the Department of Human Services determines that a scarcity of qualified pre-admission screeners exists in a given community and that, absent a waiver of conflicts, an insufficient number of pre-admission screeners would be available. If a conflict is waived, the pre-admission screener shall disclose the conflict of interest to the screened individual in the manner provided for by rule of the Department of Human Services. For the purposes of this subsection, a “conflict of interest” includes, but is not limited to, the existence of a professional or financial relationship between (i) a PAS-MH corporate or a PAS-MH agent and (ii) a community provider or long-term care facility.
     (b) In addition to the screening required by subsection (a), a facility, except for those licensed under the MC/DD Act, shall, within 24 hours after admission, request a criminal history background check pursuant to the Illinois Uniform Conviction Information Act for all persons age 18 or older seeking admission to the facility, unless (i) a background check was initiated by a hospital pursuant to subsection (d) of § 6.09 of the Hospital Licensing Act or a pre-admission background check was conducted by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs 30 days prior to admittance into an Illinois Veterans Home; (ii) the transferring resident is immobile; or (iii) the transferring resident is moving into hospice. The exemption provided in item (ii) or (iii) of this subsection (b) shall apply only if a background check was completed by the facility the resident resided at prior to seeking admission to the facility and the resident was transferred to the facility with no time passing during which the resident was not institutionalized. If item (ii) or (iii) of this subsection (b) applies, the prior facility shall provide a copy of its background check of the resident and all supporting documentation, including, when applicable, the criminal history report and the security assessment, to the facility to which the resident is being transferred. Background checks conducted pursuant to this Section shall be based on the resident’s name, date of birth, and other identifiers as required by the Illinois State Police. If the results of the background check are inconclusive, the facility shall initiate a fingerprint-based check, unless the fingerprint check is waived by the Director of Public Health based on verification by the facility that the resident is completely immobile or that the resident meets other criteria related to the resident’s health or lack of potential risk which may be established by Departmental rule. A waiver issued pursuant to this Section shall be valid only while the resident is immobile or while the criteria supporting the waiver exist. The facility shall provide for or arrange for any required fingerprint-based checks to be taken on the premises of the facility. If a fingerprint-based check is required, the facility shall arrange for it to be conducted in a manner that is respectful of the resident’s dignity and that minimizes any emotional or physical hardship to the resident.
     (c) If the results of a resident’s criminal history background check reveal that the resident is an identified offender as defined in Section 1-114.01, the facility shall do the following:
         (1) Immediately notify the Illinois State Police, in