Illinois § 45

§ 45.

Prohibition against double payment; recordkeeping; payment recapture. (a) If any funeral and burial expenses are paid under this Act, no award for such assistance shall be granted to any party in relation to funeral and burial expenses for the same child victim under the Crime Victims Compensation Act or the Department of Human Services Funeral and Burial Benefits Program. (b) No person or entity receiving assistance under this Act shall receive or retain a duplicate award for funeral and burial expenses for a child victim from any State agency or agencies. For the purposes of this Section, a duplicate award is one that results in a total award from the State for the cost of funeral and burial expenses for a child victim in excess of that authorized by the Department. To prevent such duplicate awards, the Department shall maintain an electronic record of each disbursement to a funeral establishment or cemetery authority and provide access to such records to any State agency providing funeral or burial assistance to Illinois residents. (c) The Department is authorized to contract with third-party entities to conduct payment recapture audits to detect and recapture payments made in error or as a result of fraud or abuse. A payment recapture audit shall include the process of identifying improper payments paid to a funeral establishment or cemetery authority or to an eligible survivor whereby accounting specialists examine payment records and uncover duplicate payments, payments for services not rendered, overpayments, payments for unauthorized services, and fictitious vendors. This audit may include the use of professional and specialized auditors on a contingency basis, with compensation tied to the identification of misspent funds. (Source: P.A. 102-754, eff. 5-10-22.)