There are a lot of different kinds of abuse, including:

• Physical abuse, like hitting, pushing or kicking someone.
• Emotional abuse, like threatening, yelling at or being mean to someone.
• Sexual abuse, like forcing or tricking someone to do something sexual.
• Financial abuse, like taking someone’s money or things.
• Isolation, like stopping someone from talking to other people or getting help.

Neglect is not giving someone the care they need to be healthy or safe, including:

• Not taking someone to see a doctor if they are sick.
• Not giving someone enough food or not noticing if they lose a lot of weight.
• Not following plans to help keep someone safe.
• Leaving someone alone when there should be staff there.
• Not protecting someone when another person is abusing them.

When someone gets services from a private or state hospital, they have a right to help plan what their services will be. They also have a right to get the services that are in their plan. They have a right to have their basic rights and needs met. Some examples of poor quality services are:

• Not giving someone privacy.
• Not helping someone work on their goals.
• Not letting someone have visitors.
• Using restraint or forced medication when they shouldn’t (can also be abuse or neglect).

When staff at a private or state-run psychiatric hospital is abusive or neglects someone, it is important to report it as soon as possible.

For Private Psychiatric Hospitals:

The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) looks into abuse, neglect and financial exploitation of people at hospitals.

To report abuse or neglect, call the IDPH Hotline at 1-800-252-4343. IDPH must look into all cases where the victim is at risk of harm within 24 hours. IDPH should look into all reports of abuse or neglect within seven days and all other reports within 30 days.

IDPH’s hotline is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

For State-Run Psychiatric Hospitals:

The Office of the Inspector General for the Illinois Department of Human Services (OIG) looks into abuse, neglect and financial exploitation at state mental health centers.

To report abuse or neglect, call the OIG Hotline at 1-800-368-1463. OIG will look into it right away if the victim is at risk of harm. OIG may call other places to get services or help for the person, or tell the police. 

OIG’s hotline is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

For both hotlines, the person taking your call will ask you questions that can include:

• The victim’s name, address, telephone number, age, and condition
• The name of the person who did the abuse or neglect
• Details about what happened
• If the victim is in danger
• Names and contact information

Once they get the report, the hospital that serves the victim must try to protect them right away. If OIG thinks that abuse or neglect happened, the state-run hospital must stop the accused employees from having contact with the victim or other people in the program until the investigation is done.

If the person that did the abuse or neglect does not work for the hospital, and instead is a guardian, power of attorney or someone else in the community, you should call the Adult Protective Services (APS) Hotline at 1-866-800-1409. APS will visit the victim and may talk to other people and agencies. If APS thinks that abuse or neglect happened, it will work with the victim and others to help create a plan that can include services to help stop future abuse and neglect.

When someone gets poor quality services from a private or state-run psychiatric hospital there are a few places to call for help.

First, if you want to make a complaint against a doctor, a nurse or therapist, you should contact the Illinois Department of Professional Regulation. You can make an on-line complaint at https://idfpr.illinois.gov/admin/dpr/complaint.html, or use this form (https://idfpr.illinois.gov/content/dam/soi/en/web/idfpr/admin/dpr/f1717proreg.pdf) or write a letter and mail it to:

Department of Financial and Professional Regulation
Division of Professional Regulation
Complaint Intake Unit
555 West Monroe Street, 5th Floor
Chicago, IL 60661
Email:  FPR.CIU@illinois.gov
Phone: 1-312-814-6910

Second, hospitals have in internal complaint process. You can call the hospital’s patient help-line or “recovery specialist” to find out more information about how to make a complaint.

If you still have problems after calling the above two places, call Equip for Equality at 1-800-537-2632.

There are many things you can do for yourself or others for protection from harm.  

The following are some of the things that you can do:

Call the police: If someone is in danger, call 911.

Order of Protection: You can ask for an Order of Protection in court to protect yourself or others from abuse or neglect. Do this if a disability makes it hard to stop the problem and if a family or household member is the person doing the abuse or neglect. 

“Family or household members” are people related to the victim, people related to the victim’s spouse or former spouse, or someone the victim is or was dating. They are also people who live with or used to live with the victim. Personal assistants and caregivers of the victim are also “family or household members.” See Equip for Equality’s “Orders of Protection for People with Disabilities” fact sheet for more information.

Informal advocacy: People who abuse or neglect may be less likely to do that if someone else is around. Just having someone else help and make themselves known can help. Also, just knowing that someone is involved and giving help may result in more action being taken for the victim after a report has been made. If the person doing the harmful things is an employee where the victim lives, think about asking for that employee to be removed or replaced.