Section 300.20  Definitions

 

            "Abused child" means a child whose parent or immediate family member, or any person responsible for the child's welfare, or any individual residing in the same home as the child, or a paramour of the child's parent:

 

            inflicts, causes to be inflicted, or allows to be inflicted upon such child physical or mental injury, by other than accidental means, which causes death, disfigurement, impairment of physical or emotional health, or loss or impairment of any bodily function;

 

            creates a substantial risk of physical or mental injury to such child by other than accidental means which would be likely to cause death, disfigurement, impairment of physical or emotional health, or loss of or impairment of any bodily function;

 

            commits or allows to be committed any sex offense against such child, as such sex offenses are defined in the Criminal Code of 1961, as amended, and extending those definitions of sex offenses to include children under 18 years of age;

 

            commits or allows to be committed an act or acts of torture upon such child;

 

            inflicts excessive corporal punishment; or

 

            commits or allows to be committed the offense of female genital mutilation, as defined in Section 12-34 of the Criminal Code of 1961, against the child. [325 ILCS 5/3]

 

"Act" means the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act [325 ILCS 5].

 

"CANTS/SACWIS 8" or "C/S8" means the Department's document titled Notification of a Report of Suspected Child Abuse and/or Neglect. This document explains the Department's child abuse/neglect allegation investigation process.

 

"CANTS/SACWIS 9" or "C/S9" means the Department's document titled Notification of Intent to Indicate Child Care Worker for Report of Child Abuse and/or Neglect. This document is used to notify a person that the Department plans to indicate that person as a perpetrator of child abuse/neglect.

 

"CANTS/SACWIS 10" or "C/S10" means the Department's document titled Notice of Intent to Indicate a Child Care Worker for Report of Child Abuse and/or Neglect-Questions and Answers. This is an informational document explaining the impact of a determination of indicated child abuse/neglect and the appeal process.

 

"CANTS/SACWIS 11" or "C/S11" means the Department's document titled Notification of Indicated Decision in an Employment Related Report of Suspected Child Abuse and/or Neglect. This is the document by which the Department notifies a person that the Department has determined that there is credible evidence that he or she is responsible for the child abuse or neglect described in that document.

 

            "Caregiver" means the child's parents, guardian, custodian or relative with whom the child lives and who has primary responsibility for the care and supervision of the child.

 

            "Child" means any person under the age of 18 years, unless legally emancipated by reason of marriage or entry into a branch of the United States armed services.

 

            "Child care facility" means any person, group of persons, agency, association or organization, whether established for gain or otherwise, who or which receives or arranges for care or placement of one or more children, unrelated to the operator of the facility, apart from the parents, with or without the transfer of the right of custody in any facility as defined in the Child Care Act of 1969, established and maintained for the care of children. Child care facility includes a relative who is licensed as a foster family home under Section 4 of the Child Care Act of 1969. [225 ILCS 10/2.05]

 

"Child care worker" means any person who is employed to work directly with children and any person who is an owner/operator of a child care facility, regardless of whether the facility is licensed by the Department. Child care facilities, for purposes of this definition, include child care institutions; child welfare agencies; day care/night care centers; day care/night care homes; day care/night care group day care homes; group homes; hospitals or health care facilities; schools, including school teachers and administrators, but not tenured school teachers or administrators who have other disciplinary processes available to them; and before and after school programs, recreational programs and summer camps. "Child care worker" also means persons employed as full-time nannies. A child care worker may, at his or her discretion, be subject to this Part if alleged to be responsible for child abuse or neglect outside of his or her employment. "Child care worker" includes a person: currently employed as a child care worker; currently enrolled in an academic program that leads to a position as a child care worker; or who has applied for a license required for a child care worker position.  A person will be considered to be "employed as a child care worker" under this Part if, at the time of the notice of the investigation, he or she: has applied for, or will apply within 180 days for, a position as a child care worker; is enrolled in, or will commence within 180 days, an academic program that leads to a position as a child care worker; or has applied for a license as a child care worker.  

 

            "Child Protective Service Unit" (CPS) means certain specialized State employees of the Department assigned by the Director or his or her designee to perform the duties and responsibilities described  under this Part. CPS staff is also referred to as investigative staff.  [325 ILCS 5/3]

 

            "Children for whom the Department is legally responsible" means children for whom the Department has temporary protective custody, custody or guardianship via court order, or children whose parents have signed an adoptive surrender or voluntary placement agreement with the Department.

 

"CPSW" means a Child Protective Service Worker.

 

            "Collateral contact" means obtaining information concerning a child, parent, or other person responsible for the child from a person who has knowledge of the family situation but was not directly involved in referring the child or family to the Department for services.

 

            "Credible evidence of child abuse or neglect" means that the available facts, when viewed in light of surrounding circumstances, would cause a reasonable person to believe that a child was abused or neglected.

 

            "Delegation of an investigation" means the investigation of a report of child abuse or neglect has been deferred to another authority.  The Department maintains responsibility for determining whether the report is indicated or unfounded, entering information about the report in the State Central Register and notifying the subjects of the report and mandated reporters of the results of the investigation.

 

            "Department" or "DCFS" means the Department of Children and Family Services.

 

            "Determination" means a final Department decision about whether there is credible evidence that child abuse or neglect occurred.  A determination must be either "indicated" or "unfounded."

 

            "Disfigurement" means a serious or protracted blemish, scar, or deformity that spoils a person's appearance or limits bodily functions.

 

            "Formal investigation" means those activities conducted by Department investigative staff necessary to make a determination as to whether a report of suspected child abuse or neglect is indicated or unfounded.  Those activities shall include:  an evaluation of the environment of the child named in the report and any other children in the same environment; a determination of the risk to such children if they continue to remain in the existing environments, as well as a determination of the nature, extent and cause of any condition enumerated in such report, the name, age and condition of other children in the environment; and an evaluation as to whether there would be an immediate and urgent necessity to remove the child from the environment if appropriate family preservation services were provided. After seeing to the safety of the child or children, the Department shall forthwith notify the subjects of the report, in writing, of the existence of the report and their rights existing under the Act in regard to amendment or expungement.  [325 ILCS 5/3]

 

            "Godparent" is a person who sponsors a child at baptism or one in whom the parents have entrusted a special duty that includes assisting in raising a child if the parent cannot raise the child.  The worker shall verify the godparent/godchild relationship by contacting the parents to confirm the fact that they did, in fact, designate the person as the godparent.  If the parents are unavailable, the worker should contact other close family members to verify the relationship.  If the person is considered to be the child's godparent, in order for placement to occur, the same placement selection criteria as contained in 89 Ill. Adm. Code 301.60  (Placement Selection) must be met.  If the godparent is not a licensed foster parent, all the conditions currently in effect for placement with relatives in 89 Ill. Adm. Code 301.80 must be met.

 

            "Indicated report" means any report of child abuse or neglect made to the Department for which it is determined, after an investigation, that credible evidence of the alleged abuse or neglect exists.

 

            "Initial investigation" means those activities conducted by Department investigative staff to determine whether a report of suspected child abuse or neglect is a good faith indication of abuse or neglect and, therefore, requires a formal investigation.  Good faith in this context means that the report was made with the honest intention to identify actual child abuse or neglect.

 

            "Initial oral report" means a report alleging child abuse or neglect for which the State Central Register has no prior records on the family.

 

            "Involved subject" means a child who is the alleged victim of child abuse or neglect or a person who is the alleged perpetrator of the child abuse or neglect.

 

            "Local law enforcement agency" means the police of a city, town, village or other incorporated area or the sheriff of an unincorporated area or any sworn officer of the Illinois Department of State Police.

 

            "Mandated reporters" means those individuals required to report suspected child abuse or neglect to the Department.  A list of these persons and their associated responsibilities is provided in Section 300.30 of this Part.

 

            "Member of the clergy" means a clergyman or practitioner of any religious denomination accredited by the religious body to which he or she belongs.  [325 ILCS 5/3]

 

            "Neglected child" means any child who is not receiving the proper or necessary nourishment or medically indicated treatment including food or care not provided solely on the basis of present or anticipated mental or physical impairment as determined by a physician acting alone or in consultation with other physicians or otherwise is not receiving the proper or necessary support, or medical or other remedial care recognized under State law as necessary for a child's well-being (including where there is harm or substantial risk of harm to the child's health or welfare), or other care necessary for a child's well-being, including adequate food, clothing and shelter; or who is abandoned by his or her parents or other person responsible for the child's welfare without a proper plan of care; or who is a newborn infant whose blood, urine or meconium contains any amount of controlled substance as defined in subsection (f) of Section 102 of the Illinois Controlled Substances Act or a metabolite thereof, with the exception of a controlled substance or metabolite thereof whose presence in the newborn infant is the result of medical treatment administered to the mother or newborn infant. A child shall not be considered neglected for the sole reason that the child's parent or other person responsible for his or her welfare has left the child in the care of an adult relative for any period of time. A child shall not be considered neglected or abused for the sole reason that such child's parent or other person responsible for his or her welfare depends upon spiritual means through prayer alone for the treatment or cure of disease or remedial care under Section 4 of the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act. Where the circumstances indicate harm or substantial risk of harm to the child's health or welfare and necessary medical care is not being provided to treat or prevent that harm or risk of harm because such parent or other person responsible for the child's welfare depends upon spiritual means alone for treatment or cure, such child is subject to the requirements of this Act for the reporting of, investigation of, and provision of protective services with respect to such child and his health needs, and in such cases spiritual means through prayer alone for the treatment or cure of disease or for remedial care will not be recognized as a substitute for such necessary medical care, if the Department or, as necessary, a juvenile court determines that medical care is necessary. A child shall not be considered neglected or abused solely because the child is not attending school in accordance with the requirements of Article 26 of the School Code. [325 ILCS 5/3]

 

            "Perpetrator" means a person who, as a result of investigation, has been determined by the Department to have caused child abuse or neglect.

 

            "Person responsible for the child's welfare" means the child's parent, guardian, foster parent, relative caregiver, an operator, supervisor, or employee of a public or private residential agency or institution or public or private profit or not-for-profit child care facility; or any other person responsible for the child's welfare at the time of the alleged abuse or neglect, or any person who came to know the child through an official capacity or position of trust, including but not limited to health care professionals, educational personnel, recreational supervisors, members of the clergy and volunteers or support personnel in any setting where children may be subject to abuse or neglect. [325 ILCS 5/3]

 

            "Private guardianship" means an individual person appointed by the court to assume the responsibilities of the guardianship of the person as defined in Section 1-3 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 [705 ILCS 405/1-3] or Article XI of the Probate Act of 1975 [755 ILCS 5/Art. XI].

 

            "Relative", for purposes of placement of children for whom the Department is legally responsible, means any person, 21 years of age or over, other than the parent, who:

 

            is currently related to the child in any of the following ways by blood or adoption:  grandparent, sibling, great-grandparent, uncle, aunt, nephew, niece, first cousin, first cousin once removed (children of one's first cousin to oneself), second cousin (children of first cousins are second cousins to each other), godparent (as defined in this Section), great-uncle, or great-aunt, or

 

            is the spouse of such a relative, or

 

            is the child's step-father, step-mother, or adult step-brother or step-sister.

 

            Relative also includes a person related in any of the foregoing ways to a sibling of a child, even though the person is not related to the child, when the child and its sibling are placed together with that person. [20 ILCS 505/7(b)]

 

"State Central Registry" is the record of child abuse and/or neglect reports maintained by the Department pursuant to the Act.

 

            "Subject of a report" means any child reported to the child abuse/neglect State Central Register, and his or her parent, personal guardian or other person responsible for the child's welfare who is named in the report.

 

            "Temporary protective custody" means custody within a hospital or other medical facility or a place previously designated by the Department, subject to review by the Court.  Temporary protective custody cannot exceed 48 hours excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays.

 

            "Undetermined report" means any report of child abuse or neglect made to the Department in which it was not possible to complete an investigation within 60 days on the basis of information provided to the Department.

 

            "Unfounded report" means any report of child abuse or neglect for which it is determined, after an investigation, that no credible evidence of the alleged abuse or neglect exists.

 

(Source:  Amended by peremptory rulemaking at 29 Ill. Reg. 21065, effective December 8, 2005)