(750 ILCS 50/6) (from Ch. 40, par. 1508)
Sec. 6. A. Investigation; all cases. Within 10 days after the filing of
a petition for the adoption or standby adoption of a child other than a related
child, the
court shall appoint a child welfare agency approved by the Department of
Children and Family Services, or a person deemed competent by the court, or
in
Cook County the Court Services Division of the Cook County Department of
Public Aid, or the Department of Children and Family Services if the court
determines that no child welfare agency is available or that the petitioner
is financially unable to pay for the investigation, to investigate
accurately, fully and promptly, the allegations contained in the petition;
the character, reputation, health and general standing in the community of
the petitioners; the religious faith of the petitioners and, if
ascertainable, of the child sought to be adopted; and whether the
petitioners are proper persons to adopt the child and whether the child is
a proper subject of adoption. The investigation required under this Section
shall include a fingerprint based criminal background check with a review
of fingerprints by the Illinois State Police and Federal Bureau of
Investigation.
Each petitioner subject to this investigation, shall submit his or her
fingerprints to the
Illinois State Police in the form and manner prescribed by the Illinois State Police. These fingerprints shall be checked against the fingerprint records
now and hereafter filed in the Illinois State Police and Federal Bureau of Investigation criminal history records
databases. The Illinois State Police shall charge
a fee for conducting the criminal history records check, which shall be
deposited in the State Police Services Fund and shall not exceed the actual
cost of the records check.
The criminal background check required by
this Section shall include a listing of when, where and by whom the criminal
background check was prepared. The criminal background check required by this
Section shall not be more than two years old.
Neither a clerk of the circuit court nor a judge may require that a
criminal
background check or fingerprint review be filed with, or at the same time as,
an initial petition for adoption.
B. Investigation; foreign-born child. In the case of a child born
outside the United States or a territory thereof, in addition to the
investigation required under subsection (A) of this Section, a
post-placement investigation shall be conducted in accordance with the
requirements of the Child Care Act of 1969, the Interstate Compact on the
Placement of Children, and the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000.
The requirements of a post-placement investigation shall be deemed to
have been satisfied if a valid final order or judgment of adoption has
been entered by a court of competent jurisdiction in a country other than
the United States or a territory thereof with respect to such child and
the petitioners.
C. Report of investigation. The court shall determine whether the costs of
the investigation shall be charged to the petitioners. The information obtained
as a result of such investigation shall be presented to the court in a written
report. The results of the criminal background check required under subsection
(A) shall be provided to the court for its review. The court may, in its
discretion, weigh the significance of the results of the criminal background
check against the entirety of the background of the petitioners. The Court, in
its discretion, may accept the report of the investigation previously made by a
licensed child welfare agency, if made within one year prior to the entry of
the judgment. Such report shall be treated as confidential and withheld from
inspection unless findings adverse to the petitioners or to the child sought to
be adopted are contained therein, and in that event the court shall inform the
petitioners of the relevant portions pertaining to the adverse findings. In no
event shall any facts set forth in the report be considered at the hearing of
the proceeding, unless established by competent evidence. The report shall be
filed with the record of the proceeding. If the file relating to the
proceeding is not impounded, the report shall be impounded by the clerk of the
court and shall be made available for inspection only upon order of the court.
D. Related adoption. Such investigation shall not be made when the
petition seeks to adopt a related child or an adult unless the court, in
its discretion, shall so order. In such an event the court may appoint a
person deemed competent by the court.
(Source: P.A. 102-538, eff. 8-20-21.)
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