State of Illinois
92nd General Assembly
Legislation

   [ Search ]   [ PDF text ]   [ Legislation ]   
[ Home ]   [ Back ]   [ Bottom ]



92_HB5885

 
                                               LRB9215374EGfg

 1        AN ACT in relation to foster parents.

 2        Be  it  enacted  by  the People of the State of Illinois,
 3    represented in the General Assembly:


 4        Section 5.  The  Children  and  Family  Services  Act  is
 5    amended by adding Section 35.7 as follows:

 6        (20 ILCS 505/35.7 new)
 7        Sec. 35.7.  Foster parent rights and responsibilities.
 8        (a)  The General Assembly hereby finds and declares:
 9             (1)  Family  foster care is an essential service for
10        children and their families who have been  separated  due
11        to the tragedy of child abuse, neglect or dependency.
12             (2)  When  children  have  been separated from their
13        families, it is the responsibility of the  child  welfare
14        team  to  respond  to the needs of the children and their
15        families, including: providing protection and  nurturance
16        to  children  in a safe, healthy environment; meeting the
17        developmental and emotional needs of children,  including
18        maintaining  and promoting each child's cultural identity
19        and heritage; and working toward permanency for  children
20        by  connecting  them  to  safe,  nurturing  relationships
21        intended  to  last  a lifetime, preferably with their own
22        families.
23             (3)  Foster parents are an  essential  part  of  and
24        fulfill  an integral role on the child welfare team along
25        with children in care who are old enough  to  participate
26        in  planning  and  services, parents of children in care,
27        caseworkers, and other professionals  serving  the  child
28        and family.
29             (4)  By  providing  care for children and supporting
30        the attachment of children to their families in a  manner
 
                            -2-                LRB9215374EGfg
 1        sensitive  to each child's and family's unique needs, the
 2        foster parent serves  the  child,  the  family,  and  the
 3        community.
 4             (5)  In  order to successfully fulfill their role on
 5        the professional child welfare team, foster parents  must
 6        be committed to the goal of the child welfare program and
 7        provide  care  to children and promote the best interests
 8        of the children and families served.
 9             (6)  In order to achieve this goal it  is  necessary
10        to  understand  and  be  sensitive  to issues of culture,
11        ethnicity, religion, and  children's  connectedness  with
12        their families, and to maintain a level of care, conduct,
13        and   demeanor   that   is   consistent   with  the  high
14        professional ethics demanded of all other members of  the
15        child welfare team.
16        The  General  Assembly  finds  that  there  is  a need to
17    establish a public policy defining the role of foster parents
18    and hereby establishes  this  Statement  of  Foster  Parents'
19    Rights  and  Responsibilities which shall apply to all foster
20    parents in the State of Illinois, whether supervised  by  the
21    Department of Children and Family Services or an agency under
22    contract to the Department to provide foster care services.
23        (b)  The rights of foster parents include:
24             (1)  The  right  to be treated with dignity, respect
25        and consideration as a professional member of  the  child
26        welfare team.
27             (2)  The   right   to   be   provided   standardized
28        pre-service  training and appropriate ongoing training to
29        meet mutually  assessed  needs  and  improve  the  foster
30        parents' skills.
31             (3)  The  right  to be informed as to how to contact
32        the  appropriate  child  placement  agency  in  order  to
33        receive information and assistance to  access  supportive
34        services for children in their care.
 
                            -3-                LRB9215374EGfg
 1             (4)  The   right   to   receive   timely   financial
 2        reimbursement  commensurate  with  the  care needs of the
 3        child as specified in the service plan.
 4             (5)  The right  to  be  provided  a  clear,  written
 5        understanding of a placement agency's plan concerning the
 6        placement  of  a  child  in their home.  Inherent in this
 7        policy is the responsibility to support  activities  that
 8        will  promote the child's right to relationships with his
 9        own family and cultural heritage.
10             (6)  The right to be provided a  fair,  timely,  and
11        impartial investigation of licensing complaint issues and
12        be  provided  the  opportunity  to have a person of their
13        choosing  present  during  the  investigation   and   due
14        process;  the  right  to  be  provided the opportunity to
15        request and receive mediation or an administrative review
16        of decisions that affect licensing  parameters;  and  the
17        right to have decisions concerning a licensing corrective
18        action  plan  specifically  explained  and  tied  to  the
19        licensing standards violated.
20             (7)  The  right, at any time during which a child is
21        placed with the foster parent, to receive  additional  or
22        necessary information that is relevant to the care of the
23        child.
24             (8)  The  right to be notified of scheduled meetings
25        and staffings concerning the foster  child  in  order  to
26        actively   participate   in   the   case   planning   and
27        decision-making  process  regarding  the  child  in their
28        care, including  individual  service  planning  meetings,
29        administrative case reviews, interdisciplinary staffings,
30        and  individual  educational planning meetings; the right
31        to be informed of decisions made by  the  courts  or  the
32        agency  concerning  the  child;  the  right to have their
33        input on the plan of services  for  a  child  given  full
34        consideration in the same manner as information presented
 
                            -4-                LRB9215374EGfg
 1        by  any  other professional on the team; and the right to
 2        communicate with other professionals who  work  with  the
 3        foster  child  within  the context of the team, including
 4        therapists, physicians, and teachers.
 5             (9)  The right to  be  provided,  in  a  timely  and
 6        consistent  manner, with any information a caseworker has
 7        regarding the child  and  the  child's  family  which  is
 8        pertinent  to  the care and needs of the child and to the
 9        making of a permanency plan for the child.  Disclosure of
10        information concerning a child's family shall be  limited
11        to  that information which is essential for understanding
12        the needs of and providing care to the child in order  to
13        protect  the  rights  of  the  child's  family.   When  a
14        positive  relationship  exists between the foster parents
15        and the child's family, the child's family may consent to
16        disclosure of additional information.
17             (10)  The  right  to  be  given  reasonable  written
18        notice of any change in a child's case plan or  of  plans
19        to  terminate  the placement of the child with the foster
20        parent and of the reasons for the change  or  termination
21        in placement.  Such notice should only be waived in cases
22        of a court order or when the child is determined to be at
23        imminent risk of harm.
24             (11)  The  right  to  be  notified  in  a timely and
25        complete manner of all court hearings including the  date
26        and  time  of the court hearing, the name of the judge or
27        hearing officer hearing the case,  the  location  of  the
28        court  proceeding,  and  the  court  docket number of the
29        case, and the right to intervene in court proceedings  or
30        to seek mandamus under the Juvenile Court Act of 1987.
31             (12)  The  right  to  be  considered  as a placement
32        option when a foster child who was formerly  placed  with
33        the  foster  parents is to be re-entered into foster care
34        when such placement would be  consistent  with  the  best
 
                            -5-                LRB9215374EGfg
 1        interest of the child and other children in the home.
 2             (13)  The   right  to  have  timely  access  to  the
 3        existing appeals process with the child placement agency.
 4        The assertion of the access to appeal shall be free  from
 5        acts of harassment and retaliation.
 6             (14)  The  right to be informed of the Foster Parent
 7        Hotline established under this Act and all of the  rights
 8        accorded   to   foster   parents  concerning  reports  of
 9        misconduct by Department employees, service providers  or
10        contractors,  confidential handling of those reports, and
11        investigation by the Inspector General.
12        (c)  In recognition of the above rights,  foster  parents
13    also have the following responsibilities:
14             (1)  The  responsibility  to  openly communicate and
15        share information about the child with other  members  of
16        the child welfare team.
17             (2)  The     responsibility     to    respect    the
18        confidentiality of information concerning foster children
19        and  their  families   and   act   appropriately   within
20        applicable confidentiality laws and regulations.
21             (3)  The  responsibility to advocate for children in
22        their care.
23             (4)  The responsibility to treat children  in  their
24        care  and  their  families  with  dignity,  respect,  and
25        consideration.
26             (5)  The   responsibility  to  recognize  their  own
27        individual and familial strengths  and  limitations  when
28        deciding  whether  to accept a child into care, recognize
29        their own support needs, and utilize appropriate supports
30        in providing care for foster children.
31             (6)  The responsibility to be aware of the  benefits
32        of  relying  on and affiliating with other foster parents
33        and foster parent associations in improving  the  quality
34        of care and service to children and families.
 
                            -6-                LRB9215374EGfg
 1             (7)  The  responsibility  to  assess  their  ongoing
 2        individual  training  needs and take action to meet those
 3        needs.
 4             (8)  The responsibility to develop and assist in the
 5        implementation  of  strategies   to   prevent   placement
 6        disruptions,   to   recognize  the  traumatic  impact  of
 7        placement disruptions on a foster child and  all  members
 8        of  the  foster  family, and to provide emotional support
 9        for the foster child and members  of  the  foster  family
10        should   preventive   strategies   fail   and   placement
11        disruption occur.
12             (9)  The  responsibility  to  know the impact foster
13        parenting has on individuals  and  family  relationships,
14        and endeavor to minimize, as much as possible, any stress
15        that results from foster parenting.
16             (10)  The  responsibility  to  know  the rewards and
17        benefits to children, parents, families, and society that
18        come from foster parenting  and  to  promote  the  foster
19        parenting experience in a positive way.
20             (11)  The  responsibility  to know the role, rights,
21        and   responsibilities   of   foster    parents,    other
22        professionals in the child welfare system, the child, and
23        the child's own family.
24             (12)  The responsibility to know and as necessary to
25        fulfill   their   responsibility  to  serve  as  mandated
26        reporters of suspected child abuse or neglect  under  the
27        Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act; and to know the
28        child  welfare agency's policy regarding allegations that
29        foster parents have committed child abuse or neglect  and
30        applicable  administrative rules and procedures governing
31        investigations of such allegations.
32             (13)  The  responsibility  to   know   and   receive
33        training  regarding  the  purpose  of administrative case
34        reviews, client service plans, and  court  processes,  as
 
                            -7-                LRB9215374EGfg
 1        well  as  any filing or time requirements associated with
 2        these proceedings, and to actively participate  in  their
 3        designated roles in these proceedings.
 4             (14)  The  responsibility  to know the child welfare
 5        agency's appeal procedure  for  foster  parents  and  the
 6        rights of foster parents under the procedure.
 7             (15)  The  responsibility to know and understand the
 8        importance of maintaining accurate and  relevant  records
 9        regarding  the  child's history and progress and be aware
10        of and follow the procedures and regulations of the child
11        welfare agency by which they are licensed or  with  which
12        they are affiliated.
13             (16)  The   responsibility   to   share  information
14        through the child  welfare  team  regarding  the  child's
15        adjustment  in  their home with the subsequent caregiver,
16        whether  the  child's  parent   or   another   substitute
17        caregiver.
18             (17)  The   responsibility   to   provide  care  and
19        services that are respectful of  and  responsive  to  the
20        child's   cultural   needs  and  are  supportive  of  the
21        relationship between the child and his or her own family;
22        to recognize the increased importance  of  maintaining  a
23        child's cultural identity when the race or culture of the
24        foster  family differs from that of the foster child; and
25        to take action to address these issues.
26        (d)  The Department of Children and Family  Services  and
27    agencies  providing  foster care services under contract with
28    the Department shall  be  responsible  for  implementing  the
29    provisions  of this Section.  Annual plans for each region of
30    the Department  of  Children  and  Family  Services  and  its
31    contracted  agencies shall be developed for public review and
32    comment.   These  plans  shall  be  reviewed,  approved,  and
33    monitored by the Department's Foster Care Advisory  Committee
34    under rules developed by the Department.
 
                            -8-                LRB9215374EGfg
 1        (e)  Nothing in this Section shall be construed to create
 2    a  private  right of action or a judicially enforceable claim
 3    on the part of any individual or agency.

 4        Section 99. Effective date.  This Act takes  effect  upon
 5    becoming law.

[ Top ]