Public Act 0638 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB4425 Enrolled LRB099 15994 KTG 40311 b

Public Act 099-0638

AN ACT concerning children.

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

Section 5. The Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act is amended by adding Section 4.4b as follows:

(325 ILCS 5/4.4b new)

Sec. 4.4b. Department of Children and Family Services' duty to report to a Department of Defense Family Advocacy Program. Whenever the Department receives, by means of its statewide toll-free telephone number established under Section 7.6 for the purpose of reporting suspected child abuse or neglect or by any other means or from any mandated reporter under Section 4 of this Act, a report of suspected abuse or neglect of a child and the child's parent or guardian is named in the report as the alleged perpetrator of the child abuse or neglect, the Department shall make efforts as soon as practicable to determine the military status of the parent or guardian. If the Department determines that the parent or guardian is a service member, the Department shall notify the geographically closest Department of Defense Family Advocacy Program within the State that there is an allegation of abuse or neglect against the parent or guardian that is open for investigation. If the Department determines that a person or guardian is a member of the Illinois National Guard, the Department shall also notify the Office of the Adjutant General that there is an allegation of abuse or neglect against the parent or guardian that is open for investigation.

As used in this Section, "service member" means an Illinois resident who is a member of any component of the United States Armed Forces, including the Illinois National Guard or any reserve component of the United States Armed Forces.