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HB0616 Engrossed |
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LRB095 05209 DRJ 25283 b |
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| AN ACT concerning children.
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| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| represented in the General Assembly:
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| Section 2. The Child Death Review Team Act is amended by |
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| changing Sections 20 and 40 as follows:
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| (20 ILCS 515/20)
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| Sec. 20. Reviews of child deaths.
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| (a) Every child death shall be reviewed by the team in the |
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| subregion which
has
primary case management responsibility. |
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| The deceased child must be one of the
following:
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| (1) A ward of the Department.
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| (2) The subject of an open service case maintained by |
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| the Department.
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| (3) The subject of a pending child abuse or neglect |
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| investigation.
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| (4) A child who was the subject of an abuse or neglect |
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| investigation at
any time
during the 12 months preceding |
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| the child's death.
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| (5) Any other child whose death is reported to the |
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| State central
register as a result of alleged child abuse |
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| or neglect which report is
subsequently indicated.
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| A child death review team may, at its discretion, review |
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| other sudden,
unexpected, or unexplained child deaths.
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HB0616 Engrossed |
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LRB095 05209 DRJ 25283 b |
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| (b) A child death review team's purpose in conducting |
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| reviews of child
deaths
is to do the following:
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| (1) Assist in determining the cause and manner of the |
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| child's death, when
requested.
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| (2) Evaluate means by which the death might have been |
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| prevented.
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| (3) Report its findings to appropriate agencies and |
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| make recommendations
that may help to reduce the number of |
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| child deaths caused by abuse or neglect.
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| (4) Promote continuing education for professionals |
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| involved in
investigating, treating, and preventing child |
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| abuse and neglect as a means of
preventing child deaths due |
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| to abuse or neglect.
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| (5) Make specific recommendations to the Director and |
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| the Inspector
General of the Department concerning the |
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| prevention of child deaths due to
abuse or neglect and the |
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| establishment of protocols for investigating child
deaths.
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| (c) A child death review team shall review a child death as |
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| soon as
practical and not later than
90 days following
the
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| completion by the Department of the investigation of the death |
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| under the
Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act. When there |
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| has been no investigation
by the Department, the child death |
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| review team shall review a child's death
within 90 days after |
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| obtaining the information necessary to complete the review
from |
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| the coroner, pathologist, medical examiner, or law enforcement |
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| agency,
depending on the nature of the case. A child death
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LRB095 05209 DRJ 25283 b |
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| review
team shall meet at
least once in
each calendar quarter.
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| (d) The Director shall, within 90 days, review and reply to |
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| recommendations
made by a team under
item (5) of
subsection |
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| (b). With respect to each recommendation made by a team, the |
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| Director shall submit his or her reply both to the chairperson |
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| of that team and to the chairperson of the Executive Council. |
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| The Director's reply to each recommendation must include a |
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| statement as to whether the Director intends to implement the |
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| recommendation. |
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| The Director shall implement recommendations as feasible |
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| and
appropriate and shall respond in writing to explain the |
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| implementation or
nonimplementation of the recommendations. |
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| (e) Within 90 days after the Director submits a reply with |
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| respect to a recommendation as required by subsection (d), the |
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| Director must submit an additional report that sets forth in |
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| detail the way, if any, in which the Director will implement |
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| the recommendation and the schedule for implementing the |
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| recommendation. The Director shall submit this report to the |
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| chairperson of the team that made the recommendation and to the |
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| chairperson of the Executive Council. |
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| (f) Within 180 days after the Director submits a report |
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| under subsection (e) concerning the implementation of a |
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| recommendation, the Director shall submit a further report to |
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| the chairperson of the team that made the recommendation and to |
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| the chairperson of the Executive Council. This report shall set |
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| forth the specific changes in the Department's policies and |
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HB0616 Engrossed |
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LRB095 05209 DRJ 25283 b |
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| procedures that have been made in response to the |
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| recommendation.
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| (Source: P.A. 90-239, eff. 7-28-97; 90-608, eff. 6-30-98.)
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| (20 ILCS 515/40)
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| Sec. 40. Illinois Child Death Review Teams Executive |
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| Council.
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| (a) The Illinois Child Death Review Teams Executive |
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| Council, consisting of
the
chairpersons of the 9 child death |
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| review teams in Illinois, is the coordinating
and
oversight |
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| body for child death review teams and activities in Illinois. |
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| The
vice-chairperson of a child death review team, as |
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| designated by the
chairperson, may
serve
as a back-up member or |
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| an alternate member of the Executive Council, if the
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| chairperson of the child death review team is unavailable to |
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| serve on the
Executive Council. The Inspector General of the |
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| Department, ex officio, is a
non-voting member of the Executive |
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| Council. The Director may
appoint to the Executive Council any
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| ex-officio members deemed necessary. Persons with
expertise |
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| needed by the Executive Council may be invited to meetings. The
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| Executive Council must select from its members a chairperson |
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| and a
vice-chairperson, each
to serve a 2-year, renewable term.
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| The Executive Council must meet at least 4 times during |
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| each calendar year. At each such meeting, in addition to any |
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| other matters under consideration, the Executive Council shall |
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| review all replies and reports received from the Director |
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LRB095 05209 DRJ 25283 b |
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| pursuant to subsections (d), (e), and (f) of Section 20 since |
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| the Executive Council's previous meeting. The Executive |
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| Council's review must include consideration of the Director's |
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| proposed manner of and schedule for implementing each |
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| recommendation made by a child death review team.
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| (b) The Department must provide or arrange for the staff |
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| support necessary
for the
Executive Council to carry out its |
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| duties.
The Director, in cooperation and consultation with the |
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| Executive Council, shall
appoint, reappoint, and remove team |
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| members.
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| (c) The Executive Council has, but is not limited to, the |
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| following duties:
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| (1) To serve as the voice of child death review teams |
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| in Illinois.
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| (2) To oversee the regional teams in order to ensure |
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| that the teams' work
is
coordinated and in compliance with |
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| the statutes and the operating protocol.
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| (3) To ensure that the data, results, findings, and |
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| recommendations of the
teams are
adequately used to make |
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| any necessary changes in the policies, procedures, and
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| statutes in order to protect children in a timely manner.
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| (4) To collaborate with the General Assembly, the |
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| Department, and others
in order to
develop any legislation |
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| needed to prevent child fatalities and to protect
children.
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| (5) To assist in the development of quarterly and |
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| annual reports based on
the work
and the findings of the |
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HB0616 Engrossed |
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LRB095 05209 DRJ 25283 b |
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| teams.
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| (6) To ensure that the regional teams' review processes |
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| are standardized
in order to
convey data, findings, and |
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| recommendations in a usable format.
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| (7) To serve as a link with child death review teams |
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| throughout the
country and to
participate in national child |
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| death review team activities.
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| (8) To develop an annual statewide symposium to update |
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| the knowledge and
skills of
child death review team members |
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| and to promote the exchange of information
between teams.
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| (9) To provide the child death review teams with the |
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| most current
information and practices concerning child |
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| death review and related topics.
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| (10) To perform any other functions necessary to |
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| enhance the capability of
the child death review teams to |
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| reduce and prevent child injuries and
fatalities.
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| (c-5) The Executive Council shall prepare an annual report. |
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| The report must include, but need not be limited to, (i) each |
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| recommendation made by a child death review team pursuant to |
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| item (5) of subsection (b) of Section 20 during the period |
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| covered by the report, (ii) the Director's proposed schedule |
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| for implementing each such recommendation, and (iii) a |
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| description of the specific changes in the Department's |
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| policies and procedures that have been made in response to the |
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| recommendation. The Executive Council shall send a copy of its |
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| annual report to each of the following: |
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HB0616 Engrossed |
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LRB095 05209 DRJ 25283 b |
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| (1) The Governor. |
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| (2) Each member of the Senate or the House of |
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| Representatives whose legislative district lies wholly or |
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| partly within the region covered by any child death review |
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| team whose recommendation is addressed in the annual |
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| report. |
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| (3) Each member of each child death review team in the |
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| State.
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| (d) In any instance when a child death review team does not |
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| operate in
accordance with
established protocol, the Director, |
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| in consultation and cooperation
with the Executive Council,
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| must take any necessary actions to bring the team into |
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| compliance
with the
protocol.
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| (Source: P.A. 92-468, eff. 8-22-01.)
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| Section 5. The Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act is |
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| amended by changing Section 4.2 as follows:
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| (325 ILCS 5/4.2)
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| Sec. 4.2. Departmental report on death or serious |
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| life-threatening injury of child.
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| (a) In the case of the death or serious life-threatening |
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| injury of a child whose care and custody or custody
and |
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| guardianship has been transferred to the Department, or in the |
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| case
of a child abuse or neglect report made to the central |
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| register involving the
death of a child, the
Department shall |
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HB0616 Engrossed |
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LRB095 05209 DRJ 25283 b |
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| (i) investigate or provide for an investigation of the cause
of |
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| and circumstances surrounding the death or serious |
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| life-threatening injury , (ii) review the investigation,
and |
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| (iii) prepare and issue a report on the death or serious |
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| life-threatening injury .
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| (b) The report shall include (i) the cause of death or |
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| serious life-threatening injury , whether from natural
or other |
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| causes, (ii) identification of child protective or other |
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| services
provided or actions taken regarding the child and his |
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| or her family, (iii) any
extraordinary or pertinent information |
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| concerning the circumstances of the
child's death or serious |
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| life-threatening injury , (iii) identification of child |
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| protective or other social services provided or actions taken |
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| regarding the child or his or her family at the time of the |
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| death or serious life-threatening injury or within the |
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| preceding 5 years, (iv) whether the child or the child's family |
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| had received
assistance, care, or services from the social |
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| services district prior to the
child's death, (v) any action or |
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| further investigation undertaken by the
Department since the |
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| death or serious life-threatening injury of the
child, (v)
and |
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| (vi) as appropriate, recommendations for State
administrative |
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| or policy changes , and (vi) whether the alleged perpetrator of |
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| the abuse or neglect has been charged with committing a crime |
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| related to the report and allegation of abuse or neglect. In |
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| any case involving the death or near death of a child, when a |
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| person responsible for the child has been charged with |
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HB0616 Engrossed |
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LRB095 05209 DRJ 25283 b |
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| committing a crime that results in the child's death or near |
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| death, there shall be a presumption that the best interest of |
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| the public will be served by public disclosure of certain |
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| information concerning the circumstances of the investigations |
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| of the death or near death of the child and any other |
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| investigations concerning that child or other children living |
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| in the same household .
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| If the Department receives from the public a request for |
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| information relating to a case of child abuse or neglect |
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| involving the death or serious life-threatening injury of a |
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| child, the Director shall consult with the State's Attorney in |
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| the county of venue and release the report related to the case, |
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| except for the following, which may be redacted from the |
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| information disclosed to the public: any mental health or |
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| psychological information that is confidential as otherwise |
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| provided in State law; privileged communications of an |
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| attorney; the identity of the individual or individuals, if |
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| known, who made the report; information that may cause mental |
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| or physical harm to a sibling or another child living in the |
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| household; information that may undermine an ongoing criminal |
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| investigation; and any information prohibited from disclosure |
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| by federal law or regulation. Any information provided by an |
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| adult subject of a report that is released about the case in a |
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| public forum shall be subject to disclosure upon a public |
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| information request. Information about the case shall also be |
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| subject to disclosure upon consent of an adult subject. |
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LRB095 05209 DRJ 25283 b |
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| Information about the case shall also be subject to disclosure |
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| if it has been publicly disclosed in a report by a law |
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| enforcement agency or official, a State's Attorney, a judge, or |
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| any other State or local investigative agency or official.
The |
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| report shall contain no information that would identify the |
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| name of the
deceased child, his or her siblings, the parent or |
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| other person legally
responsible for the child, or any other |
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| members of the child's household, but
shall refer instead to |
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| the case, which may be denoted in any fashion determined
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| appropriate by the Department. In making a
fatality report |
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| available to the public pursuant to subsection (c) of this
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| Section, the Department may respond to a child specific request |
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| for a
report if the Department determines that the disclosure |
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| is not contrary to
the best interests of the deceased child's |
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| siblings or other children in the
household. Except as it may |
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| apply directly to the cause of the death or serious |
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| life-threatening injury of the
child, nothing
in this Section |
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| shall be deemed to authorize the release or disclosure to the
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| public of
the substance or content of any psychological, |
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| psychiatric, therapeutic,
clinical, or medical reports, |
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| evaluation, or like materials or information
pertaining to the |
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| child or the child's family.
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| (c) No later than 6 months after the date of the death or |
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| serious life-threatening injury of the child, the
Department |
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| shall complete its report.
The Department shall notify the |
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| President of the Senate, the Minority Leader of
the Senate, the
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HB0616 Engrossed |
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LRB095 05209 DRJ 25283 b |
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| Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Minority Leader of |
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| the House of
Representatives, and the members of the Senate and |
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| the House of Representatives
in whose district the child's |
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| death or serious life-threatening injury occurred upon the |
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| completion of each report
and
shall submit an annual cumulative |
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| report to the Governor and the General
Assembly incorporating |
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| cumulative
the data about
in the above reports and including |
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| appropriate
findings
and recommendations. The reports required |
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| by this subsection (c)
concerning the death of a child and the
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| cumulative reports shall be made available to the public
after |
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| completion or submittal.
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| (d) To enable the Department to prepare the report, the |
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| Department may
request and shall timely receive from |
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| departments, boards, bureaus, or other
agencies of the State, |
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| or any of its political subdivisions, or any duly
authorized |
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| agency, or any other agency which provided assistance, care, or
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| services to the deceased or injured child any information they |
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| are authorized to
provide.
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| (Source: P.A. 90-15, eff. 6-13-97.)
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