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Rep. Dan Brady
Filed: 5/30/2007
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09500HB3170ham005 |
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LRB095 06980 RAS 37036 a |
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| AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 3170
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| AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 3170, AS AMENDED, by |
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| replacing everything after the enacting clause with the |
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| following:
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| "Section 5. The Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act is |
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| amended by changing Sections 4, 7.4, and 9 as follows:
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| (325 ILCS 5/4) (from Ch. 23, par. 2054)
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| Sec. 4. Persons required to report; privileged |
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| communications;
transmitting false report. Any physician, |
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| resident, intern, hospital,
hospital administrator
and |
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| personnel engaged in examination, care and treatment of |
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| persons, surgeon,
dentist, dentist hygienist, osteopath, |
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| chiropractor, podiatrist, physician
assistant, substance abuse |
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| treatment personnel, funeral home
director or employee, |
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| coroner, medical examiner, emergency medical technician,
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| acupuncturist, crisis line or hotline personnel, school |
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LRB095 06980 RAS 37036 a |
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| personnel (including administrators and both certified and |
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| non-certified school employees), educational
advocate assigned |
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| to a child pursuant to the School Code, truant officers,
social |
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| worker, social services administrator,
domestic violence |
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| program personnel, registered nurse, licensed
practical nurse, |
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| genetic counselor,
respiratory care practitioner, advanced |
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| practice nurse, home
health aide, director or staff
assistant |
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| of a nursery school or a child day care center, recreational |
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| program
or facility personnel, law enforcement officer, |
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| licensed professional
counselor, licensed clinical |
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| professional counselor, registered psychologist
and
assistants |
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| working under the direct supervision of a psychologist,
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| psychiatrist, or field personnel of the Department of |
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| Healthcare and Family Services,
Public Health, Human Services |
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| (acting as successor to the Department of Mental
Health and |
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| Developmental Disabilities, Rehabilitation Services, or Public |
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| Aid),
Corrections, Human Rights, or Children and Family |
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| Services, supervisor and
administrator of general assistance |
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| under the Illinois Public Aid Code,
probation officer, or any |
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| other foster parent, homemaker or child care worker
having |
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| reasonable cause to believe a child known to them in their |
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| professional
or official capacity may be an abused child or a |
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| neglected child shall
immediately report or cause a report to |
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| be made to the Department.
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| Any member of the clergy having reasonable cause to believe |
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| that a child
known to that member of the clergy in his or her |
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LRB095 06980 RAS 37036 a |
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| professional capacity may be
an abused child as defined in item |
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| (c) of the definition of "abused child" in
Section 3 of this |
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| Act shall immediately report or cause a report to be made to
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| the Department.
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| If an allegation is raised to a school board member during |
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| the course of an open or closed school board meeting that a |
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| child who is enrolled in the school district of which he or she |
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| is a board member is an abused child as defined in Section 3 of |
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| this Act, the member shall direct or cause the school board to |
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| direct the superintendent of the school district or other |
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| equivalent school administrator to comply with the |
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| requirements of this Act concerning the reporting of child |
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| abuse. For purposes of this paragraph, a school board member is |
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| granted the authority in his or her individual capacity to |
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| direct the superintendent of the school district or other |
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| equivalent school administrator to comply with the |
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| requirements of this Act concerning the reporting of child |
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| abuse.
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| Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, if an |
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| employee of a school district has made a report or caused a |
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| report to be made to the Department under this Act involving |
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| the conduct of a current or former employee of the school |
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| district and a request is made by another school district for |
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| the provision of information concerning the job performance or |
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| qualifications of the current or former employee because he or |
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| she is an applicant for employment with the requesting school |
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LRB095 06980 RAS 37036 a |
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| district, the general superintendent of the school district to |
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| which the request is being made must disclose to the requesting |
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| school district the fact that an employee of the school |
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| district has made a report involving the conduct of the |
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| applicant or caused a report to be made to the Department, as |
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| required under this Act. Only the fact that an employee of the |
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| school district has made a report involving the conduct of the |
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| applicant or caused a report to be made to the Department may |
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| be disclosed by the general superintendent of the school |
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| district to which the request for information concerning the |
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| applicant is made, and this fact may be disclosed only in cases |
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| where the employee and the general superintendent have not been |
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| informed by the Department that the allegations were unfounded. |
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| An employee of a school district who is or has been the subject |
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| of a report made pursuant to this Act during his or her |
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| employment with the school district must be informed by that |
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| school district that if he or she applies for employment with |
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| another school district, the general superintendent of the |
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| former school district, upon the request of the school district |
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| to which the employee applies, shall notify that requesting |
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| school district that the employee is or was the subject of such |
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| a report.
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| Whenever
such person is required to report under this Act |
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| in his capacity as a member of
the staff of a medical or other |
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| public or private institution, school, facility
or agency, or |
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| as a member of the clergy, he shall
make report immediately to |
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LRB095 06980 RAS 37036 a |
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| the Department in accordance
with the provisions of this Act |
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| and may also notify the person in charge of
such institution, |
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| school, facility or agency, or church, synagogue, temple,
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| mosque, or other religious institution, or his
designated agent |
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| that such
report has been made. Under no circumstances shall |
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| any person in charge of
such institution, school, facility or |
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| agency, or church, synagogue, temple,
mosque, or other |
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| religious institution, or his
designated agent to whom
such |
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| notification has been made, exercise any control, restraint, |
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| modification
or other change in the report or the forwarding of |
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| such report to the
Department.
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| The privileged quality of communication between any |
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| professional
person required to report
and his patient or |
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| client shall not apply to situations involving abused or
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| neglected children and shall not constitute grounds for failure |
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| to report
as required by this Act.
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| A member of the clergy may claim the privilege under |
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| Section 8-803 of the
Code of Civil Procedure.
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| In addition to the above persons required to
report |
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| suspected cases of abused or neglected children, any other |
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| person
may make a report if such person has reasonable cause to |
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| believe a child
may be an abused child or a neglected child.
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| Any person who enters into
employment on and after July 1, |
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| 1986 and is mandated by virtue of that
employment to report |
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| under this Act, shall sign a statement on a form
prescribed by |
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| the Department, to the effect that the employee has knowledge
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LRB095 06980 RAS 37036 a |
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| and understanding of the reporting requirements of this Act. |
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| The statement
shall be signed prior to commencement of the |
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| employment. The signed
statement shall be retained by the |
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| employer. The cost of printing,
distribution, and filing of the |
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| statement shall be borne by the employer.
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| The Department shall provide copies of this Act, upon |
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| request, to all
employers employing persons who shall be |
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| required under the provisions of
this Section to report under |
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| this Act.
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| Any person who knowingly transmits a false report to the |
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| Department
commits the offense of disorderly conduct under |
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| subsection (a)(7) of
Section 26-1 of the "Criminal Code of |
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| 1961". Any person who violates this
provision a second or |
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| subsequent time shall be guilty of a Class 3
felony.
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| Any person who knowingly and willfully violates any |
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| provision of this
Section other than a second or subsequent |
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| violation of transmitting a
false report as described in the
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| preceding paragraph, is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor for
a |
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| first violation and a Class 4 felony for a
second or subsequent |
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| violation; except that if the person acted as part
of a plan or |
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| scheme having as its object the
prevention of discovery of an |
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| abused or neglected child by lawful authorities
for the
purpose |
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| of protecting or insulating any person or entity from arrest or
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| prosecution, the
person is guilty of a Class 4 felony for a |
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| first offense and a Class 3 felony
for a second or
subsequent |
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| offense (regardless of whether the second or subsequent offense
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| involves any
of the same facts or persons as the first or other |
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| prior offense).
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| A child whose parent, guardian or custodian in good faith |
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| selects and depends
upon spiritual means through prayer alone |
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| for the treatment or cure of
disease or remedial care may be |
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| considered neglected or abused, but not for
the sole reason |
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| that his parent, guardian or custodian accepts and
practices |
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| such beliefs.
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| A child shall not be considered neglected or abused solely |
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| because the
child is not attending school in accordance with |
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| the requirements of
Article 26 of the School Code, as amended.
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| (Source: P.A. 93-137, eff. 7-10-03; 93-356, eff. 7-24-03; |
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| 93-431, eff. 8-5-03; 93-1041, eff. 9-29-04; 94-888, eff. |
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| 6-20-06.)
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| (325 ILCS 5/7.4) (from Ch. 23, par. 2057.4)
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| Sec. 7.4. (a) The Department shall be capable of receiving |
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| reports of
suspected child abuse or neglect 24 hours a day, 7 |
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| days a week. Whenever
the Department receives a report alleging |
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| that a child is a
truant as defined in Section 26-2a of The |
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| School Code, as now or hereafter
amended, the Department shall |
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| notify the superintendent of the school
district in which the |
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| child resides and the appropriate superintendent of
the |
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| educational service region. The notification to the |
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| appropriate
officials by the Department shall not be considered |
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| an allegation of abuse
or neglect under this Act.
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| (b) (1) The following procedures shall be followed in the |
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| investigation
of all reports of suspected abuse or neglect |
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| of a child, except as provided
in subsection (c) of this |
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| Section.
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| (2) If it appears that the immediate safety or |
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| well-being of a child is
endangered, that the family may |
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| flee or the child disappear, or that the
facts otherwise so |
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| warrant, the Child Protective Service Unit shall
commence |
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| an investigation immediately, regardless of the time of day |
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| or
night. In all other cases, investigation shall be |
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| commenced within 24
hours of receipt of the report. Upon |
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| receipt of a report, the Child
Protective Service Unit |
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| shall make an initial investigation and an initial
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| determination whether the report is a good faith indication |
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| of alleged
child abuse or neglect.
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| (3) If the Unit determines the report is a good faith
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| indication of alleged child abuse or neglect, then a formal |
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| investigation
shall commence and, pursuant to Section 7.12 |
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| of this Act, may or may not
result in an indicated report. |
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| The formal investigation shall include:
direct contact |
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| with the subject or subjects of the report as soon as
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| possible after the report is received; an
evaluation of the |
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| environment of the child named in the report and any other
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| children in the same environment; a determination of the |
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| risk to such
children if they continue to remain in the |
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| existing environments, as well
as a determination of the |
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LRB095 06980 RAS 37036 a |
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| nature, extent and cause of any condition
enumerated in |
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| such report; the name, age and condition of other children |
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| in
the environment; and an evaluation as to whether there |
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| would be an
immediate and urgent necessity to remove the |
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| child from the environment if
appropriate family |
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| preservation services were provided. After seeing to
the |
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| safety of the child or children, the Department shall
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| forthwith notify the subjects of the report in writing, of |
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| the existence
of the report and their rights existing under |
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| this Act in regard to amendment
or expungement. To fulfill |
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| the requirements of this Section, the Child
Protective |
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| Service Unit shall have the capability of providing or |
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| arranging
for comprehensive emergency services to children |
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| and families at all times
of the day or night.
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| (4) If (i) at the conclusion of the Unit's initial |
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| investigation of a
report, the Unit determines the report |
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| to be a good faith indication of
alleged child abuse or |
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| neglect that warrants a formal investigation by
the Unit, |
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| the Department, any law enforcement agency or any other
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| responsible agency and (ii) the person who is alleged to |
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| have caused the
abuse or neglect is employed or otherwise |
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| engaged in an activity resulting
in frequent contact with |
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| children and the alleged abuse or neglect are in
the course |
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| of such employment or activity, then the Department shall,
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| except in investigations where the Director determines |
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| that such
notification would be detrimental to the |
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| Department's investigation, inform
the appropriate |
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| supervisor or administrator of that employment or activity
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| that the Unit has commenced a formal investigation pursuant |
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| to this Act,
which may or may not result in an indicated |
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| report. The Department shall also
notify the person being |
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| investigated, unless the Director determines that
such |
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| notification would be detrimental to the Department's |
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| investigation.
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| (c) In an investigation of a report of suspected abuse or |
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| neglect of
a child by a school employee at a school or on |
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| school grounds, the
Department shall make reasonable efforts to |
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| follow the following procedures:
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| (1) Investigations involving teachers shall not, to |
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| the extent possible,
be conducted when the teacher is |
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| scheduled to conduct classes.
Investigations involving |
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| other school employees shall be conducted so as to
minimize |
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| disruption of the school day. The school employee accused |
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| of
child abuse or neglect may have his superior, his |
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| association or union
representative and his attorney |
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| present at any interview or meeting at
which the teacher or |
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| administrator is present. The accused school employee
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| shall be informed by a representative of the Department, at |
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| any
interview or meeting, of the accused school employee's |
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| due process rights
and of the steps in the investigation |
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| process.
The information shall include, but need not |
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| necessarily be limited to the
right, subject to the |
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| approval of the Department, of the school employee to
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| confront the accuser, if the accuser is 14 years of age or |
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| older, or the
right to review the specific allegations |
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| which gave rise to the
investigation, and the right to |
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| review all materials and evidence that have
been submitted |
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| to the Department in support of the allegation. These due
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| process rights shall also include the right of the school |
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| employee to
present countervailing evidence regarding the |
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| accusations.
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| (2) If a report of neglect or abuse of a child by a |
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| teacher or
administrator does not involve allegations of |
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| sexual abuse or extreme
physical abuse, the Child |
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| Protective Service Unit shall make reasonable
efforts to |
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| conduct the initial investigation in coordination with the
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| employee's supervisor.
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| If the Unit determines that the report is a good faith |
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| indication of
potential child abuse or neglect, it shall |
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| then commence a formal
investigation under paragraph (3) of |
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| subsection (b) of this Section.
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| (3) If a report of neglect or abuse of a child by a |
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| teacher or
administrator involves an allegation of sexual |
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| abuse or extreme physical
abuse, the Child Protective Unit |
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| shall commence an investigation under
paragraph (2) of |
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| subsection (b) of this Section.
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| (c-5) In any instance in which a report is made or caused |
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| to made by a school district employee involving the conduct of |
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| a person employed by the school district, at the time the |
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| report was made, as required under Section 4 of this Act, the |
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| Child Protective Service Unit shall send a copy of its final |
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| finding report to the general superintendent of that school |
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| district.
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| (d) If the Department has contact with an employer, or with |
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| a religious
institution or religious official having |
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| supervisory or hierarchical authority
over a member of the |
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| clergy accused of the abuse of a child,
in the course of its
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| investigation, the Department shall notify the employer or the |
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| religious
institution or religious official, in writing, when a
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| report is unfounded so that any record of the investigation can |
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| be expunged
from the employee's or member of the clergy's |
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| personnel or other
records. The Department shall also notify
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| the employee or the member of the clergy, in writing, that |
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| notification
has been sent to the employer or to the |
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| appropriate religious institution or
religious official
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| informing the employer or religious institution or religious |
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| official that
the
Department's investigation has resulted in
an |
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| unfounded report.
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| (e) Upon request by the Department, the
Department of State |
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| Police and law enforcement agencies are
authorized to provide |
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| criminal history record information
as defined in the Illinois |
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| Uniform Conviction Information Act and information
maintained |
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| in
the adjudicatory and dispositional record system as defined |
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| in Section
2605-355 of the Department of State Police Law (20 |
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| ILCS
2605/2605-355) to properly
designated
employees of the
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| Department of Children
and Family Services if the Department |
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| determines the information is
necessary to perform its duties |
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| under the Abused and
Neglected Child Reporting Act, the Child |
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| Care Act of 1969, and the Children and
Family Services Act. The
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| request shall be in the form and manner required
by
the |
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| Department of State Police. Any information obtained by the |
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| Department of
Children
and Family Services under this Section |
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| is
confidential and may not be transmitted outside the |
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| Department of Children
and Family Services other than to a |
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| court of competent jurisdiction or unless
otherwise authorized |
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| by law.
Any employee of the Department of Children and Family |
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| Services who transmits
confidential information in
violation |
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| of this
Section or causes the information to be
transmitted in |
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| violation of this Section is guilty of a Class A
misdemeanor |
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| unless the transmittal of
the
information is
authorized by this |
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| Section or otherwise authorized by law.
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| (Source: P.A. 91-239, eff. 1-1-00; 92-801, eff. 8-16-02.)
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| (325 ILCS 5/9) (from Ch. 23, par. 2059)
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| Sec. 9. Any person, institution or agency, under this Act, |
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| participating
in good faith in the making of a report or |
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| referral, or in the investigation of
such a report or referral |
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| or in the taking of photographs and x-rays
or in the retaining |
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| a child in temporary protective custody or in making a
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| disclosure of information concerning reports of child abuse and |
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| neglect in
compliance with Sections 4.2 and 11.1 of this Act or |
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| Section 4 of this Act, as it relates to disclosure by school |
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| personnel and except in cases of wilful or wanton misconduct,
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| shall have immunity
from any liability, civil,
criminal or that |
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| otherwise might result by reason of such actions. For
the |
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| purpose of any proceedings,
civil or criminal, the good faith |
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| of any persons required to report or refer,
or permitted to |
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| report,
cases of suspected child abuse or neglect or permitted |
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| to refer
individuals under this Act or required to disclose |
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| information concerning
reports of child abuse and neglect in |
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| compliance with Sections 4.2 and 11.1
of this Act, shall be |
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| presumed.
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| (Source: P.A. 90-15, eff. 6-13-97.)
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| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon |
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| becoming law.".
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