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1 | AN ACT concerning child support.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 5. The Illinois Public Aid Code is amended by | ||||||
5 | changing Section 10-3.1 as follows:
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6 | (305 ILCS 5/10-3.1) (from Ch. 23, par. 10-3.1)
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7 | Sec. 10-3.1. Child and Spouse Support Unit. The Illinois
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8 | Department shall establish within its administrative staff a | ||||||
9 | Child and
Spouse Support Unit to search for and locate absent | ||||||
10 | parents and spouses
liable for the support of persons resident | ||||||
11 | in this State and to exercise
the support enforcement powers | ||||||
12 | and responsibilities assigned the
Department by this Article. | ||||||
13 | The unit shall cooperate with all law
enforcement officials in | ||||||
14 | this State and with the authorities of other
States in locating | ||||||
15 | persons responsible for the support of persons
resident in | ||||||
16 | other States and shall invite the cooperation of these
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17 | authorities in the performance of its duties.
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18 | In addition to other duties assigned the Child and Spouse | ||||||
19 | Support Unit
by this Article, the Unit may refer to the | ||||||
20 | Attorney General or units of
local government with the approval | ||||||
21 | of the Attorney General, any actions
under Sections 10-10 and | ||||||
22 | 10-15 for judicial enforcement of the support
liability. The | ||||||
23 | Child and Spouse Support Unit shall act for the Department
in |
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1 | referring to the Attorney General support matters requiring | ||||||
2 | judicial
enforcement under other laws. If requested by the | ||||||
3 | Attorney General to so
act, as provided in Section 12-16, | ||||||
4 | attorneys of the Unit may assist the
Attorney General or | ||||||
5 | themselves
institute actions in behalf of the Illinois | ||||||
6 | Department
under the Revised Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of | ||||||
7 | Support
Act; under the Illinois Parentage Act of
1984; under
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8 | the Non-Support of Spouse and Children Act; under the | ||||||
9 | Non-Support Punishment
Act;
or under any other law, State or
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10 | Federal, providing for support
of a spouse or dependent child.
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11 | The Illinois Department shall also have the authority to | ||||||
12 | enter into
agreements with local governmental units or | ||||||
13 | individuals, with the approval
of the Attorney General, for the | ||||||
14 | collection of moneys owing
because of the failure of a
parent | ||||||
15 | to make child support payments for any child receiving services
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16 | under this Article. Such agreements may be on a contingent
fee | ||||||
17 | basis, but such contingent fee shall not exceed 25% of the | ||||||
18 | total amount
collected.
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19 | An attorney who provides representation pursuant to this | ||||||
20 | Section shall
represent the
Illinois Department exclusively. | ||||||
21 | Regardless of
the designation of the plaintiff in an action | ||||||
22 | brought pursuant to this Section,
an attorney-client | ||||||
23 | relationship does not exist for purposes of that
action between | ||||||
24 | that attorney
and (i) an applicant for or recipient of child | ||||||
25 | support
enforcement services or
(ii) any other party to the | ||||||
26 | action other than the Illinois Department. Nothing
in this |
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1 | Section shall be construed to modify any power or duty | ||||||
2 | (including a
duty to maintain confidentiality) of the Child and | ||||||
3 | Spouse Support Unit or the
Illinois Department otherwise | ||||||
4 | provided by law.
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5 | The Illinois Department may also enter into agreements with | ||||||
6 | local
governmental units for the Child and Spouse Support Unit | ||||||
7 | to exercise the
investigative and enforcement powers | ||||||
8 | designated in this Article,
including the issuance of | ||||||
9 | administrative orders under Section 10-11, in
locating | ||||||
10 | responsible relatives and obtaining support for persons
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11 | applying for or receiving aid under Article VI.
Payments for
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12 | defrayment of administrative costs and support payments | ||||||
13 | obtained shall
be deposited into the DHS Recoveries Trust Fund. | ||||||
14 | Support
payments shall be paid over to the General Assistance | ||||||
15 | Fund of the local
governmental unit at such time or times as | ||||||
16 | the agreement may specify.
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17 | With respect to those cases in which it has support | ||||||
18 | enforcement powers
and responsibilities under this Article, | ||||||
19 | the Illinois Department may provide
by rule for periodic or | ||||||
20 | other review of each administrative and court order
for support | ||||||
21 | to determine whether a modification of the order should be
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22 | sought. The Illinois Department shall provide for and conduct | ||||||
23 | such review
in accordance with any applicable federal law and | ||||||
24 | regulation. The Illinois Department's program for review and | ||||||
25 | modification of orders for support in cases in which support | ||||||
26 | enforcement services are being provided under this Article X |
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1 | shall include, but not be limited to, cases in which a | ||||||
2 | responsible relative who is committed to the custody of the | ||||||
3 | Department of Corrections requests review and modification of | ||||||
4 | the order for support. The Illinois Department shall enter into | ||||||
5 | a cooperative agreement with the Department of Corrections to | ||||||
6 | facilitate receipt of such requests from committed persons.
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7 | As part of its process for review of orders for support, | ||||||
8 | the Illinois
Department, through written notice, may require | ||||||
9 | the responsible relative to
disclose his or her Social Security | ||||||
10 | Number and past and present information
concerning the | ||||||
11 | relative's address, employment, gross wages, deductions from
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12 | gross wages, net wages, bonuses, commissions, number of | ||||||
13 | dependent exemptions
claimed, individual and dependent health | ||||||
14 | insurance coverage, and any other
information necessary to | ||||||
15 | determine the relative's ability to provide support in
a case | ||||||
16 | receiving child support enforcement services under
this | ||||||
17 | Article X.
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18 | The Illinois Department may send a written request
for the | ||||||
19 | same information to the relative's employer. The employer shall
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20 | respond to the request for information within 15 days after the | ||||||
21 | date the
employer receives the request. If the employer | ||||||
22 | willfully fails to fully
respond within the 15-day period, the | ||||||
23 | employer shall pay a penalty of $100 for
each day that the | ||||||
24 | response is not provided to the Illinois Department after the
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25 | 15-day period has expired. The penalty may be collected in a | ||||||
26 | civil action
which may be brought against the employer in favor |
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1 | of the Illinois Department.
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2 | A written request for information sent to an employer | ||||||
3 | pursuant to this
Section shall consist of (i) a citation of | ||||||
4 | this Section as the statutory
authority for the request and for | ||||||
5 | the employer's obligation to provide the
requested | ||||||
6 | information, (ii) a returnable form setting forth the | ||||||
7 | employer's name
and address and listing the name of the | ||||||
8 | employee with respect to whom
information is requested, and | ||||||
9 | (iii) a citation of this Section as the statutory
authority | ||||||
10 | authorizing the employer to withhold a fee of up to $20 from | ||||||
11 | the
wages or income to be paid to each responsible relative for | ||||||
12 | providing the
information to the Illinois Department within the | ||||||
13 | 15-day period. If the
employer is
withholding support payments | ||||||
14 | from the responsible relative's income pursuant to
an order for | ||||||
15 | withholding, the employer may withhold the fee provided for in
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16 | this Section only after withholding support as required under | ||||||
17 | the order. Any
amounts withheld from the responsible relative's | ||||||
18 | income for payment of support
and the fee provided for in this | ||||||
19 | Section shall not be in excess of the amounts
permitted under | ||||||
20 | the federal Consumer Credit Protection Act.
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21 | In a case receiving child support enforcement services,
the | ||||||
22 | Illinois
Department may request and obtain information from a | ||||||
23 | particular employer under
this Section no more than once in any | ||||||
24 | 12-month period, unless the information
is necessary to conduct | ||||||
25 | a review of a court or
administrative order for support at the | ||||||
26 | request of the person receiving child support enforcement |
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1 | services.
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2 | The Illinois Department shall establish and maintain an | ||||||
3 | administrative unit
to receive and transmit to the Child and | ||||||
4 | Spouse Support Unit information
supplied by persons applying | ||||||
5 | for or receiving child support
enforcement services
under | ||||||
6 | Section 10-1. In addition, the Illinois Department shall | ||||||
7 | address and
respond to any alleged deficiencies that persons | ||||||
8 | receiving or applying for
services from the Child and Spouse | ||||||
9 | Support Unit may identify concerning the
Child and Spouse | ||||||
10 | Support Unit's provision of child support
enforcement | ||||||
11 | services.
Within 60 days after an action or failure to act by | ||||||
12 | the Child and Spouse
Support Unit that affects his or her case, | ||||||
13 | a recipient of or applicant for
child support enforcement | ||||||
14 | services under Article X of this
Code may request an
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15 | explanation of the Unit's handling of the case. At the | ||||||
16 | requestor's option, the
explanation may be provided either | ||||||
17 | orally in an interview, in writing, or both.
If the Illinois | ||||||
18 | Department fails to respond to the request for an explanation
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19 | or fails to respond in a manner satisfactory to the applicant | ||||||
20 | or recipient
within 30 days from the date of the request for an | ||||||
21 | explanation, the
applicant or recipient may request a | ||||||
22 | conference for further review of the
matter by the Office of | ||||||
23 | the Administrator of the Child and Spouse Support Unit.
A | ||||||
24 | request for a conference may be submitted at any time within 60 | ||||||
25 | days after
the explanation has been provided by the Child and | ||||||
26 | Spouse Support Unit or
within 60 days after the time for |
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1 | providing the explanation has expired.
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2 | The applicant or recipient may request a conference | ||||||
3 | concerning any decision
denying or terminating child support | ||||||
4 | enforcement services
under Article X of this Code, and the | ||||||
5 | applicant or recipient may also request a
conference concerning | ||||||
6 | the
Unit's failure to provide services or the provision of | ||||||
7 | services in an amount or
manner that is considered inadequate. | ||||||
8 | For purposes of this Section, the Child
and Spouse Support Unit | ||||||
9 | includes all local governmental units or individuals
with whom | ||||||
10 | the Illinois Department has contracted
under Section
10-3.1.
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11 | Upon receipt of a timely request for a conference, the | ||||||
12 | Office of the
Administrator shall review the case. The | ||||||
13 | applicant or recipient requesting
the conference shall be | ||||||
14 | entitled, at his or her option, to appear in person or
to | ||||||
15 | participate in the conference by telephone. The applicant or | ||||||
16 | recipient
requesting the conference shall be entitled to be | ||||||
17 | represented and to be
afforded a reasonable opportunity to | ||||||
18 | review the Illinois Department's file
before or at the | ||||||
19 | conference. At the conference, the applicant or recipient
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20 | requesting the conference shall be afforded an opportunity to | ||||||
21 | present all
relevant matters in support of his or her claim. | ||||||
22 | Conferences shall be without
cost to the applicant or recipient | ||||||
23 | requesting the conference and shall be
conducted by a | ||||||
24 | representative of the Child or Spouse Support Unit who did not
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25 | participate in the action or inaction being reviewed.
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26 | The Office of the Administrator shall conduct a conference |
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1 | and inform all
interested parties, in
writing, of the results | ||||||
2 | of the conference within 60 days from the date of
filing of the | ||||||
3 | request for a conference.
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4 | In addition to its other powers and responsibilities | ||||||
5 | established by this
Article, the Child and Spouse Support Unit | ||||||
6 | shall conduct an annual assessment
of each institution's | ||||||
7 | program for institution based paternity establishment
under | ||||||
8 | Section 12 of the Vital Records Act.
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9 | (Source: P.A. 91-24, eff. 7-1-99; 91-613, eff. 10-1-99;
92-16, | ||||||
10 | eff. 6-28-01; 92-590, eff. 7-1-02.)
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11 | Section 10. The Unified Code of Corrections is amended by | ||||||
12 | adding Section 3-6-9 as follows: | ||||||
13 | (730 ILCS 5/3-6-9 new)
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14 | Sec. 3-6-9. Assistance in requesting review and | ||||||
15 | modification of support orders. The Department shall develop | ||||||
16 | and establish a program to assist committed persons who are | ||||||
17 | obligors under support orders in cases in which child support | ||||||
18 | enforcement services are being provided by the Department of | ||||||
19 | Healthcare and Family Services under Article X of the Illinois | ||||||
20 | Public Aid Code in requesting review and modification of such | ||||||
21 | support orders as provided for under that Code. The Department | ||||||
22 | shall enter into a cooperative agreement with the Department of | ||||||
23 | Healthcare and Family Services to facilitate transmittal of | ||||||
24 | such requests from committed persons. |