Rep. Eddie Washington
Filed: 3/17/2009
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1 | AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 2365
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2 | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 2365 by replacing | ||||||
3 | everything after the enacting clause with the following:
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4 | "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the | ||||||
5 | Kinship Navigator Act. | ||||||
6 | Section 5. Definitions. In this Act: | ||||||
7 | (1) "Department" means the Department of Human | ||||||
8 | Services.
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9 | (2) "NPO" means a not-for-profit organization.
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10 | (3) "Municipality" has the meaning ascribed to it in | ||||||
11 | Section 1-1-2 of the Illinois Municipal Code.
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12 | (4) "Kinship care" means, as defined by Child Welfare | ||||||
13 | League of America, the full time care, nurturing, and | ||||||
14 | protection of children by relatives, members of their | ||||||
15 | tribes or clans, grandparents, godparents, stepparents, or | ||||||
16 | any adult who has physical custody and a kinship bond with |
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1 | a child. This definition is designed to be inclusive | ||||||
2 | without age restrictions on the kinship caregiver and | ||||||
3 | respectful of cultural values and ties of affection. It | ||||||
4 | allows a child to grow to adulthood in a family | ||||||
5 | environment.
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6 | (5) "Kinship Navigator" means a statewide program | ||||||
7 | designed to ensure kinship caregivers the necessary | ||||||
8 | resources for the preservation of the family.
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9 | Section 10. Legislative findings and intent. | ||||||
10 | (1) Caregivers often provide kinship care without | ||||||
11 | compensation or support systems.
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12 | (2) Kinship caregivers are crucial to avoiding | ||||||
13 | institutionalization of children and saving taxpayer | ||||||
14 | dollars.
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15 | (3) Kinship caregivers are frequently under | ||||||
16 | substantial physical, psychological, and financial stress. | ||||||
17 | Unrelieved by support services available to the caregiver, | ||||||
18 | this stress may lead to premature or unnecessary | ||||||
19 | institutionalization for the care recipient or | ||||||
20 | deterioration of the health condition and family | ||||||
21 | circumstances of the kinship caregiver.
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22 | (4) Sudden responsibility for children often precludes | ||||||
23 | kinship caregivers the opportunity to plan basic day to day | ||||||
24 | responsibility.
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25 | (5) The Kinship Navigator shall be seamless, |
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1 | statewide, and coordinated among the Department of Human | ||||||
2 | Services, Department on Aging, Illinois Housing Authority, | ||||||
3 | Department of Children and Family Services, Department of | ||||||
4 | Corrections, and federal and local governments as well as | ||||||
5 | other public and private sources.
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6 | (6) Additional services provided under the Kinship | ||||||
7 | Navigator shall be: organizing diverse, enriched, and | ||||||
8 | culturally conscious kinship support groups and | ||||||
9 | counseling; assisting with applying for benefits within | ||||||
10 | the Illinois Department of Human Services' Family | ||||||
11 | Community Resource Centers for those who qualify; | ||||||
12 | publishing monthly newsletters; coordinating respite and | ||||||
13 | crisis care services; assisting kinship caregivers with | ||||||
14 | job readiness, job search, and job retention; and providing | ||||||
15 | technical assistance to start up kinship support groups.
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16 | Section 15. Kinship Navigator conferences: promotion. The | ||||||
17 | Department shall arrange for the conduct of 2 conferences, one | ||||||
18 | in Cook County and one in Sangamon County, and provide for | ||||||
19 | exhibits and activities for kinship caregivers and social | ||||||
20 | service providers. | ||||||
21 | Section 20. Kinship Navigator administration. The | ||||||
22 | Department, subject to appropriation, shall administer the | ||||||
23 | Kinship Navigator through a contract with an NPO that has | ||||||
24 | worked statewide with kinship families. The contract shall |
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1 | require that the program created by this Act will be | ||||||
2 | coordinated with (i) the grandparent child care program | ||||||
3 | administered by the Department of Children and Family Services | ||||||
4 | under Section 34.11 of the Children and Family Services Act, | ||||||
5 | (ii) the Department of Children and Family Services under | ||||||
6 | Section 39.1 of the Children and Family Services Act, and (iii) | ||||||
7 | the Department on Aging under Section 92 of the Family | ||||||
8 | Caregiver Act. | ||||||
9 | Section 25. Rules. The Department shall adopt the rules | ||||||
10 | necessary for the implementation and administration of this | ||||||
11 | Act. | ||||||
12 | Section 90. The Children and Family Services Act is amended | ||||||
13 | by changing Section 34.11 and adding Section 39.1 as follows:
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14 | (20 ILCS 505/34.11)
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15 | Sec. 34.11. Grandparent child care program.
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16 | (a) The General Assembly finds and declares the following:
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17 | (1) An increasing number of children under the age of | ||||||
18 | 18, including many
children who would otherwise be at risk | ||||||
19 | of abuse or neglect, are in the care of
a grandparent or | ||||||
20 | other nonparent relative.
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21 | (2) The principal causes of this increase include | ||||||
22 | parental substance
abuse, chronic illness, child abuse, | ||||||
23 | mental illness, military deployment, poverty, |
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1 | homelessness, deportation, and death, as well as concerted
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2 | efforts by families and by the child welfare service system | ||||||
3 | to keep children
with relatives whenever possible.
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4 | (3) Grandparents and older relatives providing primary | ||||||
5 | care for at-risk
children may experience unique resultant | ||||||
6 | problems, such as financial stress due
to limited incomes, | ||||||
7 | emotional difficulties dealing with the loss of the child's
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8 | parents or the child's unique behaviors, and decreased | ||||||
9 | physical stamina coupled
with a much higher incidence of | ||||||
10 | chronic illness.
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11 | (4) Many children being raised by nonparent relatives | ||||||
12 | experience one or a
combination of emotional, behavioral, | ||||||
13 | psychological, academic, or medical
problems, especially | ||||||
14 | those born to a substance-abusing mother or at risk of
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15 | child abuse, neglect, or abandonment.
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16 | (5) Grandparents and other relatives providing primary | ||||||
17 | care for children
lack appropriate information about the | ||||||
18 | issues of kinship care, the special
needs (both physical | ||||||
19 | and psychological) of children born to a substance-abusing
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20 | mother or at risk of child abuse, neglect, or abandonment, | ||||||
21 | and the support
resources currently available to them.
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22 | (b) The Department may establish an informational and | ||||||
23 | educational program
for grandparents and other relatives who | ||||||
24 | provide primary care for children who
are at risk of child | ||||||
25 | abuse, neglect, or abandonment or who were born to
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26 | substance-abusing mothers. As a part of the program, the |
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1 | Department may
develop, publish, and distribute an | ||||||
2 | informational brochure for grandparents and
other relatives | ||||||
3 | who provide primary care for children who are at risk of child
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4 | abuse, neglect, or abandonment or who were born to | ||||||
5 | substance-abusing mothers.
The information provided under the | ||||||
6 | program authorized by this Section may
include, but is not | ||||||
7 | limited to the following:
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8 | (1) The most prevalent causes of kinship care, | ||||||
9 | especially the risk of
(i) substance exposure , (ii) or | ||||||
10 | child abuse, neglect, or abandonment , (iii) chronic | ||||||
11 | illness, (iv) mental illness, (v) military deployment, or | ||||||
12 | (vi) death .
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13 | (2) The problems experienced by children being raised | ||||||
14 | by nonparent
caregivers.
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15 | (3) The problems experienced by grandparents and other | ||||||
16 | nonparent relatives
providing primary care for children | ||||||
17 | who have special needs.
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18 | (4) The legal system as it relates to children and | ||||||
19 | their nonparent primary
caregivers.
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20 | (5) The benefits available to children and their | ||||||
21 | nonparent primary
caregivers.
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22 | (6) A list of support groups and resources located | ||||||
23 | throughout the State.
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24 | The brochure may be distributed through hospitals, public | ||||||
25 | health nurses,
child protective services, medical professional | ||||||
26 | offices, elementary and
secondary schools, senior citizen |
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1 | centers, public libraries, community action
agencies selected | ||||||
2 | by the Department, and the Department of Human Services.
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3 | The Kinship Navigator established under the Kinship | ||||||
4 | Navigator Act shall coordinate the grandparent child care | ||||||
5 | program under this Section with the programs and services | ||||||
6 | established and administered by the Department of Human | ||||||
7 | Services under the Kinship Navigator Act. | ||||||
8 | (Source: P.A. 88-229; 88-670, eff. 12-2-94; 89-507, eff. | ||||||
9 | 7-1-97.)
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10 | (20 ILCS 505/39.1 new)
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11 | Sec. 39.1. Kinship Navigator Act. The Kinship Navigator | ||||||
12 | established under the Kinship Navigator Act shall coordinate | ||||||
13 | the child welfare services administered by the Department in | ||||||
14 | relation to kinship care for children and families receiving | ||||||
15 | services under this Act with the programs and services | ||||||
16 | established an administered by the Department of Human Services | ||||||
17 | under the Kinship Navigator Act. | ||||||
18 | Section 95. The Family Caregiver Act is amended by adding | ||||||
19 | Section 92 as follows:
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20 | (320 ILCS 65/92 new)
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21 | Sec. 92. Kinship Navigator Act. The Kinship Navigator | ||||||
22 | established under the Kinship Navigator Act shall coordinate | ||||||
23 | the services administered by the Department under this Act with |
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1 | the programs and services established an administered by the | ||||||
2 | Department of Human Services under the Kinship Navigator Act.
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3 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
4 | becoming law.".
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