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| 1 | AN ACT concerning education.
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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 School Code is amended by adding Sections | ||||||
| 5 | 10-20.58 and 34-18.50 as follows: | ||||||
| 6 | (105 ILCS 5/10-20.58 new) | ||||||
| 7 | Sec. 10-20.58. DCFS liaison. | ||||||
| 8 | (a) Each school board may appoint at least one employee to | ||||||
| 9 | act as a liaison to facilitate the enrollment and transfer of | ||||||
| 10 | records of students in the legal custody of the Department of | ||||||
| 11 | Children and Family Services when enrolling in or changing | ||||||
| 12 | schools. The school board may appoint any employee of the | ||||||
| 13 | school district who is licensed under Article 21B of this Code | ||||||
| 14 | to act as a liaison; however, employees who meet any of the | ||||||
| 15 | following criteria must be prioritized for appointment: | ||||||
| 16 | (1) Employees who have worked with mobile student | ||||||
| 17 | populations or students in foster care. | ||||||
| 18 | (2) Employees who are familiar with enrollment, record | ||||||
| 19 | transfers, existing community services, and student | ||||||
| 20 | support services. | ||||||
| 21 | (3) Employees who serve as a high-level administrator. | ||||||
| 22 | (4) Employees who are counselors or have experience | ||||||
| 23 | with student counseling. | ||||||
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| 1 | (5) Employees who are knowledgeable on child welfare | ||||||
| 2 | policies. | ||||||
| 3 | (6) Employees who serve as a school social worker. | ||||||
| 4 | (b) Liaisons under this Section are encouraged to build | ||||||
| 5 | capacity and infrastructure within their school district to | ||||||
| 6 | support students in the legal custody of the Department of | ||||||
| 7 | Children and Family Services. Liaison responsibilities may | ||||||
| 8 | include the following: | ||||||
| 9 | (1) streamlining the enrollment processes for students | ||||||
| 10 | in foster care; | ||||||
| 11 | (2) implementing student data tracking and monitoring | ||||||
| 12 | mechanisms; | ||||||
| 13 | (3) ensuring that students in the legal custody of the | ||||||
| 14 | Department of Children and Family Services receive all | ||||||
| 15 | school nutrition and meal programs available; | ||||||
| 16 | (4) coordinating student withdrawal from a school, | ||||||
| 17 | record transfers, and credit recovery; | ||||||
| 18 | (5) becoming experts on the foster care system and | ||||||
| 19 | State laws and policies in place that support children | ||||||
| 20 | under the legal custody of the Department of Children and | ||||||
| 21 | Family Services; | ||||||
| 22 | (6) coordinating with child welfare partners; | ||||||
| 23 | (7) providing foster care-related information and | ||||||
| 24 | training to the school district; | ||||||
| 25 | (8) working with the Department of Children and Family | ||||||
| 26 | Services to help students maintain their school placement, | ||||||
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| 1 | if appropriate; | ||||||
| 2 | (9) reviewing student schedules to ensure that | ||||||
| 3 | students are on track to graduate; | ||||||
| 4 | (10) encouraging a successful transition into | ||||||
| 5 | adulthood and post-secondary opportunities; | ||||||
| 6 | (11) encouraging involvement in extracurricular | ||||||
| 7 | activities; and | ||||||
| 8 | (12) knowing what support is available within the | ||||||
| 9 | school district and community for students in the legal | ||||||
| 10 | custody of the Department of Children and Family Services. | ||||||
| 11 | (c) A school district is encouraged to designate a liaison | ||||||
| 12 | by the beginning of the 2017-2018 school year. | ||||||
| 13 | (d) Individuals licensed under Article 21B of this Code | ||||||
| 14 | acting as a liaison under this Section shall perform the duties | ||||||
| 15 | of a liaison in addition to existing contractual obligations. | ||||||
| 16 | (105 ILCS 5/34-18.50 new) | ||||||
| 17 | Sec. 34-18.50. DCFS liaison. | ||||||
| 18 | (a) The board may appoint at least one employee to act as a | ||||||
| 19 | liaison to facilitate the enrollment and transfer of records of | ||||||
| 20 | students in the legal custody of the Department of Children and | ||||||
| 21 | Family Services when enrolling in or changing schools. The | ||||||
| 22 | board may appoint any employee of the school district who is | ||||||
| 23 | licensed under Article 21B of this Code to act as a liaison; | ||||||
| 24 | however, employees who meet any of the following criteria must | ||||||
| 25 | be prioritized for appointment: | ||||||
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| 1 | (1) Employees who have worked with mobile student | ||||||
| 2 | populations or students in foster care. | ||||||
| 3 | (2) Employees who are familiar with enrollment, record | ||||||
| 4 | transfers, existing community services, and student | ||||||
| 5 | support services. | ||||||
| 6 | (3) Employees who serve as a high-level administrator. | ||||||
| 7 | (4) Employees who are counselors or have experience | ||||||
| 8 | with student counseling. | ||||||
| 9 | (5) Employees who are knowledgeable on child welfare | ||||||
| 10 | policies. | ||||||
| 11 | (6) Employees who serve as a school social worker. | ||||||
| 12 | (b) Liaisons under this Section are encouraged to build | ||||||
| 13 | capacity and infrastructure within the school district to | ||||||
| 14 | support students in the legal custody of the Department of | ||||||
| 15 | Children and Family Services. Liaison responsibilities may | ||||||
| 16 | include the following: | ||||||
| 17 | (1) streamlining the enrollment processes for students | ||||||
| 18 | in foster care; | ||||||
| 19 | (2) implementing student data tracking and monitoring | ||||||
| 20 | mechanisms; | ||||||
| 21 | (3) ensuring that students in the legal custody of the | ||||||
| 22 | Department of Children and Family Services receive all | ||||||
| 23 | school nutrition and meal programs available; | ||||||
| 24 | (4) coordinating student withdrawal from a school, | ||||||
| 25 | record transfers, and credit recovery; | ||||||
| 26 | (5) becoming experts on the foster care system and | ||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | State laws and policies in place that support children | ||||||
| 2 | under the legal custody of the Department of Children and | ||||||
| 3 | Family Services; | ||||||
| 4 | (6) coordinating with child welfare partners; | ||||||
| 5 | (7) providing foster care-related information and | ||||||
| 6 | training to the school district; | ||||||
| 7 | (8) working with the Department of Children and Family | ||||||
| 8 | Services to help students maintain their school placement, | ||||||
| 9 | if appropriate; | ||||||
| 10 | (9) reviewing student schedules to ensure that | ||||||
| 11 | students are on track to graduate; | ||||||
| 12 | (10) encouraging a successful transition into | ||||||
| 13 | adulthood and post-secondary opportunities; | ||||||
| 14 | (11) encouraging involvement in extracurricular | ||||||
| 15 | activities; and | ||||||
| 16 | (12) knowing what support is available within the | ||||||
| 17 | school district and community for students in the legal | ||||||
| 18 | custody of the Department of Children and Family Services. | ||||||
| 19 | (c) The school district is encouraged to designate a | ||||||
| 20 | liaison by the beginning of the 2017-2018 school year. | ||||||
| 21 | (d) Individuals licensed under Article 21B of this Code | ||||||
| 22 | acting as a liaison under this Section shall perform the duties | ||||||
| 23 | of a liaison in addition to existing contractual obligations.
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| 24 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
| 25 | becoming law.
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