SB1743 EnrolledLRB101 09307 KTG 54401 b

1    AN ACT concerning State government.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Children and Family Services Act is amended
5by adding Sections 39.3 and 42 as follows:
 
6    (20 ILCS 505/39.3)
7    Sec. 39.3. Suggestion boxes. The Department must place in
8each residential treatment center, group home, shelter, and
9transitional living arrangement that accepts youth in care for
10placement by the Department a locked suggestion box into which
11residents may place comments and concerns to be addressed by
12the Department. Only employees of the Department shall have
13access to the contents of the locked suggestion boxes. An
14employee of the Department must check the locked suggestion
15boxes at least once per week. The Department shall submit a
16report to the General Assembly each year outlining the issues
17and concerns submitted to the locked suggestion box and the
18solution to each issue and concern.
19(Source: P.A. 99-342, eff. 8-11-15; 100-159, eff. 8-18-17.)
 
20    (20 ILCS 505/42 new)
21    Sec. 42. Foster care survey. The Department, in
22coordination with the Foster Care Alumni of America Illinois

 

 

SB1743 Enrolled- 2 -LRB101 09307 KTG 54401 b

1Chapter, the School of Social Work at the University of
2Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and the Department's Statewide
3Youth Advisory Board, shall develop and process a standardized
4survey to gather feedback from children who are aging out of
5foster care and from children who have transitioned out of the
6foster care system. The survey shall include requests for
7information regarding the children's experience with and
8opinion of State foster care services, the children's
9recommendations for improvement of such services, the amount of
10time the children spent in the foster care system, and any
11other information deemed relevant by the Department. After the
12survey is created the Department shall circulate the survey to
13all youth participating in transitional living programs,
14independent living programs, or Youth in College and to all
15youth receiving scholarships or tuition waivers under the DCFS
16Scholarship Program. The Department shall conduct the survey
17every 5 years. At the completion of each survey, the
18Department, in coordination with the Foster Care Alumni of
19America Illinois Chapter, the School of Social Work at the
20University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and the
21Department's Statewide Youth Advisory Board, shall submit a
22report with a detailed review of the survey results to the
23Governor and the General Assembly. The first report shall be
24submitted no later than December 1, 2021 and every 5 years
25thereafter.