102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
HB0634

 

Introduced 2/8/2021, by Rep. Steven Reick

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
See Index

    Creates the McHenry County Children and Family Services Agency Division in the Counties Code (which may be referred to as AJ's Law). Establishes a county children and family services agency in McHenry County for a 5-year period to replace the operations of the Department of Children and Family Services within that county. Provides that the McHenry County children and family services agency shall have all powers and duties of the Department under the Children and Family Services Act and the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act. Provides for the appointment of an executive director and employment of employees. Provides for requirements for operation of the county children and family services agency, including unit-based multidisciplinary teams. Provides for State funding of the agency after submission of a budget to the Department each year. Provides for transfer of power and duties back to the Department should the county children and family services agency cease operators after the initial 5-year period. Effective immediately.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY
HOUSING AFFORDABILITY IMPACT NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

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1    AN ACT concerning local government.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Counties Code is amended by adding Division
55-45 as follows:
 
6    (55 ILCS 5/Div. 5-45 heading new)
7
Division 5-45. McHenry County Children
8
and Family Services Agency

 
9    (55 ILCS 5/5-45001 new)
10    Sec. 5-45001. Reference to Division. This Division may be
11referred to as AJ's Law.
 
12    (55 ILCS 5/5-45005 new)
13    Sec. 5-45005. Definitions. As used in this Division:
14    "Agency" means the McHenry County children and family
15services agency.
16    "County" means McHenry County.
17    "County board" means the McHenry County Board.
18    "Department" means the Department of Children and Family
19Services.
 
20    (55 ILCS 5/5-45010 new)

 

 

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1    Sec. 5-45010. McHenry County children and family services
2agency; Department transfer of duties.
3    (a) The McHenry County children and family services agency
4is established. The agency shall begin operating no earlier
5than 90 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of
6the 102nd General Assembly. Once operations begin, the agency
7shall be a full-time agency of the county whose personnel,
8other than consultants, clinicians, or part-time clerical
9staff, shall devote full time during business hours to agency
10duties.
11    The county shall give the Department at least 45 days'
12notice as to the date the agency will begin operations. The
13agency will operate for at least 5 full years after the date
14the agency began its operations.
15    (b) On the date the county indicated to the Department
16that it would begin its agency operations in the notice
17provided to the Department under subsection (a), the
18Department's powers and duties under the Children and Family
19Services Act and the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act
20are assumed by the agency. Duties under these Acts include,
21but are not limited to, maintaining and managing: current
22services offered under the Acts; a crisis line or hotline; and
23the files transferred from the Department and created by the
24agency. The agency may modify their duties under the Acts if
25those changes are in the best interests of the children and
26families in the county and by reporting such changes to the

 

 

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1Department no earlier than 30 days before any such change.
2    (c) Once powers and duties are assumed by the agency under
3this Section, the agency shall perform its work in accordance
4with Department criteria, including any needed revised
5criteria based upon changes to the agency's duties reported to
6the Department under subsection (b).
 
7    (55 ILCS 5/5-45015 new)
8    Sec. 5-45015. Agency duties; investigatory functions. The
9agency shall protect the health, safety, and best interests of
10children in all situations in which children are vulnerable to
11child abuse or neglect, offer protective services in order to
12prevent any further harm to the child and to other children in
13the same environment or family, stabilize the home
14environment, and preserve family life whenever possible.
15    The agency shall employ policies and procedures to protect
16children from being abused and neglected as provided for in
17the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act, including, but
18not limited to, being responsible for receiving and
19investigating reports of adult resident abuse or neglect. In
20performing any of these duties, the agency may utilize
21protective services of voluntary agencies as are available.
 
22    (55 ILCS 5/5-45020 new)
23    Sec. 5-45020. Executive director; appointment. The county
24board chairperson shall appoint an executive director of the

 

 

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1agency, with the advice and consent of the county board. The
2executive director shall possess such qualifications as
3prescribed by the county board. The executive director of the
4agency may appoint such professional employees who meet the
5qualification requirements of the agency as allowed by the
6funds available to the agency.
 
7    (55 ILCS 5/5-45025 new)
8    Sec. 5-45025. Employees; facilities.
9    (a) All investigators and employees of the agency shall be
10employees of the county with the same qualifications and
11accreditation as required under the statutes, rules,
12procedures, and standards governing investigators and
13employees the Department. Current employees or contractors of
14the Department may be employed or contracted by the agency as
15deemed appropriate by the executive director, including those
16employees and investigators employed by the State within the
17facilities of the Department within the county. Agency
18employees shall be enrolled in such benefits and pension
19programs as deemed appropriate by the executive director that
20would be commensurate with county employees within other
21county agencies and departments. County employees of the
22agency shall be eligible for the same training eligible to for
23similar roles as State employees or contractors of the
24Department.
25    (b) The agency may lease or purchase facilities to operate

 

 

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1the agency and to house its employees and contractors,
2including leasing or purchasing facilities from the
3Department.
 
4    (55 ILCS 5/5-45030 new)
5    Sec. 5-45030. Operations. The agency will be operated as
6recommended in the February 2016 report, "The Urgent Need in
7Illinois for Unit-Based Multidisciplinary Teams to Investigate
8Child Abuse", published by the Illinois Children's Justice
9Task Force.
10    The agency may contract with the State, units of local
11government, providers, contractors, and servicers in order to
12provide its services with the highest standards as determined
13by the executive director and the agency, including contracts
14with pediatric child abuse physicians and neglect centers of
15excellence.
 
16    (55 ILCS 5/5-45035 new)
17    Sec. 5-45035. Agency funding; continuing appropriation.
18    (a) No later than 45 days after the effective date of this
19amendatory Act of the 102nd General assembly and each year
20thereafter no later than 45 days before the anniversary of the
21date the agency began operations, the executive director shall
22prepare a budget and file the proposed budget with the
23Director of the Department. Each budget shall be no less than
24the total amount of all appropriations that were used by the

 

 

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1Department in the county in the fiscal year immediately
2preceding the date the agency began its operations.
3    On the date the agency begins its operations under
4subsection (a) of Section 5-45010, the Department shall make
5grants to the county for use by the agency in amounts equal to
6the moneys the Department was appropriated or otherwise
7received that the Department would have used for the remainder
8of the current fiscal year in the county. The grants,
9including those amounts appropriated and transferred to the
10Department under subsection (b), shall be distributed to the
11county no later than 14 days after the Department receives the
12applicable moneys and shall continue indefinitely unless the
13agency ceases operations under Section 5-45045. For moneys in
14possession of the Department designated for use in the county
15on the date the agency begins its operations, those moneys
16shall be distributed to the county no later than 14 days after
17the agency began its operations.
18    (b) For the 5 State fiscal years immediately following the
19date the agency begins its operations under subsection (a) of
20Section 5-45010:
21        (1) The Governor shall submit to the General Assembly
22    a proposed budget for the Department for use by the county
23    in which total General Revenue Fund appropriations are no
24    less than the total amount of all appropriations that were
25    used by the Department in the county in the fiscal year
26    immediately preceding the date the agency began its

 

 

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1    operations. In addition, the Governor shall specify the
2    total amount of funds to be transferred from all Funds to
3    the Department for use by the county during the budget
4    year, which shall be no less than the total amount of all
5    appropriations that were used by the Department in the
6    county in the fiscal year immediately preceding the date
7    the agency began its operations. The Governor may submit a
8    proposed budget in which the total appropriated and
9    transferred amounts the Department for use by the county
10    are less than the total amount of all appropriations that
11    were used by the Department in the county in the fiscal
12    year immediately preceding the date the agency began its
13    operations if the Governor declares in writing to the
14    General Assembly the reason for the lesser amounts.
15        (2) The General Assembly shall appropriate amounts for
16    the Department for use by the county for each fiscal year
17    so that the total appropriation from all Funds is no less
18    than the total amount of appropriations that were used by
19    the Department in the county in the fiscal year
20    immediately preceding the date the agency began its
21    operations. In addition, the General Assembly shall
22    legislatively transfer to the Department for use by the
23    county for the fiscal year a total amount that is no less
24    than the total amount of all appropriations that were used
25    by the Department in the county in the fiscal year
26    immediately preceding the date the agency began its

 

 

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1    operations. The General Assembly may appropriate or
2    transfer lesser amounts if it declares by Joint Resolution
3    the reason for the lesser amounts.
 
4    (55 ILCS 5/5-45040 new)
5    Sec. 5-45040. Reporting; accountability.
6    (a) The agency shall issue annual reports to the
7Department, the Governor, and the General Assembly no later
8than 30 days after each anniversary of the date the agency
9began its operations. The report shall detail the agency's
10performance according to standard performance metrics,
11including, but not limited to: time of response to hotline
12reports; time of communication of hotline reports among
13various county stakeholders, including law enforcement; number
14and quality of indicated reports as measured against the
15Department's last baseline established in the county before
16the date the agency began its operations; caseload management
17by investigators as measured against the Department's last
18baseline established in the county before the date the agency
19began its operations; and other metrics as may be recommended
20by the executive director of the agency, the Director of the
21Department, or the Office of the Inspector General of the
22Department.
23    (b) The Office of the Inspector General of the Department
24has the authority to investigate any agency matter that would
25otherwise fall within the Inspector General's authority if

 

 

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1those matters involved the Department.
 
2    (55 ILCS 5/5-45045 new)
3    Sec. 5-45045. Agency ceasing operations.
4    (a) No earlier than 5 years after the agency began
5operations, the county may cease operations under this
6Section. Before ceasing operations, the county shall give the
7Department no less than 90 days' notice of the date the agency
8will cease operations. On the date agency ceases operations,
9the Department will resume its powers and duties under the
10Children and Family Services Act and the Abused and Neglected
11Child Reporting Act and cease all grants to the county under
12this Division.
13    For moneys in possession of the agency from grants from
14the Department on the date the agency ceases operations, those
15moneys shall be distributed to the Department no later than 14
16days after the agency ceases its operations.
17    (b) The agency shall cease operations on the date of
18repeal of this Division under Section 5-45050 if the General
19Assembly has not repealed that Section. On that date, the
20Department shall resume its powers and duties and the agency
21shall distribute moneys as provided in subsection (a).
 
22    (55 ILCS 5/5-45050 new)
23    Sec. 5-45050. Repeal. This Act is repealed 6 years after
24the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General

 

 

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1Assembly.
 
2    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
3becoming law.

 

 

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1 INDEX
2 Statutes amended in order of appearance
3    55 ILCS 5/Div. 5-45
4    heading new
5    55 ILCS 5/5-45001 new
6    55 ILCS 5/5-45005 new
7    55 ILCS 5/5-45010 new
8    55 ILCS 5/5-45015 new
9    55 ILCS 5/5-45020 new
10    55 ILCS 5/5-45025 new
11    55 ILCS 5/5-45030 new
12    55 ILCS 5/5-45035 new
13    55 ILCS 5/5-45040 new
14    55 ILCS 5/5-45045 new
15    55 ILCS 5/5-45050 new