Rep. Sonya M. Harper

Filed: 3/16/2021

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 3821

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 3821 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4    "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5Racial Disproportionality in Child Welfare Task Force Act.
 
6    Section 3. Purposes. The purposes of this Act are to
7understand the underlying factors of child welfare system
8involvement for families; examine the racial disparities of
9children and families involved in the child welfare system at
10every key procedural phase of system involvement and the
11causes of such disparities; and explore resources, policies,
12and practices that could prevent system entry for families and
13reduce racial disproportionality at each key procedural phase
14of system involvement.
 
15    Section 5. Findings. The General Assembly finds the

 

 

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1following:
2    (1) Historically, Black children and Black parents and
3caregivers, women in particular, are disproportionately
4represented in the child welfare system.
5    (2) According to the Fiscal Year 2018 Disproportionality
6and Disparity Report prepared by the Children and Family
7Research Center of the University of Illinois, School of
8Social Work, racial disparities exist at each key decision
9point in the Illinois child welfare system with Black children
10being overrepresented at each point.
11    (3) Multiple studies show that removals which separate
12children from parents, even "short removals" lasting 48 hours,
13trigger responses in the children that include anxiety,
14isolation, aggression, substance abuse, and post-traumatic
15stress disorder and release higher levels of cortisol and
16damages brain cells. These impacts are experienced in
17"reciprocal and synergistic" ways by parents during
18separation.
19    (4) According to Child Trends' fiscal year 2019
20"State-level Data for Understanding Child Welfare in the
21United States," the average length of stay in foster care in
22Illinois was 28.6 months compared to the national average of
2319.8 months, and 12% of children in Illinois foster care were
24there 5 or more years compared to 5% of children nationally in
25foster care for that long.
26    (5) As of December 31, 2020, the population of Illinois'

 

 

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1youth in care was approximately 44% Black according to data
2from the Department of Children and Family Services, while
3recent data from the Annie E. Casey Foundation's KIDS COUNT
4Data Center estimate the 2019 child population of Illinois to
5have been approximately 15% Black.
6    (6) Black children and youth are represented in the child
7welfare system in Illinois at approximately 3 times the
8percentage of the statewide child population that is Black.
9Nationally, Black children and youth are represented in foster
10care at approximately 2 times the percentage of the national
11child population that is Black according to the National
12Conference of State Legislatures.
13    (7) Between fiscal years 2018 and 2020, the number of
14Illinois children removed from their homes annually increased
15by 30%, according to data from the Department of Children and
16Family Services. The increase in 2019 was 17%, the
17second-highest increase in the country.
18    (8) More than 90% of foster youth with 5 or more moves
19become involved in the juvenile justice system. In 2019,
20children in the custody of the Department of Children and
21Family Services averaged 3.8 moves/1,000 days; for Black
22children, the average was 4.4 moves/1,000 days.
23    (9) In Chapin Hall's Midwest Study of the Illinois,
24Wisconsin, and Iowa child welfare systems, almost 70% of youth
25involved in the study had been arrested by their mid-20s.
26    (10) In 2018, 79% of calls made to the Illinois Child Abuse

 

 

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1Hotline were made by mandated reporters. Of these calls, 25.8%
2came from education personnel, 24.2% from law enforcement
3personnel, 13.5% from medical personnel, and 10.7% from social
4service personnel.
5    (11) According to Child Trends' state-level data for
6federal fiscal year 2018 for Illinois, 65% of child abuse and
7neglect cases were due to allegations of neglect, 12% due to
8allegations of physical abuse, and 13% due to allegations of
9sexual abuse.
10    (12) According to Child Trends' state-level data for
11federal fiscal year 2019 for Illinois, 89% of entries into
12foster care were due to neglect, 12% due to parental substance
13abuse, 11% due to physical abuse, and 2% due to sexual abuse.
14    (13) In 2018, 20,815 reports to the Illinois Child Abuse
15Hotline involved an allegation of abuse and 35,310 involved a
16neglect allegation. Of these reports, only 10,189 were
17investigated, and of these investigations, only 1,544 resulted
18in an indicated finding. Of the investigations resulting in an
19indicated finding, only 225 were screened into court.
20    (14) According to the Fiscal Year 2020 Monitoring Report
21of the B.H. Consent Decree prepared by the Children and Family
22Research Center of the University of Illinois, School of
23Social Work, Black children in 2019 were less likely than
24white and Latinx children to be placed in kinship foster
25homes. Black children were more likely to be placed in
26traditional foster homes than white and Latinx children. Black

 

 

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1children were also more likely to be placed in institutions or
2group homes than white and Latinx children.
 
3    Section 10. Composition. The Racial Disproportionality in
4Child Welfare Task Force is created within the Department of
5Children and Family Services consisting of members appointed
6as follows:
7    (1) Two members from the Senate, one appointed by the
8President of the Senate and one appointed by the Senate
9Minority Leader.
10    (2) Two members from the House of Representatives, one
11appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives and
12one appointed by the House Minority Leader.
13    (3) Two General Assembly members from the Illinois
14Legislative Black Caucus, appointed by the Joint Caucus Chair
15of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus.
16    (4) Two General Assembly members from the Illinois Latino
17Caucus, appointed by the Chair of the Illinois Latino Caucus.
18    (5) One member from the Office of the Governor appointed
19by the Governor.
20    (6) The Director of Children and Family Services, or his
21or her designee.
22    (7) The Secretary of Human Services, or his or her
23designee.
24    (8) The Director of Healthcare and Family Services, or his
25or her designee.

 

 

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1    (9) One member from an organization with expertise in
2housing and the Continuum of Care Program that works with
3impacted populations or convenes advocates to prevent and end
4homelessness, appointed by the Governor's Office.
5    (10) The Inspector General of the Department of Children
6and Family Services, or his or her designee.
7    (11) One member from an organization with expertise in the
8child welfare system that advocates to preserve and reunify
9families, appointed by the Governor's Office.
10    (12) One member who is an academic researcher who has
11studied the racialized history and impact of the child welfare
12system on children, families, and communities, appointed by
13the Governor's Office.
14    (13) One member from the Administrative Office of the
15Illinois Courts, Children and Families Unit, Court Services
16Division, appointed by the Director of the Administrative
17Office of the Illinois Courts.
18    (14) Three members who are parents directly impacted by
19the child welfare system, at least 2 of whom come from a
20disproportionately represented racial group, appointed by the
21Governor's Office.
22    (15) The Cook County Public Guardian or his or her
23designee.
24    (16) One member who provides legal representation to
25children in child protection cases from outside of Cook
26County, appointed by the Governor's Office.

 

 

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1    (17) Two members who provide legal representation to
2parents in child protection cases, one from the Law Office of
3the Cook County Public Defender, appointed by the Governor's
4Office, and one from outside of Cook County, appointed by the
5Governor's Office.
6    (18) Two members who provide legal representation on
7behalf of the State of Illinois in child protection cases, one
8from the Cook County State's Attorney's Office, appointed by
9the Governor's Office, and one from a State's Attorney's
10office outside of Cook County, appointed by the Governor's
11Office.
12    (19) One member who provides legal services to parents
13impacted by gender-based violence during the investigation
14phase of child abuse or neglect cases, including services
15related to safety plans, intact services, and administrative
16appeals, appointed by the Governor's Office.
17    (20) Three members who have experience as youth in the
18child welfare system, at least 2 of whom come from a
19disproportionately represented racial group, appointed by the
20Governor's Office.
21    (21) One member from a statewide organization advocating
22for the advancement of civil liberties for at least 80 years in
23Illinois, appointed by the Governor's Office.
24    (22) One member from an organization that advocates on
25behalf of children, youth, and families and the
26community-based providers that serve them, appointed by the

 

 

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1Governor's Office.
 
2    Section 15. Meetings; co-chairs; administrative support.
3All members appointed under Section 10 shall serve without
4compensation. Task Force members shall be appointed within 60
5days after the effective date of this Act. The Task Force shall
6hold its initial meetings within 90 days after the effective
7date of this Act. The Task Force shall meet at least 4 times.
8The following individuals shall serve as co-chairs of the Task
9Force: (i) the member from the organization with expertise in
10the child welfare system that advocates to preserve and
11reunify families; and (ii) the member from the organization
12that advocates on behalf of children, youth, and families and
13the community-based providers that serve them. The Department
14of Children and Family Services shall provide any necessary
15administrative and other support to the Task Force. The
16Department of Children and Family Services shall facilitate
17the prompt and timely collection and provision of data as
18requested by or on behalf of the Task Force. Such facilitation
19shall include, without limitation, authorizing the provision
20of reports and underlying Department data that the Department
21currently or previously has provided or made available to the
22Children and Family Research Center of the University of
23Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Chapin Hall, Northwestern
24University, and any other of the Department's university
25partners and consultants.
 

 

 

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1    Section 20. Duties. The Task Force shall:
2        (1) Examine the historical and current role of
3    mandatory reporting and its impact on the racial and
4    gender disparities of families involved with the
5    Department of Children and Family Services.
6        (2) Examine the underlying factors that bring families
7    into contact with the Department of Children and Family
8    Services and the factors that lead to child removal,
9    including, but not limited to, suspected or known
10    substance use or dependency, intergenerational child
11    welfare system involvement, and lack of access to shelter,
12    food, clothing, income or employment, and healthcare, and
13    how these impact the length of time families remain
14    involved in the child welfare system.
15        (3) Review the Department of Children and Family
16    Services' progress on the planning and implementation of
17    the Family First Prevention Services Act and determine
18    what impact, if any, the plan may have on the current
19    racial disparities of children and families in the child
20    welfare system.
21        (4) Examine the current processes and policies, data,
22    and data collection methods for families involved
23    simultaneously in the child welfare, juvenile justice, or
24    criminal justice systems, including, but not limited to,
25    youth who are dually involved in the juvenile justice and

 

 

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1    child welfare systems.
2        (5) Explore policies and protocols that honor
3    language, culture, and heritage in identity formation and
4    familial relationships, including, but not limited to,
5    race-blind child protection screenings and child removal
6    reviews, as implemented in other jurisdictions around the
7    United States, and make recommendations for implementation
8    in Illinois.
9        (6) Explore the development of a curriculum for a
10    child welfare specific implicit bias training for all
11    public and private direct service staff and supervisors
12    who interact with children and families.
 
13    Section 25. Report. The Task Force shall produce and
14submit policy recommendations, both administrative and
15legislative, to the General Assembly and the Governor within
16one year after the first meeting of the Task Force. The
17recommendations shall seek to: (i) prioritize preserving and
18reunifying families involved in the child welfare system,
19particularly Black families; (ii) reduce child welfare system
20involvement, particularly for Black families; and (iii)
21eliminate racial disproportionality in system involvement and
22the disproportionate impact of system involvement on families.
23The Task Force co-chairs shall convene a final meeting before
24the repeal date of this Act to discuss an implementation plan
25based on the produced policy recommendations.
 

 

 

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1    Section 30. Repeal. The Task Force is dissolved, and this
2Act is repealed on, January 1, 2024.
 
3    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
4becoming law.".