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1 | AN ACT concerning children.
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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 Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act is | ||||||
5 | amended by changing Section 4 as follows:
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6 | (325 ILCS 5/4) (from Ch. 23, par. 2054)
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7 | Sec. 4. Persons required to report; privileged | ||||||
8 | communications;
transmitting false report. Any physician, | ||||||
9 | resident, intern, hospital,
hospital administrator
and | ||||||
10 | personnel engaged in examination, care and treatment of | ||||||
11 | persons, surgeon,
dentist, dentist hygienist, osteopath, | ||||||
12 | chiropractor, podiatrist, physician
assistant, substance abuse | ||||||
13 | treatment personnel, funeral home
director or employee, | ||||||
14 | coroner, medical examiner, emergency medical technician,
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15 | acupuncturist, crisis line or hotline personnel, school | ||||||
16 | personnel (including administrators and both certified and | ||||||
17 | non-certified school employees), educational
advocate assigned | ||||||
18 | to a child pursuant to the School Code, member of a school | ||||||
19 | board or the Chicago Board of Education or the governing body | ||||||
20 | of a private school (but only to the extent required in | ||||||
21 | accordance with other provisions of this Section expressly | ||||||
22 | concerning the duty of school board members to report suspected | ||||||
23 | child abuse), truant officers,
social worker, social services |
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1 | administrator,
domestic violence program personnel, registered | ||||||
2 | nurse, licensed
practical nurse, genetic counselor,
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3 | respiratory care practitioner, advanced practice nurse, home
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4 | health aide, director or staff
assistant of a nursery school or | ||||||
5 | a child day care center, recreational program
or facility | ||||||
6 | personnel, law enforcement officer, licensed professional
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7 | counselor, licensed clinical professional counselor, | ||||||
8 | registered psychologist
and
assistants working under the | ||||||
9 | direct supervision of a psychologist,
psychiatrist, or field | ||||||
10 | personnel of the Department of Healthcare and Family Services,
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11 | Juvenile Justice, Public Health, Human Services (acting as | ||||||
12 | successor to the Department of Mental
Health and Developmental | ||||||
13 | Disabilities, Rehabilitation Services, or Public Aid),
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14 | Corrections, Human Rights, or Children and Family Services, | ||||||
15 | supervisor and
administrator of general assistance under the | ||||||
16 | Illinois Public Aid Code,
probation officer, animal control | ||||||
17 | officer or Illinois Department of Agriculture Bureau of Animal | ||||||
18 | Health and Welfare field investigator, or any other foster | ||||||
19 | parent, homemaker or child care worker
having reasonable cause | ||||||
20 | to believe a child known to them in their professional
or | ||||||
21 | official capacity may be an abused child or a neglected child | ||||||
22 | shall
immediately report or cause a report to be made to the | ||||||
23 | Department.
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24 | Any member of the clergy having reasonable cause to believe | ||||||
25 | that a child
known to that member of the clergy in his or her | ||||||
26 | professional capacity may be
an abused child as defined in item |
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1 | (c) of the definition of "abused child" in
Section 3 of this | ||||||
2 | Act shall immediately report or cause a report to be made to
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3 | the Department.
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4 | Any physician, physician's assistant, registered nurse, | ||||||
5 | licensed practical nurse, medical technician, certified | ||||||
6 | nursing assistant, social worker, or licensed professional | ||||||
7 | counselor of any office, clinic, or any other physical location | ||||||
8 | that provides abortions, abortion referrals, or contraceptives | ||||||
9 | having reasonable cause to believe a child known to him or her | ||||||
10 | in his or her professional
or official capacity may be an | ||||||
11 | abused child or a neglected child shall
immediately report or | ||||||
12 | cause a report to be made to the Department. | ||||||
13 | If an allegation is raised to a school board member during | ||||||
14 | the course of an open or closed school board meeting that a | ||||||
15 | child who is enrolled in the school district of which he or she | ||||||
16 | is a board member is an abused child as defined in Section 3 of | ||||||
17 | this Act, the member shall direct or cause the school board to | ||||||
18 | direct the superintendent of the school district or other | ||||||
19 | equivalent school administrator to comply with the | ||||||
20 | requirements of this Act concerning the reporting of child | ||||||
21 | abuse. For purposes of this paragraph, a school board member is | ||||||
22 | granted the authority in his or her individual capacity to | ||||||
23 | direct the superintendent of the school district or other | ||||||
24 | equivalent school administrator to comply with the | ||||||
25 | requirements of this Act concerning the reporting of child | ||||||
26 | abuse.
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1 | Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, if an | ||||||
2 | employee of a school district has made a report or caused a | ||||||
3 | report to be made to the Department under this Act involving | ||||||
4 | the conduct of a current or former employee of the school | ||||||
5 | district and a request is made by another school district for | ||||||
6 | the provision of information concerning the job performance or | ||||||
7 | qualifications of the current or former employee because he or | ||||||
8 | she is an applicant for employment with the requesting school | ||||||
9 | district, the general superintendent of the school district to | ||||||
10 | which the request is being made must disclose to the requesting | ||||||
11 | school district the fact that an employee of the school | ||||||
12 | district has made a report involving the conduct of the | ||||||
13 | applicant or caused a report to be made to the Department, as | ||||||
14 | required under this Act. Only the fact that an employee of the | ||||||
15 | school district has made a report involving the conduct of the | ||||||
16 | applicant or caused a report to be made to the Department may | ||||||
17 | be disclosed by the general superintendent of the school | ||||||
18 | district to which the request for information concerning the | ||||||
19 | applicant is made, and this fact may be disclosed only in cases | ||||||
20 | where the employee and the general superintendent have not been | ||||||
21 | informed by the Department that the allegations were unfounded. | ||||||
22 | An employee of a school district who is or has been the subject | ||||||
23 | of a report made pursuant to this Act during his or her | ||||||
24 | employment with the school district must be informed by that | ||||||
25 | school district that if he or she applies for employment with | ||||||
26 | another school district, the general superintendent of the |
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1 | former school district, upon the request of the school district | ||||||
2 | to which the employee applies, shall notify that requesting | ||||||
3 | school district that the employee is or was the subject of such | ||||||
4 | a report.
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5 | Whenever
such person is required to report under this Act | ||||||
6 | in his capacity as a member of
the staff of a medical or other | ||||||
7 | public or private institution, school, facility
or agency, or | ||||||
8 | as a member of the clergy, he shall
make report immediately to | ||||||
9 | the Department in accordance
with the provisions of this Act | ||||||
10 | and may also notify the person in charge of
such institution, | ||||||
11 | school, facility or agency, or church, synagogue, temple,
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12 | mosque, or other religious institution, or his
designated agent | ||||||
13 | that such
report has been made. Under no circumstances shall | ||||||
14 | any person in charge of
such institution, school, facility or | ||||||
15 | agency, or church, synagogue, temple,
mosque, or other | ||||||
16 | religious institution, or his
designated agent to whom
such | ||||||
17 | notification has been made, exercise any control, restraint, | ||||||
18 | modification
or other change in the report or the forwarding of | ||||||
19 | such report to the
Department.
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20 | The privileged quality of communication between any | ||||||
21 | professional
person required to report
and his patient or | ||||||
22 | client shall not apply to situations involving abused or
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23 | neglected children and shall not constitute grounds for failure | ||||||
24 | to report
as required by this Act.
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25 | A member of the clergy may claim the privilege under | ||||||
26 | Section 8-803 of the
Code of Civil Procedure.
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1 | Any office, clinic, or any other physical location that | ||||||
2 | provides abortions, abortion referrals, or contraceptives | ||||||
3 | shall provide to all office personnel copies of written | ||||||
4 | information and training materials about abuse and neglect and | ||||||
5 | the requirements of this Act that are provided to employees of | ||||||
6 | the office, clinic, or physical location who are required to | ||||||
7 | make reports to the Department under this Act, and instruct | ||||||
8 | such office personnel to bring to the attention of an employee | ||||||
9 | of the office, clinic, or physical location who is required to | ||||||
10 | make reports to the Department under this Act any reasonable | ||||||
11 | suspicion that a child known to him or her in his or her | ||||||
12 | professional or official capacity may be an abused child or a | ||||||
13 | neglected child. In addition to the above persons required to
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14 | report suspected cases of abused or neglected children, any | ||||||
15 | other person
may make a report if such person has reasonable | ||||||
16 | cause to believe a child
may be an abused child or a neglected | ||||||
17 | child.
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18 | Any person who enters into
employment on and after July 1, | ||||||
19 | 1986 and is mandated by virtue of that
employment to report | ||||||
20 | under this Act, shall sign a statement on a form
prescribed by | ||||||
21 | the Department, to the effect that the employee has knowledge
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22 | and understanding of the reporting requirements of this Act. | ||||||
23 | The statement
shall be signed prior to commencement of the | ||||||
24 | employment. The signed
statement shall be retained by the | ||||||
25 | employer. The cost of printing,
distribution, and filing of the | ||||||
26 | statement shall be borne by the employer.
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1 | The Department shall provide copies of this Act, upon | ||||||
2 | request, to all
employers employing persons who shall be | ||||||
3 | required under the provisions of
this Section to report under | ||||||
4 | this Act.
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5 | Any person who knowingly transmits a false report to the | ||||||
6 | Department
commits the offense of disorderly conduct under | ||||||
7 | subsection (a)(7) of
Section 26-1 of the "Criminal Code of | ||||||
8 | 1961". Any person who violates this
provision a second or | ||||||
9 | subsequent time shall be guilty of a Class 3
felony.
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10 | Any person who knowingly and willfully violates any | ||||||
11 | provision of this
Section other than a second or subsequent | ||||||
12 | violation of transmitting a
false report as described in the
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13 | preceding paragraph, is guilty of a
Class A misdemeanor for
a | ||||||
14 | first violation and a Class
4 felony for a
second or subsequent | ||||||
15 | violation; except that if the person acted as part
of a plan or | ||||||
16 | scheme having as its object the
prevention of discovery of an | ||||||
17 | abused or neglected child by lawful authorities
for the
purpose | ||||||
18 | of protecting or insulating any person or entity from arrest or
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19 | prosecution, the
person is guilty of a Class 4 felony for a | ||||||
20 | first offense and a Class 3 felony
for a second or
subsequent | ||||||
21 | offense (regardless of whether the second or subsequent offense
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22 | involves any
of the same facts or persons as the first or other | ||||||
23 | prior offense).
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24 | A child whose parent, guardian or custodian in good faith | ||||||
25 | selects and depends
upon spiritual means through prayer alone | ||||||
26 | for the treatment or cure of
disease or remedial care may be |
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1 | considered neglected or abused, but not for
the sole reason | ||||||
2 | that his parent, guardian or custodian accepts and
practices | ||||||
3 | such beliefs.
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4 | A child shall not be considered neglected or abused solely | ||||||
5 | because the
child is not attending school in accordance with | ||||||
6 | the requirements of
Article 26 of the School Code, as amended.
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7 | Nothing in this Act prohibits a mandated reporter who | ||||||
8 | reasonably believes that an animal is being abused or neglected | ||||||
9 | in violation of the Humane Care for Animals Act from reporting | ||||||
10 | animal abuse or neglect to the Department of Agriculture's | ||||||
11 | Bureau of Animal Health and Welfare. | ||||||
12 | A home rule unit may not regulate the reporting of child | ||||||
13 | abuse or neglect in a manner inconsistent with the provisions | ||||||
14 | of this Section. This Section is a limitation under subsection | ||||||
15 | (i) of Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois Constitution on | ||||||
16 | the concurrent exercise by home rule units of powers and | ||||||
17 | functions exercised by the State. | ||||||
18 | For purposes of this Section "child abuse or neglect" | ||||||
19 | includes abuse or neglect of an adult resident as defined in | ||||||
20 | this Act. | ||||||
21 | (Source: P.A. 95-10, eff. 6-30-07; 95-461, eff. 8-27-07; | ||||||
22 | 95-876, eff. 8-21-08; 95-908, eff. 8-26-08; 96-494, eff. | ||||||
23 | 8-14-09; 96-1446, eff. 8-20-10.)
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