HB2787 EngrossedLRB098 06185 DRJ 36226 b

1    AN ACT concerning children.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act is
5amended by changing Sections 7.7, 7.14, 7.16, and 7.21 and by
6adding Section 7.22 as follows:
 
7    (325 ILCS 5/7.7)  (from Ch. 23, par. 2057.7)
8    Sec. 7.7. There shall be a central register of all cases of
9suspected child abuse or neglect reported and maintained by the
10Department under this Act. Through the recording of initial,
11preliminary, and final reports, the central register shall be
12operated in such a manner as to enable the Department to: (1)
13immediately identify and locate prior reports of child abuse or
14neglect; (2) continuously monitor the current status of all
15reports of child abuse or neglect being provided services under
16this Act; and (3) regularly evaluate the effectiveness of
17existing laws and programs through the development and analysis
18of statistical and other information.
19    The Department shall maintain in the central register a
20listing of unfounded reports where the subject of the unfounded
21report requests that the record not be expunged because the
22subject alleges an intentional false report was made. Such a
23request must be made by the subject in writing to the

 

 

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1Department, within 10 days of the investigation. By January 1,
22014, the Department shall promulgate rules establishing
3criteria and standards for labeling an unfounded report as an
4intentional false report in the central register. The rules
5shall permit the reporter to submit a statement regarding the
6report unless the reporter has been convicted of knowingly
7transmitting a false report to the Department under paragraph
8(7) of subsection (a) of Section 26-1 of the Criminal Code of
92012.
10    The Department shall also maintain in the central register
11a listing of unfounded reports where the report was classified
12as a priority one or priority two report in accordance with the
13Department's rules or the report was made by a person mandated
14to report suspected abuse or neglect under this Act.
15    The Department shall maintain in the central register for 3
16years a listing of unfounded reports involving the death of a
17child, the sexual abuse of a child, or serious physical injury
18to a child as defined by the Department in rules.
19    If an individual is the subject of a subsequent
20investigation that is pending, the Department shall maintain
21all prior unfounded reports pertaining to that individual until
22the pending investigation has been completed or for 12 months,
23whichever time period ends later.
24    The Department shall maintain all other unfounded reports
25for 12 months following the date of the final finding.
26    For purposes of this Section "child abuse or neglect"

 

 

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1includes abuse or neglect of an adult resident as defined in
2this Act.
3(Source: P.A. 96-1164, eff. 7-21-10; 96-1446, eff. 8-20-10;
497-333, eff. 8-12-11; 97-1089, eff. 8-24-12.)
 
5    (325 ILCS 5/7.14)  (from Ch. 23, par. 2057.14)
6    Sec. 7.14. All reports in the central register shall be
7classified in one of three categories: "indicated",
8"unfounded" or "undetermined", as the case may be. After the
9report is classified, the person making the classification
10shall determine whether the child named in the report is the
11subject of an action under Article II of the Juvenile Court Act
12of 1987. If the child is the subject of an action under Article
13II of the Juvenile Court Act, the Department shall, within 45
14days of classification of the report, transmit a copy of the
15report to the guardian ad litem appointed for the child under
16Section 2-17 of the Juvenile Court Act. All information
17identifying the subjects of an unfounded report shall be
18expunged from the register forthwith, except as provided in
19Section 7.7. Unfounded reports may only be made available to
20the Child Protective Service Unit when investigating a
21subsequent report of suspected abuse or maltreatment involving
22a child named in the unfounded report; and to the subject of
23the report, provided the Department has not expunged the file
24in accordance with Section 7.7. The Child Protective Service
25Unit shall not indicate the subsequent report solely based upon

 

 

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1the existence of the prior unfounded report or reports.
2Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, an
3unfounded report shall not be admissible in any judicial or
4administrative proceeding or action. Identifying information
5on all other records shall be removed from the register no
6later than 5 years after the report is indicated. However, if
7another report is received involving the same child, his
8sibling or offspring, or a child in the care of the persons
9responsible for the child's welfare, or involving the same
10alleged offender, the identifying information may be
11maintained in the register until 5 years after the subsequent
12case or report is closed.
13    Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section,
14identifying information in indicated reports involving serious
15physical injury to a child as defined by the Department in
16rules, may be retained longer than 5 years after the report is
17indicated or after the subsequent case or report is closed, and
18may not be removed from the register except as provided by the
19Department in rules. Identifying information in indicated
20reports involving sexual penetration of a child, sexual
21molestation of a child, sexual exploitation of a child, torture
22of a child, or the death of a child, as defined by the
23Department in rules, shall be retained for a period of not less
24than 50 years after the report is indicated or after the
25subsequent case or report is closed.
26    For purposes of this Section "child" includes an adult

 

 

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1resident as defined in this Act.
2(Source: P.A. 96-1164, eff. 7-21-10; 96-1446, eff. 8-20-10;
397-333, eff. 8-12-11.)
 
4    (325 ILCS 5/7.16)  (from Ch. 23, par. 2057.16)
5    Sec. 7.16. For any investigation or appeal initiated on or
6after, or pending on July 1, 1998, the following time frames
7shall apply. Within 60 days after the notification of the
8completion of the Child Protective Service Unit investigation,
9determined by the date of the notification sent by the
10Department, a subject of a report may request the Department to
11amend the record or remove the record of the report from the
12register. Such request shall be in writing and directed to such
13person as the Department designates in the notification. If the
14Department disregards any request to do so or does not act
15within 10 days, the subject shall have the right to a hearing
16within the Department to determine whether the record of the
17report should be amended or removed on the grounds that it is
18inaccurate or it is being maintained in a manner inconsistent
19with this Act, except that there shall be no such right to a
20hearing on the ground of the report's inaccuracy if there has
21been a court finding of child abuse or neglect, the report's
22accuracy being conclusively presumed on such finding. Such
23hearing shall be held within a reasonable time after the
24subject's request and at a reasonable place and hour. The
25appropriate Child Protective Service Unit shall be given notice

 

 

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1of the hearing. If the minor, who is the subject of an action
2under Article II of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987, is also the
3victim named in the report sought to be amended or removed from
4the central register, the minor shall, through the minor's
5attorney or guardian ad litem appointed under Section 2-17 of
6the Juvenile Court Act of 1987, have the right to participate
7and be heard in such hearing as defined under Department rules.
8In such hearings, the burden of proving the accuracy and
9consistency of the record shall be on the Department and the
10appropriate Child Protective Service Unit. The hearing shall be
11conducted by the Director or his designee, who is hereby
12authorized and empowered to order the amendment or removal of
13the record to make it accurate and consistent with this Act.
14The decision shall be made, in writing, at the close of the
15hearing, or within 45 days thereof, and shall state the reasons
16upon which it is based. Decisions of the Department under this
17Section are administrative decisions subject to judicial
18review under the Administrative Review Law.
19    Should the Department grant the request of the subject of
20the report pursuant to this Section either on administrative
21review or after administrative hearing to amend an indicated
22report to an unfounded report, the report shall be released and
23expunged in accordance with the standards set forth in Section
247.14 of this Act.
25(Source: P.A. 90-15, eff. 6-13-97; 90-608, eff. 6-30-98.)
 

 

 

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1    (325 ILCS 5/7.21)
2    Sec. 7.21. Multidisciplinary Review Committee.
3    (a) The Department may establish multidisciplinary review
4committees in each region of the State to assure that mandated
5reporters have the ability to have a review conducted on any
6situation where a child abuse or neglect report made by them
7was "unfounded", and they have concerns about the adequacy of
8the investigation. These committees shall draw upon the
9expertise of the Child Death Review Teams as necessary and
10practicable. Each committee will be composed of the following:
11a health care professional, a Department employee, a law
12enforcement official, a licensed social worker, and a
13representative of the State's attorney's office. In appointing
14members of a committee, primary consideration shall be given to
15a prospective member's prior experience in dealing with cases
16of suspected child abuse or neglect.
17    (b) Whenever the Department determines that a reported
18incident of child abuse or neglect from a mandated reporter is
19"unfounded", the mandated reporter may request a review of the
20investigation within 10 days of the notification of the final
21finding. Whenever the Department determines that a reported
22incident of child abuse or neglect from a mandated reporter or
23any other reporter is "unfounded", the minor's guardian ad
24litem appointed under the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 may
25request a review of the investigation within 10 days of the
26notification of the final finding if the subject of the report

 

 

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1is also the minor for whom the guardian ad litem has been
2appointed. The review of the investigation requested by the
3guardian ad litem may be conducted by the Regional Child
4Protection Manager.
5    A review under this subsection will be conducted by the
6committee, except those requests for review that are made by
7the guardian ad litem, which shall be conducted by the Regional
8Child Protection Manager. The Department shall make available
9to the committee all information in the Department's possession
10concerning the case. The committee shall make recommendations
11to the Department as to the adequacy of the investigation and
12of the accuracy of the final finding determination. These
13findings shall be forwarded to the Regional Child Protection
14Manager.
15    (c) The Department shall provide complete records of these
16investigations to the committee. Records provided to the
17committee and recommendation reports generated by the
18committee shall not be public record.
19    (c-5) On or before October 1 of each year, the Department
20shall prepare a report setting forth (i) the number of
21investigations reviewed by each committee during the previous
22fiscal year and (ii) the number of those investigations that
23the committee found to be inadequate. The report shall also
24include a summary of the committee's comments and a summary of
25the corrective action, if any, that was taken in response to
26the committee's recommendations. The report shall be a public

 

 

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1record. The Department shall submit the report to the General
2Assembly and shall make the report available to the public upon
3request.
4    (d) The Department shall adopt rules to implement this
5Section.
6(Source: P.A. 90-239, eff. 7-28-97; 91-812, eff. 6-13-00.)
 
7    (325 ILCS 5/7.22 new)
8    Sec. 7.22. Reviews of unfounded reports.
9    (a) Whenever the Department determines that a reported
10incident of child abuse or neglect is "unfounded", the minor's
11attorney or guardian ad litem appointed under the Juvenile
12Court Act of 1987 may request a review of the investigation
13within 10 days of the notification of the final finding and
14receipt of the report, as provided in Section 7.14 of this Act,
15if the subject of the report is also the minor for whom the
16attorney or guardian ad litem has been appointed.
17    (b) Reviews requested under subsection (a) may be requested
18by sending a request via U.S. Mail, postmarked within 10 days
19after notice of the final finding, or by faxing a request
20within 10 days after notice of the final finding. The date of
21notification of the final finding is the date the attorney or
22guardian ad litem received a copy of the report from the
23Department.
24    (c) By January 1, 2014, the Department shall promulgate
25rules addressing reviews requested under subsection (a). The

 

 

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1rules shall provide that a review requested under subsection
2(a) must occur before the report is classified and a final
3finding is entered in the central register and that the review
4must be conducted by a Department employee outside the
5supervisory chain of the assigned investigator.
 
6    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
7becoming law.