SB1600eng 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SB1600 Engrossed LRB098 02594 MGM 32599 b

AN ACT concerning regulation.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Child Care Act of 1969 is amended by changing Section 4.1 and by adding Sections 2.28 and 2.29 as follows:

(225 ILCS 10/2.28 new)

Sec. 2.28. Non-licensed service provider. "Non-licensed service provider" means an individual or entity that contracts with the Department to provide child welfare services that enable the Department to perform its duties under the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act, the Child Care Act of 1969, and the Children and Family Services Act. "Non-licensed service provider" includes an entity offering a service to the Department through a signed contract.

(225 ILCS 10/2.29 new)

Sec. 2.29. Volunteer. "Volunteer" means a person who performs a service willingly and without pay.

(225 ILCS 10/4.1) (from Ch. 23, par. 2214.1)

Sec. 4.1. Criminal Background Investigations. The Department shall require that each child care facility license applicant as part of the application process, and each employee, non-licensed service provider, and volunteer of a child care facility as a condition of employment, authorize an investigation to determine if such applicant, or employee, non-licensed service provider, or volunteer has ever been charged with a crime and if so, the disposition of those charges; this authorization shall indicate the scope of the inquiry and the agencies which may be contacted. Upon this authorization, the Director shall request and receive information and assistance from any federal, State or local governmental agency as part of the authorized investigation. Each applicant, employee, non-licensed service provider, or volunteer shall submit his or her fingerprints to the Department of State Police in the form and manner prescribed by the Department of State Police. These fingerprints shall be checked against the fingerprint records now and hereafter filed in the Department of State Police and Federal Bureau of Investigation criminal history records databases. The Department of State Police shall charge a fee for conducting the criminal history records check, which shall be deposited in the State Police Services Fund and shall not exceed the actual cost of the records check. The Department of State Police shall provide information concerning any criminal charges, and their disposition, now or hereafter filed, against an applicant, or child care facility employee, non-licensed service provider, or volunteer upon request of the Department of Children and Family Services when the request is made in the form and manner required by the Department of State Police.

Information concerning convictions of a license applicant, employee, non-licensed service provider, and volunteer investigated under this Section, including the source of the information and any conclusions or recommendations derived from the information, shall be provided, upon request, to such applicant, employee, non-licensed service provider, and volunteer prior to final action by the Department on the application. State conviction information provided by the Department of State Police regarding employees or prospective employees, non-licensed service providers, and volunteers of child care facilities licensed under this Act shall be provided to the operator of such facility, and, upon request, to the employee or prospective employee, non-licensed service provider, or volunteer. Any information concerning criminal charges and the disposition of such charges obtained by the Department shall be confidential and may not be transmitted outside the Department, except as required herein, and may not be transmitted to anyone within the Department except as needed for the purpose of evaluating an application or a child care facility employee, non-licensed service provider, or volunteer. Only information and standards which bear a reasonable and rational relation to the performance of a child care facility shall be used by the Department or any licensee. Any employee of the Department of Children and Family Services, Department of State Police, or a child care facility receiving confidential information under this Section who gives or causes to be given any confidential information concerning any criminal convictions of a child care facility applicant, or child care facility employee, non-licensed service providers, or volunteers shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor unless release of such information is authorized by this Section.

A child care facility may hire, on a probationary basis, any employee, non-licensed service provider, or volunteer authorizing a criminal background investigation under this Section, pending the result of such investigation. Employees, non-licensed service providers, and volunteers shall be notified prior to hiring that such employment may be terminated on the basis of criminal background information obtained by the facility.

(Source: P.A. 93-418, eff. 1-1-04.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.