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1 | AN ACT concerning courts.
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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 Juvenile Court Act of 1987 is amended by | |||||||||||||||||||
5 | changing Section 2-18 as follows: | |||||||||||||||||||
6 | (705 ILCS 405/2-18) (from Ch. 37, par. 802-18) | |||||||||||||||||||
7 | Sec. 2-18. Evidence. | |||||||||||||||||||
8 | (1) At the adjudicatory hearing, the court shall first | |||||||||||||||||||
9 | consider only the
question whether the minor is abused, | |||||||||||||||||||
10 | neglected or dependent. The standard of
proof and the rules of | |||||||||||||||||||
11 | evidence in the nature of civil proceedings in this
State are | |||||||||||||||||||
12 | applicable to proceedings under this Article. If the petition | |||||||||||||||||||
13 | also
seeks the appointment of a guardian of the person with
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14 | power to consent to adoption of the minor under Section 2-29, | |||||||||||||||||||
15 | the court may
also consider legally admissible evidence at the | |||||||||||||||||||
16 | adjudicatory hearing that one
or more grounds of unfitness | |||||||||||||||||||
17 | exists under subdivision D of Section 1 of the
Adoption Act. | |||||||||||||||||||
18 | (2) In any hearing under this Act, the following shall | |||||||||||||||||||
19 | constitute prima
facie evidence of abuse or neglect, as the | |||||||||||||||||||
20 | case may be: | |||||||||||||||||||
21 | (a) proof that a minor has a medical diagnosis of | |||||||||||||||||||
22 | battered child syndrome
or has a constellation of injuries | |||||||||||||||||||
23 | is prima facie evidence of abuse; |
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1 | (b) proof that a minor has a medical diagnosis of | ||||||
2 | failure to thrive
syndrome is prima facie evidence of | ||||||
3 | neglect; | ||||||
4 | (c) proof that a minor has a medical diagnosis of fetal | ||||||
5 | alcohol syndrome
is prima facie evidence of neglect; | ||||||
6 | (d) proof that a minor has a medical diagnosis at birth | ||||||
7 | of withdrawal
symptoms from narcotics or barbiturates is | ||||||
8 | prima facie evidence of neglect; | ||||||
9 | (e) proof of injuries sustained by a minor or of the | ||||||
10 | condition of a minor
of such a nature as would ordinarily | ||||||
11 | not be sustained or exist except by
reason of the acts or | ||||||
12 | omissions of the parent, custodian or guardian of
such | ||||||
13 | minor shall be prima facie evidence of abuse or neglect, as | ||||||
14 | the case may
be; | ||||||
15 | (f) proof that a parent, custodian or guardian of a | ||||||
16 | minor repeatedly used
a drug, to the extent that it has or | ||||||
17 | would ordinarily have the effect of
producing in the user a | ||||||
18 | substantial state of stupor, unconsciousness,
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19 | intoxication, hallucination, disorientation or | ||||||
20 | incompetence, or a
substantial impairment of judgment, or a | ||||||
21 | substantial manifestation of
irrationality, shall be prima | ||||||
22 | facie evidence of neglect; | ||||||
23 | (g) proof that a parent, custodian, or guardian of a | ||||||
24 | minor repeatedly
used a controlled substance, as defined in | ||||||
25 | subsection (f) of Section 102 of the
Illinois Controlled | ||||||
26 | Substances Act, in the presence of the minor or a sibling
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1 | of the minor is prima facie evidence of neglect. "Repeated | ||||||
2 | use", for the
purpose of this subsection, means more than | ||||||
3 | one use of a controlled substance
as defined in subsection | ||||||
4 | (f) of Section 102 of the Illinois Controlled
Substances | ||||||
5 | Act; | ||||||
6 | (h) proof that a newborn infant's blood, urine, or | ||||||
7 | meconium contains any
amount of a controlled substance as | ||||||
8 | defined in subsection (f) of Section 102 of
the Illinois | ||||||
9 | Controlled Substances Act, or a metabolite of a controlled
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10 | substance, with the exception of controlled substances or | ||||||
11 | metabolites of those
substances, the presence of which is | ||||||
12 | the result of medical treatment
administered to the mother | ||||||
13 | or the newborn, is prime facie evidence of
neglect; | ||||||
14 | (i) proof that a minor was present in a structure or | ||||||
15 | vehicle in which the minor's parent, custodian, or guardian | ||||||
16 | was involved in the manufacture of methamphetamine | ||||||
17 | constitutes prima facie evidence of abuse and neglect;
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18 | (j) proof that a parent, custodian, or guardian of a | ||||||
19 | minor allows, encourages, or requires a minor to perform, | ||||||
20 | offer, or agree to perform any act of sexual penetration as | ||||||
21 | defined in Section 11-0.1 of the Criminal Code of 2012 for | ||||||
22 | any money, property, token, object, or article or anything | ||||||
23 | of value, or any touching or fondling of the sex organs of | ||||||
24 | one person by another person, for any money, property, | ||||||
25 | token, object, or article or anything of value, for the | ||||||
26 | purpose of sexual arousal or gratification, constitutes |
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1 | prima facie evidence of abuse and neglect; | ||||||
2 | (k) proof that a parent, custodian, or guardian of a | ||||||
3 | minor commits or allows to be committed the offense of | ||||||
4 | involuntary servitude, involuntary sexual servitude of a | ||||||
5 | minor, or trafficking in persons as defined in Section 10-9 | ||||||
6 | of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012, | ||||||
7 | upon such minor, constitutes prima facie evidence of abuse | ||||||
8 | and neglect. | ||||||
9 | (3) In any hearing under this Act, proof of the abuse, | ||||||
10 | neglect or dependency
of one minor shall be admissible evidence | ||||||
11 | on the issue of the abuse, neglect or
dependency of any other | ||||||
12 | minor for whom the respondent is responsible. | ||||||
13 | (4) (a) Any writing, record, photograph or x-ray of any | ||||||
14 | hospital or public
or private agency, whether in the form of an | ||||||
15 | entry in a book or otherwise,
made as a memorandum or record of | ||||||
16 | any condition, act, transaction, occurrence
or event relating | ||||||
17 | to a minor in an abuse, neglect or
dependency proceeding, shall | ||||||
18 | be
admissible in evidence as proof of that condition, act, | ||||||
19 | transaction, occurrence
or event, if the court finds that the | ||||||
20 | document was made in the regular course
of the business of the | ||||||
21 | hospital or agency and that it was in the regular
course of | ||||||
22 | such business to make it, at the time of the act, transaction,
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23 | occurrence or event, or within a reasonable time thereafter. A | ||||||
24 | certification
by the head or responsible employee of the | ||||||
25 | hospital or agency that the writing,
record, photograph or | ||||||
26 | x-ray is the full and complete record of the condition,
act, |
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1 | transaction, occurrence or event and that it satisfies the | ||||||
2 | conditions
of this paragraph shall be prima facie evidence of | ||||||
3 | the facts contained in
such certification. A certification by | ||||||
4 | someone other than the head of the
hospital or agency shall be | ||||||
5 | accompanied by a photocopy of a delegation of
authority signed | ||||||
6 | by both the head of the hospital or agency and by such
other | ||||||
7 | employee. All other circumstances of the making of the | ||||||
8 | memorandum,
record, photograph or x-ray, including lack of | ||||||
9 | personal knowledge of the
maker, may be proved to affect the | ||||||
10 | weight to be accorded such evidence,
but shall not affect its | ||||||
11 | admissibility. | ||||||
12 | (b) Any indicated report filed pursuant to the Abused and | ||||||
13 | Neglected Child
Reporting Act shall be admissible in evidence. | ||||||
14 | (c) Previous statements made by the minor relating to any | ||||||
15 | allegations
of abuse or neglect shall be admissible in | ||||||
16 | evidence. However, no such
statement, if uncorroborated and not | ||||||
17 | subject to cross-examination, shall be
sufficient in itself to | ||||||
18 | support a finding of abuse or neglect. | ||||||
19 | (d) There shall be a rebuttable presumption that a minor is | ||||||
20 | competent
to testify in abuse or neglect proceedings. The court | ||||||
21 | shall determine how
much weight to give to the minor's | ||||||
22 | testimony, and may allow the minor to
testify in chambers with | ||||||
23 | only the court, the court reporter and attorneys
for the | ||||||
24 | parties present. | ||||||
25 | (e) The privileged character of communication between any | ||||||
26 | professional
person and patient or client, except privilege |
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1 | between attorney and client,
shall not apply to proceedings | ||||||
2 | subject to this Article. | ||||||
3 | (f) Proof of the impairment of emotional health or | ||||||
4 | impairment of mental
or emotional condition as a result of the | ||||||
5 | failure of the respondent to exercise
a minimum degree of care | ||||||
6 | toward a minor may include competent opinion or
expert | ||||||
7 | testimony, and may include proof that such impairment lessened | ||||||
8 | during
a period when the minor was in the care, custody or | ||||||
9 | supervision of a person
or agency other than the respondent. | ||||||
10 | (5) In any hearing under this Act alleging neglect for | ||||||
11 | failure to
provide education as required by law under | ||||||
12 | subsection (1) of Section 2-3,
proof that a minor under 13 | ||||||
13 | years of age who is subject to compulsory
school attendance | ||||||
14 | under the School Code is a chronic truant as defined
under the | ||||||
15 | School Code shall be prima facie evidence of neglect by the
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16 | parent or guardian in any hearing under this Act and proof that | ||||||
17 | a minor who
is 13 years of age or older who is subject to | ||||||
18 | compulsory school attendance
under the School Code is a chronic | ||||||
19 | truant shall raise a rebuttable
presumption of neglect by the | ||||||
20 | parent or guardian. This subsection (5)
shall not apply in | ||||||
21 | counties with 2,000,000 or more inhabitants. | ||||||
22 | (6) In any hearing under this Act, the court may take | ||||||
23 | judicial notice of
prior sworn testimony or evidence admitted | ||||||
24 | in prior proceedings involving
the same minor if (a) the | ||||||
25 | parties were either represented by counsel at such
prior | ||||||
26 | proceedings or the right to counsel was knowingly waived and |
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1 | (b) the
taking of judicial notice would not result in admitting | ||||||
2 | hearsay evidence at a
hearing where it would otherwise be | ||||||
3 | prohibited. | ||||||
4 | (Source: P.A. 96-1464, eff. 8-20-10; 97-897, eff. 1-1-13; | ||||||
5 | 97-1150, eff. 1-25-13.)
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6 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
7 | becoming law.
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