98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2013 and 2014
SB3145

 

Introduced 2/11/2014, by Sen. Mattie Hunter

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
325 ILCS 5/7.14  from Ch. 23, par. 2057.14
325 ILCS 5/7.15  from Ch. 23, par. 2057.15

    Amends the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act. Provides that the Department of Children and Family Services shall, by rule, establish conditions under which an indicated finding that is properly appealed may be expunged upon completion of a course of services prescribed by the Department. Provides that notwithstanding the expiration of the deadline for appealing an indicated report and notwithstanding the previous issuance of a non-appealable final administrative decision denying a request to expunge an indicated report, and pursuant to the Child Protective Service Unit's authority to amend reports, the Director of the Department or his or her designee shall have the exclusive discretion, on the ground of manifest injustice, to expunge from the central register either an indicated report or the name of a specified perpetrator or to reduce the length of time for which the specified perpetrator's name is to remain registered on the central register. Further provides that in the alternative, the Director or his or her designee shall have the exclusive discretion to direct that the issue of expungement of an indicated report or of expungement of the name of a specified perpetrator be re-opened for an evidentiary hearing on the merits. Effective immediately.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

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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 7.14 and 7.15 as follows:
 
6    (325 ILCS 5/7.14)  (from Ch. 23, par. 2057.14)
7    Sec. 7.14. All reports in the central register shall be
8classified in one of three categories: "indicated",
9"unfounded" or "undetermined", as the case may be. After the
10report is classified, the person making the classification
11shall determine whether the child named in the report is the
12subject of an action under Article II of the Juvenile Court Act
13of 1987. If the child is the subject of an action under Article
14II of the Juvenile Court Act, the Department shall, within 45
15days of classification of the report, transmit a copy of the
16report to the guardian ad litem appointed for the child under
17Section 2-17 of the Juvenile Court Act. All information
18identifying the subjects of an unfounded report shall be
19expunged from the register forthwith, except as provided in
20Section 7.7. Unfounded reports may only be made available to
21the Child Protective Service Unit when investigating a
22subsequent report of suspected abuse or maltreatment involving
23a child named in the unfounded report; and to the subject of

 

 

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1the report, provided the Department has not expunged the file
2in accordance with Section 7.7. The Child Protective Service
3Unit shall not indicate the subsequent report solely based upon
4the existence of the prior unfounded report or reports.
5Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, an
6unfounded report shall not be admissible in any judicial or
7administrative proceeding or action. Identifying information
8on all other records shall be removed from the register no
9later than 5 years after the report is indicated. However, if
10another report is received involving the same child, his
11sibling or offspring, or a child in the care of the persons
12responsible for the child's welfare, or involving the same
13alleged offender, the identifying information may be
14maintained in the register until 5 years after the subsequent
15case or report is closed.
16    The Department shall, by rule, prescribe retention periods
17of no longer than 2 years in all categories of cases in which
18the differential response program, authorized under subsection
19(a-5) of Section 7.4, has operated, if any. In addition, the
20Department shall, by rule, establish conditions under which an
21indicated finding that is properly appealed under Section 7.16
22may be expunged upon completion of a course of services
23prescribed by the Department.
24    Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section,
25identifying information in indicated reports involving serious
26physical injury to a child as defined by the Department in

 

 

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1rules, may be retained longer than 5 years after the report is
2indicated or after the subsequent case or report is closed, and
3may not be removed from the register except as provided by the
4Department in rules. Identifying information in indicated
5reports involving sexual penetration of a child, sexual
6molestation of a child, sexual exploitation of a child, torture
7of a child, or the death of a child, as defined by the
8Department in rules, shall be retained for a period of not less
9than 50 years after the report is indicated or after the
10subsequent case or report is closed.
11    For purposes of this Section "child" includes an adult
12resident as defined in this Act.
13(Source: P.A. 97-333, eff. 8-12-11; 98-453, eff. 8-16-13.)
 
14    (325 ILCS 5/7.15)  (from Ch. 23, par. 2057.15)
15    Sec. 7.15. The central register may contain such other
16information which the Department determines to be in
17furtherance of the purposes of this Act. Pursuant to the
18provisions of Sections 7.14 and 7.16, the Department may amend
19or remove from the central register appropriate records upon
20good cause shown and upon notice to the subjects of the report
21and the Child Protective Service Unit.
22    Notwithstanding the expiration of the deadline set forth in
23Section 7.16 for appealing an indicated report and
24notwithstanding the previous issuance of a non-appealable
25final administrative decision denying a request to expunge an

 

 

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1indicated report, and pursuant to the Child Protective Service
2Unit's authority to amend reports granted in Section 7.18, the
3Director of the Department or his or her designee shall have
4the exclusive discretion, on the ground of manifest injustice,
5to expunge from the central register either an indicated report
6or the name of a specified perpetrator or to reduce the length
7of time for which the specified perpetrator's name is to remain
8registered on the central register. In the alternative, the
9Director of the Department or his or her designee shall have
10the exclusive discretion to direct that the issue of
11expungement of an indicated report or of expungement of the
12name of a specified perpetrator be re-opened for an evidentiary
13hearing on the merits. The Department shall establish
14procedures for requesting relief on the grounds of manifest
15injustice.
16(Source: P.A. 90-15, eff. 6-13-97.)
 
17    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
18becoming law.