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| 1 | AN ACT concerning State government.
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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 Children and Family Services Act is amended | ||||||
| 5 | by changing Section 35.8 and by adding Section 35.9 as follows: | ||||||
| 6 | (20 ILCS 505/35.8) | ||||||
| 7 | Sec. 35.8. Grandparent and great-grandparent visitation | ||||||
| 8 | rules; review. Not later than 6 months after the effective date | ||||||
| 9 | of this amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly, and every | ||||||
| 10 | 5 years thereafter, the Department shall review the rules on | ||||||
| 11 | granting visitation privileges to a non-custodial grandparent | ||||||
| 12 | or great-grandparent of a child who is in the care and custody | ||||||
| 13 | of the Department.
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| 14 | (Source: P.A. 99-341, eff. 8-11-15.) | ||||||
| 15 | (20 ILCS 505/35.9 new) | ||||||
| 16 | Sec. 35.9. Visitation privileges; grandparents and | ||||||
| 17 | great-grandparents. | ||||||
| 18 | (a) The Department shall make reasonable efforts and | ||||||
| 19 | accommodations to provide for visitation privileges to a | ||||||
| 20 | non-custodial grandparent or great-grandparent of a child who | ||||||
| 21 | is in the care and custody of the Department. Any visitation | ||||||
| 22 | privileges provided under this Section shall be separate and | ||||||
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| 1 | apart from any visitation privileges provided to a parent of | ||||||
| 2 | the child. The Department shall provide visitation privileges | ||||||
| 3 | only if doing so is in the child's best interest, taking into | ||||||
| 4 | consideration the factors set out in subsection (4.05) of | ||||||
| 5 | Section 1-3 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 and the following | ||||||
| 6 | additional factors: | ||||||
| 7 | (1) the mental and physical health of the
grandparent | ||||||
| 8 | or great-grandparent; | ||||||
| 9 | (2) the quantity of the visitation time requested
and | ||||||
| 10 | the potential adverse impact that visitation would have on | ||||||
| 11 | the child's customary activities; | ||||||
| 12 | (3) any other fact that establishes that the loss
of | ||||||
| 13 | the relationship between the child and the grandparent or | ||||||
| 14 | great-grandparent is likely to unduly harm the child's | ||||||
| 15 | mental, physical, or emotional health; and | ||||||
| 16 | (4) whether visitation can be structured in a way
to | ||||||
| 17 | minimize the child's exposure to conflicts between adult | ||||||
| 18 | family members. | ||||||
| 19 | (b) Any visitation privileges provided under this Section
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| 20 | shall automatically terminate upon the child leaving the care | ||||||
| 21 | or custody of the Department. | ||||||
| 22 | (c) The Department may deny a request for visitation after | ||||||
| 23 | considering the criteria provided under subsection (a) in | ||||||
| 24 | addition to any other criteria the Department deems necessary. | ||||||
| 25 | If the Department determines that a grandparent or | ||||||
| 26 | great-grandparent is inappropriate to serve as a visitation | ||||||
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| 1 | resource and denies visitation, the Department shall: (i) | ||||||
| 2 | document the basis of its determination and maintain the | ||||||
| 3 | documentation in the child's case file and (ii) inform the | ||||||
| 4 | grandparent or great-grandparent of his or her right to a | ||||||
| 5 | clinical review in accordance with Department rules and | ||||||
| 6 | procedures. The Department may adopt any rules necessary to | ||||||
| 7 | implement this Section.
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