Full Text of HB4242 94th General Assembly
HB4242eng 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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LRB094 15651 RSP 50859 b |
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| AN ACT concerning State government.
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| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| represented in the General Assembly:
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| Section 5. The Children and Family Services Act is amended | 5 |
| by changing Section 7 as follows:
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| (20 ILCS 505/7) (from Ch. 23, par. 5007)
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| Sec. 7. Placement of children; considerations.
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| (a) In placing any child under this Act, the Department | 9 |
| shall place
such child, as far as possible, in the care and | 10 |
| custody of some individual
holding the same religious belief as | 11 |
| the parents of the child, or with some
child care facility | 12 |
| which is operated by persons of like religious faith as
the | 13 |
| parents of such child.
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| (b) In placing a child under this Act, the Department may | 15 |
| place a child
with a relative if the Department determines
has | 16 |
| reason to believe that the relative
will be able to adequately | 17 |
| provide for the child's safety and welfare based on the factors | 18 |
| set forth in the Department's Rules governing relative | 19 |
| placements, and that the placement is consistent with the | 20 |
| child's best interests, taking into consideration the factors | 21 |
| set out in subsection (4.05) of Section 1-3 of the Juvenile | 22 |
| Court Act of 1987 . | 23 |
| When the Department first assumes custody of a child, in | 24 |
| placing that child under this Act, the Department shall make | 25 |
| reasonable efforts to identify and locate a relative who is | 26 |
| ready, willing, and able to care for the child. At a minimum, | 27 |
| these efforts shall be renewed each time the child requires a | 28 |
| placement change and it is appropriate for the child to be | 29 |
| cared for in a home environment. The Department must document | 30 |
| its efforts to identify and locate such a relative placement | 31 |
| and maintain the documentation in the child's case file. | 32 |
| If the Department determines that a placement with any |
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| identified relative is not in the child's best interests or | 2 |
| that the relative does not meet the requirements to be a | 3 |
| relative caregiver, as set forth in Department Rules or by | 4 |
| statute, the Department must document the basis for that | 5 |
| decision and maintain the documentation in the child's case | 6 |
| file.
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| If, pursuant to the Department's Rules, any person files an | 8 |
| administrative appeal of the Department's decision not to place | 9 |
| a child with a relative, it is the Department's burden to prove | 10 |
| that the decision is consistent with the child's best | 11 |
| interests. | 12 |
| When the Department determines that the child requires | 13 |
| placement in an environment, other than a home environment, the | 14 |
| Department shall continue to make reasonable efforts to | 15 |
| identify and locate relatives to serve as visitation resources | 16 |
| for the child and potential future placement resources, except | 17 |
| when the Department determines that those efforts would be | 18 |
| futile or inconsistent with the child's best interests. | 19 |
| If the Department determines that efforts to identify and | 20 |
| locate relatives would be futile or inconsistent with the | 21 |
| child's best interests, the Department shall document the basis | 22 |
| of its determination and maintain the documentation in the | 23 |
| child's case file. | 24 |
| If the Department determines that an individual or a group | 25 |
| of relatives are inappropriate to serve as visitation resources | 26 |
| or possible placement resources, the Department shall document | 27 |
| the basis of its determination and maintain the documentation | 28 |
| in the child's case file. | 29 |
| When the Department determines that an individual or a | 30 |
| group of relatives are appropriate to serve as visitation | 31 |
| resources or possible future placement resources, the | 32 |
| Department shall document the basis of its determination, | 33 |
| maintain the documentation in the child's case file, create a | 34 |
| visitation or transition plan, or both, and incorporate the | 35 |
| visitation or transition plan, or both, into the child's case | 36 |
| plan. For the purpose of this subsection, any determination as |
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| to the child's best interests shall include consideration of | 2 |
| the factors set out in subsection (4.05) of Section 1-3 of the | 3 |
| Juvenile Court Act of 1987.
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| The Department may not place a child with a relative, with | 5 |
| the exception of
certain circumstances which may be waived as | 6 |
| defined by the Department in
rules, if the results of a check | 7 |
| of the Law Enforcement Agencies
Agency
Data System (LEADS) | 8 |
| identifies a prior criminal conviction of the relative or
any | 9 |
| adult member of the relative's household for any of the | 10 |
| following offenses
under the Criminal Code of 1961:
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| (1) murder;
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| (1.1) solicitation of murder;
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| (1.2) solicitation of murder for hire;
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| (1.3) intentional homicide of an unborn child;
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| (1.4) voluntary manslaughter of an unborn child;
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| (1.5) involuntary manslaughter;
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| (1.6) reckless homicide;
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| (1.7) concealment of a homicidal death;
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| (1.8) involuntary manslaughter of an unborn child;
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| (1.9) reckless homicide of an unborn child;
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| (1.10) drug-induced homicide;
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| (2) a sex offense under Article 11, except offenses | 23 |
| described in Sections
11-7, 11-8, 11-12, and 11-13;
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| (3) kidnapping;
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| (3.1) aggravated unlawful restraint;
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| (3.2) forcible detention;
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| (3.3) aiding and abetting child abduction;
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| (4) aggravated kidnapping;
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| (5) child abduction;
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| (6) aggravated battery of a child;
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| (7) criminal sexual assault;
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| (8) aggravated criminal sexual assault;
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| (8.1) predatory criminal sexual assault of a child;
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| (9) criminal sexual abuse;
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| (10) aggravated sexual abuse;
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| (11) heinous battery;
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| (12) aggravated battery with a firearm;
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| (13) tampering with food, drugs, or cosmetics;
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| (14) drug-induced infliction of great bodily harm;
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| (15) aggravated stalking;
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| (16) home invasion;
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| (17) vehicular invasion;
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| (18) criminal transmission of HIV;
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| (19) criminal abuse or neglect of an elderly or | 9 |
| disabled person;
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| (20) child abandonment;
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| (21) endangering the life or health of a child;
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| (22) ritual mutilation;
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| (23) ritualized abuse of a child;
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| (24) an offense in any other state the elements of | 15 |
| which are similar and
bear a substantial relationship to | 16 |
| any of the foregoing offenses.
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| For the purpose of this subsection, "relative" shall include
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| any person, 21 years of age or over, other than the parent, who | 19 |
| (i) is
currently related to the child in any of the following | 20 |
| ways by blood or
adoption: grandparent, sibling, | 21 |
| great-grandparent, uncle, aunt, nephew, niece,
first cousin, | 22 |
| second cousin, godparent, great-uncle, or great-aunt; or (ii) | 23 |
| is
the spouse of such a
relative; or (iii) is the child's | 24 |
| step-father, step-mother, or adult
step-brother or | 25 |
| step-sister; "relative" also includes a person related in any
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| of the foregoing ways to a sibling of a child, even though the | 27 |
| person is not
related to the child, when the
child and its | 28 |
| sibling are placed together with that person. For children who | 29 |
| have been in the guardianship of the Department, have been | 30 |
| adopted, and are subsequently returned to the temporary custody | 31 |
| or guardianship of the Department, a "relative" may also | 32 |
| include any person who would have qualified as a relative under | 33 |
| this paragraph prior to the adoption, but only if the | 34 |
| Department determines, and documents, that it would be in the | 35 |
| child's best interests to consider this person a relative, | 36 |
| based upon the factors for determining best interests set forth |
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| in subsection (4.05) of Section 1-3 of the Juvenile Court Act | 2 |
| of 1987. A relative with
whom a child is placed pursuant to | 3 |
| this subsection may, but is not required to,
apply for | 4 |
| licensure as a foster family home pursuant to the Child Care | 5 |
| Act of
1969; provided, however, that as of July 1, 1995, foster | 6 |
| care payments shall be
made only to licensed foster family | 7 |
| homes pursuant to the terms of Section 5 of
this Act.
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| (c) In placing a child under this Act, the Department shall | 9 |
| ensure that
the child's health, safety, and best interests are | 10 |
| met in making a family
foster care placement .
In rejecting | 11 |
| placement of a child with an identified relative, the | 12 |
| Department shall ensure that the child's health, safety, and | 13 |
| best interests are met. In evaluating the best interests of the | 14 |
| child, the Department shall take into consideration the factors | 15 |
| set forth in subsection (4.05) of Section 1-3 of the Juvenile | 16 |
| Court Act of 1987.
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| The Department shall consider the individual needs of the
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| child and the capacity of the prospective foster or adoptive
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| parents to meet the needs of the child. When a child must be | 20 |
| placed
outside his or her home and cannot be immediately | 21 |
| returned to his or her
parents or guardian, a comprehensive, | 22 |
| individualized assessment shall be
performed of that child at | 23 |
| which time the needs of the child shall be
determined. Only if | 24 |
| race, color, or national origin is identified as a
legitimate | 25 |
| factor in advancing the child's best interests shall it be
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| considered. Race, color, or national origin shall not be | 27 |
| routinely
considered in making a placement decision. The | 28 |
| Department shall make
special
efforts for the diligent | 29 |
| recruitment of potential foster and adoptive families
that | 30 |
| reflect the ethnic and racial diversity of the children for | 31 |
| whom foster
and adoptive homes are needed. "Special efforts" | 32 |
| shall include contacting and
working with community | 33 |
| organizations and religious organizations and may
include | 34 |
| contracting with those organizations, utilizing local media | 35 |
| and other
local resources, and conducting outreach activities.
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| (c-1) At the time of placement, the Department shall |
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| consider concurrent
planning, as described in subsection (l-1) | 2 |
| of Section 5, so that permanency may
occur at the earliest | 3 |
| opportunity. Consideration should be given so that if
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| reunification fails or is delayed, the placement made is the | 5 |
| best available
placement to provide permanency for the child.
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| (d) The Department may accept gifts, grants, offers of | 7 |
| services, and
other contributions to use in making special | 8 |
| recruitment efforts.
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| (e) The Department in placing children in adoptive or | 10 |
| foster care homes
may not, in any policy or practice relating | 11 |
| to the placement of children for
adoption or foster care, | 12 |
| discriminate against any child or prospective adoptive
or | 13 |
| foster parent on the basis of race.
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| (Source: P.A. 92-192, eff. 1-1-02; 92-328, eff. 1-1-02; 92-334, | 15 |
| eff. 8-10-01;
92-651, eff. 7-11-02; revised 2-17-03.)
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| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect August 1, | 17 |
| 2006.
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