Full Text of HB0617 95th General Assembly
HB0617sam001 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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Sen. James F. Clayborne Jr.
Filed: 5/24/2007
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| AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 617
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| AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 617 by replacing | 3 |
| everything after the enacting clause with the following:
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| "Section 5. The Children and Family Services Act is amended | 5 |
| by changing Section 35.5 and by adding Section 35.7 as follows:
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| (20 ILCS 505/35.5)
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| Sec. 35.5. Inspector General.
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| (a) The Governor shall appoint, and the Senate shall | 9 |
| confirm, an Inspector
General who shall
have the authority to | 10 |
| conduct investigations into allegations of or incidents
of | 11 |
| possible misconduct, misfeasance, malfeasance, or violations | 12 |
| of rules,
procedures, or laws by any employee, foster parent, | 13 |
| service provider, or
contractor of the Department of Children | 14 |
| and Family Services. The Inspector
General shall make | 15 |
| recommendations
to the Director of Children and Family Services | 16 |
| concerning sanctions or
disciplinary actions against |
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| Department
employees or providers of service under contract to | 2 |
| the Department. The Director of Children and Family Services | 3 |
| shall provide the Inspector General with an implementation | 4 |
| report on the status of any corrective actions taken on | 5 |
| recommendations under review and shall continue sending | 6 |
| updated reports until the corrective action is completed. The | 7 |
| Director shall provide a written response to the Inspector | 8 |
| General indicating the status of any sanctions or disciplinary | 9 |
| actions against employees or providers of service involving any | 10 |
| investigation subject to review. In any case, information | 11 |
| included in the reports to the Inspector General and Department | 12 |
| responses shall be subject to the public disclosure | 13 |
| requirements of the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act.
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| Any
investigation
conducted by the Inspector General shall be | 15 |
| independent and separate from the
investigation mandated by the | 16 |
| Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act. The
Inspector General | 17 |
| shall be appointed for a term of 4 years. The Inspector
General | 18 |
| shall function independently within the Department of Children | 19 |
| and Family Services with respect to
be independent of the | 20 |
| operations of the Office of Inspector General, including the | 21 |
| performance of investigations and issuance of findings and | 22 |
| recommendations,
Department and shall
report to the Director of | 23 |
| Children and Family Services and the Governor and
perform other
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| duties the Director may designate. The Inspector General shall | 25 |
| adopt rules
as necessary to carry out the
functions, purposes, | 26 |
| and duties of the office of Inspector General in the
Department |
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| of Children and Family Services, in accordance with the | 2 |
| Illinois
Administrative Procedure Act and any other applicable | 3 |
| law.
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| (b) The Inspector
General shall have access to all | 5 |
| information and personnel necessary to perform
the duties of | 6 |
| the office. To minimize duplication of efforts, and to assure
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| consistency and conformance with the requirements and | 8 |
| procedures established in
the B.H. v. Suter consent decree and | 9 |
| to share resources
when appropriate, the Inspector General | 10 |
| shall coordinate his or her
activities with the Bureau of | 11 |
| Quality Assurance within the Department.
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| (c) The Inspector General shall be the primary liaison | 13 |
| between the
Department and the Department of State Police with | 14 |
| regard to investigations
conducted under the Inspector | 15 |
| General's auspices.
If the Inspector General determines that a | 16 |
| possible criminal act
has been committed,
or that special | 17 |
| expertise is required in the investigation, he or she shall
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| immediately notify the Department of State Police.
All | 19 |
| investigations conducted by the Inspector General shall be
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| conducted in a manner designed to ensure the preservation of | 21 |
| evidence for
possible use in a criminal prosecution.
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| (d) The Inspector General may recommend to the Department | 23 |
| of Children and
Family Services, the Department of Public | 24 |
| Health, or any other appropriate
agency, sanctions to be | 25 |
| imposed against service providers under the
jurisdiction of or | 26 |
| under contract with the Department for the protection of
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| children in the custody or under the guardianship of the | 2 |
| Department who
received services from those providers. The | 3 |
| Inspector General may seek the
assistance of the Attorney | 4 |
| General or any of the several State's Attorneys in
imposing | 5 |
| sanctions.
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| (e) The Inspector General shall at all times be granted | 7 |
| access to any foster
home, facility, or program operated for or | 8 |
| licensed or funded by the
Department.
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| (f) Nothing in this Section shall limit investigations by | 10 |
| the Department of
Children and Family Services that may | 11 |
| otherwise be required by law or that may
be necessary in that | 12 |
| Department's capacity as the central administrative
authority | 13 |
| for child welfare.
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| (g) The Inspector General shall have the power to subpoena | 15 |
| witnesses and
compel the production of books and papers | 16 |
| pertinent to an investigation
authorized by this Act. The power | 17 |
| to subpoena or to compel the
production of books and papers, | 18 |
| however, shall not extend to the person or
documents of a
labor | 19 |
| organization or its representatives insofar as the person or | 20 |
| documents of
a labor organization relate to the function of | 21 |
| representing an employee subject
to investigation under this | 22 |
| Act. Any person who fails to appear in response to
a subpoena | 23 |
| or to answer any question or produce any books or papers | 24 |
| pertinent
to an investigation under this Act, except as | 25 |
| otherwise provided in this
Section, or who knowingly gives | 26 |
| false testimony in relation to an investigation
under this Act |
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| is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.
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| (h) The Inspector General shall provide to the General | 3 |
| Assembly and the
Governor, no later than January 1 of each | 4 |
| year, a summary of reports and
investigations made under this | 5 |
| Section for the prior fiscal year. The
summaries shall detail | 6 |
| the imposition of sanctions and the final disposition
of those | 7 |
| recommendations. The summaries shall not contain any | 8 |
| confidential or
identifying information concerning the | 9 |
| subjects of the reports and
investigations. The summaries also | 10 |
| shall include detailed recommended
administrative actions and | 11 |
| matters for consideration by the General Assembly.
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| (Source: P.A. 90-512, eff. 8-22-97.)
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| (20 ILCS 505/35.7 new)
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| Sec. 35.7. Error Reduction Implementations Plans; | 15 |
| Inspector General. | 16 |
| (a) The Inspector General of the Department of Children and | 17 |
| Family Services shall develop Error Reduction Implementation | 18 |
| Plans, as necessary, to remedy patterns of errors or | 19 |
| problematic practices that compromise or threaten the safety of | 20 |
| children as identified in DCFS Office of Inspector General | 21 |
| (OIG) death or serious injury investigations and Child Death | 22 |
| Review Teams recommendations. The Error Reduction | 23 |
| Implementation Plans shall include both training and on-site | 24 |
| components. The Inspector General shall submit proposed Error | 25 |
| Reduction Implementation Plans to the Director for review. The |
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| Director may approve the plans submitted, or approve plans | 2 |
| amended by the Office of the Inspector General. The Director | 3 |
| shall document the basis for disapproval of any submitted or | 4 |
| amended plan. The Department shall deploy Error Reduction | 5 |
| Safety Teams to implement the Error Reduction Implementation | 6 |
| Plans. The Error Reduction Safety Teams shall be composed of | 7 |
| Quality Assurance and Division of Training staff to implement | 8 |
| hands-on training and Error Reduction Implementation Plans. | 9 |
| The teams shall work in the offices of the Department or of | 10 |
| agencies, or both, as required by the Error Reduction | 11 |
| Implementation Plans, and shall work to ensure that systems are | 12 |
| in place to continue reform efforts after the departure of the | 13 |
| teams. The Director shall develop a method to ensure consistent | 14 |
| compliance with any Error Reduction Implementation Plans, the | 15 |
| provisions of which shall be incorporated into the plan. | 16 |
| (b) Quality Assurance shall prepare public reports | 17 |
| annually detailing the following: the substance of any Error | 18 |
| Reduction Implementation Plan approved; any deviations from | 19 |
| the Error Reduction Plan; whether adequate staff was available | 20 |
| to perform functions necessary to the Error Reduction | 21 |
| Implementation Plan, including identification and reporting of | 22 |
| any staff needs; other problems noted or barriers to | 23 |
| implementing the Error Reduction Implementation Plan; and | 24 |
| recommendations for additional training, amendments to rules | 25 |
| and procedures, or other systemic reform identified by the | 26 |
| teams. |
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| (c) The Error Reduction Teams shall implement training and | 2 |
| reform protocols through incubating change in each region, | 3 |
| Department office, or purchase of service office, as required. | 4 |
| The teams shall administer hands-on assistance, supervision, | 5 |
| and management while ensuring that the office, region, or | 6 |
| agency develops the skills and systems necessary to incorporate | 7 |
| changes on a permanent basis. For each Error Reduction | 8 |
| Implementation Plan, the Team shall determine whether adequate | 9 |
| staff is available to fulfill the Error Reduction | 10 |
| Implementation Plan, provide case-by-case supervision to | 11 |
| ensure that the plan is implemented, and ensure that management | 12 |
| puts systems in place to enable the reforms to continue. | 13 |
| (d) The OIG shall develop and submit new Error Reduction | 14 |
| Implementation Plans as necessary. To implement each Error | 15 |
| Reduction Implementation Plan, as approved by the Director, the | 16 |
| OIG shall work with Quality Assurance members of the Error | 17 |
| Reduction Teams designated by the Department. The teams shall | 18 |
| be comprised of staff from Quality Assurance and Training. | 19 |
| Training shall work with the OIG and with the child death | 20 |
| review teams to develop a curriculum to address errors | 21 |
| identified that compromise the safety of children. Following | 22 |
| the training roll-out, the Teams shall work on-site in | 23 |
| identified offices. The Teams shall review and supervise all | 24 |
| work relevant to the Error Reduction Implementation Plan. | 25 |
| Quality Assurance shall identify outcome measures and track | 26 |
| compliance with the training curriculum. Each quarter, Quality |
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| Assurance shall prepare a report detailing compliance with the | 2 |
| Error Reduction Implementation Plan and alert the Director to | 3 |
| staffing needs or other needs to accomplish the goals of the | 4 |
| Error Reduction Implementation Plan. The report shall be | 5 |
| transmitted to the Director, the OIG, and all management staff | 6 |
| involved in the Error Reduction Implementation Plan. | 7 |
| (e) The Director shall review quarterly Quality Assurance | 8 |
| reports and determine adherence to the Error Reduction | 9 |
| Implementation Plan using criteria and standards developed by | 10 |
| the Department.
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| Section 10. The Child Death Review Team Act is amended by | 12 |
| changing Sections 15, 20, 25, and 40 and by adding Section 45 | 13 |
| as follows:
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| (20 ILCS 515/15)
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| Sec. 15. Child death review teams; establishment.
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| (a) The Director, in consultation with the Executive | 17 |
| Council, law
enforcement, and other
professionals who work in | 18 |
| the field of investigating, treating, or preventing
child abuse | 19 |
| or neglect in that subregion, shall appoint members to a child
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| death review
team in each of the Department's administrative | 21 |
| subregions of the State outside
Cook County and at least one | 22 |
| child death review team in Cook County. The
members of a team | 23 |
| shall be appointed for 2-year terms and
shall be eligible for | 24 |
| reappointment upon the expiration of the terms. The Director |
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| must fill any vacancy in a team within 60 days after that | 2 |
| vacancy occurs.
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| (b) Each child death review team shall consist of at least | 4 |
| one member from
each of the following categories:
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| (1) Pediatrician or other physician knowledgeable | 6 |
| about child abuse and
neglect.
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| (2) Representative of the Department.
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| (3) State's attorney or State's attorney's | 9 |
| representative.
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| (4) Representative of a local law enforcement agency.
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| (5) Psychologist or psychiatrist.
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| (6) Representative of a local health department.
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| (7) Representative of a school district or other | 14 |
| education or child care
interests.
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| (8) Coroner or forensic pathologist.
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| (9) Representative of a child welfare agency or child | 17 |
| advocacy
organization.
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| (10) Representative of a local hospital, trauma | 19 |
| center, or provider of
emergency medical services.
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| (11) Representative of the Department of State Police.
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| Each child death review team may make recommendations to | 22 |
| the Director
concerning additional appointments.
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| Each child death review team member must have demonstrated | 24 |
| experience and an
interest in investigating, treating, or | 25 |
| preventing child abuse or neglect.
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| (c) Each child death review team shall select a chairperson |
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| from among its
members.
The chairperson shall also serve on the | 2 |
| Illinois Child Death Review Teams
Executive
Council. | 3 |
| (d) The child death review teams shall be funded under a | 4 |
| separate line item in the Department's annual budget.
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| (Source: P.A. 92-468, eff. 8-22-01.)
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| (20 ILCS 515/20)
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| Sec. 20. Reviews of child deaths.
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| (a) Every child death shall be reviewed by the team in the | 9 |
| subregion which
has
primary case management responsibility. | 10 |
| The deceased child must be one of the
following:
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| (1) A ward of the Department.
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| (2) The subject of an open service case maintained by | 13 |
| the Department.
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| (3) The subject of a pending child abuse or neglect | 15 |
| investigation.
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| (4) A child who was the subject of an abuse or neglect | 17 |
| investigation at
any time
during the 12 months preceding | 18 |
| the child's death.
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| (5) Any other child whose death is reported to the | 20 |
| State central
register as a result of alleged child abuse | 21 |
| or neglect which report is
subsequently indicated.
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| A child death review team may, at its discretion, review | 23 |
| other sudden,
unexpected, or unexplained child deaths , and | 24 |
| cases of serious or fatal injuries to a child identified under | 25 |
| the Child Advocacy Center Act .
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| (b) A child death review team's purpose in conducting | 2 |
| reviews of child
deaths
is to do the following:
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| (1) Assist in determining the cause and manner of the | 4 |
| child's death, when
requested.
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| (2) Evaluate means by which the death might have been | 6 |
| prevented.
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| (3) Report its findings to appropriate agencies and | 8 |
| make recommendations
that may help to reduce the number of | 9 |
| child deaths caused by abuse or neglect.
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| (4) Promote continuing education for professionals | 11 |
| involved in
investigating, treating, and preventing child | 12 |
| abuse and neglect as a means of
preventing child deaths due | 13 |
| to abuse or neglect.
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| (5) Make specific recommendations to the Director and | 15 |
| the Inspector
General of the Department concerning the | 16 |
| prevention of child deaths due to
abuse or neglect and the | 17 |
| establishment of protocols for investigating child
deaths.
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| (c) A child death review team shall review a child death as | 19 |
| soon as
practical and not later than
90 days following
the
| 20 |
| completion by the Department of the investigation of the death | 21 |
| under the
Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act. When there | 22 |
| has been no investigation
by the Department, the child death | 23 |
| review team shall review a child's death
within 90 days after | 24 |
| obtaining the information necessary to complete the review
from | 25 |
| the coroner, pathologist, medical examiner, or law enforcement | 26 |
| agency,
depending on the nature of the case. A child death
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| review
team shall meet at
least once in
each calendar quarter.
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| (d) The Director shall, within 90 days, review and reply to | 3 |
| recommendations
made by a team under
item (5) of
subsection | 4 |
| (b). The Director shall implement recommendations as feasible | 5 |
| and
appropriate and shall respond in writing to explain the | 6 |
| implementation or
nonimplementation of the recommendations.
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| (Source: P.A. 90-239, eff. 7-28-97; 90-608, eff. 6-30-98.)
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| (20 ILCS 515/25)
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| Sec. 25. Team access to information.
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| (a) The Department shall provide to a child death review | 11 |
| team, on the
request of the team chairperson, all records and | 12 |
| information in the
Department's
possession that are relevant to | 13 |
| the team's review of a child death, including
records and | 14 |
| information concerning previous reports or investigations of
| 15 |
| suspected child abuse or neglect.
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| (b) A child death review team shall have access to all | 17 |
| records and
information that are relevant to its review of a | 18 |
| child death
and in the
possession of a State or local | 19 |
| governmental agency , including, but not limited to, | 20 |
| information gained through the Child Advocacy Center protocol | 21 |
| for cases of serious or fatal injury to a child . These records | 22 |
| and
information include, without limitation, birth | 23 |
| certificates, all relevant
medical and mental health records, | 24 |
| records of law
enforcement agency investigations, records of | 25 |
| coroner or medical examiner
investigations, records of the |
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| Department of Corrections concerning a person's
parole, | 2 |
| records of a probation and court services department, and | 3 |
| records of a
social services agency that provided services
to | 4 |
| the child or the child's family.
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| (Source: P.A. 91-812, eff. 6-13-00.)
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| (20 ILCS 515/40)
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| Sec. 40. Illinois Child Death Review Teams Executive | 8 |
| Council.
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| (a) The Illinois Child Death Review Teams Executive | 10 |
| Council, consisting of
the
chairpersons of the 9 child death | 11 |
| review teams in Illinois, is the coordinating
and
oversight | 12 |
| body for child death review teams and activities in Illinois. | 13 |
| The
vice-chairperson of a child death review team, as | 14 |
| designated by the
chairperson, may
serve
as a back-up member or | 15 |
| an alternate member of the Executive Council, if the
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| chairperson of the child death review team is unavailable to | 17 |
| serve on the
Executive Council. The Inspector General of the | 18 |
| Department, ex officio, is a
non-voting member of the Executive | 19 |
| Council. The Director may
appoint to the Executive Council any
| 20 |
| ex-officio members deemed necessary. Persons with
expertise | 21 |
| needed by the Executive Council may be invited to meetings. The
| 22 |
| Executive Council must select from its members a chairperson | 23 |
| and a
vice-chairperson, each
to serve a 2-year, renewable term.
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| The Executive Council must meet at least 4 times during | 25 |
| each calendar year.
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| (b) The Department must provide or arrange for the staff | 2 |
| support necessary
for the
Executive Council to carry out its | 3 |
| duties.
The Director, in cooperation and consultation with the | 4 |
| Executive Council, shall
appoint, reappoint, and remove team | 5 |
| members. From funds available, the Director may select from a | 6 |
| list of 2 or more candidates recommended by the Executive | 7 |
| Council to serve as the Child Death Review Teams Executive | 8 |
| Director. The Child Death Review Teams Executive Director shall | 9 |
| oversee the operations of the child death review teams and | 10 |
| shall report directly to the Executive Council.
| 11 |
| (c) The Executive Council has, but is not limited to, the | 12 |
| following duties:
| 13 |
| (1) To serve as the voice of child death review teams | 14 |
| in Illinois.
| 15 |
| (2) To oversee the regional teams in order to ensure | 16 |
| that the teams' work
is
coordinated and in compliance with | 17 |
| the statutes and the operating protocol.
| 18 |
| (3) To ensure that the data, results, findings, and | 19 |
| recommendations of the
teams are
adequately used to make | 20 |
| any necessary changes in the policies, procedures, and
| 21 |
| statutes in order to protect children in a timely manner.
| 22 |
| (4) To collaborate with the General Assembly, the | 23 |
| Department, and others
in order to
develop any legislation | 24 |
| needed to prevent child fatalities and to protect
children.
| 25 |
| (5) To assist in the development of quarterly and | 26 |
| annual reports based on
the work
and the findings of the |
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| teams.
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| (6) To ensure that the regional teams' review processes | 3 |
| are standardized
in order to
convey data, findings, and | 4 |
| recommendations in a usable format.
| 5 |
| (7) To serve as a link with child death review teams | 6 |
| throughout the
country and to
participate in national child | 7 |
| death review team activities.
| 8 |
| (8) To develop an annual statewide symposium to update | 9 |
| the knowledge and
skills of
child death review team members | 10 |
| and to promote the exchange of information
between teams.
| 11 |
| (9) To provide the child death review teams with the | 12 |
| most current
information and practices concerning child | 13 |
| death review and related topics.
| 14 |
| (10) To perform any other functions necessary to | 15 |
| enhance the capability of
the child death review teams to | 16 |
| reduce and prevent child injuries and
fatalities.
| 17 |
| (d) In any instance when a child death review team does not | 18 |
| operate in
accordance with
established protocol, the Director, | 19 |
| in consultation and cooperation
with the Executive Council,
| 20 |
| must take any necessary actions to bring the team into | 21 |
| compliance
with the
protocol.
| 22 |
| (Source: P.A. 92-468, eff. 8-22-01.)
| 23 |
| (20 ILCS 515/45 new)
| 24 |
| Sec. 45. Child Death Investigation Task Force; pilot | 25 |
| program. The Child Death Review Teams Executive Council may, |
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| from funds appropriated by the Illinois General Assembly to the | 2 |
| Department and provided to the Child Death Review Teams | 3 |
| Executive Council for this purpose, or from funds that may | 4 |
| otherwise be provided for this purpose from other public or | 5 |
| private sources, establish a 3-year a pilot program in the | 6 |
| Southern Region of the State, as designated by the Department, | 7 |
| under which a special Child Death Investigation Task Force will | 8 |
| be created by the Child Death Review Teams Executive Council to | 9 |
| develop and implement a plan for the investigation of sudden, | 10 |
| unexpected, or unexplained deaths of children under 18 years of | 11 |
| age occurring within that region. The plan shall include a | 12 |
| protocol to be followed by child death review teams in the | 13 |
| review of child deaths authorized under paragraph (a)(5) of | 14 |
| Section 20 of this Act. The plan must include provisions for | 15 |
| local or State law enforcement agencies, hospitals, or coroners | 16 |
| to promptly notify the Task Force of a death or serious | 17 |
| life-threatening injury to a child, and for the Child Death | 18 |
| Investigation Task Force to review the death and submit a | 19 |
| report containing findings and recommendations to the Child | 20 |
| Death Review Teams Executive Council, the Director, the | 21 |
| Department of Children and Family Services Inspector General, | 22 |
| the appropriate States Attorney, and the State Representative | 23 |
| and State Senator in whose legislative districts the case | 24 |
| arose. The plan may include coordination with any investigation | 25 |
| conducted under the Children's Advocacy Center Act. By January | 26 |
| 1, 2010, the Child Death Review Teams Executive Council shall |
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| submit a report to the Director, the General Assembly, and the | 2 |
| Governor summarizing the results of the pilot program together | 3 |
| with any recommendations for statewide implementation of a | 4 |
| protocol for the investigating all sudden, unexpected, or | 5 |
| unexplained child deaths. | 6 |
| Section 15. The Children's Advocacy Center Act is amended | 7 |
| by changing Sections 3 and 4 as follows:
| 8 |
| (55 ILCS 80/3) (from Ch. 23, par. 1803)
| 9 |
| Sec. 3. Child Advocacy Advisory Board.
| 10 |
| (a) Each county in the State of Illinois shall establish a | 11 |
| Child Advocacy
Advisory Board ("Advisory Board").
| 12 |
| Each of the following county officers or State agencies | 13 |
| shall designate a
representative to serve on the Advisory | 14 |
| Board: the sheriff,
the Illinois Department of Children and | 15 |
| Family Services,
the State's attorney ,
and the county mental | 16 |
| health department , and the Department of State Police .
| 17 |
| The chairman may appoint additional members of the Advisory | 18 |
| Board as is
deemed necessary to accomplish the purposes of this | 19 |
| Act, the additional
members to include but not be limited to | 20 |
| representatives of local law
enforcement agencies , and the | 21 |
| Circuit Courts .
| 22 |
| (b) The Advisory Board shall organize itself and elect from | 23 |
| among its
members a chairman and such other officers as are | 24 |
| deemed necessary. Until a
chairman is so elected, the State's |
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| attorney shall serve as interim
chairman.
| 2 |
| (c) The Advisory Board shall adopt, by a majority of the | 3 |
| members, a
written child sexual abuse protocol within one year | 4 |
| after the effective
date of this Act.
An Advisory Board | 5 |
| adopting a protocol after the effective date of this
amendatory | 6 |
| Act of 1996 shall, prior to finalization, submit its draft to | 7 |
| the
Illinois Child Advocacy Commission for review and comments. | 8 |
| After considering
the comments of the Illinois Child Advocacy | 9 |
| Commission and upon finalization of
its protocol, the Advisory | 10 |
| Board shall file the protocol with the Department of
Children | 11 |
| and Family Services.
A copy shall be furnished
to the Illinois | 12 |
| Child Advocacy Commission and to each agency in the county
or | 13 |
| counties which has any involvement with the
cases of sexually | 14 |
| abused children.
| 15 |
| The Illinois Child Advocacy Commission shall consist of the | 16 |
| Attorney
General and the Directors of the Illinois State Police | 17 |
| and the Department of
Children and Family Services or their | 18 |
| designees. Additional members may be
appointed to the Illinois | 19 |
| Child Advocacy Commission as deemed necessary by the
Attorney | 20 |
| General and the Directors of the Illinois State Police and the
| 21 |
| Department of Children and Family Services. The Illinois Child | 22 |
| Advocacy
Commission may also provide technical assistance and | 23 |
| guidance to the Advisory
Boards.
| 24 |
| (d) The purpose of the protocol shall be to ensure | 25 |
| coordination
and cooperation among all agencies involved in | 26 |
| child sexual abuse cases
so as to increase the efficiency and |
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| effectiveness of those agencies,
to minimize the stress created | 2 |
| for the child and his or her family by the
investigatory and | 3 |
| judicial process, and to ensure that more effective
treatment | 4 |
| is provided for the child and his or her family.
| 5 |
| (e) The protocol shall be a written document outlining in | 6 |
| detail the
procedures to be used in investigating and | 7 |
| prosecuting cases arising from
alleged child sexual abuse and | 8 |
| in coordinating treatment referrals for the
child and his or | 9 |
| her family. In preparing the written protocol, the Advisory
| 10 |
| Board shall consider the following:
| 11 |
| (1) An interdisciplinary, coordinated systems approach | 12 |
| to the
investigation of child sexual abuse which shall | 13 |
| include, at a minimum;
| 14 |
| (i) an interagency notification procedure;
| 15 |
| (ii) a dispute resolution process between the | 16 |
| involved agencies when a
conflict arises on how to | 17 |
| proceed with the investigation of a case;
| 18 |
| (iii) a policy on interagency decision-making; and
| 19 |
| (iv) a description of the role each agency has in | 20 |
| the investigation of
the case;
| 21 |
| (2) A safe, separate space with assigned personnel | 22 |
| designated for the
investigation and coordination of child | 23 |
| sexual abuse cases;
| 24 |
| (3) An interdisciplinary case review process for | 25 |
| purposes of
decision-making, problem solving, systems | 26 |
| coordination, and information
sharing;
|
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| (4) A comprehensive tracking system to receive and | 2 |
| coordinate information
concerning child sexual abuse cases | 3 |
| from each participating agency;
| 4 |
| (5) Interdisciplinary specialized training for all | 5 |
| professionals
involved with the victims and families of | 6 |
| child sexual abuse cases;
and
| 7 |
| (6) A process for evaluating the implementation and | 8 |
| effectiveness of the
protocol.
| 9 |
| (f) The Advisory Board shall evaluate the implementation | 10 |
| and
effectiveness of the protocol required under subsection (c) | 11 |
| of this Section on
an annual basis, and shall propose | 12 |
| appropriate modifications to the protocol to
maximize its | 13 |
| effectiveness. A report of the Advisory Board's review, along
| 14 |
| with proposed modifications, shall be submitted to the Illinois | 15 |
| Child Advocacy
Commission for its review and comments. After | 16 |
| considering the comments of the
Illinois Child Advocacy | 17 |
| Commission and adopting modifications, the Advisory
Board | 18 |
| shall file its amended protocol with the
Department of Children | 19 |
| and Family Services. A copy of the Advisory Board's
review and | 20 |
| amended protocol shall be furnished to the Illinois Child | 21 |
| Advocacy
Commission and to each agency in the county or | 22 |
| counties having any involvement
with the cases covered by the | 23 |
| protocol.
| 24 |
| (g) The Advisory Board shall
may adopt, by a majority of | 25 |
| the members, a written
protocol for coordinating cases of
| 26 |
| serious or fatal injury to a child physical abuse cases , |
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| following the
procedures and purposes described in subsections | 2 |
| (c), (d), (e), and (f) of this
Section.
The protocol shall be a | 3 |
| written document outlining in detail the procedures
that will | 4 |
| be used by all of the agencies involved in investigating and
| 5 |
| prosecuting cases arising from alleged cases of serious or | 6 |
| fatal injury to a child physical abuse and in
coordinating | 7 |
| treatment referrals for the child and his or her family.
| 8 |
| (Source: P.A. 89-543, eff. 1-1-97.)
| 9 |
| (55 ILCS 80/4) (from Ch. 23, par. 1804)
| 10 |
| Sec. 4. Children's Advocacy Center.
| 11 |
| (a) A Children's Advocacy Center ("Center") may be
| 12 |
| established to coordinate the activities of the various | 13 |
| agencies involved
in the investigation, prosecution and | 14 |
| treatment referral of child
sexual abuse. The Advisory Board | 15 |
| shall serve as the governing board for
the Center.
The | 16 |
| operation of the Center may be funded through grants, | 17 |
| contracts, or any
other available sources. In counties in which | 18 |
| a referendum has been adopted
under Section 5 of this Act, the | 19 |
| Advisory Board, by the majority vote of its members, shall | 20 |
| submit a
proposed annual budget for the operation of the Center | 21 |
| to the county board,
which shall appropriate funds and levy a | 22 |
| tax sufficient to
operate the Center. The county board in each | 23 |
| county in which a
referendum has been adopted shall establish a | 24 |
| Children's Advocacy
Center Fund and shall deposit the net | 25 |
| proceeds of the tax authorized by
Section 6 of this Act in that |
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| Fund, which shall be kept separate from all
other county funds | 2 |
| and shall only be used for the purposes of this Act.
| 3 |
| (b) The Advisory Board shall pay from the Children's | 4 |
| Advocacy Center
Fund or from other available funds the salaries | 5 |
| of all employees of the
Center and the expenses of acquiring a | 6 |
| physical plant for
the Center by construction or lease and | 7 |
| maintaining the Center, including
the expenses of | 8 |
| administering the coordination of the investigation,
| 9 |
| prosecution and treatment referral of child sexual
abuse under | 10 |
| the provisions of the protocol
adopted pursuant to this Act.
| 11 |
| (c) Every Center shall include at least the following | 12 |
| components:
| 13 |
| (1) An interdisciplinary, coordinated systems approach | 14 |
| to the
investigation of child sexual abuse which shall | 15 |
| include, at a minimum;
| 16 |
| (i) an interagency notification procedure;
| 17 |
| (ii) a dispute resolution process between the | 18 |
| involved agencies when a
conflict arises on how to | 19 |
| proceed with the investigation of a case;
| 20 |
| (iii) a policy on interagency decision-making; and
| 21 |
| (iv) a description of the role each agency has in | 22 |
| the investigation of
the case;
| 23 |
| (2) A safe, separate space with assigned personnel | 24 |
| designated for the
investigation and coordination of child | 25 |
| sexual abuse cases;
| 26 |
| (3) An interdisciplinary case review process for |
|
|
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| 1 |
| purposes of
decision-making, problem solving, systems | 2 |
| coordination, and information
sharing;
| 3 |
| (4) A comprehensive tracking system to receive and | 4 |
| coordinate
information concerning child sexual abuse cases | 5 |
| from each participating agency;
| 6 |
| (5) Interdisciplinary specialized training for all | 7 |
| professionals involved
with the victims and families of | 8 |
| child sexual abuse cases; and
| 9 |
| (6) A process for evaluating the effectiveness of the | 10 |
| Center and its
operations.
| 11 |
| (d) In the event that a Center has been established as | 12 |
| provided in this
Section, the Advisory Board of that Center | 13 |
| may, by a majority of the members,
authorize the Center to | 14 |
| coordinate the activities of the various agencies
involved in | 15 |
| the investigation, prosecution, and treatment referral in | 16 |
| cases of serious or fatal injury to a
child physical abuse | 17 |
| cases . The Advisory Board shall provide for the financial
| 18 |
| support of these activities in a manner similar to that set out | 19 |
| in subsections
(a) and (b) of this Section and shall be allowed | 20 |
| to submit a budget that
includes support for physical abuse and | 21 |
| neglect activities to the County Board,
which shall appropriate | 22 |
| funds that may be available under Section 5 of this
Act. In | 23 |
| cooperation with the Department of Children and Family Services | 24 |
| Child Death Review Teams, the Department of Children and Family | 25 |
| Services Office of the Inspector General, the Department of | 26 |
| State Police, and other stakeholders, this protocol must be |
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| initially implemented in selected counties to the extent that | 2 |
| State appropriations or funds from other sources for this | 3 |
| purpose allow.
| 4 |
| (e) The Illinois Child Advocacy Commission may also provide | 5 |
| technical
assistance and guidance to the Advisory Boards and | 6 |
| shall make a single annual
grant for the purpose of providing | 7 |
| technical support and assistance for
advocacy center | 8 |
| development in Illinois whenever an appropriation is made by
| 9 |
| the General Assembly specifically for that purpose. The grant | 10 |
| may be made only
to an Illinois not-for-profit corporation that | 11 |
| qualifies for tax treatment
under Section 501(c)(3) of the | 12 |
| Internal Revenue Code and that has a voting
membership | 13 |
| consisting of children's advocacy centers. The grant may be | 14 |
| spent
on staff, office space, equipment, and other expenses | 15 |
| necessary for the
development of resource materials
and other | 16 |
| forms of technical support and assistance. The grantee shall | 17 |
| report
to the Commission on the specific uses of grant funds by | 18 |
| no later than October
1 of each year and shall retain | 19 |
| supporting documentation for a period of at
least
5 years after | 20 |
| the corresponding report is filed.
| 21 |
| (Source: P.A. 91-158, eff. 7-16-99; 92-785, eff. 8-6-02.)".
|
|