Full Text of HB2365 96th General Assembly
HB2365eng 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| AN ACT concerning children.
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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 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the | 5 |
| Kinship Navigator Act. | 6 |
| Section 5. Definitions. In this Act: | 7 |
| (1) "Department" means the Department of Human | 8 |
| Services.
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| (2) "NPO" means a not-for-profit organization.
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| (3) "Municipality" has the meaning ascribed to it in | 11 |
| Section 1-1-2 of the Illinois Municipal Code.
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| (4) "Kinship care" means, as defined by Child Welfare | 13 |
| League of America, the full time care, nurturing, and | 14 |
| protection of children by relatives, members of their | 15 |
| tribes or clans, grandparents, godparents, stepparents, or | 16 |
| any adult who has physical custody and a kinship bond with | 17 |
| a child. This definition is designed to be inclusive | 18 |
| without age restrictions on the kinship caregiver and | 19 |
| respectful of cultural values and ties of affection. It | 20 |
| allows a child to grow to adulthood in a family | 21 |
| environment.
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| (5) "Kinship Navigator" means a statewide program | 23 |
| designed to ensure kinship caregivers the necessary |
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| resources for the preservation of the family.
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| Section 10. Legislative findings and intent. | 3 |
| (1) Caregivers often provide kinship care without | 4 |
| compensation or support systems.
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| (2) Kinship caregivers are crucial to avoiding | 6 |
| institutionalization of children and saving taxpayer | 7 |
| dollars.
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| (3) Kinship caregivers are frequently under | 9 |
| substantial physical, psychological, and financial stress. | 10 |
| Unrelieved by support services available to the caregiver, | 11 |
| this stress may lead to premature or unnecessary | 12 |
| institutionalization for the care recipient or | 13 |
| deterioration of the health condition and family | 14 |
| circumstances of the kinship caregiver.
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| (4) Sudden responsibility for children often precludes | 16 |
| kinship caregivers the opportunity to plan basic day to day | 17 |
| responsibility.
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| (5) The Kinship Navigator shall be seamless, | 19 |
| statewide, and coordinated among the Department of Human | 20 |
| Services, Department on Aging, Illinois Housing Authority, | 21 |
| Department of Children and Family Services, Department of | 22 |
| Corrections, and federal and local governments as well as | 23 |
| other public and private sources.
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| (6) Additional services provided under the Kinship | 25 |
| Navigator shall be: organizing diverse, enriched, and |
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| culturally conscious kinship support groups and | 2 |
| counseling; assisting with applying for benefits within | 3 |
| the Illinois Department of Human Services' Family | 4 |
| Community Resource Centers for those who qualify; | 5 |
| publishing monthly newsletters; coordinating respite and | 6 |
| crisis care services; assisting kinship caregivers with | 7 |
| job readiness, job search, and job retention; and providing | 8 |
| technical assistance to start up kinship support groups.
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| Section 15. Kinship Navigator conferences: promotion. The | 10 |
| Department shall arrange for the conduct of 2 conferences, one | 11 |
| in Cook County and one in Sangamon County, and provide for | 12 |
| exhibits and activities for kinship caregivers and social | 13 |
| service providers. | 14 |
| Section 20. Kinship Navigator administration. The | 15 |
| Department, subject to appropriation, shall administer the | 16 |
| Kinship Navigator through a contract with an NPO that has | 17 |
| worked statewide with kinship families. The contract shall | 18 |
| require that the program created by this Act will be | 19 |
| coordinated with (i) the grandparent child care program | 20 |
| administered by the Department of Children and Family Services | 21 |
| under Section 34.11 of the Children and Family Services Act, | 22 |
| (ii) the Department of Children and Family Services under | 23 |
| Section 39.1 of the Children and Family Services Act, and (iii) | 24 |
| the Department on Aging under Section 92 of the Family |
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| Caregiver Act. | 2 |
| Section 25. Rules. The Department shall adopt the rules | 3 |
| necessary for the implementation and administration of this | 4 |
| Act. | 5 |
| Section 90. The Children and Family Services Act is amended | 6 |
| by changing Section 34.11 and adding Section 39.1 as follows:
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| (20 ILCS 505/34.11)
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| Sec. 34.11. Grandparent child care program.
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| (a) The General Assembly finds and declares the following:
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| (1) An increasing number of children under the age of | 11 |
| 18, including many
children who would otherwise be at risk | 12 |
| of abuse or neglect, are in the care of
a grandparent or | 13 |
| other nonparent relative.
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| (2) The principal causes of this increase include | 15 |
| parental substance
abuse, chronic illness, child abuse, | 16 |
| mental illness, military deployment, poverty, | 17 |
| homelessness, deportation, and death, as well as concerted
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| efforts by families and by the child welfare service system | 19 |
| to keep children
with relatives whenever possible.
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| (3) Grandparents and older relatives providing primary | 21 |
| care for at-risk
children may experience unique resultant | 22 |
| problems, such as financial stress due
to limited incomes, | 23 |
| emotional difficulties dealing with the loss of the child's
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| parents or the child's unique behaviors, and decreased | 2 |
| physical stamina coupled
with a much higher incidence of | 3 |
| chronic illness.
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| (4) Many children being raised by nonparent relatives | 5 |
| experience one or a
combination of emotional, behavioral, | 6 |
| psychological, academic, or medical
problems, especially | 7 |
| those born to a substance-abusing mother or at risk of
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| child abuse, neglect, or abandonment.
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| (5) Grandparents and other relatives providing primary | 10 |
| care for children
lack appropriate information about the | 11 |
| issues of kinship care, the special
needs (both physical | 12 |
| and psychological) of children born to a substance-abusing
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| mother or at risk of child abuse, neglect, or abandonment, | 14 |
| and the support
resources currently available to them.
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| (b) The Department may establish an informational and | 16 |
| educational program
for grandparents and other relatives who | 17 |
| provide primary care for children who
are at risk of child | 18 |
| abuse, neglect, or abandonment or who were born to
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| substance-abusing mothers. As a part of the program, the | 20 |
| Department may
develop, publish, and distribute an | 21 |
| informational brochure for grandparents and
other relatives | 22 |
| who provide primary care for children who are at risk of child
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| abuse, neglect, or abandonment or who were born to | 24 |
| substance-abusing mothers.
The information provided under the | 25 |
| program authorized by this Section may
include, but is not | 26 |
| limited to the following:
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| (1) The most prevalent causes of kinship care, | 2 |
| especially the risk of
(i) substance exposure , (ii) or | 3 |
| child abuse, neglect, or abandonment , (iii) chronic | 4 |
| illness, (iv) mental illness, (v) military deployment, or | 5 |
| (vi) death .
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| (2) The problems experienced by children being raised | 7 |
| by nonparent
caregivers.
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| (3) The problems experienced by grandparents and other | 9 |
| nonparent relatives
providing primary care for children | 10 |
| who have special needs.
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| (4) The legal system as it relates to children and | 12 |
| their nonparent primary
caregivers.
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| (5) The benefits available to children and their | 14 |
| nonparent primary
caregivers.
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| (6) A list of support groups and resources located | 16 |
| throughout the State.
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| The brochure may be distributed through hospitals, public | 18 |
| health nurses,
child protective services, medical professional | 19 |
| offices, elementary and
secondary schools, senior citizen | 20 |
| centers, public libraries, community action
agencies selected | 21 |
| by the Department, and the Department of Human Services.
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| The Kinship Navigator established under the Kinship | 23 |
| Navigator Act shall coordinate the grandparent child care | 24 |
| program under this Section with the programs and services | 25 |
| established and administered by the Department of Human | 26 |
| Services under the Kinship Navigator Act. |
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| (Source: P.A. 88-229; 88-670, eff. 12-2-94; 89-507, eff. | 2 |
| 7-1-97.)
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| (20 ILCS 505/39.1 new)
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| Sec. 39.1. Kinship Navigator Act. The Kinship Navigator | 5 |
| established under the Kinship Navigator Act shall coordinate | 6 |
| the child welfare services administered by the Department in | 7 |
| relation to kinship care for children and families receiving | 8 |
| services under this Act with the programs and services | 9 |
| established and administered by the Department of Human | 10 |
| Services under the Kinship Navigator Act. | 11 |
| Section 95. The Family Caregiver Act is amended by adding | 12 |
| Section 92 as follows:
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| (320 ILCS 65/92 new)
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| Sec. 92. Kinship Navigator Act. The Kinship Navigator | 15 |
| established under the Kinship Navigator Act shall coordinate | 16 |
| the services administered by the Department under this Act with | 17 |
| the programs and services established and administered by the | 18 |
| Department of Human Services under the Kinship Navigator Act.
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| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 20 |
| becoming law.
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