Full Text of HB5965 96th General Assembly
HB5965 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2009 and 2010 HB5965
Introduced 2/10/2010, by Rep. Chapin Rose SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
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705 ILCS 405/2-13 |
from Ch. 37, par. 802-13 |
705 ILCS 405/2-27 |
from Ch. 37, par. 802-27 |
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Amends the Juvenile Court Act of 1987. Provides that if a petition has been filed under the Abused, Neglected, or Dependent Minors Article of the Act alleging that the minor has been subjected to the abuse of a custodial parent or guardian, the petition may be granted for relief, including change of custody, if the court finds that there is probable cause based on the facts asserted that the minor is the victim of ongoing abuse of a custodial parent or guardian or has a history of abuse or a significant incident of abuse by a custodial parent, guardian, or other household member.
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A BILL FOR
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HB5965 |
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LRB096 20262 RLC 36409 b |
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| AN ACT concerning courts.
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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 Juvenile Court Act of 1987 is amended by | 5 |
| changing Sections 2-13 and 2-27 as follows:
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| (705 ILCS 405/2-13) (from Ch. 37, par. 802-13)
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| Sec. 2-13. Petition.
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| (1) Any adult person, any agency or association by its
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| representative may file, or the court on its own motion, | 10 |
| consistent with the
health, safety and best interests of the | 11 |
| minor may direct the
filing through the State's Attorney of a | 12 |
| petition in respect of a minor
under this Act. The petition and | 13 |
| all subsequent court documents shall be
entitled "In the | 14 |
| interest of ...., a minor".
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| (2) The petition shall be verified but the statements may | 16 |
| be made
upon information and belief. It shall allege that the | 17 |
| minor is
abused, neglected, or dependent, with citations to the | 18 |
| appropriate
provisions of this Act,
and set forth (a) facts | 19 |
| sufficient to bring the minor
under Section 2-3 or 2-4 , or to | 20 |
| indicate that the minor has been subjected to the abuse of a | 21 |
| custodial parent or guardian, and to inform respondents of the | 22 |
| cause of action,
including, but not limited to, a plain and | 23 |
| concise statement of the factual
allegations that form the |
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LRB096 20262 RLC 36409 b |
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| basis for the filing of the petition; (b) the name,
age and | 2 |
| residence of the minor; (c) the names and residences of his | 3 |
| parents;
(d) the name and residence of his
legal guardian or | 4 |
| the person or persons having custody or control of the
minor, | 5 |
| or of the nearest known relative if no parent or guardian can | 6 |
| be
found; and (e) if the minor upon whose behalf the petition | 7 |
| is brought is
sheltered in custody, the date on which such | 8 |
| temporary custody
was ordered by the
court or the date set for | 9 |
| a temporary custody hearing. If any of the facts
herein | 10 |
| required are not known by the petitioner, the petition shall so
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| state.
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| (3) The petition must allege that it is in the best | 13 |
| interests of the
minor and of the public that he be adjudged a | 14 |
| ward of the court and may
pray generally for relief available | 15 |
| under this Act. The petition need
not specify any proposed | 16 |
| disposition following adjudication of wardship. The petition | 17 |
| may request that the minor remain in the custody of the parent, | 18 |
| guardian, or custodian under an Order of Protection.
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| (4) If termination of parental rights and appointment of a | 20 |
| guardian of the
person with power to consent to adoption of the | 21 |
| minor under Section 2-29 is
sought, the petition shall so | 22 |
| state. If the petition includes this request,
the prayer for | 23 |
| relief shall clearly and obviously state that the parents could
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| permanently lose their rights as a parent at this hearing.
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| In addition to the foregoing, the petitioner, by motion, | 26 |
| may request the
termination of parental rights and appointment |
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| of a guardian of the person with
power to consent to adoption | 2 |
| of the minor under Section 2-29 at any time after
the entry of | 3 |
| a dispositional order under Section 2-22.
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| (4.5) (a) With respect to any minors committed to its care | 5 |
| pursuant to
this Act, the Department of Children and Family | 6 |
| Services shall request the
State's Attorney to file a petition | 7 |
| or motion for termination of parental
rights and appointment of | 8 |
| guardian of the person with power to consent to
adoption of the | 9 |
| minor under Section 2-29 if:
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| (i) a minor has been in foster care, as described in | 11 |
| subsection (b), for
15 months of the most recent 22 months; | 12 |
| or
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| (ii) a minor under the age of 2 years has been | 14 |
| previously determined to be
abandoned at an adjudicatory | 15 |
| hearing; or
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| (iii) the parent is criminally convicted of (A) first | 17 |
| degree murder or
second degree murder of any child, (B) | 18 |
| attempt or conspiracy to commit first
degree murder or | 19 |
| second degree murder of any child, (C) solicitation to | 20 |
| commit
murder of any child, solicitation to commit murder | 21 |
| for hire of any child, or
solicitation to
commit second | 22 |
| degree murder of any child, (D)
aggravated battery, | 23 |
| aggravated battery of a child, or felony domestic battery,
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| any of which has resulted in serious injury to the minor or | 25 |
| a sibling of the
minor, (E) aggravated criminal sexual | 26 |
| assault in
violation of subdivision (b)(1) of Section 12-14 |
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| of the Criminal Code of 1961,
or
(F) an offense in any | 2 |
| other state the elements of which are similar and bear a
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| substantial relationship to any of the foregoing offenses
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| unless:
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| (i) the child
is being cared for by a relative,
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| (ii) the Department has documented in the
case plan a | 7 |
| compelling reason for determining that filing such | 8 |
| petition would
not be in the best interests of the child,
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| (iii) the court has found within the
preceding 12 | 10 |
| months that the Department has failed to make reasonable | 11 |
| efforts
to reunify the child and family, or
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| (iv) paragraph (c) of this subsection (4.5)
provides | 13 |
| otherwise.
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| (b) For purposes of this subsection, the date of entering | 15 |
| foster care is
defined as the earlier of:
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| (1) The date of a judicial finding at an adjudicatory | 17 |
| hearing that the
child is an abused, neglected, or | 18 |
| dependent minor; or
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| (2) 60 days after the date on which the child is | 20 |
| removed from his or her
parent, guardian, or legal | 21 |
| custodian.
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| (c) With respect to paragraph (a)(i), the following | 23 |
| transition rules shall
apply:
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| (1) If the child entered foster care after November 19, | 25 |
| 1997 and
this amendatory Act of 1998 takes effect before | 26 |
| the child has been in
foster care for 15 months of the |
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| preceding 22 months, then the Department shall
comply with | 2 |
| the requirements of paragraph (a) of this subsection (4.5) | 3 |
| for that
child as soon as the child has been in foster care | 4 |
| for 15 of the preceding 22
months.
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| (2) If the child entered foster care after November 19, | 6 |
| 1997 and
this amendatory Act of 1998 takes effect after the | 7 |
| child has been in foster
care for 15 of the preceding 22 | 8 |
| months, then the Department shall comply with
the | 9 |
| requirements of paragraph (a) of this subsection (4.5) for | 10 |
| that child
within 3 months after the end of the next | 11 |
| regular session of the General
Assembly.
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| (3) If the child entered foster care prior to November | 13 |
| 19, 1997, then the
Department shall comply with the | 14 |
| requirements of paragraph (a) of this
subsection (4.5) for | 15 |
| that child in accordance with Department policy or rule.
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| (d) If the State's Attorney determines that the | 17 |
| Department's request for
filing of a petition or motion | 18 |
| conforms to the requirements set forth in
subdivisions (a), | 19 |
| (b), and (c) of this subsection (4.5), then the State's
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| Attorney shall file the petition or motion as requested.
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| (5) The court shall liberally allow the petitioner to amend | 22 |
| the petition to
set forth a cause of action or to add, amend, | 23 |
| or supplement factual allegations
that form the basis for a | 24 |
| cause of action up until 14 days before the
adjudicatory | 25 |
| hearing. The petitioner may amend the petition after that date
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| and prior to the adjudicatory hearing if the court grants leave |
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| to amend upon a
showing of good cause.
The court may allow | 2 |
| amendment of the
petition to conform with the evidence at any | 3 |
| time prior to ruling. In all
cases in which the court has | 4 |
| granted leave to amend based on new evidence or
new | 5 |
| allegations, the court shall permit
the respondent an adequate | 6 |
| opportunity to prepare a defense to the amended
petition.
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| (6) At any time before dismissal of the petition or before | 8 |
| final closing
and discharge under Section 2-31, one or more | 9 |
| motions in the best interests of
the minor may be filed. The | 10 |
| motion shall specify sufficient facts in support
of the relief | 11 |
| requested.
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| (Source: P.A. 95-405, eff. 6-1-08 .)
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| (705 ILCS 405/2-27) (from Ch. 37, par. 802-27)
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| Sec. 2-27. Placement; legal custody or guardianship.
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| (1) If the court determines and puts in writing the factual | 16 |
| basis supporting
the determination of whether the parents, | 17 |
| guardian, or legal custodian of a
minor adjudged a ward of the | 18 |
| court are unfit or are unable, for some reason
other than | 19 |
| financial circumstances alone, to care for, protect, train or
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| discipline the minor or are unwilling to do so, and that the
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| health, safety, and best
interest of the minor will be | 22 |
| jeopardized if the minor remains in the custody
of his or her | 23 |
| parents, guardian or
custodian, the court may at this hearing | 24 |
| and at any later point:
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| (a) place the minor in the custody of a suitable |
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| relative or other person
as
legal custodian or guardian;
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| (a-5) with the approval of the Department of Children | 3 |
| and Family
Services, place the minor in the subsidized | 4 |
| guardianship of a suitable relative
or
other person as | 5 |
| legal guardian; "subsidized guardianship" means a private
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| guardianship arrangement for children for whom the | 7 |
| permanency goals of return
home and adoption have been | 8 |
| ruled out and who meet the qualifications for
subsidized | 9 |
| guardianship as defined by the Department of Children and | 10 |
| Family
Services in administrative rules;
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| (b) place the minor under the guardianship of a | 12 |
| probation officer;
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| (c) commit the minor to an agency for care or | 14 |
| placement, except an
institution under the authority of the | 15 |
| Department of Corrections or of
the Department of Children | 16 |
| and Family Services;
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| (d) commit the minor to the Department of Children and | 18 |
| Family Services for
care and service; however, a minor | 19 |
| charged with a criminal offense under the
Criminal Code of | 20 |
| 1961 or adjudicated delinquent shall not be placed in the
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| custody of or committed to the Department of Children and | 22 |
| Family Services by
any court, except (i) a minor less than | 23 |
| 15 years of age and committed to the
Department of Children | 24 |
| and Family Services under Section 5-710 of this Act, (ii) a | 25 |
| minor for whom an independent basis of abuse, neglect, or | 26 |
| dependency exists, or (iii) a minor for whom the court has |
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| granted a supplemental petition to reinstate wardship | 2 |
| pursuant to subsection (2) of Section 2-33 of this Act. An | 3 |
| independent basis exists when the allegations or | 4 |
| adjudication of abuse, neglect, or dependency do not arise | 5 |
| from the same facts, incident, or circumstances which give | 6 |
| rise to a charge or adjudication of delinquency. The
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| Department shall be given due notice of the pendency of the | 8 |
| action and the
Guardianship Administrator of the | 9 |
| Department of Children and Family Services
shall be | 10 |
| appointed guardian of the person of the minor. Whenever the | 11 |
| Department
seeks to discharge a minor from its care and | 12 |
| service, the Guardianship
Administrator shall petition the | 13 |
| court for an
order terminating guardianship. The | 14 |
| Guardianship Administrator may
designate one or more other | 15 |
| officers of the Department, appointed as
Department | 16 |
| officers by administrative order of the Department | 17 |
| Director,
authorized to affix the signature of the | 18 |
| Guardianship Administrator to
documents affecting the | 19 |
| guardian-ward relationship of children for whom
he or she | 20 |
| has been appointed guardian at such times as he or she is | 21 |
| unable to
perform
the duties of his or her office. The | 22 |
| signature authorization shall include but
not be limited to | 23 |
| matters of consent of marriage, enlistment in the
armed | 24 |
| forces, legal proceedings, adoption, major medical and | 25 |
| surgical
treatment and application for driver's license. | 26 |
| Signature authorizations
made pursuant to the provisions |
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| of this paragraph shall be filed with
the Secretary of | 2 |
| State and the Secretary of State shall provide upon
payment | 3 |
| of the customary fee, certified copies of the authorization | 4 |
| to
any court or individual who requests a copy.
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| (1.5) In making a determination under this Section, the | 6 |
| court shall also
consider
whether, based on health, safety, and | 7 |
| the best interests of the minor,
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| (a) appropriate services aimed
at family preservation | 9 |
| and family reunification have been unsuccessful in
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| rectifying the conditions that have led to a finding of | 11 |
| unfitness or inability
to care for, protect, train, or | 12 |
| discipline the minor, or
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| (b) no family preservation or family reunification
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| services would be appropriate,
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| and if the petition or amended petition
contained an allegation | 16 |
| that the
parent is an unfit
person as defined in subdivision | 17 |
| (D) of Section 1 of the Adoption Act, and the
order of
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| adjudication
recites that parental unfitness was established | 19 |
| by clear and convincing
evidence, the court
shall, when | 20 |
| appropriate and in the best interest of the minor, enter an
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| order terminating parental rights and
appointing a guardian | 22 |
| with
power to
consent to adoption in accordance with Section | 23 |
| 2-29.
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| When making a placement, the court, wherever possible, | 25 |
| shall
require the Department of Children and Family Services to | 26 |
| select a person
holding the same religious belief as that of |
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| the minor or a private agency
controlled by persons of like | 2 |
| religious faith of the minor and shall require
the Department | 3 |
| to otherwise comply with Section 7 of the Children and Family
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| Services Act in placing the child. In addition, whenever | 5 |
| alternative plans for
placement are available, the court shall | 6 |
| ascertain and consider, to the extent
appropriate in the | 7 |
| particular case, the views and preferences of the minor.
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| (1.6) If a petition has been filed under Section 2-13 of | 9 |
| this Act alleging that the minor has been subjected to the | 10 |
| abuse of a custodial parent or guardian, the petition may be | 11 |
| granted for relief specified in subsection (1), including | 12 |
| change of custody, if the court finds that there is probable | 13 |
| cause based on the facts asserted that the minor is the victim | 14 |
| of ongoing abuse of a custodial parent or guardian or has a | 15 |
| history of abuse or a significant incident of abuse by a | 16 |
| custodial parent, guardian, or other household member. | 17 |
| (2) When a minor is placed with a suitable relative or | 18 |
| other
person pursuant to item (a) of subsection (1),
the court | 19 |
| shall appoint him or her the legal custodian or guardian of the
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| person of the minor. When a minor is committed to any agency, | 21 |
| the court
shall appoint the proper officer or representative | 22 |
| thereof as legal
custodian or guardian of the person of the | 23 |
| minor. Legal custodians and
guardians of the person of the | 24 |
| minor have the respective rights and duties set
forth in | 25 |
| subsection (9) of Section 1-3 except as otherwise provided by | 26 |
| order
of court; but no guardian of the person may consent to |
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| adoption of the
minor unless that authority is conferred upon | 2 |
| him or her in accordance with
Section 2-29. An agency whose | 3 |
| representative is appointed guardian of the
person or legal | 4 |
| custodian of the minor may place the minor in any child care
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| facility, but the facility must be licensed under the Child | 6 |
| Care Act of
1969 or have been approved by the Department of | 7 |
| Children and Family Services
as meeting the standards | 8 |
| established for such licensing. No agency may
place a minor | 9 |
| adjudicated under Sections 2-3 or 2-4 in a child care facility
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| unless the placement is in compliance with the rules and | 11 |
| regulations
for placement under this Section promulgated by the | 12 |
| Department of Children
and Family Services under Section 5 of | 13 |
| the Children and Family Services
Act. Like authority and | 14 |
| restrictions shall be conferred by the court upon
any probation | 15 |
| officer who has been appointed guardian of the person of a | 16 |
| minor.
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| (3) No placement by any probation officer or agency whose | 18 |
| representative
is appointed guardian of the person or legal | 19 |
| custodian of a minor may be
made in any out of State child care | 20 |
| facility unless it complies with the
Interstate Compact on the | 21 |
| Placement of Children. Placement with a parent,
however, is not | 22 |
| subject to that Interstate Compact.
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| (4) The clerk of the court shall issue to the legal | 24 |
| custodian or
guardian of the person a certified copy of the | 25 |
| order of court, as proof
of his authority. No other process is | 26 |
| necessary as authority for the
keeping of the minor.
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| (5) Custody or guardianship granted under this Section | 2 |
| continues until
the court otherwise directs, but not after the | 3 |
| minor reaches the age
of 19 years except as set forth in | 4 |
| Section 2-31, or if the minor was previously committed to the | 5 |
| Department of Children and Family Services for care and service | 6 |
| and the court has granted a supplemental petition to reinstate | 7 |
| wardship pursuant to subsection (2) of Section 2-33.
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| (6) (Blank).
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| (Source: P.A. 95-642, eff. 6-1-08; 96-581, eff. 1-1-10.)
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