Full Text of HB2787 98th General Assembly
HB2787 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2013 and 2014 HB2787 Introduced , by Rep. Patricia R. Bellock SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
| 325 ILCS 5/7.4 | from Ch. 23, par. 2057.4 | 325 ILCS 5/7.14 | from Ch. 23, par. 2057.14 | 325 ILCS 5/7.16 | from Ch. 23, par. 2057.16 | 325 ILCS 5/7.21 | |
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Amends the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act. Requires the Department of Children and Family Services to convene a multi-disciplinary committee to review application of the
Department's investigation procedures to investigations involving children with custody cases pending
pursuant to the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act and make reports to the General Assembly. Requires the Department to promulgate rules, by June 1, 2014, establishing criteria and standards for
labeling a child abuse or neglect report as false in the state central register. Requires the Department's investigation team to include a licensed clinical social worker with experience in working with a child's specific disability when a report involves a child with a cognitive disability or a physical disability that impacts the child's communication. Provides that if the child named in the report was in the temporary custody or
guardianship of the Department when the report was received, then the child named in the report shall be a party to another's request for expungement of the final findings. Contains provisions concerning a mandated reporter's request for a review of an unfounded report; appeals requested by parents, personal guardians, or legal custodians who are not also subjects of the report; appeals conducted by a neutral third party; appeals or reviews requested via U.S. Mail; and Department rules limiting the rights of a reporter to request an appeal. Effective immediately.
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| | | FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY | |
| | A BILL FOR |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning children.
| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 5. The Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act is | 5 | | amended by changing Sections 7.4, 7.14, 7.16, and 7.21 as | 6 | | follows:
| 7 | | (325 ILCS 5/7.4) (from Ch. 23, par. 2057.4)
| 8 | | Sec. 7.4. (a) The Department shall be capable of receiving | 9 | | reports of
suspected child abuse or neglect 24 hours a day, 7 | 10 | | days a week. Whenever
the Department receives a report alleging | 11 | | that a child is a
truant as defined in Section 26-2a of The | 12 | | School Code, as now or hereafter
amended, the Department shall | 13 | | notify the superintendent of the school
district in which the | 14 | | child resides and the appropriate superintendent of
the | 15 | | educational service region. The notification to the | 16 | | appropriate
officials by the Department shall not be considered | 17 | | an allegation of abuse
or neglect under this Act.
| 18 | | (a-5) Beginning January 1, 2010, the Department of Children | 19 | | and Family Services may implement a 5-year demonstration of a | 20 | | "differential response program" in accordance with criteria, | 21 | | standards, and procedures prescribed by rule. The program may | 22 | | provide that, upon receiving a report, the Department shall | 23 | | determine whether to conduct a family assessment or an |
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| 1 | | investigation as appropriate to prevent or provide a remedy for | 2 | | child abuse or neglect. | 3 | | For purposes of this subsection (a-5), "family assessment" | 4 | | means a comprehensive assessment of child safety, risk of | 5 | | subsequent child maltreatment, and family strengths and needs | 6 | | that is applied to a child maltreatment report that does not | 7 | | allege substantial child endangerment. "Family assessment" | 8 | | does not include a determination as to whether child | 9 | | maltreatment occurred but does determine the need for services | 10 | | to address the safety of family members and the risk of | 11 | | subsequent maltreatment. | 12 | | For purposes of this subsection (a-5), "investigation" | 13 | | means fact-gathering related to the current safety of a child | 14 | | and the risk of subsequent abuse or neglect that determines | 15 | | whether a report of suspected child abuse or neglect should be | 16 | | indicated or unfounded and whether child protective services | 17 | | are needed. | 18 | | Under the "differential response program" implemented | 19 | | under this subsection (a-5), the Department: | 20 | | (1) Shall conduct an investigation on reports | 21 | | involving substantial child abuse or neglect. | 22 | | (2) Shall begin an immediate investigation if, at any | 23 | | time when it is using a family assessment response, it | 24 | | determines that there is reason to believe that substantial | 25 | | child abuse or neglect or a serious threat to the child's | 26 | | safety exists. |
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| 1 | | (3) May conduct a family assessment for reports that do | 2 | | not allege substantial child endangerment. In determining | 3 | | that a family assessment is appropriate, the Department may | 4 | | consider issues including, but not limited to, child | 5 | | safety, parental cooperation, and the need for an immediate | 6 | | response. | 7 | | (4) Shall promulgate criteria, standards, and | 8 | | procedures that shall be applied in making this | 9 | | determination, taking into consideration the Child | 10 | | Endangerment Risk Assessment Protocol of the Department. | 11 | | (5) May conduct a family assessment on a report that | 12 | | was initially screened and assigned for an investigation. | 13 | | In determining that a complete investigation is not | 14 | | required, the Department must document the reason for | 15 | | terminating the investigation and notify the local law | 16 | | enforcement agency or the Department of State Police if the | 17 | | local law enforcement agency or Department of State Police is | 18 | | conducting a joint investigation. | 19 | | Once it is determined that a "family assessment" will be | 20 | | implemented, the case shall not be reported to the central | 21 | | register of abuse and neglect reports. | 22 | | During a family assessment, the Department shall collect | 23 | | any available and relevant information to determine child | 24 | | safety, risk of subsequent abuse or neglect, and family | 25 | | strengths. | 26 | | Information collected includes, but is not limited to, when |
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| 1 | | relevant: information with regard to the person reporting the | 2 | | alleged abuse or neglect, including the nature of the | 3 | | reporter's relationship to the child and to the alleged | 4 | | offender, and the basis of the reporter's knowledge for the | 5 | | report; the child allegedly being abused or neglected; the | 6 | | alleged offender; the child's caretaker; and other collateral | 7 | | sources having relevant information related to the alleged | 8 | | abuse or neglect. Information relevant to the assessment must | 9 | | be asked for, and may include: | 10 | | (A) The child's sex and age, prior reports of abuse or | 11 | | neglect, information relating to developmental | 12 | | functioning, credibility of the child's statement, and | 13 | | whether the information provided under this paragraph (A) | 14 | | is consistent with other information collected during the | 15 | | course of the assessment or investigation. | 16 | | (B) The alleged offender's age, a record check for | 17 | | prior reports of abuse or neglect, and criminal charges and | 18 | | convictions. The alleged offender may submit supporting | 19 | | documentation relevant to the assessment. | 20 | | (C) Collateral source information regarding the | 21 | | alleged abuse or neglect and care of the child. Collateral | 22 | | information includes, when relevant: (i) a medical | 23 | | examination of the child; (ii) prior medical records | 24 | | relating to the alleged maltreatment or care of the child | 25 | | maintained by any facility, clinic, or health care | 26 | | professional, and an interview with the treating |
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| 1 | | professionals; and (iii) interviews with the child's | 2 | | caretakers, including the child's parent, guardian, foster | 3 | | parent, child care provider, teachers, counselors, family | 4 | | members, relatives, and other persons who may have | 5 | | knowledge regarding the alleged maltreatment and the care | 6 | | of the child. | 7 | | (D) Information on the existence of domestic abuse and | 8 | | violence in the home of the child, and substance abuse. | 9 | | Nothing in this subsection (a-5) precludes the Department | 10 | | from collecting other relevant information necessary to | 11 | | conduct the assessment or investigation. Nothing in this | 12 | | subsection (a-5) shall be construed to allow the name or | 13 | | identity of a reporter to be disclosed in violation of the | 14 | | protections afforded under Section 7.19 of this Act. | 15 | | After conducting the family assessment, the Department | 16 | | shall determine whether services are needed to address the | 17 | | safety of the child and other family members and the risk of | 18 | | subsequent abuse or neglect. | 19 | | Upon completion of the family assessment, if the Department | 20 | | concludes that no services shall be offered, then the case | 21 | | shall be closed. If the Department concludes that services | 22 | | shall be offered, the Department shall develop a family | 23 | | preservation plan and offer or refer services to the family. | 24 | | At any time during a family assessment, if the Department | 25 | | believes there is any reason to stop the assessment and conduct | 26 | | an investigation based on the information discovered, the |
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| 1 | | Department shall do so. | 2 | | The procedures available to the Department in conducting | 3 | | investigations under this Act shall be followed as appropriate | 4 | | during a family assessment. | 5 | | The Department shall arrange for an independent evaluation | 6 | | of the "differential response program" authorized and | 7 | | implemented under this subsection (a-5) to determine whether it | 8 | | is meeting the goals in accordance with Section 2 of this Act. | 9 | | The Department may adopt administrative rules necessary for the | 10 | | execution of this Section, in accordance with Section 4 of the | 11 | | Children and Family Services Act. | 12 | | The demonstration conducted under this subsection (a-5) | 13 | | shall become a permanent program on January 1, 2015, upon | 14 | | completion of the demonstration project period.
| 15 | | (b) (1) The following procedures shall be followed in the | 16 | | investigation
of all reports of suspected abuse or neglect | 17 | | of a child, except as provided
in subsection (c) of this | 18 | | Section.
| 19 | | (2) If, during a family assessment authorized by | 20 | | subsection (a-5) or an investigation, it appears that the | 21 | | immediate safety or well-being of a child is
endangered, | 22 | | that the family may flee or the child disappear, or that | 23 | | the
facts otherwise so warrant, the Child Protective | 24 | | Service Unit shall
commence an investigation immediately, | 25 | | regardless of the time of day or
night. All other | 26 | | investigations shall be commenced within 24
hours of |
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| 1 | | receipt of the report. Upon receipt of a report, the Child
| 2 | | Protective Service Unit shall conduct a family assessment | 3 | | authorized by subsection (a-5) or begin an initial | 4 | | investigation and make an initial
determination whether | 5 | | the report is a good faith indication of alleged
child | 6 | | abuse or neglect.
| 7 | | (3) Based on an initial investigation, if the Unit | 8 | | determines the report is a good faith
indication of alleged | 9 | | child abuse or neglect, then a formal investigation
shall | 10 | | commence and, pursuant to Section 7.12 of this Act, may or | 11 | | may not
result in an indicated report. The formal | 12 | | investigation shall include:
direct contact with the | 13 | | subject or subjects of the report as soon as
possible after | 14 | | the report is received; an
evaluation of the environment of | 15 | | the child named in the report and any other
children in the | 16 | | same environment; a determination of the risk to such
| 17 | | children if they continue to remain in the existing | 18 | | environments, as well
as a determination of the nature, | 19 | | extent and cause of any condition
enumerated in such | 20 | | report; the name, age and condition of other children in
| 21 | | the environment; and an evaluation as to whether there | 22 | | would be an
immediate and urgent necessity to remove the | 23 | | child from the environment if
appropriate family | 24 | | preservation services were provided. After seeing to
the | 25 | | safety of the child or children, the Department shall
| 26 | | forthwith notify the subjects of the report in writing, of |
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| 1 | | the existence
of the report and their rights existing under | 2 | | this Act in regard to amendment
or expungement. To fulfill | 3 | | the requirements of this Section, the Child
Protective | 4 | | Service Unit shall have the capability of providing or | 5 | | arranging
for comprehensive emergency services to children | 6 | | and families at all times
of the day or night.
| 7 | | (4) If (i) at the conclusion of the Unit's initial | 8 | | investigation of a
report, the Unit determines the report | 9 | | to be a good faith indication of
alleged child abuse or | 10 | | neglect that warrants a formal investigation by
the Unit, | 11 | | the Department, any law enforcement agency or any other
| 12 | | responsible agency and (ii) the person who is alleged to | 13 | | have caused the
abuse or neglect is employed or otherwise | 14 | | engaged in an activity resulting
in frequent contact with | 15 | | children and the alleged abuse or neglect are in
the course | 16 | | of such employment or activity, then the Department shall,
| 17 | | except in investigations where the Director determines | 18 | | that such
notification would be detrimental to the | 19 | | Department's investigation, inform
the appropriate | 20 | | supervisor or administrator of that employment or activity
| 21 | | that the Unit has commenced a formal investigation pursuant | 22 | | to this Act,
which may or may not result in an indicated | 23 | | report. The Department shall also
notify the person being | 24 | | investigated, unless the Director determines that
such | 25 | | notification would be detrimental to the Department's | 26 | | investigation.
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| 1 | | (c) In an investigation of a report of suspected abuse or | 2 | | neglect of
a child by a school employee at a school or on | 3 | | school grounds, the
Department shall make reasonable efforts to | 4 | | follow the following procedures:
| 5 | | (1) Investigations involving teachers shall not, to | 6 | | the extent possible,
be conducted when the teacher is | 7 | | scheduled to conduct classes.
Investigations involving | 8 | | other school employees shall be conducted so as to
minimize | 9 | | disruption of the school day. The school employee accused | 10 | | of
child abuse or neglect may have his superior, his | 11 | | association or union
representative and his attorney | 12 | | present at any interview or meeting at
which the teacher or | 13 | | administrator is present. The accused school employee
| 14 | | shall be informed by a representative of the Department, at | 15 | | any
interview or meeting, of the accused school employee's | 16 | | due process rights
and of the steps in the investigation | 17 | | process.
The information shall include, but need not | 18 | | necessarily be limited to the
right, subject to the | 19 | | approval of the Department, of the school employee to
| 20 | | confront the accuser, if the accuser is 14 years of age or | 21 | | older, or the
right to review the specific allegations | 22 | | which gave rise to the
investigation, and the right to | 23 | | review all materials and evidence that have
been submitted | 24 | | to the Department in support of the allegation. These due
| 25 | | process rights shall also include the right of the school | 26 | | employee to
present countervailing evidence regarding the |
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| 1 | | accusations.
| 2 | | (2) If a report of neglect or abuse of a child by a | 3 | | teacher or
administrator does not involve allegations of | 4 | | sexual abuse or extreme
physical abuse, the Child | 5 | | Protective Service Unit shall make reasonable
efforts to | 6 | | conduct the initial investigation in coordination with the
| 7 | | employee's supervisor.
| 8 | | If the Unit determines that the report is a good faith | 9 | | indication of
potential child abuse or neglect, it shall | 10 | | then commence a formal
investigation under paragraph (3) of | 11 | | subsection (b) of this Section.
| 12 | | (3) If a report of neglect or abuse of a child by a | 13 | | teacher or
administrator involves an allegation of sexual | 14 | | abuse or extreme physical
abuse, the Child Protective Unit | 15 | | shall commence an investigation under
paragraph (2) of | 16 | | subsection (b) of this Section.
| 17 | | (c-5) In any instance in which a report is made or caused | 18 | | to made by a school district employee involving the conduct of | 19 | | a person employed by the school district, at the time the | 20 | | report was made, as required under Section 4 of this Act, the | 21 | | Child Protective Service Unit shall send a copy of its final | 22 | | finding report to the general superintendent of that school | 23 | | district.
| 24 | | (d) If the Department has contact with an employer, or with | 25 | | a religious
institution or religious official having | 26 | | supervisory or hierarchical authority
over a member of the |
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| 1 | | clergy accused of the abuse of a child,
in the course of its
| 2 | | investigation, the Department shall notify the employer or the | 3 | | religious
institution or religious official, in writing, when a
| 4 | | report is unfounded so that any record of the investigation can | 5 | | be expunged
from the employee's or member of the clergy's | 6 | | personnel or other
records. The Department shall also notify
| 7 | | the employee or the member of the clergy, in writing, that | 8 | | notification
has been sent to the employer or to the | 9 | | appropriate religious institution or
religious official
| 10 | | informing the employer or religious institution or religious | 11 | | official that
the
Department's investigation has resulted in
an | 12 | | unfounded report.
| 13 | | (e) Upon request by the Department, the
Department of State | 14 | | Police and law enforcement agencies are
authorized to provide | 15 | | criminal history record information
as defined in the Illinois | 16 | | Uniform Conviction Information Act and information
maintained | 17 | | in
the adjudicatory and dispositional record system as defined | 18 | | in Section
2605-355 of the Department of State Police Law (20 | 19 | | ILCS
2605/2605-355) to properly
designated
employees of the
| 20 | | Department of Children
and Family Services if the Department | 21 | | determines the information is
necessary to perform its duties | 22 | | under the Abused and
Neglected Child Reporting Act, the Child | 23 | | Care Act of 1969, and the Children and
Family Services Act. The
| 24 | | request shall be in the form and manner required
by
the | 25 | | Department of State Police. Any information obtained by the | 26 | | Department of
Children
and Family Services under this Section |
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| 1 | | is
confidential and may not be transmitted outside the | 2 | | Department of Children
and Family Services other than to a | 3 | | court of competent jurisdiction or unless
otherwise authorized | 4 | | by law.
Any employee of the Department of Children and Family | 5 | | Services who transmits
confidential information in
violation | 6 | | of this
Section or causes the information to be
transmitted in | 7 | | violation of this Section is guilty of a Class A
misdemeanor | 8 | | unless the transmittal of
the
information is
authorized by this | 9 | | Section or otherwise authorized by law.
| 10 | | (f) For purposes of this Section "child abuse or neglect" | 11 | | includes abuse or neglect of an adult resident as defined in | 12 | | this Act. | 13 | | (g) The Department shall convene a multi-disciplinary | 14 | | committee to review application of the
Department's | 15 | | investigation procedures to investigations involving children | 16 | | with custody cases pending
pursuant to the Illinois Marriage | 17 | | and Dissolution of Marriage Act. The committee shall include
| 18 | | Department staff, a licensed clinical social worker | 19 | | specializing in working with children who have
experienced | 20 | | trauma, a licensed clinical social worker specializing in | 21 | | working with children involved in
custody disputes, a | 22 | | professional child custody evaluator, and child advocacy | 23 | | organizations. The
committee shall develop recommendations for | 24 | | policy changes and training regarding investigations of
these | 25 | | cases. Reference to and guidance on parental alienation | 26 | | syndrome shall be removed from existing
procedures and |
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| 1 | | policies. Analysis of influence on a child's statements and | 2 | | behavior shall be case-specific
and supported by details. The | 3 | | committee shall prepare a report by December 1, 2014. The | 4 | | Department
shall tender the committee's report and the | 5 | | Department's response and plan for implementation to the
| 6 | | General Assembly by March 1, 2015. | 7 | | (h) By June 1, 2014, the Department shall promulgate rules | 8 | | establishing criteria and standards for
labeling a report as | 9 | | false in the state central register. The rules shall permit the | 10 | | reporter to submit a
statement regarding the report, unless the | 11 | | reporter has been convicted of knowingly transmitting a false
| 12 | | report to the Department under paragraph (7) of subsection (a) | 13 | | of Section 26-1 of the Criminal Code of 2012. | 14 | | (i) When a report involves a child with a cognitive | 15 | | disability or with a physical disability that impacts the | 16 | | child's communication, the Department's investigation
team | 17 | | shall include a licensed clinical social worker with experience | 18 | | in working with the specific disability
to help assess the | 19 | | information received from the child. This person shall be | 20 | | directly involved in
preparing for the investigation by | 21 | | building awareness of the child's communication needs, | 22 | | including use of
assistive technology, and reading abilities, | 23 | | assessing whether a reduced number of or shortened interviews | 24 | | are
warranted, and determining the appropriate environment for | 25 | | interviewing the child. If a forensic
interview is to be | 26 | | completed, the Department shall ensure that the interviewer is |
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| 1 | | trained to interview
individuals with disabilities, and the | 2 | | Department shall ensure that the interviewer has access to | 3 | | individualized
information about the victim's disability from | 4 | | personal records, family members or care providers, and
others | 5 | | with relevant information prior to meeting the child. | 6 | | (Source: P.A. 95-908, eff. 8-26-08; 96-760, eff. 1-1-10; | 7 | | 96-1446, eff. 8-20-10.)
| 8 | | (325 ILCS 5/7.14) (from Ch. 23, par. 2057.14)
| 9 | | Sec. 7.14. All reports in the central register shall be | 10 | | classified in one
of three categories: "indicated", | 11 | | "unfounded" or "undetermined", as the
case may be. After the | 12 | | report is classified, the person making the
classification | 13 | | shall determine whether the child named in the
report is the | 14 | | subject of an action under Article II of the Juvenile Court
Act | 15 | | of 1987. If the child is the subject of an action under Article | 16 | | II of the
Juvenile Court Act, the Department shall , within 30 | 17 | | days after classification, transmit a copy of the report to
the | 18 | | guardian ad litem appointed for the child under Section 2-17 of | 19 | | the
Juvenile Court Act. All information identifying the | 20 | | subjects of an unfounded
report shall be expunged from the | 21 | | register
forthwith, except as provided in Section 7.7.
| 22 | | Unfounded reports may only be made available to the Child
| 23 | | Protective Service Unit when investigating a subsequent report | 24 | | of suspected
abuse or maltreatment involving a child named in | 25 | | the unfounded report; and to
the subject of the report, |
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| 1 | | provided the Department has not expunged the file in accordance | 2 | | with Section 7.7. The Child Protective
Service Unit shall not | 3 | | indicate the subsequent report solely based upon the
existence | 4 | | of the prior unfounded report or reports. Notwithstanding any | 5 | | other
provision of law to the contrary, an unfounded report | 6 | | shall not be admissible
in any judicial or administrative | 7 | | proceeding or action.
Identifying information on all other | 8 | | records shall be
removed from the register no later than 5 | 9 | | years after the report is indicated.
However, if another report | 10 | | is received involving the same child, his sibling
or offspring, | 11 | | or a child in the care of the persons responsible for the
| 12 | | child's welfare, or involving the same alleged offender, the
| 13 | | identifying
information may be maintained in the register
until | 14 | | 5 years after the subsequent case or report is closed.
| 15 | | Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section, | 16 | | identifying
information in indicated reports involving serious | 17 | | physical injury to a child as defined by the
Department in | 18 | | rules, may be retained longer than 5 years after the report
is | 19 | | indicated or after the subsequent case or report is closed, and | 20 | | may not
be removed from the register except as provided by the | 21 | | Department in rules. Identifying information in indicated | 22 | | reports involving sexual penetration of a child, sexual | 23 | | molestation of a child, sexual exploitation of a child, torture | 24 | | of a child, or the death of a child, as defined by the | 25 | | Department in rules, shall be retained for a period of not less | 26 | | than 50 years after the report is indicated or after the |
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| 1 | | subsequent case or report is closed.
| 2 | | For purposes of this Section "child" includes an adult | 3 | | resident as defined in this Act. | 4 | | (Source: P.A. 96-1164, eff. 7-21-10; 96-1446, eff. 8-20-10; | 5 | | 97-333, eff. 8-12-11.)
| 6 | | (325 ILCS 5/7.16) (from Ch. 23, par. 2057.16)
| 7 | | Sec. 7.16.
For any investigation or appeal initiated on or | 8 | | after, or
pending on July 1, 1998, the following time frames | 9 | | shall apply.
Within 60 days after the notification of the | 10 | | completion
of the Child Protective Service Unit investigation, | 11 | | determined by the date
of the notification sent by the | 12 | | Department, a subject of a report may
request the Department to | 13 | | amend the record or
remove the record of the report from the | 14 | | register. Such request shall be
in writing and directed to such | 15 | | person as the Department designates in the
notification. If the | 16 | | Department disregards any
request to do so or does
not act | 17 | | within 10 days, the subject shall have the right to a
hearing | 18 | | within
the Department to determine whether the record of the | 19 | | report should be
amended or removed on the grounds that it is | 20 | | inaccurate or it is
being
maintained in a manner inconsistent | 21 | | with this Act, except that there
shall be no such right to a | 22 | | hearing on the ground of the report's
inaccuracy if there has | 23 | | been a court finding of child abuse or neglect, the
report's | 24 | | accuracy being conclusively presumed on such finding. Such
| 25 | | hearing shall be held within a reasonable time after the |
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| 1 | | subject's request
and at a reasonable place and hour. The | 2 | | appropriate Child Protective
Service Unit shall be given notice | 3 | | of the hearing. If the child named in the report was in the | 4 | | temporary custody or
guardianship of the Department pursuant to | 5 | | Article II of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987
when the report | 6 | | was received, then the child named in the report shall be a | 7 | | party to another subject's
request for expungement of the final | 8 | | findings. In such hearings, the
burden of proving the accuracy | 9 | | and consistency of the record shall be on
the Department and | 10 | | the appropriate Child Protective Service Unit. The
hearing | 11 | | shall be conducted by the Director or his designee, who is | 12 | | hereby
authorized and empowered to order the amendment or | 13 | | removal of
the record to make it accurate and consistent with | 14 | | this Act. The decision
shall be made, in writing, at the close | 15 | | of the hearing, or within 45
days
thereof, and shall state the | 16 | | reasons upon which it is based. Decisions of
the Department | 17 | | under this Section are administrative decisions subject to
| 18 | | judicial review under the Administrative Review Law.
| 19 | | Should the Department grant the request of the subject of | 20 | | the report
pursuant to this Section either on administrative | 21 | | review or after
administrative hearing to amend an indicated | 22 | | report to an unfounded report, the
report shall be released and | 23 | | expunged in accordance
with the standards set forth in Section | 24 | | 7.14 of this Act.
| 25 | | (Source: P.A. 90-15, eff. 6-13-97; 90-608, eff. 6-30-98.)
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| 1 | | (325 ILCS 5/7.21)
| 2 | | Sec. 7.21. Multidisciplinary Review Committee.
| 3 | | (a) Reviews requested by mandated reporters. The | 4 | | Department may establish multidisciplinary review committees | 5 | | in each
region of the State to assure that mandated reporters | 6 | | have the ability to have
a review conducted on any situation | 7 | | where a child abuse or neglect report made
by them was | 8 | | "unfounded", and they have concerns about the adequacy of the
| 9 | | investigation.
These committees shall draw upon the expertise | 10 | | of the Child Death Review
Teams as necessary and practicable. | 11 | | Each committee will be composed of the
following: a
health care | 12 | | professional, a Department employee, a law enforcement | 13 | | official, a
licensed social
worker, and a representative of the | 14 | | State's attorney's office. In appointing
members of a | 15 | | committee, primary consideration shall be given to a | 16 | | prospective
member's prior experience in dealing with cases of | 17 | | suspected child abuse or
neglect. Whenever the Department | 18 | | determines that a
reported incident of child abuse or neglect | 19 | | from a mandated reporter is "unfounded", the
mandated reporter | 20 | | may request a review of the investigation within 10 days after | 21 | | the
notification of the final finding. Within 60 days, the | 22 | | committee shall make recommendations
to the Department as to | 23 | | the adequacy of the investigation and the accuracy of the final
| 24 | | finding determination. These findings shall be forwarded to the | 25 | | Regional Child Protection
Manager. A summary of the result of | 26 | | the committee's findings, including whether the committee |
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| 1 | | recommends that the finding be upheld or reversed, and the | 2 | | rationale for the determination, shall be
provided to the | 3 | | mandated reporter within 60 days. The summary shall inform the
| 4 | | mandated reporter that if he or she disagrees with the findings | 5 | | of the committee, the mandated
reporter may submit a request | 6 | | for investigation with the Department's Office of the Inspector
| 7 | | General.
| 8 | | (b) Reviews requested by guardians ad litem appointed | 9 | | pursuant to Section 2-17 of the
Juvenile Court Act of 1987. | 10 | | Whenever the Department determines that a reported incident of | 11 | | child
abuse or neglect from a mandated reporter is "unfounded", | 12 | | the mandated reporter
may request a review of the investigation | 13 | | within 10 days of the notification of
the final finding. | 14 | | Whenever the Department determines that a reported
incident of | 15 | | child abuse or neglect from a mandated reporter or any other
| 16 | | reporter is "unfounded", the minor's guardian ad litem | 17 | | appointed under the
Juvenile Court Act of 1987 may request an | 18 | | appeal a review of the investigation within 10
days of the | 19 | | notification of the final finding and receipt of the report if | 20 | | the subject of the report is
also a the minor as defined by
| 21 | | Section 1-3 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 for whom the | 22 | | guardian ad litem has been appointed. The review
of the | 23 | | investigation requested by the guardian ad litem may be | 24 | | conducted by
the Regional Child Protection Manager.
| 25 | | A review under this subsection will be conducted by the
| 26 | | committee, except those requests for review that are made by |
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| 1 | | the guardian
ad litem, which shall be conducted by the Regional | 2 | | Child Protection Manager.
The
Department shall make available | 3 | | to the committee all information in the
Department's possession | 4 | | concerning the case. The committee shall make
recommendations | 5 | | to the Department as to the adequacy of the investigation and
| 6 | | of the accuracy of the final finding determination. These | 7 | | findings shall be
forwarded to the Regional Child Protection | 8 | | Manager.
| 9 | | (b-1) Appeals requested by parents, personal guardians, or | 10 | | legal custodians who are not also
subjects of the report. | 11 | | Whenever the Department determines that a reported incident of
| 12 | | child abuse involving abuse allegations of death, head | 13 | | injuries, internal injuries, burns,
wounds, bone fractures, | 14 | | torture, sexually transmitted disease, sexual penetration, | 15 | | sexual
exploitation, sexual molestation, substantial risk of | 16 | | sexual injury, or human trafficking of
children is unfounded, a | 17 | | parent, personal guardian, or legal custodian of the alleged | 18 | | victim,
who is not the subject perpetrator of the report, may | 19 | | request an appeal of the final finding
within 10 days after | 20 | | notification of the final finding. | 21 | | (b-2) Appeals under subsections (b) and (b-1) shall be | 22 | | conducted by a neutral third party.
The neutral third party | 23 | | shall make recommendations to the Department as to the adequacy
| 24 | | of the investigation and the accuracy of the final finding | 25 | | determination, including whether the final finding should be | 26 | | upheld or reversed. These findings
shall be forwarded to the |
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| 1 | | Regional Child Protection Manager. | 2 | | (b-3) Appeals or reviews requested under subsection (a), | 3 | | (b), or (b-1) may be requested by
sending a request via U.S. | 4 | | Mail, postmarked within 10 days after notice of the final | 5 | | finding.
For appeals under subsection (b), the date of | 6 | | notification of the final finding is the date the guardian ad | 7 | | litem received a copy of the report from the Department. The | 8 | | Department may, by rule, establish additional methods of | 9 | | receiving appeals. | 10 | | (c) The Department shall provide complete records of these | 11 | | investigations to
the committee or the neutral third party | 12 | | hearing an appeal . Records provided to the committee or the | 13 | | neutral third party hearing an appeal and recommendation | 14 | | reports
generated by the committee or the neutral third party | 15 | | hearing an appeal shall not be public record. Recommendation | 16 | | reports shall be provided to a guardian ad litem
appointed | 17 | | under Section 2-17 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 to | 18 | | represent a minor named as a
subject of the report.
| 19 | | (c-5) On or before October 1 of each year, the Department | 20 | | shall prepare a
report setting forth (i) the number of | 21 | | investigations
reviewed pursuant to subsection (a) by each | 22 | | committee during the previous fiscal year , and (ii) the number
| 23 | | of appeals requested
pursuant to subsections (b) and (b-1), | 24 | | (iii) the number of those investigations that the committee | 25 | | found to be
inadequate , (iv) a summary of the committee's or | 26 | | neutral third party's comments, (v) . The report shall also |
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| 1 | | include a summary of the committee's
comments and a summary of | 2 | | the corrective action, if any, that
was taken in response to | 3 | | the committee's or the neutral third party's recommendations , | 4 | | and (vi) the number of recommendations made to reverse final | 5 | | findings . The report shall be
a public record. The Department | 6 | | shall submit the
report to the General Assembly and shall make | 7 | | the report available to the
public upon request.
| 8 | | (d) The Department shall adopt rules to implement this | 9 | | Section by October 1, 2013. The
rules may limit the rights of a | 10 | | reporter to request an appeal pursuant to subsection (b-1)
when | 11 | | the reporter has been convicted of making false reports under | 12 | | paragraph (7) of subsection (a) of
Section 26-1 of the Criminal | 13 | | Code of 2012 .
| 14 | | (Source: P.A. 90-239, eff. 7-28-97; 91-812, eff. 6-13-00.)
| 15 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 16 | | becoming law.
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