Full Text of HB3277 102nd General Assembly
HB3277enr 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning courts.
| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 5. The Juvenile Court Act of 1987 is amended by | 5 | | changing Section 2-17.1 as follows:
| 6 | | (705 ILCS 405/2-17.1)
| 7 | | Sec. 2-17.1. Court appointed special advocate.
| 8 | | (1) The court shall may appoint a special advocate
upon | 9 | | the filing of a petition under this Article or
at any time | 10 | | during the pendency of a proceeding under this Article if | 11 | | special advocates are available .
The Except in counties with a | 12 | | population over 3,000,000, the
court appointed special | 13 | | advocate may also serve as guardian ad litem by
appointment of | 14 | | the court under Section 2-17 of this Act.
| 15 | | (1.2) In counties of populations over 3,000,000 the court | 16 | | may appoint a special advocate upon the filing of a petition | 17 | | under this Article or at any time during the pendency of a | 18 | | proceeding under this Article. No special advocate shall act | 19 | | as guardian ad litem in counties of populations over | 20 | | 3,000,000. | 21 | | (1.5) "Court appointed special advocate" means a community | 22 | | volunteer who: | 23 | | (a) is 21 or older; |
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| 1 | | (b) shall receive training with State and nationally | 2 | | developed standards, has been screened and trained | 3 | | regarding child abuse and neglect, child development, and | 4 | | juvenile court proceedings according to the standards of | 5 | | the National CASA Association; | 6 | | (c) is being actively supervised by a court appointed | 7 | | special advocate program in good standing with the | 8 | | Illinois Association of Court Appointed Special Advocates; | 9 | | and | 10 | | (d) has been sworn in by a circuit court judge | 11 | | assigned to juvenile cases in the circuit court in which | 12 | | he or she wishes to serve. | 13 | | Court appointed special advocate programs shall | 14 | | promote policies, practices, and procedures that are | 15 | | culturally competent. As used in this Section, "cultural | 16 | | competency" means the capacity to function in more than one | 17 | | culture, requiring the ability to appreciate, understand, and | 18 | | interact with members of diverse populations within the local | 19 | | community. | 20 | | (2) The court appointed special advocate shall : | 21 | | (a) conduct an independent assessment to monitor the | 22 | | facts and circumstances surrounding the case by monitoring | 23 | | the court order; | 24 | | (b) maintain regular and sufficient in-person contact | 25 | | with the minor; | 26 | | (c) submit written reports to the court regarding the |
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| 1 | | minor's best interests; | 2 | | (d) advocate for timely court hearings to obtain | 3 | | permanency for the minor; | 4 | | (e) be notified of all administrative case reviews | 5 | | pertaining to the minor and work with the parties' | 6 | | attorneys, the guardian ad litem, and others assigned to | 7 | | the minor's case to protect the minor's health, safety, | 8 | | and best interests and insure the proper delivery of child | 9 | | welfare services; | 10 | | (f) attend all court hearings and other proceedings to | 11 | | advocate for the minor's best interests; | 12 | | (g) monitor compliance with the case plan and all | 13 | | court orders; and | 14 | | (h) review all court documents that relate to the | 15 | | minor child. | 16 | | act as a monitor and
shall be notified of all
| 17 | | administrative case reviews pertaining to the minor and | 18 | | work with the
parties' attorneys, the guardian ad litem, | 19 | | and others assigned to the
minor's case to protect the | 20 | | minor's health, safety and best interests and
insure the | 21 | | proper
delivery of child welfare services. | 22 | | (2.1)
The court may consider, at its discretion, testimony | 23 | | of the court
appointed special advocate pertaining to the | 24 | | well-being of the minor child . | 25 | | (2.2) Upon presentation of an order of appointment, a | 26 | | court appointed special advocate shall have access to all |
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| 1 | | records and information relevant to the minor's case with | 2 | | regard to the minor child. | 3 | | (2.2-1) All records and information acquired, reviewed, or | 4 | | produced by a court appointed special advocate during the | 5 | | course of his or her appointment shall be deemed confidential | 6 | | and shall not be disclosed except as ordered by the court.
| 7 | | (3) Court appointed special advocates shall serve as | 8 | | volunteers without
compensation and shall receive training | 9 | | consistent with nationally developed standards.
| 10 | | (4) No person convicted of a criminal offense as specified
| 11 | | in Section 4.2 of the Child Care Act of 1969 and no person | 12 | | identified as a
perpetrator of an act of child abuse or neglect | 13 | | as reflected in the
Department of Children and Family Services | 14 | | State Central Register shall serve
as a court appointed | 15 | | special advocate.
| 16 | | (5) All costs associated with the appointment and duties | 17 | | of the court
appointed special advocate shall be paid by the | 18 | | court appointed special
advocate or an organization of court | 19 | | appointed special advocates.
In no event shall the court | 20 | | appointed special advocate be liable for any
costs of services | 21 | | provided to the child.
| 22 | | (6) The court may remove the court appointed special | 23 | | advocate or the
guardian ad litem from a case upon finding that | 24 | | the court appointed special
advocate or the guardian ad litem | 25 | | has acted in a manner contrary to the
child's best interest or | 26 | | if the court otherwise deems continued service is
unwanted or |
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| 1 | | unnecessary.
| 2 | | (7) In any county in which a program of court appointed | 3 | | special
advocates is in operation, the provisions
of this | 4 | | Section shall apply unless the county board of that county, by
| 5 | | resolution, determines that the county shall not be governed | 6 | | by this Section .
| 7 | | (8) Any court appointed
special advocate acting in good | 8 | | faith within the scope of his or her
appointment shall have | 9 | | immunity from any civil or criminal liability that
otherwise | 10 | | might result by reason of his or her actions, except in cases | 11 | | of
willful and wanton misconduct. For the purpose of any
civil | 12 | | or criminal proceedings, the good faith of any court appointed | 13 | | special
advocate shall be presumed.
| 14 | | (Source: P.A. 90-28, eff. 1-1-98; 90-608, eff. 6-30-98; | 15 | | 91-357, eff.
7-29-99 .)
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