Full Text of HB4186 094th General Assembly
HB4186enr 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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HB4186 Enrolled |
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LRB094 14135 DRJ 49309 b |
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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 5. The Children and Family Services Act is amended | 5 |
| by changing Sections 5, 25, and 35.1 and by adding Sections | 6 |
| 5.30 and 7.5 as follows:
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| (20 ILCS 505/5) (from Ch. 23, par. 5005)
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| Sec. 5. Direct child welfare services; Department of | 9 |
| Children and Family
Services. To provide direct child welfare | 10 |
| services when not available
through other public or private | 11 |
| child care or program facilities.
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| (a) For purposes of this Section:
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| (1) "Children" means persons found within the State who | 14 |
| are under the
age of 18 years. The term also includes | 15 |
| persons under age 19 who:
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| (A) were committed to the Department pursuant to | 17 |
| the
Juvenile Court Act or the Juvenile Court Act of | 18 |
| 1987, as amended, prior to
the age of 18 and who | 19 |
| continue under the jurisdiction of the court; or
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| (B) were accepted for care, service and training by
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| the Department prior to the age of 18 and whose best | 22 |
| interest in the
discretion of the Department would be | 23 |
| served by continuing that care,
service and training | 24 |
| because of severe emotional disturbances, physical
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| disability, social adjustment or any combination | 26 |
| thereof, or because of the
need to complete an | 27 |
| educational or vocational training program.
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| (2) "Homeless youth" means persons found within the
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| State who are under the age of 19, are not in a safe and | 30 |
| stable living
situation and cannot be reunited with their | 31 |
| families.
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| (3) "Child welfare services" means public social |
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| services which are
directed toward the accomplishment of | 2 |
| the following purposes:
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| (A) protecting and promoting the health, safety | 4 |
| and welfare of
children,
including homeless, dependent | 5 |
| or neglected children;
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| (B) remedying, or assisting in the solution
of | 7 |
| problems which may result in, the neglect, abuse, | 8 |
| exploitation or
delinquency of children;
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| (C) preventing the unnecessary separation of | 10 |
| children
from their families by identifying family | 11 |
| problems, assisting families in
resolving their | 12 |
| problems, and preventing the breakup of the family
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| where the prevention of child removal is desirable and | 14 |
| possible when the
child can be cared for at home | 15 |
| without endangering the child's health and
safety;
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| (D) restoring to their families children who have | 17 |
| been
removed, by the provision of services to the child | 18 |
| and the families when the
child can be cared for at | 19 |
| home without endangering the child's health and
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| safety;
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| (E) placing children in suitable adoptive homes, | 22 |
| in
cases where restoration to the biological family is | 23 |
| not safe, possible or
appropriate;
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| (F) assuring safe and adequate care of children | 25 |
| away from their
homes, in cases where the child cannot | 26 |
| be returned home or cannot be placed
for adoption. At | 27 |
| the time of placement, the Department shall consider
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| concurrent planning,
as described in subsection (l-1) | 29 |
| of this Section so that permanency may
occur at the | 30 |
| earliest opportunity. Consideration should be given so | 31 |
| that if
reunification fails or is delayed, the | 32 |
| placement made is the best available
placement to | 33 |
| provide permanency for the child;
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| (G) (blank);
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| (H) (blank); and
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| (I) placing and maintaining children in facilities |
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| that provide
separate living quarters for children | 2 |
| under the age of 18 and for children
18 years of age | 3 |
| and older, unless a child 18 years of age is in the | 4 |
| last
year of high school education or vocational | 5 |
| training, in an approved
individual or group treatment | 6 |
| program, in a licensed shelter facility,
or secure | 7 |
| child care facility.
The Department is not required to | 8 |
| place or maintain children:
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| (i) who are in a foster home, or
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| (ii) who are persons with a developmental | 11 |
| disability, as defined in
the Mental
Health and | 12 |
| Developmental Disabilities Code, or
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| (iii) who are female children who are | 14 |
| pregnant, pregnant and
parenting or parenting, or
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| (iv) who are siblings, in facilities that | 16 |
| provide separate living quarters for children 18
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| years of age and older and for children under 18 | 18 |
| years of age.
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| (b) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to authorize | 20 |
| the
expenditure of public funds for the purpose of performing | 21 |
| abortions.
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| (c) The Department shall establish and maintain | 23 |
| tax-supported child
welfare services and extend and seek to | 24 |
| improve voluntary services
throughout the State, to the end | 25 |
| that services and care shall be available
on an equal basis | 26 |
| throughout the State to children requiring such services.
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| (d) The Director may authorize advance disbursements for | 28 |
| any new program
initiative to any agency contracting with the | 29 |
| Department. As a
prerequisite for an advance disbursement, the | 30 |
| contractor must post a
surety bond in the amount of the advance | 31 |
| disbursement and have a
purchase of service contract approved | 32 |
| by the Department. The Department
may pay up to 2 months | 33 |
| operational expenses in advance. The amount of the
advance | 34 |
| disbursement shall be prorated over the life of the contract
or | 35 |
| the remaining months of the fiscal year, whichever is less, and | 36 |
| the
installment amount shall then be deducted from future |
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| bills. Advance
disbursement authorizations for new initiatives | 2 |
| shall not be made to any
agency after that agency has operated | 3 |
| during 2 consecutive fiscal years.
The requirements of this | 4 |
| Section concerning advance disbursements shall
not apply with | 5 |
| respect to the following: payments to local public agencies
for | 6 |
| child day care services as authorized by Section 5a of this | 7 |
| Act; and
youth service programs receiving grant funds under | 8 |
| Section 17a-4.
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| (e) (Blank).
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| (f) (Blank).
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| (g) The Department shall establish rules and regulations | 12 |
| concerning
its operation of programs designed to meet the goals | 13 |
| of child safety and
protection,
family preservation, family | 14 |
| reunification, and adoption, including but not
limited to:
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| (1) adoption;
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| (2) foster care;
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| (3) family counseling;
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| (4) protective services;
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| (5) (blank);
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| (6) homemaker service;
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| (7) return of runaway children;
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| (8) (blank);
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| (9) placement under Section 5-7 of the Juvenile Court | 24 |
| Act or
Section 2-27, 3-28, 4-25 or 5-740 of the Juvenile | 25 |
| Court Act of 1987 in
accordance with the federal Adoption | 26 |
| Assistance and Child Welfare Act of
1980; and
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| (10) interstate services.
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| Rules and regulations established by the Department shall | 29 |
| include
provisions for training Department staff and the staff | 30 |
| of Department
grantees, through contracts with other agencies | 31 |
| or resources, in alcohol
and drug abuse screening techniques | 32 |
| approved by the Department of Human
Services, as a successor to | 33 |
| the Department of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse,
for the | 34 |
| purpose of identifying children and adults who
should be | 35 |
| referred to an alcohol and drug abuse treatment program for
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| professional evaluation.
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| (h) If the Department finds that there is no appropriate | 2 |
| program or
facility within or available to the Department for a | 3 |
| ward and that no
licensed private facility has an adequate and | 4 |
| appropriate program or none
agrees to accept the ward, the | 5 |
| Department shall create an appropriate
individualized, | 6 |
| program-oriented plan for such ward. The
plan may be developed | 7 |
| within the Department or through purchase of services
by the | 8 |
| Department to the extent that it is within its statutory | 9 |
| authority
to do.
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| (i) Service programs shall be available throughout the | 11 |
| State and shall
include but not be limited to the following | 12 |
| services:
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| (1) case management;
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| (2) homemakers;
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| (3) counseling;
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| (4) parent education;
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| (5) day care; and
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| (6) emergency assistance and advocacy.
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| In addition, the following services may be made available | 20 |
| to assess and
meet the needs of children and families:
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| (1) comprehensive family-based services;
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| (2) assessments;
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| (3) respite care; and
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| (4) in-home health services.
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| The Department shall provide transportation for any of the | 26 |
| services it
makes available to children or families or for | 27 |
| which it refers children
or families.
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| (j) The Department may provide categories of financial | 29 |
| assistance and
education assistance grants, and shall
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| establish rules and regulations concerning the assistance and | 31 |
| grants, to
persons who
adopt physically or mentally | 32 |
| handicapped, older and other hard-to-place
children who (i) | 33 |
| immediately prior to their adoption were legal wards of
the | 34 |
| Department
or (ii) were determined eligible for financial | 35 |
| assistance with respect to a
prior adoption and who become | 36 |
| available for adoption because the
prior adoption has been |
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| dissolved and the parental rights of the adoptive
parents have | 2 |
| been
terminated or because the child's adoptive parents have | 3 |
| died.
The Department may, subject to federal financial | 4 |
| participation in the cost, continue to provide financial | 5 |
| assistance and education assistance grants for a child who was | 6 |
| determined eligible for financial assistance under this | 7 |
| subsection (j) in the interim period beginning when the child's | 8 |
| adoptive parents died and ending with the finalization of the | 9 |
| new adoption of the child by another adoptive parent or | 10 |
| parents. The Department may also provide categories of | 11 |
| financial
assistance and education assistance grants, and
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| shall establish rules and regulations for the assistance and | 13 |
| grants, to persons
appointed guardian of the person under | 14 |
| Section 5-7 of the Juvenile Court
Act or Section 2-27, 3-28, | 15 |
| 4-25 or 5-740 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987
for children | 16 |
| who were wards of the Department for 12 months immediately
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| prior to the appointment of the guardian.
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| The amount of assistance may vary, depending upon the needs | 19 |
| of the child
and the adoptive parents,
as set forth in the | 20 |
| annual
assistance agreement. Special purpose grants are | 21 |
| allowed where the child
requires special service but such costs | 22 |
| may not exceed the amounts
which similar services would cost | 23 |
| the Department if it were to provide or
secure them as guardian | 24 |
| of the child.
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| Any financial assistance provided under this subsection is
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| inalienable by assignment, sale, execution, attachment, | 27 |
| garnishment, or any
other remedy for recovery or collection of | 28 |
| a judgment or debt.
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| (j-5) The Department shall not deny or delay the placement | 30 |
| of a child for
adoption
if an approved family is available | 31 |
| either outside of the Department region
handling the case,
or | 32 |
| outside of the State of Illinois.
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| (k) The Department shall accept for care and training any | 34 |
| child who has
been adjudicated neglected or abused, or | 35 |
| dependent committed to it pursuant
to the Juvenile Court Act or | 36 |
| the Juvenile Court Act of 1987.
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| (l) Before July 1, 2000, the Department may provide, and | 2 |
| beginning
July 1, 2000, the Department shall
offer family | 3 |
| preservation services, as defined in Section 8.2 of the Abused
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| and
Neglected Child
Reporting Act, to help families, including | 5 |
| adoptive and extended families.
Family preservation
services | 6 |
| shall be offered (i) to prevent the
placement
of children in
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| substitute care when the children can be cared for at home or | 8 |
| in the custody of
the person
responsible for the children's | 9 |
| welfare,
(ii) to
reunite children with their families, or (iii) | 10 |
| to
maintain an adoptive placement. Family preservation | 11 |
| services shall only be
offered when doing so will not endanger | 12 |
| the children's health or safety. With
respect to children who | 13 |
| are in substitute care pursuant to the Juvenile Court
Act of | 14 |
| 1987, family preservation services shall not be offered if a | 15 |
| goal other
than those of subdivisions (A), (B), or (B-1) of | 16 |
| subsection (2) of Section 2-28
of
that Act has been set.
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| Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to create a | 18 |
| private right of
action or claim on the part of any individual | 19 |
| or child welfare agency.
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| The Department shall notify the child and his family of the
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| Department's
responsibility to offer and provide family | 22 |
| preservation services as
identified in the service plan. The | 23 |
| child and his family shall be eligible
for services as soon as | 24 |
| the report is determined to be "indicated". The
Department may | 25 |
| offer services to any child or family with respect to whom a
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| report of suspected child abuse or neglect has been filed, | 27 |
| prior to
concluding its investigation under Section 7.12 of the | 28 |
| Abused and Neglected
Child Reporting Act. However, the child's | 29 |
| or family's willingness to
accept services shall not be | 30 |
| considered in the investigation. The
Department may also | 31 |
| provide services to any child or family who is the
subject of | 32 |
| any report of suspected child abuse or neglect or may refer | 33 |
| such
child or family to services available from other agencies | 34 |
| in the community,
even if the report is determined to be | 35 |
| unfounded, if the conditions in the
child's or family's home | 36 |
| are reasonably likely to subject the child or
family to future |
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| reports of suspected child abuse or neglect. Acceptance
of such | 2 |
| services shall be voluntary.
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| The Department may, at its discretion except for those | 4 |
| children also
adjudicated neglected or dependent, accept for | 5 |
| care and training any child
who has been adjudicated addicted, | 6 |
| as a truant minor in need of
supervision or as a minor | 7 |
| requiring authoritative intervention, under the
Juvenile Court | 8 |
| Act or the Juvenile Court Act of 1987, but no such child
shall | 9 |
| be committed to the Department by any court without the | 10 |
| approval of
the Department. A minor charged with a criminal | 11 |
| offense under the Criminal
Code of 1961 or adjudicated | 12 |
| delinquent shall not be placed in the custody of or
committed | 13 |
| to the Department by any court, except a minor less than 13 | 14 |
| years
of age committed to the Department under Section 5-710 of | 15 |
| the Juvenile Court
Act
of 1987.
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| (l-1) The legislature recognizes that the best interests of | 17 |
| the child
require that
the child be placed in the most | 18 |
| permanent living arrangement as soon as is
practically
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| possible. To achieve this goal, the legislature directs the | 20 |
| Department of
Children and
Family Services to conduct | 21 |
| concurrent planning so that permanency may occur at
the
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| earliest opportunity. Permanent living arrangements may | 23 |
| include prevention of
placement of a child outside the home of | 24 |
| the family when the child can be cared
for at
home without | 25 |
| endangering the child's health or safety; reunification with | 26 |
| the
family,
when safe and appropriate, if temporary placement | 27 |
| is necessary; or movement of
the child
toward the most | 28 |
| permanent living arrangement and permanent legal status.
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| When determining reasonable efforts to be made with respect | 30 |
| to a child, as
described in this
subsection, and in making such | 31 |
| reasonable efforts, the child's health and
safety shall be the
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| paramount concern.
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| When a child is placed in foster care, the Department shall | 34 |
| ensure and
document that reasonable efforts were made to | 35 |
| prevent or eliminate the need to
remove the child from the | 36 |
| child's home. The Department must make
reasonable efforts to |
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| reunify the family when temporary placement of the child
occurs
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| unless otherwise required, pursuant to the Juvenile Court Act | 3 |
| of 1987.
At any time after the dispositional hearing where the | 4 |
| Department believes
that further reunification services would | 5 |
| be ineffective, it may request a
finding from the court that | 6 |
| reasonable efforts are no longer appropriate. The
Department is | 7 |
| not required to provide further reunification services after | 8 |
| such
a
finding.
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| A decision to place a child in substitute care shall be | 10 |
| made with
considerations of the child's health, safety, and | 11 |
| best interests. At the
time of placement, consideration should | 12 |
| also be given so that if reunification
fails or is delayed, the | 13 |
| placement made is the best available placement to
provide | 14 |
| permanency for the child.
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| The Department shall adopt rules addressing concurrent | 16 |
| planning for
reunification and permanency. The Department | 17 |
| shall consider the following
factors when determining | 18 |
| appropriateness of concurrent planning:
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| (1) the likelihood of prompt reunification;
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| (2) the past history of the family;
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| (3) the barriers to reunification being addressed by | 22 |
| the family;
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| (4) the level of cooperation of the family;
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| (5) the foster parents' willingness to work with the | 25 |
| family to reunite;
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| (6) the willingness and ability of the foster family to | 27 |
| provide an
adoptive
home or long-term placement;
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| (7) the age of the child;
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| (8) placement of siblings.
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| (m) The Department may assume temporary custody of any | 31 |
| child if:
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| (1) it has received a written consent to such temporary | 33 |
| custody
signed by the parents of the child or by the parent | 34 |
| having custody of the
child if the parents are not living | 35 |
| together or by the guardian or
custodian of the child if | 36 |
| the child is not in the custody of either
parent, or
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| (2) the child is found in the State and neither a | 2 |
| parent,
guardian nor custodian of the child can be located.
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| If the child is found in his or her residence without a parent, | 4 |
| guardian,
custodian or responsible caretaker, the Department | 5 |
| may, instead of removing
the child and assuming temporary | 6 |
| custody, place an authorized
representative of the Department | 7 |
| in that residence until such time as a
parent, guardian or | 8 |
| custodian enters the home and expresses a willingness
and | 9 |
| apparent ability to ensure the child's health and safety and | 10 |
| resume
permanent
charge of the child, or until a
relative | 11 |
| enters the home and is willing and able to ensure the child's | 12 |
| health
and
safety and assume charge of the
child until a | 13 |
| parent, guardian or custodian enters the home and expresses
| 14 |
| such willingness and ability to ensure the child's safety and | 15 |
| resume
permanent charge. After a caretaker has remained in the | 16 |
| home for a period not
to exceed 12 hours, the Department must | 17 |
| follow those procedures outlined in
Section 2-9, 3-11, 4-8, or | 18 |
| 5-415 of the Juvenile Court Act
of 1987.
| 19 |
| The Department shall have the authority, responsibilities | 20 |
| and duties that
a legal custodian of the child would have | 21 |
| pursuant to subsection (9) of
Section 1-3 of the Juvenile Court | 22 |
| Act of 1987. Whenever a child is taken
into temporary custody | 23 |
| pursuant to an investigation under the Abused and
Neglected | 24 |
| Child Reporting Act, or pursuant to a referral and acceptance
| 25 |
| under the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 of a minor in limited | 26 |
| custody, the
Department, during the period of temporary custody | 27 |
| and before the child
is brought before a judicial officer as | 28 |
| required by Section 2-9, 3-11,
4-8, or 5-415 of the Juvenile | 29 |
| Court Act of 1987, shall have
the authority, responsibilities | 30 |
| and duties that a legal custodian of the child
would have under | 31 |
| subsection (9) of Section 1-3 of the Juvenile Court Act of
| 32 |
| 1987.
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| The Department shall ensure that any child taken into | 34 |
| custody
is scheduled for an appointment for a medical | 35 |
| examination.
| 36 |
| A parent, guardian or custodian of a child in the temporary |
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| custody of the
Department who would have custody of the child | 2 |
| if he were not in the
temporary custody of the Department may | 3 |
| deliver to the Department a signed
request that the Department | 4 |
| surrender the temporary custody of the child.
The Department | 5 |
| may retain temporary custody of the child for 10 days after
the | 6 |
| receipt of the request, during which period the Department may | 7 |
| cause to
be filed a petition pursuant to the Juvenile Court Act | 8 |
| of 1987. If a
petition is so filed, the Department shall retain | 9 |
| temporary custody of the
child until the court orders | 10 |
| otherwise. If a petition is not filed within
the 10 day period, | 11 |
| the child shall be surrendered to the custody of the
requesting | 12 |
| parent, guardian or custodian not later than the expiration of
| 13 |
| the 10 day period, at which time the authority and duties of | 14 |
| the Department
with respect to the temporary custody of the | 15 |
| child shall terminate.
| 16 |
| (m-1) The Department may place children under 18 years of | 17 |
| age in a secure
child care facility licensed by the Department | 18 |
| that cares for children who are
in need of secure living | 19 |
| arrangements for their health, safety, and well-being
after a | 20 |
| determination is made by the facility director and the Director | 21 |
| or the
Director's designate prior to admission to the facility | 22 |
| subject to Section
2-27.1 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987. | 23 |
| This subsection (m-1) does not apply
to a child who is subject | 24 |
| to placement in a correctional facility operated
pursuant to | 25 |
| Section 3-15-2 of the Unified Code of Corrections, unless the
| 26 |
| child is a ward who was placed under the care of the Department | 27 |
| before being
subject to placement in a correctional facility | 28 |
| and a court of competent
jurisdiction has ordered placement of | 29 |
| the child in a secure care facility.
| 30 |
| (n) The Department may place children under 18 years of age | 31 |
| in
licensed child care facilities when in the opinion of the | 32 |
| Department,
appropriate services aimed at family preservation | 33 |
| have been unsuccessful and
cannot ensure the child's health and | 34 |
| safety or are unavailable and such
placement would be for their | 35 |
| best interest. Payment
for board, clothing, care, training and | 36 |
| supervision of any child placed in
a licensed child care |
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| facility may be made by the Department, by the
parents or | 2 |
| guardians of the estates of those children, or by both the
| 3 |
| Department and the parents or guardians, except that no | 4 |
| payments shall be
made by the Department for any child placed | 5 |
| in a licensed child care
facility for board, clothing, care, | 6 |
| training and supervision of such a
child that exceed the | 7 |
| average per capita cost of maintaining and of caring
for a | 8 |
| child in institutions for dependent or neglected children | 9 |
| operated by
the Department. However, such restriction on | 10 |
| payments does not apply in
cases where children require | 11 |
| specialized care and treatment for problems of
severe emotional | 12 |
| disturbance, physical disability, social adjustment, or
any | 13 |
| combination thereof and suitable facilities for the placement | 14 |
| of such
children are not available at payment rates within the | 15 |
| limitations set
forth in this Section. All reimbursements for | 16 |
| services delivered shall be
absolutely inalienable by | 17 |
| assignment, sale, attachment, garnishment or
otherwise.
| 18 |
| (o) The Department shall establish an administrative | 19 |
| review and appeal
process for children and families who request | 20 |
| or receive child welfare
services from the Department. Children | 21 |
| who are wards of the Department and
are placed by private child | 22 |
| welfare agencies, and foster families with whom
those children | 23 |
| are placed, shall be afforded the same procedural and appeal
| 24 |
| rights as children and families in the case of placement by the | 25 |
| Department,
including the right to an initial review of a | 26 |
| private agency decision by
that agency. The Department shall | 27 |
| insure that any private child welfare
agency, which accepts | 28 |
| wards of the Department for placement, affords those
rights to | 29 |
| children and foster families. The Department shall accept for
| 30 |
| administrative review and an appeal hearing a complaint made by | 31 |
| (i) a child
or foster family concerning a decision following an | 32 |
| initial review by a
private child welfare agency or (ii) a | 33 |
| prospective adoptive parent who alleges
a violation of | 34 |
| subsection (j-5) of this Section. An appeal of a decision
| 35 |
| concerning a change in the placement of a child shall be | 36 |
| conducted in an
expedited manner.
|
|
|
|
HB4186 Enrolled |
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LRB094 14135 DRJ 49309 b |
|
| 1 |
| (p) There is hereby created the Department of Children and | 2 |
| Family
Services Emergency Assistance Fund from which the | 3 |
| Department may provide
special financial assistance to | 4 |
| families which are in economic crisis when
such assistance is | 5 |
| not available through other public or private sources
and the | 6 |
| assistance is deemed necessary to prevent dissolution of the | 7 |
| family
unit or to reunite families which have been separated | 8 |
| due to child abuse and
neglect. The Department shall establish | 9 |
| administrative rules specifying
the criteria for determining | 10 |
| eligibility for and the amount and nature of
assistance to be | 11 |
| provided. The Department may also enter into written
agreements | 12 |
| with private and public social service agencies to provide
| 13 |
| emergency financial services to families referred by the | 14 |
| Department.
Special financial assistance payments shall be | 15 |
| available to a family no
more than once during each fiscal year | 16 |
| and the total payments to a
family may not exceed $500 during a | 17 |
| fiscal year.
| 18 |
| (q) The Department may receive and use, in their entirety, | 19 |
| for the
benefit of children any gift, donation or bequest of | 20 |
| money or other
property which is received on behalf of such | 21 |
| children, or any financial
benefits to which such children are | 22 |
| or may become entitled while under
the jurisdiction or care of | 23 |
| the Department.
| 24 |
| The Department shall set up and administer no-cost, | 25 |
| interest-bearing accounts in appropriate financial | 26 |
| institutions
for children for whom the Department is legally | 27 |
| responsible and who have been
determined eligible for Veterans' | 28 |
| Benefits, Social Security benefits,
assistance allotments from | 29 |
| the armed forces, court ordered payments, parental
voluntary | 30 |
| payments, Supplemental Security Income, Railroad Retirement
| 31 |
| payments, Black Lung benefits, or other miscellaneous | 32 |
| payments. Interest
earned by each account shall be credited to | 33 |
| the account, unless
disbursed in accordance with this | 34 |
| subsection.
| 35 |
| In disbursing funds from children's accounts, the | 36 |
| Department
shall:
|
|
|
|
HB4186 Enrolled |
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LRB094 14135 DRJ 49309 b |
|
| 1 |
| (1) Establish standards in accordance with State and | 2 |
| federal laws for
disbursing money from children's | 3 |
| accounts. In all
circumstances,
the Department's | 4 |
| "Guardianship Administrator" or his or her designee must
| 5 |
| approve disbursements from children's accounts. The | 6 |
| Department
shall be responsible for keeping complete | 7 |
| records of all disbursements for each account for any | 8 |
| purpose.
| 9 |
| (2) Calculate on a monthly basis the amounts paid from | 10 |
| State funds for the
child's board and care, medical care | 11 |
| not covered under Medicaid, and social
services; and | 12 |
| utilize funds from the child's account, as
covered by | 13 |
| regulation, to reimburse those costs. Monthly, | 14 |
| disbursements from
all children's accounts, up to 1/12 of | 15 |
| $13,000,000, shall be
deposited by the Department into the | 16 |
| General Revenue Fund and the balance over
1/12 of | 17 |
| $13,000,000 into the DCFS Children's Services Fund.
| 18 |
| (3) Maintain any balance remaining after reimbursing | 19 |
| for the child's costs
of care, as specified in item (2). | 20 |
| The balance shall accumulate in accordance
with relevant | 21 |
| State and federal laws and shall be disbursed to the child | 22 |
| or his
or her guardian, or to the issuing agency.
| 23 |
| (r) The Department shall promulgate regulations | 24 |
| encouraging all adoption
agencies to voluntarily forward to the | 25 |
| Department or its agent names and
addresses of all persons who | 26 |
| have applied for and have been approved for
adoption of a | 27 |
| hard-to-place or handicapped child and the names of such
| 28 |
| children who have not been placed for adoption. A list of such | 29 |
| names and
addresses shall be maintained by the Department or | 30 |
| its agent, and coded
lists which maintain the confidentiality | 31 |
| of the person seeking to adopt the
child and of the child shall | 32 |
| be made available, without charge, to every
adoption agency in | 33 |
| the State to assist the agencies in placing such
children for | 34 |
| adoption. The Department may delegate to an agent its duty to
| 35 |
| maintain and make available such lists. The Department shall | 36 |
| ensure that
such agent maintains the confidentiality of the |
|
|
|
HB4186 Enrolled |
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LRB094 14135 DRJ 49309 b |
|
| 1 |
| person seeking to adopt the
child and of the child.
| 2 |
| (s) The Department of Children and Family Services may | 3 |
| establish and
implement a program to reimburse Department and | 4 |
| private child welfare
agency foster parents licensed by the | 5 |
| Department of Children and Family
Services for damages | 6 |
| sustained by the foster parents as a result of the
malicious or | 7 |
| negligent acts of foster children, as well as providing third
| 8 |
| party coverage for such foster parents with regard to actions | 9 |
| of foster
children to other individuals. Such coverage will be | 10 |
| secondary to the
foster parent liability insurance policy, if | 11 |
| applicable. The program shall
be funded through appropriations | 12 |
| from the General Revenue Fund,
specifically designated for such | 13 |
| purposes.
| 14 |
| (t) The Department shall perform home studies and | 15 |
| investigations and
shall exercise supervision over visitation | 16 |
| as ordered by a court pursuant
to the Illinois Marriage and | 17 |
| Dissolution of Marriage Act or the Adoption
Act only if:
| 18 |
| (1) an order entered by an Illinois court specifically
| 19 |
| directs the Department to perform such services; and
| 20 |
| (2) the court has ordered one or both of the parties to
| 21 |
| the proceeding to reimburse the Department for its | 22 |
| reasonable costs for
providing such services in accordance | 23 |
| with Department rules, or has
determined that neither party | 24 |
| is financially able to pay.
| 25 |
| The Department shall provide written notification to the | 26 |
| court of the
specific arrangements for supervised visitation | 27 |
| and projected monthly costs
within 60 days of the court order. | 28 |
| The Department shall send to the court
information related to | 29 |
| the costs incurred except in cases where the court
has | 30 |
| determined the parties are financially unable to pay. The court | 31 |
| may
order additional periodic reports as appropriate.
| 32 |
| (u) In addition to other information that must be provided, | 33 |
| whenever
Whenever the Department places a child with a | 34 |
| prospective adoptive parent or parents or in a licensed foster | 35 |
| home,
group home, child care institution, or in a relative | 36 |
| home, the Department
shall provide to the prospective adoptive |
|
|
|
HB4186 Enrolled |
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LRB094 14135 DRJ 49309 b |
|
| 1 |
| parent or parents or other caretaker:
| 2 |
| (1) available detailed information concerning the | 3 |
| child's educational
and health history, copies of | 4 |
| immunization records (including insurance
and medical card | 5 |
| information), a history of the child's previous | 6 |
| placements,
if any, and reasons for placement changes | 7 |
| excluding any information that
identifies or reveals the | 8 |
| location of any previous caretaker;
| 9 |
| (2) a copy of the child's portion of the client service | 10 |
| plan, including
any visitation arrangement, and all | 11 |
| amendments or revisions to it as
related to the child; and
| 12 |
| (3) information containing details of the child's | 13 |
| individualized
educational plan when the child is | 14 |
| receiving special education services.
| 15 |
| The caretaker shall be informed of any known social or | 16 |
| behavioral
information (including, but not limited to, | 17 |
| criminal background, fire
setting, perpetuation of
sexual | 18 |
| abuse, destructive behavior, and substance abuse) necessary to | 19 |
| care
for and safeguard the children to be placed or currently | 20 |
| in the home
child . The Department may prepare a written summary | 21 |
| of the information required by this paragraph, which may be | 22 |
| provided to the foster or prospective adoptive parent in | 23 |
| advance of a placement. The foster or prospective adoptive | 24 |
| parent may review the supporting documents in the child's file | 25 |
| in the presence of casework staff. In the case of an emergency | 26 |
| placement, casework staff shall at least provide known | 27 |
| information verbally, if necessary, and must subsequently | 28 |
| provide the information in writing as required by this | 29 |
| subsection.
| 30 |
| The information described in this subsection shall be | 31 |
| provided in writing. In the case of emergency placements when | 32 |
| time does not allow prior review, preparation, and collection | 33 |
| of written information, the Department shall provide such | 34 |
| information as it becomes available. Within 10 business days | 35 |
| after placement, the Department shall obtain from the | 36 |
| prospective adoptive parent or parents or other caretaker a |
|
|
|
HB4186 Enrolled |
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LRB094 14135 DRJ 49309 b |
|
| 1 |
| signed verification of receipt of the information provided. | 2 |
| Within 10 business days after placement, the Department shall | 3 |
| provide to the child's guardian ad litem a copy of the | 4 |
| information provided to the prospective adoptive parent or | 5 |
| parents or other caretaker. The information provided to the | 6 |
| prospective adoptive parent or parents or other caretaker shall | 7 |
| be reviewed and approved regarding accuracy at the supervisory | 8 |
| level.
| 9 |
| (u-5) Effective July 1, 1995, only foster care placements | 10 |
| licensed as
foster family homes pursuant to the Child Care Act | 11 |
| of 1969 shall be eligible to
receive foster care payments from | 12 |
| the Department.
Relative caregivers who, as of July 1, 1995, | 13 |
| were approved pursuant to approved
relative placement rules | 14 |
| previously promulgated by the Department at 89 Ill.
Adm. Code | 15 |
| 335 and had submitted an application for licensure as a foster | 16 |
| family
home may continue to receive foster care payments only | 17 |
| until the Department
determines that they may be licensed as a | 18 |
| foster family home or that their
application for licensure is | 19 |
| denied or until September 30, 1995, whichever
occurs first.
| 20 |
| (v) The Department shall access criminal history record | 21 |
| information
as defined in the Illinois Uniform Conviction | 22 |
| Information Act and information
maintained in the adjudicatory | 23 |
| and dispositional record system as defined in
Section 2605-355 | 24 |
| of the
Department of State Police Law (20 ILCS 2605/2605-355)
| 25 |
| if the Department determines the information is necessary to | 26 |
| perform its duties
under the Abused and Neglected Child | 27 |
| Reporting Act, the Child Care Act of 1969,
and the Children and | 28 |
| Family Services Act. The Department shall provide for
| 29 |
| interactive computerized communication and processing | 30 |
| equipment that permits
direct on-line communication with the | 31 |
| Department of State Police's central
criminal history data | 32 |
| repository. The Department shall comply with all
certification | 33 |
| requirements and provide certified operators who have been
| 34 |
| trained by personnel from the Department of State Police. In | 35 |
| addition, one
Office of the Inspector General investigator | 36 |
| shall have training in the use of
the criminal history |
|
|
|
HB4186 Enrolled |
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LRB094 14135 DRJ 49309 b |
|
| 1 |
| information access system and have
access to the terminal. The | 2 |
| Department of Children and Family Services and its
employees | 3 |
| shall abide by rules and regulations established by the | 4 |
| Department of
State Police relating to the access and | 5 |
| dissemination of
this information.
| 6 |
| (w) Within 120 days of August 20, 1995 (the effective date | 7 |
| of Public Act
89-392), the Department shall prepare and submit | 8 |
| to the Governor and the
General Assembly, a written plan for | 9 |
| the development of in-state licensed
secure child care | 10 |
| facilities that care for children who are in need of secure
| 11 |
| living
arrangements for their health, safety, and well-being. | 12 |
| For purposes of this
subsection, secure care facility shall | 13 |
| mean a facility that is designed and
operated to ensure that | 14 |
| all entrances and exits from the facility, a building
or a | 15 |
| distinct part of the building, are under the exclusive control | 16 |
| of the
staff of the facility, whether or not the child has the | 17 |
| freedom of movement
within the perimeter of the facility, | 18 |
| building, or distinct part of the
building. The plan shall | 19 |
| include descriptions of the types of facilities that
are needed | 20 |
| in Illinois; the cost of developing these secure care | 21 |
| facilities;
the estimated number of placements; the potential | 22 |
| cost savings resulting from
the movement of children currently | 23 |
| out-of-state who are projected to be
returned to Illinois; the | 24 |
| necessary geographic distribution of these
facilities in | 25 |
| Illinois; and a proposed timetable for development of such
| 26 |
| facilities.
| 27 |
| (Source: P.A. 94-215, eff. 1-1-06.)
| 28 |
| (20 ILCS 505/5.30 new) | 29 |
| Sec. 5.30. Specialized care. | 30 |
| (a) Not later than July 1, 2007, the Department shall adopt | 31 |
| a rule, or an amendment to a rule then in effect, regarding the | 32 |
| provision of specialized care to a child in the custody or | 33 |
| guardianship of the Department, or to a child being placed in a | 34 |
| subsidized guardianship arrangement or under an adoption | 35 |
| assistance agreement, who requires such services due to |
|
|
|
HB4186 Enrolled |
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LRB094 14135 DRJ 49309 b |
|
| 1 |
| emotional, behavioral, developmental, or medical needs, or any | 2 |
| combination thereof, or any other needs which require special | 3 |
| intervention services, the primary goal being to maintain the | 4 |
| child in foster care or in a permanency setting. The rule or | 5 |
| amendment to a rule shall establish, at a minimum, the | 6 |
| criteria, standards, and procedures for the following: | 7 |
| (1) The determination that a child requires | 8 |
| specialization. | 9 |
| (2) The determination of the level of care required to | 10 |
| meet the child's special needs. | 11 |
| (3) The approval of a plan of care that will meet the | 12 |
| child's special needs. | 13 |
| (4) The monitoring of the specialized care provided to | 14 |
| the child and review of the plan to ensure quality of care | 15 |
| and effectiveness in meeting the child's needs. | 16 |
| (5) The determination, approval, and implementation of | 17 |
| amendments to the plan of care. | 18 |
| (6) The establishment and maintenance of the | 19 |
| qualifications, including specialized training, of | 20 |
| caretakers of specialized children. | 21 |
| The rule or amendment to a rule adopted under this | 22 |
| subsection shall establish the minimum services to be provided | 23 |
| to children eligible for specialized care under this Section. | 24 |
| The Department shall also adopt rules providing for the | 25 |
| training of Department and public or private agency staff | 26 |
| involved in implementing the rule. On or before September 1 of | 27 |
| 2007 and each year thereafter, the Department shall submit to | 28 |
| the General Assembly an annual report on the implementation of | 29 |
| this Section. | 30 |
| (b) No payments to caregivers in effect for the specialized | 31 |
| treatment or care of a child, nor the level of care being | 32 |
| provided to a child prior to the effective date of this | 33 |
| amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly, shall be reduced | 34 |
| under the criteria, standards, and procedures adopted and | 35 |
| implemented under this Section. |
|
|
|
HB4186 Enrolled |
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LRB094 14135 DRJ 49309 b |
|
| 1 |
| (20 ILCS 505/7.5 new)
| 2 |
| Sec. 7.5. Notice of post-adoption reunion services. | 3 |
| (a) For purposes of this Section, "post-adoption reunion | 4 |
| services" means services provided by the Department to | 5 |
| facilitate contact between adoptees and their siblings when one | 6 |
| or more is still in the Department's care or adopted elsewhere, | 7 |
| with the notarized consent of the adoptive parents of a minor | 8 |
| child, when such contact has been established to be necessary | 9 |
| to the adoptee's best interests and when all involved parties, | 10 |
| including the adoptive parent of a child under 21 years of age, | 11 |
| have provided written consent for such contact. | 12 |
| (b) The Department shall provide to all adoptive parents of | 13 |
| children receiving monthly adoption assistance under | 14 |
| subsection (j) of Section 5 of this Act a notice that includes | 15 |
| a description of the Department's post-adoption reunion | 16 |
| services and an explanation of how to access those services. | 17 |
| The notice to adoptive parents shall be provided at least once | 18 |
| per year until such time as the adoption assistance payments | 19 |
| cease. | 20 |
| The Department shall also provide to all wards of the | 21 |
| Department, within 30 days after their 18th birthday, the | 22 |
| notice described in this Section.
| 23 |
| (c) The Department shall adopt a rule regarding the | 24 |
| provision of search and reunion services to wards and former | 25 |
| wards.
| 26 |
| (20 ILCS 505/25) (from Ch. 23, par. 5025)
| 27 |
| Sec. 25. Grants, gifts, or legacies; Putative Father | 28 |
| Registry fees.
| 29 |
| (a) To accept and hold in behalf of the State, if for the | 30 |
| public
interest, a grant, gift or legacy of money or property | 31 |
| to the
State of Illinois, to the Department, or to any | 32 |
| institution or program of
the Department made in trust for the | 33 |
| maintenance or support of a resident
of an institution of the | 34 |
| Department, or for any other legitimate purpose
connected with | 35 |
| such institution or program. The Department shall cause
each |
|
|
|
HB4186 Enrolled |
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LRB094 14135 DRJ 49309 b |
|
| 1 |
| gift, grant or legacy to be kept as a distinct fund, and
shall | 2 |
| invest the same in the manner provided by the laws of this | 3 |
| State as
the same now exist, or shall hereafter be enacted, | 4 |
| relating to securities
in which the deposit in savings banks | 5 |
| may be invested. But the Department
may, in its discretion, | 6 |
| deposit in a proper trust company or savings bank,
during the | 7 |
| continuance of the trust, any fund so left in trust for the | 8 |
| life
of a person, and shall adopt rules and regulations | 9 |
| governing the deposit,
transfer, or withdrawal of such fund. | 10 |
| The Department shall on the
expiration of any trust as provided | 11 |
| in any instrument creating the same,
dispose of the fund | 12 |
| thereby created in the manner provided in such
instrument. The | 13 |
| Department shall include in its required reports a
statement | 14 |
| showing what funds are so held by it and the condition thereof.
| 15 |
| Monies found on residents at the time of their
admission, or
| 16 |
| accruing to them during their period of institutional care, and | 17 |
| monies
deposited with the superintendents by relatives, | 18 |
| guardians
or friends of
residents for the special comfort and | 19 |
| pleasure of such resident, shall
remain in the custody of such | 20 |
| superintendents who shall
act as trustees for
disbursement to, | 21 |
| in behalf of, or for the benefit of such resident. All
types of | 22 |
| retirement and pension benefits from private and public sources
| 23 |
| may be paid directly to the superintendent of the institution | 24 |
| where the
person is a resident, for deposit to the resident's | 25 |
| trust fund account.
| 26 |
| (b) The Department shall hold all Putative Father Registry | 27 |
| fees collected under Section 12.1 of the Adoption Act in a | 28 |
| distinct fund for the Department's use in maintaining the | 29 |
| Putative Father Registry. The Department shall invest the | 30 |
| moneys in the fund in the same manner as moneys in the funds | 31 |
| described in subsection (a) and shall include in its required | 32 |
| reports a statement showing the condition of the fund.
| 33 |
| (Source: P.A. 83-1362.)
| 34 |
| (20 ILCS 505/35.1) (from Ch. 23, par. 5035.1)
| 35 |
| Sec. 35.1. The case and clinical records of patients in |
|
|
|
HB4186 Enrolled |
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LRB094 14135 DRJ 49309 b |
|
| 1 |
| Department
supervised facilities, wards of the Department, | 2 |
| children receiving or
applying for child welfare services, | 3 |
| persons receiving or applying for
other services of the | 4 |
| Department, and Department reports of injury or abuse to
| 5 |
| children shall not be open to the general public. Such case and | 6 |
| clinical
records and reports or the information contained | 7 |
| therein shall be disclosed by
the Director of the Department
to | 8 |
| juvenile authorities
when necessary for the discharge of their | 9 |
| official duties
who request information concerning the minor
| 10 |
| and who
certify in writing that the information will not be | 11 |
| disclosed to any other
party except as provided under law or | 12 |
| order of court. For purposes of this
Section, "juvenile | 13 |
| authorities" means: (i) a judge of
the circuit court and | 14 |
| members of the staff of the court designated by the
judge; (ii) | 15 |
| parties to the proceedings under the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 | 16 |
| and
their attorneys; (iii) probation
officers and court | 17 |
| appointed advocates for the juvenile authorized by the judge
| 18 |
| hearing the case; (iv) any individual, public or private agency | 19 |
| having custody
of the child pursuant to court order or pursuant | 20 |
| to placement of the child by the Department ; (v) any | 21 |
| individual, public or private
agency providing education, | 22 |
| medical or mental health service to the child when
the | 23 |
| requested information is needed to determine the appropriate | 24 |
| service or
treatment for the minor; (vi) any potential | 25 |
| placement provider when such
release
is authorized by the court | 26 |
| for the limited purpose of determining the
appropriateness of | 27 |
| the potential placement; (vii) law enforcement officers and
| 28 |
| prosecutors;
(viii) adult and juvenile prisoner review boards; | 29 |
| (ix) authorized military
personnel; (x)
individuals authorized | 30 |
| by court; (xi) the Illinois General Assembly or
any committee
| 31 |
| or commission thereof. This Section does not apply
to
the | 32 |
| Department's fiscal records, other records of a purely | 33 |
| administrative
nature, or any forms, documents or other records | 34 |
| required of facilities subject
to licensure by the Department | 35 |
| except as may otherwise be provided under the
Child Care Act of | 36 |
| 1969.
|
|
|
|
HB4186 Enrolled |
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LRB094 14135 DRJ 49309 b |
|
| 1 |
| Nothing contained in this Act prevents the sharing or | 2 |
| disclosure of
information or records relating or pertaining to | 3 |
| juveniles subject to the
provisions of the Serious Habitual | 4 |
| Offender Comprehensive Action Program when
that information is | 5 |
| used to assist in the early identification and treatment of
| 6 |
| habitual juvenile offenders.
| 7 |
| Nothing contained in this Act prevents the sharing or | 8 |
| disclosure of
information or records relating or pertaining to | 9 |
| the death of a minor under the
care of or receiving services | 10 |
| from the Department and under the jurisdiction of
the juvenile | 11 |
| court with the juvenile court, the State's Attorney, and the
| 12 |
| minor's attorney.
| 13 |
| Nothing contained in this Section prohibits or prevents any | 14 |
| individual
dealing with or providing services to a minor from | 15 |
| sharing information with
another individual dealing with or | 16 |
| providing services to a minor for the
purpose of coordinating | 17 |
| efforts on behalf of the minor. The sharing of such
information | 18 |
| is only for the purpose stated herein and is to be consistent | 19 |
| with
the intent and purpose of the confidentiality provisions | 20 |
| of the Juvenile Court
Act of 1987. This provision does not | 21 |
| abrogate any recognized privilege.
Sharing information does | 22 |
| not include copying of records, reports or case files
unless | 23 |
| authorized herein.
| 24 |
| Nothing in this Section prohibits or prevents the | 25 |
| re-disclosure of records,
reports,
or other information that | 26 |
| reveals malfeasance or nonfeasance on the part of the
| 27 |
| Department, its employees, or its agents. Nothing in this | 28 |
| Section prohibits
or prevents
the Department or a party in a | 29 |
| proceeding under the Juvenile Court Act of 1987
from copying | 30 |
| records, reports, or case files for the purpose of sharing | 31 |
| those
documents with other parties to the litigation.
| 32 |
| (Source: P.A. 90-15, eff. 6-13-97; 90-590, eff. 1-1-00; 91-812, | 33 |
| eff.
6-13-00.)
| 34 |
| Section 10. The Foster Parent Law is amended by changing | 35 |
| Section 1-15 as follows:
|
|
|
|
HB4186 Enrolled |
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LRB094 14135 DRJ 49309 b |
|
| 1 |
| (20 ILCS 520/1-15)
| 2 |
| Sec. 1-15. Foster parent rights. A foster parent's rights | 3 |
| include, but
are
not limited to, the following:
| 4 |
| (1) The right to be treated with dignity, respect, and | 5 |
| consideration as a
professional member of the child welfare | 6 |
| team.
| 7 |
| (2) The right to be given standardized pre-service | 8 |
| training and
appropriate ongoing training to meet mutually | 9 |
| assessed needs and improve the
foster parent's skills.
| 10 |
| (3) The right to be informed as to how to contact the | 11 |
| appropriate child
placement agency in order to receive | 12 |
| information and assistance to access
supportive services | 13 |
| for children in the foster parent's care.
| 14 |
| (4) The right to receive timely financial | 15 |
| reimbursement commensurate with
the care needs of the child | 16 |
| as specified in the service plan.
| 17 |
| (5) The right to be provided a clear, written | 18 |
| understanding of a placement
agency's plan concerning the | 19 |
| placement of a child in the foster parent's home.
Inherent | 20 |
| in this right is the foster parent's responsibility to | 21 |
| support
activities
that will promote the child's right to | 22 |
| relationships with his or her own family
and cultural | 23 |
| heritage.
| 24 |
| (6) The right to be provided a fair, timely, and | 25 |
| impartial investigation
of complaints concerning the | 26 |
| foster parent's licensure, to be provided the
opportunity | 27 |
| to have a person
of the foster parent's choosing present | 28 |
| during the investigation, and to be
provided due
process | 29 |
| during the investigation; the right to be provided the | 30 |
| opportunity to
request and receive
mediation or an | 31 |
| administrative review of decisions that affect licensing
| 32 |
| parameters, or both mediation and an administrative | 33 |
| review; and the right to
have decisions concerning a | 34 |
| licensing
corrective action plan specifically explained | 35 |
| and tied to the licensing
standards violated.
|
|
|
|
HB4186 Enrolled |
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LRB094 14135 DRJ 49309 b |
|
| 1 |
| (7) The right, at any time during which a child is | 2 |
| placed with the foster
parent, to receive additional or | 3 |
| necessary information that is relevant to the
care of the | 4 |
| child.
| 5 |
| (7.5) The right to be given information concerning a | 6 |
| child (i) from the Department as required under subsection | 7 |
| (u) of Section 5 of the Children and Family Services Act | 8 |
| and (ii) from a child welfare agency as required under | 9 |
| subsection (c-5) of Section 7.4 of the Child Care Act of | 10 |
| 1969.
| 11 |
| (8) The right to be notified of scheduled meetings and | 12 |
| staffings
concerning the foster child in order to actively | 13 |
| participate in the case
planning and decision-making | 14 |
| process regarding the child, including individual
service | 15 |
| planning meetings, administrative case reviews, | 16 |
| interdisciplinary
staffings, and individual educational | 17 |
| planning meetings; the right to be
informed of decisions | 18 |
| made by the courts or the child welfare agency concerning
| 19 |
| the child;
the right to provide input concerning the plan | 20 |
| of services for the child and to
have that
input given full | 21 |
| consideration in the same manner as information presented | 22 |
| by
any other professional on the team; and the right to | 23 |
| communicate with other
professionals who work with the | 24 |
| foster child within the context of the team,
including | 25 |
| therapists, physicians, and teachers.
| 26 |
| (9) The right to be given, in a timely and consistent | 27 |
| manner, any
information a case worker has regarding the | 28 |
| child and the child's
family which is pertinent to the care | 29 |
| and needs of the child and to the making
of a permanency | 30 |
| plan for the child. Disclosure of information concerning | 31 |
| the
child's family shall be limited to that
information | 32 |
| that is essential for understanding the needs of and | 33 |
| providing
care to the child in order to protect the rights | 34 |
| of the child's family. When a
positive relationship exists | 35 |
| between the foster parent and the child's family,
the | 36 |
| child's family may consent to disclosure of additional |
|
|
|
HB4186 Enrolled |
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LRB094 14135 DRJ 49309 b |
|
| 1 |
| information.
| 2 |
| (10) The right to be given reasonable written notice of | 3 |
| (i) any change in
a child's case plan, (ii) plans to | 4 |
| terminate the placement of the child with
the foster | 5 |
| parent, and (iii) the reasons for the change or termination | 6 |
| in
placement. The notice shall be waived only in cases of a | 7 |
| court order or when
the child is determined to be at | 8 |
| imminent risk of harm.
| 9 |
| (11) The right to be notified in a timely and complete | 10 |
| manner of all court
hearings, including notice of the date | 11 |
| and time of the court hearing, the name
of the
judge or | 12 |
| hearing officer hearing the case, the location of the | 13 |
| hearing,
and the court docket number of the case; and the | 14 |
| right to intervene
in court proceedings or to seek mandamus | 15 |
| under the Juvenile Court Act of 1987.
| 16 |
| (12) The right to be considered as a placement option | 17 |
| when a foster child
who was formerly placed with the foster | 18 |
| parent is to be re-entered into foster
care, if that | 19 |
| placement is consistent with the best interest of the child | 20 |
| and
other children in the foster parent's home.
| 21 |
| (13) The right to have timely access to the
child | 22 |
| placement agency's existing appeals process and the right | 23 |
| to be
free from acts of harassment and retaliation by any | 24 |
| other party when exercising
the right to appeal.
| 25 |
| (14) The right to be informed of the Foster Parent | 26 |
| Hotline established
under Section 35.6 of the Children and | 27 |
| Family Services Act and all of the
rights accorded to | 28 |
| foster parents concerning
reports of misconduct by | 29 |
| Department employees, service providers, or
contractors, | 30 |
| confidential handling of those reports, and investigation | 31 |
| by the
Inspector General appointed under Section 35.5 of | 32 |
| the Children and Family
Services Act.
| 33 |
| (Source: P.A. 89-19, eff. 6-3-95.)
| 34 |
| Section 15. The Child Care Act of 1969 is amended by | 35 |
| changing Sections 7.4, 8, and 15 as follows: |
|
|
|
HB4186 Enrolled |
- 27 - |
LRB094 14135 DRJ 49309 b |
|
| 1 |
| (225 ILCS 10/7.4) | 2 |
| Sec. 7.4. Disclosures.
| 3 |
| (a) Every child welfare agency providing adoption services | 4 |
| and licensed by the Department shall provide to all prospective | 5 |
| clients and to the public written disclosures with respect to | 6 |
| its adoption services, policies, and practices, including | 7 |
| general eligibility criteria, fees, and the mutual rights and | 8 |
| responsibilities of clients, including biological parents and | 9 |
| adoptive parents. The written disclosure shall be posted on any | 10 |
| website maintained by the child welfare agency that relates to | 11 |
| adoption services. The Department shall adopt rules relating to | 12 |
| the contents of the written disclosures. Eligible agencies may | 13 |
| be deemed compliant with this subsection (a). | 14 |
| (b) Every licensed child welfare agency providing adoption | 15 |
| services shall provide to all applicants, prior to application, | 16 |
| a written schedule of estimated fees, expenses, and refund | 17 |
| policies. Every child welfare agency providing adoption | 18 |
| services shall have a written policy that shall be part of its | 19 |
| standard adoption contract and state that it will not charge | 20 |
| additional fees and expenses beyond those disclosed in the | 21 |
| adoption contract unless additional fees are reasonably | 22 |
| required by the circumstances and are disclosed to the adoptive | 23 |
| parents or parent before they are incurred. The Department | 24 |
| shall adopt rules relating to the contents of the written | 25 |
| schedule and policy. Eligible agencies may be deemed compliant | 26 |
| with this subsection (b). | 27 |
| (c) Every licensed child welfare agency providing adoption | 28 |
| services must make full and fair disclosure to its clients, | 29 |
| including biological parents and adoptive parents, of all | 30 |
| circumstances material to the placement of a child for | 31 |
| adoption. The Department shall adopt rules necessary for the | 32 |
| implementation and regulation of the requirements of this | 33 |
| subsection (c). | 34 |
| (c-5) Whenever a licensed child welfare agency places a | 35 |
| child in a licensed foster family home, the agency shall |
|
|
|
HB4186 Enrolled |
- 28 - |
LRB094 14135 DRJ 49309 b |
|
| 1 |
| provide the following to the caretaker: | 2 |
| (1) Available detailed information concerning the | 3 |
| child's educational
and health history, copies of | 4 |
| immunization records (including insurance
and medical card | 5 |
| information), a history of the child's previous | 6 |
| placements,
if any, and reasons for placement changes, | 7 |
| excluding any information that
identifies or reveals the | 8 |
| location of any previous caretaker. | 9 |
| (2) A copy of the child's portion of the client service | 10 |
| plan, including
any visitation arrangement, and all | 11 |
| amendments or revisions to it as
related to the child. | 12 |
| (3) Information containing details of the child's | 13 |
| individualized
educational plan when the child is | 14 |
| receiving special education services. | 15 |
| (4) Any known social or behavioral
information | 16 |
| (including, but not limited to, criminal background, fire
| 17 |
| setting, perpetration of
sexual abuse, destructive | 18 |
| behavior, and substance abuse) necessary to care
for and | 19 |
| safeguard the child.
| 20 |
| The agency may prepare a written summary of the information | 21 |
| required by this subsection, which may be provided to the | 22 |
| foster or prospective adoptive parent in advance of a | 23 |
| placement. The foster or prospective adoptive parent may review | 24 |
| the supporting documents in the child's file in the presence of | 25 |
| casework staff. In the case of an emergency placement, casework | 26 |
| staff shall at least provide information verbally, if | 27 |
| necessary, and must subsequently provide the information in | 28 |
| writing as required by this subsection. In the case of | 29 |
| emergency placements when time does not allow prior review, | 30 |
| preparation, and collection of written information, the agency | 31 |
| shall provide such information as it becomes available.
| 32 |
| The Department shall adopt rules necessary for the | 33 |
| implementation and regulation of the requirements of this | 34 |
| subsection (c-5).
| 35 |
| (d) Every licensed child welfare agency providing adoption | 36 |
| services shall meet minimum standards set forth by the |
|
|
|
HB4186 Enrolled |
- 29 - |
LRB094 14135 DRJ 49309 b |
|
| 1 |
| Department concerning the taking or acknowledging of a consent | 2 |
| prior to taking or acknowledging a consent from a prospective | 3 |
| biological parent. The Department shall adopt rules concerning | 4 |
| the minimum standards required by agencies under this Section.
| 5 |
| (Source: P.A. 94-586, eff. 8-15-05.)
| 6 |
| (225 ILCS 10/8) (from Ch. 23, par. 2218)
| 7 |
| Sec. 8. The Department may revoke or refuse to renew the | 8 |
| license of any
child care facility or child welfare agency or | 9 |
| refuse to issue full license to the holder of a permit
should | 10 |
| the licensee or holder of a permit:
| 11 |
| (1) fail to maintain standards prescribed and | 12 |
| published by the Department;
| 13 |
| (2) violate any of the provisions of the license | 14 |
| issued;
| 15 |
| (3) furnish or make any misleading or any false | 16 |
| statement or report to
the Department;
| 17 |
| (4) refuse to submit to the Department any reports or | 18 |
| refuse to make
available to the Department any records | 19 |
| required by the Department in
making investigation of the | 20 |
| facility for licensing purposes;
| 21 |
| (5) fail or refuse to submit to an investigation by the | 22 |
| Department;
| 23 |
| (6) fail or refuse to admit authorized representatives | 24 |
| of the Department
at any reasonable time for the purpose of | 25 |
| investigation;
| 26 |
| (7) fail to provide, maintain, equip and keep in safe | 27 |
| and sanitary
condition premises established or used for | 28 |
| child care as required under
standards prescribed by the | 29 |
| Department, or as otherwise required by any
law, regulation | 30 |
| or ordinance applicable to the location of such facility;
| 31 |
| (8) refuse to display its license or permit;
| 32 |
| (9) be the subject of an indicated report under Section | 33 |
| 3 of the Abused
and Neglected Child Reporting Act or fail | 34 |
| to discharge or sever
affiliation with the child care | 35 |
| facility of an employee or volunteer at the
facility with |
|
|
|
HB4186 Enrolled |
- 30 - |
LRB094 14135 DRJ 49309 b |
|
| 1 |
| direct contact with children who is the subject of an | 2 |
| indicated
report under Section 3 of that Act;
| 3 |
| (10) fail to comply with the provisions of Section 7.1;
| 4 |
| (11) fail to exercise reasonable care in the hiring, | 5 |
| training and
supervision of facility personnel;
| 6 |
| (12) fail to report suspected abuse or neglect of | 7 |
| children within the
facility, as required by the Abused and | 8 |
| Neglected Child Reporting Act; | 9 |
| (12.5) fail to comply with subsection (c-5) of Section | 10 |
| 7.4;
| 11 |
| (13) fail to comply with Section 5.1 or 5.2 of this | 12 |
| Act; or
| 13 |
| (14) be identified in an investigation by the | 14 |
| Department as an addict or
alcoholic, as defined in the | 15 |
| Alcoholism and Other Drug Abuse and Dependency
Act, or be a | 16 |
| person whom the Department knows has abused alcohol or | 17 |
| drugs,
and has not
successfully participated in treatment, | 18 |
| self-help groups or other suitable
activities, and the | 19 |
| Department determines that because of such abuse the
| 20 |
| licensee, holder of the permit, or any other person | 21 |
| directly responsible
for the care and welfare of the | 22 |
| children served, does not comply with
standards relating to | 23 |
| character, suitability or other qualifications
established | 24 |
| under Section 7 of this Act.
| 25 |
| (Source: P.A. 94-586, eff. 8-15-05.)
| 26 |
| (225 ILCS 10/15) (from Ch. 23, par. 2225)
| 27 |
| Sec. 15. Every child care facility must keep and maintain | 28 |
| such records as the
Department may prescribe pertaining to the | 29 |
| admission, progress, health and
discharge of children under the | 30 |
| care of the facility and shall report
relative thereto to the | 31 |
| Department whenever called for, upon forms
prescribed by the | 32 |
| Department. All records regarding children and all facts
| 33 |
| learned about children and their relatives must be kept | 34 |
| confidential both
by the child care facility and by the | 35 |
| Department.
|
|
|
|
HB4186 Enrolled |
- 31 - |
LRB094 14135 DRJ 49309 b |
|
| 1 |
| Nothing contained in this Act prevents the sharing or
| 2 |
| disclosure of information or records relating or pertaining to | 3 |
| juveniles
subject to the provisions of the Serious Habitual | 4 |
| Offender Comprehensive
Action Program when that information is | 5 |
| used to assist in the early
identification and treatment of | 6 |
| habitual juvenile offenders. | 7 |
| Nothing contained in this Act prevents the disclosure of | 8 |
| information or records by a licensed child welfare agency as | 9 |
| required under subsection (c-5) of Section 7.4.
| 10 |
| (Source: P.A. 87-928.)
| 11 |
| Section 20. The Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act is | 12 |
| amended by changing Section 11.1 as follows:
| 13 |
| (325 ILCS 5/11.1) (from Ch. 23, par. 2061.1)
| 14 |
| Sec. 11.1. Access to records.
| 15 |
| (a) A person shall have access to the
records described in | 16 |
| Section 11 only in furtherance of purposes directly
connected | 17 |
| with the administration of this Act or the Intergovernmental | 18 |
| Missing
Child Recovery Act of 1984. Those persons and purposes | 19 |
| for access include:
| 20 |
| (1) Department staff in the furtherance of their | 21 |
| responsibilities under
this Act, or for the purpose of | 22 |
| completing background investigations on
persons or | 23 |
| agencies licensed by the Department or with whom the | 24 |
| Department
contracts for the provision of child welfare | 25 |
| services.
| 26 |
| (2) A law enforcement agency investigating known or | 27 |
| suspected child abuse
or neglect, known or suspected | 28 |
| involvement with child pornography, known or
suspected | 29 |
| criminal sexual assault, known or suspected criminal | 30 |
| sexual abuse, or
any other sexual offense when a child is | 31 |
| alleged to be involved.
| 32 |
| (3) The Department of State Police when administering | 33 |
| the provisions of
the Intergovernmental Missing Child | 34 |
| Recovery Act of 1984.
|
|
|
|
HB4186 Enrolled |
- 32 - |
LRB094 14135 DRJ 49309 b |
|
| 1 |
| (4) A physician who has before him a child whom he | 2 |
| reasonably
suspects may be abused or neglected.
| 3 |
| (5) A person authorized under Section 5 of this Act to | 4 |
| place a child
in temporary protective custody when such | 5 |
| person requires the
information in the report or record to | 6 |
| determine whether to place the
child in temporary | 7 |
| protective custody.
| 8 |
| (6) A person having the legal responsibility or | 9 |
| authorization to
care for, treat, or supervise a child , or | 10 |
| a parent, prospective adoptive parent, foster parent,
| 11 |
| guardian, or other
person responsible for the child's | 12 |
| welfare , who is the subject of a report.
| 13 |
| (7) Except in regard to harmful or detrimental | 14 |
| information as
provided in Section 7.19, any subject of the | 15 |
| report, and if the subject of
the report is a minor, his | 16 |
| guardian or guardian ad litem.
| 17 |
| (8) A court, upon its finding that access to such | 18 |
| records may be
necessary for the determination of an issue | 19 |
| before such court; however,
such access shall be limited to | 20 |
| in camera inspection, unless the court
determines that | 21 |
| public disclosure of the information contained therein
is | 22 |
| necessary for the resolution of an issue then pending | 23 |
| before it.
| 24 |
| (8.1) A probation officer or other authorized | 25 |
| representative of a
probation or court services department | 26 |
| conducting an investigation ordered
by a court under the | 27 |
| Juvenile Court Act of l987.
| 28 |
| (9) A grand jury, upon its determination that access to | 29 |
| such records
is necessary in the conduct of its official | 30 |
| business.
| 31 |
| (10) Any person authorized by the Director, in writing, | 32 |
| for audit or
bona fide research purposes.
| 33 |
| (11) Law enforcement agencies, coroners or medical | 34 |
| examiners,
physicians, courts, school superintendents and | 35 |
| child welfare agencies
in other states who are responsible | 36 |
| for child abuse or neglect
investigations or background |
|
|
|
HB4186 Enrolled |
- 33 - |
LRB094 14135 DRJ 49309 b |
|
| 1 |
| investigations.
| 2 |
| (12) The Department of Professional Regulation, the | 3 |
| State Board of
Education and school superintendents in | 4 |
| Illinois, who may use or disclose
information from the | 5 |
| records as they deem necessary to conduct
investigations or | 6 |
| take disciplinary action, as provided by law.
| 7 |
| (13) A coroner or medical examiner who has reason to
| 8 |
| believe that a child has died as the result of abuse or | 9 |
| neglect.
| 10 |
| (14) The Director of a State-operated facility when an | 11 |
| employee of that
facility is the perpetrator in an | 12 |
| indicated report.
| 13 |
| (15) The operator of a licensed child care facility or | 14 |
| a facility licensed
by the Department of Human Services (as | 15 |
| successor to the Department of
Alcoholism and Substance | 16 |
| Abuse) in which children reside
when a current or | 17 |
| prospective employee of that facility is the perpetrator in
| 18 |
| an indicated child abuse or neglect report, pursuant to | 19 |
| Section 4.3 of the
Child Care Act of 1969.
| 20 |
| (16) Members of a multidisciplinary team in the | 21 |
| furtherance of its
responsibilities under subsection (b) | 22 |
| of Section 7.1. All reports
concerning child abuse and | 23 |
| neglect made available to members of such
| 24 |
| multidisciplinary teams and all records generated as a | 25 |
| result of such
reports shall be confidential and shall not | 26 |
| be disclosed, except as
specifically authorized by this Act | 27 |
| or other applicable law. It is a Class
A misdemeanor to | 28 |
| permit, assist or encourage the unauthorized release of
any | 29 |
| information contained in such reports or records. Nothing | 30 |
| contained in
this Section prevents the sharing of reports | 31 |
| or records relating or pertaining
to the death of a minor | 32 |
| under the care of or receiving services from the
Department | 33 |
| of Children and Family Services and under the jurisdiction | 34 |
| of the
juvenile court with the juvenile court, the State's | 35 |
| Attorney, and the minor's
attorney.
| 36 |
| (17) The Department of Human Services, as provided
in |
|
|
|
HB4186 Enrolled |
- 34 - |
LRB094 14135 DRJ 49309 b |
|
| 1 |
| Section 17 of the Disabled Persons Rehabilitation Act.
| 2 |
| (18) Any other agency or investigative body, including | 3 |
| the Department of
Public Health and a local board of | 4 |
| health, authorized by State law to
conduct an investigation | 5 |
| into the quality of care provided to children in
hospitals | 6 |
| and other State regulated care facilities. The access to | 7 |
| and
release of information from such records shall be | 8 |
| subject to the approval
of the Director of the Department | 9 |
| or his designee.
| 10 |
| (19) The person appointed, under Section 2-17 of the | 11 |
| Juvenile Court
Act of 1987, as the guardian ad litem of a | 12 |
| minor who is the subject of a
report or
records under this | 13 |
| Act.
| 14 |
| (20) The Department of Human Services, as provided in | 15 |
| Section 10 of the
Early
Intervention Services System Act, | 16 |
| and the operator of a facility providing
early
intervention | 17 |
| services pursuant to that Act, for the purpose of | 18 |
| determining
whether a
current or prospective employee who | 19 |
| provides or may provide direct services
under that
Act is | 20 |
| the perpetrator in an indicated report of child abuse or | 21 |
| neglect filed
under this Act.
| 22 |
| (b) Nothing contained in this Act prevents the sharing or
| 23 |
| disclosure of information or records relating or pertaining to | 24 |
| juveniles
subject to the provisions of the Serious Habitual | 25 |
| Offender Comprehensive
Action Program when that information is | 26 |
| used to assist in the early
identification and treatment of | 27 |
| habitual juvenile offenders.
| 28 |
| (c) To the extent that persons or agencies are given access | 29 |
| to
information pursuant to this Section, those persons or | 30 |
| agencies may give this
information to and
receive this | 31 |
| information from each other in order to facilitate an
| 32 |
| investigation
conducted by those persons or agencies.
| 33 |
| (Source: P.A. 93-147, eff. 1-1-04.)
| 34 |
| Section 25. The Mental Health and Developmental | 35 |
| Disabilities Confidentiality Act is amended by changing |
|
|
|
HB4186 Enrolled |
- 35 - |
LRB094 14135 DRJ 49309 b |
|
| 1 |
| Section 11 as follows:
| 2 |
| (740 ILCS 110/11) (from Ch. 91 1/2, par. 811)
| 3 |
| Sec. 11. Disclosure of records and communications. Records | 4 |
| and
communications may be disclosed:
| 5 |
| (i) in accordance with the provisions of the
Abused and | 6 |
| Neglected Child Reporting Act , subsection (u) of Section 5 | 7 |
| of the Children and Family Services Act, or Section 7.4 of | 8 |
| the Child Care Act of 1969 ;
| 9 |
| (ii) when, and to the extent, a
therapist, in his or | 10 |
| her sole discretion, determines that disclosure is
| 11 |
| necessary to initiate or continue civil commitment | 12 |
| proceedings under the laws
of this State or to otherwise | 13 |
| protect the recipient or other person against a
clear, | 14 |
| imminent risk of serious physical or mental injury or | 15 |
| disease or death
being inflicted upon the recipient or by | 16 |
| the recipient on himself or another;
| 17 |
| (iii) when, and to the extent disclosure is, in the | 18 |
| sole discretion of the
therapist, necessary to the | 19 |
| provision of emergency medical care to a recipient
who is | 20 |
| unable to assert or waive his or her rights hereunder;
| 21 |
| (iv) when
disclosure is necessary to collect sums or | 22 |
| receive third
party payment representing charges for | 23 |
| mental health or developmental
disabilities services | 24 |
| provided by a therapist or agency to a recipient
under | 25 |
| Chapter V of the Mental Health and Developmental | 26 |
| Disabilities Code or to
transfer debts under the | 27 |
| Uncollected State Claims Act; however, disclosure
shall be | 28 |
| limited to information needed to pursue collection, and the
| 29 |
| information so disclosed shall not be used for any other | 30 |
| purposes nor shall it
be redisclosed except in connection | 31 |
| with collection activities;
| 32 |
| (v) when
requested by a family member, the Department | 33 |
| of Human Services may assist in
the location of the | 34 |
| interment site of a deceased recipient who is interred in a
| 35 |
| cemetery established under Section 100-26 of the Mental |
|
|
|
HB4186 Enrolled |
- 36 - |
LRB094 14135 DRJ 49309 b |
|
| 1 |
| Health and
Developmental Disabilities Administrative Act;
| 2 |
| (vi) in judicial proceedings
under Article VIII of | 3 |
| Chapter III and Article V of Chapter IV of the Mental
| 4 |
| Health and Developmental Disabilities Code and proceedings | 5 |
| and investigations
preliminary thereto, to the State's | 6 |
| Attorney for the county or residence of a
person who is the | 7 |
| subject of such proceedings, or in which the person is | 8 |
| found,
or in which the facility is located, to the attorney | 9 |
| representing the recipient
in the judicial proceedings, to | 10 |
| any person or agency providing mental health
services that | 11 |
| are the subject of the proceedings and to that person's or
| 12 |
| agency's attorney, to any court personnel, including but | 13 |
| not limited to judges
and circuit court clerks, and to a | 14 |
| guardian ad litem if one has been appointed
by the court, | 15 |
| provided that the information so disclosed shall not be | 16 |
| utilized
for any other purpose nor be redisclosed except in | 17 |
| connection with the
proceedings or investigations;
| 18 |
| (vii) when, and to the extent disclosure is
necessary | 19 |
| to comply with the requirements of the Census Bureau in | 20 |
| taking the
federal Decennial Census;
| 21 |
| (viii) when, and to the extent, in the
therapist's sole | 22 |
| discretion, disclosure is necessary to warn or protect a
| 23 |
| specific individual against whom a recipient has made a | 24 |
| specific threat of
violence where there exists a | 25 |
| therapist-recipient relationship or a special
| 26 |
| recipient-individual relationship;
| 27 |
| (ix) in accordance with the Sex Offender
Registration | 28 |
| Act; and
| 29 |
| (x) in accordance with the Rights of Crime Victims and
| 30 |
| Witnesses Act.
| 31 |
| Any person, institution, or agency, under
this Act, | 32 |
| participating in good faith in the making of a report under the
| 33 |
| Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act or in the disclosure | 34 |
| of records and
communications under this Section, shall have | 35 |
| immunity from any liability,
civil, criminal or otherwise, that | 36 |
| might result by reason of such action. For
the purpose of any |
|
|
|
HB4186 Enrolled |
- 37 - |
LRB094 14135 DRJ 49309 b |
|
| 1 |
| proceeding, civil or criminal, arising out of a report or
| 2 |
| disclosure under this Section, the good faith of any person, | 3 |
| institution, or
agency so reporting or disclosing shall be | 4 |
| presumed.
| 5 |
| (Source: P.A. 90-423, eff. 8-15-97; 90-538, eff. 12-1-97; | 6 |
| 90-655, eff.
7-30-98; 91-357, eff. 7-29-99.)
| 7 |
| Section 30. The Adoption Act is amended by changing | 8 |
| Sections 12.1 and 18.3a as follows:
| 9 |
| (750 ILCS 50/12.1)
| 10 |
| Sec. 12.1. Putative Father Registry. The Department of | 11 |
| Children and Family
Services shall establish a Putative Father | 12 |
| Registry for the purpose of
determining the
identity and | 13 |
| location of a putative father of a minor child who is, or is
| 14 |
| expected to be, the subject of an adoption proceeding, in order | 15 |
| to provide
notice of such proceeding to the putative father. | 16 |
| The Department of Children
and Family Services shall establish | 17 |
| rules and informational material necessary
to implement the | 18 |
| provisions of this Section. The Department shall have the
| 19 |
| authority to set reasonable fees for the use of the Registry. | 20 |
| All such fees for the use of the Registry that are received by | 21 |
| the Department or its agent shall be deposited into the fund | 22 |
| authorized under subsection (b) of Section 25 of the Children | 23 |
| and Family Services Act. The Department shall use the moneys in | 24 |
| that fund for the purpose of maintaining the Registry.
| 25 |
| (a) The Department shall maintain the following | 26 |
| information in the Registry:
| 27 |
| (1) With respect to the putative father:
| 28 |
| (i) Name, including any other names by which the | 29 |
| putative father may be
known and that he may provide to | 30 |
| the Registry;
| 31 |
| (ii) Address at which he may be served with notice | 32 |
| of a petition under
this Act, including any change of | 33 |
| address;
| 34 |
| (iii) Social Security Number;
|
|
|
|
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LRB094 14135 DRJ 49309 b |
|
| 1 |
| (iv) Date of birth; and
| 2 |
| (v) If applicable, a certified copy of an order by | 3 |
| a court of this
State or of another
state or territory | 4 |
| of the United States adjudicating the putative father | 5 |
| to be
the father of the child.
| 6 |
| (2) With respect to the mother of the child:
| 7 |
| (i) Name, including all other names known to the | 8 |
| putative father by
which the mother may be known;
| 9 |
| (ii) If known to the putative father, her last | 10 |
| address;
| 11 |
| (iii) Social Security
Number; and
| 12 |
| (iv) Date of birth.
| 13 |
| (3) If known to the putative father, the name, gender, | 14 |
| place of birth, and
date of birth or anticipated date of | 15 |
| birth of the child.
| 16 |
| (4) The date that the Department received the putative | 17 |
| father's
registration.
| 18 |
| (5) Other information as the Department may by rule | 19 |
| determine
necessary for the orderly administration of the | 20 |
| Registry.
| 21 |
| (b) A putative father may register with the Department | 22 |
| before the birth of
the child but shall register no later than | 23 |
| 30 days after the birth of the
child.
All
registrations shall | 24 |
| be in writing and signed by the putative father. No fee
shall | 25 |
| be charged for the initial registration. The Department shall | 26 |
| have no
independent obligation to gather the information to be | 27 |
| maintained.
| 28 |
| (c) An interested party, including persons intending to | 29 |
| adopt a child, a
child welfare agency with whom the mother has | 30 |
| placed or has given written
notice of her intention to place a | 31 |
| child for adoption, the mother of the child,
or an attorney | 32 |
| representing an interested party may request that the
| 33 |
| Department search the Registry to determine whether a putative | 34 |
| father is
registered in relation to a child who is or may be | 35 |
| the subject to an adoption
petition.
| 36 |
| (d) A search of the Registry may be proven by the |
|
|
|
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| 1 |
| production of a certified
copy of the registration form, or by | 2 |
| the certified statement of the
administrator of the Registry | 3 |
| that after a search, no registration of a
putative father in | 4 |
| relation to a child who is or may be the subject of an
adoption | 5 |
| petition could be located.
| 6 |
| (e) Except as otherwise provided, information contained | 7 |
| within the
Registry is confidential and shall not be published | 8 |
| or open to public
inspection.
| 9 |
| (f) A person who knowingly or intentionally registers false
| 10 |
| information under this Section commits a Class B misdemeanor.
A | 11 |
| person who knowingly or intentionally releases confidential | 12 |
| information
in violation of this Section commits a Class B | 13 |
| misdemeanor.
| 14 |
| (g) Except as provided in subsections (b) or (c) of Section | 15 |
| 8 of this Act, a putative
father who
fails to register with the | 16 |
| Putative Father Registry as provided in this Section
is barred | 17 |
| from thereafter bringing or maintaining any action to assert | 18 |
| any
interest in the child, unless he proves by clear and | 19 |
| convincing evidence that:
| 20 |
| (1) it was not possible for him to register within the | 21 |
| period of time
specified in subsection (b) of this Section; | 22 |
| and
| 23 |
| (2) his failure to register was through no fault of his | 24 |
| own; and
| 25 |
| (3) he registered within 10 days after it became | 26 |
| possible for him to file.
| 27 |
| A lack of knowledge of the pregnancy or birth is not an | 28 |
| acceptable reason for
failure to register.
| 29 |
| (h) Except as provided in subsection (b) or (c) of Section | 30 |
| 8 of this Act, failure to timely
register with the Putative | 31 |
| Father Registry (i) shall be deemed to be a waiver
and | 32 |
| surrender of any right to notice of any hearing in any judicial | 33 |
| proceeding
for the adoption of the child, and the consent or | 34 |
| surrender of that
person to the adoption of
the
child is not | 35 |
| required, and (ii) shall constitute an abandonment of the child
| 36 |
| and shall be prima facie evidence of sufficient grounds to |
|
|
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LRB094 14135 DRJ 49309 b |
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| 1 |
| support termination
of such
father's parental rights under this | 2 |
| Act.
| 3 |
| (i) In any adoption proceeding pertaining to a child born | 4 |
| out of wedlock, if
there is no showing that a putative father | 5 |
| has executed a consent or
surrender or waived his
rights | 6 |
| regarding the proposed adoption, certification as specified in
| 7 |
| subsection (d) shall be filed with the court prior to entry of | 8 |
| a final
judgment order of adoption.
| 9 |
| (j) The Registry shall not be used to notify a putative | 10 |
| father who is the
father of a child as a result of criminal | 11 |
| sexual abuse or assault as defined
under Article 12 of the | 12 |
| Criminal Code of 1961.
| 13 |
| (Source: P.A. 89-315, eff. 1-1-96; 90-15, eff. 6-13-97.)
| 14 |
| (750 ILCS 50/18.3a) (from Ch. 40, par. 1522.3a)
| 15 |
| Sec. 18.3a. Confidential intermediary.
| 16 |
| (a) General purposes.
Notwithstanding any other provision | 17 |
| of
this Act, any
adopted or surrendered person 21 years of age | 18 |
| or over, any adoptive parent or legal guardian
of
an adopted or | 19 |
| surrendered person under the age of 21, or any birth parent of | 20 |
| an adopted
or surrendered person who is 21 years of age or over | 21 |
| may petition the court in any county in
the
State of Illinois | 22 |
| for appointment of a confidential intermediary as provided in
| 23 |
| this Section for the purpose of exchanging medical information | 24 |
| with one or
more mutually consenting biological relatives, | 25 |
| obtaining identifying
information about one or more mutually | 26 |
| consenting biological relatives, or
arranging contact with one | 27 |
| or more mutually consenting biological relatives.
| 28 |
| Additionally, in cases where an adopted or surrendered person | 29 |
| is deceased,
an adult child of the adopted
or surrendered | 30 |
| person or his or her adoptive parents or surviving spouse may | 31 |
| file a petition under this Section and in cases
where the birth | 32 |
| parent is deceased,
an adult birth sibling of the adopted or | 33 |
| surrendered person or of the deceased birth parent
may
file a | 34 |
| petition under this Section for the purpose of exchanging | 35 |
| medical
information with one or more mutually consenting |
|
|
|
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LRB094 14135 DRJ 49309 b |
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| 1 |
| biological relatives of the adopted or surrendered person,
| 2 |
| obtaining identifying information about one or more mutually | 3 |
| consenting
biological relatives of the adopted or surrendered | 4 |
| person, or arranging contact with one or more mutually
| 5 |
| consenting biological relatives of the adopted or surrendered | 6 |
| person. Beginning January 1, 2006, any adopted or surrendered | 7 |
| person 21 years of age or over; any adoptive parent or legal | 8 |
| guardian of an adopted or surrendered person under the age of | 9 |
| 21; any birth parent, birth sibling, birth aunt, or birth uncle | 10 |
| of an adopted or surrendered person over the age of 21; any | 11 |
| surviving child, adoptive parent, or surviving spouse of a | 12 |
| deceased adopted or surrendered person who wishes to petition | 13 |
| the court for the appointment of a confidential intermediary | 14 |
| shall be required to accompany their petition with proof of | 15 |
| registration with the Illinois Adoption Registry and Medical | 16 |
| Information Exchange.
| 17 |
| (b) Petition. Upon petition by an adopted or surrendered
| 18 |
| person 21 years of age or over, an
adoptive parent or legal | 19 |
| guardian of an adopted or surrendered person under the age of | 20 |
| 21,
or a birth parent of an adopted or surrendered person who | 21 |
| is 21 years of age or over, the
court
shall appoint a | 22 |
| confidential intermediary. Upon petition by
an adult child, | 23 |
| adoptive parent or surviving spouse of an adopted or | 24 |
| surrendered person who is deceased, by an adult birth sibling | 25 |
| of an adopted or surrendered person
whose common birth parent | 26 |
| is deceased
and whose adopted or surrendered birth sibling is | 27 |
| 21 years of age or over, or by an adult sibling of a birth | 28 |
| parent who is deceased,
and whose surrendered child is 21 years | 29 |
| of age or over, the court may appoint a confidential
| 30 |
| intermediary if the court finds that the disclosure is of | 31 |
| greater benefit than
nondisclosure.
The petition shall state | 32 |
| which biological relative
or
relatives are being sought and | 33 |
| shall indicate if the petitioner wants to do any
one or more of | 34 |
| the following: exchange medical information with the
| 35 |
| biological relative or relatives, obtain identifying | 36 |
| information from the
biological relative or relatives, or to |
|
|
|
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LRB094 14135 DRJ 49309 b |
|
| 1 |
| arrange contact with the biological
relative.
| 2 |
| (c) Order. The order appointing the confidential | 3 |
| intermediary shall allow
that
intermediary to conduct a search | 4 |
| for the sought-after relative by accessing
those records | 5 |
| described in subsection (g) of this Section.
| 6 |
| (d) Fees and expenses. The court shall condition the | 7 |
| appointment of the
confidential intermediary on the | 8 |
| petitioner's payment of the intermediary's
fees and expenses in | 9 |
| advance of the commencement of the work of the
confidential | 10 |
| intermediary.
| 11 |
| (e) Eligibility of intermediary. The court may appoint as | 12 |
| confidential
intermediary any
person certified by the | 13 |
| Department of Children and Family Services as qualified to | 14 |
| serve as a confidential
intermediary.
Certification shall be | 15 |
| dependent upon the
confidential intermediary completing a | 16 |
| course of training including, but not
limited to, applicable | 17 |
| federal and State privacy laws.
| 18 |
| (f) Confidential Intermediary Council. There shall be | 19 |
| established under the
Department of Children and Family
| 20 |
| Services a Confidential Intermediary Advisory Council. One | 21 |
| member shall be an
attorney representing the Attorney General's | 22 |
| Office appointed by the Attorney
General. One member shall be a | 23 |
| currently certified confidential intermediary
appointed by the | 24 |
| Director of the Department of Children and Family Services.
The | 25 |
| Director shall also appoint 5 additional members. When making | 26 |
| those
appointments, the Director shall consider advocates for | 27 |
| adopted persons,
adoptive parents, birth parents, lawyers who | 28 |
| represent clients in private
adoptions, lawyers specializing | 29 |
| in privacy law, and representatives of agencies
involved in | 30 |
| adoptions. The Director shall appoint one of the 7 members as
| 31 |
| the chairperson. An attorney from the Department of Children | 32 |
| and Family
Services
and the person directly responsible for | 33 |
| administering the confidential
intermediary program shall | 34 |
| serve as ex-officio, non-voting advisors to the
Council. | 35 |
| Council members shall serve at the discretion of the Director | 36 |
| and
shall receive no compensation other than reasonable |
|
|
|
HB4186 Enrolled |
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LRB094 14135 DRJ 49309 b |
|
| 1 |
| expenses approved by the
Director. The Council shall meet no | 2 |
| less than twice yearly, and shall make
recommendations to the | 3 |
| Director regarding the development of rules, procedures,
and | 4 |
| forms that will ensure efficient and effective operation of the
| 5 |
| confidential intermediary process, including:
| 6 |
| (1) Standards for certification for confidential | 7 |
| intermediaries.
| 8 |
| (2) Oversight of methods used to verify that | 9 |
| intermediaries are complying
with the appropriate laws.
| 10 |
| (3) Training for confidential intermediaries, | 11 |
| including training with
respect to federal and State | 12 |
| privacy laws.
| 13 |
| (4) The relationship between confidential | 14 |
| intermediaries and the court
system, including the | 15 |
| development of sample orders defining the scope of the
| 16 |
| intermediaries' access to information.
| 17 |
| (5) Any recent violations of policy or procedures by | 18 |
| confidential
intermediaries and remedial steps, including | 19 |
| decertification, to prevent future
violations.
| 20 |
| (g) Access. Subject to the limitations of subsection (i) | 21 |
| of this
Section, the
confidential
intermediary shall have | 22 |
| access to vital records maintained by the Department of
Public | 23 |
| Health and its local designees for the maintenance of vital | 24 |
| records and
all records of the court or any adoption agency,
| 25 |
| public
or private, as limited in this Section, which relate to | 26 |
| the adoption or the identity and location of an
adopted or | 27 |
| surrendered person, of an adult child or surviving spouse of a | 28 |
| deceased adopted or surrendered person, or of a birth
parent, | 29 |
| birth sibling, or the sibling of a deceased birth parent. The
| 30 |
| confidential intermediary shall not have access to any personal | 31 |
| health
information protected by the Standards for Privacy of | 32 |
| Individually
Identifiable Health Information adopted by the | 33 |
| U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services under the Health | 34 |
| Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of
1996 unless the | 35 |
| confidential intermediary has obtained written consent from | 36 |
| the
person whose information is being sought or, if that person |
|
|
|
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LRB094 14135 DRJ 49309 b |
|
| 1 |
| is a minor child,
that person's parent or guardian. | 2 |
| Confidential
intermediaries shall be authorized to inspect | 3 |
| confidential relinquishment and
adoption records. The | 4 |
| confidential intermediary shall not be authorized to
access | 5 |
| medical
records, financial records, credit records, banking | 6 |
| records, home studies,
attorney file records, or other personal | 7 |
| records.
In cases where a birth parent is being sought, an | 8 |
| adoption agency shall inform
the confidential intermediary of | 9 |
| any statement filed pursuant to Section 18.3, hereinafter | 10 |
| referred to as "the 18.3 statement",
indicating a desire of the | 11 |
| surrendering birth parent to have identifying
information | 12 |
| shared or to not have identifying information shared. If there | 13 |
| was
a clear statement of intent by the sought-after birth | 14 |
| parent not to have
identifying information shared, the | 15 |
| confidential intermediary shall discontinue
the search and | 16 |
| inform the petitioning party of the sought-after relative's
| 17 |
| intent. Information
provided to the confidential intermediary | 18 |
| by an adoption agency shall be
restricted to the full name, | 19 |
| date of birth, place of birth, last known address,
last known | 20 |
| telephone number of the sought-after relative or, if | 21 |
| applicable,
of the children or siblings of the sought-after | 22 |
| relative, and the 18.3 statement.
| 23 |
| (h) Adoption agency disclosure of medical information. If | 24 |
| the petitioner is
an adult adopted or surrendered person or the | 25 |
| adoptive parent of a
minor and if the petitioner has signed a | 26 |
| written authorization to disclose
personal medical | 27 |
| information, an adoption agency disclosing information to a
| 28 |
| confidential intermediary shall disclose available medical | 29 |
| information about
the adopted or surrendered person from birth | 30 |
| through adoption.
| 31 |
| (i) Duties of confidential intermediary in conducting a | 32 |
| search. In
conducting
a search under this Section, the | 33 |
| confidential intermediary shall first confirm
that there is no | 34 |
| Denial of Information Exchange on file with the Illinois
| 35 |
| Adoption Registry. If the petitioner is an adult child of an | 36 |
| adopted or surrendered person
who is deceased, the
confidential |
|
|
|
HB4186 Enrolled |
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LRB094 14135 DRJ 49309 b |
|
| 1 |
| intermediary shall additionally confirm that the adopted or | 2 |
| surrendered person
did not file a Denial of Information | 3 |
| Exchange with the Illinois Adoption
Registry during his or her | 4 |
| life. If the petitioner is an adult birth sibling of
an
adopted
| 5 |
| or surrendered person or an adult sibling of a birth parent who | 6 |
| is deceased,
the confidential intermediary shall
additionally | 7 |
| confirm that the birth parent did not file a Denial of | 8 |
| Information
Exchange with the Registry during his or her life. | 9 |
| If the confidential
intermediary learns that a sought-after | 10 |
| birth parent signed a statement
indicating his or her intent | 11 |
| not to have identifying information shared, and
did not later | 12 |
| file an Information Exchange Authorization with the Adoption
| 13 |
| Registry, the confidential intermediary shall discontinue the | 14 |
| search and inform
the petitioning party of the birth parent's | 15 |
| intent.
| 16 |
| In conducting a search under this Section, the confidential | 17 |
| intermediary
shall attempt to locate the relative or relatives | 18 |
| from whom the petitioner has
requested information. If the | 19 |
| sought-after relative is deceased
or cannot be located after a | 20 |
| diligent search, the
confidential intermediary may contact | 21 |
| other adult relatives of the
sought-after relative.
| 22 |
| The confidential intermediary shall contact a sought-after | 23 |
| relative on
behalf of the petitioner in a manner that respects | 24 |
| the sought-after relative's
privacy and shall inform the | 25 |
| sought-after relative of the petitioner's request
for medical | 26 |
| information, identifying information or contact as stated in | 27 |
| the
petition. Based upon the terms of the petitioner's request, | 28 |
| the confidential
intermediary shall contact a sought-after | 29 |
| relative on behalf of the petitioner
and inform the | 30 |
| sought-after relative of the following options:
| 31 |
| (1) The sought-after relative may totally reject one or | 32 |
| all of the
requests for medical information, identifying | 33 |
| information or
contact. The sought-after relative shall be | 34 |
| informed that they can
provide a medical questionnaire to | 35 |
| be forwarded to the petitioner
without releasing any | 36 |
| identifying information. The confidential
intermediary |
|
|
|
HB4186 Enrolled |
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LRB094 14135 DRJ 49309 b |
|
| 1 |
| shall inform the petitioner of the sought-after
relative's | 2 |
| decision to reject the sharing of information or contact.
| 3 |
| (2) The sought-after relative may consent to | 4 |
| completing a medical
questionnaire only. In this case, the | 5 |
| confidential intermediary
shall provide the questionnaire | 6 |
| and ask the sought-after relative to
complete it. The | 7 |
| confidential intermediary shall forward the
completed | 8 |
| questionnaire to the petitioner and inform the petitioner
| 9 |
| of the sought-after relative's desire to not provide any | 10 |
| additional
information.
| 11 |
| (3) The sought-after relative may communicate with the | 12 |
| petitioner
without having his or her identity disclosed. In | 13 |
| this case, the
confidential intermediary shall arrange the | 14 |
| desired communication
in a manner that protects the | 15 |
| identity of the sought-after relative.
The confidential | 16 |
| intermediary shall inform the petitioner of the
| 17 |
| sought-after relative's decision to communicate but not | 18 |
| disclose
his or her identity.
| 19 |
| (4) The sought after relative may consent to initiate | 20 |
| contact with the
petitioner. If both the petitioner and the | 21 |
| sought-after relative or
relatives are eligible to | 22 |
| register with the Illinois Adoption Registry,
the | 23 |
| confidential intermediary shall provide the necessary
| 24 |
| application forms and request that the sought-after | 25 |
| relative
register with the Illinois Adoption Registry. If | 26 |
| either the petitioner
or the sought-after relative or | 27 |
| relatives are ineligible to register
with the Illinois | 28 |
| Adoption Registry, the confidential intermediary
shall | 29 |
| obtain written consents from both parties that they wish to
| 30 |
| disclose their identities to each other and to have contact | 31 |
| with
each other.
| 32 |
| (j) Oath. The confidential intermediary shall sign an oath | 33 |
| of
confidentiality substantially as follows: "I, .........., | 34 |
| being duly sworn, on
oath depose and say: As a condition of | 35 |
| appointment as a confidential
intermediary, I affirm that:
| 36 |
| (1) I will not disclose to the petitioner,
directly or |
|
|
|
HB4186 Enrolled |
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LRB094 14135 DRJ 49309 b |
|
| 1 |
| indirectly, any confidential information
except in a | 2 |
| manner consistent with the
law.
| 3 |
| (2) I recognize that violation of this oath subjects me | 4 |
| to civil liability
and to a potential finding of contempt | 5 |
| of court.
................................
| 6 |
| SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me, a Notary Public, on (insert
| 7 |
| date)
| 8 |
| ................................."
| 9 |
| (k) Sanctions.
| 10 |
| (1) Any confidential intermediary who improperly | 11 |
| discloses
confidential information identifying a | 12 |
| sought-after relative shall be liable to
the sought-after | 13 |
| relative for damages and may also be found in contempt of
| 14 |
| court.
| 15 |
| (2) Any person who learns a sought-after
relative's | 16 |
| identity, directly or indirectly, through the use of | 17 |
| procedures
provided in this Section and who improperly | 18 |
| discloses information identifying
the sought-after | 19 |
| relative shall be liable to the sought-after relative for
| 20 |
| actual damages plus minimum punitive damages of $10,000.
| 21 |
| (3) The Department shall fine any confidential | 22 |
| intermediary who improperly
discloses
confidential | 23 |
| information in violation of item (1) or (2) of this | 24 |
| subsection (k)
an amount up to $2,000 per improper | 25 |
| disclosure. This fine does not affect
civil liability under | 26 |
| item (2) of this subsection (k). The Department shall
| 27 |
| deposit all fines and penalties collected under this | 28 |
| Section into the Illinois
Adoption Registry and Medical | 29 |
| Information Fund.
| 30 |
| (l) Death of person being sought. Notwithstanding any other | 31 |
| provision
of this Act, if the confidential intermediary | 32 |
| discovers that the person
being sought has died, he or she | 33 |
| shall report this fact to the court,
along with a copy of the | 34 |
| death certificate.
| 35 |
| (m) Any confidential information obtained by the | 36 |
| confidential intermediary
during the course of his or her |
|
|
|
HB4186 Enrolled |
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LRB094 14135 DRJ 49309 b |
|
| 1 |
| search shall be kept strictly confidential
and shall be used | 2 |
| for the purpose of arranging contact between the
petitioner and | 3 |
| the sought-after birth relative. At the time the case is
| 4 |
| closed, all identifying information shall be returned to the | 5 |
| court for
inclusion in the impounded adoption file.
| 6 |
| (n) If the petitioner is an adopted or surrendered person | 7 |
| 21 years of age or over or the
adoptive parent or legal | 8 |
| guardian of an adopted or surrendered person under the age
of | 9 |
| 21, any
non-identifying information, as defined in Section | 10 |
| 18.4, that is
ascertained during the course of the search may | 11 |
| be given in writing to
the petitioner before the case is | 12 |
| closed.
| 13 |
| (o) Except as provided in subsection (k) of this Section, | 14 |
| no liability shall
accrue to
the State, any State agency, any | 15 |
| judge, any officer or employee of the
court, any certified | 16 |
| confidential intermediary, or any agency designated
to oversee | 17 |
| confidential intermediary services for acts, omissions, or
| 18 |
| efforts made in good faith within the scope of this Section.
| 19 |
| (p) An adoption agency that has received a request from a | 20 |
| confidential intermediary for the full name, date of birth, | 21 |
| last known address, or last known telephone number of a | 22 |
| sought-after relative pursuant to subsection (g) of Section | 23 |
| 18.3, or for medical information regarding a sought-after | 24 |
| relative pursuant to subsection (h) of Section 18.3, must | 25 |
| satisfactorily comply with this court order within a period of | 26 |
| 45 days. The court shall order the adoption agency to reimburse | 27 |
| the petitioner in an amount equal to all payments made by the | 28 |
| petitioner to the confidential intermediary, and the adoption | 29 |
| agency shall be subject to a civil monetary penalty of $1,000 | 30 |
| to be paid to the Department of Children and Family Services. | 31 |
| Following the issuance of a court order finding that the | 32 |
| adoption agency has not complied with Section 18.3, the | 33 |
| adoption agency shall be subject to a monetary penalty of $500 | 34 |
| per day for each subsequent day of non-compliance. | 35 |
| Any reimbursements and fines, notwithstanding any | 36 |
| reimbursement directly to the petitioner, paid under this |
|
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HB4186 Enrolled |
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LRB094 14135 DRJ 49309 b |
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| subsection are in addition to other remedies a court may | 2 |
| otherwise impose by law. | 3 |
| Proceeds from the penalties paid to the Department of | 4 |
| Children and Family Services shall be deposited into the DCFS | 5 |
| Children's Services Fund. The Department of Children and Family | 6 |
| Services shall submit reports to the Confidential Intermediary | 7 |
| Advisory Council by July 1 and January 1 of each year in order | 8 |
| to report the penalties assessed and collected under this | 9 |
| subsection, the amounts of related deposits into the DCFS | 10 |
| Children's Services Fund, and any expenditures from such | 11 |
| deposits.
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| (Source: P.A. 93-189, eff. 1-1-04; 94-173, eff. 1-1-06.)
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| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect October | 14 |
| 1, 2006.
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