(305 ILCS 5/10-17.7)
Sec. 10-17.7. Administrative determination of paternity. The Illinois
Department may provide by rule for the administrative determination of
paternity by the Child and Spouse Support Unit in cases involving applicants
for or recipients of financial aid under Article IV of this Act and other
persons who are given access to the child support
enforcement services of this
Article as provided in Section 10-1, including persons similarly situated and
receiving similar services in other states. The rules shall extend to cases in
which the mother and alleged father voluntarily acknowledge paternity in the
form required by the Illinois Department or agree
to be bound by the results of genetic testing or in which the alleged
father
has failed to respond to a notification of support obligation issued under
Section 10-4 and to cases of contested paternity. The Illinois
Department's form for voluntary acknowledgement of paternity shall be the same form prepared by the Illinois Department for use under the requirements of Section 12 of the Vital Records Act. Any
presumption provided for under the Illinois Parentage Act of
1984 or under the Illinois Parentage Act of 2015 on and after the effective date of that Act shall apply to cases in which paternity is determined under the rules of
the Illinois Department. The rules shall provide for notice and an opportunity
to be heard by the responsible relative and the person receiving child support enforcement services under this Article if paternity is
not
voluntarily acknowledged, and any final administrative
decision rendered by the Illinois Department shall be reviewed only under and
in accordance with the Administrative Review Law. Determinations of paternity
made by the Illinois Department under the rules authorized by this Section
shall
have the full force and effect of a court judgment of paternity entered under
the Illinois Parentage Act of 1984 or under the Illinois Parentage Act of 2015.
In determining paternity in contested cases, the Illinois Department shall
conduct the evidentiary hearing in accordance with Article 4 of the Illinois Parentage Act of 2015, except that references in that Article to "the court" shall be
deemed to mean the Illinois Department's hearing officer in cases in which
paternity is determined administratively by the Illinois Department.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Article, a
default determination
of
paternity may be made if service of the notice under Section 10-4 was made by
publication under the rules for administrative paternity determination
authorized by this Section. The rules as they pertain to service by
publication shall (i) be based on the provisions of Section 2-206 and 2-207 of
the Code of Civil Procedure, (ii) provide for service by publication in cases
in which
the whereabouts of the alleged father are unknown after diligent location
efforts by the Child and Spouse Support Unit, and (iii) provide for publication
of a notice of default paternity determination in the same manner that the
notice under Section 10-4 was published.
The Illinois Department
may implement this Section through the use of emergency rules in accordance
with Section 5-45 of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act. For purposes
of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act, the adoption of rules to
implement this Section shall be considered an emergency and necessary for
the public interest, safety, and welfare.
(Source: P.A. 99-85, eff. 1-1-16.)
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