(325 ILCS 5/7.21)
Sec. 7.21. Multidisciplinary Review Committee.
(a) The Department may establish multidisciplinary review committees in each
region of the State to assure that mandated reporters have the ability to have
a review conducted on any situation where a child abuse or neglect report made
by them was "unfounded", and they have concerns about the adequacy of the
investigation.
These committees shall draw upon the expertise of the Child Death Review
Teams as necessary and practicable. Each committee will be composed of the
following: a
health care professional, a Department employee, a law enforcement official, a
licensed social
worker, and a representative of the State's attorney's office. In appointing
members of a committee, primary consideration shall be given to a prospective
member's prior experience in dealing with cases of suspected child abuse or
neglect.
(b) Whenever the Department determines that a reported incident of child
abuse or neglect from a mandated reporter is "unfounded", the mandated reporter
may request a review of the investigation within 10 days of the notification of
the final finding.
A review under this subsection will be conducted by the
committee.
The
Department shall make available to the committee all information in the
Department's possession concerning the case. The committee shall make
recommendations to the Department as to the adequacy of the investigation and
of the accuracy of the final finding determination. These findings shall be
forwarded to the Regional Child Protection Manager.
(c) The Department shall provide complete records of these investigations to
the committee. Records provided to the committee and recommendation reports
generated by the committee shall not be public record.
(c-5) On or before October 1 of each year, the Department shall prepare a
report setting forth (i) the number of investigations
reviewed by each committee during the previous fiscal year and (ii) the number
of those investigations that the committee found to be
inadequate. The report shall also include a summary of the committee's
comments and a summary of the corrective action, if any, that
was taken in response to the committee's recommendations. The report shall be
a public record. The Department shall submit the
report to the General Assembly and shall make the report available to the
public upon request.
(d) The Department shall adopt rules to implement this Section.
(Source: P.A. 98-453, eff. 8-16-13.)
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