325 ILCS 7/25

(325 ILCS 7/25)

(Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2027)

Sec. 25. Implementation.

(a) By January 1, 2023, the Department shall establish a steering committee consisting of an interdisciplinary, diverse group of child welfare professionals and advocates for the purpose of creating the Bias-Free Child Removal Pilot Program and the pre-implementation plan for the pilot program. The steering committee shall be diverse in regard to the geographic location, race/ethnicity, gender, and profession and lived experience of committee members. As used in this Section, "lived experience" includes knowledge and understanding of Department processes and policies. The steering committee shall develop and oversee the implementation of the Bias-Free Case Review Team and bias-free removal process. Once established, the steering committee shall initiate implementation of the pilot program ensuring: (i) organizational readiness; (ii) adequate data collection and analysis; (iii) professional development and training for the staff; and (iv) adherence to existing rules and State laws concerning child safety. The steering committee shall include, but not be limited to, the following members:

(1) A parent with lived experience in the child welfare system.

(2) A former youth in care with lived experience in the child welfare system.

(3) A member of an organization or office that represents children in abuse and neglect proceedings.

(4) A community-based organization that advocates for parents' rights within the child welfare system.

(5) A public or private university responsible for evaluating the pilot program.

(6) Five staff members from the Department, which shall include a child protection investigator, a child protection supervisor, the Deputy Director of the Department's Division of Child Protection, the Deputy Director of the Department's Division of Race Equity Practice, and the Deputy Director of the Department's Division of Intact Services.

(7) A licensed attorney who has practiced within the Illinois child welfare court system in a county represented in the pilot program such as, but not limited to, a public defender, an assistant state's attorney, a guardian ad litem, or a judge.

(8) A member of a statewide organization that advocates on behalf of community-based services for children and families.

(b) By January 1, 2024, the steering committee shall establish the pilot program for the purpose of addressing racial disproportionality in the child welfare system. The pilot program shall be implemented for a period of no less than 3 years in at least one office located in DuPage County, one office located in Champaign County, and one office located in Williamson County.

(c) The steering committee shall develop a written plan for the pilot program, in accordance with the goals of this Act, that shall be adopted by a unanimous vote.

(d) The steering committee must include in the development of the pilot program the following:

(1) Three permanent Bias-Free Case Review Team members for each county with a pilot program. The Review Team shall be diverse in regard to the members' geographic location, race and ethnicity, and gender. All Review Team members shall possess the knowledge, experience, understanding, and training equivalent to that of a child welfare caseworker or investigator, or higher. The Review Team shall be made up of the following:

(A) one child protection supervisor;

(B) one area administrator; and

(C) one regional administrator.

(2) At least 4 alternate Review Team members who meet the same criteria set forth in paragraph (1) to fill in if or when a permanent Review Team member is unable to participate or attend meetings.

(3) A decision regarding a timeline for convening the Bias-Free Case Review Team.

(4) Establishment of decision-making protocols for the following questions:

(i) What constitutes a child protection investigation meeting or not meeting the criteria to be presented to the Review Team?

(ii) Who decides to bring the investigation to the Review Team?

(iii) How and when the Review Team is to convene during holidays, weekends, and after normal business hours?

(e) The steering committee shall ensure that the pilot program includes:

(1) A timeline for when the Bias-Free Case Review Team shall convene.

(2) How and when the child protection investigator or child protection supervisor shall present the investigation to the Bias-Free Case Review Team.

(3) A requirement that, prior to the Review Team convening, the following demographic and identifiable information must be removed from the case notes, intake summary, and investigation:

(A) The name of the child and the child's parents.

(B) The race or ethnicity of the child and the child's parents, except when the allegations require thoughtful considerations pertaining to a family's culture, ethnicity, or religion.

(C) The sexual orientation or gender identity of the child and the child's parents, except when the allegations require thoughtful considerations pertaining to the LGBTQ status or gender identity of the child.

(D) The religious affiliation or beliefs of the child and the child's parents, except when the allegations require thoughtful considerations pertaining to a family's culture, ethnicity, or religion.

(E) The disability status of a parent, except when the allegations require thoughtful considerations pertaining to a family's disability status.

(F) The political affiliation or beliefs of the child and the child's parents.

(G) The marital status of the child's parents.

(H) The income level of the child's parents.

(I) The education level of the child's parents.

(J) Any reference to the location of the neighborhood or county of the parent's address.

Redacting the demographic and identifiable information from the intake summary, case notes, and investigation reduces the potential for biased decision making among Review Team members. In adherence with the standards under the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act and Department rules, the focus shall instead be on the evidence of safety factors, risk elements, and family strengths. If removal is identified as unwarranted, the Review Team shall make appropriate recommendations to ensure the safety and well-being of the child, including, but not limited to, voluntary or court-ordered intact family services.

The pilot program shall not prevent a child protection investigator or supervisor from performing routine assignments required under Department policy after taking protective custody of a child.

The redaction of case file information or the preparation of case files for the Review Team shall not be completed by the child protection investigator or the child protection supervisor.

Agreement by a majority of the Review Team members, as shall be outlined in protocol, is needed to render a final decision.

(f) The Department shall develop a tool or rubric for the Review Team to fully document the decision-making process and what led to the final decision.

(1) The Review Team shall make a decision on whether the child's removal from the child's home should be upheld or the child should be returned home to the child's parent.

(2) The Review Team shall submit to the child protection team (child protection worker, child protection supervisor, and area administrator) the final decision in writing.

(g) The steering committee shall have the authority to include additional parameters in developing the pilot program, as necessary, to remain consistent with and fulfill the purpose and goal of the pilot program.

(h) Cases that shall not be included in the pilot program:

(1) Where protective custody is taken by law enforcement or a medical professional.

(2) Cases that involve a forensic interview by a child protective investigator or law enforcement.

(3) Cases that include photographs of injuries.

(4) Any case where the child welfare court has made a determination on the issue of custody.

(i) There is established a Bias-Free Child Removal Advisory Board with the knowledge and understanding of the Department's policies, rules, and procedures that shall include up to 2 of the following members, per pilot area:

(1) community-based partners from the fields of domestic violence, substance abuse, mental health, or housing;

(2) public or private university partners;

(3) a member of an organization that advocates on behalf of parents and families;

(4) a member of an organization that legally represents children who are involved in the foster care system, in the court process;

(5) a member of a statewide organization that advocates on behalf of community-based services for children and families;

(6) a parent with lived experience in the child welfare system;

(7) a former youth in care with lived experience in the child welfare system; and

(8) a member of an organization or office that represents children in legal abuse and neglect proceedings.

The Advisory Board shall be present with the Bias-Free Review Team for all case reviews for the purpose of ensuring that the Review Team executes bias-free removals in accordance with this Act. The Advisory Board shall not be responsible for any decision making.

(j) The Department shall adopt the written protocols developed by the steering committee.

(k) Criteria for determining success. The pilot program shall be considered successful and expanded statewide if it is implemented with fidelity and the evaluation reveals that disproportionality of BIPOC children is reduced by the end of the pilot program. The pilot program shall not be expanded statewide if the evaluation reveals that the bias-free removal process did not reduce disproportionality.

(l) The Department shall adopt rules, policies, and procedures necessary to implement this Act with the assistance of the steering committee. The Department shall present findings of the evaluation to the General Assembly on a yearly basis, with the first report due on January 1, 2025. After year 3 of the pilot program, the Department shall determine the need to expand the pilot program statewide, if data shows an impact on disproportionality, and shall provide a justification for or against statewide expansion. The pilot program does not create a private cause of action in case there is a problem with the application of the bias-free removal process.

(Source: P.A. 102-1087, eff. 6-10-22.)