325 ILCS 5/7.8

(325 ILCS 5/7.8)

Sec. 7.8. Upon receiving an oral or written report of suspected child abuse or neglect, the Department shall immediately notify, either orally or electronically, the Child Protective Service Unit of a previous report concerning a subject of the present report or other pertinent information. In addition, upon satisfactory identification procedures, to be established by Department regulation, any person authorized to have access to records under Section 11.1 relating to child abuse and neglect may request and shall be immediately provided the information requested in accordance with this Act. However, no information shall be released unless it prominently states the report is "indicated", and only information from "indicated" reports shall be released, except that:

(1) Information concerning pending reports may be released pursuant to Sections 7.14 and 7.22 of this Act to the attorney or guardian ad litem appointed under Section 2-17 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 and to any person authorized under paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (11) of subsection (a) of Section 11.1.

(2) State's Attorneys are authorized to receive unfounded reports:

(A) for prosecution purposes related to the transmission of false reports of child abuse or neglect in violation of subsection (a), paragraph (7) of Section 26-1 of the Criminal Code of 2012; or

(B) for the purposes of screening and prosecuting a petition filed under Article II of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 alleging abuse or neglect relating to the same child, a sibling of the child, the same perpetrator, or a child or perpetrator in the same household as the child for whom the petition is being filed.

(3) The parties to the proceedings filed under Article II of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 are entitled to receive copies of unfounded reports regarding the same child, a sibling of the child, the same perpetrator, or a child or perpetrator in the same household as the child for purposes of hearings under Sections 2-10 and 2-21 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987.

(4) Attorneys and guardians ad litem appointed under Article II of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 shall receive the reports set forth in Section 7.14 of this Act in conformance with paragraph (19) of subsection (a) of Section 11.1 and Section 7.14 of this Act.

(5) The Department of Public Health shall receive information from unfounded reports involving children alleged to have been abused or neglected while hospitalized, including while hospitalized in freestanding psychiatric hospitals licensed by the Department of Public Health, as necessary for the Department of Public Health to conduct its licensing investigation.

(6) The Department is authorized and required to release information from unfounded reports, upon request by a person who has access to the unfounded report as provided in this Act, as necessary in its determination to protect children and adult residents who are in child care facilities licensed by the Department under the Child Care Act of 1969. The names and other identifying data and the dates and the circumstances of any persons requesting or receiving information from the central register shall be entered in the register record.

(Source: P.A. 101-43, eff. 1-1-20; 102-532, eff. 8-20-21; 102-813, eff. 5-13-22.)