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90_HB0165ham001
LRB9000741DJfgam01
1 AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 165
2 AMENDMENT NO. . Amend House Bill 165 by replacing
3 the title with the following:
4 "AN ACT concerning children."; and
5 by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the
6 following:
7 "ARTICLE 5.
8 Section 5-1. Short title. This Article may be cited as
9 the Interstate Compact on Adoption Act, and references in
10 this Article to "this Act" mean this Article.
11 Section 5-5. Findings. The legislature finds that:
12 (1) Finding adoptive families for children, for whom
13 state assistance is desirable pursuant to subsection (j) of
14 Section 5 of the Children and Family Services Act, and
15 ensuring the protection of the interest of the children
16 affected during the entire assistance period, require special
17 measures when the adoptive parents move to other states or
18 are residents of another state.
19 (2) Provision of medical and other necessary services
20 for children, with state assistance, encounters special
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1 difficulties when the provision of services takes place in
2 other states.
3 Section 5-10. Purposes. The purposes of the Act are to:
4 (1) Authorize the Illinois Department of Children and
5 Family Services to enter into interstate agreements with
6 agencies of other states for the protection of children on
7 behalf of whom adoption assistance is being provided by the
8 Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.
9 (2) Provide procedures for interstate children's
10 adoption assistance payments, including medical payments.
11 Section 5-15. Definitions. As used in this Act, unless
12 the context clearly indicates otherwise:
13 "Adoption assistance state" means the state that is
14 signatory to an adoption assistance agreement in a particular
15 case.
16 "Residence state" means the state where the child is
17 living.
18 "State" means a state of the United States, the District
19 of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin
20 Islands, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana
21 Islands, or a Territory or Possession of or administered by
22 the United States.
23 Section 5-20. Compacts authorized. The Illinois
24 Department of Children and Family Services is authorized to
25 develop, participate in the development of, negotiate, and
26 enter into one or more interstate compacts on behalf of this
27 State with other states to implement one or more of the
28 purposes set forth in this Act. When so entered into, and
29 for so long as it shall remain in force, such a compact shall
30 have the force and effect of law.
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1 Section 5-25. Contents of compacts. A compact entered
2 into pursuant to the authority conferred by this Act shall
3 contain the following:
4 (1) A provision making it available for joinder by
5 all states.
6 (2) A provision or provisions for withdrawal from
7 the compact upon written notice to the parties, but with
8 a period of one year between the date of the notice and
9 the effective date of the withdrawal.
10 (3) A requirement that the protections afforded by
11 or pursuant to the compact continue in force for the
12 duration of the adoption assistance and be applicable to
13 all children and their adoptive parents who on the
14 effective date of the withdrawal are receiving adoption
15 assistance from a party state other than the one in which
16 they are resident and have their principal place of
17 abode.
18 (4) A requirement that each instance of adoption
19 assistance to which the compact applies be covered by an
20 adoption assistance agreement in writing between the
21 adoptive parents and the state child welfare agency of
22 the state that undertakes to provide the adoption
23 assistance, and further, that any such agreement be
24 expressly for the benefit of the adopted child and
25 enforceable by the adoptive parents and the state agency
26 providing the adoption assistance.
27 (5) Other provisions that may be appropriate to
28 implement the proper administration of the compact.
29 Section 5-30. Optional contents of compacts. A compact
30 entered into pursuant to the authority conferred by this Act
31 may contain provisions in addition to those required pursuant
32 to Section 5-25 of this Act, as follows:
33 (1) Provisions establishing procedures for and
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1 entitlement to medical and other necessary social
2 services for the child in accordance with applicable
3 laws, even though the child and the adoptive parents are
4 in a state other than the one responsible for or
5 providing the services or the funds to defray part or all
6 of the costs of the services.
7 (2) Other provisions that may be appropriate or
8 incidental to the proper administration of the compact.
9 Section 5-35. Medical assistance.
10 (a) A child with special needs who resides in this State
11 and who is the subject of an adoption assistance agreement
12 with another state shall be eligible for medical assistance
13 from this State under Article V of the Illinois Public Aid
14 Code upon the filing of agreed documentation obtained from
15 the assistance state and filed with the Illinois Department
16 of Public Aid. The Department of Children and Family Services
17 shall be required at least annually to establish that the
18 agreement is still in force or has been renewed.
19 (b) If a child (i) is in another state, (ii) is covered
20 by an adoption assistance agreement made by the Illinois
21 Department of Children and Family Services, and (iii) was
22 eligible for medical assistance under Article V of the
23 Illinois Public Aid Code at the time he or she resided in
24 this State and would continue to be eligible for that
25 assistance if he or she was currently residing in this State,
26 then that child is eligible for medical assistance under
27 Article V of the Illinois Public Aid Code, but only for those
28 medical assistance benefits under Article V that are not
29 provided by the other state. There shall be no payment or
30 reimbursement by this State for services or benefits covered
31 under any insurance or other third party medical contract or
32 arrangement held by the child or the adoptive parents.
33 (c) The submission of any claim for payment or
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1 reimbursement for services or benefits pursuant to this
2 Section or the making of any statement in connection
3 therewith, which claim or statement the maker knows or should
4 know to be false, misleading, or fraudulent, shall be
5 punishable as perjury and shall also be subject to a fine not
6 to exceed $10,000 or imprisonment for not to exceed 2 years,
7 or both.
8 (d) The provisions of this Section shall apply only to
9 medical assistance for children under adoption assistance
10 agreements from states that have entered into a compact with
11 this State under which the other state provided medical
12 assistance to children with special needs under adoption
13 assistance agreements made by this State.
14 (e) The Illinois Department of Children and Family
15 Services and the Illinois Department of Public Aid may adopt
16 all rules necessary to implement this Section.
17 Section 5-40. Federal participation. Consistent with
18 federal law, the Illinois Department of Children and Family
19 Services and the Illinois Department of Public Aid or the
20 Illinois Department of Human Services, as the successor
21 agency of the Illinois Department of Public Aid, in
22 connection with the administration of this Act and any
23 compact entered into pursuant to this Act, shall include in
24 any state plan made pursuant to the Adoption Assistance and
25 Child Welfare Act of 1980 (P.L. 96-272), Titles IV (e) and
26 XIX of the Social Security Act, and any other applicable
27 federal laws the provision of adoption assistance and medical
28 assistance for which the federal government pays some or all
29 of the cost. The Department of Children and Family Services
30 and the Illinois Department of Public Aid or the Department
31 of Human Services, as the successor agency of the Illinois
32 Department of Public Aid, shall apply for and administer all
33 relevant federal aid in accordance with law.
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1 ARTICLE 10
2 Section 10-5. The Children and Family Services Act is
3 amended by changing Sections 5, 6a, 7, and 7.7 as follows:
4 (20 ILCS 505/5) (from Ch. 23, par. 5005)
5 (Text of Section before amendment by P.A. 89-507)
6 Sec. 5. To provide direct child welfare services when
7 not available through other public or private child care or
8 program facilities.
9 (a) For purposes of this Section:
10 (1) "Children" means persons found within the State
11 who are under the age of 18 years. The term also
12 includes persons under age 19 who:
13 (A) were committed to the Department pursuant
14 to the Juvenile Court Act or the Juvenile Court Act
15 of 1987, as amended, prior to the age of 18 and who
16 continue under the jurisdiction of the court; or
17 (B) were accepted for care, service and
18 training by the Department prior to the age of 18
19 and whose best interest in the discretion of the
20 Department would be served by continuing that care,
21 service and training because of severe emotional
22 disturbances, physical disability, social adjustment
23 or any combination thereof, or because of the need
24 to complete an educational or vocational training
25 program.
26 (2) "Homeless youth" means persons found within the
27 State who are under the age of 19, are not in a safe and
28 stable living situation and cannot be reunited with their
29 families.
30 (3) "Child welfare services" means public social
31 services which are directed toward the accomplishment of
32 the following purposes:
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1 (A) protecting and promoting the welfare of
2 children, including homeless, dependent or neglected
3 children;
4 (B) preventing or remedying, or assisting in
5 the solution of problems which may result in, the
6 neglect, abuse, exploitation or delinquency of
7 children;
8 (C) preventing the unnecessary separation of
9 children from their families by identifying family
10 problems, assisting families in resolving their
11 problems, and preventing the breakup of the family
12 where the prevention of child removal is desirable
13 and possible;
14 (D) restoring to their families children who
15 have been removed, by the provision of services to
16 the child and the families;
17 (E) placing children in suitable adoptive
18 homes, in cases where restoration to the biological
19 family is not possible or appropriate;
20 (F) assuring adequate care of children away
21 from their homes, in cases where the child cannot be
22 returned home or cannot be placed for adoption;
23 (G) providing supportive services and living
24 maintenance which contribute to the physical,
25 emotional and social well-being of children who are
26 pregnant and unmarried;
27 (H) providing shelter and independent living
28 services for homeless youth; and
29 (I) placing and maintaining children in
30 facilities that provide separate living quarters for
31 children under the age of 18 and for children 18
32 years of age and older, unless a child 18 years of
33 age is in the last year of high school education or
34 vocational training, in an approved individual or
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1 group treatment program, or in a licensed shelter
2 facility. The Department is not required to place or
3 maintain children:
4 (i) who are in a foster home, or
5 (ii) who are persons with a developmental
6 disability, as defined in the Mental Health and
7 Developmental Disabilities Code, or
8 (iii) who are female children who are
9 pregnant, pregnant and parenting or parenting,
10 or
11 (iv) who are siblings,
12 in facilities that provide separate living quarters
13 for children 18 years of age and older and for
14 children under 18 years of age.
15 (b) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to
16 authorize the expenditure of public funds for the purpose of
17 performing abortions.
18 (c) The Department shall establish and maintain
19 tax-supported child welfare services and extend and seek to
20 improve voluntary services throughout the State, to the end
21 that services and care shall be available on an equal basis
22 throughout the State to children requiring such services.
23 (d) The Director may authorize advance disbursements for
24 any new program initiative to any agency contracting with the
25 Department. As a prerequisite for an advance disbursement,
26 the contractor must post a surety bond in the amount of the
27 advance disbursement and have a purchase of service contract
28 approved by the Department. The Department may pay up to 2
29 months operational expenses in advance. The amount of the
30 advance disbursement shall be prorated over the life of the
31 contract or the remaining months of the fiscal year,
32 whichever is less, and the installment amount shall then be
33 deducted from future bills. Advance disbursement
34 authorizations for new initiatives shall not be made to any
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1 agency after that agency has operated during 2 consecutive
2 fiscal years. The requirements of this Section concerning
3 advance disbursements shall not apply with respect to the
4 following: payments to local public agencies for child day
5 care services as authorized by Section 5a of this Act; and
6 youth service programs receiving grant funds under Section
7 17a-4.
8 (e) For the purpose of insuring effective state-wide
9 planning, development, and utilization of resources for the
10 day care of children, operated under various auspices, the
11 Department is hereby designated to coordinate all day care
12 activities for children of the State and shall:
13 (1) Develop on or before December 1, 1977, and
14 update every year thereafter, a state comprehensive
15 day-care plan for submission to the Governor which
16 identifies high-priority areas and groups, relating them
17 to available resources, and identifying the most
18 effective approaches to the use of existing day care
19 services. The State comprehensive day-care plan shall be
20 made available to the General Assembly following the
21 Governor's approval of the plan.
22 The plan shall include methods and procedures for
23 the development of additional day care resources for
24 children to meet the goal of reducing short-run and
25 long-run dependency and to provide necessary enrichment
26 and stimulation to the education of young children.
27 Recommendation shall be made for State policy on optimum
28 use of private and public, local, state and federal
29 resources, including an estimate of the resources needed
30 for the licensing and regulation of day care facilities.
31 A written report shall be submitted to the Governor
32 and the General Assembly, annually, on April 15, and
33 shall include an evaluation of developments over the
34 preceding fiscal year, including cost-benefit analyses of
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1 various arrangements. Beginning with the report in 1990
2 and every 2 years thereafter, the report shall also
3 include the following:
4 (A) An assessment of the child care services,
5 needs and available resources throughout the State
6 and an assessment of the adequacy of existing child
7 care services, including, but not limited to,
8 services assisted under this Act and under any other
9 program administered by other State agencies.
10 (B) A survey of day care facilities to
11 determine the number of qualified caregivers, as
12 defined by rule, attracted to vacant positions and
13 any problems encountered by facilities in attracting
14 and retaining capable caregivers.
15 (C) The average wages and salaries and fringe
16 benefit packages paid to caregivers throughout the
17 State, computed on a regional basis.
18 (D) The qualifications of new caregivers hired
19 at licensed day care facilities during the previous
20 2 year period.
21 (E) Recommendations for increasing caregiver
22 wages and salaries to insure quality care for
23 children.
24 (F) Evaluation of the fee structure and income
25 eligibility for child care subsidized by the State.
26 The requirement for reporting to the General
27 Assembly shall be satisfied by filing copies of the
28 report with the Speaker, the Minority Leader and the
29 Clerk of the House of Representatives and the President,
30 the Minority Leader and the Secretary of the Senate and
31 the Legislative Research Unit, as required by Section 3.1
32 of the General Assembly Organization Act, and filing such
33 additional copies with the State Government Report
34 Distribution Center for the General Assembly as is
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1 required under paragraph (t) of Section 7 of the State
2 Library Act.
3 (2) Establish policies and procedures for
4 developing and implementing interagency agreements with
5 other agencies of the State providing child care services
6 or reimbursement for such services.
7 (3) In cooperation with other State agencies,
8 develop and implement a resource and referral system for
9 the State of Illinois either within the Department or by
10 contract with local or regional agencies. Funding for
11 implementation of this system may be provided through
12 Department appropriations or other inter-agency funding
13 arrangements. The resource and referral system shall
14 provide at least the following services:
15 (A) assembling and maintaining a data base on
16 the supply of child care services;
17 (B) providing information and referrals for
18 parents;
19 (C) coordinating the development of new child
20 care resources;
21 (D) providing technical assistance and
22 training to child care service providers; and
23 (E) recording and analyzing the demand for
24 child care services.
25 The Department shall complete implementation of this
26 resource and referral system in all regions of the State
27 by January 1, 1992.
28 (4) Conduct day care planning activities with the
29 following priorities:
30 (A) development of voluntary day care
31 resources wherever possible, with the provision for
32 grants-in-aid only where demonstrated to be useful
33 and necessary as incentives or supports;
34 (B) emphasis on service to children of
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1 recipients of public assistance where such service
2 will allow training or employment of the parent
3 toward achieving the goal of independence;
4 (C) maximum employment of recipients of public
5 assistance in day care centers and day care homes,
6 operated in conjunction with short-term work
7 training programs;
8 (D) care of children from families in stress
9 and crises whose members potentially may become, or
10 are in danger of becoming, non-productive and
11 dependent;
12 (E) expansion of family day care facilities
13 wherever possible;
14 (F) location of centers in economically
15 depressed neighborhoods, preferably in multi-service
16 centers with cooperation of other agencies;
17 (G) use of existing facilities free of charge
18 or for reasonable rental wherever possible in lieu
19 of construction;
20 (H) development of strategies for assuring a
21 more complete range of day care options, including
22 provision of day care services in homes, in schools
23 or in centers, which will enable a parent or parents
24 to complete a course of education or obtain or
25 maintain employment.
26 Emphasis shall be given to support services which
27 will help to ensure such parents' graduation from high
28 school and to services for participants in the Project
29 Chance program of job training conducted by the Illinois
30 Department of Public Aid.
31 (5) Actively stimulate the development of public
32 and private resources at the local level. It shall also
33 seek the fullest utilization of federal funds directly or
34 indirectly available to the Department.
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1 Where appropriate, existing non-governmental agencies or
2 associations shall be involved in planning by the Department.
3 (f) The Department, pursuant to a contract with the
4 Illinois Department of Public Aid, may provide child care
5 services to former recipients of assistance under The
6 Illinois Public Aid Code as authorized by Section 9-6.3 of
7 that Code.
8 (g) The Department shall establish rules and regulations
9 concerning its operation of programs designed to meet the
10 goals of child protection, family preservation, family
11 reunification, adoption and youth development, including but
12 not limited to:
13 (1) adoption;
14 (2) foster care;
15 (3) family counseling;
16 (4) protective services;
17 (5) service to unwed mothers;
18 (6) homemaker service;
19 (7) return of runaway children;
20 (8) independent living skills and shelter for
21 homeless youth;
22 (9) placement under Section 5-7 of the Juvenile
23 Court Act or Section 2-27, 3-28, 4-25 or 5-29 of the
24 Juvenile Court Act of 1987 in accordance with the federal
25 Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980; and
26 (10) interstate services.
27 Rules and regulations established by the Department shall
28 include provisions for training Department staff and the
29 staff of Department grantees, through contracts with other
30 agencies or resources, in alcohol and drug abuse screening
31 techniques to identify children and adults who should be
32 referred to an alcohol and drug abuse treatment program for
33 professional evaluation.
34 (h) If the Department finds that there is no appropriate
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1 program or facility within or available to the Department for
2 a ward and that no licensed private facility has an adequate
3 and appropriate program or none agrees to accept the ward,
4 the Department shall create an appropriate individualized,
5 program-oriented plan for such ward. The plan may be
6 developed within the Department or through purchase of
7 services by the Department to the extent that it is within
8 its statutory authority to do.
9 (i) Service programs shall be available throughout the
10 State and shall include but not be limited to the following
11 services:
12 (1) case management;
13 (2) homemakers;
14 (3) counseling;
15 (4) parent education;
16 (5) day care; and
17 (6) emergency assistance and advocacy.
18 In addition, the following services may be made available
19 to assess and meet the needs of children and families:
20 (1) comprehensive family-based services;
21 (2) assessments;
22 (3) respite care; and
23 (4) in-home health services.
24 The Department shall provide transportation for any of
25 the services it makes available to children or families or
26 for which it refers children or families.
27 (j) The Department may provide financial assistance, and
28 shall establish rules and regulations concerning such
29 assistance, to persons who adopt physically or mentally
30 handicapped, older and other hard-to-place children who
31 immediately prior to their adoption were legal wards of the
32 Department. The Department may also provide financial
33 assistance, and shall establish rules and regulations for
34 such assistance, to persons appointed guardian of the person
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1 under Section 5-7 of the Juvenile Court Act or Section 2-27,
2 3-28, 4-25 or 5-29 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 for
3 children who were wards of the Department for 12 months
4 immediately prior to the appointment of the successor
5 guardian and for whom the Department has set a goal of
6 permanent family placement with a foster family.
7 The amount of assistance may vary, depending upon the
8 needs of the child and the adoptive parents, but must be at
9 least $25 less than the monthly cost of care of the child in
10 a foster home, as set forth in the annual assistance
11 agreement. Special purpose grants are allowed where the
12 child requires special service but such costs may not exceed
13 the amounts which similar services would cost the Department
14 if it were to provide or secure them as guardian of the
15 child.
16 Any financial assistance provided under this subsection
17 is inalienable by assignment, sale, execution, attachment,
18 garnishment, or any other remedy for recovery or collection
19 of a judgment or debt.
20 (k) The Department shall accept for care and training
21 any child who has been adjudicated neglected or abused, or
22 dependent committed to it pursuant to the Juvenile Court Act
23 or the Juvenile Court Act of 1987.
24 (l) Before July 1, 2000, the Department may provide, and
25 beginning July 1, 2000, the Department shall provide, family
26 preservation services, as determined to be appropriate and in
27 the child's best interests and when the child will not be in
28 imminent risk of harm, to any family whose child has been
29 placed in substitute care, any persons who have adopted a
30 child and require post-adoption services, or any persons
31 whose child or children are at risk of being placed outside
32 their home as documented by an "indicated" report of
33 suspected child abuse or neglect determined pursuant to the
34 Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act. Nothing in this
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1 paragraph shall be construed to create a private right of
2 action or claim on the part of any individual or child
3 welfare agency.
4 The Department shall notify the child and his family of
5 the Department's responsibility to offer and provide family
6 preservation services as identified in the service plan. The
7 child and his family shall be eligible for services as soon
8 as the report is determined to be "indicated". The
9 Department may offer services to any child or family with
10 respect to whom a report of suspected child abuse or neglect
11 has been filed, prior to concluding its investigation under
12 Section 7.12 of the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act.
13 However, the child's or family's willingness to accept
14 services shall not be considered in the investigation. The
15 Department may also provide services to any child or family
16 who is the subject of any report of suspected child abuse or
17 neglect or may refer such child or family to services
18 available from other agencies in the community, even if the
19 report is determined to be unfounded, if the conditions in
20 the child's or family's home are reasonably likely to subject
21 the child or family to future reports of suspected child
22 abuse or neglect. Acceptance of such services shall be
23 voluntary.
24 The Department may, at its discretion except for those
25 children also adjudicated neglected or dependent, accept for
26 care and training any child who has been adjudicated
27 addicted, as a truant minor in need of supervision or as a
28 minor requiring authoritative intervention, under the
29 Juvenile Court Act or the Juvenile Court Act of 1987, but no
30 such child shall be committed to the Department by any court
31 without the approval of the Department. A minor charged with
32 a criminal offense under the Criminal Code of 1961 or
33 adjudicated delinquent shall not be placed in the custody of
34 or committed to the Department by any court, except a minor
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1 less than 13 years of age committed to the Department under
2 Section 5-23 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987.
3 (m) The Department may assume temporary custody of any
4 child if:
5 (1) it has received a written consent to such
6 temporary custody signed by the parents of the child or
7 by the parent having custody of the child if the parents
8 are not living together or by the guardian or custodian
9 of the child if the child is not in the custody of either
10 parent, or
11 (2) the child is found in the State and neither a
12 parent, guardian nor custodian of the child can be
13 located.
14 If the child is found in his or her residence without a
15 parent, guardian, custodian or responsible caretaker, the
16 Department may, instead of removing the child and assuming
17 temporary custody, place an authorized representative of the
18 Department in that residence until such time as a parent,
19 guardian or custodian enters the home and expresses a
20 willingness and apparent ability to resume permanent charge
21 of the child, or until a relative enters the home and is
22 willing and able to assume charge of the child until a
23 parent, guardian or custodian enters the home and expresses
24 such willingness and ability to resume permanent charge.
25 After a caretaker has remained in the home for a period not
26 to exceed 12 hours, the Department must follow those
27 procedures outlined in Section 2-9, 3-11, 4-8 or 5-9 of the
28 Juvenile Court Act of 1987.
29 The Department shall have the authority, responsibilities
30 and duties that a legal custodian of the child would have
31 pursuant to subsection (9) of Section 1-3 of the Juvenile
32 Court Act of 1987. Whenever a child is taken into temporary
33 custody pursuant to an investigation under the Abused and
34 Neglected Child Reporting Act, or pursuant to a referral and
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1 acceptance under the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 of a minor in
2 limited custody, the Department, during the period of
3 temporary custody and before the child is brought before a
4 judicial officer as required by Section 2-9, 3-11, 4-8 or 5-9
5 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987, shall have the authority,
6 responsibilities and duties that a legal custodian of the
7 child would have under subsection (9) of Section 1-3 of the
8 Juvenile Court Act of 1987.
9 The Department shall ensure that any child taken into
10 custody is scheduled for an appointment for a medical
11 examination.
12 A parent, guardian or custodian of a child in the
13 temporary custody of the Department who would have custody of
14 the child if he were not in the temporary custody of the
15 Department may deliver to the Department a signed request
16 that the Department surrender the temporary custody of the
17 child. The Department may retain temporary custody of the
18 child for 10 days after the receipt of the request, during
19 which period the Department may cause to be filed a petition
20 pursuant to the Juvenile Court Act of 1987. If a petition is
21 so filed, the Department shall retain temporary custody of
22 the child until the court orders otherwise. If a petition is
23 not filed within the 10 day period, the child shall be
24 surrendered to the custody of the requesting parent, guardian
25 or custodian not later than the expiration of the 10 day
26 period, at which time the authority and duties of the
27 Department with respect to the temporary custody of the child
28 shall terminate.
29 (n) The Department may place children under 18 years of
30 age in licensed child care facilities when in the opinion of
31 the Department, appropriate services aimed at family
32 preservation have been unsuccessful or unavailable and such
33 placement would be for their best interest. Payment for
34 board, clothing, care, training and supervision of any child
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1 placed in a licensed child care facility may be made by the
2 Department, by the parents or guardians of the estates of
3 those children, or by both the Department and the parents or
4 guardians, except that no payments shall be made by the
5 Department for any child placed in a licensed child care
6 facility for board, clothing, care, training and supervision
7 of such a child that exceed the average per capita cost of
8 maintaining and of caring for a child in institutions for
9 dependent or neglected children operated by the Department.
10 However, such restriction on payments does not apply in cases
11 where children require specialized care and treatment for
12 problems of severe emotional disturbance, physical
13 disability, social adjustment, or any combination thereof and
14 suitable facilities for the placement of such children are
15 not available at payment rates within the limitations set
16 forth in this Section. All reimbursements for services
17 delivered shall be absolutely inalienable by assignment,
18 sale, attachment, garnishment or otherwise.
19 (o) The Department shall establish an administrative
20 review and appeal process for children and families who
21 request or receive child welfare services from the
22 Department. Children who are wards of the Department and are
23 placed by private child welfare agencies, and foster families
24 with whom those children are placed, shall be afforded the
25 same procedural and appeal rights as children and families in
26 the case of placement by the Department, including the right
27 to an initial review of a private agency decision by that
28 agency. The Department shall insure that any private child
29 welfare agency, which accepts wards of the Department for
30 placement, affords those rights to children and foster
31 families. The Department shall accept for administrative
32 review and an appeal hearing a complaint made by a child or
33 foster family concerning a decision following an initial
34 review by a private child welfare agency. An appeal of a
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1 decision concerning a change in the placement of a child
2 shall be conducted in an expedited manner.
3 (p) There is hereby created the Department of Children
4 and Family Services Emergency Assistance Fund from which the
5 Department may provide special financial assistance to
6 families which are in economic crisis when such assistance is
7 not available through other public or private sources and the
8 assistance is deemed necessary to prevent dissolution of the
9 family unit or to reunite families which have been separated
10 due to child abuse and neglect. The Department shall
11 establish administrative rules specifying the criteria for
12 determining eligibility for and the amount and nature of
13 assistance to be provided. The Department may also enter
14 into written agreements with private and public social
15 service agencies to provide emergency financial services to
16 families referred by the Department. Special financial
17 assistance payments shall be available to a family no more
18 than once during each fiscal year and the total payments to a
19 family may not exceed $500 during a fiscal year.
20 (q) The Department may receive and use, in their
21 entirety, for the benefit of children any gift, donation or
22 bequest of money or other property which is received on
23 behalf of such children, or any financial benefits to which
24 such children are or may become entitled while under the
25 jurisdiction or care of the Department.
26 The Department shall set up and administer no-cost,
27 interest-bearing savings accounts in appropriate financial
28 institutions ("individual accounts") for children for whom
29 the Department is legally responsible and who have been
30 determined eligible for Veterans' Benefits, Social Security
31 benefits, assistance allotments from the armed forces, court
32 ordered payments, parental voluntary payments, Supplemental
33 Security Income, Railroad Retirement payments, Black Lung
34 benefits, or other miscellaneous payments. Interest earned
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1 by each individual account shall be credited to the account,
2 unless disbursed in accordance with this subsection.
3 In disbursing funds from children's individual accounts,
4 the Department shall:
5 (1) Establish standards in accordance with State
6 and federal laws for disbursing money from children's
7 individual accounts. In all circumstances, the
8 Department's "Guardianship Administrator" or his or her
9 designee must approve disbursements from children's
10 individual accounts. The Department shall be responsible
11 for keeping complete records of all disbursements for
12 each individual account for any purpose.
13 (2) Calculate on a monthly basis the amounts paid
14 from State funds for the child's board and care, medical
15 care not covered under Medicaid, and social services; and
16 utilize funds from the child's individual account, as
17 covered by regulation, to reimburse those costs.
18 Monthly, disbursements from all children's individual
19 accounts, up to 1/12 of $13,000,000, shall be deposited
20 by the Department into the General Revenue Fund and the
21 balance over 1/12 of $13,000,000 into the DCFS Children's
22 Services Fund.
23 (3) Maintain any balance remaining after
24 reimbursing for the child's costs of care, as specified
25 in item (2). The balance shall accumulate in accordance
26 with relevant State and federal laws and shall be
27 disbursed to the child or his or her guardian, or to the
28 issuing agency.
29 (r) The Department shall promulgate regulations
30 encouraging all adoption agencies to voluntarily forward to
31 the Department or its agent names and addresses of all
32 persons who have applied for and have been approved for
33 adoption of a hard-to-place or handicapped child and the
34 names of such children who have not been placed for adoption.
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1 A list of such names and addresses shall be maintained by the
2 Department or its agent, and coded lists which maintain the
3 confidentiality of the person seeking to adopt the child and
4 of the child shall be made available, without charge, to
5 every adoption agency in the State to assist the agencies in
6 placing such children for adoption. The Department may
7 delegate to an agent its duty to maintain and make available
8 such lists. The Department shall ensure that such agent
9 maintains the confidentiality of the person seeking to adopt
10 the child and of the child.
11 (s) The Department of Children and Family Services may
12 establish and implement a program to reimburse Department and
13 private child welfare agency foster parents licensed by the
14 Department of Children and Family Services for damages
15 sustained by the foster parents as a result of the malicious
16 or negligent acts of foster children, as well as providing
17 third party coverage for such foster parents with regard to
18 actions of foster children to other individuals. Such
19 coverage will be secondary to the foster parent liability
20 insurance policy, if applicable. The program shall be funded
21 through appropriations from the General Revenue Fund,
22 specifically designated for such purposes.
23 (t) The Department shall perform home studies and
24 investigations and shall exercise supervision over visitation
25 as ordered by a court pursuant to the Illinois Marriage and
26 Dissolution of Marriage Act or the Adoption Act only if:
27 (1) an order entered by an Illinois court
28 specifically directs the Department to perform such
29 services; and
30 (2) the court has ordered one or both of the
31 parties to the proceeding to reimburse the Department for
32 its reasonable costs for providing such services in
33 accordance with Department rules, or has determined that
34 neither party is financially able to pay.
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1 The Department shall provide written notification to the
2 court of the specific arrangements for supervised visitation
3 and projected monthly costs within 60 days of the court
4 order. The Department shall send to the court information
5 related to the costs incurred except in cases where the court
6 has determined the parties are financially unable to pay. The
7 court may order additional periodic reports as appropriate.
8 (u) Whenever the Department places a child in a licensed
9 foster home, group home, child care institution, or in a
10 relative home, the Department shall provide to the caretaker:
11 (1) available detailed information concerning the
12 child's educational and health history, copies of
13 immunization records (including insurance and medical
14 card information), a history of the child's previous
15 placements, if any, and reasons for placement changes
16 excluding any information that identifies or reveals the
17 location of any previous caretaker;
18 (2) a copy of the child's portion of the client
19 service plan, including any visitation arrangement, and
20 all amendments or revisions to it as related to the
21 child; and
22 (3) information containing details of the child's
23 individualized educational plan when the child is
24 receiving special education services.
25 The caretaker shall be informed of any known social or
26 behavioral information (including, but not limited to, fire
27 setting, perpetuation of sexual abuse, destructive behavior,
28 and substance abuse) necessary to care for and safeguard the
29 child.
30 (u-5) Effective July 1, 1995, only foster care
31 placements licensed as foster family homes pursuant to the
32 Child Care Act of 1969 shall be eligible to receive foster
33 care payments from the Department. Relative caregivers who,
34 as of July 1, 1995, were approved pursuant to approved
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1 relative placement rules previously promulgated by the
2 Department at 89 Ill. Adm. Code 335 and had submitted an
3 application for licensure as a foster family home may
4 continue to receive foster care payments only until the
5 Department determines that they may be licensed as a foster
6 family home or that their application for licensure is denied
7 or until September 30, 1995, whichever occurs first.
8 (v) The Department shall access criminal history record
9 information as defined in the Illinois Uniform Conviction
10 Information Act and information maintained in the
11 adjudicatory and dispositional record system as defined in
12 subdivision (A)19 of Section 55a of the Civil Administrative
13 Code of Illinois if the Department determines the information
14 is necessary to perform its duties under the Abused and
15 Neglected Child Reporting Act, the Child Care Act of 1969,
16 and the Children and Family Services Act. The Department
17 shall provide for interactive computerized communication and
18 processing equipment that permits direct on-line
19 communication with the Department of State Police's central
20 criminal history data repository. The Department shall
21 comply with all certification requirements and provide
22 certified operators who have been trained by personnel from
23 the Department of State Police. In addition, one Office of
24 the Inspector General investigator shall have training in the
25 use of the criminal history information access system and
26 have access to the terminal. The Department of Children and
27 Family Services and its employees shall abide by rules and
28 regulations established by the Department of State Police
29 relating to the access and dissemination of this information.
30 (w) Within 120 days of August 20, 1995 (the effective
31 date of Public Act 89-392), the Department shall prepare and
32 submit to the Governor and the General Assembly, a written
33 plan for the development of in-state licensed secure child
34 care facilities that care for children who are in need of
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1 secure living arrangements for their health, safety, and
2 well-being. For purposes of this subsection, secure care
3 facility shall mean a facility that is designed and operated
4 to ensure that all entrances and exits from the facility, a
5 building or a distinct part of the building, are under the
6 exclusive control of the staff of the facility, whether or
7 not the child has the freedom of movement within the
8 perimeter of the facility, building, or distinct part of the
9 building. The plan shall include descriptions of the types
10 of facilities that are needed in Illinois; the cost of
11 developing these secure care facilities; the estimated number
12 of placements; the potential cost savings resulting from the
13 movement of children currently out-of-state who are projected
14 to be returned to Illinois; the necessary geographic
15 distribution of these facilities in Illinois; and a proposed
16 timetable for development of such facilities.
17 (Source: P.A. 88-380; 88-398; 88-487; 88-614, eff. 9-7-94;
18 88-670, eff. 12-2-94; 89-21, eff. 6-6-95; 89-392, eff.
19 8-20-95; 89-626, eff. 8-9-96.)
20 (Text of Section after amendment by P.A. 89-507)
21 Sec. 5. Direct child welfare services; Department of
22 Children and Family Services. To provide direct child welfare
23 services when not available through other public or private
24 child care or program facilities.
25 (a) For purposes of this Section:
26 (1) "Children" means persons found within the State
27 who are under the age of 18 years. The term also
28 includes persons under age 19 who:
29 (A) were committed to the Department pursuant
30 to the Juvenile Court Act or the Juvenile Court Act
31 of 1987, as amended, prior to the age of 18 and who
32 continue under the jurisdiction of the court; or
33 (B) were accepted for care, service and
34 training by the Department prior to the age of 18
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1 and whose best interest in the discretion of the
2 Department would be served by continuing that care,
3 service and training because of severe emotional
4 disturbances, physical disability, social adjustment
5 or any combination thereof, or because of the need
6 to complete an educational or vocational training
7 program.
8 (2) "Homeless youth" means persons found within the
9 State who are under the age of 19, are not in a safe and
10 stable living situation and cannot be reunited with their
11 families.
12 (3) "Child welfare services" means public social
13 services which are directed toward the accomplishment of
14 the following purposes:
15 (A) protecting and promoting the health,
16 safety and welfare of children, including homeless,
17 dependent or neglected children;
18 (B) remedying, or assisting in the solution of
19 problems which may result in, the neglect, abuse,
20 exploitation or delinquency of children;
21 (C) preventing the unnecessary separation of
22 children from their families by identifying family
23 problems, assisting families in resolving their
24 problems, and preventing the breakup of the family
25 where the prevention of child removal is desirable
26 and possible when the child can be cared for at home
27 without endangering the child's health and safety;
28 (D) restoring to their families children who
29 have been removed, by the provision of services to
30 the child and the families when the child can be
31 cared for at home without endangering the child's
32 health and safety;
33 (E) placing children in suitable adoptive
34 homes, in cases where restoration to the biological
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1 family is not safe, possible or appropriate;
2 (F) assuring safe and adequate care of
3 children away from their homes, in cases where the
4 child cannot be returned home or cannot be placed
5 for adoption. At the time of placement, the
6 Department shall consider concurrent planning, as
7 described in Section subsection (l-1) of this
8 Section so that permanency may occur at the earliest
9 opportunity. Consideration should be given so that
10 if reunification fails or is delayed, the placement
11 made is the best available placement to provide
12 permanency for the child;
13 (G) (blank);
14 (H) (blank); and
15 (I) placing and maintaining children in
16 facilities that provide separate living quarters for
17 children under the age of 18 and for children 18
18 years of age and older, unless a child 18 years of
19 age is in the last year of high school education or
20 vocational training, in an approved individual or
21 group treatment program, or in a licensed shelter
22 facility. The Department is not required to place or
23 maintain children:
24 (i) who are in a foster home, or
25 (ii) who are persons with a developmental
26 disability, as defined in the Mental Health and
27 Developmental Disabilities Code, or
28 (iii) who are female children who are
29 pregnant, pregnant and parenting or parenting,
30 or
31 (iv) who are siblings,
32 in facilities that provide separate living quarters
33 for children 18 years of age and older and for
34 children under 18 years of age.
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1 (b) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to
2 authorize the expenditure of public funds for the purpose of
3 performing abortions.
4 (c) The Department shall establish and maintain
5 tax-supported child welfare services and extend and seek to
6 improve voluntary services throughout the State, to the end
7 that services and care shall be available on an equal basis
8 throughout the State to children requiring such services.
9 (d) The Director may authorize advance disbursements for
10 any new program initiative to any agency contracting with the
11 Department. As a prerequisite for an advance disbursement,
12 the contractor must post a surety bond in the amount of the
13 advance disbursement and have a purchase of service contract
14 approved by the Department. The Department may pay up to 2
15 months operational expenses in advance. The amount of the
16 advance disbursement shall be prorated over the life of the
17 contract or the remaining months of the fiscal year,
18 whichever is less, and the installment amount shall then be
19 deducted from future bills. Advance disbursement
20 authorizations for new initiatives shall not be made to any
21 agency after that agency has operated during 2 consecutive
22 fiscal years. The requirements of this Section concerning
23 advance disbursements shall not apply with respect to the
24 following: payments to local public agencies for child day
25 care services as authorized by Section 5a of this Act; and
26 youth service programs receiving grant funds under Section
27 17a-4.
28 (e) (Blank).
29 (f) (Blank).
30 (g) The Department shall establish rules and regulations
31 concerning its operation of programs designed to meet the
32 goals of child safety and protection, family preservation,
33 family reunification, and adoption, including but not limited
34 to:
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1 (1) adoption;
2 (2) foster care;
3 (3) family counseling;
4 (4) protective services;
5 (5) (blank);
6 (6) homemaker service;
7 (7) return of runaway children;
8 (8) (blank);
9 (9) placement under Section 5-7 of the Juvenile
10 Court Act or Section 2-27, 3-28, 4-25 or 5-29 of the
11 Juvenile Court Act of 1987 in accordance with the federal
12 Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980; and
13 (10) interstate services.
14 Rules and regulations established by the Department shall
15 include provisions for training Department staff and the
16 staff of Department grantees, through contracts with other
17 agencies or resources, in alcohol and drug abuse screening
18 techniques to identify children and adults who should be
19 referred to an alcohol and drug abuse treatment program for
20 professional evaluation.
21 (h) If the Department finds that there is no appropriate
22 program or facility within or available to the Department for
23 a ward and that no licensed private facility has an adequate
24 and appropriate program or none agrees to accept the ward,
25 the Department shall create an appropriate individualized,
26 program-oriented plan for such ward. The plan may be
27 developed within the Department or through purchase of
28 services by the Department to the extent that it is within
29 its statutory authority to do.
30 (i) Service programs shall be available throughout the
31 State and shall include but not be limited to the following
32 services:
33 (1) case management;
34 (2) homemakers;
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1 (3) counseling;
2 (4) parent education;
3 (5) day care; and
4 (6) emergency assistance and advocacy.
5 In addition, the following services may be made available
6 to assess and meet the needs of children and families:
7 (1) comprehensive family-based services;
8 (2) assessments;
9 (3) respite care; and
10 (4) in-home health services.
11 The Department shall provide transportation for any of
12 the services it makes available to children or families or
13 for which it refers children or families.
14 (j) The Department may provide financial assistance, and
15 shall establish rules and regulations concerning such
16 assistance, to persons who adopt physically or mentally
17 handicapped, older and other hard-to-place children who
18 immediately prior to their adoption were legal wards of the
19 Department. The Department may also provide financial
20 assistance, and shall establish rules and regulations for
21 such assistance, to persons appointed guardian of the person
22 under Section 5-7 of the Juvenile Court Act or Section 2-27,
23 3-28, 4-25 or 5-29 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 for
24 children who were wards of the Department for 12 months
25 immediately prior to the appointment of the successor
26 guardian and for whom the Department has set a goal of
27 permanent family placement with a foster family.
28 The amount of assistance may vary, depending upon the
29 needs of the child and the adoptive parents, but must be at
30 least $25 less than the monthly cost of care of the child in
31 a foster home, as set forth in the annual assistance
32 agreement. Special purpose grants are allowed where the
33 child requires special service but such costs may not exceed
34 the amounts which similar services would cost the Department
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1 if it were to provide or secure them as guardian of the
2 child.
3 Any financial assistance provided under this subsection
4 is inalienable by assignment, sale, execution, attachment,
5 garnishment, or any other remedy for recovery or collection
6 of a judgment or debt.
7 (k) The Department shall accept for care and training
8 any child who has been adjudicated neglected or abused, or
9 dependent committed to it pursuant to the Juvenile Court Act
10 or the Juvenile Court Act of 1987.
11 (l) Before July 1, 2000, the Department may provide, and
12 beginning July 1, 2000, the Department shall provide, family
13 preservation services, as determined to be appropriate and in
14 the child's best interests and when the child will be safe
15 and not be in imminent risk of harm, to any family whose
16 child has been placed in substitute care, any persons who
17 have adopted a child and require post-adoption services, or
18 any persons whose child or children are at risk of being
19 placed outside their home as documented by an "indicated"
20 report of suspected child abuse or neglect determined
21 pursuant to the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act.
22 Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to create a
23 private right of action or claim on the part of any
24 individual or child welfare agency.
25 The Department shall notify the child and his family of
26 the Department's responsibility to offer and provide family
27 preservation services as identified in the service plan. The
28 child and his family shall be eligible for services as soon
29 as the report is determined to be "indicated". The
30 Department may offer services to any child or family with
31 respect to whom a report of suspected child abuse or neglect
32 has been filed, prior to concluding its investigation under
33 Section 7.12 of the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act.
34 However, the child's or family's willingness to accept
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1 services shall not be considered in the investigation. The
2 Department may also provide services to any child or family
3 who is the subject of any report of suspected child abuse or
4 neglect or may refer such child or family to services
5 available from other agencies in the community, even if the
6 report is determined to be unfounded, if the conditions in
7 the child's or family's home are reasonably likely to subject
8 the child or family to future reports of suspected child
9 abuse or neglect. Acceptance of such services shall be
10 voluntary.
11 The Department may, at its discretion except for those
12 children also adjudicated neglected or dependent, accept for
13 care and training any child who has been adjudicated
14 addicted, as a truant minor in need of supervision or as a
15 minor requiring authoritative intervention, under the
16 Juvenile Court Act or the Juvenile Court Act of 1987, but no
17 such child shall be committed to the Department by any court
18 without the approval of the Department. A minor charged with
19 a criminal offense under the Criminal Code of 1961 or
20 adjudicated delinquent shall not be placed in the custody of
21 or committed to the Department by any court, except a minor
22 less than 13 years of age committed to the Department under
23 Section 5-23 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987.
24 (l-1) The legislature recognizes that the best interests
25 of the child require that the child be placed in the most
26 permanent living arrangement as soon as is practically
27 possible. To achieve this goal, the legislature directs the
28 Department of Children and Family Services to conduct
29 concurrent planning so that permanency may occur at the
30 earliest opportunity. Permanent living arrangements may
31 include prevention of placement of a child outside the home
32 of the family when the child can be cared for at home without
33 endangering the child's health or safety; reunification with
34 the family, when safe and appropriate, if temporary placement
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1 is necessary; or movement of the child toward the most
2 permanent living arrangement and permanent legal status.
3 When a child is placed in foster care, the Department
4 shall ensure and document that reasonable efforts were made
5 to prevent or eliminate the need to remove the child from the
6 child's home. The Department must make reasonable efforts to
7 reunify the family when temporary placement of the child
8 occurs or must request a finding from the court that
9 reasonable efforts are not appropriate or have been
10 unsuccessful.
11 A decision to place a child in substitute care shall be
12 made with considerations of the child's health, safety, and
13 best interests. At the time of placement, consideration
14 should also be given so that if reunification fails or is
15 delayed, the placement made is the best available placement
16 to provide permanency for the child.
17 The Department shall adopt rules addressing concurrent
18 planning for reunification and permanency. The Department
19 shall consider the following factors when determining
20 appropriateness of concurrent planning:
21 (1) the likelihood of prompt reunification;
22 (2) the past history of the family;
23 (3) the barriers to reunification being addressed
24 by the family;
25 (4) the level of cooperation of the family;
26 (5) the foster parents' willingness to work with
27 the family to reunite;
28 (6) the willingness and ability of the foster
29 family to provide an adoptive home or long-term
30 placement;
31 (7) the age of the child;
32 (8) placement of siblings.
33 (m) The Department may assume temporary custody of any
34 child if:
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1 (1) it has received a written consent to such
2 temporary custody signed by the parents of the child or
3 by the parent having custody of the child if the parents
4 are not living together or by the guardian or custodian
5 of the child if the child is not in the custody of either
6 parent, or
7 (2) the child is found in the State and neither a
8 parent, guardian nor custodian of the child can be
9 located.
10 If the child is found in his or her residence without a
11 parent, guardian, custodian or responsible caretaker, the
12 Department may, instead of removing the child and assuming
13 temporary custody, place an authorized representative of the
14 Department in that residence until such time as a parent,
15 guardian or custodian enters the home and expresses a
16 willingness and apparent ability to ensure the child's health
17 and safety and resume permanent charge of the child, or until
18 a relative enters the home and is willing and able to ensure
19 the child's health and safety and assume charge of the child
20 until a parent, guardian or custodian enters the home and
21 expresses such willingness and ability to ensure the child's
22 safety and resume permanent charge. After a caretaker has
23 remained in the home for a period not to exceed 12 hours, the
24 Department must follow those procedures outlined in Section
25 2-9, 3-11, 4-8 or 5-9 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987.
26 The Department shall have the authority, responsibilities
27 and duties that a legal custodian of the child would have
28 pursuant to subsection (9) of Section 1-3 of the Juvenile
29 Court Act of 1987. Whenever a child is taken into temporary
30 custody pursuant to an investigation under the Abused and
31 Neglected Child Reporting Act, or pursuant to a referral and
32 acceptance under the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 of a minor in
33 limited custody, the Department, during the period of
34 temporary custody and before the child is brought before a
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1 judicial officer as required by Section 2-9, 3-11, 4-8 or 5-9
2 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987, shall have the authority,
3 responsibilities and duties that a legal custodian of the
4 child would have under subsection (9) of Section 1-3 of the
5 Juvenile Court Act of 1987.
6 The Department shall ensure that any child taken into
7 custody is scheduled for an appointment for a medical
8 examination.
9 A parent, guardian or custodian of a child in the
10 temporary custody of the Department who would have custody of
11 the child if he were not in the temporary custody of the
12 Department may deliver to the Department a signed request
13 that the Department surrender the temporary custody of the
14 child. The Department may retain temporary custody of the
15 child for 10 days after the receipt of the request, during
16 which period the Department may cause to be filed a petition
17 pursuant to the Juvenile Court Act of 1987. If a petition is
18 so filed, the Department shall retain temporary custody of
19 the child until the court orders otherwise. If a petition is
20 not filed within the 10 day period, the child shall be
21 surrendered to the custody of the requesting parent, guardian
22 or custodian not later than the expiration of the 10 day
23 period, at which time the authority and duties of the
24 Department with respect to the temporary custody of the child
25 shall terminate.
26 (n) The Department may place children under 18 years of
27 age in licensed child care facilities when in the opinion of
28 the Department, appropriate services aimed at family
29 preservation have been unsuccessful and cannot ensure the
30 child's health and safety or are unavailable and such
31 placement would be for their best interest. Payment for
32 board, clothing, care, training and supervision of any child
33 placed in a licensed child care facility may be made by the
34 Department, by the parents or guardians of the estates of
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1 those children, or by both the Department and the parents or
2 guardians, except that no payments shall be made by the
3 Department for any child placed in a licensed child care
4 facility for board, clothing, care, training and supervision
5 of such a child that exceed the average per capita cost of
6 maintaining and of caring for a child in institutions for
7 dependent or neglected children operated by the Department.
8 However, such restriction on payments does not apply in cases
9 where children require specialized care and treatment for
10 problems of severe emotional disturbance, physical
11 disability, social adjustment, or any combination thereof and
12 suitable facilities for the placement of such children are
13 not available at payment rates within the limitations set
14 forth in this Section. All reimbursements for services
15 delivered shall be absolutely inalienable by assignment,
16 sale, attachment, garnishment or otherwise.
17 (o) The Department shall establish an administrative
18 review and appeal process for children and families who
19 request or receive child welfare services from the
20 Department. Children who are wards of the Department and are
21 placed by private child welfare agencies, and foster families
22 with whom those children are placed, shall be afforded the
23 same procedural and appeal rights as children and families in
24 the case of placement by the Department, including the right
25 to an initial review of a private agency decision by that
26 agency. The Department shall insure that any private child
27 welfare agency, which accepts wards of the Department for
28 placement, affords those rights to children and foster
29 families. The Department shall accept for administrative
30 review and an appeal hearing a complaint made by a child or
31 foster family concerning a decision following an initial
32 review by a private child welfare agency. An appeal of a
33 decision concerning a change in the placement of a child
34 shall be conducted in an expedited manner.
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1 (p) There is hereby created the Department of Children
2 and 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
9 establish administrative rules specifying the criteria for
10 determining eligibility for and the amount and nature of
11 assistance to be provided. The Department may also enter
12 into written agreements with private and public social
13 service agencies to provide emergency financial services to
14 families referred by the Department. Special financial
15 assistance payments shall be available to a family no more
16 than once during each fiscal year and the total payments to a
17 family may not exceed $500 during a fiscal year.
18 (q) The Department may receive and use, in their
19 entirety, for the benefit of children any gift, donation or
20 bequest of money or other property which is received on
21 behalf of such children, or any financial benefits to which
22 such children are or may become entitled while under the
23 jurisdiction or care of the Department.
24 The Department shall set up and administer no-cost,
25 interest-bearing savings accounts in appropriate financial
26 institutions ("individual accounts") for children for whom
27 the Department is legally responsible and who have been
28 determined eligible for Veterans' Benefits, Social Security
29 benefits, assistance allotments from the armed forces, court
30 ordered payments, parental voluntary payments, Supplemental
31 Security Income, Railroad Retirement payments, Black Lung
32 benefits, or other miscellaneous payments. Interest earned
33 by each individual account shall be credited to the account,
34 unless disbursed in accordance with this subsection.
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1 In disbursing funds from children's individual accounts,
2 the Department shall:
3 (1) Establish standards in accordance with State
4 and federal laws for disbursing money from children's
5 individual accounts. In all circumstances, the
6 Department's "Guardianship Administrator" or his or her
7 designee must approve disbursements from children's
8 individual accounts. The Department shall be responsible
9 for keeping complete records of all disbursements for
10 each individual account for any purpose.
11 (2) Calculate on a monthly basis the amounts paid
12 from State funds for the child's board and care, medical
13 care not covered under Medicaid, and social services; and
14 utilize funds from the child's individual account, as
15 covered by regulation, to reimburse those costs.
16 Monthly, disbursements from all children's individual
17 accounts, up to 1/12 of $13,000,000, shall be deposited
18 by the Department into the General Revenue Fund and the
19 balance over 1/12 of $13,000,000 into the DCFS Children's
20 Services Fund.
21 (3) Maintain any balance remaining after
22 reimbursing for the child's costs of care, as specified
23 in item (2). The balance shall accumulate in accordance
24 with relevant State and federal laws and shall be
25 disbursed to the child or his or her guardian, or to the
26 issuing agency.
27 (r) The Department shall promulgate regulations
28 encouraging all adoption agencies to voluntarily forward to
29 the Department or its agent names and addresses of all
30 persons who have applied for and have been approved for
31 adoption of a hard-to-place or handicapped child and the
32 names of such children who have not been placed for adoption.
33 A list of such names and addresses shall be maintained by the
34 Department or its agent, and coded lists which maintain the
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1 confidentiality of the person seeking to adopt the child and
2 of the child shall be made available, without charge, to
3 every adoption agency in the State to assist the agencies in
4 placing such children for adoption. The Department may
5 delegate to an agent its duty to maintain and make available
6 such lists. The Department shall ensure that such agent
7 maintains the confidentiality of the person seeking to adopt
8 the child and of the child.
9 (s) The Department of Children and Family Services may
10 establish and implement a program to reimburse Department and
11 private child welfare agency foster parents licensed by the
12 Department of Children and Family Services for damages
13 sustained by the foster parents as a result of the malicious
14 or negligent acts of foster children, as well as providing
15 third party coverage for such foster parents with regard to
16 actions of foster children to other individuals. Such
17 coverage will be secondary to the foster parent liability
18 insurance policy, if applicable. The program shall be funded
19 through appropriations from the General Revenue Fund,
20 specifically designated for such purposes.
21 (t) The Department shall perform home studies and
22 investigations and shall exercise supervision over visitation
23 as ordered by a court pursuant to the Illinois Marriage and
24 Dissolution of Marriage Act or the Adoption Act only if:
25 (1) an order entered by an Illinois court
26 specifically directs the Department to perform such
27 services; and
28 (2) the court has ordered one or both of the
29 parties to the proceeding to reimburse the Department for
30 its reasonable costs for providing such services in
31 accordance with Department rules, or has determined that
32 neither party is financially able to pay.
33 The Department shall provide written notification to the
34 court of the specific arrangements for supervised visitation
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1 and projected monthly costs within 60 days of the court
2 order. The Department shall send to the court information
3 related to the costs incurred except in cases where the court
4 has determined the parties are financially unable to pay. The
5 court may order additional periodic reports as appropriate.
6 (u) Whenever the Department places a child in a licensed
7 foster home, group home, child care institution, or in a
8 relative home, the Department shall provide to the caretaker:
9 (1) available detailed information concerning the
10 child's educational and health history, copies of
11 immunization records (including insurance and medical
12 card information), a history of the child's previous
13 placements, if any, and reasons for placement changes
14 excluding any information that identifies or reveals the
15 location of any previous caretaker;
16 (2) a copy of the child's portion of the client
17 service plan, including any visitation arrangement, and
18 all amendments or revisions to it as related to the
19 child; and
20 (3) information containing details of the child's
21 individualized educational plan when the child is
22 receiving special education services.
23 The caretaker shall be informed of any known social or
24 behavioral information (including, but not limited to, fire
25 setting, perpetuation of sexual abuse, destructive behavior,
26 and substance abuse) necessary to care for and safeguard the
27 child.
28 (u-5) Effective July 1, 1995, only foster care
29 placements licensed as foster family homes pursuant to the
30 Child Care Act of 1969 shall be eligible to receive foster
31 care payments from the Department. Relative caregivers who,
32 as of July 1, 1995, were approved pursuant to approved
33 relative placement rules previously promulgated by the
34 Department at 89 Ill. Adm. Code 335 and had submitted an
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1 application for licensure as a foster family home may
2 continue to receive foster care payments only until the
3 Department determines that they may be licensed as a foster
4 family home or that their application for licensure is denied
5 or until September 30, 1995, whichever occurs first.
6 (v) The Department shall access criminal history record
7 information as defined in the Illinois Uniform Conviction
8 Information Act and information maintained in the
9 adjudicatory and dispositional record system as defined in
10 subdivision (A)19 of Section 55a of the Civil Administrative
11 Code of Illinois if the Department determines the information
12 is necessary to perform its duties under the Abused and
13 Neglected Child Reporting Act, the Child Care Act of 1969,
14 and the Children and Family Services Act. The Department
15 shall provide for interactive computerized communication and
16 processing equipment that permits direct on-line
17 communication with the Department of State Police's central
18 criminal history data repository. The Department shall
19 comply with all certification requirements and provide
20 certified operators who have been trained by personnel from
21 the Department of State Police. In addition, one Office of
22 the Inspector General investigator shall have training in the
23 use of the criminal history information access system and
24 have access to the terminal. The Department of Children and
25 Family Services and its employees shall abide by rules and
26 regulations established by the Department of State Police
27 relating to the access and dissemination of this information.
28 (w) Within 120 days of August 20, 1995 (the effective
29 date of Public Act 89-392), the Department shall prepare and
30 submit to the Governor and the General Assembly, a written
31 plan for the development of in-state licensed secure child
32 care facilities that care for children who are in need of
33 secure living arrangements for their health, safety, and
34 well-being. For purposes of this subsection, secure care
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1 facility shall mean a facility that is designed and operated
2 to ensure that all entrances and exits from the facility, a
3 building or a distinct part of the building, are under the
4 exclusive control of the staff of the facility, whether or
5 not the child has the freedom of movement within the
6 perimeter of the facility, building, or distinct part of the
7 building. The plan shall include descriptions of the types
8 of facilities that are needed in Illinois; the cost of
9 developing these secure care facilities; the estimated number
10 of placements; the potential cost savings resulting from the
11 movement of children currently out-of-state who are projected
12 to be returned to Illinois; the necessary geographic
13 distribution of these facilities in Illinois; and a proposed
14 timetable for development of such facilities.
15 (Source: P.A. 88-380; 88-398; 88-487; 88-614, eff. 9-7-94;
16 88-670, eff. 12-2-94; 89-21, eff. 6-6-95; 89-392, eff.
17 8-20-95; 89-507, eff. 7-1-97; 89-626, eff. 8-9-96.)
18 (20 ILCS 505/6a) (from Ch. 23, par. 5006a)
19 (Text of Section before amendment by P.A. 89-704)
20 Sec. 6a. Case Plan.
21 (a) With respect to each Department client for whom the
22 Department is providing placement service, the Department
23 shall develop a case plan designed to stabilize the family
24 situation and prevent placement of a child outside the home
25 of the family, reunify the family if temporary placement is
26 necessary, or move the child toward the most permanent living
27 arrangement and permanent legal status. Such case plan shall
28 provide for the utilization of family preservation services.
29 Such case plan shall be reviewed and updated every 6 months.
30 Where appropriate, the case plan shall include
31 recommendations concerning alcohol or drug abuse evaluation.
32 (b) The Department may enter into written agreements
33 with child welfare agencies to establish and implement case
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1 plan demonstration projects. The demonstration projects
2 shall require that service providers develop, implement,
3 review and update client case plans. The Department shall
4 examine the effectiveness of the demonstration projects in
5 promoting the family reunification or the permanent placement
6 of each client and shall report its findings to the General
7 Assembly no later than 90 days after the end of the fiscal
8 year in which any such demonstration project is implemented.
9 (Source: P.A. 85-985; 86-1296.)
10 (Text of Section after amendment by P.A. 89-704)
11 Sec. 6a. Case Plan.
12 (a) With respect to each Department client for whom the
13 Department is providing placement service, the Department
14 shall develop a case plan designed to stabilize the family
15 situation and prevent placement of a child outside the home
16 of the family when the child can be cared for at home without
17 endangering the child's health or safety, reunify the family
18 if temporary placement is necessary when safe and
19 appropriate, or move the child toward the most permanent
20 living arrangement and permanent legal status. Such case
21 plan shall provide for the utilization of reasonable family
22 preservation services as defined in Section 8.2 of the Abused
23 and Neglected Child Reporting Act. Such case plan shall be
24 reviewed and updated every 6 months. Where appropriate, the
25 case plan shall include recommendations concerning alcohol or
26 drug abuse evaluation.
27 (b) The Department may enter into written agreements
28 with child welfare agencies to establish and implement case
29 plan demonstration projects. The demonstration projects
30 shall require that service providers develop, implement,
31 review and update client case plans. The Department shall
32 examine the effectiveness of the demonstration projects in
33 promoting the family reunification or the permanent placement
34 of each client and shall report its findings to the General
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1 Assembly no later than 90 days after the end of the fiscal
2 year in which any such demonstration project is implemented.
3 (Source: P.A. 89-704, eff. 1-1-98.)
4 (20 ILCS 505/7) (from Ch. 23, par. 5007)
5 Sec. 7. Placement of children; considerations.
6 (a) In placing any child under this Act, the Department
7 shall place such child, as far as possible, in the care and
8 custody of some individual holding the same religious belief
9 as the parents of the child, or with some child care facility
10 which is operated by persons of like religious faith as the
11 parents of such child.
12 (b) In placing a child under this Act, the Department
13 may place a child with a relative if the Department has
14 reason to believe that the relative will be able to
15 adequately provide for the child's safety and welfare. The
16 Department may not place a child with a relative, with the
17 exception of certain circumstances which may be waived as
18 defined by the Department in rules, if the results of a check
19 of the Law Enforcement Agency Data System (LEADS) identifies
20 a prior criminal conviction of the relative or any adult
21 member of the relative's household for any of the following
22 offenses under the Criminal Code of 1961:
23 (1) murder;
24 (1.1) solicitation of murder;
25 (1.2) solicitation of murder for hire;
26 (1.3) intentional homicide of an unborn child;
27 (1.4) voluntary manslaughter of an unborn child;
28 (1.5) involuntary manslaughter;
29 (1.6) reckless homicide;
30 (1.7) concealment of a homicidal death;
31 (1.8) involuntary manslaughter of an unborn child;
32 (1.9) reckless homicide of an unborn child;
33 (1.10) drug-induced homicide;
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1 (2) a sex offense under Article 11, except offenses
2 described in Sections 11-7, 11-8, 11-12, and 11-13;
3 (3) kidnapping;
4 (3.1) aggravated unlawful restraint;
5 (3.2) forcible detention;
6 (3.3) aiding and abetting child abduction;
7 (4) aggravated kidnapping;
8 (5) child abduction;
9 (6) aggravated battery of a child;
10 (7) criminal sexual assault;
11 (8) aggravated criminal sexual assault;
12 (8.1) predatory criminal sexual assault of a child;
13 (9) criminal sexual abuse;
14 (10) aggravated sexual abuse;
15 (11) heinous battery;
16 (12) aggravated battery with a firearm;
17 (13) tampering with food, drugs, or cosmetics;
18 (14) drug-induced infliction of great bodily harm;
19 (15) aggravated stalking;
20 (16) home invasion;
21 (17) vehicular invasion;
22 (18) criminal transmission of HIV;
23 (19) criminal neglect of an elderly or disabled
24 person;
25 (20) child abandonment;
26 (21) endangering the life or health of a child;
27 (22) ritual mutilation;
28 (23) ritualized abuse of a child;
29 (24) an offense in any other state the elements of
30 which are similar and bear a substantial relationship to
31 any of the foregoing offenses.
32 For the purpose of this subsection, "relative" shall include
33 any person, 21 years of age or over, other than the parent,
34 who (i) is currently related to the child in any of the
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1 following ways by blood or adoption: grandparent, sibling,
2 great-grandparent, uncle, aunt, nephew, niece, first cousin,
3 great-uncle, or great-aunt; or (ii) is the spouse of such a
4 relative; or (iii) is the child's step-father, step-mother,
5 or adult step-brother or step-sister; "relative" also
6 includes a person related in any of the foregoing ways to a
7 sibling of a child, even though the person is not related to
8 the child, when the child and its sibling are placed together
9 with that person. A relative with whom a child is placed
10 pursuant to this subsection may, but is not required to,
11 apply for licensure as a foster family home pursuant to the
12 Child Care Act of 1969; provided, however, that as of July 1,
13 1995, foster care payments shall be made only to licensed
14 foster family homes pursuant to the terms of Section 5 of
15 this Act.
16 (c) In placing a child under this Act, the Department
17 shall ensure that the child's health, safety, and best
18 interests are met by giving due, not sole, consideration to
19 the child's race or ethnic heritage in making a family foster
20 care placement. The Department shall consider the cultural,
21 ethnic, or racial background of the child and the capacity of
22 the prospective foster or adoptive parents to meet the needs
23 of a child of this background as one of a number of factors
24 used to determine the best interests of the child. The
25 Department shall make special efforts for the diligent
26 recruitment of potential foster and adoptive families that
27 reflect the ethnic and racial diversity of the children for
28 whom foster and adoptive homes are needed. "Special efforts"
29 shall include contacting and working with community
30 organizations and religious organizations and may include
31 contracting with those organizations, utilizing local media
32 and other local resources, and conducting outreach
33 activities.
34 (c-1) At the time of placement, the Department shall
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1 consider concurrent planning, as described in subsection
2 (l-1) of Section 5, so that permanency may occur at the
3 earliest opportunity. Consideration should be given so that
4 if reunification fails or is delayed, the placement made is
5 the best available placement to provide permanency for the
6 child.
7 (d) The Department may accept gifts, grants, offers of
8 services, and other contributions to use in making special
9 recruitment efforts.
10 (e) The Department in placing children in adoptive or
11 foster care homes may not, in any policy or practice relating
12 to the placement of children for adoption or foster care,
13 discriminate against any child or prospective adoptive parent
14 on the basis of race.
15 (Source: P.A. 89-21, eff. 7-1-95; 89-422; 89-428, eff.
16 12-13-95; 89-462, eff. 5-29-96; 89-626, eff. 8-9-96.)
17 (20 ILCS 505/7.7)
18 Sec. 7.7. Limit on multiple placements. If the
19 Department has placed a child in substitute care pursuant to
20 a court order, the Department may not change the child's
21 placement unless the Department specifically documents that
22 the current placement is unsafe or unsuitable or that another
23 placement is in the child's best interests or unless the new
24 placement is in an adoptive home or other permanent
25 placement.
26 (Source: P.A. 89-422.)
27 Section 10-10. The Child Care Act of 1969 is amended by
28 changing Section 4.2 as follows:
29 (225 ILCS 10/4.2) (from Ch. 23, par. 2214.2)
30 Sec. 4.2. (a) No applicant may receive a license from
31 the Department and no person may be employed by a licensed
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1 child care facility who refuses to authorize an investigation
2 as required by Section 4.1.
3 (b) No applicant may receive a license from the
4 Department and no person may be employed by a child care
5 facility licensed by the Department who has been declared a
6 sexually dangerous person under "An Act in relation to
7 sexually dangerous persons, and providing for their
8 commitment, detention and supervision", approved July 6,
9 1938, as amended, or convicted of committing or attempting to
10 commit any of the following offenses stipulated under the
11 Criminal Code of 1961:
12 (1) murder;
13 (1.1) solicitation of murder;
14 (1.2) solicitation of murder for hire;
15 (1.3) intentional homicide of an unborn child;
16 (1.4) voluntary manslaughter of an unborn child;
17 (1.5) involuntary manslaughter;
18 (1.6) reckless homicide;
19 (1.7) concealment of a homicidal death;
20 (1.8) involuntary manslaughter of an unborn child;
21 (1.9) reckless homicide of an unborn child;
22 (1.10) drug induced homicide;
23 (2) a sex offense under Article 11, except offenses
24 described in Sections 11-7, 11-8, 11-12, and 11-13;
25 (3) kidnapping;
26 (3.1) aggravated unlawful restraint;
27 (3.2) forcible detention;
28 (3.3) harboring a runaway;
29 (3.4) aiding and abetting child abduction;
30 (4) aggravated kidnapping;
31 (5) child abduction;
32 (6) aggravated battery of a child;
33 (7) criminal sexual assault;
34 (8) aggravated criminal sexual assault;
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1 (8.1) predatory criminal sexual assault of a child;
2 (9) criminal sexual abuse;
3 (10) aggravated sexual abuse;
4 (11) heinous battery;
5 (12) aggravated battery with a firearm;
6 (13) tampering with food, drugs, or cosmetics;
7 (14) drug induced infliction of great bodily harm;
8 (15) hate crime;
9 (16) stalking;
10 (17) aggravated stalking;
11 (18) threatening public officials;
12 (19) home invasion;
13 (20) vehicular invasion;
14 (21) criminal transmission of HIV;
15 (22) criminal neglect of an elderly or disabled
16 person;
17 (23) child abandonment;
18 (24) endangering the life or health of a child;
19 (25) ritual mutilation;
20 (26) ritualized abuse of a child;
21 (27) an offense in any other state the elements of
22 which are similar and bear a substantial relationship to
23 any of the foregoing offenses.
24 (c) In addition to the provisions set forth in
25 subsection (b), no applicant may receive a license from the
26 Department to operate a foster family home, and no adult
27 person may reside in a foster family home licensed by the
28 Department, who has been convicted of committing or
29 attempting to commit any of the following offenses stipulated
30 under the Criminal Code of 1961, the Cannabis Control Act,
31 and the Illinois Controlled Substances Act:
32 (I) OFFENSES DIRECTED AGAINST THE PERSON
33 (A) KIDNAPPING AND RELATED OFFENSES
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1 (1) Unlawful restraint.
2 (B) BODILY HARM
3 (2) Felony aggravated assault.
4 (3) Vehicular endangerment.
5 (4) Felony domestic battery.
6 (5) Aggravated battery.
7 (6) Heinous battery.
8 (7) Aggravated battery with a firearm.
9 (8) Aggravated battery of an unborn child.
10 (9) Aggravated battery of a senior citizen.
11 (10) Intimidation.
12 (11) Compelling organization membership of persons.
13 (12) Abuse and gross neglect of a long term care
14 facility resident.
15 (13) Felony violation of an order of protection.
16 (II) OFFENSES DIRECTED AGAINST PROPERTY
17 (14) Felony theft.
18 (15) Robbery.
19 (16) Armed robbery.
20 (17) Aggravated robbery.
21 (18) Vehicular hijacking.
22 (19) Aggravated vehicular hijacking.
23 (20) Burglary.
24 (21) Possession of burglary tools.
25 (22) Residential burglary.
26 (23) Criminal fortification of a residence or
27 building.
28 (24) Arson.
29 (25) Aggravated arson.
30 (26) Possession of explosive or explosive
31 incendiary devices.
32 (III) OFFENSES AFFECTING PUBLIC HEALTH, SAFETY, AND DECENCY
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1 (27) Felony unlawful use of weapons.
2 (28) Aggravated discharge of a firearm.
3 (29) Reckless discharge of a firearm.
4 (30) Unlawful use of metal piercing bullets.
5 (31) Unlawful sale or delivery of firearms on the
6 premises of any school.
7 (32) Disarming a police officer.
8 (33) Obstructing justice.
9 (34) Concealing or aiding a fugitive.
10 (35) Armed violence.
11 (36) Felony contributing to the criminal
12 delinquency of a juvenile.
13 (IV) DRUG OFFENSES
14 (37) Possession of more than 30 grams of cannabis.
15 (38) Manufacture of more than 10 grams of cannabis.
16 (39) Cannabis trafficking.
17 (40) Delivery of cannabis on school grounds.
18 (41) Unauthorized production of more than 5
19 cannabis sativa plants.
20 (42) Calculated criminal cannabis conspiracy.
21 (43) Unauthorized manufacture or delivery of
22 controlled substances.
23 (44) Controlled substance trafficking.
24 (45) Manufacture, distribution, or advertisement of
25 look-alike substances.
26 (46) Calculated criminal drug conspiracy.
27 (46.5) Streetgang criminal drug conspiracy.
28 (47) Permitting unlawful use of a building.
29 (48) Delivery of controlled, counterfeit, or
30 look-alike substances to persons under age 18, or at
31 truck stops, rest stops, or safety rest areas, or on
32 school property.
33 (49) Using, engaging, or employing persons under 18
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1 to deliver controlled, counterfeit, or look-alike
2 substances.
3 (50) Delivery of controlled substances.
4 (51) Sale or delivery of drug paraphernalia.
5 (52) Felony possession, sale, or exchange of
6 instruments adapted for use of a controlled substance or
7 cannabis by subcutaneous injection.
8 (d) Notwithstanding subsection (c), the Department may
9 issue a new foster family home license or may renew an
10 existing foster family home license of an applicant who was
11 convicted of an offense described in subsection (c), provided
12 all of the following requirements are met:
13 (1) The relevant criminal offense or offenses
14 occurred more than 10 years prior to the effective date
15 of this amendatory Act of 1997.
16 (2) The applicant had previously disclosed the
17 conviction or convictions to the Department for purposes
18 of a background check.
19 (3) After the disclosure, the Department either
20 placed a child in the home or the foster family home
21 license was issued.
22 (4) During the background check, the Department had
23 assessed and waived the conviction in compliance with the
24 existing statutes and rules in effect at the time of the
25 waiver.
26 (5) The applicant meets all other requirements and
27 qualifications to be licensed as a foster family home
28 under this Act and the Department's administrative rules.
29 (6) The applicant has a history of providing a
30 safe, stable home environment and appears able to
31 continue to provide a safe, stable home environment.
32 (Source: P.A. 89-21, eff. 7-1-95; 89-263, eff. 8-10-95;
33 89-428, eff. 12-13-95; 89-462, eff. 5-29-96; 89-498, eff.
34 6-27-96.)
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1 Section 10-15. The Abused and Neglected Child Reporting
2 Act is amended by changing Sections 2, 5, 7.5, and 8.2 as
3 follows:
4 (325 ILCS 5/2) (from Ch. 23, par. 2052)
5 Sec. 2. The Illinois Department of Children and Family
6 Services shall, upon receiving reports made under this Act,
7 protect the health, safety, and best interests of the child
8 in all situations in which the child is vulnerable to child
9 abuse or neglect, offer protective services in order to
10 prevent any further harm to the child and to other children
11 in the same environment or family, stabilize the home
12 environment, and preserve family life whenever possible and
13 protect the health and safety of children in all situations
14 in which they are vulnerable to child abuse or neglect.
15 Recognizing that children also can be abused and neglected
16 while living in public or private residential agencies or
17 institutions meant to serve them, while attending day care
18 centers or schools, or when in contact with adults who are
19 responsible for the welfare of the child at that time, this
20 Act also provides for the reporting and investigation of
21 child abuse and neglect in such instances. In performing any
22 of these duties, the Department may utilize such protective
23 services of voluntary agencies as are available.
24 (Source: P.A. 84-1318.)
25 (325 ILCS 5/5) (from Ch. 23, par. 2055)
26 Sec. 5. An officer of a local law enforcement agency,
27 designated employee of the Department, or a physician
28 treating a child may take or retain temporary protective
29 custody of the child without the consent of the person
30 responsible for the child's welfare, if (1) he has reason to
31 believe that the child cannot be cared for at home or in the
32 circumstances or conditions of the child are such that
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1 continuing in his place of residence or in the care and
2 custody of the person responsible for the child's welfare
3 without endangering the child's health or safety, presents an
4 imminent danger to that child's life or health; and (2) there
5 is not time to apply for a court order under the Juvenile
6 Court Act of 1987 for temporary custody of the child. The
7 person taking or retaining a child in temporary protective
8 custody shall immediately make every reasonable effort to
9 notify the person responsible for the child's welfare and
10 shall immediately notify the Department. The Department
11 shall provide to the temporary caretaker of a child any
12 information in the Department's possession concerning the
13 positive results of a test performed on the child to
14 determine the presence of the antibody or antigen to Human
15 Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), or of HIV infection, as well as
16 any communicable diseases or communicable infections that the
17 child has. The temporary caretaker of a child shall not
18 disclose to another person any information received by the
19 temporary caretaker from the Department concerning the
20 results of a test performed on the child to determine the
21 presence of the antibody or antigen to HIV, or of HIV
22 infection, except pursuant to Section 9 of the AIDS
23 Confidentiality Act, as now or hereafter amended. The
24 Department shall promptly initiate proceedings under the
25 Juvenile Court Act of 1987 for the continued temporary
26 custody of the child.
27 Where the physician keeping a child in his custody does
28 so in his capacity as a member of the staff of a hospital or
29 similar institution, he shall notify the person in charge of
30 the institution or his designated agent, who shall then
31 become responsible for the further care of such child in the
32 hospital or similar institution under the direction of the
33 Department.
34 Said care includes, but is not limited to the granting of
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1 permission to perform emergency medical treatment to a minor
2 where the treatment itself does not involve a substantial
3 risk of harm to the minor and the failure to render such
4 treatment will likely result in death or permanent harm to
5 the minor, and there is not time to apply for a court order
6 under the Juvenile Court Act of 1987.
7 Any person authorized and acting in good faith in the
8 removal of a child under this Section shall have immunity
9 from any liability, civil or criminal that might otherwise be
10 incurred or imposed as a result of such removal. Any
11 physician authorized and acting in good faith and in
12 accordance with acceptable medical practice in the treatment
13 of a child under this Section shall have immunity from any
14 liability, civil or criminal, that might otherwise be
15 incurred or imposed as a result of granting permission for
16 emergency treatment.
17 With respect to any child taken into temporary protective
18 custody pursuant to this Section, the Department of Children
19 and Family Services Guardianship Administrator or his
20 designee shall be deemed the child's legally authorized
21 representative for purposes of consenting to an HIV test if
22 deemed necessary and appropriate by the Department's
23 Guardianship Administrator or designee and obtaining and
24 disclosing information concerning such test pursuant to the
25 AIDS Confidentiality Act if deemed necessary and appropriate
26 by the Department's Guardianship Administrator or designee
27 and for purposes of consenting to the release of information
28 pursuant to the Illinois Sexually Transmissible Disease
29 Control Act if deemed necessary and appropriate by the
30 Department's Guardianship Administrator or designee.
31 Any person who administers an HIV test upon the consent
32 of the Department of Children and Family Services
33 Guardianship Administrator or his designee, or who discloses
34 the results of such tests to the Department's Guardianship
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1 Administrator or his designee, shall have immunity from any
2 liability, civil, criminal or otherwise, that might result by
3 reason of such actions. For the purpose of any proceedings,
4 civil or criminal, the good faith of any persons required to
5 administer or disclose the results of tests, or permitted to
6 take such actions, shall be presumed.
7 (Source: P.A. 86-733; 86-904; 86-1028.)
8 (325 ILCS 5/7.5) (from Ch. 23, par. 2057.5)
9 Sec. 7.5. If the Child Protective Service Unit is denied
10 reasonable access to a child by the parents or other persons
11 and it deems that the health, safety, and best interests of
12 the child so require, it shall request the intervention of a
13 local law enforcement agency or seek an appropriate court
14 order to examine and interview the child.
15 (Source: P.A. 81-1077.)
16 (325 ILCS 5/8.2) (from Ch. 23, par. 2058.2)
17 (Text of Section before amendment by P.A. 89-507)
18 Sec. 8.2. If the Child Protective Service Unit
19 determines, following an investigation made pursuant to
20 Section 7.4 of this Act, that there is credible evidence that
21 the child is abused or neglected, the Department shall assess
22 the family's need for services, and, as necessary, develop,
23 with the family, an appropriate service plan for the family's
24 voluntary acceptance or refusal. In any case where there is
25 evidence that the perpetrator of the abuse or neglect is an
26 addict or alcoholic as defined in the Alcoholism and Other
27 Drug Abuse and Dependency Act, the Department, when making
28 referrals for drug or alcohol abuse services, shall make such
29 referrals to facilities licensed by the Department of
30 Alcoholism and Substance Abuse or the Department of Public
31 Health. The Department shall comply with Section 8.1 by
32 explaining its lack of legal authority to compel the
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1 acceptance of services and may explain its concomitant
2 noncommitant authority to petition the Circuit court under
3 the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 or refer the case to the local
4 law enforcement authority or State's attorney for criminal
5 prosecution.
6 For purposes of this Act, the term "family preservation
7 services" refers to all services to prevent the placement of
8 children in substitute care, to reunite them with their
9 families if so placed and if reunification is an appropriate
10 goal, or to maintain an adoptive placement. The term
11 "homemaker" includes emergency caretakers, homemakers,
12 caretakers, housekeepers and chore services. The term
13 "counseling" includes individual therapy, infant stimulation
14 therapy, family therapy, group therapy, self-help groups,
15 drug and alcohol abuse counseling, vocational counseling and
16 post-adoptive services. The term "day care" includes
17 protective day care and day care to meet educational,
18 prevocational or vocational needs. The term "emergency
19 assistance and advocacy" includes coordinated services to
20 secure emergency cash, food, housing and medical assistance
21 or advocacy for other subsistence and family protective
22 needs.
23 Before July 1, 2000, appropriate family preservation
24 services shall, subject to appropriation, be included in the
25 service plan if the Department has determined that those
26 services are in the child's best interests and when the child
27 will not be in imminent risk of harm. Beginning July 1,
28 2000, appropriate family preservation services shall be
29 uniformly available throughout the State. The Department
30 shall promptly notify children and families of the
31 Department's responsibility to offer and provide family
32 preservation services as identified in the service plan.
33 Such plans may include but are not limited to: case
34 management services; homemakers; counseling; parent
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1 education; day care; emergency assistance and advocacy
2 assessments; respite care; in-home health care;
3 transportation to obtain any of the above services; and
4 medical assistance. Nothing in this paragraph shall be
5 construed to create a private right of action or claim on the
6 part of any individual or child welfare agency.
7 The Department shall provide a preliminary report to the
8 General Assembly no later than January 1, 1991, in regard to
9 the provision of services authorized pursuant to this
10 Section. The report shall include:
11 (a) the number of families and children served, by
12 type of services;
13 (b) the outcome from the provision of such
14 services, including the number of families which remained
15 intact at least 6 months following the termination of
16 services;
17 (c) the number of families which have been subjects
18 of founded reports of abuse following the termination of
19 services;
20 (d) an analysis of general family circumstances in
21 which family preservation services have been determined
22 to be an effective intervention;
23 (e) information regarding the number of families in
24 need of services but unserved due to budget or program
25 criteria guidelines;
26 (f) an estimate of the time necessary for and the
27 annual cost of statewide implementation of such services;
28 (g) an estimate of the length of time before
29 expansion of these services will be made to include
30 families with children over the age of 6; and
31 (h) recommendations regarding any proposed
32 legislative changes to this program.
33 Each Department field office shall maintain on a local
34 basis directories of services available to children and
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1 families in the local area where the Department office is
2 located.
3 The Department shall refer children and families served
4 pursuant to this Section to private agencies and governmental
5 agencies, where available.
6 Where there are 2 equal proposals from both a
7 not-for-profit and a for-profit agency to provide services,
8 the Department shall give preference to the proposal from the
9 not-for-profit agency.
10 No service plan shall compel any child or parent to
11 engage in any activity or refrain from any activity which is
12 not reasonably related to remedying a condition or conditions
13 that gave rise or which could give rise to any finding of
14 child abuse or neglect.
15 (Source: P.A. 88-670, eff. 12-2-94; 89-21, eff. 6-6-95;
16 revised 2-7-97.)
17 (Text of Section after amendment by P.A. 89-507)
18 Sec. 8.2. If the Child Protective Service Unit
19 determines, following an investigation made pursuant to
20 Section 7.4 of this Act, that there is credible evidence that
21 the child is abused or neglected, the Department shall assess
22 the family's need for services, and, as necessary, develop,
23 with the family, an appropriate service plan for the family's
24 voluntary acceptance or refusal. In any case where there is
25 evidence that the perpetrator of the abuse or neglect is an
26 addict or alcoholic as defined in the Alcoholism and Other
27 Drug Abuse and Dependency Act, the Department, when making
28 referrals for drug or alcohol abuse services, shall make such
29 referrals to facilities licensed by the Department of Human
30 Services or the Department of Public Health. The Department
31 shall comply with Section 8.1 by explaining its lack of legal
32 authority to compel the acceptance of services and may
33 explain its concomitant noncommitant authority to petition
34 the Circuit court under the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 or
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1 refer the case to the local law enforcement authority or
2 State's attorney for criminal prosecution.
3 For purposes of this Act, the term "family preservation
4 services" refers to all services to prevent the placement of
5 children in substitute care when the children can be cared
6 for at home or in the custody of the person responsible for
7 the children's welfare without endangering the children's
8 health or safety, to reunite them with their families if so
9 placed when and if reunification is an appropriate goal, or
10 to maintain an adoptive placement. The term "homemaker"
11 includes emergency caretakers, homemakers, caretakers,
12 housekeepers and chore services. The term "counseling"
13 includes individual therapy, infant stimulation therapy,
14 family therapy, group therapy, self-help groups, drug and
15 alcohol abuse counseling, vocational counseling and
16 post-adoptive services. The term "day care" includes
17 protective day care and day care to meet educational,
18 prevocational or vocational needs. The term "emergency
19 assistance and advocacy" includes coordinated services to
20 secure emergency cash, food, housing and medical assistance
21 or advocacy for other subsistence and family protective
22 needs.
23 Before July 1, 2000, appropriate family preservation
24 services shall, subject to appropriation, be included in the
25 service plan if the Department has determined that those
26 services will ensure the child's health and safety, are in
27 the child's best interests, and will not place the child when
28 the child will not be in imminent risk of harm. Beginning
29 July 1, 2000, appropriate family preservation services shall
30 be uniformly available throughout the State. The Department
31 shall promptly notify children and families of the
32 Department's responsibility to offer and provide family
33 preservation services as identified in the service plan.
34 Such plans may include but are not limited to: case
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1 management services; homemakers; counseling; parent
2 education; day care; emergency assistance and advocacy
3 assessments; respite care; in-home health care;
4 transportation to obtain any of the above services; and
5 medical assistance. Nothing in this paragraph shall be
6 construed to create a private right of action or claim on the
7 part of any individual or child welfare agency.
8 The Department shall provide a preliminary report to the
9 General Assembly no later than January 1, 1991, in regard to
10 the provision of services authorized pursuant to this
11 Section. The report shall include:
12 (a) the number of families and children served, by
13 type of services;
14 (b) the outcome from the provision of such
15 services, including the number of families which remained
16 intact at least 6 months following the termination of
17 services;
18 (c) the number of families which have been subjects
19 of founded reports of abuse following the termination of
20 services;
21 (d) an analysis of general family circumstances in
22 which family preservation services have been determined
23 to be an effective intervention;
24 (e) information regarding the number of families in
25 need of services but unserved due to budget or program
26 criteria guidelines;
27 (f) an estimate of the time necessary for and the
28 annual cost of statewide implementation of such services;
29 (g) an estimate of the length of time before
30 expansion of these services will be made to include
31 families with children over the age of 6; and
32 (h) recommendations regarding any proposed
33 legislative changes to this program.
34 Each Department field office shall maintain on a local
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1 basis directories of services available to children and
2 families in the local area where the Department office is
3 located.
4 The Department shall refer children and families served
5 pursuant to this Section to private agencies and governmental
6 agencies, where available.
7 Where there are 2 equal proposals from both a
8 not-for-profit and a for-profit agency to provide services,
9 the Department shall give preference to the proposal from the
10 not-for-profit agency.
11 No service plan shall compel any child or parent to
12 engage in any activity or refrain from any activity which is
13 not reasonably related to remedying a condition or conditions
14 that gave rise or which could give rise to any finding of
15 child abuse or neglect.
16 (Source: P.A. 88-670, eff. 12-2-94; 89-21, eff. 6-6-95;
17 89-507, eff. 7-1-97; revised 2-7-97.)
18 Section 10-20. The Juvenile Court Act of 1987 is amended
19 by changing Sections 1-2, 1-3, 1-5, 1-8, 2-10, 2-10.1, 2-13,
20 2-14, 2-15, 2-16, 2-17, 2-17.1, 2-20, 2-21, 2-22, 2-23, 2-24,
21 2-25, 2-27, 2-28, 2-28.1, 2-29, and 2-31 and by adding
22 Section 2-27.5 as follows:
23 (705 ILCS 405/1-2) (from Ch. 37, par. 801-2)
24 (Text of Section before amendment by P.A. 89-704)
25 Sec. 1-2. Purpose and policy. (1) The purpose of this
26 Act is to secure for each minor subject hereto such care and
27 guidance, preferably in his or her own home, as will serve
28 the moral, emotional, mental, and physical welfare of the
29 minor and the best interests of the community; to preserve
30 and strengthen the minor's family ties whenever possible,
31 removing him or her from the custody of his or her parents
32 only when his or her welfare or safety or the protection of
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1 the public cannot be adequately safeguarded without removal;
2 and, when the minor is removed from his or her own family, to
3 secure for him or her custody, care and discipline as nearly
4 as possible equivalent to that which should be given by his
5 or her parents, and in cases where it should and can properly
6 be done to place the minor in a family home so that he or she
7 may become a member of the family by legal adoption or
8 otherwise.
9 (2) In all proceedings under this Act the court may
10 direct the course thereof so as promptly to ascertain the
11 jurisdictional facts and fully to gather information bearing
12 upon the current condition and future welfare of persons
13 subject to this Act. This Act shall be administered in a
14 spirit of humane concern, not only for the rights of the
15 parties, but also for the fears and the limits of
16 understanding of all who appear before the court.
17 (3) In all procedures under this Act, the following
18 shall apply:
19 (a) The procedural rights assured to the minor shall be
20 the rights of adults unless specifically precluded by laws
21 which enhance the protection of such minors.
22 (b) Every child has a right to services necessary to his
23 or her proper development, including health, education and
24 social services.
25 (c) The parents' right to the custody of their child
26 shall not prevail when the court determines that it is
27 contrary to the best interests of the child.
28 (4) This Act shall be liberally construed to carry out
29 the foregoing purpose and policy.
30 (Source: P.A. 85-601.)
31 (Text of Section after amendment by P.A. 89-704)
32 Sec. 1-2. Purpose and policy.
33 (1) The purpose of this Act is to secure for each minor
34 subject hereto such care and guidance, preferably in his or
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1 her own home, as will serve the safety and moral, emotional,
2 mental, and physical welfare of the minor and the best
3 interests of the community; to preserve and strengthen the
4 minor's family ties whenever possible, removing him or her
5 from the custody of his or her parents only when his or her
6 safety or welfare or safety or the protection of the public
7 cannot be adequately safeguarded without removal; if the
8 child is removed from the custody of his or her parent, the
9 Department of Children and Family Services immediately shall
10 consider concurrent planning, as described in Section 5 of
11 the Children and Family Services Act so that permanency may
12 occur at the earliest opportunity; consideration should be
13 given so that if reunification fails or is delayed, the
14 placement made is the best available placement to provide
15 permanency for the child; and, when the minor is removed from
16 his or her own family, to secure for him or her custody, care
17 and discipline as nearly as possible equivalent to that which
18 should be given by his or her parents, and in cases where it
19 should and can properly be done to place the minor in a
20 family home so that he or she may become a member of the
21 family by legal adoption or otherwise. Provided that a
22 ground for unfitness under the Adoption Act can be met, it
23 may be appropriate to expedite termination of parental
24 rights:
25 (a) when reasonable efforts are inappropriate, or have
26 been provided and were unsuccessful, and there are
27 aggravating circumstances including, but not limited to,
28 those cases in which (i) a child or a sibling of the child
29 was (A) abandoned, (B) tortured, or (C) chronically abused or
30 (ii) the parent is criminally convicted of (A) first degree
31 murder or second degree murder of any child, (B) attempt or
32 conspiracy to commit first degree murder or second degree
33 murder of any child, (C) solicitation to commit murder,
34 solicitation to commit murder for hire, or solicitation to
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1 commit second degree murder of any child, or accountability
2 for the first or second degree murder of any child, or (D)
3 aggravated criminal sexual assault in violation of Section
4 12-14(b)(1) of the Criminal Code of 1961; or
5 (b) when the parental rights of a parent with respect to
6 a sibling of the child have been terminated; or in
7 abandonment cases; or in those extreme cases in which the
8 parent's conduct toward the child or the child's sibling has
9 been so egregious that the behavior justifies termination of
10 parental rights; or
11 (c) in those extreme cases in which the parent's
12 incapacity to care for the child, combined with an extremely
13 poor prognosis for treatment or rehabilitation, justifies
14 expedited termination of a determination that parental rights
15 should be terminated.
16 (2) In all proceedings under this Act the court may
17 direct the course thereof so as promptly to ascertain the
18 jurisdictional facts and fully to gather information bearing
19 upon the current condition and future welfare of persons
20 subject to this Act. This Act shall be administered in a
21 spirit of humane concern, not only for the rights of the
22 parties, but also for the fears and the limits of
23 understanding of all who appear before the court.
24 (3) In all procedures under this Act, the following
25 shall apply:
26 (a) The procedural rights assured to the minor
27 shall be the rights of adults unless specifically
28 precluded by laws which enhance the protection of such
29 minors.
30 (b) Every child has a right to services necessary
31 to his or her safety and proper development, including
32 health, education and social services.
33 (c) The parents' right to the custody of their
34 child shall not prevail when the court determines that it
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1 is contrary to the health, safety, and best interests of
2 the child.
3 (4) This Act shall be liberally construed to carry out
4 the foregoing purpose and policy.
5 (Source: P.A. 89-704, eff. 1-1-98.)
6 (705 ILCS 405/1-3) (from Ch. 37, par. 801-3)
7 Sec. 1-3. Definitions. Terms used in this Act, unless
8 the context otherwise requires, have the following meanings
9 ascribed to them:
10 (1) Adjudicatory hearing. "Adjudicatory hearing" means a
11 hearing to determine whether the allegations of a petition
12 under Section 2-13, 3-15 or 4-12 that a minor under 18 years
13 of age is abused, neglected or dependent, or requires
14 authoritative intervention, or addicted, respectively, are
15 supported by a preponderance of the evidence or whether the
16 allegations of a petition under Section 5-13 that a minor is
17 delinquent are proved beyond a reasonable doubt.
18 (2) Adult. "Adult" means a person 21 years of age or
19 older.
20 (3) Agency. "Agency" means a public or private child
21 care facility legally authorized or licensed by this State
22 for placement or institutional care or for both placement and
23 institutional care.
24 (4) Association. "Association" means any organization,
25 public or private, engaged in welfare functions which include
26 services to or on behalf of children but does not include
27 "agency" as herein defined.
28 (4.05) Best Interests. Whenever a "best interest"
29 determination is required, the following factors shall be
30 considered in the context of the child's age and
31 developmental needs:
32 (a) the physical safety and welfare of the child,
33 including food, shelter, health, and clothing;
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1 (b) the development of the child's identity;
2 (c) the child's background and ties, including familial,
3 racial, cultural, religious;
4 (d) the child's sense of attachments, including:
5 (i) where the child actually feels love,
6 attachment, and a sense of being valued (as opposed to
7 where adults believe the child should feel such love,
8 attachment, and a sense of being valued);
9 (ii) the child's sense of security;
10 (iii) the child's sense of familiarity;
11 (iv) continuity of affection for the child;
12 (v) the least disruptive placement alternative for
13 the child;
14 (e) the child's wishes and long-term goals;
15 (f) the child's community ties, including church,
16 school, and friends;
17 (g) permanence for the child;
18 (h) the uniqueness of every family and child;
19 (i) the risks attendant to entering and being in
20 substitute care; and
21 (j) the preferences of the persons available to care for
22 the child.
23 (4.1) Chronic truant. "Chronic truant" shall have the
24 definition ascribed to it in Section 26-2a of The School
25 Code.
26 (5) Court. "Court" means the circuit court in a session
27 or division assigned to hear proceedings under this Act.
28 (6) Dispositional hearing. "Dispositional hearing" means
29 a hearing to determine whether a minor should be adjudged to
30 be a ward of the court, and to determine what order of
31 disposition should be made in respect to a minor adjudged to
32 be a ward of the court.
33 (7) Emancipated minor. "Emancipated minor" means any
34 minor 16 years of age or over who has been completely or
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1 partially emancipated under the "Emancipation of Mature
2 Minors Act", enacted by the Eighty-First General Assembly, or
3 under this Act.
4 (8) Guardianship of the person. "Guardianship of the
5 person" of a minor means the duty and authority to act in the
6 best interests of the minor, subject to residual parental
7 rights and responsibilities, to make important decisions in
8 matters having a permanent effect on the life and development
9 of the minor and to be concerned with his or her general
10 welfare. It includes but is not necessarily limited to:
11 (a) the authority to consent to marriage, to
12 enlistment in the armed forces of the United States, or
13 to a major medical, psychiatric, and surgical treatment;
14 to represent the minor in legal actions; and to make
15 other decisions of substantial legal significance
16 concerning the minor;
17 (b) the authority and duty of reasonable
18 visitation, except to the extent that these have been
19 limited in the best interests of the minor by court
20 order;
21 (c) the rights and responsibilities of legal
22 custody except where legal custody has been vested in
23 another person or agency; and
24 (d) the power to consent to the adoption of the
25 minor, but only if expressly conferred on the guardian in
26 accordance with Section 2-29, 3-30, 4-27 or 5-31.
27 (9) Legal custody. "Legal custody" means the
28 relationship created by an order of court in the best
29 interests of the minor which imposes on the custodian the
30 responsibility of physical possession of a minor and the duty
31 to protect, train and discipline him and to provide him with
32 food, shelter, education and ordinary medical care, except as
33 these are limited by residual parental rights and
34 responsibilities and the rights and responsibilities of the
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1 guardian of the person, if any.
2 (10) Minor. "Minor" means a person under the age of 21
3 years subject to this Act.
4 (11) Parents. "Parent" means the father or mother of a
5 child and includes any adoptive parent. It also includes the
6 father whose paternity is presumed or has been established
7 under the law of this or another jurisdiction. It does not
8 include a parent whose rights in respect to the minor have
9 been terminated in any manner provided by law.
10 (11.1) "Permanency goal" means a goal set by a service
11 plan or an administrative case review, including, but not
12 limited to, (i) remaining home, (ii) returning home to a
13 specified parent or guardian, (iii) adoption, (iv) successor
14 guardianship, (v) long-term relative foster care, (vi) other
15 long-term substitute care, when no other goal is appropriate,
16 or (vii) emancipation the court as defined in subdivision
17 (2)(c) of Section 2-28.
18 (11.2) "Permanency review hearing" means a hearing to
19 review and determine (i) the appropriateness of the
20 permanency goal in light of the permanency alternatives, (ii)
21 the appropriateness of the services contained in the plan and
22 whether those services have been provided to achieve the
23 goal, (iii) whether reasonable efforts have been made by all
24 the parties to the service plan to achieve the the
25 appropriateness of the services delivered and to be delivered
26 to effectuate the plan and goal, and (iv) the efforts being
27 made by all the parties to achieve whether the plan and goal
28 have been achieved.
29 (12) Petition. "Petition" means the petition provided
30 for in Section 2-13, 3-15, 4-12 or 5-13, including any
31 supplemental petitions thereunder in Section 3-15, 4-12 or
32 5-13.
33 (13) Residual parental rights and responsibilities.
34 "Residual parental rights and responsibilities" means those
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1 rights and responsibilities remaining with the parent after
2 the transfer of legal custody or guardianship of the person,
3 including, but not necessarily limited to, the right to
4 reasonable visitation (which may be limited by the court in
5 the best interests of the minor as provided in subsection
6 (8)(b) of this Section), the right to consent to adoption,
7 the right to determine the minor's religious affiliation, and
8 the responsibility for his support.
9 (14) Shelter. "Shelter" means the temporary care of a
10 minor in physically unrestricting facilities pending court
11 disposition or execution of court order for placement.
12 (15) Station adjustment. "Station adjustment" means the
13 informal handling of an alleged offender by a juvenile police
14 officer.
15 (16) Ward of the court. "Ward of the court" means a
16 minor who is so adjudged under Section 2-22, 3-23, 4-20 or
17 5-22, after a finding of the requisite jurisdictional facts,
18 and thus is subject to the dispositional powers of the court
19 under this Act.
20 (17) Juvenile police officer. "Juvenile police officer"
21 means a sworn police officer who has completed a Basic
22 Recruit Training Course, has been assigned to the position of
23 juvenile police officer by his or her chief law enforcement
24 officer and has completed the necessary juvenile officers
25 training as prescribed by the Illinois Law Enforcement
26 Training Standards Board, or in the case of a State police
27 officer, juvenile officer training approved by the Director
28 of the Department of State Police.
29 (Source: P.A. 88-7, Sec. 5; 88-7, Sec. 15; 88-487; 88-586,
30 eff. 8-12-94; 88-670, eff. 12-2-94.)
31 (705 ILCS 405/1-5) (from Ch. 37, par. 801-5)
32 Sec. 1-5. Rights of parties to proceedings.
33 (1) Except as provided in this Section and paragraph (2)
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1 of Sections 2-22, 3-23, 4-20 or 5-22, the minor who is the
2 subject of the proceeding and his parents, guardian, legal
3 custodian or responsible relative who are parties respondent
4 have the right to be present, to be heard, to present
5 evidence material to the proceedings, to cross-examine
6 witnesses, to examine pertinent court files and records and
7 also, although proceedings under this Act are not intended to
8 be adversary in character, the right to be represented by
9 counsel. At the request of any party financially unable to
10 employ counsel, with the exception of a foster parent
11 permitted to intervene under this Section, the court shall
12 appoint the Public Defender or such other counsel as the case
13 may require. Counsel appointed for the minor and any indigent
14 party shall appear at all stages of the trial court
15 proceeding, including permanency hearings and termination of
16 parental rights proceedings.
17 No hearing on any petition or motion filed under this Act
18 may be commenced unless the minor who is the subject of the
19 proceeding is represented by counsel. Each adult respondent
20 shall be furnished a written "Notice of Rights" at or before
21 the first hearing at which he or she appears.
22 (2) (a) Though not appointed guardian or legal custodian
23 or otherwise made a party to the proceeding, any current or
24 previously appointed foster parent or representative of an
25 agency or association interested in the minor has the right
26 to be heard by the court, but does not thereby become a party
27 to the proceeding.
28 In addition to the foregoing right to be heard by the
29 court, any current foster parent of a minor and the agency
30 designated by the court or the Department of Children and
31 Family Services as custodian of the minor who has been
32 adjudicated an abused or neglected minor under Section 2-3 or
33 a dependent minor under Section 2-4 of this Act has the right
34 to and shall be given adequate notice at all stages of any
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1 hearing or proceeding under this Act wherein the custody or
2 status of the minor may be changed. Such notice shall
3 contain a statement regarding the nature and denomination of
4 the hearing or proceeding to be held, the change in custody
5 or status of the minor sought to be obtained at such hearing
6 or proceeding, and the date, time and place of such hearing
7 or proceeding. The Department of Children and Family
8 Services or the licensed child welfare agency that has placed
9 the minor with the foster parent shall notify the clerk of
10 the court of the name and address of the current foster
11 parent. The clerk shall mail the notice by certified mail
12 marked for delivery to addressee only. The regular return
13 receipt for certified mail is sufficient proof of service.
14 Any foster parent who is denied his or her right to be
15 heard under this Section may bring a mandamus action under
16 Article XIV of the Code of Civil Procedure against the court
17 or any public agency to enforce that right. The mandamus
18 action may be brought immediately upon the denial of those
19 rights but in no event later than 30 days after the foster
20 parent has been denied the right to be heard.
21 (b) If after an adjudication that a minor is abused or
22 neglected as provided under Section 2-21 of this Act and a
23 motion an application has been made to restore the minor to
24 any parent, guardian, or legal custodian found by the court
25 to have caused the neglect or to have inflicted the abuse on
26 the minor, a foster parent may file a motion petition the
27 court to intervene in the proceeding for the sole purpose of
28 requesting that the minor be placed with the foster parent,
29 provided that the foster parent (i) is the current foster
30 parent of the minor or (ii) has previously been a foster
31 parent for the minor for one year or more, has a foster care
32 license or is eligible for a license, and is not the subject
33 of any findings of abuse or neglect of any child. The
34 juvenile court may only enter orders placing a minor with a
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1 specific foster parent under this subsection (2)(b) and
2 nothing in this Section shall be construed to confer any
3 jurisdiction or authority on the juvenile court to issue any
4 other orders requiring the appointed guardian or custodian of
5 a minor to place the minor in a designated foster home or
6 facility. This Section is not intended to encompass any
7 matters that are within the scope or determinable under the
8 administrative and appeal process established by rules of the
9 Department of Children and Family Services under Section 5(o)
10 of the Children and Family Services Act. Nothing in this
11 Section shall relieve the court of its responsibility, under
12 Section 2-14(a) of this Act to act in a just and speedy
13 manner to reunify families where it is the best interests of
14 the minor and the child can be cared for at home without
15 endangering the child's health or safety and, if
16 reunification is not in the best interests of the minor, to
17 find another permanent home for the minor. Nothing in this
18 Section, or in any order issued by the court with respect to
19 the placement of a minor with a foster parent, shall impair
20 the ability of the Department of Children and Family
21 Services, or anyone else authorized under Section 5 of the
22 Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act, to remove a minor
23 from the home of a foster parent if the Department of
24 Children and Family Services or the person removing the minor
25 has reason to believe that the circumstances or conditions of
26 the minor are such that continuing in the residence or care
27 of the foster parent will jeopardize the child's health and
28 safety or present an imminent risk of harm to that minor's
29 life or health.
30 (c) If a foster parent has had the minor who is the
31 subject of the proceeding under Article II in his or her home
32 for more than one year on or after July 3, 1994 and if the
33 minor's placement is being terminated from that foster
34 parent's home, that foster parent shall have standing and
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1 intervenor status except in those circumstances where the
2 Department of Children and Family Services or anyone else
3 authorized under Section 5 of the Abused and Neglected Child
4 Reporting Act has removed the minor from the foster parent
5 because of a reasonable belief that the circumstances or
6 conditions of the minor are such that continuing in the
7 residence or care of the foster parent will jeopardize the
8 child's health or safety or presents an imminent risk of harm
9 to the minor's life or health.
10 (d) The court may grant standing to any foster parent if
11 the court finds that it is in the best interest of the child
12 for the foster parent to have standing and intervenor status.
13 (3) Parties respondent are entitled to notice in
14 compliance with Sections 2-15 and 2-16, 3-17 and 3-18, 4-14
15 and 4-15 or 5-15 and 5-16, as appropriate. At the first
16 appearance before the court by the minor, his parents,
17 guardian, custodian or responsible relative, the court shall
18 explain the nature of the proceedings and inform the parties
19 of their rights under the first 2 paragraphs of this Section.
20 If the child is alleged to be abused, neglected or
21 dependent, the court shall admonish the parents that if the
22 court declares the child to be a ward of the court and awards
23 custody or guardianship to the Department of Children and
24 Family Services, the parents must cooperate with the
25 Department of Children and Family Services, comply with the
26 terms of the service plans, and correct the conditions that
27 require the child to be in care, or risk termination of their
28 parental rights.
29 Upon an adjudication of wardship of the court under
30 Sections 2-22, 3-23, 4-20 or 5-22, the court shall inform the
31 parties of their right to appeal therefrom as well as from
32 any other final judgment of the court.
33 When the court finds that a child is an abused,
34 neglected, or dependent minor under Section 2-21, the court
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1 shall admonish the parents that the parents must cooperate
2 with the Department of Children and Family Services, comply
3 with the terms of the service plans, and correct the
4 conditions that require the child to be in care, or risk
5 termination of their parental rights.
6 When the court declares a child to be a ward of the court
7 and awards guardianship to the Department of Children and
8 Family Services under Section 2-22, the court shall admonish
9 the parents, guardian, custodian, or responsible relative
10 that the parents must cooperate with the Department of
11 Children and Family Services, comply with the terms of the
12 service plans, and correct the conditions that require the
13 child to be in care, or risk termination of their parental
14 rights.
15 (4) No sanction may be applied against the minor who is
16 the subject of the proceedings by reason of his refusal or
17 failure to testify in the course of any hearing held prior to
18 final adjudication under Section 2-22, 3-23, 4-20 or 5-22.
19 (5) In the discretion of the court, the minor may be
20 excluded from any part or parts of a dispositional hearing
21 and, with the consent of the parent or parents, guardian,
22 counsel or a guardian ad litem, from any part or parts of an
23 adjudicatory hearing.
24 (6) The general public except for the news media and the
25 victim shall be excluded from any hearing and, except for the
26 persons specified in this Section only persons, including
27 representatives of agencies and associations, who in the
28 opinion of the court have a direct interest in the case or in
29 the work of the court shall be admitted to the hearing.
30 However, the court may, for the minor's safety and protection
31 and for good cause shown, prohibit any person or agency
32 present in court from further disclosing the minor's
33 identity.
34 (Source: P.A. 87-759; 88-7; 88-549, eff. 7-3-94; 88-550, eff.
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1 7-3-94; 88-691, eff. 1-24-95; 89-235, eff. 8-4-95.)
2 (705 ILCS 405/1-8) (from Ch. 37, par. 801-8)
3 Sec. 1-8. Confidentiality and accessibility of juvenile
4 court records.
5 (A) Inspection and copying of juvenile court records
6 relating to a minor who is the subject of a proceeding under
7 this Act shall be restricted to the following:
8 (1) The minor who is the subject of record, his
9 parents, guardian and counsel.
10 (2) Law enforcement officers and law enforcement
11 agencies when such information is essential to executing
12 an arrest or search warrant or other compulsory process,
13 or to conducting an ongoing investigation or relating to
14 a minor who has been adjudicated delinquent and there has
15 been a previous finding that the act which constitutes
16 the previous offense was committed in furtherance of
17 criminal activities by a criminal street gang.
18 Before July 1, 1994, for the purposes of this
19 Section, "criminal street gang" means any ongoing
20 organization, association, or group of 3 or more persons,
21 whether formal or informal, having as one of its primary
22 activities the commission of one or more criminal acts
23 and that has a common name or common identifying sign,
24 symbol or specific color apparel displayed, and whose
25 members individually or collectively engage in or have
26 engaged in a pattern of criminal activity.
27 Beginning July 1, 1994, for purposes of this
28 Section, "criminal street gang" has the meaning ascribed
29 to it in Section 10 of the Illinois Streetgang Terrorism
30 Omnibus Prevention Act.
31 (3) Judges, hearing officers, prosecutors,
32 probation officers, social workers or other individuals
33 assigned by the court to conduct a pre-adjudication or
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1 predisposition investigation, and individuals responsible
2 for supervising or providing temporary or permanent care
3 and custody for minors pursuant to the order of the
4 juvenile court when essential to performing their
5 responsibilities.
6 (4) Judges, prosecutors and probation officers:
7 (a) in the course of a trial when institution
8 of criminal proceedings has been permitted under
9 Section 5-4 or required under Section 5-4; or
10 (b) when criminal proceedings have been
11 permitted under Section 5-4 or required under
12 Section 5-4 and a minor is the subject of a
13 proceeding to determine the amount of bail; or
14 (c) when criminal proceedings have been
15 permitted under Section 5-4 or required under
16 Section 5-4 and a minor is the subject of a
17 pre-trial investigation, pre-sentence investigation
18 or fitness hearing, or proceedings on an application
19 for probation; or
20 (d) when a minor becomes 17 years of age or
21 older, and is the subject of criminal proceedings,
22 including a hearing to determine the amount of bail,
23 a pre-trial investigation, a pre-sentence
24 investigation, a fitness hearing, or proceedings on
25 an application for probation.
26 (5) Adult and Juvenile Prisoner Review Boards.
27 (6) Authorized military personnel.
28 (7) Victims, their subrogees and legal
29 representatives; however, such persons shall have access
30 only to the name and address of the minor and information
31 pertaining to the disposition or alternative adjustment
32 plan of the juvenile court.
33 (8) Persons engaged in bona fide research, with the
34 permission of the presiding judge of the juvenile court
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1 and the chief executive of the agency that prepared the
2 particular records; provided that publication of such
3 research results in no disclosure of a minor's identity
4 and protects the confidentiality of the record.
5 (9) The Secretary of State to whom the Clerk of the
6 Court shall report the disposition of all cases, as
7 required in Section 6-204 of The Illinois Vehicle Code.
8 However, information reported relative to these offenses
9 shall be privileged and available only to the Secretary
10 of State, courts, and police officers.
11 (10) The administrator of a bonafide substance
12 abuse student assistance program with the permission of
13 the presiding judge of the juvenile court.
14 (B) A minor who is the victim in a juvenile proceeding
15 shall be provided the same confidentiality regarding
16 disclosure of identity as the minor who is the subject of
17 record.
18 (C) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection (C),
19 juvenile court records shall not be made available to the
20 general public but may be inspected by representatives of
21 agencies, associations and news media or other properly
22 interested persons by general or special order of the court.
23 The State's Attorney, the minor, his parents, guardian and
24 counsel shall at all times have the right to examine court
25 files and records.
26 (1) The court shall allow the general public to
27 have access to the name, address, and offense of a minor
28 who is adjudicated a delinquent minor under this Act
29 under either of the following circumstances:
30 (A) The adjudication of delinquency was based
31 upon the minor's commission of first degree murder,
32 attempt to commit first degree murder, aggravated
33 criminal sexual assault, or criminal sexual assault;
34 or
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1 (B) The court has made a finding that the
2 minor was at least 13 years of age at the time the
3 act was committed and the adjudication of
4 delinquency was based upon the minor's commission
5 of: (i) an act in furtherance of the commission of a
6 felony as a member of or on behalf of a criminal
7 street gang, (ii) an act involving the use of a
8 firearm in the commission of a felony, (iii) an act
9 that would be a Class X felony offense under or the
10 minor's second or subsequent Class 2 or greater
11 felony offense under the Cannabis Control Act if
12 committed by an adult, (iv) an act that would be a
13 second or subsequent offense under Section 402 of
14 the Illinois Controlled Substances Act if committed
15 by an adult, or (v) an act that would be an offense
16 under Section 401 of the Illinois Controlled
17 Substances Act if committed by an adult.
18 (2) The court shall allow the general public to
19 have access to the name, address, and offense of a minor
20 who is at least 13 years of age at the time the offense
21 is committed and who is convicted, in criminal
22 proceedings permitted or required under Section 5-4,
23 under either of the following circumstances:
24 (A) The minor has been convicted of first
25 degree murder, attempt to commit first degree
26 murder, aggravated criminal sexual assault, or
27 criminal sexual assault,
28 (B) The court has made a finding that the
29 minor was at least 13 years of age at the time the
30 offense was committed and the conviction was based
31 upon the minor's commission of: (i) an offense in
32 furtherance of the commission of a felony as a
33 member of or on behalf of a criminal street gang,
34 (ii) an offense involving the use of a firearm in
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1 the commission of a felony, (iii) a Class X felony
2 offense under or a second or subsequent Class 2 or
3 greater felony offense under the Cannabis Control
4 Act, (iv) a second or subsequent offense under
5 Section 402 of the Illinois Controlled Substances
6 Act, or (v) an offense under Section 401 of the
7 Illinois Controlled Substances Act.
8 (D) Pending or following any adjudication of delinquency
9 for any offense defined in Sections 12-13 through 12-16 of
10 the Criminal Code of 1961, the victim of any such offense
11 shall receive the rights set out in Sections 4 and 6 of the
12 Bill of Rights for Victims and Witnesses of Violent Crime
13 Act; and the juvenile who is the subject of the adjudication,
14 notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, shall be
15 treated as an adult for the purpose of affording such rights
16 to the victim.
17 (E) Nothing in this Section shall affect the right of a
18 Civil Service Commission or appointing authority examining
19 the character and fitness of an applicant for a position as a
20 law enforcement officer to ascertain whether that applicant
21 was ever adjudicated to be a delinquent minor and, if so, to
22 examine the records of disposition or evidence which were
23 made in proceedings under this Act.
24 (F) Following any adjudication of delinquency for a
25 crime which would be a felony if committed by an adult, or
26 following any adjudication of delinquency for a violation of
27 Section 24-1, 24-3, 24-3.1, or 24-5 of the Criminal Code of
28 1961, the State's Attorney shall ascertain whether the minor
29 respondent is enrolled in school and, if so, shall provide a
30 copy of the dispositional order to the principal or chief
31 administrative officer of the school. Access to such
32 juvenile records shall be limited to the principal or chief
33 administrative officer of the school and any guidance
34 counselor designated by him.
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1 (G) Nothing contained in this Act prevents the sharing
2 or disclosure of information or records relating or
3 pertaining to juveniles subject to the provisions of the
4 Serious Habitual Offender Comprehensive Action Program when
5 that information is used to assist in the early
6 identification and treatment of habitual juvenile offenders.
7 (H) When a Court hearing a proceeding under Article II
8 of this Act becomes aware that an earlier proceeding under
9 Article II had been heard in a different county, that Court
10 shall request, and the Court in which the earlier proceedings
11 were initiated shall transmit, an authenticated copy of the
12 Court record, including all documents, petitions, and orders
13 filed therein and the minute orders, transcript of
14 proceedings, and docket entries of the Court.
15 (I) The Clerk of the Circuit Court shall report to the
16 Department of State Police, in the form and manner required
17 by the Department of State Police, the final disposition of
18 each minor who has been arrested or taken into custody before
19 his or her 17th birthday for those offenses required to be
20 reported under Section 5 of the Criminal Identification Act.
21 Information reported to the Department under this Section may
22 be maintained with records that the Department files under
23 Section 2.1 of the Criminal Identification Act.
24 (Source: P.A. 88-45; 88-51; 88-344; 88-467; 88-548, eff.
25 1-1-95; 88-550, eff. 7-3-94; 88-614, eff. 9-7-94; 88-670,
26 eff. 12-2-94; 89-198, eff. 7-21-95; 89-235, eff. 8-4-95;
27 89-377, eff. 8-18-95; 89-626, eff. 8-9-96.)
28 (705 ILCS 405/2-10) (from Ch. 37, par. 802-10)
29 Sec. 2-10. Temporary custody hearing. At the appearance
30 of the minor before the court at the temporary custody
31 hearing, all witnesses present shall be examined before the
32 court in relation to any matter connected with the
33 allegations made in the petition.
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1 (1) If the court finds that there is not probable cause
2 to believe that the minor is abused, neglected or dependent
3 it shall release the minor and dismiss the petition.
4 (2) If the court finds that there is probable cause to
5 believe that the minor is abused, neglected or dependent, the
6 court shall state in writing the factual basis supporting its
7 finding and the minor, his or her parent, guardian, custodian
8 and other persons able to give relevant testimony shall be
9 examined before the court. The Department of Children and
10 Family Services shall give testimony concerning indicated
11 reports of abuse and neglect, of which they are aware of
12 through the central registry, involving the minor's parent,
13 guardian or custodian. After such testimony, the court may,
14 consistent with if it is in the health, safety and best
15 interests of the minor, enter an order that the minor shall
16 be released upon the request of parent, guardian or custodian
17 if the parent, guardian or custodian appears to take custody.
18 Custodian shall include any agency of the State which has
19 been given custody or wardship of the child. If it is
20 consistent with in the health, safety and best interests of
21 the minor, the court may also prescribe shelter care and
22 order that the minor be kept in a suitable place designated
23 by the court or in a shelter care facility designated by the
24 Department of Children and Family Services or a licensed
25 child welfare agency; however, a minor charged with a
26 criminal offense under the Criminal Code of 1961 or
27 adjudicated delinquent shall not be placed in the custody of
28 or committed to the Department of Children and Family
29 Services by any court, except a minor less than 13 years of
30 age and committed to the Department of Children and Family
31 Services under Section 5-23 of this Act or a minor for whom
32 an independent basis of abuse, neglect, or dependency exists,
33 which must be defined by departmental rule. In placing the
34 minor, the Department or other agency shall, to the extent
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1 compatible with the court's order, comply with Section 7 of
2 the Children and Family Services Act. In determining that it
3 is in the health, safety and best interests of the minor to
4 prescribe shelter care, the court must find that it is a
5 matter of immediate and urgent necessity for the safety and
6 protection of the minor or of the person or property of
7 another that the minor be placed in a shelter care facility
8 or that he or she is likely to flee the jurisdiction of the
9 court, and must further find that reasonable efforts have
10 been made or that, consistent with the health, safety and in
11 the best interests of the minor, no efforts reasonably can be
12 made to prevent or eliminate the necessity of removal of the
13 minor from his or her home. The court shall require
14 documentation from the Department of Children and Family
15 Services as to the reasonable efforts that were made to
16 prevent or eliminate the necessity of removal of the minor
17 from his or her home or the reasons why no efforts reasonably
18 could be made to prevent or eliminate the necessity of
19 removal. When a minor is placed in the home of a relative,
20 the Department of Children and Family Services shall complete
21 a preliminary background review of the members of the minor's
22 custodian's household in accordance with Section 4.3 of the
23 Child Care Act of 1969 within 90 days of that placement. If
24 the minor is ordered placed in a shelter care facility of the
25 Department of Children and Family Services or a licensed
26 child welfare agency, the court shall, upon request of the
27 appropriate Department or other agency, appoint the
28 Department of Children and Family Services Guardianship
29 Administrator or other appropriate agency executive temporary
30 custodian of the minor and the court may enter such other
31 orders related to the temporary custody as it deems fit and
32 proper, including the provision of services to the minor or
33 his family to ameliorate the causes contributing to the
34 finding of probable cause or to the finding of the existence
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1 of immediate and urgent necessity. Acceptance of services
2 shall not be considered an admission of any allegation in a
3 petition made pursuant to this Act, nor may a referral of
4 services be considered as evidence in any proceeding pursuant
5 to this Act, except where the issue is whether the Department
6 has made reasonable efforts to reunite the family. In making
7 its findings that it is consistent with in the health, safety
8 and best interests of the minor to prescribe shelter care,
9 the court shall state in writing (i) the factual basis
10 supporting its findings concerning the immediate and urgent
11 necessity for the protection of the minor or of the person or
12 property of another and (ii) the factual basis supporting its
13 findings that reasonable efforts were made to prevent or
14 eliminate the removal of the minor from his or her home or
15 that no efforts reasonably could be made to prevent or
16 eliminate the removal of the minor from his or her home. The
17 parents, guardian, custodian, temporary custodian and minor
18 shall each be furnished a copy of such written findings. The
19 temporary custodian shall maintain a copy of the court order
20 and written findings in the case record for the child. The
21 order together with the court's findings of fact in support
22 thereof shall be entered of record in the court.
23 Once the court finds that it is a matter of immediate and
24 urgent necessity for the protection of the minor that the
25 minor be placed in a shelter care facility, the minor shall
26 not be returned to the parent, custodian or guardian until
27 the court finds that such placement is no longer necessary
28 for the protection of the minor.
29 If the child is placed in the temporary custody of the
30 Department of Children and Family Services for his or her
31 protection, the court shall admonish the parents, guardian,
32 custodian or responsible relative that the parents must
33 cooperate with the Department of Children and Family
34 Services, comply with the terms of the service plans, and
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1 correct the conditions which require the child to be in care,
2 or risk termination of their parental rights.
3 (3) If prior to the shelter care hearing for a minor
4 described in Sections 2-3, 2-4, 3-3 and 4-3 the moving party
5 is unable to serve notice on the party respondent, the
6 shelter care hearing may proceed ex-parte. A shelter care
7 order from an ex-parte hearing shall be endorsed with the
8 date and hour of issuance and shall be filed with the clerk's
9 office and entered of record. The order shall expire after 10
10 days from the time it is issued unless before its expiration
11 it is renewed, at a hearing upon appearance of the party
12 respondent, or upon an affidavit of the moving party as to
13 all diligent efforts to notify the party respondent by notice
14 as herein prescribed. The notice prescribed shall be in
15 writing and shall be personally delivered to the minor or the
16 minor's attorney and to the last known address of the other
17 person or persons entitled to notice. The notice shall also
18 state the nature of the allegations, the nature of the order
19 sought by the State, including whether temporary custody is
20 sought, and the consequences of failure to appear and shall
21 contain a notice that the parties will not be entitled to
22 further written notices or publication notices of proceedings
23 in this case, including the filing of an amended petition or
24 a motion to terminate parental rights; and shall explain the
25 right of the parties and the procedures to vacate or modify a
26 shelter care order as provided in this Section. The notice
27 for a shelter care hearing shall be substantially as follows:
28 NOTICE TO PARENTS AND CHILDREN
29 OF SHELTER CARE HEARING
30 On ................ at ........., before the
31 Honorable ................, (address:) .................,
32 the State of Illinois will present evidence (1) that
33 (name of child or children) ....................... are
34 abused, neglected or dependent for the following reasons:
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1 .............................................. and (2)
2 that there is "immediate and urgent necessity" to remove
3 the child or children from the responsible relative.
4 YOUR FAILURE TO APPEAR AT THE HEARING MAY RESULT IN
5 PLACEMENT of the child or children in foster care until a
6 trial can be held. A trial may not be held for up to 90
7 days. You will not be entitled to further notices of
8 proceedings in this case, including the filing of an
9 amended petition or a motion to terminate parental
10 rights.
11 At the shelter care hearing, parents have the
12 following rights:
13 1. To ask the court to appoint a lawyer if
14 they cannot afford one.
15 2. To ask the court to continue the hearing to
16 allow them time to prepare.
17 3. To present evidence concerning:
18 a. Whether or not the child or children
19 were abused, neglected or dependent.
20 b. Whether or not there is "immediate and
21 urgent necessity" to remove the child from home
22 (including: their ability to care for the
23 child, conditions in the home, alternative
24 means of protecting the child other than
25 removal).
26 c. The best interests of the child.
27 4. To cross examine the State's witnesses.
28 The Notice for rehearings shall be substantially as
29 follows:
30 NOTICE OF PARENT'S AND CHILDREN'S RIGHTS
31 TO REHEARING ON TEMPORARY CUSTODY
32 If you were not present at and did not have adequate
33 notice of the Shelter Care Hearing at which temporary
34 custody of ............... was awarded to
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1 ................, you have the right to request a full
2 rehearing on whether the State should have temporary
3 custody of ................. To request this rehearing,
4 you must file with the Clerk of the Juvenile Court
5 (address): ........................, in person or by
6 mailing a statement (affidavit) setting forth the
7 following:
8 1. That you were not present at the shelter
9 care hearing.
10 2. That you did not get adequate notice
11 (explaining how the notice was inadequate).
12 3. Your signature.
13 4. Signature must be notarized.
14 The rehearing should be scheduled within one day of
15 your filing this affidavit.
16 At the rehearing, your rights are the same as at the
17 initial shelter care hearing. The enclosed notice
18 explains those rights.
19 At the Shelter Care Hearing, children have the
20 following rights:
21 1. To have a guardian ad litem appointed.
22 2. To be declared competent as a witness and
23 to present testimony concerning:
24 a. Whether they are abused, neglected or
25 dependent.
26 b. Whether there is "immediate and urgent
27 necessity" to be removed from home.
28 c. Their best interests.
29 3. To cross examine witnesses for other
30 parties.
31 4. To obtain an explanation of any proceedings
32 and orders of the court.
33 (4) If the parent, guardian, legal custodian,
34 responsible relative, minor age 8 or over, or counsel of the
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1 minor did not have actual notice of or was not present at the
2 shelter care hearing, he or she may file an affidavit setting
3 forth these facts, and the clerk shall set the matter for
4 rehearing not later than 48 hours, excluding Sundays and
5 legal holidays, after the filing of the affidavit. At the
6 rehearing, the court shall proceed in the same manner as upon
7 the original hearing.
8 (5) Only when there is reasonable cause to believe that
9 the minor taken into custody is a person described in Section
10 5-3 may the minor be kept or detained in a detention home or
11 county or municipal jail. This Section shall in no way be
12 construed to limit subsection (6).
13 (6) No minor under 16 years of age may be confined in a
14 jail or place ordinarily used for the confinement of
15 prisoners in a police station. Minors under 17 years of age
16 must be kept separate from confined adults and may not at any
17 time be kept in the same cell, room, or yard with adults
18 confined pursuant to the criminal law.
19 (7) If the minor is not brought before a judicial
20 officer within the time period as specified in Section 2-9,
21 the minor must immediately be released from custody.
22 (8) If neither the parent, guardian or custodian appears
23 within 24 hours to take custody of a minor released upon
24 request pursuant to subsection (2) of this Section, then the
25 clerk of the court shall set the matter for rehearing not
26 later than 7 days after the original order and shall issue a
27 summons directed to the parent, guardian or custodian to
28 appear. At the same time the probation department shall
29 prepare a report on the minor. If a parent, guardian or
30 custodian does not appear at such rehearing, the judge may
31 enter an order prescribing that the minor be kept in a
32 suitable place designated by the Department of Children and
33 Family Services or a licensed child welfare agency.
34 (9) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section
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1 any interested party, including the State, the temporary
2 custodian, an agency providing services to the minor or
3 family under a service plan pursuant to Section 8.2 of the
4 Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act, foster parent, or
5 any of their representatives, on notice to all parties
6 entitled to notice, may file a motion that it is in the best
7 interests of the minor to modify or vacate a temporary
8 custody order on any of the following grounds:
9 (a) It is no longer a matter of immediate and
10 urgent necessity that the minor remain in shelter care;
11 or
12 (b) There is a material change in the circumstances
13 of the natural family from which the minor was removed
14 and the child can be cared for at home without
15 endangering the child's health or safety; or
16 (c) A person not a party to the alleged abuse,
17 neglect or dependency, including a parent, relative or
18 legal guardian, is capable of assuming temporary custody
19 of the minor; or
20 (d) Services provided by the Department of Children
21 and Family Services or a child welfare agency or other
22 service provider have been successful in eliminating the
23 need for temporary custody and the child can be cared for
24 at home without endangering the child's health or safety.
25 In ruling on the motion, the court shall determine
26 whether it is consistent with in the health, safety and best
27 interests of the minor to modify or vacate a temporary
28 custody order.
29 The clerk shall set the matter for hearing not later than
30 14 days after such motion is filed. In the event that the
31 court modifies or vacates a temporary custody order but does
32 not vacate its finding of probable cause, the court may order
33 that appropriate services be continued or initiated in behalf
34 of the minor and his or her family.
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1 (10) When the court finds or has found that there is
2 probable cause to believe a minor is an abused minor as
3 described in subsection (2) of Section 2-3 and that there is
4 an immediate and urgent necessity for the abused minor to be
5 placed in shelter care, immediate and urgent necessity shall
6 be presumed for any other minor residing in the same
7 household as the abused minor provided:
8 (a) Such other minor is the subject of an abuse or
9 neglect petition pending before the court; and
10 (b) A party to the petition is seeking shelter care
11 for such other minor.
12 Once the presumption of immediate and urgent necessity
13 has been raised, the burden of demonstrating the lack of
14 immediate and urgent necessity shall be on any party that is
15 opposing shelter care for the other minor.
16 (Source: P.A. 88-7; 88-491; 88-614, eff. 9-7-94; 88-670, eff.
17 12-2-94; 89-21, eff. 7-1-95; 89-422; 89-582, eff. 1-1-97;
18 89-626, eff. 8-9-96.)
19 (705 ILCS 405/2-10.1) (from Ch. 37, par. 802-10.1)
20 Sec. 2-10.1. Whenever a minor is placed in shelter care
21 with the Department or a licensed child welfare agency in
22 accordance with Section 2-10, the Department or agency, as
23 appropriate, shall prepare and file with the court within 45
24 days of placement under Section 2-10 a case plan which
25 complies with the federal Adoption Assistance and Child
26 Welfare Act of 1980 and is consistent with in the health,
27 safety and best interests of the minor.
28 (Source: P.A. 88-487.)
29 (705 ILCS 405/2-13) (from Ch. 37, par. 802-13)
30 (Text of Section before amendment by P.A. 89-704)
31 Sec. 2-13. Petition; supplemental petitions.
32 (1) Any adult person, any agency or association by its
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1 representative may file, or the court on its own motion in
2 the best interests of the minor may direct the filing through
3 the State's Attorney of a petition in respect of a minor
4 under this Act. The petition and all subsequent court
5 documents shall be entitled "In the interest of ...., a
6 minor".
7 (2) The petition shall be verified but the statements
8 may be made upon information and belief. It shall allege that
9 the minor is abused, neglected, or dependent, with citations
10 to the appropriate provisions of this Act, and set forth (a)
11 facts sufficient to bring the minor under Section 2-3 or 2-4
12 and to inform respondents of the cause of action, including,
13 but not limited to, a plain and concise statement of the
14 factual allegations that form the basis for the filing of the
15 petition; (b) the name, age and residence of the minor; (c)
16 the names and residences of his parents; (d) the name and
17 residence of his legal guardian or the person or persons
18 having custody or control of the minor, or of the nearest
19 known relative if no parent or guardian can be found; and (e)
20 if the minor upon whose behalf the petition is brought is
21 sheltered in custody, the date on which such temporary
22 custody was ordered by the court or the date set for a
23 temporary custody hearing. If any of the facts herein
24 required are not known by the petitioner, the petition shall
25 so state.
26 (3) The petition must allege that it is in the best
27 interests of the minor and of the public that he be adjudged
28 a ward of the court and may pray generally for relief
29 available under this Act. The petition need not specify any
30 proposed disposition following adjudication of wardship.
31 (4) If appointment of a guardian of the person with
32 power to consent to adoption of the minor under Section 2-29
33 is sought, the petition shall so state.
34 (5) At any time before dismissal of the petition or
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1 before final closing and discharge under Section 2-31, one or
2 more supplemental petitions in the best interests of the
3 minor may be filed in respect of the same minor. The
4 supplemental petition shall specify sufficient facts in
5 support of the relief requested. The court shall liberally
6 allow the petitioner to amend the petition to set forth a
7 cause of action or to add, amend, or supplement factual
8 allegations that form the basis for a cause of action up
9 until 14 days before the adjudicatory hearing. The
10 petitioner may amend the petition after that date and prior
11 to the adjudicatory hearing if the court grants leave to
12 amend upon a showing of good cause. The court may allow
13 amendment of the petition to conform with the evidence at any
14 time prior to ruling. In all cases in which the court has
15 granted leave to amend based on new evidence or new
16 allegations, the court shall permit the respondent an
17 adequate opportunity to prepare a defense to the amended
18 petition.
19 (Source: P.A. 88-7; 88-614, eff. 9-7-94.)
20 (Text of Section after amendment by P.A. 89-704)
21 Sec. 2-13. Petition; supplemental petitions.
22 (1) Any adult person, any agency or association by its
23 representative may file, or the court on its own motion,
24 consistent with in the health, safety and best interests of
25 the minor may direct the filing through the State's Attorney
26 of a petition in respect of a minor under this Act. The
27 petition and all subsequent court documents shall be entitled
28 "In the interest of ...., a minor".
29 (2) The petition shall be verified but the statements
30 may be made upon information and belief. It shall allege that
31 the minor is abused, neglected, or dependent, with citations
32 to the appropriate provisions of this Act, and set forth (a)
33 facts sufficient to bring the minor under Section 2-3 or 2-4
34 and to inform respondents of the cause of action, including,
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1 but not limited to, a plain and concise statement of the
2 factual allegations that form the basis for the filing of the
3 petition; (b) the name, age and residence of the minor; (c)
4 the names and residences of his parents; (d) the name and
5 residence of his legal guardian or the person or persons
6 having custody or control of the minor, or of the nearest
7 known relative if no parent or guardian can be found; and (e)
8 if the minor upon whose behalf the petition is brought is
9 sheltered in custody, the date on which such temporary
10 custody was ordered by the court or the date set for a
11 temporary custody hearing. If any of the facts herein
12 required are not known by the petitioner, the petition shall
13 so state.
14 (3) The petition must allege that it is in the best
15 interests of the minor and of the public that he be adjudged
16 a ward of the court and may pray generally for relief
17 available under this Act. The petition need not specify any
18 proposed disposition following adjudication of wardship.
19 (4) If termination of parental rights and appointment of
20 a guardian of the person with power to consent to adoption of
21 the minor under Section 2-29 is sought, the petition shall so
22 state. If the petition includes this request, the prayer for
23 relief shall clearly and obviously state that the parents
24 could permanently lose their rights as a parent at this
25 hearing.
26 In addition to the foregoing, the petitioner, by motion,
27 may request the termination of parental rights and
28 appointment of a guardian of the person with power to consent
29 to adoption of the minor under Section 2-29 at any time after
30 the entry of a dispositional order under Section 2-22.
31 (5) At any time before dismissal of the petition or
32 before final closing and discharge under Section 2-31, one or
33 more supplemental petitions in the best interests of the
34 minor may be filed in respect of the same minor. The
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1 supplemental petition shall specify sufficient facts in
2 support of the relief requested. The court shall liberally
3 allow the petitioner to amend the petition to set forth a
4 cause of action or to add, amend, or supplement factual
5 allegations that form the basis for a cause of action up
6 until 14 days before the adjudicatory hearing. The
7 petitioner may amend the petition after that date and prior
8 to the adjudicatory hearing if the court grants leave to
9 amend upon a showing of good cause. The court may allow
10 amendment of the petition to conform with the evidence at any
11 time prior to ruling. In all cases in which the court has
12 granted leave to amend based on new evidence or new
13 allegations, the court shall permit the respondent an
14 adequate opportunity to prepare a defense to the amended
15 petition.
16 (6) At any time before dismissal of the petition or
17 before final closing and discharge under Section 2-31, one or
18 more motions in the best interests of the minor may be filed.
19 The motion shall specify sufficient facts in support of the
20 relief requested.
21 (Source: P.A. 88-7; 88-614, eff. 9-7-94; 89-704, eff.
22 1-1-98.)
23 (705 ILCS 405/2-14) (from Ch. 37, par. 802-14)
24 Sec. 2-14. Date for Adjudicatory Hearing.
25 (a) Purpose and policy. The legislature recognizes that
26 serious delay in the adjudication of abuse, neglect, or
27 dependency cases can cause grave harm to the minor and the
28 family and that it frustrates the health, safety and best
29 interests of the minor and the effort to establish permanent
30 homes for children in need. The purpose of this Section is
31 to insure that, consistent with the federal Adoption
32 Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980, Public Law 96-272,
33 as amended, and the intent of this Act, the State of Illinois
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1 will act in a just and speedy manner to determine the best
2 interests of the minor, including providing for the safety of
3 the minor, identifying families in need, reunifying families
4 where the minor can be cared for at home without endangering
5 the minor's health or safety and it is in the best interests
6 of the minor, and, if reunification is not consistent with in
7 the health, safety and best interests of the minor, finding
8 another permanent home for the minor.
9 (b) When a petition is filed alleging that the minor is
10 abused, neglected or dependent, an adjudicatory hearing shall
11 be held within 90 days of the date of service of process upon
12 the minor, parents, any guardian and any legal custodian.
13 (c) Upon written motion of a party filed no later than
14 10 days prior to hearing, or upon the court's own motion and
15 only for good cause shown, the Court may continue the hearing
16 for a period not to exceed 30 days, and only if the
17 continuance is consistent with in the health, safety and best
18 interests of the minor. When the court grants a continuance,
19 it shall enter specific factual findings to support its
20 order, including factual findings supporting the court's
21 determination that the continuance is in the best interests
22 of the minor. Only one such continuance shall be granted. A
23 period of continuance for good cause as described in this
24 Section shall temporarily suspend as to all parties, for the
25 time of the delay, the period within which a hearing must be
26 held. On the day of the expiration of the delay, the period
27 shall continue at the point at which it was suspended.
28 The term "good cause" as applied in this Section shall be
29 strictly construed and be in accordance with Supreme Court
30 Rule 231 (a) through (f). Neither stipulation by counsel nor
31 the convenience of any party constitutes good cause. If the
32 adjudicatory hearing is not heard within the time limits
33 required by subsection (b) or (c) of this Section, upon
34 motion by any party the petition shall be dismissed without
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1 prejudice.
2 (d) The time limits of this Section may be waived only
3 by consent of all parties and approval by the court.
4 (e) For all cases filed before July 1, 1991, an
5 adjudicatory hearing must, be held within 180 days of July 1,
6 1991.
7 (Source: P.A. 88-7.)
8 (705 ILCS 405/2-15) (from Ch. 37, par. 802-15)
9 Sec. 2-15. Summons. (1) When a petition is filed, the
10 clerk of the court shall issue a summons with a copy of the
11 petition attached. The summons shall be directed to the
12 minor's legal guardian or custodian and to each person named
13 as a respondent in the petition, except that summons need not
14 be directed to a minor respondent under 8 years of age for
15 whom the court appoints a guardian ad litem if the guardian
16 ad litem appears on behalf of the minor in any proceeding
17 under this Act.
18 (2) The summons must contain a statement that the minor
19 or any of the respondents is entitled to have an attorney
20 present at the hearing on the petition, and that the clerk of
21 the court should be notified promptly if the minor or any
22 other respondent desires to be represented by an attorney but
23 is financially unable to employ counsel.
24 (3) The summons shall be issued under the seal of the
25 court, attested in and signed with the name of the clerk of
26 the court, dated on the day it is issued, and shall require
27 each respondent to appear and answer the petition on the date
28 set for the adjudicatory hearing. The summons shall contain a
29 notice that the parties will not be entitled to further
30 written notices or publication notices of proceedings in this
31 case, including the filing of an amended petition or a motion
32 to terminate parental rights.
33 (4) The summons may be served by any county sheriff,
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1 coroner or probation officer, even though the officer is the
2 petitioner. The return of the summons with endorsement of
3 service by the officer is sufficient proof thereof.
4 (5) Service of a summons and petition shall be made by:
5 (a) leaving a copy thereof with the person summoned at least
6 3 days before the time stated therein for appearance; (b)
7 leaving a copy at his usual place of abode with some person
8 of the family, of the age of 10 years or upwards, and
9 informing that person of the contents thereof, provided the
10 officer or other person making service shall also send a copy
11 of the summons in a sealed envelope with postage fully
12 prepaid, addressed to the person summoned at his usual place
13 of abode, at least 3 days before the time stated therein for
14 appearance; or (c) leaving a copy thereof with the guardian
15 or custodian of a minor, at least 3 days before the time
16 stated therein for appearance. If the guardian or custodian
17 is an agency of the State of Illinois, proper service may be
18 made by leaving a copy of the summons and petition with any
19 administrative employee of such agency designated by such
20 agency to accept service of summons and petitions. The
21 certificate of the officer or affidavit of the person that he
22 has sent the copy pursuant to this Section is sufficient
23 proof of service.
24 (6) When a parent or other person, who has signed a
25 written promise to appear and bring the minor to court or who
26 has waived or acknowledged service, fails to appear with the
27 minor on the date set by the court, a bench warrant may be
28 issued for the parent or other person, the minor, or both.
29 (7) The appearance of the minor's legal guardian or
30 custodian, or a person named as a respondent in a petition,
31 in any proceeding under this Act shall constitute a waiver of
32 service of summons and submission to the jurisdiction of the
33 court, except that the filing of a special appearance
34 authorized under Section 2-301 of the Code of Civil Procedure
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1 does not constitute an appearance under this subsection. A
2 copy of the summons and petition shall be provided to the
3 person at the time of his appearance.
4 (Source: P.A. 86-441.)
5 (705 ILCS 405/2-16) (from Ch. 37, par. 802-16)
6 Sec. 2-16. Notice by certified mail or publication.
7 (1) If service on individuals as provided in Section
8 2-15 is not made on any respondent within a reasonable time
9 or if it appears that any respondent resides outside the
10 State, service may be made by certified mail. In such case
11 the clerk shall mail the summons and a copy of the petition
12 to that respondent by certified mail marked for delivery to
13 addressee only. The court shall not proceed with the
14 adjudicatory hearing until 5 days after such mailing. The
15 regular return receipt for certified mail is sufficient proof
16 of service.
17 (2) Where a respondent's usual place of abode is not
18 known, a diligent inquiry shall be made to ascertain the
19 respondent's current and last known address. The Department
20 of Children and Family Services shall adopt rules defining
21 the requirements for conducting a diligent search to locate
22 parents of minors in the custody of the Department. If, after
23 diligent inquiry, the usual place of abode cannot be
24 reasonably ascertained, or if respondent is concealing his or
25 her whereabouts to avoid service of process, petitioner's
26 attorney shall file an affidavit at the office of the clerk
27 of court in which the action is pending showing that
28 respondent on due inquiry cannot be found or is concealing
29 his or her whereabouts so that process cannot be served. The
30 affidavit shall state the last known address of the
31 respondent. The affidavit shall also state what efforts were
32 made to effectuate service. Within 3 days of receipt of the
33 affidavit, the clerk shall issue publication service as
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1 provided below. The clerk shall also send a copy thereof by
2 mail addressed to each respondent listed in the affidavit at
3 his or her last known address. The clerk of the court as soon
4 as possible shall cause publication to be made once in a
5 newspaper of general circulation in the county where the
6 action is pending. Notice by publication is not required in
7 any case when the person alleged to have legal custody of the
8 minor has been served with summons personally or by certified
9 mail, but the court may not enter any order or judgment
10 against any person who cannot be served with process other
11 than by publication unless notice by publication is given or
12 unless that person appears. When a minor has been sheltered
13 under Section 2-10 of this Act and summons has not been
14 served personally or by certified mail within 20 days from
15 the date of the order of court directing such shelter care,
16 the clerk of the court shall cause publication. Notice by
17 publication shall be substantially as follows:
18 "A, B, C, D, (here giving the names of the named
19 respondents, if any) and to All Whom It May Concern (if there
20 is any respondent under that designation):
21 Take notice that on the .... day of ...., 19.. a
22 petition was filed under the Juvenile Court Act by .... in
23 the circuit court of .... county entitled 'In the interest of
24 ...., a minor', and that in .... courtroom at .... on the
25 .... day of .... at the hour of ...., or as soon thereafter
26 as this cause may be heard, an adjudicatory hearing will be
27 held upon the petition to have the child declared to be a
28 ward of the court under that Act. The court has authority in
29 this proceeding to take from you the custody and guardianship
30 of the minor., (and If the petition requests the termination
31 of your parental rights and prays for the appointment of a
32 guardian with power to consent to adoption, you may lose all
33 parental rights to the child) and to appoint a guardian with
34 power to consent to adoption of the minor. Unless you appear
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1 you will not be entitled to further written notices or
2 publication notices of the proceedings in this case,
3 including the filing of an amended petition or a motion to
4 terminate parental rights.
5 Now, unless you appear at the hearing and show cause
6 against the petition, the allegations of the petition may
7 stand admitted as against you and each of you, and an order
8 or judgment entered.
9 ......................
10 Clerk
11 Dated (the date of publication)"
12 (3) The clerk shall also at the time of the publication
13 of the notice send a copy thereof by mail to each of the
14 respondents on account of whom publication is made at his or
15 her last known address. The certificate of the clerk that he
16 or she has mailed the notice is evidence thereof. No other
17 publication notice is required. Every respondent notified by
18 publication under this Section must appear and answer in open
19 court at the hearing. The court may not proceed with the
20 adjudicatory hearing until 10 days after service by
21 publication on any parent, guardian or legal custodian in the
22 case of a minor described in Section 2-3 or 2-4.
23 (4) If it becomes necessary to change the date set for
24 the hearing in order to comply with Section 2-14 or with this
25 Section, notice of the resetting of the date must be given,
26 by certified mail or other reasonable means, to each
27 respondent who has been served with summons personally or by
28 certified mail.
29 (Source: P.A. 88-614, eff. 9-7-94.)
30 (705 ILCS 405/2-17) (from Ch. 37, par. 802-17)
31 Sec. 2-17. Guardian ad litem.
32 (1) Immediately upon the filing of a petition alleging
33 that the minor is a person described in Sections 2-3 or 2-4
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1 of this Article, the court shall appoint a guardian ad litem
2 for the minor if:
3 (a) such petition alleges that the minor is an
4 abused or neglected child; or
5 (b) such petition alleges that charges alleging the
6 commission of any of the sex offenses defined in Article
7 11 or in Sections 12-13, 12-14, 12-14.1, 12-15 or 12-16
8 of the Criminal Code of 1961, as amended, have been filed
9 against a defendant in any court and that such minor is
10 the alleged victim of the acts of defendant in the
11 commission of such offense.
12 Unless the guardian ad litem appointed pursuant to this
13 paragraph (1) is an attorney at law he shall be represented
14 in the performance of his duties by counsel. The guardian ad
15 litem shall represent the best interests of the minor and
16 shall present recommendations to the court consistent with
17 that duty.
18 (2) Before proceeding with the hearing, the court shall
19 appoint a guardian ad litem for the minor if
20 (a) no parent, guardian, custodian or relative of
21 the minor appears at the first or any subsequent hearing
22 of the case;
23 (b) the petition prays for the appointment of a
24 guardian with power to consent to adoption; or
25 (c) the petition for which the minor is before the
26 court resulted from a report made pursuant to the Abused
27 and Neglected Child Reporting Act.
28 (3) The court may appoint a guardian ad litem for the
29 minor whenever it finds that there may be a conflict of
30 interest between the minor and his parents or other custodian
31 or that it is otherwise in the minor's best interest to do
32 so.
33 (4) Unless the guardian ad litem is an attorney, he
34 shall be represented by counsel.
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1 (5) The reasonable fees of a guardian ad litem appointed
2 under this Section shall be fixed by the court and charged to
3 the parents of the minor, to the extent they are able to pay.
4 If the parents are unable to pay those fees, they shall be
5 paid from the general fund of the county.
6 Whenever the petition alleges that the minor is neglected
7 or abused because of physical abuse inflicted by the parent
8 or guardian the guardian ad litem must have at least one face
9 to face interview with the minor before the beginning of the
10 adjudicatory hearing.
11 (6) A guardian ad litem appointed under this Section,
12 shall receive copies of any and all classified reports of
13 child abuse and neglect made under the Abused and Neglected
14 Child Reporting Act in which the minor who is the subject of
15 a report under the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act,
16 is also the minor for whom the guardian ad litem is appointed
17 under this Section.
18 (7) In counties with a population less than 3,000,000,
19 the appointed guardian ad litem shall remain the child's
20 guardian ad litem throughout the entire juvenile trial court
21 proceedings, including permanency hearings and termination of
22 parental rights proceedings, unless there is a substitution
23 entered by order of the court.
24 (8) In counties with a population of less than
25 3,000,000, the guardian ad litem shall have a minimum of 2
26 in-person contacts with the minor and the current foster
27 parents or caregiver prior to the adjudicatory hearing, and
28 at least one additional in-person contact with the child and
29 the current foster parents or caregiver prior to each
30 permanency hearing.
31 (9) In counties with a population of 100,000 or more but
32 less than 3,000,000, each guardian ad litem must successfully
33 complete a training program approved by the Department of
34 Children and Family Services. The Department of Children and
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1 Family Services shall provide training materials and
2 documents to guardians ad litem who are not mandated to
3 attend the training program. The Department of Children and
4 Family Services shall develop and distribute to all guardians
5 ad litem a bibliography containing information including but
6 not limited to the juvenile court process, termination of
7 parental rights, child development, medical aspects of child
8 abuse, and the child's need for safety and permanence.
9 (Source: P.A. 88-7; 89-428, eff. 12-13-95; 89-462, eff.
10 5-29-96.)
11 (705 ILCS 405/2-17.1)
12 Sec. 2-17.1. Court appointed special advocate.
13 (1) The court may appoint a special advocate upon the
14 filing of a petition under this Article or at any time during
15 the pendency of a proceeding under this Article. Except in
16 counties with a population over 3,000,000, the court
17 appointed special advocate may also serve as guardian ad
18 litem by appointment of the court under Section 2-17 of this
19 Act.
20 (2) The court appointed special advocate shall act as a
21 monitor and shall be notified of all administrative case
22 reviews pertaining to the minor and work with the parties'
23 attorneys, the guardian ad litem, and others assigned to the
24 minor's case to protect the minor's health, safety and best
25 interests and insure the proper delivery of child welfare
26 services. The court may consider, at its discretion,
27 testimony of the court appointed special advocate pertaining
28 to the well-being of the child.
29 (3) Court appointed special advocates shall serve as
30 volunteers without compensation and shall receive training
31 consistent with nationally developed standards.
32 (4) No person convicted of a criminal offense as
33 specified in Section 4.2 of the Child Care Act of 1969 and no
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1 person identified as a perpetrator of an act of child abuse
2 or neglect as reflected in the Department of Children and
3 Family Services State Central Register shall serve as a court
4 appointed special advocate.
5 (5) All costs associated with the appointment and duties
6 of the court appointed special advocate shall be paid by the
7 court appointed special advocate or an organization of court
8 appointed special advocates. In no event shall the court
9 appointed special advocate be liable for any costs of
10 services provided to the child.
11 (6) The court may remove the court appointed special
12 advocate or the guardian ad litem from a case upon finding
13 that the court appointed special advocate or the guardian ad
14 litem has acted in a manner contrary to the child's best
15 interest or if the court otherwise deems continued service is
16 unwanted or unnecessary.
17 (7) (a) In any county in which a program of court
18 appointed special advocates is in operation, the provisions
19 of this Section shall apply unless the county board of that
20 county, by resolution, determines that the county shall not
21 be governed by this Section.
22 (Source: P.A. 88-97.)
23 (705 ILCS 405/2-20) (from Ch. 37, par. 802-20)
24 Sec. 2-20. Continuance under supervision.
25 (1) The court may enter an order of continuance under
26 supervision (a) upon an admission or stipulation by the
27 appropriate respondent or minor respondent of the facts
28 supporting the petition and before proceeding to findings and
29 adjudication, or after hearing the evidence at the
30 adjudicatory hearing but before noting in the minutes of
31 proceeding a finding of whether or not the minor is abused,
32 neglected or dependent; and (b) in the absence of objection
33 made in open court by the minor, his parent, guardian,
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1 custodian, responsible relative, defense attorney or the
2 State's Attorney.
3 (2) If the minor, his parent, guardian, custodian,
4 responsible relative, defense attorney or the State's
5 Attorney, objects in open court to any such continuance and
6 insists upon proceeding to findings and adjudication, the
7 court shall so proceed.
8 (3) Nothing in this Section limits the power of the
9 court to order a continuance of the hearing for the
10 production of additional evidence or for any other proper
11 reason.
12 (4) When a hearing where a minor is alleged to be
13 abused, neglected or dependent is continued pursuant to this
14 Section, the court may permit the minor to remain in his home
15 if the court determines and makes written factual findings
16 that the minor can be cared for at home without endangering
17 his or her health or safety and that it is in the minor's
18 best interests to do so, subject to such conditions
19 concerning his conduct and supervision as the court may
20 require by order.
21 (5) If a petition is filed charging a violation of a
22 condition of the continuance under supervision, the court
23 shall conduct a hearing. If the court finds that such
24 condition of supervision has not been fulfilled the court may
25 proceed to findings and adjudication and disposition. The
26 filing of a petition for violation of a condition of the
27 continuance under supervision shall toll the period of
28 continuance under supervision until the final determination
29 of the charge, and the term of the continuance under
30 supervision shall not run until the hearing and disposition
31 of the petition for violation; provided where the petition
32 alleges conduct that does not constitute a criminal offense,
33 the hearing must be held within 15 days of the filing of the
34 petition unless a delay in such hearing has been occasioned
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1 by the minor, in which case the delay shall continue the
2 tolling of the period of continuance under supervision for
3 the period of such delay.
4 (Source: P.A. 88-7.)
5 (705 ILCS 405/2-21) (from Ch. 37, par. 802-21)
6 (Text of Section before amendment by P.A. 89-704)
7 Sec. 2-21. Findings and adjudication.
8 (1) After hearing the evidence the court shall determine
9 whether or not the minor is abused, neglected, or dependent.
10 If it finds that the minor is not such a person, the court
11 shall order the petition dismissed and the minor discharged.
12 The court's determination of whether the minor is abused,
13 neglected, or dependent shall be stated in writing with the
14 factual basis supporting that determination.
15 If the court finds that the minor is abused, neglected,
16 or dependent, the court shall then determine and put in
17 writing the factual basis supporting the determination of
18 whether the abuse, neglect, or dependency is the result of
19 physical abuse to the minor inflicted by a parent, guardian,
20 or legal custodian. That finding shall appear in the order
21 of the court.
22 (2) If the court determines and puts in writing the
23 factual basis supporting the determination that the minor is
24 either abused or neglected or dependent, the court shall then
25 set a time not later than 30 days after the entry of the
26 finding for a dispositional hearing to be conducted under
27 Section 2-22 at which hearing the court shall determine
28 whether it is in the best interests of the minor and the
29 public that he be made a ward of the court. To assist the
30 court in making this and other determinations at the
31 dispositional hearing, the court may order that an
32 investigation be conducted and a dispositional report be
33 prepared concerning the minor's physical and mental history
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1 and condition, family situation and background, economic
2 status, education, occupation, history of delinquency or
3 criminality, personal habits, and any other information that
4 may be helpful to the court. The dispositional hearing may
5 be continued once for a period not to exceed 30 days if the
6 court finds that such continuance is necessary to complete
7 the dispositional report.
8 (3) The time limits of this Section may be waived only
9 by consent of all parties and approval by the court, as
10 determined to be in the best interests of the minor.
11 (4) For all cases adjudicated prior to July 1, 1991, for
12 which no dispositional hearing has been held prior to that
13 date, a dispositional hearing under Section 2-22 shall be
14 held within 90 days of July 1, 1991.
15 (Source: P.A. 88-7; 88-487; 88-614, eff. 9-7-94; 88-670, eff.
16 12-2-94.)
17 (Text of Section after amendment by P.A. 89-704)
18 Sec. 2-21. Findings and adjudication.
19 (1) The court shall state for the record the manner in
20 which the parties received service of process and shall note
21 whether the return or returns of service, postal return
22 receipt or receipts for notice by certified mail, or
23 certificate or certificates of publication have been filed in
24 the court record. The court shall default any parent who has
25 been served in any manner and fails to appear.
26 No further service of process as defined in Sections 2-15
27 and 2-16 is required in any subsequent proceeding for a
28 parent who was served in any manner.
29 The caseworker shall testify about the diligent search
30 conducted for the parent.
31 After hearing the evidence the court shall determine
32 whether or not the minor is abused, neglected, or dependent.
33 If it finds that the minor is not such a person, the court
34 shall order the petition dismissed and the minor discharged.
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1 The court's determination of whether the minor is abused,
2 neglected, or dependent shall be stated in writing with the
3 factual basis supporting that determination.
4 If the court finds that the minor is abused, neglected,
5 or dependent, the court shall then determine and put in
6 writing the factual basis supporting the determination of
7 whether the abuse, neglect, or dependency is the result of
8 physical abuse to the minor inflicted by a parent, guardian,
9 or legal custodian. That finding shall appear in the order
10 of the court.
11 If the court finds that the child has been abused,
12 neglected or dependent, the court shall admonish the parents
13 that they must cooperate with the Department of Children and
14 Family Services, comply with the terms of the service plan,
15 and correct the conditions that require the child to be in
16 care, or risk termination of parental rights.
17 (2) If the court determines and puts in writing the
18 factual basis supporting the determination that the minor is
19 either abused or neglected or dependent, the court shall then
20 set a time not later than 30 days after the entry of the
21 finding for a dispositional hearing to be conducted under
22 Section 2-22 at which hearing the court shall determine
23 whether it is consistent with in the health, safety and best
24 interests of the minor and the public that he be made a ward
25 of the court. To assist the court in making this and other
26 determinations at the dispositional hearing, the court may
27 order that an investigation be conducted and a dispositional
28 report be prepared concerning the minor's physical and mental
29 history and condition, family situation and background,
30 economic status, education, occupation, history of
31 delinquency or criminality, personal habits, and any other
32 information that may be helpful to the court. The
33 dispositional hearing may be continued once for a period not
34 to exceed 30 days if the court finds that such continuance is
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1 necessary to complete the dispositional report.
2 (3) The time limits of this Section may be waived only
3 by consent of all parties and approval by the court, as
4 determined to be consistent with in the health, safety and
5 best interests of the minor.
6 (4) For all cases adjudicated prior to July 1, 1991, for
7 which no dispositional hearing has been held prior to that
8 date, a dispositional hearing under Section 2-22 shall be
9 held within 90 days of July 1, 1991.
10 (5) The court may terminate the parental rights of a
11 parent at the initial dispositional hearing if all of the
12 following conditions are met:
13 (i) the original or, amended, or supplemental
14 petition contains a request for termination of parental
15 rights and appointment of a guardian with power to
16 consent to adoption; and
17 (ii) the court has found by a preponderance of
18 evidence, introduced or stipulated to at an adjudicatory
19 hearing, that the child comes under the jurisdiction of
20 the court as an abused, neglected, or dependent minor
21 under Section 2-18; and
22 (iii) the court finds, on the basis of clear and
23 convincing legally admissible evidence admitted
24 introduced or stipulated to at the adjudicatory hearing
25 or at the dispositional hearing, that the parent is an
26 unfit person under subdivision D of Section 1 of the
27 Adoption Act; and
28 (iv) the court determines in accordance with the
29 rules of evidence for dispositional proceedings, that:
30 (A) it is in the best interest of the minor
31 and public that the child be made a ward of the
32 court; and
33 (A-5) reasonable efforts under subsection
34 (l-1) of Section 5 of the Children and Family
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1 Services Act are inappropriate or such efforts were
2 made and were unsuccessful; and
3 (B) termination of parental rights and
4 appointment of a guardian with power to consent to
5 adoption is in the best interest of the child
6 pursuant to Section 2-29.
7 (Source: P.A. 88-7; 88-487; 88-614, eff. 9-7-94; 88-670, eff.
8 12-2-94; 89-704, eff. 1-1-98.)
9 (705 ILCS 405/2-22) (from Ch. 37, par. 802-22)
10 Sec. 2-22. Dispositional hearing; evidence; continuance.
11 (1) At the dispositional hearing, the court shall
12 determine whether it is in the best interests of the minor
13 and the public that he be made a ward of the court, and, if
14 he is to be made a ward of the court, the court shall
15 determine the proper disposition best serving the health,
16 safety and interests of the minor and the public. The court
17 also shall consider the permanency goal set for the minor,
18 the nature of the service plan for the minor and the services
19 delivered and to be delivered under the plan. All evidence
20 helpful in determining these questions, including oral and
21 written reports, may be admitted and may be relied upon to
22 the extent of its probative value, even though not competent
23 for the purposes of the adjudicatory hearing.
24 (2) Notice in compliance with Supreme Court Rule 11
25 Sections 2-15 and 2-16 must be given to all
26 parties-respondent prior to proceeding to a dispositional
27 hearing. Before making an order of disposition the court
28 shall advise the State's Attorney, the parents, guardian,
29 custodian or responsible relative or their counsel of the
30 factual contents and the conclusions of the reports prepared
31 for the use of the court and considered by it, and afford
32 fair opportunity, if requested, to controvert them. The court
33 may order, however, that the documents containing such
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1 reports need not be submitted to inspection, or that sources
2 of confidential information need not be disclosed except to
3 the attorneys for the parties. Factual contents, conclusions,
4 documents and sources disclosed by the court under this
5 paragraph shall not be further disclosed without the express
6 approval of the court pursuant to an in camera hearing.
7 (3) A record of a prior continuance under supervision
8 under Section 2-20, whether successfully completed with
9 regard to the child's health, safety and best interest, or
10 not, is admissible at the dispositional hearing.
11 (4) On its own motion or that of the State's Attorney, a
12 parent, guardian, custodian, responsible relative or counsel,
13 the court may adjourn the hearing for a reasonable period to
14 receive reports or other evidence, if the adjournment is
15 consistent with in the health, safety and best interests of
16 the minor, but in no event shall continuances be granted so
17 that the dispositional hearing occurs more than 6 12 months
18 after the initial removal of a minor from his or her home. In
19 scheduling investigations and hearings, the court shall give
20 priority to proceedings in which a minor has been removed
21 from his or her home before an order of disposition has been
22 made.
23 (5) Unless already set by the court, at the conclusion
24 of the dispositional hearing, the court shall set the date
25 for the first permanency hearing, to be conducted under
26 subsection (2) of Section 2-28, which shall be held no later
27 than 12 16 months after the minor is taken into temporary
28 custody.
29 (6) When the court declares a child to be a ward of the
30 court and awards guardianship to the Department of Children
31 and Family Services, the court shall admonish the parents,
32 guardian, custodian or responsible relative that the parents
33 must cooperate with the Department of Children and Family
34 Services, comply with the terms of the service plans, and
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1 correct the conditions which require the child to be in care,
2 or risk termination of their parental rights.
3 (Source: P.A. 88-7; 88-487; 88-670, eff. 12-2-94; 89-17, eff.
4 5-31-95.)
5 (705 ILCS 405/2-23) (from Ch. 37, par. 802-23)
6 Sec. 2-23. Kinds of dispositional orders.
7 (1) The following kinds of orders of disposition may be
8 made in respect of wards of the court:
9 (a) A minor under 18 years of age found to be
10 neglected or abused under Section 2-3 may be (1)
11 continued in the custody of his or her parents, guardian
12 or legal custodian; (2) placed in accordance with Section
13 2-27; or (3) ordered partially or completely emancipated
14 in accordance with the provisions of the Emancipation of
15 Mature Minors Act.
16 However, in any case in which a minor is found by
17 the court to be neglected or abused under Section 2-3 of
18 this Act, custody of the minor shall not be restored to
19 any parent, guardian or legal custodian found by the
20 court to have caused the neglect or to have inflicted the
21 abuse on the minor, unless it is in the best interests of
22 the minor, until such time as a hearing is held on the
23 issue of the best interests of the minor and the fitness
24 of such parent, guardian or legal custodian to care for
25 the minor without endangering the minor's health or
26 safety, and the court enters an order that such parent,
27 guardian or legal custodian is fit to care for the minor.
28 (b) A minor under 18 years of age found to be
29 dependent under Section 2-4 may be (1) placed in
30 accordance with Section 2-27 or (2) ordered partially or
31 completely emancipated in accordance with the provisions
32 of the Emancipation of Mature Minors Act.
33 However, in any case in which a minor is found by
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1 the court to be dependent under Section 2-4 of this Act
2 and the court has made a further finding under paragraph
3 (2) of Section 2-21 that such dependency is the result of
4 physical abuse, custody of the minor shall not be
5 restored to any parent, guardian or legal custodian found
6 by the court to have inflicted physical abuse on the
7 minor until such time as a hearing is held on the issue
8 of the fitness of such parent, guardian or legal
9 custodian to care for the minor without endangering the
10 minor's health or safety, and the court enters an order
11 that such parent, guardian or legal custodian is fit to
12 care for the minor.
13 (c) When the court awards guardianship to the
14 Department of Children and Family Services, the court
15 shall order the parents to cooperate with Department of
16 Children and Family Services, comply with the terms of
17 the service plans, and correct the combinations that
18 require the child to be in care, or risk termination of
19 their parental rights.
20 (d) When the court orders a child restored to the
21 custody of the parent or parents, the court shall order
22 the parent or parents to cooperate with the Department of
23 Children and Family Services and comply with the terms of
24 an after-care plan, or risk the loss of custody of the
25 child and the possible termination of their parental
26 rights.
27 (2) Any order of disposition may provide for protective
28 supervision under Section 2-24 and may include an order of
29 protection under Section 2-25.
30 Unless the order of disposition expressly so provides, it
31 does not operate to close proceedings on the pending
32 petition, but is subject to modification, not inconsistent
33 with Section 2-28, until final closing and discharge of the
34 proceedings under Section 2-31.
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1 (3) The court also shall enter any other orders
2 necessary to fulfill the service plan, including, but not
3 limited to, (i) orders requiring parties to cooperate with
4 services, (ii) restraining orders controlling the conduct of
5 any party likely to frustrate the achievement of the goal,
6 and (iii) visiting orders. Unless otherwise specifically
7 authorized by law, the court is not empowered under this
8 subsection (3) to order specific placements, specific
9 services, or specific service providers to be included in the
10 plan. If the court concludes that the Department of Children
11 and Family Services has abused its discretion in setting the
12 current service plan or permanency goal for the minor, the
13 court shall enter specific findings in writing based on the
14 evidence and shall enter an order for the Department to
15 develop and implement a new permanency goal and service plan
16 consistent with the court's findings. The new service plan
17 shall be filed with the court and served on all parties. The
18 court shall continue the matter until the new service plan is
19 filed.
20 (4) In addition to any other order of disposition, the
21 court may order any minor adjudicated neglected with respect
22 to his or her own injurious behavior to make restitution, in
23 monetary or non-monetary form, under the terms and conditions
24 of Section 5-5-6 of the Unified Code of Corrections, except
25 that the "presentence hearing" referred to therein shall be
26 the dispositional hearing for purposes of this Section. The
27 parent, guardian or legal custodian of the minor may pay some
28 or all of such restitution on the minor's behalf.
29 (5) Any order for disposition where the minor is
30 committed or placed in accordance with Section 2-27 shall
31 provide for the parents or guardian of the estate of such
32 minor to pay to the legal custodian or guardian of the person
33 of the minor such sums as are determined by the custodian or
34 guardian of the person of the minor as necessary for the
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1 minor's needs. Such payments may not exceed the maximum
2 amounts provided for by Section 9.1 of the Children and
3 Family Services Act.
4 (6) Whenever the order of disposition requires the minor
5 to attend school or participate in a program of training, the
6 truant officer or designated school official shall regularly
7 report to the court if the minor is a chronic or habitual
8 truant under Section 26-2a of the School Code.
9 (Source: P.A. 88-7; 88-487; 88-670, eff. 12-2-94; 89-17, eff.
10 5-31-95; 89-235, eff. 8-4-95.)
11 (705 ILCS 405/2-24) (from Ch. 37, par. 802-24)
12 Sec. 2-24. Protective supervision.
13 (1) If the order of disposition, following a
14 determination of the best interests of the minor, releases
15 the minor to the custody of his parents, guardian or legal
16 custodian, or continues him in such custody, the court may,
17 if it is in the health, safety and best interests of the
18 minor require, place the person having custody of the minor,
19 except for representatives of private or public agencies or
20 governmental departments, under supervision of the probation
21 office.
22 (2) An order of protective supervision may require the
23 parent to present the child for periodic medical
24 examinations, which shall include an opportunity for medical
25 personnel to speak with and examine the child outside the
26 presence of the parent. The results of the medical
27 examinations conducted in accordance with this Section shall
28 be made available to the Department, the guardian ad litem,
29 and the court.
30 (3) Rules or orders of court shall define the terms and
31 conditions of protective supervision, which may be modified
32 or terminated when the court finds that the health, safety
33 and best interests of the minor and the public will be served
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1 thereby.
2 (Source: P.A. 88-7.)
3 (705 ILCS 405/2-25) (from Ch. 37, par. 802-25)
4 Sec. 2-25. Order of protection.
5 (1) The court may make an order of protection in
6 assistance of or as a condition of any other order authorized
7 by this Act. The order of protection shall be based on the
8 health, safety and best interests of the minor and may set
9 forth reasonable conditions of behavior to be observed for a
10 specified period. Such an order may require a person:
11 (a) To stay away from the home or the minor;
12 (b) To permit a parent to visit the minor at stated
13 periods;
14 (c) To abstain from offensive conduct against the
15 minor, his parent or any person to whom custody of the
16 minor is awarded;
17 (d) To give proper attention to the care of the
18 home;
19 (e) To cooperate in good faith with an agency to
20 which custody of a minor is entrusted by the court or
21 with an agency or association to which the minor is
22 referred by the court;
23 (f) To prohibit and prevent any contact whatsoever
24 with the respondent minor by a specified individual or
25 individuals who are alleged in either a criminal or
26 juvenile proceeding to have caused injury to a respondent
27 minor or a sibling of a respondent minor;
28 (g) To refrain from acts of commission or omission
29 that tend to make the home not a proper place for the
30 minor.
31 (2) The court shall enter an order of protection to
32 prohibit and prevent any contact between a respondent minor
33 or a sibling of a respondent minor and any person named in a
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1 petition seeking an order of protection who has been
2 convicted of heinous battery under Section 12-4.1, aggravated
3 battery of a child under Section 12-4.3, criminal sexual
4 assault under Section 12-13, aggravated criminal sexual
5 assault under Section 12-14, predatory criminal sexual
6 assault of a child under Section 12-14.1, criminal sexual
7 abuse under Section 12-15, or aggravated criminal sexual
8 abuse under Section 12-16 of the Criminal Code of 1961, or
9 has been convicted of an offense that resulted in the death
10 of a child, or has violated a previous order of protection
11 under this Section.
12 (3) When the court issues an order of protection against
13 any person as provided by this Section, the court shall
14 direct a copy of such order to the Sheriff of that county.
15 The Sheriff shall furnish a copy of the order of protection
16 to the Department of State Police with 24 hours of receipt,
17 in the form and manner required by the Department. The
18 Department of State Police shall maintain a complete record
19 and index of such orders of protection and make this data
20 available to all local law enforcement agencies.
21 (4) After notice and opportunity for hearing afforded to
22 a person subject to an order of protection, the order may be
23 modified or extended for a further specified period or both
24 or may be terminated if the court finds that the health,
25 safety, and best interests of the minor and the public will
26 be served thereby.
27 (5) An order of protection may be sought at any time
28 during the course of any proceeding conducted pursuant to
29 this Act if such an order is consistent with in the health,
30 safety, and best interests of the minor. Any person against
31 whom an order of protection is sought may retain counsel to
32 represent him at a hearing, and has rights to be present at
33 the hearing, to be informed prior to the hearing in writing
34 of the contents of the petition seeking a protective order
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1 and of the date, place and time of such hearing, and to cross
2 examine witnesses called by the petitioner and to present
3 witnesses and argument in opposition to the relief sought in
4 the petition.
5 (6) Diligent efforts shall be made by the petitioner to
6 serve any person or persons against whom any order of
7 protection is sought with written notice of the contents of
8 the petition seeking a protective order and of the date,
9 place and time at which the hearing on the petition is to be
10 held. When a protective order is being sought in conjunction
11 with a temporary custody hearing, if the court finds that the
12 person against whom the protective order is being sought has
13 been notified of the hearing or that diligent efforts have
14 been made to notify such person, the court may conduct a
15 hearing. If a protective order is sought at any time other
16 than in conjunction with a temporary custody hearing, the
17 court may not conduct a hearing on the petition in the
18 absence of the person against whom the order is sought unless
19 the petitioner has notified such person by personal service
20 at least 3 days before the hearing or has sent written
21 notice by first class mail to such person's last known
22 address at least 5 days before the hearing.
23 (7) A person against whom an order of protection is
24 being sought who is neither a parent, guardian, legal
25 custodian or responsible relative as described in Section 1-5
26 is not a party or respondent as defined in that Section and
27 shall not be entitled to the rights provided therein. Such
28 person does not have a right to appointed counsel or to be
29 present at any hearing other than the hearing in which the
30 order of protection is being sought or a hearing directly
31 pertaining to that order. Unless the court orders otherwise,
32 such person does not have a right to inspect the court file.
33 (8) All protective orders entered under this Section
34 shall be in writing. Unless the person against whom the
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1 order was obtained was present in court when the order was
2 issued, the sheriff, other law enforcement official or
3 special process server shall promptly serve that order upon
4 that person and file proof of such service, in the manner
5 provided for service of process in civil proceedings. The
6 person against whom the protective order was obtained may
7 seek a modification of the order by filing a written motion
8 to modify the order within 7 days after actual receipt by the
9 person of a copy of the order. Any modification of the order
10 granted by the court must be determined to be consistent with
11 the best interests of the minor.
12 (Source: P.A. 88-7; 89-428, eff. 12-13-95; 89-462, eff.
13 5-29-96.)
14 (705 ILCS 405/2-27) (from Ch. 37, par. 802-27)
15 Sec. 2-27. Placement; legal custody or guardianship.
16 (1) If the court determines and puts in writing the
17 factual basis supporting the determination of whether the
18 parents, guardian, or legal custodian of a minor adjudged a
19 ward of the court are unfit or are unable, for some reason
20 other than financial circumstances alone, to care for,
21 protect, train or discipline the minor or are unwilling to do
22 so, and that it is in the health, safety, and best interest
23 of the minor will be jeopardized if the minor remains in to
24 take him from the custody of his parents, guardian or
25 custodian, the court may at this hearing and at any later
26 point:
27 (a) place him in the custody of a suitable relative
28 or other person as legal custodian or guardian;
29 (b) place him under the guardianship of a probation
30 officer;
31 (c) commit him to an agency for care or placement,
32 except an institution under the authority of the
33 Department of Corrections or of the Department of
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1 Children and Family Services;
2 (d) commit him to the Department of Children and
3 Family Services for care and service; however, a minor
4 charged with a criminal offense under the Criminal Code
5 of 1961 or adjudicated delinquent shall not be placed in
6 the custody of or committed to the Department of Children
7 and Family Services by any court, except a minor less
8 than 13 years of age and committed to the Department of
9 Children and Family Services under Section 5-23 of this
10 Act. The Department shall be given due notice of the
11 pendency of the action and the Guardianship Administrator
12 of the Department of Children and Family Services shall
13 be appointed guardian of the person of the minor.
14 Whenever the Department seeks to discharge a minor from
15 its care and service, the Guardianship Administrator
16 shall petition the court for an order terminating
17 guardianship. The Guardianship Administrator may
18 designate one or more other officers of the Department,
19 appointed as Department officers by administrative order
20 of the Department Director, authorized to affix the
21 signature of the Guardianship Administrator to documents
22 affecting the guardian-ward relationship of children for
23 whom he has been appointed guardian at such times as he
24 is unable to perform the duties of his office. The
25 signature authorization shall include but not be limited
26 to matters of consent of marriage, enlistment in the
27 armed forces, legal proceedings, adoption, major medical
28 and surgical treatment and application for driver's
29 license. Signature authorizations made pursuant to the
30 provisions of this paragraph shall be filed with the
31 Secretary of State and the Secretary of State shall
32 provide upon payment of the customary fee, certified
33 copies of the authorization to any court or individual
34 who requests a copy.
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1 (1.5) In making a determination under this Section, the
2 court shall also consider whether, based on health, safety,
3 and the best interests of the minor,
4 (a) appropriate services aimed at family
5 preservation and family reunification have been
6 unsuccessful in rectifying the conditions that have led
7 to a finding of unfitness or inability to care for,
8 protect, train, or discipline the minor, or whether,
9 based on the best interests of the minor,
10 (b) no family preservation or family reunification
11 services would be appropriate,
12 and if the petition or amended petition contained an
13 allegation that the parent is an unfit person as defined in
14 subdivision (D) of Section 1 of the Adoption Act, and the
15 order of adjudication recites that parental unfitness was
16 established by clear and convincing evidence, the court shall
17 enter an order terminating parental rights and appointing a
18 guardian with power to consent to adoption in accordance with
19 Section 2-29.
20 When making a placement, the court, wherever possible,
21 shall require the Department of Children and Family Services
22 to select a person holding the same religious belief as that
23 of the minor or a private agency controlled by persons of
24 like religious faith of the minor and shall require the
25 Department to otherwise comply with Section 7 of the Children
26 and Family Services Act in placing the child. In addition,
27 whenever alternative plans for placement are available, the
28 court shall ascertain and consider, to the extent appropriate
29 in the particular case, the views and preferences of the
30 minor.
31 (2) When a minor is placed with a suitable relative or
32 other person pursuant to item (a) of subsection (1), the
33 court shall appoint him the legal custodian or guardian of
34 the person of the minor. When a minor is committed to any
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1 agency, the court shall appoint the proper officer or
2 representative thereof as legal custodian or guardian of the
3 person of the minor. Legal custodians and guardians of the
4 person of the minor have the respective rights and duties set
5 forth in subsection (9) of Section 1-3 except as otherwise
6 provided by order of court; but no guardian of the person may
7 consent to adoption of the minor unless that authority is
8 conferred upon him in accordance with Section 2-29. An agency
9 whose representative is appointed guardian of the person or
10 legal custodian of the minor may place him in any child care
11 facility, but the facility must be licensed under the Child
12 Care Act of 1969 or have been approved by the Department of
13 Children and Family Services as meeting the standards
14 established for such licensing. No agency may place a minor
15 adjudicated under Sections 2-3 or 2-4 in a child care
16 facility unless the placement is in compliance with the rules
17 and regulations for placement under this Section promulgated
18 by the Department of Children and Family Services under
19 Section 5 of the Children and Family Services Act. Like
20 authority and restrictions shall be conferred by the court
21 upon any probation officer who has been appointed guardian of
22 the person of a minor.
23 (3) No placement by any probation officer or agency
24 whose representative is appointed guardian of the person or
25 legal custodian of a minor may be made in any out of State
26 child care facility unless it complies with the Interstate
27 Compact on the Placement of Children. Placement with a
28 parent, however, is not subject to that Interstate Compact.
29 (4) The clerk of the court shall issue to the legal
30 custodian or guardian of the person a certified copy of the
31 order of court, as proof of his authority. No other process
32 is necessary as authority for the keeping of the minor.
33 (5) Custody or guardianship granted under this Section
34 continues until the court otherwise directs, but not after
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1 the minor reaches the age of 19 years except as set forth in
2 Section 2-31.
3 (Source: P.A. 88-7; 88-487; 88-614, eff. 9-7-94; 88-670, eff.
4 12-2-94; 89-21, eff. 7-1-95; 89-422; 89-626, eff. 8-9-96.)
5 (705 ILCS 405/2.27.5 new)
6 Sec. 2-27.5 Termination of parental rights of persons in
7 default. After the dispositional hearing, and before the
8 first permanency hearing, the State's Attorney shall file a
9 motion to terminate parental rights of:
10 (1) an unknown parent;
11 (2) a parent whose whereabouts are unknown after a
12 diligent inquiry within the past 12 months; and
13 (3) a parent who has been found in default at the
14 adjudicatory hearing and has not obtained an order
15 setting aside the default in accordance with Section
16 2-1301 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
17 If the court has already acquired jurisdiction of the
18 respondent parent by service of process in accordance with
19 Sections 2-15 and 2-16, as shown by the return of service,
20 postal return receipt, or certificate of publication, no
21 further service of process is required prior to the
22 termination of parental rights for such person. Notice of
23 the motion to terminate parental rights for a party who is
24 not in default shall be served upon the respondent's attorney
25 of record or, if there is no attorney of record for the
26 respondent, mailed to the respondent's last known address in
27 accordance with Supreme Court Rule 11.
28 The court may enter an order terminating parental rights
29 and appointing a guardian with power to consent to adoption
30 in accordance with this Section before or at the first
31 permanency hearing.
32 (705 ILCS 405/2-28) (from Ch. 37, par. 802-28)
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1 Sec. 2-28. Court review.
2 (1) The court may require any legal custodian or
3 guardian of the person appointed under this Act to report
4 periodically to the court or may cite him into court and
5 require him or his agency, to make a full and accurate report
6 of his or its doings in behalf of the minor. The custodian
7 or guardian, within 10 days after such citation, shall make
8 the report, either in writing verified by affidavit or orally
9 under oath in open court, or otherwise as the court directs.
10 Upon the hearing of the report the court may remove the
11 custodian or guardian and appoint another in his stead or
12 restore the minor to the custody of his parents or former
13 guardian or custodian. However, custody of the minor shall
14 not be restored to any parent, guardian or legal custodian in
15 any case in which the minor is found to be neglected or
16 abused under Section 2-3 of this Act, unless the minor can be
17 cared for at home without endangering the minor's health or
18 safety and it is in the best interests of the minor, and if
19 such neglect or abuse is found by the court under paragraph
20 (2) of Section 2-21 of this Act to be the result of physical
21 abuse inflicted on the minor by such parent, guardian or
22 legal custodian, until such time as an investigation is made
23 as provided in paragraph (5) and a hearing is held on the
24 issue of the fitness of such parent, guardian or legal
25 custodian to care for the minor and the court enters an order
26 that such parent, guardian or legal custodian is fit to care
27 for the minor.
28 (2) In counties under 3,000,000 population, permanency
29 hearings shall be conducted by the court. In counties with a
30 population of 3,000,000 or more, the first permanency hearing
31 shall be conducted by a judge. Subsequent permanency
32 hearings may be heard by a judge, or by hearing officers
33 appointed or approved by the court in the manner set forth in
34 Section 2-28.1 of this Act. Permanency hearings shall be
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1 held every 6 12 months or more frequently if necessary in the
2 court's determination following the initial permanency
3 hearing, in accordance with the standards set forth in this
4 Section, until the court determines that the plan and goal
5 have been achieved. Once the plan and goal have been
6 achieved, if the minor remains in substitute care, the case
7 shall be reviewed at least every 6 12 months thereafter,
8 subject to the provisions of this Section, unless the minor
9 is placed in the guardianship of a suitable relative or other
10 person and the court determines that further monitoring by
11 the court does not further the health, safety or best
12 interest of the child and that this is a stable permanent
13 placement.
14 Notice in compliance with Sections 2-15 and 2-16 must
15 have been given to all parties-respondent before proceeding
16 to a permanency hearing.
17 The public agency that is the custodian or guardian of
18 the minor, or another agency responsible for the minor's
19 care, shall ensure that all parties to the permanency
20 hearings are provided a copy of the most recent service plan
21 prepared within the prior 6 months at least 14 days in
22 advance of the hearing. If not contained in the plan, the
23 agency shall also include a report setting forth (i) any
24 special physical, psychological, educational, medical,
25 emotional, or other needs of the minor or his or her family
26 that are relevant to a permanency or placement determination
27 and (ii) for any minor age 16 or over, a written description
28 of the programs and services that will enable the minor to
29 prepare for independent living. The agency's written report
30 must explain why the child cannot be returned home without
31 jeopardizing the child's health, safety and welfare and why
32 termination of parental rights or private guardianship is not
33 in the best interests of the child. The caseworker must
34 appear and testify at the permanency hearing. If a
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1 permanency review hearing has not previously been scheduled
2 by the court, the moving party shall move for the setting of
3 a permanency hearing and the entry of an order within the
4 time frames set forth in this subsection.
5 At the permanency hearing, the court shall determine the
6 future status of the child. The court shall set one of the
7 following permanency goals:
8 (A) The minor will be returned home by a specific
9 date within 5 months.
10 (B) The minor will be in short-term care with a
11 continued goal to return home within a period not to
12 exceed one year, where the progress of the parent or
13 parents is substantial considering the age and individual
14 needs of the minor.
15 (C) The minor will be in substitute care pending
16 court determination on termination of parental rights.
17 (D) Adoption, provided that parental rights have
18 been terminated or relinquished.
19 (E) The guardianship of the minor will be
20 transferred to an individual or couple on a permanent
21 basis provided that goals (A) through (D) have been ruled
22 out.
23 (F) The minor over age 12 will be in substitute
24 care pending independence.
25 (G) The minor will be in substitute care because he
26 or she cannot be provided for in a home environment due
27 to developmental disabilities or mental illness or
28 because he or she is a danger to self or others, provided
29 that goals (A) through (D) have been ruled out.
30 In selecting any permanency goal, the court shall
31 indicate in writing the reasons the goal was selected and why
32 the preceding goals were ruled out.
33 The court shall consider the following factors when
34 setting the permanency goal:
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1 (1) Age of the child.
2 (2) Options available for permanence.
3 (3) Current placement of the child and the intent
4 of the family regarding adoption.
5 (4) Emotional, physical, and mental status or
6 condition of the child
7 (5) Types of services previously offered and
8 whether or not the services were successful and, if not
9 successful, the reasons the services failed.
10 (6) Availability of services currently needed and
11 whether the services exist.
12 (7) Status of siblings of the minor.
13 At the permanency hearing, the court shall determine the
14 future status of the child. The court shall review (i) the
15 appropriateness of the permanency goal, (ii) the
16 appropriateness of the services contained in the plan and
17 whether those services have been provided to achieve the
18 goal, (iii) whether reasonable efforts have been made by all
19 the parties to the service plan to achieve the goal, and the
20 appropriateness of the services contained in the plan and
21 whether those services have been provided, (iv) whether
22 reasonable efforts have been made by all the parties to the
23 service plan to achieve the goal, and (v) whether the plan
24 and goal have been achieved. All evidence relevant to
25 determining these questions, including oral and written
26 reports, may be admitted and may be relied on to the extent
27 of their probative value.
28 In reviewing the permanency goal and the most recent
29 service plan prepared within the prior 6 months, the standard
30 of review to be employed by the court shall be whether the
31 Department of Children and Family Services, in setting the
32 permanency goal and the service plan, abused its discretion
33 in light of the best interests of the child, the permanency
34 alternatives, and the facts in the individual case.
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1 If the plan and goal has are found to be appropriate and
2 to have been achieved, the court shall enter orders that are
3 necessary to conform the minor's legal custody and status to
4 those findings.
5 If, after receiving evidence, the court determines that
6 the Department of Children and Family Services abused its
7 discretion in identifying services contained in the plan that
8 are not reasonably calculated to facilitate achievement of
9 the permanency goal, the court shall put in writing the
10 factual basis supporting the determination and enter specific
11 findings based on the evidence. The court also shall enter
12 an order for the Department to develop and implement a new
13 service plan or to implement changes to the current service
14 plan consistent with the court's findings. The new service
15 plan shall be filed with the court and served on all parties
16 within 45 days of the date of the order. The court shall
17 continue the matter until the new service plan is filed.
18 Unless otherwise specifically authorized by law, the court is
19 not empowered under this subsection (2) or under subsection
20 (3) to order specific placements, specific services, or
21 specific service providers to be included in the plan.
22 If, after receiving evidence, the court determines that
23 the Department of Children and Family Services abused its
24 discretion in setting a permanency goal that is not in the
25 best interests of the minor, the court shall enter specific
26 findings in writing based on the evidence. The court also
27 shall enter an order for the Department to set a new
28 permanency goal and to develop and implement a new service
29 plan that is consistent with the court's findings. The new
30 service plan shall be filed with the court and served on all
31 parties within 45 days of the date of the order. The court
32 shall continue the matter until the new service plan is
33 filed.
34 A guardian or custodian appointed by the court pursuant
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1 to this Act shall file updated case plans with the court
2 every 6 months until the permanency goal set by the court has
3 been achieved.
4 Rights of wards of the court under this Act are
5 enforceable against any public agency by complaints for
6 relief by mandamus filed in any proceedings brought under
7 this Act.
8 (3) Following the permanency hearing, the court shall
9 enter an order setting forth the following determinations in
10 writing:
11 (a) The future status of the minor, including the
12 permanency goal, but not limited to whether the minor
13 should be returned to the parent, should be continued in
14 the care of the Department of Children and Family
15 Services or other agency for a specified period, should
16 be placed for adoption, should be emancipated, or should
17 (because of the minor's special needs or circumstances)
18 be continued in the care of the Department of Children
19 and Family Services or other agency on a permanent or
20 long-term basis, and any order orders necessary to
21 conform the minor's legal custody and status to such
22 determination; or
23 (b) if the permanency goal future status of the
24 minor cannot be achieved immediately, the specific
25 reasons for continuing the minor in the care of the
26 Department of Children and Family Services or other
27 agency for short term placement, and the following
28 determinations:
29 (i) (Blank). Whether the permanency goal is in
30 the best interests of the minor, or whether the
31 Department of Children and Family Services abused
32 its discretion in setting a goal that is not in the
33 best interests of the minor.
34 (ii) Whether the services required by the
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1 court and by any service plan prepared within the
2 prior 6 months have been provided and (A) if so,
3 whether the services were reasonably calculated to
4 facilitate the achievement of the permanency goal or
5 (B) if not provided, why the services were not
6 provided.
7 (iii) Whether the minor's placement is
8 necessary, and appropriate to the plan and goal,
9 recognizing the right of minors to the least
10 restrictive (most family-like) setting available and
11 in close proximity to the parents' home consistent
12 with the health, safety, best interest and special
13 needs of the minor and, if the minor is placed
14 out-of-State, whether the out-of-State placement
15 continues to be appropriate and consistent with in
16 the health, safety, and best interest of the minor.
17 (iv) (Blank). Whether, because of any of the
18 findings under subparagraphs (i) through (iii), the
19 Department of Children and Family Services should be
20 ordered to set a new permanency goal or develop and
21 implement a new service plan consistent with such
22 findings.
23 (v) (Blank). Whether any orders to effectuate
24 the completion of a plan or goal are necessary,
25 including conforming the minor's custody or status
26 to a goal being achieved.
27 When a motion is before the court seeking termination of
28 parental rights of a parent in accordance with Section
29 2-27.5, the court shall enter an order terminating parental
30 rights and appointing a guardian with power to consent to
31 adoption with regard to the parent identified in the motion.
32 Any order entered pursuant to this subsection (3) shall
33 be immediately appealable as a matter of right under Supreme
34 Court Rule 304(b)(1).
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1 (4) The minor or any person interested in the minor may
2 apply to the court for a change in custody of the minor and
3 the appointment of a new custodian or guardian of the person
4 or for the restoration of the minor to the custody of his
5 parents or former guardian or custodian.
6 When return home is not selected as the permanency goal:
7 (a) The State's Attorney or the current foster
8 parent or relative caregiver seeking private guardianship
9 may file a motion for private guardianship of the minor.
10 The court and the Department of Children and Family
11 Service must approve the appointment of a guardian under
12 this Section.
13 (b) the State's Attorney may file a motion to
14 terminate parental rights of any parent who has failed to
15 make reasonable efforts to correct the conditions which
16 led to the removal of the child or reasonable progress
17 toward the return of the child, as defined in subdivision
18 (D)(m) of Section 1 of the Adoption Act or for whom any
19 other unfitness ground for terminating parental rights as
20 defined in subdivision (D) of Section 1 of the Adoption
21 Act exists.
22 However, Custody of the minor shall not be restored to
23 any parent, guardian or legal custodian in any case in which
24 the minor is found to be neglected or abused under Section
25 2-3 of this Act, unless the minor can be cared for at home
26 without endangering his or her health or safety and it is in
27 the best interest of the minor, and if such neglect or abuse
28 is found by the court under paragraph (2) of Section 2-21 of
29 this Act to be the result of physical abuse inflicted on the
30 minor by such parent, guardian or legal custodian, until such
31 time as an investigation is made as provided in paragraph (4)
32 and a hearing is held on the issue of the health, safety and
33 best interest of the minor and the fitness of such parent,
34 guardian or legal custodian to care for the minor and the
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1 court enters an order that such parent, guardian or legal
2 custodian is fit to care for the minor. In the event that
3 the minor has attained 18 years of age and the guardian or
4 custodian petitions the court for an order terminating his
5 guardianship or custody, guardianship or custody shall
6 terminate automatically 30 days after the receipt of the
7 petition unless the court orders otherwise. No legal
8 custodian or guardian of the person may be removed without
9 his consent until given notice and an opportunity to be heard
10 by the court.
11 When the court orders a child restored to the custody of
12 the parent or parents, the court shall order the parent or
13 parents to cooperate with the Department of Children and
14 Family Services and comply with the terms of an after-care
15 plan, or risk the loss of custody of the child and possible
16 termination of their parental rights. The court may also
17 enter an order of protective supervision in accordance with
18 Section 2-24.
19 (5) Whenever a parent, guardian, or legal custodian
20 files a motion petitions for restoration of custody of the
21 minor, and the minor was adjudicated neglected or abused as a
22 result of physical abuse, the court shall cause to be made an
23 investigation as to whether the movant petitioner has ever
24 been charged with or convicted of any criminal offense which
25 would indicate the likelihood of any further physical abuse
26 to the minor. Evidence of such criminal convictions shall be
27 taken into account in determining whether the minor can be
28 cared for at home without endangering his or her health or
29 safety and fitness of the parent, guardian, or legal
30 custodian.
31 (a) Any agency of this State or any subdivision
32 thereof shall co-operate with the agent of the court in
33 providing any information sought in the investigation.
34 (b) The information derived from the investigation
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1 and any conclusions or recommendations derived from the
2 information shall be provided to the parent, guardian, or
3 legal custodian seeking restoration of custody prior to
4 the hearing on fitness and the movant petitioner shall
5 have an opportunity at the hearing to refute the
6 information or contest its significance.
7 (c) All information obtained from any investigation
8 shall be confidential as provided in Section 1-10 of this
9 Act.
10 (Source: P.A. 88-7; 88-487; 88-614, eff. 9-7-94; 88-670, eff.
11 12-2-94; 89-17, eff. 5-31-95; 89-21, eff. 7-1-95; 89-626,
12 eff. 8-9-96.)
13 (705 ILCS 405/2-28.1)
14 Sec. 2-28.1. Permanency hearings; before hearing
15 officers.
16 (a) The chief judge of the circuit court may appoint
17 hearing officers to conduct the permanency hearings set forth
18 in subsection (2) of Section 2-28 of this Act, in accordance
19 with the provisions of this Section. The hearing officers
20 shall be attorneys with at least 3 years experience in child
21 abuse and neglect or permanency planning, and in counties
22 with a population of 3,000,000 or more, admitted to practice
23 for at least 7 years., Once trained by the court, hearing
24 officers shall be authorized to do the following:
25 (1) Conduct a fair and impartial hearing in which
26 the strict rules of evidence need not apply.
27 (2) Summon and compel the attendance of witnesses.
28 (3) Administer the oath or affirmation and take
29 testimony under oath or affirmation.
30 (4) Require the production of evidence relevant to
31 the permanency hearing to be conducted. That evidence
32 may include, but need not be limited to case plans,
33 social histories, medical and psychological evaluations,
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1 child placement histories, visitation records, and other
2 documents and writings applicable to those items.
3 (5) Rule on the admissibility of evidence using the
4 standard applied at a dispositional hearing under Section
5 2-22 of this Act or other information.
6 (6) Cause notices to be issued requiring parties,
7 the public agency that is custodian or guardian of the
8 minor, or another agency responsible for the minor's care
9 to appear either before the hearing officer or in court.
10 (7) Analyze the evidence presented to the hearing
11 officer and prepare written recommended orders, including
12 findings of fact, based on the evidence.
13 (8) Prior to the hearing, conduct any pre-hearings
14 that may be necessary.
15 (9) Conduct in camera interviews with children when
16 requested by a child or the child's guardian ad litem.
17 In counties with a population of 3,000,000 or more,
18 hearing officers shall also be authorized to do the
19 following:
20 (10) Accept specific consents for adoption or
21 surrenders of parental rights from a parent or parents.
22 (11) Conduct hearings on the progress made toward
23 the permanency goal set for the minor.
24 (12) Perform other duties as assigned by the court.
25 (b) The hearing officer shall consider evidence and
26 conduct the permanency hearings as set forth in subsections
27 (2) and (3) of Section 2-28 of this Act in accordance with
28 the standards set forth therein. The hearing officer shall
29 assure that a verbatim record of the proceedings is made and
30 retained for a period of 12 months or until the next
31 permanency hearing, whichever date is later, and shall
32 preserve all documents and evidence for the record. The
33 hearing officer shall inform the participants of their
34 individual rights and responsibilities. The hearing officer
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1 shall identify the issues to be reviewed under subsection (2)
2 of Section 2-28, consider all relevant facts, and receive or
3 request any additional information necessary to make
4 recommendations to the court. If a party fails to appear at
5 the hearing, the hearing officer may proceed to the
6 permanency hearing with the parties present at the hearing.
7 The hearing officer shall specifically note for the court the
8 absence of any parties. If all parties are present at the
9 permanency hearing, and the parties and the Department are in
10 agreement that the service plan and permanency goal are
11 appropriate or are in agreement that the permanency goal for
12 the child has been achieved, the hearing officer shall
13 prepare a recommended order, including findings of fact, to
14 be submitted to the court, and all parties and the Department
15 shall sign the recommended order at the time of the hearing.
16 The recommended order will then be submitted to the court for
17 its immediate consideration and the entry of an appropriate
18 order.
19 The court may enter an order consistent with the
20 recommended order without further hearing or notice to the
21 parties, may refer the matter to the hearing officer for
22 further proceedings, or may hold such additional hearings as
23 the court deems necessary. All parties present at the
24 hearing and the Department shall be tendered a copy of the
25 court's order at the conclusion of the hearing.
26 (c) If one or more parties are not present at the
27 permanency hearing, or any party or the Department of
28 Children and Family Services objects to the hearing officer's
29 recommended order, including any findings of fact, the
30 hearing officer shall set the matter for a judicial
31 determination within 30 days of the permanency hearing for
32 the entry of the recommended order or for receipt of the
33 parties' objections. Any objections shall identify the
34 specific findings or recommendations that are contested, the
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1 basis for the objections, and the evidence or applicable law
2 supporting the objection. The hearing officer shall mail a
3 copy of the recommended order to any non-attending parties,
4 together with a notice of the date and place of the judicial
5 determination and the right of the parties to present at that
6 time objections consistent with this subsection. The
7 recommended order and its contents may not be disclosed to
8 anyone other than the parties and the Department or other
9 agency unless otherwise specifically ordered by a judge of
10 the court.
11 Following the receipt of objections consistent with this
12 subsection from any party or the Department of Children and
13 Family Services to the hearing officer's recommended orders,
14 the court shall make a judicial determination of those
15 portions of the order to which objections were made, and
16 shall enter an appropriate order. The court may refuse to
17 review any objections that fail to meet the requirements of
18 this subsection.
19 (d) The following are judicial functions and shall be
20 performed only by a circuit judge or associate judge:
21 (1) Review of the recommended orders of the hearing
22 officer and entry of orders the court deems appropriate.
23 (2) Conduct of judicial hearings on all pre-hearing
24 motions and other matters that require a court order and
25 entry of orders as the court deems appropriate.
26 (3) Conduct of judicial determinations on all
27 matters in which the parties or the Department of
28 Children and Family Services disagree with the hearing
29 officer's recommended orders under subsection (3).
30 (4) Issuance of rules to show cause, conduct of
31 contempt proceedings, and imposition of appropriate
32 sanctions or relief.
33 (Source: P.A. 89-17, eff. 5-31-95.)
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1 (705 ILCS 405/2-29) (from Ch. 37, par. 802-29)
2 (Text of Section before amendment by P.A. 89-704)
3 Sec. 2-29. Adoption; appointment of guardian with power
4 to consent.
5 (1) A ward of the court under this Act, with the consent
6 of the court, may be the subject of a petition for adoption
7 under "An Act in relation to the adoption of persons, and to
8 repeal an Act therein named", approved July 17, 1959, as now
9 or hereafter amended, or with like consent his or her parent
10 or parents may, in the manner required by such Act, surrender
11 him or her for adoption to an agency legally authorized or
12 licensed to place children for adoption.
13 (2) If the petition prays and the court finds that it is
14 in the best interest of the minor that a guardian of the
15 person be appointed and authorized to consent to the adoption
16 of the minor, the court with the consent of the parents, if
17 living, or after finding, based upon clear and convincing
18 evidence, that a non-consenting parent is an unfit person as
19 defined in Section 1 of "An Act in relation to the adoption
20 of persons, and to repeal an Act therein named", approved
21 July 17, 1959, as amended, may empower the guardian of the
22 person of the minor, in the order appointing him or her as
23 such guardian, to appear in court where any proceedings for
24 the adoption of the minor may at any time be pending and to
25 consent to the adoption. Such consent is sufficient to
26 authorize the court in the adoption proceedings to enter a
27 proper order or judgment of adoption without further notice
28 to, or consent by, the parents of the minor. An order so
29 empowering the guardian to consent to adoption terminates
30 parental rights, deprives the parents of the minor of all
31 legal rights as respects the minor and relieves them of all
32 parental responsibility for him or her, and frees the minor
33 from all obligations of maintenance and obedience to his or
34 her natural parents.
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1 If the minor is over 14 years of age, the court may, in
2 its discretion, consider the wishes of the minor in
3 determining whether the best interests of the minor would be
4 promoted by the finding of the unfitness of a non-consenting
5 parent.
6 (3) Parental consent to the order authorizing the
7 guardian of the person to consent to adoption of the minor
8 shall be given in open court whenever possible and otherwise
9 must be in writing and signed in the form provided in "An Act
10 in relation to the adoption of persons, and to repeal an Act
11 therein named", approved July 17, 1959, as now or hereafter
12 amended, but no names of petitioners for adoption need be
13 included. A finding of the unfitness of a nonconsenting
14 parent must be made in compliance with that Act and be based
15 upon clear and convincing evidence. Provisions of that Act
16 relating to minor parents and to mentally ill or mentally
17 deficient parents apply to proceedings under this Section and
18 any findings with respect to such parents shall be based upon
19 clear and convincing evidence.
20 (Source: P.A. 85-601.)
21 (Text of Section after amendment by P.A. 89-704)
22 Sec. 2-29. Adoption; appointment of guardian with power
23 to consent.
24 (1) With leave of the court, a minor who is the subject
25 of an abuse, neglect, or dependency petition under this Act
26 may be the subject of a petition for adoption under the
27 Adoption Act.
28 (1.1) The parent or parents of a child in whose interest
29 a petition under Section 2-13 of this Act is pending may, in
30 the manner required by the Adoption Act, (a) surrender him or
31 her for adoption to an agency legally authorized or licensed
32 to place children for adoption, (b) consent to his or her
33 adoption, or (c) consent to his or her adoption by a
34 specified person or persons. Nothing in this Section requires
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1 that the parent or parents execute the surrender, consent, or
2 consent to adoption by a specified person in open court.
3 (2) If a petition or motion alleges petition prays and
4 the court finds that it is in the best interest of the minor
5 that parental rights be terminated and the petition or motion
6 requests that a guardian of the person be appointed and
7 authorized to consent to the adoption of the minor, the
8 court, with the consent agreement of the parents, if living,
9 or after finding, based upon clear and convincing evidence,
10 that a parent is an unfit person as defined in Section 1 of
11 the Adoption Act, may terminate parental rights and empower
12 the guardian of the person of the minor, in the order
13 appointing him or her as such guardian, to appear in court
14 where any proceedings for the adoption of the minor may at
15 any time be pending and to consent to the adoption. Such
16 consent is sufficient to authorize the court in the adoption
17 proceedings to enter a proper order or judgment of adoption
18 without further notice to, or consent by, the parents of the
19 minor. An order so empowering the guardian to consent to
20 adoption terminates parental rights, deprives the parents of
21 the minor of all legal rights as respects the minor and
22 relieves them of all parental responsibility for him or her,
23 and frees the minor from all obligations of maintenance and
24 obedience to his or her natural parents.
25 If the minor is over 14 years of age, the court may, in
26 its discretion, consider the wishes of the minor in
27 determining whether the best interests of the minor would be
28 promoted by the finding of the unfitness of a non-consenting
29 parent.
30 (3) Parental consent to the request for an order
31 terminating parental rights and authorizing the guardian of
32 the person to consent to adoption of the minor shall be made
33 in open court whenever possible and otherwise must be in
34 writing and signed in the form provided in the Adoption Act,
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1 but no names of petitioners for adoption need be included.
2 (4) A finding of the unfitness of a parent must be made
3 in compliance with the Adoption Act, without regard to the
4 likelihood that the child will be placed for adoption, and be
5 based upon clear and convincing evidence. Provisions of the
6 Adoption Act relating to minor parents and to mentally ill or
7 mentally deficient parents apply to proceedings under this
8 Section and any findings with respect to such parents shall
9 be based upon clear and convincing evidence.
10 (Source: P.A. 89-704, eff. 1-1-98.)
11 (705 ILCS 405/2-31) (from Ch. 37, par. 802-31)
12 Sec. 2-31. Duration of wardship and discharge of
13 proceedings.
14 (1) All proceedings under this Act in respect of any
15 minor for whom a petition was filed after the effective date
16 of this amendatory Act of 1991 automatically terminate upon
17 his attaining the age of 19 years, except that a court may
18 continue the wardship of a minor until age 21 for good cause
19 when there is satisfactory evidence presented to the court
20 and the court makes written factual findings that the health,
21 safety, and best interest of the minor and the public require
22 the continuation of the wardship.
23 (2) Whenever the court determines, and makes written
24 factual findings, that health, safety, and the best interests
25 of the minor and the public no longer require the wardship of
26 the court, the court shall order the wardship terminated and
27 all proceedings under this Act respecting that minor finally
28 closed and discharged. The court may at the same time
29 continue or terminate any custodianship or guardianship
30 theretofore ordered but the termination must be made in
31 compliance with Section 2-28.
32 (3) The wardship of the minor and any custodianship or
33 guardianship respecting the minor for whom a petition was
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1 filed after the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1991
2 automatically terminates when he attains the age of 19 years
3 except as set forth in subsection (1) of this Section. The
4 clerk of the court shall at that time record all proceedings
5 under this Act as finally closed and discharged for that
6 reason.
7 (Source: P.A. 87-14; 88-7.)
8 Section 10-25. The Adoption Act is amended by changing
9 Section 1 as follows:
10 (750 ILCS 50/1) (from Ch. 40, par. 1501)
11 (Text of Section before amendment by P.A. 89-704)
12 Sec. 1. Definitions. When used in this Act, unless the
13 context otherwise requires:
14 A. "Child" means a person under legal age subject to
15 adoption under this Act.
16 B. "Related child" means a child subject to adoption
17 where either or both of the adopting parents stands in any of
18 the following relationships to the child by blood or
19 marriage: parent, grand-parent, brother, sister, step-parent,
20 step-grandparent, step-brother, step-sister, uncle, aunt,
21 great-uncle, great-aunt, or cousin of first degree. A child
22 whose parent has executed a final irrevocable consent to
23 adoption or a final irrevocable surrender for purposes of
24 adoption, or whose parent has had his or her parental rights
25 terminated, is not a related child to that person.
26 C. "Agency" for the purpose of this Act means a public
27 child welfare agency or a licensed child welfare agency.
28 D. "Unfit person" means any person whom the court shall
29 find to be unfit to have a child, without regard to the
30 likelihood that the child will be placed for adoption. The
31 grounds of unfitness are any one or more of the following:
32 (a) Abandonment of the child.
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1 (b) Failure to maintain a reasonable degree of
2 interest, concern or responsibility as to the child's
3 welfare.
4 (c) Desertion of the child for more than 3 months
5 next preceding the commencement of the Adoption
6 proceeding.
7 (d) Substantial neglect of the child if continuous
8 or repeated.
9 (e) Extreme or repeated cruelty to the child.
10 (f) Two or more findings of physical abuse to any
11 children under Section 4-8 of the Juvenile Court Act or
12 Section 2-21 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987, the most
13 recent of which was determined by the juvenile court
14 hearing the matter to be supported by clear and
15 convincing evidence; a criminal conviction resulting from
16 the death of any child by physical child abuse; or a
17 finding of physical child abuse resulting from the death
18 of any child under Section 4-8 of the Juvenile Court Act
19 or Section 2-21 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987.
20 (g) Failure to protect the child from conditions
21 within his environment injurious to the child's welfare.
22 (h) Other neglect of, or misconduct toward the
23 child; provided that in making a finding of unfitness the
24 court hearing the adoption proceeding shall not be bound
25 by any previous finding, order or judgment affecting or
26 determining the rights of the parents toward the child
27 sought to be adopted in any other proceeding except such
28 proceedings terminating parental rights as shall be had
29 under either this Act, the Juvenile Court Act or the
30 Juvenile Court Act of 1987.
31 (i) Depravity.
32 (j) Open and notorious adultery or fornication.
33 (j-1) Conviction of first degree murder in
34 violation of paragraph 1 or 2 of subsection (a) of
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1 Section 9-1 of the Criminal Code of 1961 or conviction of
2 second degree murder in violation of subsection (a) of
3 Section 9-2 of the Criminal Code of 1961 of a parent of
4 the child to be adopted shall create a presumption of
5 unfitness that may be overcome only by clear and
6 convincing evidence.
7 (k) Habitual drunkenness or addiction to drugs,
8 other than those prescribed by a physician, for at least
9 one year immediately prior to the commencement of the
10 unfitness proceeding.
11 (l) Failure to demonstrate a reasonable degree of
12 interest, concern or responsibility as to the welfare of
13 a new born child during the first 30 days after its
14 birth.
15 (m) Failure by a parent to make reasonable efforts
16 to correct the conditions that were the basis for the
17 removal of the child from the parent, or to make
18 reasonable progress toward the return of the child to the
19 parent within 9 12 months after an adjudication of
20 neglected or minor, abused minor under Section 2-3 of the
21 Juvenile Court Act of 1987 or dependent minor under
22 Section 2-4 of that Act the Juvenile Court Act or the
23 Juvenile Court Act of 1987. If a service plan has been
24 established as required under Section 8.2 of the Abused
25 and Neglected Child Reporting Act to correct the
26 conditions that were the basis for the removal of the
27 child from the parent, then, for purposes of this Act,
28 "failure to make reasonable progress toward the return of
29 the child to the parent" includes failure to complete
30 that service plan within 12 months after the adjudication
31 under Section 2-3 or 2-4 of the Juvenile Court Act of
32 1987.
33 (n) Evidence of intent to forego his or her
34 parental rights, whether or not the child is a ward of
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1 the court, (1) as manifested by his or her failure for a
2 period of 12 months: (i) to visit the child, (ii) to
3 communicate with the child or agency, although able to do
4 so and not prevented from doing so by an agency or by
5 court order, or (iii) to maintain contact with or plan
6 for the future of the child, although physically able to
7 do so, or (2) as manifested by the father's failure,
8 where he and the mother of the child were unmarried to
9 each other at the time of the child's birth, (i) to
10 commence legal proceedings to establish his paternity
11 under the Illinois Parentage Act of 1984 or the law of
12 the jurisdiction of the child's birth within 30 days of
13 being informed, pursuant to Section 12a of this Act, that
14 he is the father or the likely father of the child or,
15 after being so informed where the child is not yet born,
16 within 30 days of the child's birth, or (ii) to make a
17 good faith effort to pay a reasonable amount of the
18 expenses related to the birth of the child and to provide
19 a reasonable amount for the financial support of the
20 child, the court to consider in its determination all
21 relevant circumstances, including the financial condition
22 of both parents; provided that the ground for termination
23 provided in this subparagraph (n)(2)(ii) shall only be
24 available where the petition is brought by the mother or
25 the husband of the mother.
26 Contact or communication by a parent with his or her
27 child that does not demonstrate affection and concern
28 does not constitute reasonable contact and planning under
29 subdivision (n). In the absence of evidence to the
30 contrary, the ability to visit, communicate, maintain
31 contact, pay expenses and plan for the future shall be
32 presumed. The subjective intent of the parent, whether
33 expressed or otherwise, unsupported by evidence of the
34 foregoing parental acts manifesting that intent, shall
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1 not preclude a determination that the parent has intended
2 to forego his or her parental rights. In making this
3 determination, the court may consider but shall not
4 require a showing of diligent efforts by an authorized
5 agency to encourage the parent to perform the acts
6 specified in subdivision (n).
7 It shall be an affirmative defense to any allegation
8 under paragraph (2) of this subsection that the father's
9 failure was due to circumstances beyond his control or to
10 impediments created by the mother or any other person
11 having legal custody. Proof of that fact need only be by
12 a preponderance of the evidence.
13 (o) repeated or continuous failure by the parents,
14 although physically and financially able, to provide the
15 child with adequate food, clothing, or shelter.
16 (p) inability to discharge parental
17 responsibilities supported by competent evidence from a
18 psychiatrist, licensed clinical social worker, or
19 clinical psychologist of mental impairment, mental
20 illness or mental retardation as defined in Section 1-116
21 of the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code,
22 or developmental disability as defined in Section 1-106
23 of that Code, and there is sufficient justification to
24 believe that the inability to discharge parental
25 responsibilities shall extend beyond a reasonable time
26 period. However, this subdivision (p) shall not be
27 construed so as to permit a licensed clinical social
28 worker to conduct any medical diagnosis to determine
29 mental illness or mental impairment.
30 (q) a finding of physical abuse of the child under
31 Section 4-8 of the Juvenile Court Act or Section 2-21 of
32 the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 and a criminal conviction
33 of aggravated battery of the child.
34 E. "Parent" means the father or mother of a legitimate
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1 or illegitimate child. For the purpose of this Act, a person
2 who has executed a final and irrevocable consent to adoption
3 or a final and irrevocable surrender for purposes of
4 adoption, or whose parental rights have been terminated by a
5 court, is not a parent of the child who was the subject of
6 the consent or surrender.
7 F. A person is available for adoption when the person
8 is:
9 (a) a child who has been surrendered for adoption
10 to an agency and to whose adoption the agency has
11 thereafter consented;
12 (b) a child to whose adoption a person authorized
13 by law, other than his parents, has consented, or to
14 whose adoption no consent is required pursuant to Section
15 8 of this Act;
16 (c) a child who is in the custody of persons who
17 intend to adopt him through placement made by his
18 parents; or
19 (d) an adult who meets the conditions set forth in
20 Section 3 of this Act.
21 A person who would otherwise be available for adoption
22 shall not be deemed unavailable for adoption solely by reason
23 of his or her death.
24 G. The singular includes the plural and the plural
25 includes the singular and the "male" includes the "female",
26 as the context of this Act may require.
27 H. "Adoption disruption" occurs when an adoptive
28 placement does not prove successful and it becomes necessary
29 for the child to be removed from placement before the
30 adoption is finalized.
31 I. "Foreign placing agency" is an agency or individual
32 operating in a country or territory outside the United States
33 that is authorized by its country to place children for
34 adoption either directly with families in the United States
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1 or through United States based international agencies.
2 J. "Immediate relatives" means the biological parents,
3 the parents of the biological parents and siblings of the
4 biological parents;
5 K. "Intercountry adoption" is a process by which a child
6 from a country other than the United States is adopted.
7 L. "Intercountry Adoption Coordinator" is a staff person
8 of the Department of Children and Family Services appointed
9 by the Director to coordinate the provision of services by
10 the public and private sector to prospective parents of
11 foreign-born children.
12 M. "Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children" is
13 a law enacted by most states for the purpose of establishing
14 uniform procedures for handling the interstate placement of
15 children in foster homes, adoptive homes, or other child care
16 facilities.
17 N. "Non-Compact state" means a state that has not
18 enacted the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children.
19 O. "Preadoption requirements" are any conditions
20 established by the laws or regulations of the Federal
21 Government or of each state that must be met prior to the
22 placement of a child in an adoptive home.
23 P. "Abused child" means a child whose parent or
24 immediate family member, or any person responsible for the
25 child's welfare, or any individual residing in the same home
26 as the child, or a paramour of the child's parent:
27 (a) inflicts, causes to be inflicted, or allows to
28 be inflicted upon the child physical injury, by other
29 than accidental means, that causes death, disfigurement,
30 impairment of physical or emotional health, or loss or
31 impairment of any bodily function;
32 (b) creates a substantial risk of physical injury
33 to the child by other than accidental means which would
34 be likely to cause death, disfigurement, impairment of
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1 physical or emotional health, or loss or impairment of
2 any bodily function;
3 (c) commits or allows to be committed any sex
4 offense against the child, as sex offenses are defined in
5 the Criminal Code of 1961 and extending those definitions
6 of sex offenses to include children under 18 years of
7 age;
8 (d) commits or allows to be committed an act or
9 acts of torture upon the child; or
10 (e) inflicts excessive corporal punishment.
11 Q. "Neglected child" means any child whose parent or
12 other person responsible for the child's welfare withholds or
13 denies nourishment or medically indicated treatment including
14 food or care denied solely on the basis of the present or
15 anticipated mental or physical impairment as determined by a
16 physician acting alone or in consultation with other
17 physicians or otherwise does not provide the proper or
18 necessary support, education as required by law, or medical
19 or other remedial care recognized under State law as
20 necessary for a child's well-being, or other care necessary
21 for his or her well-being, including adequate food, clothing
22 and shelter; or who is abandoned by his or her parents or
23 other person responsible for the child's welfare.
24 A child shall not be considered neglected or abused for
25 the sole reason that the child's parent or other person
26 responsible for his or her welfare depends upon spiritual
27 means through prayer alone for the treatment or cure of
28 disease or remedial care as provided under Section 4 of the
29 Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act.
30 R. "Putative father" means a man who may be a child's
31 father, but who (1) is not married to the child's mother on
32 or before the date that the child was or is to be born and
33 (2) has not established paternity of the child in a court
34 proceeding before the filing of a petition for the adoption
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1 of the child. The term includes a male who is less than 18
2 years of age.
3 (Source: P.A. 88-20; 88-550, eff. 7-3-94; 88-691, eff.
4 1-24-95; 89-235, eff. 8-4-95.)
5 (Text of Section after amendment by P.A. 89-704)
6 Sec. 1. Definitions. When used in this Act, unless the
7 context otherwise requires:
8 A. "Child" means a person under legal age subject to
9 adoption under this Act.
10 B. "Related child" means a child subject to adoption
11 where either or both of the adopting parents stands in any of
12 the following relationships to the child by blood or
13 marriage: parent, grand-parent, brother, sister, step-parent,
14 step-grandparent, step-brother, step-sister, uncle, aunt,
15 great-uncle, great-aunt, or cousin of first degree. A child
16 whose parent has executed a final irrevocable consent to
17 adoption or a final irrevocable surrender for purposes of
18 adoption, or whose parent has had his or her parental rights
19 terminated, is not a related child to that person, unless the
20 consent is determined to be void or is void pursuant to
21 subsection O of Section 10.
22 C. "Agency" for the purpose of this Act means a public
23 child welfare agency or a licensed child welfare agency.
24 D. "Unfit person" means any person whom the court shall
25 find to be unfit to have a child, without regard to the
26 likelihood that the child will be placed for adoption. The
27 grounds of unfitness are any one or more of the following:
28 (a) Abandonment of the child.
29 (a-1) Abandonment of a newborn infant in a
30 hospital.
31 (a-2) Abandonment of a newborn infant in any
32 setting where the evidence suggests that the parent
33 intended to relinquish his or her parental rights.
34 (b) Failure to maintain a reasonable degree of
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1 interest, concern or responsibility as to the child's
2 welfare.
3 (c) Desertion of the child for more than 3 months
4 next preceding the commencement of the Adoption
5 proceeding.
6 (d) Substantial neglect of the child if continuous
7 or repeated.
8 (d-1) Substantial neglect, if continuous or
9 repeated, of any child residing in the household which
10 resulted in the death of that child.
11 (e) Extreme or repeated cruelty to the child.
12 (f) Two or more findings of physical abuse to any
13 children under Section 4-8 of the Juvenile Court Act or
14 Section 2-21 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987, the most
15 recent of which was determined by the juvenile court
16 hearing the matter to be supported by clear and
17 convincing evidence; a criminal conviction or a finding
18 of not guilty by reason of insanity resulting from the
19 death of any child by physical child abuse; or a finding
20 of physical child abuse resulting from the death of any
21 child under Section 4-8 of the Juvenile Court Act or
22 Section 2-21 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987.
23 (g) Failure to protect the child from conditions
24 within his environment injurious to the child's welfare.
25 (h) Other neglect of, or misconduct toward the
26 child; provided that in making a finding of unfitness the
27 court hearing the adoption proceeding shall not be bound
28 by any previous finding, order or judgment affecting or
29 determining the rights of the parents toward the child
30 sought to be adopted in any other proceeding except such
31 proceedings terminating parental rights as shall be had
32 under either this Act, the Juvenile Court Act or the
33 Juvenile Court Act of 1987.
34 (i) Depravity.
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1 (j) Open and notorious adultery or fornication.
2 (j-1) Conviction of any one of the following crimes
3 shall create a presumption of unfitness that may be
4 overcome only by clear and convincing evidence: (1) first
5 degree murder in violation of paragraph 1 or 2 of
6 subsection (a) of Section 9-1 of the Criminal Code of
7 1961 or conviction of second degree murder in violation
8 of subsection (a) of Section 9-2 of the Criminal Code of
9 1961 of a parent of the child to be adopted; (2) a
10 criminal conviction of first degree murder or second
11 degree murder of any child in violation of the Criminal
12 Code of 1961; (3) a criminal conviction of attempt or
13 conspiracy to commit first degree murder or second degree
14 murder of any child in violation of the Criminal Code of
15 1961; (4) a criminal conviction of solicitation to commit
16 murder of any child, solicitation to commit murder of any
17 child for hire, or solicitation to commit second degree
18 murder of any child in violation of the Criminal Code of
19 1961; (5) a criminal conviction of accountability for the
20 first or second degree murder of any child in violation
21 of the Criminal Code of 1961; or (6) a criminal
22 conviction of aggravated criminal sexual assault in
23 violation of Section 12-14(b)(1) of the Criminal Code of
24 1961 shall create a presumption of unfitness that may be
25 overcome only by clear and convincing evidence.
26 (k) Habitual drunkenness or addiction to drugs,
27 other than those prescribed by a physician, for at least
28 one year immediately prior to the commencement of the
29 unfitness proceeding.
30 (l) Failure to demonstrate a reasonable degree of
31 interest, concern or responsibility as to the welfare of
32 a new born child during the first 30 days after its
33 birth.
34 (m) Failure by a parent to make reasonable efforts
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1 to correct the conditions that were the basis for the
2 removal of the child from the parent, or to make
3 reasonable progress toward the return of the child to the
4 parent within 9 12 months after an adjudication of
5 neglected or minor, abused minor under Section 2-3 of the
6 Juvenile Court Act of 1987 or dependent minor under
7 Section 2-4 of that Act the Juvenile Court Act or the
8 Juvenile Court Act of 1987. If a service plan has been
9 established as required under Section 8.2 of the Abused
10 and Neglected Child Reporting Act to correct the
11 conditions that were the basis for the removal of the
12 child from the parent, then, for purposes of this Act,
13 "failure to make reasonable progress toward the return of
14 the child to the parent" includes failure to complete
15 that service plan within 9 months after the adjudication
16 under Section 2-3 or 2-4 of the Juvenile Court Act of
17 1987.
18 (n) Evidence of intent to forego his or her
19 parental rights, whether or not the child is a ward of
20 the court, (1) as manifested by his or her failure for a
21 period of 12 months: (i) to visit the child, (ii) to
22 communicate with the child or agency, although able to do
23 so and not prevented from doing so by an agency or by
24 court order, or (iii) to maintain contact with or plan
25 for the future of the child, although physically able to
26 do so, or (2) as manifested by the father's failure,
27 where he and the mother of the child were unmarried to
28 each other at the time of the child's birth, (i) to
29 commence legal proceedings to establish his paternity
30 under the Illinois Parentage Act of 1984 or the law of
31 the jurisdiction of the child's birth within 30 days of
32 being informed, pursuant to Section 12a of this Act, that
33 he is the father or the likely father of the child or,
34 after being so informed where the child is not yet born,
-153- LRB9000741DJfgam01
1 within 30 days of the child's birth, or (ii) to make a
2 good faith effort to pay a reasonable amount of the
3 expenses related to the birth of the child and to provide
4 a reasonable amount for the financial support of the
5 child, the court to consider in its determination all
6 relevant circumstances, including the financial condition
7 of both parents; provided that the ground for termination
8 provided in this subparagraph (n)(2)(ii) shall only be
9 available where the petition is brought by the mother or
10 the husband of the mother.
11 Contact or communication by a parent with his or her
12 child that does not demonstrate affection and concern
13 does not constitute reasonable contact and planning under
14 subdivision (n). In the absence of evidence to the
15 contrary, the ability to visit, communicate, maintain
16 contact, pay expenses and plan for the future shall be
17 presumed. The subjective intent of the parent, whether
18 expressed or otherwise, unsupported by evidence of the
19 foregoing parental acts manifesting that intent, shall
20 not preclude a determination that the parent has intended
21 to forego his or her parental rights. In making this
22 determination, the court may consider but shall not
23 require a showing of diligent efforts by an authorized
24 agency to encourage the parent to perform the acts
25 specified in subdivision (n).
26 It shall be an affirmative defense to any allegation
27 under paragraph (2) of this subsection that the father's
28 failure was due to circumstances beyond his control or to
29 impediments created by the mother or any other person
30 having legal custody. Proof of that fact need only be by
31 a preponderance of the evidence.
32 (o) Repeated or continuous failure by the parents,
33 although physically and financially able, to provide the
34 child with adequate food, clothing, or shelter.
-154- LRB9000741DJfgam01
1 (p) Inability to discharge parental
2 responsibilities supported by competent evidence from a
3 psychiatrist, licensed clinical social worker, or
4 clinical psychologist of mental impairment, mental
5 illness or mental retardation as defined in Section 1-116
6 of the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code,
7 or developmental disability as defined in Section 1-106
8 of that Code, and there is sufficient justification to
9 believe that the inability to discharge parental
10 responsibilities shall extend beyond a reasonable time
11 period. However, this subdivision (p) shall not be
12 construed so as to permit a licensed clinical social
13 worker to conduct any medical diagnosis to determine
14 mental illness or mental impairment.
15 (q) A finding of physical abuse of the child under
16 Section 4-8 of the Juvenile Court Act or Section 2-21 of
17 the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 and a criminal conviction
18 of aggravated battery of the child.
19 (r) The child is in the temporary custody or
20 guardianship of the Department of Children and Family
21 Services, the parent is incarcerated as a result of
22 criminal conviction at the time the petition or motion
23 for termination of parental rights is filed, prior to
24 incarceration the parent had little or no contact with
25 the child or provided little or no support for the child,
26 and the parent's incarceration will prevent the parent
27 from discharging his or her parental responsibilities for
28 the child for a period in excess of 2 years after the
29 filing of the petition or motion for termination of
30 parental rights.
31 (s) The child is in the temporary custody or
32 guardianship of the Department of Children and Family
33 Services, the parent is incarcerated at the time the
34 petition or motion for termination of parental rights is
-155- LRB9000741DJfgam01
1 filed, the parent has been repeatedly incarcerated as a
2 result of criminal convictions, and the parent's repeated
3 incarceration has prevented the parent from discharging
4 his or her parental responsibilities for the child.
5 E. "Parent" means the father or mother of a legitimate
6 or illegitimate child. For the purpose of this Act, a person
7 who has executed a final and irrevocable consent to adoption
8 or a final and irrevocable surrender for purposes of
9 adoption, or whose parental rights have been terminated by a
10 court, is not a parent of the child who was the subject of
11 the consent or surrender, unless the consent is void pursuant
12 to subsection O of Section 10.
13 F. A person is available for adoption when the person
14 is:
15 (a) a child who has been surrendered for adoption
16 to an agency and to whose adoption the agency has
17 thereafter consented;
18 (b) a child to whose adoption a person authorized
19 by law, other than his parents, has consented, or to
20 whose adoption no consent is required pursuant to Section
21 8 of this Act;
22 (c) a child who is in the custody of persons who
23 intend to adopt him through placement made by his
24 parents;
25 (c-1) a child for whom a parent has signed a
26 specific consent pursuant to subsection O of Section 10;
27 or
28 (d) an adult who meets the conditions set forth in
29 Section 3 of this Act.
30 A person who would otherwise be available for adoption
31 shall not be deemed unavailable for adoption solely by reason
32 of his or her death.
33 G. The singular includes the plural and the plural
34 includes the singular and the "male" includes the "female",
-156- LRB9000741DJfgam01
1 as the context of this Act may require.
2 H. "Adoption disruption" occurs when an adoptive
3 placement does not prove successful and it becomes necessary
4 for the child to be removed from placement before the
5 adoption is finalized.
6 I. "Foreign placing agency" is an agency or individual
7 operating in a country or territory outside the United States
8 that is authorized by its country to place children for
9 adoption either directly with families in the United States
10 or through United States based international agencies.
11 J. "Immediate relatives" means the biological parents,
12 the parents of the biological parents and siblings of the
13 biological parents;
14 K. "Intercountry adoption" is a process by which a child
15 from a country other than the United States is adopted.
16 L. "Intercountry Adoption Coordinator" is a staff person
17 of the Department of Children and Family Services appointed
18 by the Director to coordinate the provision of services by
19 the public and private sector to prospective parents of
20 foreign-born children.
21 M. "Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children" is
22 a law enacted by most states for the purpose of establishing
23 uniform procedures for handling the interstate placement of
24 children in foster homes, adoptive homes, or other child care
25 facilities.
26 N. "Non-Compact state" means a state that has not
27 enacted the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children.
28 O. "Preadoption requirements" are any conditions
29 established by the laws or regulations of the Federal
30 Government or of each state that must be met prior to the
31 placement of a child in an adoptive home.
32 P. "Abused child" means a child whose parent or
33 immediate family member, or any person responsible for the
34 child's welfare, or any individual residing in the same home
-157- LRB9000741DJfgam01
1 as the child, or a paramour of the child's parent:
2 (a) inflicts, causes to be inflicted, or allows to
3 be inflicted upon the child physical injury, by other
4 than accidental means, that causes death, disfigurement,
5 impairment of physical or emotional health, or loss or
6 impairment of any bodily function;
7 (b) creates a substantial risk of physical injury
8 to the child by other than accidental means which would
9 be likely to cause death, disfigurement, impairment of
10 physical or emotional health, or loss or impairment of
11 any bodily function;
12 (c) commits or allows to be committed any sex
13 offense against the child, as sex offenses are defined in
14 the Criminal Code of 1961 and extending those definitions
15 of sex offenses to include children under 18 years of
16 age;
17 (d) commits or allows to be committed an act or
18 acts of torture upon the child; or
19 (e) inflicts excessive corporal punishment.
20 Q. "Neglected child" means any child whose parent or
21 other person responsible for the child's welfare withholds or
22 denies nourishment or medically indicated treatment including
23 food or care denied solely on the basis of the present or
24 anticipated mental or physical impairment as determined by a
25 physician acting alone or in consultation with other
26 physicians or otherwise does not provide the proper or
27 necessary support, education as required by law, or medical
28 or other remedial care recognized under State law as
29 necessary for a child's well-being, or other care necessary
30 for his or her well-being, including adequate food, clothing
31 and shelter; or who is abandoned by his or her parents or
32 other person responsible for the child's welfare.
33 A child shall not be considered neglected or abused for
34 the sole reason that the child's parent or other person
-158- LRB9000741DJfgam01
1 responsible for his or her welfare depends upon spiritual
2 means through prayer alone for the treatment or cure of
3 disease or remedial care as provided under Section 4 of the
4 Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act.
5 R. "Putative father" means a man who may be a child's
6 father, but who (1) is not married to the child's mother on
7 or before the date that the child was or is to be born and
8 (2) has not established paternity of the child in a court
9 proceeding before the filing of a petition for the adoption
10 of the child. The term includes a male who is less than 18
11 years of age.
12 (Source: P.A. 88-20; 88-550, eff. 7-3-94; 88-691, eff.
13 1-24-95; 89-235, eff. 8-4-95; 89-704, eff. 1-1-98.)
14 ARTICLE 90
15 Section 90-95. No acceleration or delay. Where this Act
16 makes changes in a statute that is represented in this Act by
17 text that is not yet or no longer in effect (for example, a
18 Section represented by multiple versions), the use of that
19 text does not accelerate or delay the taking effect of (i)
20 the changes made by this Act or (ii) provisions derived from
21 any other Public Act.
22 Section 90-99. Effective date. This Section and the
23 changes to subdivision (D)(m) of Section 1 of the Adoption
24 Act take effect upon becoming law.".