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91_HB2947eng HB2947 Engrossed LRB9109423MWgc 1 AN ACT to amend the Children and Family Services Act by 2 changing Section 35.1. 3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 4 represented in the General Assembly: 5 Section 5. The Children and Family Services Act is 6 amended by changing Section 35.1 as follows: 7 (20 ILCS 505/35.1) (from Ch. 23, par. 5035.1) 8 Sec. 35.1. The case and clinical records of patients in 9 Department supervised facilities, wards of the Department, 10 children receiving or applying for child welfare services, 11 persons receiving or applying for other services of the 12 Department, and Department reports of injury or abuse to 13 children shall not be open to the general public. Such case 14 and clinical records and reports or the information contained 15 therein shall be disclosed by the Director of the Department 16 to juvenile authorities when necessary for the discharge of 17 their official duties who request information concerning the 18 minor and who certify in writing that the information will 19 not be disclosed to any other party except as provided under 20 law or order of court. For purposes of this Section, 21 "juvenile authorities" means: (i) a judge of the circuit 22 court and members of the staff of the court designated by the 23 judge; (ii) parties to the proceedings under the Juvenile 24 Court Act of 1987 and their attorneys; (iii) probation 25 officers and court appointed advocates for the juvenile 26 authorized by the judge hearing the case; (iv) any 27 individual, public or private agency having custody of the 28 child pursuant to court order; (v) any individual, public or 29 private agency providing education, medical or mental health 30 service to the child when the requested information is needed 31 to determine the appropriate service or treatment for the HB2947 Engrossed -2- LRB9109423MWgc 1 minor; (vi) any potential placement provider when such 2 release is authorized by the court for the limited purpose of 3 determining the appropriateness of the potential placement; 4 (vii) law enforcement officers and prosecutors; (viii) adult 5 and juvenile prisoner review boards; (ix) authorized military 6 personnel; (x) individuals authorized by court; (xi) the 7 Illinois General Assembly or any committee or commission 8 thereof. This Section does not apply to the Department's 9 fiscal records, other records of a purely administrative 10 nature, or any forms, documents or other records required of 11 facilities subject to licensure by the Department except as 12 may otherwise be provided under the Child Care Act of 1969. 13 Nothing contained in this Act prevents the sharing or 14 disclosure of information or records relating or pertaining 15 to juveniles subject to the provisions of the Serious 16 Habitual Offender Comprehensive Action Program when that 17 information is used to assist in the early identification and 18 treatment of habitual juvenile offenders. 19 Nothing contained in this Act prevents the sharing or 20 disclosure of information or records relating or pertaining 21 to the death of a minor under the care of or receiving 22 services from the Department and under the jurisdiction of 23 the juvenile court with the juvenile court, the State's 24 Attorney, and the minor's attorney. 25 Nothing contained in this Section prohibits or prevents 26 any individual dealing with or providing services to a minor 27 from sharing information with another individual dealing with 28 or providing services to a minor for the purpose of 29 coordinating efforts on behalf of the minor. The sharing of 30 such information is only for the purpose stated herein and is 31 to be consistent with the intent and purpose of the 32 confidentiality provisions of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987. 33 This provision does not abrogate any recognized privilege. 34 Sharing information does not include copying of records, HB2947 Engrossed -3- LRB9109423MWgc 1 reports or case files unless authorized herein. 2 Nothing in this Section prohibits or prevents the 3 re-disclosure of records, reports, or other information that 4 reveals malfeasance or nonfeasance on the part of the 5 Department, its employees, or its agents. Nothing in this 6 Section prohibits or prevents the Department or a party in a 7 proceeding under the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 from copying 8 records, reports, or case files for the purpose of sharing 9 those documents with other parties to the litigation. 10 (Source: P.A. 90-15, eff. 6-13-97; 90-590, eff. 1-1-00.)