[ Search ] [ Legislation ]
[ Home ] [ Back ] [ Bottom ]
91_SB1668
LRB9112511DJcd
1 AN ACT in relation to children.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5 Newborn and Infant Protection Act.
6 Section 5. Relinquishing custody of child. A parent of a
7 newborn infant or of a child 12 months of age or less may
8 relinquish custody of the infant or child to a hospital. The
9 hospital may accept custody of the infant or child from the
10 parent.
11 Section 10. Termination of parental rights. If a parent
12 of an infant or child relinquishes custody of the infant or
13 child to a hospital as provided in Section 5, then by
14 operation of law and without any court proceeding:
15 (1) All of the parent's rights with respect to the
16 infant or child are terminated.
17 (2) The infant or child is made a ward of the State.
18 (3) The infant or child is immediately available for
19 adoption.
20 Section 15. Medical information; parent's immunity.
21 (a) A hospital that accepts custody of an infant or child
22 pursuant to Section 5 shall ask the infant or child's parent
23 for pertinent medical information relating to the parent and
24 the infant or child. That information includes, but is not
25 limited to, information concerning the use of controlled
26 substances.
27 (b) If a parent provides the medical information
28 requested by the hospital under subsection (a), the parent is
29 immune from criminal liability for any act of commission or
-2- LRB9112511DJcd
1 omission in connection with relinquishing custody of the
2 infant or child to the hospital.
3 Section 20. Hospital and staff immunity.
4 (a) A hospital that accepts custody of an infant or child
5 pursuant to Section 5 is absolutely immune from civil,
6 criminal, and administrative liability for any act of
7 commission or omission in connection with the acceptance of
8 that custody or the provision of care for the infant or child
9 while it is in the hospital's custody.
10 (b) Staff and volunteers employed or serving at a
11 hospital that accepts custody of an infant or child pursuant
12 to Section 5 are absolutely immune from civil, criminal, and
13 administrative liability for any act of commission or
14 omission in connection with the acceptance of that custody or
15 the provision of care for the infant or child while it is in
16 the hospital's custody.
17 Section 25. Reimbursement of hospital expenses. If a
18 hospital accepts custody of an infant or child pursuant to
19 Section 5, the State shall reimburse the hospital for the
20 hospital's actual expenses in accepting and caring for the
21 infant or child. The reimbursement shall be made from moneys
22 appropriated to the Department of Children and Family
23 Services for that purpose.
24 Section 30. Rights of nonrelinquishing parent.
25 (a) If one parent of an infant or child relinquishes
26 custody of the infant or child to a hospital as provided in
27 Section 5, the other parent may file an action for custody of
28 the child. The nonrelinquishing parent must file such an
29 action within 30 days after the hospital accepts custody of
30 the child from the relinquishing parent. In such an action,
31 the nonrelinquishing parent must prove the following by a
-3- LRB9112511DJcd
1 preponderance of the evidence:
2 (1) He or she is the parent of the infant or child.
3 (2) He or she did not consent to relinquishment of
4 the infant or child's custody to the hospital.
5 (b) If a parent fails to file an action within the
6 30-day period specified in subsection (a), the parent is
7 forever barred from filing an action for custody of the
8 infant or child and, by operation of law and without any
9 court proceeding, all of the parent's rights with respect to
10 the infant or child are terminated.
11 (c) When a nonrelinquishing parent inquires at a
12 hospital concerning an infant or child whose custody was
13 relinquished to the hospital as provided in Section 5, the
14 hospital shall provide to that parent a written statement of
15 the parent's rights under this Act.
16 Section 35. Department of Children and Family Services.
17 The Department of Children and Family Services shall adopt
18 rules necessary to implement this Act. The rules shall
19 include provisions for the reimbursement of hospitals'
20 expenses under Section 25.
21 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
22 becoming law.