State of Illinois
92nd General Assembly
Legislation

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92_SB0811

 
                                               LRB9207995LBgc

 1        An Act concerning abandoned 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    Safe Place for Newborns Act.

 6        Section 5.  Definitions.  As used in this Act:
 7        "Department"  means the Department of Children and Family
 8    Services.
 9        "Fire station" means a fire station operated by the  fire
10    department of a municipality or a fire protection district.
11        "Fire  station  employee" means a firefighter, paramedic,
12    or civilian employee of a fire department employed at a  fire
13    station.
14        "Hospital"  means  a hospital licensed under the Hospital
15    Licensing Act or the University of Illinois Hospital Act.

16        Section 10.  Abandoned children; hospital.
17        (a)  A  hospital  must  accept  a  newborn  left  with  a
18    hospital employee on the hospital's premises, provided that:
19             (1)  the newborn appears to be less than  one  month
20        old; and
21             (2)  the  newborn  is left in an apparently unharmed
22        condition.
23        (b)  The hospital employee must not  inquire  as  to  the
24    identity  of the mother or the person leaving the newborn and
25    must not call the police, provided the newborn is  apparently
26    unharmed  when  presented  to  the  hospital.   The  hospital
27    employee  may  ask  the  person leaving the newborn about the
28    medical history of the mother or the newborn, but the  person
29    leaving   the   newborn   is  not  required  to  provide  any
30    information.  The hospital may provide the person leaving the
 
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 1    newborn with information about how to contact relevant social
 2    service agencies.

 3        Section 15.  Abandoned children; fire station.
 4        (a)  A fire station employee must accept a  newborn  left
 5    with   the  fire  station  employee  on  the  fire  station's
 6    premises, provided that:
 7             (1)  the newborn appears to be less than  one  month
 8        old; and
 9             (2)  the  newborn  is left in an apparently unharmed
10        condition.
11        (b)  The fire station employee must not inquire as to the
12    identity of the mother or the person leaving the newborn  and
13    must  not call the police, provided the newborn is apparently
14    unharmed when  presented  at  the  fire  station.   The  fire
15    station  employee  may ask the the person leaving the newborn
16    about the medical history of the mother or the  newborn,  but
17    the person leaving the newborn is not required to provide any
18    information.  The fire station may provide the person leaving
19    the  newborn  with  information about how to contact relevant
20    social service agencies.
21        (c)  As soon as reasonably practicable after  the  person
22    leaving  the  newborn leaves the fire station, a fire station
23    employee must transport the newborn to a hospital.

24        Section 20.  Reporting.  Within 24 hours of  receiving  a
25    newborn  under  this  Act, the hospital must inform the local
26    welfare agency or the Department that a newborn has been left
27    at the hospital.  The hospital must not inform the Department
28    or the local welfare agency before  the  person  leaving  the
29    newborn leaves the hospital.  The hospital is not required to
30    wait  to inform the local welfare agency or the Department in
31    cases where a newborn who has been abandoned under Section 15
32    of this Act is  left  at  the  hospital  by  a  fire  station
 
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 1    employee.

 2        Section 25.  Immunity.
 3        (a)  A hospital with responsibility for performing duties
 4    under  this Act, and an employee, physician, or other medical
 5    professional working at the hospital,  are  immune  from  any
 6    criminal  or civil liability that might otherwise result from
 7    the  performance  of  those  duties,  if  the  hospital   and
 8    employee,  physician,  or  other  medical professional act in
 9    good faith.
10        (b)  A municipality or a fire protection district  and  a
11    fire  station employee who performs duties under this Act are
12    immune from  any  criminal  or  civil  liability  that  might
13    otherwise result from the performance of those duties, if the
14    municipality  or  district  and  fire station employee act in
15    good faith.

16        Section 30.  Reunification; search  for  relatives.   The
17    Department  and  any  social  service agency or local welfare
18    agency taking custody of  a  child  after  discharge  from  a
19    hospital that accepted the child under the provisions of this
20    Act  is not required to attempt to reunify the child with the
21    child's parents, to search for relatives of the  child  as  a
22    placement   or  permanency  option,  or  to  implement  other
23    placement  requirements  that  give  a  preference   to   the
24    relatives  of the child, if the Department or agency does not
25    have information as to the identity of the child, the child's
26    mother, or the child's father.

27        Section 35.  Status  of  child.   A  newborn  left  at  a
28    hospital  or  fire  station  under  this Act is considered an
29    abandoned child.

30        Section 40.  Prosecution.  A person may leave  a  newborn
 
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 1    with a hospital employee at a hospital or with a fire station
 2    employee  at  a  fire  station  in  this  State without being
 3    subjected to prosecution for that act, provided that:
 4             (1)  the newborn, when left, was less than one month
 5        old;
 6             (2)  the newborn was left in an unharmed  condition;
 7        and
 8             (3)  if  the  person leaving the newborn was not the
 9        newborn's mother, the person had the mother's consent  to
10        leave the newborn.

11        Section  90.  The State Mandates Act is amended by adding
12    Section 8.25 as follows:

13        (30 ILCS 805/8.25 new)
14        Sec. 8.25. Exempt mandate.   Notwithstanding  Sections  6
15    and  8 of this Act, no reimbursement by the State is required
16    for  the  implementation  of  any  mandate  created  by  this
17    amendatory Act of the 92nd General Assembly.

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