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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 -2- LRB9207995LBgc 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 -3- LRB9207995LBgc 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 -4- LRB9207995LBgc 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.