Bill Text: IL HB4897 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Engrossed

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Bill Title: Amends the Children and Family Services Act. Removes a provision permitting the Department of Children and Family Services to fund outside agencies that contract with the Department to operate child abuse prevention shelters and service programs if the shelters certify a 20% financial match for operating expenses.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 7-1)

Status: (Engrossed) 2024-05-17 - Rule 3-9(a) / Re-referred to Assignments [HB4897 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-HB4897-Engrossed.html

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AN ACT concerning State government.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Children and Family Services Act is amended
by changing Sections 4a and 17a-4 as follows:
(20 ILCS 505/4a) (from Ch. 23, par. 5004a)
Sec. 4a. (a) To administer child abuse prevention shelters
and service programs for abused and neglected children, or
provide for their administration by not-for-profit
corporations, community-based organizations or units of local
government.
The Department is hereby designated the single State
agency for planning and coordination of child abuse and
neglect prevention programs and services. On or before the
first Friday in October of each year, the Department shall
submit to the Governor and the General Assembly a State
comprehensive child abuse and neglect prevention plan. The
plan shall: identify priorities, goals and objectives;
identify the resources necessary to implement the plan,
including estimates of resources needed to investigate or
otherwise process reports of suspected child abuse or neglect
and to provide necessary follow-up services for child
protection, family preservation and family reunification in

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"indicated" cases as determined under the Abused and Neglected
Child Reporting Act; make proposals for the most effective use
of existing resources to implement the plan, including
recommendations for the optimum use of private, local public,
State and federal resources; and propose strategies for the
development of additional resources to meet the goal of
reducing the incidence of child abuse and neglect and reducing
the number of reports of suspected child abuse and neglect
made to the Department.
(b) The administration of child abuse prevention, shelters
and service programs under subsection (a) shall be funded in
part by appropriations made from the Child Abuse Prevention
Fund, which is hereby created in the State Treasury, and in
part by appropriations from the General Revenue Fund. All
interest earned on monies in the Child Abuse Prevention Fund
shall remain in such fund. The Department and the State
Treasurer may accept funds as provided by Sections 507 and 508
of the Illinois Income Tax Act and unsolicited private
donations for deposit into the Child Abuse Prevention Fund.
Annual requests for appropriations for the purpose of
providing child abuse and neglect prevention programs and
services under this Section shall be made in separate and
distinct line-items. In setting priorities for the direction
and scope of such programs, the Director shall be advised by
the State-wide Citizen's Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect.
(c) (Blank). Where the Department contracts with outside

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agencies to operate the shelters or programs, such outside
agencies may receive funding from the Department, except that
the shelters must certify a 20% financial match for operating
expenses of their programs. In selecting the outside agencies
to administer child shelters and service programs, and in
allocating funds for such agencies, the Department shall give
priority to new and existing shelters or programs offering the
broadest range of services to the community served.
(d) The Department shall have the power to make grants of
monies to fund comprehensive community-based services to
reduce the incidence of family dysfunction typified by child
abuse and neglect; to diminish those factors found to increase
family dysfunction; and to measure the effectiveness and costs
of such services.
(e) For implementing such intergovernmental cooperation
and involvement, units of local government and public and
private agencies may apply for and receive federal or State
funds from the Department under this Act or seek and receive
gifts from local philanthropic or other private local sources
in order to augment any State funds appropriated for the
purposes of this Act.
(e-5) The Department may establish and maintain locally
held funds to be individually known as the Youth in Care
Support Fund. Moneys in these funds shall be used for
purchases for the immediate needs of youth in care or for the
immediate support needs of youth, families, and caregivers

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served by the Department. Moneys paid into funds shall be from
appropriations made to the DCFS Children's Services Fund.
Funds remaining in any Youth in Care Support Fund must be
returned to the DCFS Children's Services Fund upon
dissolution. Any warrant for payment to a vendor for the same
product or service for a youth in care shall be payable to the
Department to reimburse the immediate payment from the Youth
in Care Support Fund.
(f) For the purposes of this Section:
(1) The terms "abused child" and "neglected child"
have meanings ascribed to them in Section 3 of the Abused
and Neglected Child Reporting Act.
(2) "Shelter" has the meaning ascribed to it in
Section 1-3 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987.
(Source: P.A. 103-259, eff. 1-1-24.)
(20 ILCS 505/17a-4) (from Ch. 23, par. 5017a-4)
Sec. 17a-4. Grants for community-based youth services;
Department of Human Services.
(a) The Department of Human Services shall make grants for
the purpose of planning, establishing, operating, coordinating
and evaluating programs aimed at reducing or eliminating the
involvement of youth in the child welfare or juvenile justice
systems. The programs shall include those providing for more
comprehensive and integrated community-based youth services
including Unified Delinquency Intervention Services programs

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and for community services programs. The Department may
authorize advance disbursement of funds for such youth
services programs. When the appropriation for "comprehensive
community-based service to youth" is equal to or exceeds
$5,000,000, the Department shall allocate the total amount of
such appropriated funds in the following manner:
(1) no more than 20% of the grant funds appropriated
shall be awarded by the Department for new program
development and innovation;
(2) not less than 80% of grant funds appropriated
shall be allocated to community-based youth services
programs based upon population of youth under 18 years of
age and other demographic variables defined by the
Department of Human Services by rule, which may include
weighting for service priorities relating to special needs
identified in the annual plans of the regional youth
planning committees established under this Act; and
(3) if any amount so allocated under paragraph (2) of
this subsection (a) remains unobligated such funds shall
be reallocated in a manner equitable and consistent with
the purpose of paragraph (2) of this subsection (a). ; and
(4) the local boards or local service systems shall
certify prior to receipt of grant funds from the
Department of Human Services that a 10% local public or
private financial or in-kind commitment is allocated to
supplement the State grant.

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