Bill Text: IL HB3705 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Chaptered


Bill Title: Reinserts the provisions of the introduced bill but with the following changes: Requires the Department of Children and Family Services to place children in suitable permanent family arrangements, through guardianship or adoption (rather than to place children in suitable permanent family arrangements) in cases where restoration to the biological family is not safe, possible, or appropriate.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 24-0)

Status: (Passed) 2023-06-09 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 103-0050 [HB3705 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-HB3705-Chaptered.html



Public Act 103-0050
HB3705 EnrolledLRB103 24994 KTG 51328 b
AN ACT concerning State government.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 1. The Children and Family Services Act is amended
by changing Section 5 as follows:
(20 ILCS 505/5) (from Ch. 23, par. 5005)
Sec. 5. Direct child welfare services; Department of
Children and Family Services. To provide direct child welfare
services when not available through other public or private
child care or program facilities.
(a) For purposes of this Section:
(1) "Children" means persons found within the State
who are under the age of 18 years. The term also includes
persons under age 21 who:
(A) were committed to the Department pursuant to
the Juvenile Court Act or the Juvenile Court Act of
1987 and who continue under the jurisdiction of the
court; or
(B) were accepted for care, service and training
by the Department prior to the age of 18 and whose best
interest in the discretion of the Department would be
served by continuing that care, service and training
because of severe emotional disturbances, physical
disability, social adjustment or any combination
thereof, or because of the need to complete an
educational or vocational training program.
(2) "Homeless youth" means persons found within the
State who are under the age of 19, are not in a safe and
stable living situation and cannot be reunited with their
families.
(3) "Child welfare services" means public social
services which are directed toward the accomplishment of
the following purposes:
(A) protecting and promoting the health, safety
and welfare of children, including homeless,
dependent, or neglected children;
(B) remedying, or assisting in the solution of
problems which may result in, the neglect, abuse,
exploitation, or delinquency of children;
(C) preventing the unnecessary separation of
children from their families by identifying family
problems, assisting families in resolving their
problems, and preventing the breakup of the family
where the prevention of child removal is desirable and
possible when the child can be cared for at home
without endangering the child's health and safety;
(D) restoring to their families children who have
been removed, by the provision of services to the
child and the families when the child can be cared for
at home without endangering the child's health and
safety;
(E) placing children in suitable permanent family
arrangements, through guardianship or adoption
adoptive homes, in cases where restoration to the
biological family is not safe, possible, or
appropriate;
(F) at assuring safe and adequate care of children
away from their homes, in cases where the child cannot
be returned home or cannot be placed for adoption. At
the time of placement, conducting the Department shall
consider concurrent planning, as described in
subsection (l-1) of this Section so that permanency
may occur at the earliest opportunity. Consideration
should be given so that if reunification fails or is
delayed, the placement made is the best available
placement to provide permanency for the child;
(G) (blank);
(H) (blank); and
(I) placing and maintaining children in facilities
that provide separate living quarters for children
under the age of 18 and for children 18 years of age
and older, unless a child 18 years of age is in the
last year of high school education or vocational
training, in an approved individual or group treatment
program, in a licensed shelter facility, or secure
child care facility. The Department is not required to
place or maintain children:
(i) who are in a foster home, or
(ii) who are persons with a developmental
disability, as defined in the Mental Health and
Developmental Disabilities Code, or
(iii) who are female children who are
pregnant, pregnant and parenting, or parenting, or
(iv) who are siblings, in facilities that
provide separate living quarters for children 18
years of age and older and for children under 18
years of age.
(b) (Blank).
(c) The Department shall establish and maintain
tax-supported child welfare services and extend and seek to
improve voluntary services throughout the State, to the end
that services and care shall be available on an equal basis
throughout the State to children requiring such services.
(d) The Director may authorize advance disbursements for
any new program initiative to any agency contracting with the
Department. As a prerequisite for an advance disbursement, the
contractor must post a surety bond in the amount of the advance
disbursement and have a purchase of service contract approved
by the Department. The Department may pay up to 2 months
operational expenses in advance. The amount of the advance
disbursement shall be prorated over the life of the contract
or the remaining months of the fiscal year, whichever is less,
and the installment amount shall then be deducted from future
bills. Advance disbursement authorizations for new initiatives
shall not be made to any agency after that agency has operated
during 2 consecutive fiscal years. The requirements of this
Section concerning advance disbursements shall not apply with
respect to the following: payments to local public agencies
for child day care services as authorized by Section 5a of this
Act; and youth service programs receiving grant funds under
Section 17a-4.
(e) (Blank).
(f) (Blank).
(g) The Department shall establish rules and regulations
concerning its operation of programs designed to meet the
goals of child safety and protection, family preservation,
family reunification, and adoption, including, but not limited
to:
(1) adoption;
(2) foster care;
(3) family counseling;
(4) protective services;
(5) (blank);
(6) homemaker service;
(7) return of runaway children;
(8) (blank);
(9) placement under Section 5-7 of the Juvenile Court
Act or Section 2-27, 3-28, 4-25, or 5-740 of the Juvenile
Court Act of 1987 in accordance with the federal Adoption
Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980; and
(10) interstate services.
Rules and regulations established by the Department shall
include provisions for training Department staff and the staff
of Department grantees, through contracts with other agencies
or resources, in screening techniques to identify substance
use disorders, as defined in the Substance Use Disorder Act,
approved by the Department of Human Services, as a successor
to the Department of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, for the
purpose of identifying children and adults who should be
referred for an assessment at an organization appropriately
licensed by the Department of Human Services for substance use
disorder treatment.
(h) If the Department finds that there is no appropriate
program or facility within or available to the Department for
a youth in care and that no licensed private facility has an
adequate and appropriate program or none agrees to accept the
youth in care, the Department shall create an appropriate
individualized, program-oriented plan for such youth in care.
The plan may be developed within the Department or through
purchase of services by the Department to the extent that it is
within its statutory authority to do.
(i) Service programs shall be available throughout the
State and shall include but not be limited to the following
services:
(1) case management;
(2) homemakers;
(3) counseling;
(4) parent education;
(5) day care; and
(6) emergency assistance and advocacy.
In addition, the following services may be made available
to assess and meet the needs of children and families:
(1) comprehensive family-based services;
(2) assessments;
(3) respite care; and
(4) in-home health services.
The Department shall provide transportation for any of the
services it makes available to children or families or for
which it refers children or families.
(j) The Department may provide categories of financial
assistance and education assistance grants, and shall
establish rules and regulations concerning the assistance and
grants, to persons who adopt children with physical or mental
disabilities, children who are older, or other hard-to-place
children who (i) immediately prior to their adoption were
youth in care or (ii) were determined eligible for financial
assistance with respect to a prior adoption and who become
available for adoption because the prior adoption has been
dissolved and the parental rights of the adoptive parents have
been terminated or because the child's adoptive parents have
died. The Department may continue to provide financial
assistance and education assistance grants for a child who was
determined eligible for financial assistance under this
subsection (j) in the interim period beginning when the
child's adoptive parents died and ending with the finalization
of the new adoption of the child by another adoptive parent or
parents. The Department may also provide categories of
financial assistance and education assistance grants, and
shall establish rules and regulations for the assistance and
grants, to persons appointed guardian of the person under
Section 5-7 of the Juvenile Court Act or Section 2-27, 3-28,
4-25, or 5-740 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 for children
who were youth in care for 12 months immediately prior to the
appointment of the guardian.
The amount of assistance may vary, depending upon the
needs of the child and the adoptive parents, as set forth in
the annual assistance agreement. Special purpose grants are
allowed where the child requires special service but such
costs may not exceed the amounts which similar services would
cost the Department if it were to provide or secure them as
guardian of the child.
Any financial assistance provided under this subsection is
inalienable by assignment, sale, execution, attachment,
garnishment, or any other remedy for recovery or collection of
a judgment or debt.
(j-5) The Department shall not deny or delay the placement
of a child for adoption if an approved family is available
either outside of the Department region handling the case, or
outside of the State of Illinois.
(k) The Department shall accept for care and training any
child who has been adjudicated neglected or abused, or
dependent committed to it pursuant to the Juvenile Court Act
or the Juvenile Court Act of 1987.
(l) The Department shall offer family preservation
services, as defined in Section 8.2 of the Abused and
Neglected Child Reporting Act, to help families, including
adoptive and extended families. Family preservation services
shall be offered (i) to prevent the placement of children in
substitute care when the children can be cared for at home or
in the custody of the person responsible for the children's
welfare, (ii) to reunite children with their families, or
(iii) to maintain an adoptive placement. Family preservation
services shall only be offered when doing so will not endanger
the children's health or safety. With respect to children who
are in substitute care pursuant to the Juvenile Court Act of
1987, family preservation services shall not be offered if a
goal other than those of subdivisions (A), (B), or (B-1) of
subsection (2) of Section 2-28 of that Act has been set, except
that reunification services may be offered as provided in
paragraph (F) of subsection (2) of Section 2-28 of that Act.
Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to create a
private right of action or claim on the part of any individual
or child welfare agency, except that when a child is the
subject of an action under Article II of the Juvenile Court Act
of 1987 and the child's service plan calls for services to
facilitate achievement of the permanency goal, the court
hearing the action under Article II of the Juvenile Court Act
of 1987 may order the Department to provide the services set
out in the plan, if those services are not provided with
reasonable promptness and if those services are available.
The Department shall notify the child and his family of
the Department's responsibility to offer and provide family
preservation services as identified in the service plan. The
child and his family shall be eligible for services as soon as
the report is determined to be "indicated". The Department may
offer services to any child or family with respect to whom a
report of suspected child abuse or neglect has been filed,
prior to concluding its investigation under Section 7.12 of
the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act. However, the
child's or family's willingness to accept services shall not
be considered in the investigation. The Department may also
provide services to any child or family who is the subject of
any report of suspected child abuse or neglect or may refer
such child or family to services available from other agencies
in the community, even if the report is determined to be
unfounded, if the conditions in the child's or family's home
are reasonably likely to subject the child or family to future
reports of suspected child abuse or neglect. Acceptance of
such services shall be voluntary. The Department may also
provide services to any child or family after completion of a
family assessment, as an alternative to an investigation, as
provided under the "differential response program" provided
for in subsection (a-5) of Section 7.4 of the Abused and
Neglected Child Reporting Act.
The Department may, at its discretion except for those
children also adjudicated neglected or dependent, accept for
care and training any child who has been adjudicated addicted,
as a truant minor in need of supervision or as a minor
requiring authoritative intervention, under the Juvenile Court
Act or the Juvenile Court Act of 1987, but no such child shall
be committed to the Department by any court without the
approval of the Department. On and after January 1, 2015 (the
effective date of Public Act 98-803) and before January 1,
2017, a minor charged with a criminal offense under the
Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012 or
adjudicated delinquent shall not be placed in the custody of
or committed to the Department by any court, except (i) a minor
less than 16 years of age committed to the Department under
Section 5-710 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987, (ii) a minor
for whom an independent basis of abuse, neglect, or dependency
exists, which must be defined by departmental rule, or (iii) a
minor for whom the court has granted a supplemental petition
to reinstate wardship pursuant to subsection (2) of Section
2-33 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987. On and after January 1,
2017, a minor charged with a criminal offense under the
Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012 or
adjudicated delinquent shall not be placed in the custody of
or committed to the Department by any court, except (i) a minor
less than 15 years of age committed to the Department under
Section 5-710 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987, ii) a minor
for whom an independent basis of abuse, neglect, or dependency
exists, which must be defined by departmental rule, or (iii) a
minor for whom the court has granted a supplemental petition
to reinstate wardship pursuant to subsection (2) of Section
2-33 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987. An independent basis
exists when the allegations or adjudication of abuse, neglect,
or dependency do not arise from the same facts, incident, or
circumstances which give rise to a charge or adjudication of
delinquency. The Department shall assign a caseworker to
attend any hearing involving a youth in the care and custody of
the Department who is placed on aftercare release, including
hearings involving sanctions for violation of aftercare
release conditions and aftercare release revocation hearings.
As soon as is possible after August 7, 2009 (the effective
date of Public Act 96-134), the Department shall develop and
implement a special program of family preservation services to
support intact, foster, and adoptive families who are
experiencing extreme hardships due to the difficulty and
stress of caring for a child who has been diagnosed with a
pervasive developmental disorder if the Department determines
that those services are necessary to ensure the health and
safety of the child. The Department may offer services to any
family whether or not a report has been filed under the Abused
and Neglected Child Reporting Act. The Department may refer
the child or family to services available from other agencies
in the community if the conditions in the child's or family's
home are reasonably likely to subject the child or family to
future reports of suspected child abuse or neglect. Acceptance
of these services shall be voluntary. The Department shall
develop and implement a public information campaign to alert
health and social service providers and the general public
about these special family preservation services. The nature
and scope of the services offered and the number of families
served under the special program implemented under this
paragraph shall be determined by the level of funding that the
Department annually allocates for this purpose. The term
"pervasive developmental disorder" under this paragraph means
a neurological condition, including, but not limited to,
Asperger's Syndrome and autism, as defined in the most recent
edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders of the American Psychiatric Association.
(l-1) The legislature recognizes that the best interests
of the child require that the child be placed in the most
permanent living arrangement as soon as is practically
possible. To achieve this goal, the legislature directs the
Department of Children and Family Services to conduct
concurrent planning so that permanency may occur at the
earliest opportunity. Permanent living arrangements may
include prevention of placement of a child outside the home of
the family when the child can be cared for at home without
endangering the child's health or safety; reunification with
the family, when safe and appropriate, if temporary placement
is necessary; or movement of the child toward the most
permanent living arrangement and permanent legal status.
When determining reasonable efforts to be made with
respect to a child, as described in this subsection, and in
making such reasonable efforts, the child's health and safety
shall be the paramount concern.
When a child is placed in foster care, the Department
shall ensure and document that reasonable efforts were made to
prevent or eliminate the need to remove the child from the
child's home. The Department must make reasonable efforts to
reunify the family when temporary placement of the child
occurs unless otherwise required, pursuant to the Juvenile
Court Act of 1987. At any time after the dispositional hearing
where the Department believes that further reunification
services would be ineffective, it may request a finding from
the court that reasonable efforts are no longer appropriate.
The Department is not required to provide further
reunification services after such a finding.
A decision to place a child in substitute care shall be
made with considerations of the child's health, safety, and
best interests. At the time of placement, consideration should
also be given so that if reunification fails or is delayed, the
placement made is the best available placement to provide
permanency for the child.
The Department shall adopt rules addressing concurrent
planning for reunification and permanency. The Department
shall consider the following factors when determining
appropriateness of concurrent planning:
(1) the likelihood of prompt reunification;
(2) the past history of the family;
(3) the barriers to reunification being addressed by
the family;
(4) the level of cooperation of the family;
(5) the foster parents' willingness to work with the
family to reunite;
(6) the willingness and ability of the foster family
to provide an adoptive home or long-term placement;
(7) the age of the child;
(8) placement of siblings.
(m) The Department may assume temporary custody of any
child if:
(1) it has received a written consent to such
temporary custody signed by the parents of the child or by
the parent having custody of the child if the parents are
not living together or by the guardian or custodian of the
child if the child is not in the custody of either parent,
or
(2) the child is found in the State and neither a
parent, guardian nor custodian of the child can be
located.
If the child is found in his or her residence without a parent,
guardian, custodian, or responsible caretaker, the Department
may, instead of removing the child and assuming temporary
custody, place an authorized representative of the Department
in that residence until such time as a parent, guardian, or
custodian enters the home and expresses a willingness and
apparent ability to ensure the child's health and safety and
resume permanent charge of the child, or until a relative
enters the home and is willing and able to ensure the child's
health and safety and assume charge of the child until a
parent, guardian, or custodian enters the home and expresses
such willingness and ability to ensure the child's safety and
resume permanent charge. After a caretaker has remained in the
home for a period not to exceed 12 hours, the Department must
follow those procedures outlined in Section 2-9, 3-11, 4-8, or
5-415 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987.
The Department shall have the authority, responsibilities
and duties that a legal custodian of the child would have
pursuant to subsection (9) of Section 1-3 of the Juvenile
Court Act of 1987. Whenever a child is taken into temporary
custody pursuant to an investigation under the Abused and
Neglected Child Reporting Act, or pursuant to a referral and
acceptance under the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 of a minor in
limited custody, the Department, during the period of
temporary custody and before the child is brought before a
judicial officer as required by Section 2-9, 3-11, 4-8, or
5-415 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987, shall have the
authority, responsibilities and duties that a legal custodian
of the child would have under subsection (9) of Section 1-3 of
the Juvenile Court Act of 1987.
The Department shall ensure that any child taken into
custody is scheduled for an appointment for a medical
examination.
A parent, guardian, or custodian of a child in the
temporary custody of the Department who would have custody of
the child if he were not in the temporary custody of the
Department may deliver to the Department a signed request that
the Department surrender the temporary custody of the child.
The Department may retain temporary custody of the child for
10 days after the receipt of the request, during which period
the Department may cause to be filed a petition pursuant to the
Juvenile Court Act of 1987. If a petition is so filed, the
Department shall retain temporary custody of the child until
the court orders otherwise. If a petition is not filed within
the 10-day period, the child shall be surrendered to the
custody of the requesting parent, guardian, or custodian not
later than the expiration of the 10-day period, at which time
the authority and duties of the Department with respect to the
temporary custody of the child shall terminate.
(m-1) The Department may place children under 18 years of
age in a secure child care facility licensed by the Department
that cares for children who are in need of secure living
arrangements for their health, safety, and well-being after a
determination is made by the facility director and the
Director or the Director's designate prior to admission to the
facility subject to Section 2-27.1 of the Juvenile Court Act
of 1987. This subsection (m-1) does not apply to a child who is
subject to placement in a correctional facility operated
pursuant to Section 3-15-2 of the Unified Code of Corrections,
unless the child is a youth in care who was placed in the care
of the Department before being subject to placement in a
correctional facility and a court of competent jurisdiction
has ordered placement of the child in a secure care facility.
(n) The Department may place children under 18 years of
age in licensed child care facilities when in the opinion of
the Department, appropriate services aimed at family
preservation have been unsuccessful and cannot ensure the
child's health and safety or are unavailable and such
placement would be for their best interest. Payment for board,
clothing, care, training and supervision of any child placed
in a licensed child care facility may be made by the
Department, by the parents or guardians of the estates of
those children, or by both the Department and the parents or
guardians, except that no payments shall be made by the
Department for any child placed in a licensed child care
facility for board, clothing, care, training and supervision
of such a child that exceed the average per capita cost of
maintaining and of caring for a child in institutions for
dependent or neglected children operated by the Department.
However, such restriction on payments does not apply in cases
where children require specialized care and treatment for
problems of severe emotional disturbance, physical disability,
social adjustment, or any combination thereof and suitable
facilities for the placement of such children are not
available at payment rates within the limitations set forth in
this Section. All reimbursements for services delivered shall
be absolutely inalienable by assignment, sale, attachment, or
garnishment or otherwise.
(n-1) The Department shall provide or authorize child
welfare services, aimed at assisting minors to achieve
sustainable self-sufficiency as independent adults, for any
minor eligible for the reinstatement of wardship pursuant to
subsection (2) of Section 2-33 of the Juvenile Court Act of
1987, whether or not such reinstatement is sought or allowed,
provided that the minor consents to such services and has not
yet attained the age of 21. The Department shall have
responsibility for the development and delivery of services
under this Section. An eligible youth may access services
under this Section through the Department of Children and
Family Services or by referral from the Department of Human
Services. Youth participating in services under this Section
shall cooperate with the assigned case manager in developing
an agreement identifying the services to be provided and how
the youth will increase skills to achieve self-sufficiency. A
homeless shelter is not considered appropriate housing for any
youth receiving child welfare services under this Section. The
Department shall continue child welfare services under this
Section to any eligible minor until the minor becomes 21 years
of age, no longer consents to participate, or achieves
self-sufficiency as identified in the minor's service plan.
The Department of Children and Family Services shall create
clear, readable notice of the rights of former foster youth to
child welfare services under this Section and how such
services may be obtained. The Department of Children and
Family Services and the Department of Human Services shall
disseminate this information statewide. The Department shall
adopt regulations describing services intended to assist
minors in achieving sustainable self-sufficiency as
independent adults.
(o) The Department shall establish an administrative
review and appeal process for children and families who
request or receive child welfare services from the Department.
Youth in care who are placed by private child welfare
agencies, and foster families with whom those youth are
placed, shall be afforded the same procedural and appeal
rights as children and families in the case of placement by the
Department, including the right to an initial review of a
private agency decision by that agency. The Department shall
ensure that any private child welfare agency, which accepts
youth in care for placement, affords those rights to children
and foster families. The Department shall accept for
administrative review and an appeal hearing a complaint made
by (i) a child or foster family concerning a decision
following an initial review by a private child welfare agency
or (ii) a prospective adoptive parent who alleges a violation
of subsection (j-5) of this Section. An appeal of a decision
concerning a change in the placement of a child shall be
conducted in an expedited manner. A court determination that a
current foster home placement is necessary and appropriate
under Section 2-28 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 does not
constitute a judicial determination on the merits of an
administrative appeal, filed by a former foster parent,
involving a change of placement decision.
(p) (Blank).
(q) The Department may receive and use, in their entirety,
for the benefit of children any gift, donation, or bequest of
money or other property which is received on behalf of such
children, or any financial benefits to which such children are
or may become entitled while under the jurisdiction or care of
the Department, except that the benefits described in Section
5.46 must be used and conserved consistent with the provisions
under Section 5.46.
The Department shall set up and administer no-cost,
interest-bearing accounts in appropriate financial
institutions for children for whom the Department is legally
responsible and who have been determined eligible for
Veterans' Benefits, Social Security benefits, assistance
allotments from the armed forces, court ordered payments,
parental voluntary payments, Supplemental Security Income,
Railroad Retirement payments, Black Lung benefits, or other
miscellaneous payments. Interest earned by each account shall
be credited to the account, unless disbursed in accordance
with this subsection.
In disbursing funds from children's accounts, the
Department shall:
(1) Establish standards in accordance with State and
federal laws for disbursing money from children's
accounts. In all circumstances, the Department's
"Guardianship Administrator" or his or her designee must
approve disbursements from children's accounts. The
Department shall be responsible for keeping complete
records of all disbursements for each account for any
purpose.
(2) Calculate on a monthly basis the amounts paid from
State funds for the child's board and care, medical care
not covered under Medicaid, and social services; and
utilize funds from the child's account, as covered by
regulation, to reimburse those costs. Monthly,
disbursements from all children's accounts, up to 1/12 of
$13,000,000, shall be deposited by the Department into the
General Revenue Fund and the balance over 1/12 of
$13,000,000 into the DCFS Children's Services Fund.
(3) Maintain any balance remaining after reimbursing
for the child's costs of care, as specified in item (2).
The balance shall accumulate in accordance with relevant
State and federal laws and shall be disbursed to the child
or his or her guardian, or to the issuing agency.
(r) The Department shall promulgate regulations
encouraging all adoption agencies to voluntarily forward to
the Department or its agent names and addresses of all persons
who have applied for and have been approved for adoption of a
hard-to-place child or child with a disability and the names
of such children who have not been placed for adoption. A list
of such names and addresses shall be maintained by the
Department or its agent, and coded lists which maintain the
confidentiality of the person seeking to adopt the child and
of the child shall be made available, without charge, to every
adoption agency in the State to assist the agencies in placing
such children for adoption. The Department may delegate to an
agent its duty to maintain and make available such lists. The
Department shall ensure that such agent maintains the
confidentiality of the person seeking to adopt the child and
of the child.
(s) The Department of Children and Family Services may
establish and implement a program to reimburse Department and
private child welfare agency foster parents licensed by the
Department of Children and Family Services for damages
sustained by the foster parents as a result of the malicious or
negligent acts of foster children, as well as providing third
party coverage for such foster parents with regard to actions
of foster children to other individuals. Such coverage will be
secondary to the foster parent liability insurance policy, if
applicable. The program shall be funded through appropriations
from the General Revenue Fund, specifically designated for
such purposes.
(t) The Department shall perform home studies and
investigations and shall exercise supervision over visitation
as ordered by a court pursuant to the Illinois Marriage and
Dissolution of Marriage Act or the Adoption Act only if:
(1) an order entered by an Illinois court specifically
directs the Department to perform such services; and
(2) the court has ordered one or both of the parties to
the proceeding to reimburse the Department for its
reasonable costs for providing such services in accordance
with Department rules, or has determined that neither
party is financially able to pay.
The Department shall provide written notification to the
court of the specific arrangements for supervised visitation
and projected monthly costs within 60 days of the court order.
The Department shall send to the court information related to
the costs incurred except in cases where the court has
determined the parties are financially unable to pay. The
court may order additional periodic reports as appropriate.
(u) In addition to other information that must be
provided, whenever the Department places a child with a
prospective adoptive parent or parents, in a licensed foster
home, group home, or child care institution, or in a relative
home, the Department shall provide to the prospective adoptive
parent or parents or other caretaker:
(1) available detailed information concerning the
child's educational and health history, copies of
immunization records (including insurance and medical card
information), a history of the child's previous
placements, if any, and reasons for placement changes
excluding any information that identifies or reveals the
location of any previous caretaker;
(2) a copy of the child's portion of the client
service plan, including any visitation arrangement, and
all amendments or revisions to it as related to the child;
and
(3) information containing details of the child's
individualized educational plan when the child is
receiving special education services.
The caretaker shall be informed of any known social or
behavioral information (including, but not limited to,
criminal background, fire setting, perpetuation of sexual
abuse, destructive behavior, and substance abuse) necessary to
care for and safeguard the children to be placed or currently
in the home. The Department may prepare a written summary of
the information required by this paragraph, which may be
provided to the foster or prospective adoptive parent in
advance of a placement. The foster or prospective adoptive
parent may review the supporting documents in the child's file
in the presence of casework staff. In the case of an emergency
placement, casework staff shall at least provide known
information verbally, if necessary, and must subsequently
provide the information in writing as required by this
subsection.
The information described in this subsection shall be
provided in writing. In the case of emergency placements when
time does not allow prior review, preparation, and collection
of written information, the Department shall provide such
information as it becomes available. Within 10 business days
after placement, the Department shall obtain from the
prospective adoptive parent or parents or other caretaker a
signed verification of receipt of the information provided.
Within 10 business days after placement, the Department shall
provide to the child's guardian ad litem a copy of the
information provided to the prospective adoptive parent or
parents or other caretaker. The information provided to the
prospective adoptive parent or parents or other caretaker
shall be reviewed and approved regarding accuracy at the
supervisory level.
(u-5) Effective July 1, 1995, only foster care placements
licensed as foster family homes pursuant to the Child Care Act
of 1969 shall be eligible to receive foster care payments from
the Department. Relative caregivers who, as of July 1, 1995,
were approved pursuant to approved relative placement rules
previously promulgated by the Department at 89 Ill. Adm. Code
335 and had submitted an application for licensure as a foster
family home may continue to receive foster care payments only
until the Department determines that they may be licensed as a
foster family home or that their application for licensure is
denied or until September 30, 1995, whichever occurs first.
(v) The Department shall access criminal history record
information as defined in the Illinois Uniform Conviction
Information Act and information maintained in the adjudicatory
and dispositional record system as defined in Section 2605-355
of the Illinois State Police Law if the Department determines
the information is necessary to perform its duties under the
Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act, the Child Care Act
of 1969, and the Children and Family Services Act. The
Department shall provide for interactive computerized
communication and processing equipment that permits direct
on-line communication with the Illinois State Police's central
criminal history data repository. The Department shall comply
with all certification requirements and provide certified
operators who have been trained by personnel from the Illinois
State Police. In addition, one Office of the Inspector General
investigator shall have training in the use of the criminal
history information access system and have access to the
terminal. The Department of Children and Family Services and
its employees shall abide by rules and regulations established
by the Illinois State Police relating to the access and
dissemination of this information.
(v-1) Prior to final approval for placement of a child,
the Department shall conduct a criminal records background
check of the prospective foster or adoptive parent, including
fingerprint-based checks of national crime information
databases. Final approval for placement shall not be granted
if the record check reveals a felony conviction for child
abuse or neglect, for spousal abuse, for a crime against
children, or for a crime involving violence, including rape,
sexual assault, or homicide, but not including other physical
assault or battery, or if there is a felony conviction for
physical assault, battery, or a drug-related offense committed
within the past 5 years.
(v-2) Prior to final approval for placement of a child,
the Department shall check its child abuse and neglect
registry for information concerning prospective foster and
adoptive parents, and any adult living in the home. If any
prospective foster or adoptive parent or other adult living in
the home has resided in another state in the preceding 5 years,
the Department shall request a check of that other state's
child abuse and neglect registry.
(w) Within 120 days of August 20, 1995 (the effective date
of Public Act 89-392), the Department shall prepare and submit
to the Governor and the General Assembly, a written plan for
the development of in-state licensed secure child care
facilities that care for children who are in need of secure
living arrangements for their health, safety, and well-being.
For purposes of this subsection, secure care facility shall
mean a facility that is designed and operated to ensure that
all entrances and exits from the facility, a building or a
distinct part of the building, are under the exclusive control
of the staff of the facility, whether or not the child has the
freedom of movement within the perimeter of the facility,
building, or distinct part of the building. The plan shall
include descriptions of the types of facilities that are
needed in Illinois; the cost of developing these secure care
facilities; the estimated number of placements; the potential
cost savings resulting from the movement of children currently
out-of-state who are projected to be returned to Illinois; the
necessary geographic distribution of these facilities in
Illinois; and a proposed timetable for development of such
facilities.
(x) The Department shall conduct annual credit history
checks to determine the financial history of children placed
under its guardianship pursuant to the Juvenile Court Act of
1987. The Department shall conduct such credit checks starting
when a youth in care turns 12 years old and each year
thereafter for the duration of the guardianship as terminated
pursuant to the Juvenile Court Act of 1987. The Department
shall determine if financial exploitation of the child's
personal information has occurred. If financial exploitation
appears to have taken place or is presently ongoing, the
Department shall notify the proper law enforcement agency, the
proper State's Attorney, or the Attorney General.
(y) Beginning on July 22, 2010 (the effective date of
Public Act 96-1189), a child with a disability who receives
residential and educational services from the Department shall
be eligible to receive transition services in accordance with
Article 14 of the School Code from the age of 14.5 through age
21, inclusive, notwithstanding the child's residential
services arrangement. For purposes of this subsection, "child
with a disability" means a child with a disability as defined
by the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education
Improvement Act of 2004.
(z) The Department shall access criminal history record
information as defined as "background information" in this
subsection and criminal history record information as defined
in the Illinois Uniform Conviction Information Act for each
Department employee or Department applicant. Each Department
employee or Department applicant shall submit his or her
fingerprints to the Illinois State Police in the form and
manner prescribed by the Illinois State Police. These
fingerprints shall be checked against the fingerprint records
now and hereafter filed in the Illinois State Police and the
Federal Bureau of Investigation criminal history records
databases. The Illinois State Police shall charge a fee for
conducting the criminal history record check, which shall be
deposited into the State Police Services Fund and shall not
exceed the actual cost of the record check. The Illinois State
Police shall furnish, pursuant to positive identification, all
Illinois conviction information to the Department of Children
and Family Services.
For purposes of this subsection:
"Background information" means all of the following:
(i) Upon the request of the Department of Children and
Family Services, conviction information obtained from the
Illinois State Police as a result of a fingerprint-based
criminal history records check of the Illinois criminal
history records database and the Federal Bureau of
Investigation criminal history records database concerning
a Department employee or Department applicant.
(ii) Information obtained by the Department of
Children and Family Services after performing a check of
the Illinois State Police's Sex Offender Database, as
authorized by Section 120 of the Sex Offender Community
Notification Law, concerning a Department employee or
Department applicant.
(iii) Information obtained by the Department of
Children and Family Services after performing a check of
the Child Abuse and Neglect Tracking System (CANTS)
operated and maintained by the Department.
"Department employee" means a full-time or temporary
employee coded or certified within the State of Illinois
Personnel System.
"Department applicant" means an individual who has
conditional Department full-time or part-time work, a
contractor, an individual used to replace or supplement staff,
an academic intern, a volunteer in Department offices or on
Department contracts, a work-study student, an individual or
entity licensed by the Department, or an unlicensed service
provider who works as a condition of a contract or an agreement
and whose work may bring the unlicensed service provider into
contact with Department clients or client records.
(Source: P.A. 101-13, eff. 6-12-19; 101-79, eff. 7-12-19;
101-81, eff. 7-12-19; 102-538, eff. 8-20-21; 102-558, eff.
8-20-21; 102-1014, eff. 5-27-22.)
feedback