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| Public Act 102-0763
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| HB4304 Enrolled | LRB102 19928 KTG 28706 b |
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AN ACT concerning State government.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The Children and Family Services Act is amended |
by adding Section 5.26 as follows:
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(20 ILCS 505/5.26 new) |
Sec. 5.26. Foster children; exit interviews. |
(a) Unless clinically contraindicated, the Department |
shall ensure that an exit interview is conducted with every |
child age 5 and over who leaves a foster home. |
(1) The interview shall be conducted by a caseworker, |
mental health provider, or clinician from the Department's |
Division of Clinical Practice. |
(2) The interview shall be conducted within 5 days of |
the child's removal from the home. |
(3) The interviewer shall comply with the provisions |
of the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act if the |
child discloses abuse or neglect as defined by that Act. |
(4) The interviewer shall immediately inform the |
licensing agency if the child discloses any information |
that would constitute a potential licensing violation. |
(5) Documentation of the interview shall be (i) |
maintained in the foster parent's licensing file, (ii) |
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maintained in the child's case file, (iii) included in the |
service plan for the child, and (iv) and provided to the |
child's guardian ad litem and attorney appointed under |
Section 2-17 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987. |
(6) The determination that an interview in compliance |
with this Section is clinically contraindicated shall be |
made by the caseworker, in consultation with the child's |
mental health provider, if any, and the caseworker's |
supervisor. If the child does not have a mental health |
provider, the caseworker shall request a consultation with |
the Department's Division of Clinical Practice regarding |
whether an interview is clinically contraindicated. The |
decision and the basis for the decision shall be |
documented in writing and shall be (i) maintained in the |
foster parent's licensing file, (ii) maintained in the |
child's case file, and (iii) attached as part of the |
service plan for the child. |
(7) The information gathered during the interview |
shall be dependent on the age and maturity of the child and |
the circumstances of the child's removal. The |
interviewer's observations and any information relevant to |
understanding the child's responses shall be recorded on |
the interview form. At a minimum, the interview shall |
address the following areas: |
(A) How the child's basic needs were met in the |
home: who prepared food and was there sufficient food; |
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whether the child had appropriate clothing; sleeping |
arrangements; supervision appropriate to the child's |
age and special needs; was the child enrolled in |
school; and did the child receive the support needed |
to complete his or her school work. |
(B) Access to caseworker, therapist, or guardian |
ad litem: whether the child was able to contact these |
professionals and how. |
(C) Safety and comfort in the home: how did the |
child feel in the home; was the foster parent |
affirming of the child's identity; did anything happen |
that made the child happy; did anything happen that |
was scary or sad; what happened when the child did |
something he or she should not have done; if relevant, |
how does the child think the foster parent felt about |
the child's family of origin, including parents and |
siblings; and was the foster parent supportive of the |
permanency goal. |
(D) Normalcy: whether the child felt included in |
the family; whether the child participated in |
extracurricular activities; whether the foster parent |
participated in planning for the child, including |
child and family team meetings and school meetings. |
(b) The Department shall develop procedures, including an |
interview form, no later than January 1, 2023, to implement |
this Section. |
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(c) Beginning July 1, 2023 and quarterly thereafter, the |
Department shall post on its webpage a report summarizing the |
details of the exit interviews.
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Section 10. The Child Care Act of 1969 is amended by |
changing Sections 2.22a and 4 as follows:
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(225 ILCS 10/2.22a) |
Sec. 2.22a. Quality of care concerns applicant. "Quality |
of care concerns applicant" means an applicant for a foster |
care license or renewal of a foster care license where the |
applicant or any person living in the applicant's household: |
(1) has had a license issued under this Act revoked; |
(2) has surrendered a license issued under this Act |
for cause; |
(3) has had a license issued under this Act expire or |
has surrendered a license, while either an abuse or |
neglect investigation or licensing investigation was |
pending or an involuntary placement hold was placed on the |
home; |
(4) has been the subject of allegations of abuse or |
neglect; |
(5) has an indicated report of abuse or neglect; or |
(6) has been the subject of certain types of |
involuntary placement holds or has been involved in |
certain types of substantiated licensing complaints, as |
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specified and defined by Department rule; or .
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(7) has requested a youth in care's removal from the |
home, either orally or in writing, on 5 or more occasions. |
(Source: P.A. 99-779, eff. 1-1-17.)
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(225 ILCS 10/4) (from Ch. 23, par. 2214)
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Sec. 4. License requirement; application; notice.
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(a) Any person, group of persons or corporation who or |
which
receives children or arranges for care or placement of |
one or more
children unrelated to the operator must apply for a |
license to operate
one of the types of facilities defined in |
Sections 2.05 through 2.19 and in
Section 2.22 of
this Act. Any |
relative, as defined in Section 2.17 of this Act, who receives |
a child or children for placement by the
Department on a |
full-time basis may apply for a license to operate a foster
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family home as defined in Section 2.17 of this Act.
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(a-5) Any agency, person, group of persons, association, |
organization, corporation, institution, center, or group |
providing adoption services must be licensed by the Department |
as a child welfare agency as defined in Section 2.08 of this |
Act. "Providing adoption services" as used in this Act, |
includes facilitating or engaging in adoption services.
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(b) Application for a license
to operate a child care |
facility must be made to the Department in the manner
and on |
forms prescribed by it. An application to operate a foster |
family home
shall include, at a minimum: a completed written |
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form; written authorization by
the applicant and all adult |
members of the applicant's household to conduct a
criminal |
background investigation; medical evidence in the form of a |
medical
report, on forms prescribed by the Department, that |
the applicant and all
members of the household are free from |
communicable diseases or physical and
mental conditions that |
affect their ability to provide care for the child or
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children; the names and addresses of at least 3 persons not |
related to the
applicant who can attest to the applicant's |
moral character; the name and address of at least one relative |
who can attest to the applicant's capability to care for the |
child or children; and fingerprints
submitted by the applicant |
and all adult members of the applicant's household.
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(b-5) Prior to submitting an application for a foster |
family home license, a quality of care concerns applicant as |
defined in Section 2.22a of this Act must submit a preliminary |
application to the Department in the manner and on forms |
prescribed by it. The Department shall explain to the quality |
of care concerns applicant the grounds for requiring a |
preliminary application. The preliminary application shall |
include a list of (i) all children placed in the home by the |
Department who were removed by the Department for reasons |
other than returning to a parent and the circumstances under |
which they were removed and (ii) all children placed by the |
Department who were subsequently adopted by or placed in the |
private guardianship of the quality of care concerns applicant |
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who are currently under 18 and who no longer reside in the home |
and the reasons why they no longer reside in the home. The |
preliminary application shall also include, if the quality of |
care concerns applicant chooses to submit, (1) a response to |
the quality of care concerns, including any reason the |
concerns are invalid, have been addressed or ameliorated, or |
no longer apply and (2) affirmative documentation |
demonstrating that the quality of care concerns applicant's |
home does not pose a risk to children and that the family will |
be able to meet the physical and emotional needs of children. |
The Department shall verify the information in the preliminary |
application and review (i) information regarding any prior |
licensing complaints, (ii) information regarding any prior |
child abuse or neglect investigations, and (iii) information |
regarding any involuntary foster home holds placed on the home |
by the Department, and (iv) information regarding all child |
exit interviews, as provided in Section 5.26 of the Children |
and Family Services Act, regarding the home. Foster home |
applicants with quality of care concerns are presumed |
unsuitable for future licensure. |
Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection (b-5), |
the Department may make an exception and issue a foster family |
license to a quality of care concerns applicant if the |
Department is satisfied that the foster family home does not |
pose a risk to children and that the foster family will be able |
to meet the physical and emotional needs of children. In |
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making this determination, the Department must obtain and |
carefully review all relevant documents and shall obtain |
consultation from its Clinical Division as appropriate and as |
prescribed by Department rule and procedure. The Department |
has the authority to deny a preliminary application based on |
the record of quality of care concerns of the foster family |
home. In the alternative, the Department may (i) approve the |
preliminary application, (ii) approve the preliminary |
application subject to obtaining additional information or |
assessments, or (iii) approve the preliminary application for |
purposes of placing a particular child or children only in the |
foster family home. If the Department approves a preliminary |
application, the foster family shall submit an application for |
licensure as described in subsection (b) of this Section. The |
Department shall notify the quality of care concerns applicant |
of its decision and the basis for its decision in writing. |
(c) The Department shall notify the public when a child |
care institution,
maternity center, or group home licensed by |
the Department undergoes a change
in (i) the range of care or |
services offered at the facility, (ii) the age or
type of |
children served, or (iii) the area within the facility used by
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children. The Department shall notify the public of the change |
in a newspaper
of general
circulation in the county or |
municipality in which the applicant's facility is
or is |
proposed to be located.
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(d) If, upon examination of the facility and investigation |
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of persons
responsible
for care of children and, in the case of |
a foster home, taking into account information obtained for |
purposes of evaluating a preliminary application, if |
applicable, the Department is satisfied that the facility and
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responsible persons reasonably meet standards prescribed for |
the type of
facility for which application is made, it shall |
issue a license in proper
form, designating on that license |
the type of child care facility and, except
for a child welfare |
agency, the number of children to be served at any one
time.
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(e) The Department shall not issue or renew the license of |
any child welfare agency providing adoption services, unless |
the agency (i) is officially recognized by the United States |
Internal Revenue Service as a tax-exempt organization |
described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of |
1986 (or any successor provision of federal tax law) and (ii) |
is in compliance with all of the standards necessary to |
maintain its status as an organization described in Section |
501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (or any |
successor provision of federal tax law). The Department shall |
grant a grace period of 24 months from the effective date of |
this amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly for existing |
child welfare agencies providing adoption services to obtain |
501(c)(3) status. The Department shall permit an existing |
child welfare agency that converts from its current structure |
in order to be recognized as a 501(c)(3) organization as |
required by this Section to either retain its current license |
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or transfer its current license to a newly formed entity, if |
the creation of a new entity is required in order to comply |
with this Section, provided that the child welfare agency |
demonstrates that it continues to meet all other licensing |
requirements and that the principal officers and directors and |
programs of the converted child welfare agency or newly |
organized child welfare agency are substantially the same as |
the original. The Department shall have the sole discretion to |
grant a one year extension to any agency unable to obtain |
501(c)(3) status within the timeframe specified in this |
subsection (e), provided that such agency has filed an |
application for 501(c)(3) status with the Internal Revenue |
Service within the 2-year timeframe specified in this |
subsection (e).
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(Source: P.A. 101-63, eff. 7-12-19.)
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