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1 | AN ACT concerning regulation.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, | |||||||||||||||||||
3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 5. The Child Care Act of 1969 is amended by | |||||||||||||||||||
5 | changing Section 4 as follows:
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6 | (225 ILCS 10/4) (from Ch. 23, par. 2214) | |||||||||||||||||||
7 | Sec. 4. License requirement; application; notice. | |||||||||||||||||||
8 | (a) Any person, group of persons or corporation who or | |||||||||||||||||||
9 | which receives children or arranges for care or placement of | |||||||||||||||||||
10 | one or more children unrelated to the operator must apply for a | |||||||||||||||||||
11 | license to operate one of the types of facilities defined in | |||||||||||||||||||
12 | Sections 2.05 through 2.19 and in Section 2.22 of this Act. Any | |||||||||||||||||||
13 | relative, as defined in Section 2.17 of this Act, who receives | |||||||||||||||||||
14 | a child or children for placement by the Department on a | |||||||||||||||||||
15 | full-time basis may apply for a license to operate a foster | |||||||||||||||||||
16 | family home as defined in Section 2.17 of this Act. | |||||||||||||||||||
17 | (a-5) Any agency, person, group of persons, association, | |||||||||||||||||||
18 | organization, corporation, institution, center, or group | |||||||||||||||||||
19 | providing adoption services must be licensed by the Department | |||||||||||||||||||
20 | as a child welfare agency as defined in Section 2.08 of this | |||||||||||||||||||
21 | Act. "Providing adoption services" as used in this Act, | |||||||||||||||||||
22 | includes facilitating or engaging in adoption services. | |||||||||||||||||||
23 | (b) Application for a license to operate a child care |
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1 | facility must be made to the Department in the manner and on | ||||||
2 | forms prescribed by it. An application to operate a foster | ||||||
3 | family home shall include, at a minimum: a completed written | ||||||
4 | form; written authorization by the applicant and all adult | ||||||
5 | members of the applicant's household to conduct a criminal | ||||||
6 | background investigation; medical evidence in the form of a | ||||||
7 | medical report, on forms prescribed by the Department, that | ||||||
8 | the applicant and all members of the household are free from | ||||||
9 | communicable diseases or physical and mental conditions that | ||||||
10 | affect their ability to provide care for the child or | ||||||
11 | children; the names and addresses of at least 3 persons not | ||||||
12 | related to the applicant who can attest to the applicant's | ||||||
13 | moral character; the name and address of at least one relative | ||||||
14 | who can attest to the applicant's capability to care for the | ||||||
15 | child or children; and fingerprints submitted by the applicant | ||||||
16 | and all adult members of the applicant's household. | ||||||
17 | (b-5) Prior to submitting an application for a foster | ||||||
18 | family home license, a quality of care concerns applicant as | ||||||
19 | defined in Section 2.22a of this Act must submit a preliminary | ||||||
20 | application to the Department in the manner and on forms | ||||||
21 | prescribed by it. The Department shall explain to the quality | ||||||
22 | of care concerns applicant the grounds for requiring a | ||||||
23 | preliminary application. The preliminary application shall | ||||||
24 | include a list of (i) all children placed in the home by the | ||||||
25 | Department who were removed by the Department for reasons | ||||||
26 | other than returning to a parent and the circumstances under |
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1 | which they were removed and (ii) all children placed by the | ||||||
2 | Department who were subsequently adopted by or placed in the | ||||||
3 | private guardianship of the quality of care concerns applicant | ||||||
4 | who are currently under 18 and who no longer reside in the home | ||||||
5 | and the reasons why they no longer reside in the home. The | ||||||
6 | preliminary application shall also include, if the quality of | ||||||
7 | care concerns applicant chooses to submit, (1) a response to | ||||||
8 | the quality of care concerns, including any reason the | ||||||
9 | concerns are invalid, have been addressed or ameliorated, or | ||||||
10 | no longer apply and (2) affirmative documentation | ||||||
11 | demonstrating that the quality of care concerns applicant's | ||||||
12 | home does not pose a risk to children and that the family will | ||||||
13 | be able to meet the physical and emotional needs of children. | ||||||
14 | The Department shall verify the information in the preliminary | ||||||
15 | application and review (i) information regarding any prior | ||||||
16 | licensing complaints, (ii) information regarding any prior | ||||||
17 | child abuse or neglect investigations, (iii) information | ||||||
18 | regarding any involuntary foster home holds placed on the home | ||||||
19 | by the Department, and (iv) information regarding all child | ||||||
20 | exit interviews, as provided in Section 5.26 of the Children | ||||||
21 | and Family Services Act, regarding the home. Foster home | ||||||
22 | applicants with quality of care concerns are presumed | ||||||
23 | unsuitable for future licensure. | ||||||
24 | Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection (b-5), | ||||||
25 | the Department may make an exception and issue a foster family | ||||||
26 | license to a quality of care concerns applicant if the |
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1 | Department is satisfied that the foster family home does not | ||||||
2 | pose a risk to children and that the foster family will be able | ||||||
3 | to meet the physical and emotional needs of children. In | ||||||
4 | making this determination, the Department must obtain and | ||||||
5 | carefully review all relevant documents and shall obtain | ||||||
6 | consultation from its Clinical Division as appropriate and as | ||||||
7 | prescribed by Department rule and procedure. The Department | ||||||
8 | has the authority to deny a preliminary application based on | ||||||
9 | the record of quality of care concerns of the foster family | ||||||
10 | home. In the alternative, the Department may (i) approve the | ||||||
11 | preliminary application, (ii) approve the preliminary | ||||||
12 | application subject to obtaining additional information or | ||||||
13 | assessments, or (iii) approve the preliminary application for | ||||||
14 | purposes of placing a particular child or children only in the | ||||||
15 | foster family home. If the Department approves a preliminary | ||||||
16 | application, the foster family shall submit an application for | ||||||
17 | licensure as described in subsection (b) of this Section. The | ||||||
18 | Department shall notify the quality of care concerns applicant | ||||||
19 | of its decision and the basis for its decision in writing. | ||||||
20 | (c) The Department shall notify the public when a child | ||||||
21 | care institution, maternity center, or group home licensed by | ||||||
22 | the Department undergoes a change in (i) the range of care or | ||||||
23 | services offered at the facility or , (ii) the age or type of | ||||||
24 | children served , or (iii) the area within the facility used by | ||||||
25 | children . The Department shall notify the public of the change | ||||||
26 | in a newspaper of general circulation in the county or |
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1 | municipality in which the applicant's facility is or is | ||||||
2 | proposed to be located. | ||||||
3 | (d) If, upon examination of the facility and investigation | ||||||
4 | of persons responsible for care of children and, in the case of | ||||||
5 | a foster home, taking into account information obtained for | ||||||
6 | purposes of evaluating a preliminary application, if | ||||||
7 | applicable, the Department is satisfied that the facility and | ||||||
8 | responsible persons reasonably meet standards prescribed for | ||||||
9 | the type of facility for which application is made, it shall | ||||||
10 | issue a license in proper form, designating on that license | ||||||
11 | the type of child care facility and, except for a child welfare | ||||||
12 | agency, the number of children to be served at any one time. | ||||||
13 | (e) The Department shall not issue or renew the license of | ||||||
14 | any child welfare agency providing adoption services, unless | ||||||
15 | the agency (i) is officially recognized by the United States | ||||||
16 | Internal Revenue Service as a tax-exempt organization | ||||||
17 | described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of | ||||||
18 | 1986 (or any successor provision of federal tax law) and (ii) | ||||||
19 | is in compliance with all of the standards necessary to | ||||||
20 | maintain its status as an organization described in Section | ||||||
21 | 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (or any | ||||||
22 | successor provision of federal tax law). The Department shall | ||||||
23 | grant a grace period of 24 months from the effective date of | ||||||
24 | this amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly for existing | ||||||
25 | child welfare agencies providing adoption services to obtain | ||||||
26 | 501(c)(3) status. The Department shall permit an existing |
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