Bill Text: IL HB4781 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Engrossed

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Bill Title: Reinserts the provisions of the engrossed bill with the following changes: In provisions concerning the adoption of rules concerning a relative support program, a review process for relative placement, certification, and visitation denials, and other matters, requires the Department of Children and Family Services to adopt such rules by July 1, 2025 (rather than January 1, 2025). Provides that the rules shall outline the essential elements of each form used in the implementation and enforcement of the provisions of the amendatory Act. Changes the date by which relative caregiver payments shall be made to relative caregiver homes to July 1, 2025 (rather than January 1, 2025). Makes changes to the definition of "caregiver". Requires the Department to review complaints made to child welfare agencies by residents of prospective and current certified relative caregiver homes. Requires the Department to notify the General Assembly on the Department's progress in pursuing federal funding for the kinship navigator program. Permits the public to make anonymous requests to the Department concerning its subsidized guardianship and adoption support services. Changes the effective date by making some provisions effective immediately and some provisions effective July 1, 2025.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 42-1)

Status: (Engrossed) 2024-12-04 - Added as Alternate Co-Sponsor Sen. Lakesia Collins [HB4781 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-HB4781-Engrossed.html

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AN ACT concerning children.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 1. This Act may be referred to as the Kinship in
Demand (KIND) Act.
Section 2. Legislative findings and declaration of policy.
The General Assembly finds, determines, and declares the
following:
(1) The Kinship in Demand Act creates the statutory
vision and authority for the Department of Children and
Family Services to execute a kin-first approach to service
delivery and directs the juvenile courts to provide
necessary oversight of the Department's obligations to
maintain family connections and promote equitable
opportunities for youth and families to thrive with
relational permanence.
(2) Connection to family, community, and culture
creates emotional and relational permanency. Emotional and
relational permanency includes recognizing and supporting
many types of important long-term relationships that help
a youth feel loved and connected.
(3) Federal policy prioritizes placement with
relatives or close family friends when youth enter into

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the foster system. Research consistently demonstrates that
placing youth with their kin lessens the trauma of family
separation, reduces placement disruptions, enhances
permanency options if youth cannot be reunified, results
in higher placement satisfaction for youth in care, and
delivers better social, behavioral, mental health, and
educational outcomes for youth than non-kin foster care.
(4) Kinship placements are not only more stable, they
are shown to reduce the time to permanence when both
subsidized guardianship and adoption are available as
permanency options. By making the duration in foster care
shorter, kinship placements can help to mitigate the
long-term consequences of family separation. This reality
means that the State should encourage kinship
guardianship, and carefully consider how such arrangements
help children with existing family structures which can be
damaged by the termination of parental rights.
(5) It is in the State's public policy interest to
adopt a kin-first culture for the Illinois foster system
and ensure that youth placed in the care of relatives by
the Department of Children and Family Services receive
equitable resources and permanency planning tailored to
each family's unique needs. The Department of Children and
Family Services must promote kinship placement, help youth
in care maintain connections with their families, tailor
services and supports to kinship families, and listen to

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the voices of youth, their families, and kinship
caregivers to materially improve young people's
experiences. The Department's policies and resource
allocations must align with kin-first values and the
Department must pursue federal funding opportunities to
enhance kinship care. Lawyers and judges in juvenile court
play a meaningful role in creating a kin-first culture.
The juvenile court must have sufficient information at all
stages of the process to provide essential judicial
oversight of the Department's efforts to contact and
engage relatives.
(6) The financial costs of raising a child, whether
borne by a relative or a foster parent, are significant.
Youth in care who are placed with relatives should not be
deprived of the financial resources available to
non-relative foster parents. Foster home licensing
standards comprise the foundation on which different and
insufficient financial support for relative caregivers
compared to non-relatives is built, a disparity that
undermines the economic security, well-being, and
equitable access to federal foster care maintenance
payments for youth living with kin. In September 2023, the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services authorized
states to voluntarily establish different licensing or
approval standards for kinship caregivers to remove
barriers to kinship caregiving that harms youth and

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impedes attainment of permanency. To address inequities
and harms, the General Assembly intends to effectuate this
federal rule and to leverage every opportunity permitted
by the federal government to obtain federal funds for (i)
family finding and relative placements, including payments
for kinship caregivers at least equivalent to those
provided to licensed foster parents and (ii) kinship
navigator programs, which the federal government asserts
are essential components of the foster system, designed to
support kinship caregivers who are providing homes for
youth in care.
Section 5. The Children and Family Services Act is amended
by changing Sections 4d, 5, 6a, 7, and 7.3 and by adding
Sections 46 and 55 as follows:
(20 ILCS 505/4d)
Sec. 4d. Definitions Definition. As used in this Act:
"Caregiver" means a certified relative caregiver, relative
caregiver, or foster parent with whom a youth in care is
placed.
"Certified relative caregiver" has the meaning ascribed to
that term in Section 2.36 of the Child Care Act of 1969.
"Certified relative caregiver home" has the meaning
ascribed to that term in Section 2.37 of the Child Care Act of
1969.

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"Fictive kin" means a person who is unrelated to a child by
birth, marriage, tribal custom, or adoption who is shown to
have significant and close personal or emotional ties with the
child or the child's family.
"Relative" means a person who is: (i) related to a child by
blood, marriage, tribal custom, adoption, or to a child's
sibling in any of the foregoing ways, even though the person is
not related to the child, when the child and the child's
sibling are placed together with that person or (ii) fictive
kin. For children who have been in the guardianship of the
Department following the termination of their parents'
parental rights, been adopted or placed in subsidized or
unsubsidized guardianship, and are subsequently returned to
the temporary custody or guardianship of the Department,
"relative" includes any person who would have qualified as a
relative under this Section prior to the termination of the
parents' parental rights if the Department determines, and
documents, or the court finds that it would be in the child's
best interests to consider this person a relative, based upon
the factors for determining best interests set forth in
subsection (4.05) of Section 1-3 of the Juvenile Court Act of
1987.
"Relative caregiver" means a person responsible for the
care and supervision of a child placed by the Department,
other than the parent, who is a relative.
"Relative home" means a home of a relative that is not a

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foster family home or a certified relative caregiver home but
provides care to a child placed by the Department who is a
relative of a household member of the relative's home.
"Subsidized guardian" means a person who signs a
subsidized guardianship agreement prior to being appointed as
plenary guardian of the person of a minor.
"Subsidized guardianship" means a permanency outcome when
a caregiver is appointed as a plenary guardian of the person of
a minor exiting the foster care system, who receives
guardianship assistance program payments. Payments may be
funded through State funds, federal funds, or both State and
federal funds.
"Youth in care" means persons placed in the temporary
custody or guardianship of the Department pursuant to the
Juvenile Court Act of 1987.
(Source: P.A. 100-159, eff. 8-18-17.)
(20 ILCS 505/5)
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:

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(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

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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, in
cases where restoration to the birth family is not
safe, possible, or appropriate;
(F) at the time of placement, conducting
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

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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).
(b-5) The Department shall adopt rules to establish a
process for all licensed residential providers in Illinois to
submit data as required by the Department, if they contract or
receive reimbursement for children's mental health, substance
use, and developmental disability services from the Department
of Human Services, the Department of Juvenile Justice, or the
Department of Healthcare and Family Services. The requested
data must include, but is not limited to, capacity, staffing,

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and occupancy data for the purpose of establishing State need
and placement availability.
All information collected, shared, or stored pursuant to
this subsection shall be handled in accordance with all State
and federal privacy laws and accompanying regulations and
rules, including without limitation the federal Health
Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (Public
Law 104-191) and the Mental Health and Developmental
Disabilities Confidentiality Act.
(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

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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, and
permanency, family reunification, and adoption, including, but
not limited to:
(1) reunification, guardianship, and adoption;
(2) relative and licensed 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.

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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;

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(4) parent education;
(5) day care; and
(6) emergency assistance and advocacy; and .
(7) kinship navigator and relative caregiver supports.
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 or become subsidized guardians of
children with physical or mental disabilities, children who
are older, or other hard-to-place children who (i) immediately
prior to their adoption or subsidized guardianship 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

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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 or subsidized
guardians, 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

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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 adoption or subsidized guardianship
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
(2.3) (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 (2.3) (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

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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 the child's
family of the Department's responsibility to offer and provide
family preservation services as identified in the service
plan. The child and the child's 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

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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

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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, relative, 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

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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 General Assembly recognizes that the best
interests of the child require that the child be placed in a
the most permanent living arrangement that is an appropriate
option for the child, consistent with the child's best

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interest, using the factors set forth in subsection (4.05) of
Section 1-3 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 as soon as is
practically possible. To achieve this goal, the General
Assembly 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 appropriate 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

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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. The Department shall make diligent efforts to
place the child with a relative, document those diligent
efforts, and document reasons for any failure or inability to
secure such a relative placement. If the primary issue
preventing an emergency placement of a child with a relative
is a lack of resources, including, but not limited to,
concrete goods, safety modifications, and services, the
Department shall make diligent efforts to assist the relative
in obtaining the necessary resources. No later than January 1,
2025, the Department shall adopt rules defining what is
diligent and necessary in providing supports to potential
relative placements. At the time of placement, consideration
should also be given so that if reunification fails or is
delayed, the placement has the potential to be an appropriate
permanent 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;

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(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;
(4.5) the child's wishes;
(5) the caregivers' foster parents' willingness to
work with the family to reunite;
(6) the willingness and ability of the caregiver
foster family to provide a permanent placement an adoptive
home or long-term placement;
(7) the age of the child;
(8) placement of siblings; and .
(9) the wishes of the parent or parents unless the
parental preferences are contrary to the best interests of
the child.
(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.

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If the child is found in the child's 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

HB4781 Engrossed - 24 - LRB103 38607 KTG 68743 b
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 the child 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

HB4781 Engrossed - 25 - LRB103 38607 KTG 68743 b
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

HB4781 Engrossed - 26 - LRB103 38607 KTG 68743 b
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

HB4781 Engrossed - 27 - LRB103 38607 KTG 68743 b
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 caregivers 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

HB4781 Engrossed - 28 - LRB103 38607 KTG 68743 b
and caregivers with whom those children are placed foster
families. The Department shall accept for administrative
review and an appeal hearing a complaint made by (i) a child or
caregiver with whom the child is placed 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
caregiver foster parent, involving a change of placement
decision. No later than January 1, 2025, the Department shall
adopt rules to develop a reconsideration process to review: a
denial of certification of a relative, a denial of placement
with a relative, and a denial of visitation with an identified
relative. Rules shall include standards and criteria for
reconsideration that incorporate the best interests of the
child under Section 4.05 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987,
address situations where multiple relatives seek
certification, and provide that all rules regarding placement
changes shall be followed.
(p) (Blank).
(q) The Department may receive and use, in their entirety,

HB4781 Engrossed - 29 - LRB103 38607 KTG 68743 b
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 the Guardianship
Administrator's designee must approve disbursements from
children's accounts. The Department shall be responsible

HB4781 Engrossed - 30 - LRB103 38607 KTG 68743 b
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 the child's 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

HB4781 Engrossed - 31 - LRB103 38607 KTG 68743 b
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 caregivers
Department and private child welfare agency foster parents
licensed, certified, or otherwise approved by the Department
of Children and Family Services for damages sustained by the
caregivers foster parents as a result of the malicious or
negligent acts of foster children placed by the Department, as
well as providing third party coverage for such caregivers
foster parents with regard to actions of foster children
placed by the Department to other individuals. Such coverage
will be secondary to the caregiver's 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

HB4781 Engrossed - 32 - LRB103 38607 KTG 68743 b
(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, or in a certified relative caregiver home, the
Department shall provide to the caregiver, appropriate
facility staff, or 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

HB4781 Engrossed - 33 - LRB103 38607 KTG 68743 b
location of any previous caregiver or adoptive parents
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 caregiver, appropriate facility staff, or prospective
adoptive parent or parents, 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 or setting. The Department may
prepare a written summary of the information required by this
paragraph, which may be provided to the caregiver, appropriate
facility staff, or foster or prospective adoptive parent in
advance of a placement. The caregiver, appropriate facility
staff, 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.

HB4781 Engrossed - 34 - LRB103 38607 KTG 68743 b
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
caregiver, appropriate facility staff, or 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
caregiver, appropriate facility staff, or prospective adoptive
parent or parents or other caretaker. The information provided
to the caregiver, appropriate facility staff, or prospective
adoptive parent or parents or other caretaker shall be
reviewed and approved regarding accuracy at the supervisory
level.
(u-5) Beginning January 1, 2025, certified relative
caregiver homes under Section 3.4 of the Child Care Act of 1969
shall be eligible to receive foster care maintenance payments
from the Department in an amount no less than payments made to
licensed foster family homes. Beginning July 1, 2025, relative
homes providing care to a child placed by the Department that
are not a certified relative caregiver home under Section 3.4
of the Child Care Act of 1969 or a licensed foster family home
shall be eligible to receive payments from the Department in

HB4781 Engrossed - 35 - LRB103 38607 KTG 68743 b
an amount no less 90% of the payments made to licensed foster
family homes and certified relative caregiver homes. 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.
(u-6) To assist relative and certified relative
caregivers, no later than January 1, 2025, the Department
shall adopt rules to implement a relative support program, as
follows:
(1) For relative and certified relative caregivers,
the Department is authorized to reimburse or prepay
reasonable expenditures to remedy home conditions
necessary to fulfill the home safety-related requirements
of relative caregiver homes.
(2) The Department may provide short-term emergency
funds to relative and certified relative caregiver homes
experiencing extreme hardships due to the difficulty and
stress associated with adding youth in care as new

HB4781 Engrossed - 36 - LRB103 38607 KTG 68743 b
household members.
(3) Consistent with federal law, the Department shall
include in any State Plan made in accordance with the
Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980, Titles
IV-E and XIX of the Social Security, and any other
applicable federal laws the provision of kinship navigator
program services. The Department shall apply for and
administer all relevant federal aid in accordance with
law. Federal funds acquired for the kinship navigator
program shall be used for the development, implementation,
and operation of kinship navigator program services. The
kinship navigator program services may provide
information, referral services, support, and assistance to
relative and certified relative caregivers of youth in
care to address their unique needs and challenges. Until
the Department is approved to receive federal funds for
these purposes, the Department shall publicly post on the
Department's website semi-annual updates regarding the
Department's progress in pursuing federal funding.
(u-7) To support finding permanency for children through
subsidized guardianship and adoption and to prevent disruption
in guardianship and adoptive placements, the Department shall
establish and maintain accessible subsidized guardianship and
adoption support services for all children under 18 years of
age placed in guardianship or adoption who, immediately
preceding the guardianship or adoption, were in the custody or

HB4781 Engrossed - 37 - LRB103 38607 KTG 68743 b
guardianship of the Department under Article II of the
Juvenile Court Act of 1987.
The Department shall establish and maintain a toll-free
number to respond to requests from the public about its
subsidized guardianship and adoption support services under
this subsection and shall staff the toll-free number so that
calls are answered on a timely basis, but in no event more than
one business day after the receipt of a request. To meet this
obligation, the Department may utilize the same toll-free
number the Department operates to respond to post-adoption
requests under subsection (b-5) of Section 18.9 of the
Adoption Act. The Department shall publicize information about
the Department's subsidized guardianship support services and
toll-free number as follows:
(1) it shall post information on the Department's
website;
(2) it shall provide the information to every licensed
child welfare agency and any entity providing subsidized
guardianship support services in Illinois courts;
(3) it shall reference such information in the
materials the Department provides to caregivers pursuing
subsidized guardianship to inform them of their rights and
responsibilities under the Child Care Act of 1969 and this
Act;
(4) it shall provide the information, including the
Department's Post Adoption and Guardianship Services

HB4781 Engrossed - 38 - LRB103 38607 KTG 68743 b
booklet, to eligible caregivers as part of its
guardianship training and at the time they are presented
with the Permanency Commitment form;
(5) it shall include, in each annual notification
letter mailed to subsidized guardians, a short, 2-sided
flier or news bulletin in plain language that describes
access to post-guardianship services, how to access
services under the Family Support Program, formerly known
as the Individual Care Grant Program, the webpage address
to the Post Adoption and Guardianship Services booklet,
information on how to request that a copy of the booklet be
mailed; and
(6) it shall ensure that kinship navigator programs of
this State, when established, have this information to
include in materials the programs provide to caregivers.
The Department shall review and update annually all
information relating to its subsidized guardianship support
services, including its Post Adoption and Guardianship
Services booklet, to include updated information on Family
Support Program services eligibility and subsidized
guardianship support services that are available through the
medical assistance program established under Article V of the
Illinois Public Aid Code or any other State program for mental
health services. The Department and the Department of
Healthcare and Family Services shall coordinate their efforts
in the development of these resources.

HB4781 Engrossed - 39 - LRB103 38607 KTG 68743 b
Every licensed child welfare agency and any entity
providing kinship navigator programs funded by the Department
shall provide the Department's website address and link to the
Department's subsidized guardianship support services
information set forth in subsection (d), including the
Department's toll-free number, to every relative who is or
will be providing guardianship placement for a child placed by
the Department.
(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

HB4781 Engrossed - 40 - LRB103 38607 KTG 68743 b
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
with a foster or adoptive parent, 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
with a foster or adoptive parent, 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.
(v-3) Prior to the final approval of final placement of a
related child in a certified relative caregiver home as

HB4781 Engrossed - 41 - LRB103 38607 KTG 68743 b
defined in Section 2.37 of the Child Care Act of 1969, the
Department shall ensure that the background screening meets
the standards required under subsection (c) of Section 3.4 of
the Child Care Act of 1969.
(v-4) Prior to final approval for placement of a child
with a relative, as defined in Section 4d of this Act, who is
not a licensed foster parent, has declined to seek approval to
be a certified relative caregiver, or was denied approval as a
certified relative caregiver, the Department shall:
(i) check the child abuse and neglect registry for
information concerning the prospective relative caregiver
and any other adult living in the home. If any prospective
relative caregiver 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; and
(ii) conduct a criminal records background check of
the prospective relative caregiver and all other adults
living in the home, 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

HB4781 Engrossed - 42 - LRB103 38607 KTG 68743 b
assault, battery, or a drug-related offense committed
within the past 5 years; provided however, that the
Department is empowered to grant a waiver as the
Department may provide by rule, and the Department
approves the request for the waiver based on a
comprehensive evaluation of the caregiver and household
members and the conditions relating to the safety of the
placement. No later than January 1, 2025, the Department
shall adopt rules or revise existing rules to effectuate
the changes made to this subsection (v-4).
(w) (Blank). 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;

HB4781 Engrossed - 43 - LRB103 38607 KTG 68743 b
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

HB4781 Engrossed - 44 - LRB103 38607 KTG 68743 b
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 the employee's
or applicant's 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

HB4781 Engrossed - 45 - LRB103 38607 KTG 68743 b
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. 102-538, eff. 8-20-21; 102-558, eff. 8-20-21;
102-1014, eff. 5-27-22; 103-22, eff. 8-8-23; 103-50, eff.

HB4781 Engrossed - 46 - LRB103 38607 KTG 68743 b
1-1-24; 103-546, eff. 8-11-23; revised 9-25-23.)
(20 ILCS 505/6a) (from Ch. 23, par. 5006a)
Sec. 6a. Case plan.
(a) With respect to each Department client for whom the
Department is providing placement service, the Department
shall develop a case plan designed to stabilize the family
situation and prevent 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, reunify the family
if temporary placement is necessary when safe and appropriate,
or move the child toward an appropriate the most permanent
living arrangement and permanent legal status, consistent with
the child's best interest, using the factors set forth in
subsection (4.05) of Section 1-3 of the Juvenile Court Act of
1987. Such case plan shall provide for the utilization of
family preservation services as defined in Section 8.2 of the
Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act. Such case plan shall
be reviewed and updated every 6 months. The Department shall
ensure that incarcerated parents are able to participate in
case plan reviews via teleconference or videoconference. Where
appropriate, the case plan shall include recommendations
concerning alcohol or drug abuse evaluation.
If the parent is incarcerated, the case plan must address
the tasks that must be completed by the parent and how the
parent will participate in the administrative case review and

HB4781 Engrossed - 47 - LRB103 38607 KTG 68743 b
permanency planning hearings and, wherever possible, must
include treatment that reflects the resources available at the
facility where the parent is confined. The case plan must
provide for visitation opportunities, unless visitation is not
in the best interests of the child.
(b) The Department may enter into written agreements with
child welfare agencies to establish and implement case plan
demonstration projects. The demonstration projects shall
require that service providers develop, implement, review and
update client case plans. The Department shall examine the
effectiveness of the demonstration projects in promoting the
family reunification or the permanent placement of each client
and shall report its findings to the General Assembly no later
than 90 days after the end of the fiscal year in which any such
demonstration project is implemented.
(Source: P.A. 99-836, eff. 1-1-17.)
(20 ILCS 505/7) (from Ch. 23, par. 5007)
Sec. 7. Placement of children; considerations.
(a) In placing any child under this Act, the Department
shall place the child, as far as possible, in the care and
custody of some individual holding the same religious belief
as the parents of the child, or with some child care facility
which is operated by persons of like religious faith as the
parents of such child.
(a-5) In placing a child under this Act, the Department

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shall place the child with the child's sibling or siblings
under Section 7.4 of this Act unless the placement is not in
each child's best interest, or is otherwise not possible under
the Department's rules. If the child is not placed with a
sibling under the Department's rules, the Department shall
consider placements that are likely to develop, preserve,
nurture, and support sibling relationships, where doing so is
in each child's best interest.
(b) In placing a child under this Act, the Department
shall may place a child with a relative if the Department
determines that the relative will be able to adequately
provide for the child's safety and welfare based on the
factors set forth in the Department's rules governing such
relative placements, and that the placement is consistent with
the child's best interests, taking into consideration the
factors set out in subsection (4.05) of Section 1-3 of the
Juvenile Court Act of 1987.
When the Department first assumes custody of a child, in
placing that child under this Act, the Department shall make
reasonable efforts to identify, locate, and provide notice to
all adult grandparents and other adult relatives of the child
who are ready, willing, and able to care for the child. At a
minimum, these diligent efforts shall be renewed each time the
child requires a placement change and it is appropriate for
the child to be cared for in a home environment. The Department
must document its efforts to identify, locate, and provide

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notice to such potential relative placements and maintain the
documentation in the child's case file. Beginning July 1,
2025, the Department shall complete the following initial
family finding and relative engagement efforts:
(1) The Department shall conduct an investigation in
order to identify and locate all grandparents, parents of
a sibling of the child, if the parent has legal custody of
the sibling, adult siblings, other adult relatives of the
minor including any other adult relatives suggested by the
parents, and, if it is known or there is reason to know the
child is an Indian child, any extended family members, as
defined in Section 4 of the Indian Child Welfare Act of
1978 (25 U.S.C. 1903). The Department shall make diligent
efforts to investigate the names and locations of the
relatives, including, but not limited to, asking the child
in an age-appropriate manner and consistent with the
child's best interest about any parent, alleged parent,
and relatives important to the child, and obtaining
information regarding the location of the child's parents,
alleged parents, and adult relatives.
As used in this subsection (b), "family finding and
relative engagement" means conducting an investigation,
including, but not limited to, through a computer-based
search engine, to identify any person who would be
eligible to be a relative caregiver as defined in Section
4d of this Act and to connect a child, consistent with the

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child's best interest, who may be disconnected from the
child's parents, with those relatives and kin in an effort
to provide family support or possible placement. If it is
known or there is reason to know that the child is an
Indian child, as defined in Section 4 of the Indian Child
Welfare Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 1903), "family finding and
relative engagement" also includes contacting the Indian
child's tribe to identify relatives and kin. No later than
July 1, 2025, the Department shall adopt rules setting
forth specific criteria as to family finding and relative
engagement efforts under this subsection (b) and under
Section 2-27.3 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987,
including determining the manner in which efforts may or
may not be appropriate, consistent with the best interests
of the child.
(2) In accordance with Section 471(a)(29) of the
Social Security Act, the Department shall make diligent
efforts to provide all adult relatives who are located
with written notification and oral notification, in person
or by telephone, of all the following information:
(i) the minor has been removed from the custody of
the minor's parent or guardian; and
(ii) an explanation of the various options to
participate in the care and placement of the minor and
support for the minor's family, including any options
that may expire by failing to respond. The notice

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shall provide information about providing care for the
minor while the family receives reunification services
with the goal of returning the child to the parent or
guardian, how to become a certified relative caregiver
home, and additional services and support that are
available in substitute care. The notice shall also
include information regarding, adoption and subsidized
guardianship assistance options, health care coverage
for youth in care under the medical assistance program
established under Article V of the Illinois Public Aid
Code, and other options for contact with the minor,
including, but not limited to, visitation. Upon
establishing the Department's kinship navigator
program, the notice shall also include information
regarding that benefit.
No later than July 1, 2025, the Department shall adopt or
amend existing rules to implement the requirements of this
subsection, including what constitutes "diligent efforts" and
when exceptions, consistent with federal law, are appropriate.
(b-5)(1) If the Department determines that a placement
with any identified relative is not in the child's best
interests or that the relative does not meet the requirements
to be a relative caregiver, as set forth in Department rules or
by statute, the Department must document the basis for that
decision, and maintain the documentation in the child's case
file, inform the identified relative of the relative's right

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to reconsideration of the decision to deny placement with the
identified relative, provide the identified relative with a
description of the reconsideration process established in
accordance with subsection (o) of Section 5 of this Act, and
beginning July 1, 2025, report this information to the court
in accordance with the requirements of Section 2-27.3 of the
Juvenile Court Act of 1987.
If, pursuant to the Department's rules, any person files
an administrative appeal of the Department's decision not to
place a child with a relative, it is the Department's burden to
prove that the decision is consistent with the child's best
interests. The Department shall report information related to
these appeals pursuant to Section 46 of this Act.
Until July 1, 2025, when When the Department determines
that the child requires placement in an environment, other
than a home environment, the Department shall continue to make
reasonable efforts to identify and locate relatives to serve
as visitation resources for the child and potential future
placement resources, except when the Department determines
that those efforts would be futile or inconsistent with the
child's best interests. Beginning July 1, 2025, when the
Department determines that the child requires placement in an
environment, other than a home environment, the Department
shall continue to make reasonable efforts to identify and
locate relatives to serve as visitation resources for the
child and potential future placement resources unless excused

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by the court, as outlined in Section 2-27.3 of the Juvenile
Court Act of 1987.
If the Department determines that efforts to identify and
locate relatives would be futile or inconsistent with the
child's best interests, the Department shall document the
basis of its determination and maintain the documentation in
the child's case file.
If the Department determines that an individual or a group
of relatives are inappropriate to serve as visitation
resources or possible placement resources, the Department
shall document the basis of its determination, and maintain
the documentation in the child's case file, inform the
identified relative of the relative's right to a
reconsideration of the decision to deny visitation with the
identified relative, provide the identified relative with a
description of the reconsideration process established in
accordance with subsection (o) of Section 5 of this Act, and
beginning July 1, 2025, report this information to the court
in accordance with the requirements of Section 2-27.3 of the
Juvenile Court Act of 1987.
When the Department determines that an individual or a
group of relatives are appropriate to serve as visitation
resources or possible future placement resources, the
Department shall document the basis of its determination,
maintain the documentation in the child's case file, create a
visitation or transition plan, or both, and incorporate the

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visitation or transition plan, or both, into the child's case
plan. Beginning July 1, 2025, the Department shall report this
information to the court as part of the Department's family
finding and relative engagement efforts required under Section
2-27.3 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987. For the purpose of
this subsection, any determination as to the child's best
interests shall include consideration of the factors set out
in subsection (4.05) of Section 1-3 of the Juvenile Court Act
of 1987.
(2) The Department may initially not place a child in a
foster family home as defined under Section 2.17 of the Child
Care Act of 1969 or a certified relative caregiver home as
defined under Section 4d of this Act. Initial placement may
also be made with a relative who is not yet a certified
relative caregiver if all of the following conditions are met:
(A) The prospective relative caregiver and all other
adults in the home must authorize and submit to a
background screening that includes the components set
forth in subsection (c) of Section 3.4 of the Child Care
Act of 1969. If the results of a check of the Law
Enforcement Agencies Data System (LEADS) identifies a
prior criminal conviction of (i) the prospective relative
caregiver for an offense not prohibited under subsection
(c) of Section 3.4 of the Child Care Act of 1969 or (ii)
any other adult in the home for a felony offense, the
Department shall thoroughly investigate and evaluate the

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criminal history, including an assessment of the person's
character and the impact that the criminal history has on
the prospective relative caregiver's ability to parent the
child. The investigation must consider the type of crime,
the number of crimes, the nature of the offense, the age of
the person at the time of the crime, the length of time
that has elapsed since the last conviction, the
relationship of the crime to the ability to care for
children, the role that the person will have with the
child, and any evidence of rehabilitation. Initial
placement may not be made if the results of a check of the
Law Enforcement Agencies Data System (LEADS) identifies a
prior criminal conviction of the prospective relative
caregiver for an offense prohibited under subsection (c)
of Section 3.4 of the Child Care Act of 1969; however, a
waiver may be granted for placement of the child in
accordance with subsection (v-4) of Section 5.
(B) The home safety and needs assessment requirements
set forth in paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of the Child
Care Act of 1969 are satisfied.
(C) The prospective relative caregiver is able to meet
the physical, emotional, medical, and educational needs of
the specific child or children being placed by the
Department.
No later than January 1, 2025, the Department shall adopt
rules or amend existing rules to implement the provisions of

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this subsection (b-5).
with a relative, with the exception of certain circumstances
which may be waived as defined by the Department in rules, if
the results of a check of the Law Enforcement Agencies Data
System (LEADS) identifies a prior criminal conviction of the
relative or any adult member of the relative's household for
any of the following offenses under the Criminal Code of 1961
or the Criminal Code of 2012:
(1) murder;
(1.1) solicitation of murder;
(1.2) solicitation of murder for hire;
(1.3) intentional homicide of an unborn child;
(1.4) voluntary manslaughter of an unborn child;
(1.5) involuntary manslaughter;
(1.6) reckless homicide;
(1.7) concealment of a homicidal death;
(1.8) involuntary manslaughter of an unborn child;
(1.9) reckless homicide of an unborn child;
(1.10) drug-induced homicide;
(2) a sex offense under Article 11, except offenses
described in Sections 11-7, 11-8, 11-12, 11-13, 11-35,
11-40, and 11-45;
(3) kidnapping;
(3.1) aggravated unlawful restraint;
(3.2) forcible detention;
(3.3) aiding and abetting child abduction;

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(4) aggravated kidnapping;
(5) child abduction;
(6) aggravated battery of a child as described in
Section 12-4.3 or subdivision (b)(1) of Section 12-3.05;
(7) criminal sexual assault;
(8) aggravated criminal sexual assault;
(8.1) predatory criminal sexual assault of a child;
(9) criminal sexual abuse;
(10) aggravated sexual abuse;
(11) heinous battery as described in Section 12-4.1 or
subdivision (a)(2) of Section 12-3.05;
(12) aggravated battery with a firearm as described in
Section 12-4.2 or subdivision (e)(1), (e)(2), (e)(3), or
(e)(4) of Section 12-3.05;
(13) tampering with food, drugs, or cosmetics;
(14) drug-induced infliction of great bodily harm as
described in Section 12-4.7 or subdivision (g)(1) of
Section 12-3.05;
(15) aggravated stalking;
(16) home invasion;
(17) vehicular invasion;
(18) criminal transmission of HIV;
(19) criminal abuse or neglect of an elderly person or
person with a disability as described in Section 12-21 or
subsection (b) of Section 12-4.4a;
(20) child abandonment;

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(21) endangering the life or health of a child;
(22) ritual mutilation;
(23) ritualized abuse of a child;
(24) an offense in any other state the elements of
which are similar and bear a substantial relationship to
any of the foregoing offenses.
No later than January 1, 2025, relative caregiver payments
shall be made to relative caregiver homes as provided under
Section 5 of this Act. For the purpose of this subsection,
"relative" shall include any person, 21 years of age or over,
other than the parent, who (i) is currently related to the
child in any of the following ways by blood or adoption:
grandparent, sibling, great-grandparent, parent's sibling,
sibling's child, first cousin, second cousin, godparent, or
grandparent's sibling; or (ii) is the spouse of such a
relative; or (iii) is the child's step-parent, or adult
step-sibling; or (iv) is a fictive kin; "relative" also
includes a person related in any of the foregoing ways to a
sibling of a child, even though the person is not related to
the child, when the child and the child's sibling are placed
together with that person. For children who have been in the
guardianship of the Department, have been adopted, and are
subsequently returned to the temporary custody or guardianship
of the Department, a "relative" may also include any person
who would have qualified as a relative under this paragraph
prior to the adoption, but only if the Department determines,

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and documents, that it would be in the child's best interests
to consider this person a relative, based upon the factors for
determining best interests set forth in subsection (4.05) of
Section 1-3 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987. A relative with
whom a child is placed pursuant to this subsection may, but is
not required to, apply for licensure as a foster family home
pursuant to the Child Care Act of 1969; provided, however,
that as of July 1, 1995, foster care payments shall be made
only to licensed foster family homes pursuant to the terms of
Section 5 of this Act.
Notwithstanding any other provision under this subsection
to the contrary, a fictive kin with whom a child is placed
pursuant to this subsection shall apply for licensure as a
foster family home pursuant to the Child Care Act of 1969
within 6 months of the child's placement with the fictive kin.
The Department shall not remove a child from the home of a
fictive kin on the basis that the fictive kin fails to apply
for licensure within 6 months of the child's placement with
the fictive kin, or fails to meet the standard for licensure.
All other requirements established under the rules and
procedures of the Department concerning the placement of a
child, for whom the Department is legally responsible, with a
relative shall apply. By June 1, 2015, the Department shall
promulgate rules establishing criteria and standards for
placement, identification, and licensure of fictive kin.
For purposes of this subsection, "fictive kin" means any

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individual, unrelated by birth or marriage, who:
(i) is shown to have significant and close personal or
emotional ties with the child or the child's family prior
to the child's placement with the individual; or
(ii) is the current foster parent of a child in the
custody or guardianship of the Department pursuant to this
Act and the Juvenile Court Act of 1987, if the child has
been placed in the home for at least one year and has
established a significant and family-like relationship
with the foster parent, and the foster parent has been
identified by the Department as the child's permanent
connection, as defined by Department rule.
The provisions added to this subsection (b) by Public Act
98-846 shall become operative on and after June 1, 2015.
(c) In placing a child under this Act, the Department
shall ensure that the child's health, safety, and best
interests are met. In rejecting placement of a child with an
identified relative, the Department shall (i) ensure that the
child's health, safety, and best interests are met, (ii)
inform the identified relative of the relative's right to
reconsideration of the decision and provide the identified
relative with a description of the reconsideration process
established in accordance with subsection (o) of Section 5 of
this Act, (iii) beginning July 1, 2025, report that the
Department rejected the relative placement to the court in
accordance with the requirements of Section 2-27.3 of the

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Juvenile Court Act of 1987, and (iv) report the reason for
denial in accordance with Section 46 of this Act. In
evaluating the best interests of the child, the Department
shall take into consideration the factors set forth in
subsection (4.05) of Section 1-3 of the Juvenile Court Act of
1987.
The Department shall consider the individual needs of the
child and the capacity of the prospective caregivers or
prospective foster or adoptive parents to meet the needs of
the child. When a child must be placed outside the child's home
and cannot be immediately returned to the child's parents or
guardian, a comprehensive, individualized assessment shall be
performed of that child at which time the needs of the child
shall be determined. Only if race, color, or national origin
is identified as a legitimate factor in advancing the child's
best interests shall it be considered. Race, color, or
national origin shall not be routinely considered in making a
placement decision. The Department shall make special efforts
for the diligent recruitment of potential foster and adoptive
families that reflect the ethnic and racial diversity of the
children for whom foster and adoptive homes are needed.
"Special efforts" shall include contacting and working with
community organizations and religious organizations and may
include contracting with those organizations, utilizing local
media and other local resources, and conducting outreach
activities.

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(c-1) At the time of placement, the Department shall
consider concurrent planning, as described in subsection (l-1)
of Section 5, 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.
To the extent that doing so is in the child's best interests as
set forth in subsection (4.05) of Section 1-3 of the Juvenile
Court Act of 1987, the Department should consider placements
that will permit the child to maintain a meaningful
relationship with the child's parents.
(d) The Department may accept gifts, grants, offers of
services, and other contributions to use in making special
recruitment efforts.
(e) The Department in placing children in relative
caregiver, certified relative caregiver, adoptive, or foster
care homes may not, in any policy or practice relating to the
placement of children for adoption or foster care,
discriminate against any child or prospective caregiver or
adoptive parent adoptive or foster parent on the basis of
race.
(Source: P.A. 103-22, eff. 8-8-23.)
(20 ILCS 505/7.3)
Sec. 7.3. Placement plan. The Department shall develop and
implement a written plan for placing children. The plan shall

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include at least the following features:
(1) A plan for recruiting minority adoptive and foster
families. The plan shall include strategies for using
existing resources in minority communities, use of
minority outreach staff whenever possible, use of minority
foster homes for placements after birth and before
adoption, and other techniques as appropriate.
(2) A plan for training adoptive and foster families
of minority children.
(3) A plan for employing social workers in adoption
and foster care. The plan shall include staffing goals and
objectives.
(4) A plan for ensuring that adoption and foster care
workers attend training offered or approved by the
Department regarding the State's goal of encouraging
cultural diversity and the needs of special needs
children.
(5) A plan that includes policies and procedures for
determining for each child requiring placement outside of
the child's home, and who cannot be immediately returned
to the child's parents or guardian, the placement needs of
that child. In the rare instance when an individualized
assessment identifies, documents, and substantiates that
race, color, or national origin is a factor that needs to
be considered in advancing a particular child's best
interests, it shall be considered in making a placement.

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(6) A plan for improving the certification of relative
homes as certified relative caregiver homes, including
establishing and expanding access to a kinship navigator
program once established pursuant to paragraph (3) of
subsection (u-6) of Section 5 of this Act, providing an
effective process for ensuring relatives are informed of
the benefits of relative caregiver home certification
under Section 3.4 of the Child Care Act of 1969, and
tailoring relative caregiver home certification standards
that are appropriately distinct from foster home licensure
standards.
Beginning July 1, 2026 and every 3 years thereafter, the
plans required under this Section shall be evaluated by the
Department and revised based on the findings of that
evaluation.
(Source: P.A. 103-22, eff. 8-8-23.)
(20 ILCS 505/46 new)
Sec. 46. Annual reports regarding relative and certified
relative caregiver placements. Beginning January 1, 2026, and
annually thereafter, the Department shall post on its website
data from the preceding State fiscal year regarding:
(1) the number of youth in care who were adopted
specifying the length of stay in out-of-home care and the
number of youth in care who exited to permanency through
guardianship specifying the length of stay in out-of-home

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care and whether the guardianship was subsidized or
unsubsidized for each case;
(2) the number of youth with the permanency goal of
guardianship and the number of youth with the permanency
goal of adoption;
(3) the number of youth in care who moved from
non-relative care to a relative placement;
(4) the number of homes that successfully became a
certified relative caregiver home in accordance with
Section 3.4 of the Child Care Act of 1969; and
(5) the number of reconsideration reviews of the
Department's decisions not to place a child with a
relative commenced in accordance with subsection (o) of
Section 5 of this Act. For data related to each
reconsideration review, the Department shall indicate
whether the child resides in a licensed placement or in
the home of a relative at the time of the reconsideration
review, the reason for the Department's denial of the
placement with the relative, and the outcome associated
with each reconsideration review.
The Department shall include a description of the
methodology the Department used to collect the information for
paragraphs (1) through (5), indicate whether the Department
had any difficulties collecting the information, and indicate
whether there are concerns about the validity of the
information. If any of the data elements required to be

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disclosed under this Section could reveal a youth's identity
if revealed in combination with all the identifying
information due to small sample size, the Department shall
exclude the data elements that could be used to identify the
youth so that the data can be included as part of a larger
sample and report that the data was excluded for this reason.
(20 ILCS 505/55 new)
Sec. 55. Performance audits. Three years after the
effective date of this amendatory Act of the 103rd General
Assembly, the Auditor General shall commence a performance
audit of the Department to determine whether the Department is
meeting the requirements established by this amendatory Act of
the 103rd General Assembly under Sections 4d, 5, 6a, 7, 7.3,
46, and 55 of this Act, Sections 2.05, 2.17, 2.36, 2.37, 2.38,
2.39, 2.40, 3.4, 4, 4.3, 7.3, and 7.4 of the Child Care Act of
1969, Sections 1-3, 1-5, 2-10, 2-13, 2-21, 2-22, 2-23, 2-27,
2-27.3, 2-28, 2-28.1, and 5-745 of the Juvenile Court Act of
1987, and Sections 4.1 and 15.1 of the Adoption Act. Within 2
years after the audit's release, the Auditor General shall
commence a follow-up performance audit to determine whether
the Department has implemented the recommendations contained
in the initial performance audit. Upon completion of each
audit, the Auditor General shall report its findings to the
General Assembly. The Auditor General's reports shall include
any issues or deficiencies and recommendations. The audits

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required by this Section shall be in accordance with and
subject to the Illinois State Auditing Act.
Section 10. The Child Care Act of 1969 is amended by
changing Sections 2.05, 2.17, 4, 4.3, 5, 7.3, and 7.4 and by
adding Sections 2.36, 2.37, 2.38, 2.39, 2.40, and 3.4 as
follows:
(225 ILCS 10/2.05) (from Ch. 23, par. 2212.05)
Sec. 2.05. "Facility for child care" or "child care
facility" means any person, group of persons, agency,
association, organization, corporation, institution, center,
or group, whether established for gain or otherwise, who or
which receives or arranges for care or placement of one or more
children, unrelated to the operator of the facility, apart
from the parents, with or without the transfer of the right of
custody in any facility as defined in this Act, established
and maintained for the care of children. "Child care facility"
includes a relative, as defined in Section 2.36 2.17 of this
Act, who is licensed as a foster family home under Section 4 of
this Act or provides a certified relative caregiver home, as
defined in Section 2.37 of this Act.
(Source: P.A. 98-804, eff. 1-1-15.)
(225 ILCS 10/2.17) (from Ch. 23, par. 2212.17)
Sec. 2.17. "Foster family home" means the home of an

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individual or family:
(1) that is licensed or approved by the state in which it
is situated as a foster family home that meets the standards
established for the licensing or approval; and
(2) in which a child in foster care has been placed in the
care of an individual who resides with the child and who has
been licensed or approved by the state to be a foster parent
and:
(A) who the Department of Children and Family Services
deems capable of adhering to the reasonable and prudent
parent standard;
(B) who provides 24-hour substitute care for children
placed away from their parents or other caretakers; and
(3) who provides the care for no more than 6 children,
except the Director of Children and Family Services, pursuant
to Department regulations, may waive the numerical limitation
of foster children who may be cared for in a foster family home
for any of the following reasons to allow: (i) a parenting
youth in foster care to remain with the child of the parenting
youth; (ii) siblings to remain together; (iii) a child with an
established meaningful relationship with the family to remain
with the family; or (iv) a family with special training or
skills to provide care to a child who has a severe disability.
The family's or relative's own children, under 18 years of
age, shall be included in determining the maximum number of
children served.

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For purposes of this Section, a "relative" includes any
person, 21 years of age or over, other than the parent, who (i)
is currently related to the child in any of the following ways
by blood or adoption: grandparent, sibling, great-grandparent,
uncle, aunt, nephew, niece, first cousin, great-uncle, or
great-aunt; or (ii) is the spouse of such a relative; or (iii)
is a child's step-father, step-mother, or adult step-brother
or step-sister; or (iv) is a fictive kin; "relative" also
includes a person related in any of the foregoing ways to a
sibling of a child, even though the person is not related to
the child, when the child and its sibling are placed together
with that person. For purposes of placement of children
pursuant to Section 7 of the Children and Family Services Act
and for purposes of licensing requirements set forth in
Section 4 of this Act, for children under the custody or
guardianship of the Department pursuant to the Juvenile Court
Act of 1987, after a parent signs a consent, surrender, or
waiver or after a parent's rights are otherwise terminated,
and while the child remains in the custody or guardianship of
the Department, the child is considered to be related to those
to whom the child was related under this Section prior to the
signing of the consent, surrender, or waiver or the order of
termination of parental rights.
The term "foster family home" includes homes receiving
children from any State-operated institution for child care;
or from any agency established by a municipality or other

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political subdivision of the State of Illinois authorized to
provide care for children outside their own homes. The term
"foster family home" does not include an "adoption-only home"
as defined in Section 2.23 or a "certified relative caregiver
home" as defined in Section 2.37 of this Act. The types of
foster family homes are defined as follows:
(a) "Boarding home" means a foster family home which
receives payment for regular full-time care of a child or
children.
(b) "Free home" means a foster family home other than
an adoptive home which does not receive payments for the
care of a child or children.
(c) "Adoptive home" means a foster family home which
receives a child or children for the purpose of adopting
the child or children, but does not include an
adoption-only home.
(d) "Work-wage home" means a foster family home which
receives a child or children who pay part or all of their
board by rendering some services to the family not
prohibited by the Child Labor Law or by standards or
regulations of the Department prescribed under this Act.
The child or children may receive a wage in connection
with the services rendered the foster family.
(e) "Agency-supervised home" means a foster family
home under the direct and regular supervision of a
licensed child welfare agency, of the Department of

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Children and Family Services, of a circuit court, or of
any other State agency which has authority to place
children in child care facilities, and which receives no
more than 6 8 children, unless of common parentage, who
are placed and are regularly supervised by one of the
specified agencies.
(f) "Independent home" means a foster family home,
other than an adoptive home, which receives no more than 4
children, unless of common parentage, directly from
parents, or other legally responsible persons, by
independent arrangement and which is not subject to direct
and regular supervision of a specified agency except as
such supervision pertains to licensing by the Department.
(g) "Host home" means an emergency foster family home
under the direction and regular supervision of a licensed
child welfare agency, contracted to provide short-term
crisis intervention services to youth served under the
Comprehensive Community-Based Youth Services program,
under the direction of the Department of Human Services.
The youth shall not be under the custody or guardianship
of the Department pursuant to the Juvenile Court Act of
1987.
(Source: P.A. 102-688, eff. 7-1-22; 103-564, eff. 11-17-23.)
(225 ILCS 10/2.36 new)
Sec. 2.36. Certified relative caregiver. "Certified

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relative caregiver" means a person responsible for the care
and supervision of a child placed in a certified relative
caregiver home by the Department, other than the parent, who
is a relative. As used in this definition, "relative" means a
person who is: (i) related to a child by blood, marriage,
tribal custom, adoption, or to a child's sibling in any of the
foregoing ways, even though the person is not related to the
child, when the child and the child's sibling are placed
together with that person or (ii) fictive kin. For children
who have been in the guardianship of the Department following
the termination of their parents' parental rights, been
adopted or placed in subsidized or unsubsidized guardianship,
and are subsequently returned to the temporary custody or
guardianship of the Department, a "relative" shall include any
person who would have qualified as a relative under this
Section prior to the termination of the parents' parental
rights if the Department determines, and documents, or the
court finds that it would be in the child's best interests to
consider this person a relative, based upon the factors for
determining best interests set forth in subsection (4.05) of
Section 1-3 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987.
(225 ILCS 10/2.37 new)
Sec. 2.37. Certified relative caregiver home. "Certified
relative caregiver home" means a placement resource meeting
the standards for a certified relative caregiver home under

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Section 3.4 of this Act, which is eligible to receive payments
from the Department under State or federal law for room and
board for a child placed with a certified relative caregiver.
A certified relative caregiver home is sufficient to comply
with 45 CFR 1355.20.
(225 ILCS 10/2.38 new)
Sec. 2.38. Fictive kin. "Fictive kin" has the meaning
ascribed to the term in Section 4d of the Children and Family
Services Act.
(225 ILCS 10/2.39 new)
Sec. 2.39. Caregiver. "Caregiver" means a certified
relative caregiver, relative caregiver, or foster parent with
whom a youth in care is placed.
(225 ILCS 10/2.40 new)
Sec. 2.40. National consortium recommendations. "National
consortium recommendations" means the preferred standards of
national organizations with expertise in relative home care
developed to establish requirements or criteria for relative
homes that are no more or only minimally more restrictive than
necessary to comply with the requirements under Sections 471
and 474 of the Social Security Act, Public Law 115-123.
Consortium recommendations include criteria for assessing
relative homes for safety, sanitation, protection of civil

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rights, use of the reasonable and prudent parenting standard,
and background screening for caregivers and other residents in
the caregiver home.
(225 ILCS 10/3.4 new)
Sec. 3.4. Standards for certified relative caregiver
homes.
(a) No later than January 1, 2025, the Department shall
adopt rules outlining the standards for certified relative
caregiver homes, which are reasonably in accordance with the
national consortium recommendations and federal law and rules,
and consistent with the requirements of this Act. The
standards for certified relative caregiver homes shall: (i) be
different from licensing standards used for non-relative
foster family homes under Section 4; (ii) align with the
recommendation of the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services' Administration for Children and Families for
implementation of Section 471(a)(10), 471(a)(11), and
471(a)(20) and Section 474 of Title IV-E of the Social
Security Act; (iii) be no more restrictive than, and
reasonably in accordance with, national consortium
recommendations; and (iv) address background screening for
caregivers and other household residents and assessing home
safety and caregiver capacity to meet the identified child's
needs.
A guiding premise for certified relative caregiver home

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standards is that foster care maintenance payments for every
relative, starting upon placement, regardless of federal
reimbursement, are critical to ensure that the basic needs and
well-being of all children in relative care are being met. If
an agency places a child in the care of a relative, the
relative must immediately be provided with adequate support to
care for that child. The Department shall review foster care
maintenance payments to ensure that children receive the same
amount of foster care maintenance payments whether placed in a
certified relative caregiver home or a licensed foster family
home.
In developing rules, the Department shall solicit and
incorporate feedback from relative caregivers. No later than
60 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the
103rd General Assembly, the Department shall begin soliciting
input from relatives who are currently or have recently been
caregivers to youth in care to develop the rules and
procedures to implement the requirements of this Section. The
Department shall solicit this input in a manner convenient for
caregivers to participate, including without limitation,
in-person convenings at after hours and weekend venues,
locations that provide child care, and modalities that are
accessible and welcoming to new and experienced relative
caregivers from all regions of the State.
(b) In order to assess whether standards are met for a
certified relative caregiver home under this Section, the

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Department or a licensed child welfare agency shall:
(1) complete the home safety and needs assessment and
identify and provide any necessary concrete goods or
safety modifications to assist the prospective certified
relative caregiver in meeting the needs of the specific
child or children being placed by the Department, in a
manner consistent with Department rule;
(2) assess the ability of the prospective certified
relative caregiver to care for the physical, emotional,
medical, and educational needs of the specific child or
children being placed by the Department using the protocol
and form provided through national consortium
recommendations; and
(3) using the standard background check form
established by rule, complete a background check for each
person seeking certified relative caregiver approval and
any other adults living in the home as required under this
Section.
(c) The Department or a licensed child welfare agency
shall conduct the following background screening investigation
for every prospective certified relative caregiver and adult
resident living in the home:
(1) a name-based State, local, or tribal criminal
background check, and as soon as reasonably possible,
initiate a fingerprint-based background check;
(2) a review of this State's Central Registry and

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registries of any state in which an adult household member
has resided in the last 5 years, if applicable to
determine if the person has been determined to be a
perpetrator in an indicated report of child abuse or
neglect; and
(3) a review of the sex offender registry.
No home may be a certified relative caregiver home if any
prospective caregivers or adult residents in the home refuse
to authorize a background screening investigation as required
by this Section. Only information and standards that bear a
reasonable and rational relation to the caregiving capacity of
the certified relative caregiver and adult member of the
household and overall safety provided by residents of that
home shall be used by the Department or licensed child welfare
agency.
In approving a certified relative caregiver home in
accordance with this Section, if an adult has a criminal
record, the Department or licensed child welfare agency shall
thoroughly investigate and evaluate the criminal history of
the adult and, in so doing, include an assessment of the
adult's character and, in the case of the prospective
certified relative caregiver, the impact that the criminal
history has on the prospective certified relative caregiver's
ability to parent the child; the investigation should consider
the type of crime, the number of crimes, the nature of the
offense, the age of the person at the time of the crime, the

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length of time that has elapsed since the last conviction, the
relationship of the crime to the ability to care for children,
the role that adult will have with the child, and any evidence
of rehabilitation. In accordance with federal law, a home
shall not be approved if the record of the prospective
certified relative caregiver's background screening reveals:
(i) a felony conviction for child abuse or neglect, spousal
abuse, crimes against a child, including child pornography, or
a crime of rape, sexual assault, or homicide; or (ii) a felony
conviction in the last 5 years for physical assault, battery,
or a drug-related offense.
If the Department is contemplating denying approval of a
certified relative caregiver home, the Department shall
provide a written notice in the prospective certified relative
caregiver's primary language to each prospective certified
relative caregiver before the Department takes final action to
deny approval of the home. This written notice shall include
the specific reason or reasons the Department is considering
denial, list actions prospective certified relative caregivers
can take, if any, to remedy such conditions and the timeframes
in which such actions would need to be completed, explain
reasonable supports that the Department can provide to assist
the prospective certified relative caregivers in taking
remedial actions and how the prospective certified relative
caregivers can request such assistance, and provide the
recourse prospective certified relative caregivers can seek to

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resolve disputes about the Department's findings. The
Department shall provide prospective certified relative
caregivers reasonable opportunity pursuant to rulemaking to
cure any remediable deficiencies that the Department
identified before taking final action to deny approval of a
certified relative caregiver home.
If conditions have not been remedied after a reasonable
opportunity and assistance to cure identified deficiencies has
been provided, the Department shall provide a final written
notice explaining the reasons for denying the certified
relative caregiver home approval and the reconsideration
process to review the decision to deny certification. The
Department shall not prohibit a prospective certified relative
caregiver from being reconsidered for approval if the
prospective certified relative caregivers are able to
demonstrate a change in circumstances that improves deficient
conditions.
Documentation that a certified relative caregiver home
meets the required standards may be filed on behalf of such
homes by a licensed child welfare agency, by a State agency
authorized to place children in foster care, or by
out-of-state agencies approved by the Department to place
children in this State. For documentation on behalf of a home
in which specific children are placed by and remain under
supervision of the applicant agency, such agency shall
document that the certified relative caregiver home,

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responsible for the care of related specific children therein,
was found to be in reasonable compliance with standards
prescribed by the Department for certified relative caregiver
homes under this Section. Certification is applicable to one
or more related children and documentation for certification
shall indicate the specific child or children who would be
eligible for placement in this certified relative caregiver
home.
Information concerning criminal convictions of prospective
certified relative caregivers and adult residents of a
prospective certified relative caregiver home investigated
under this Section, including the source of the information,
State conviction information provided by the Illinois State
Police, and any conclusions or recommendations derived from
the information, shall be offered to the prospective certified
relative caregivers and adult residents of a prospective
certified relative caregiver home, and provided, upon request,
to such persons prior to final action by the Department in the
certified relative caregiver home approval process.
Any information concerning criminal charges or the
disposition of such criminal charges obtained by the
Department shall be confidential and may not be transmitted
outside the Department, except as required or permitted by
State or federal law, and may not be transmitted to anyone
within the Department except as needed for the purpose of
evaluating standards for a certified relative caregiver home

HB4781 Engrossed - 81 - LRB103 38607 KTG 68743 b
or for evaluating the placement of a specific child in the
home. Information concerning a prospective certified relative
caregiver or an adult resident of a prospective certified
relative caregiver home obtained by the Department for the
purposes of this Section shall be confidential and exempt from
public inspection and copying as provided under Section 7 of
the Freedom of Information Act, and such information shall not
be transmitted outside the Department, except as required or
authorized by State or federal law, including applicable
provisions in the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act,
and shall not be transmitted to anyone within the Department
except as provided in the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting
Act, and shall not be transmitted to anyone within the
Department except as needed for the purposes of evaluating
homes. Any employee of the Department, the Illinois State
Police, or a licensed child welfare agency receiving
confidential information under this Section who gives or
causes to be given any confidential information concerning any
criminal convictions or child abuse or neglect reports
involving a prospective certified relative caregiver or an
adult resident of a prospective certified relative caregiver
home shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor unless release of
such information is authorized by this Section or Section 11.1
of the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act.
The Department shall permit, but shall not require, a
prospective certified relative caregiver who does not yet have

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eligible children placed by the Department in the relative's
home to commence the process to become a certified relative
caregiver home for a particular identified child under this
Section before a child is placed by the Department if the
prospective certified relative caregiver prefers to begin this
process in advance of the identified child being placed. No
later than January 1, 2025, the Department shall adopt rules
delineating the process for re-assessing a certified relative
caregiver home if the identified child is not placed in that
home within 6 months of the home becoming certified.
(d) The Department shall ensure that prospective certified
relative caregivers are provided with assistance in completing
the steps required for approval as a certified relative
caregiver home, including, but not limited to, the following
types of assistance:
(1) completing forms together with the relative or for
the relative, if possible;
(2) obtaining court records or dispositions related to
background checks;
(3) accessing translation services;
(4) using mobile fingerprinting devices in the home,
and if mobile devices are unavailable, providing
assistance scheduling appointments that are accessible and
available at times that fit the household members'
schedules, providing transportation and childcare to allow
the household members to complete fingerprinting

HB4781 Engrossed - 83 - LRB103 38607 KTG 68743 b
appointments, and contracting with community-based
fingerprinting locations that offer evening and weekend
appointments;
(5) reimbursement or advance payment for the
prospective certified relative caregiver to help with
reasonable home maintenance to resolve critical safety
issues in accordance with Department rulemaking; and
(6) purchasing required safety or comfort items such
as a car seat or mattress.
(e) Orientation provided to certified relative caregivers
shall include information regarding:
(1) caregivers' right to be heard in juvenile court
proceedings;
(2) the availability of the advocacy hotline and
Office of the Inspector General that caregivers may use to
report incidents of misconduct or violation of rules by
Department employees, service providers, or contractors;
(3) the Department's expectations for caregiving
obligations including, but not limited to, specific
requirements of court orders, critical incident
notifications and timeframes, supervision for the child's
age and needs, out-of-state travel, and consent
procedures;
(4) assistance available to the certified relative
caregivers, including child care, respite care,
transportation assistance, case management, training and

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support groups, kinship navigator services, financial
assistance, and after hours and weekend 24 hours, 7 days a
week emergency supports, and how to access such
assistance;
(5) reasonable and prudent parenting standards; and
(6) permanency options.
Orientation shall be provided in a setting and modality
convenient for the residents of the certified relative
caregiver home, which shall include the option for one-on-one
sessions at the residence, after business hours, and in the
primary language of the caregivers. Training opportunities
shall be offered to the residents of the certified relative
caregiver home, but shall not be a requirement that delays the
certified relative caregiver home approval process from being
completed.
The Department or licensed child welfare agency may
provide support groups and development opportunities for
certified relative caregivers, and take other steps to support
permanency, such as offering voluntary training, or concurrent
assessments of multiple prospective certified relative
caregivers to determine which may be best suited to provide
long-term permanency for a particular child. However, these
support groups and development opportunities shall not be
requirements for prospective certified relative caregiver
homes or delay immediate placement and support to a relative
who satisfies the standards set forth in this Section.

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(f) All child welfare agencies serving relative and
certified relative caregiver homes shall be required by the
Department to have complaint policies and procedures that
shall be provided in writing to prospective and current
certified relative caregivers and residents of prospective and
current certified relative caregiver homes, at the earliest
time possible. These complaint procedures must be filed with
the Department within 6 months after the effective date of
this amendatory of the 103rd General Assembly.
No later than January 1, 2025, the Department shall revise
any rules and procedures pertaining to eligibility of
certified relative caregivers to qualify for State and federal
subsidies and services under the guardianship and adoption
assistance program and remove any requirements that exceed the
federal requirements for participation in these programs or
supports to ensure that certified relative caregiver homes are
deemed eligible for permanency options, such as adoption or
subsidized guardianship, if the child is unable to safely
return to the child's parents.
The Department shall submit any necessary State plan
amendments necessary to comply with this Section and to ensure
Title IV-E reimbursement eligibility under Section
671(a)(20)(A-B) of the Social Security Act can be achieved
expediently. The Department shall differentiate expenditures
related to certified relative caregivers from licensed care
placements to provide clarity in expenditures of State and

HB4781 Engrossed - 86 - LRB103 38607 KTG 68743 b
federal monies for certified relative caregiver supports.
(225 ILCS 10/4) (from Ch. 23, par. 2214)
Sec. 4. License requirement; application; notice.
(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 2.38 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 family home as defined in Section 2.17 of this Act or
may apply to be a certified relative caregiver home as defined
in Section 2.37 of this Act.
(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.
(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
form; written authorization by the applicant and all adult

HB4781 Engrossed - 87 - LRB103 38607 KTG 68743 b
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
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.
(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
who are currently under 18 and who no longer reside in the home

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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, (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
making this determination, the Department must obtain and

HB4781 Engrossed - 89 - LRB103 38607 KTG 68743 b
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
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.
(d) If, upon examination of the facility and investigation
of persons responsible for care of children and, in the case of

HB4781 Engrossed - 90 - LRB103 38607 KTG 68743 b
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
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.
(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
or transfer its current license to a newly formed entity, if

HB4781 Engrossed - 91 - LRB103 38607 KTG 68743 b
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).
(Source: P.A. 101-63, eff. 7-12-19; 102-763, eff. 1-1-23.)
(225 ILCS 10/4.3) (from Ch. 23, par. 2214.3)
Sec. 4.3. Child Abuse and Neglect Reports. All child care
facility license applicants and all current and prospective
employees of a child care facility who have any possible
contact with children in the course of their duties, as a
condition of such licensure or employment, shall authorize in
writing on a form prescribed by the Department an
investigation of the Central Register, as defined in the
Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act, to ascertain if such
applicant or employee has been determined to be a perpetrator
in an indicated report of child abuse or neglect.

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All child care facilities as a condition of licensure
pursuant to this Act shall maintain such information which
demonstrates that all current employees and other applicants
for employment who have any possible contact with children in
the course of their duties have authorized an investigation of
the Central Register as hereinabove required. Only those
current or prospective employees who will have no possible
contact with children as part of their present or prospective
employment may be excluded from provisions requiring
authorization of an investigation.
Such information concerning a license applicant, employee
or prospective employee obtained by the Department shall be
confidential and exempt from public inspection and copying as
provided under Section 7 of The Freedom of Information Act,
and such information shall not be transmitted outside the
Department, except as provided in the Abused and Neglected
Child Reporting Act, and shall not be transmitted to anyone
within the Department except as provided in the Abused and
Neglected Child Reporting Act, and shall not be transmitted to
anyone within the Department except as needed for the purposes
of evaluation of an application for licensure or for
consideration by a child care facility of an employee. Any
employee of the Department of Children and Family Services
under this Section who gives or causes to be given any
confidential information concerning any child abuse or neglect
reports about a child care facility applicant, child care

HB4781 Engrossed - 93 - LRB103 38607 KTG 68743 b
facility employee, shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor,
unless release of such information is authorized by Section
11.1 of the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act.
Additionally, any licensee who is informed by the
Department of Children and Family Services, pursuant to
Section 7.4 of the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act,
approved June 26, 1975, as amended, that a formal
investigation has commenced relating to an employee of the
child care facility or any other person in frequent contact
with children at the facility, shall take reasonable action
necessary to insure that the employee or other person is
restricted during the pendency of the investigation from
contact with children whose care has been entrusted to the
facility.
When a foster family home is the subject of an indicated
report under the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act, the
Department of Children and Family Services must immediately
conduct a re-examination of the foster family home to evaluate
whether it continues to meet the minimum standards for
licensure. The re-examination is separate and apart from the
formal investigation of the report. The Department must
establish a schedule for re-examination of the foster family
home mentioned in the report at least once a year.
When a certified relative caregiver home is the subject of
an indicated report under the Abused and Neglected Child
Reporting Act, the Department shall immediately conduct a

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re-examination of the certified relative caregiver home to
evaluate whether the home remains an appropriate placement or
the certified relative caregiver home continues to meet the
minimum standards for certification required under Section 3.4
of this Act. The re-examination is separate and apart from the
formal investigation of the report and shall be completed in
the timeframes established by rule.
(Source: P.A. 91-557, eff. 1-1-00.)
(225 ILCS 10/5) (from Ch. 23, par. 2215)
Sec. 5. (a) In respect to child care institutions,
maternity centers, child welfare agencies, day care centers,
day care agencies and group homes, the Department, upon
receiving application filed in proper order, shall examine the
facilities and persons responsible for care of children
therein.
(b) In respect to foster family and day care homes,
applications may be filed on behalf of such homes by a licensed
child welfare agency, by a State agency authorized to place
children in foster care or by out-of-State agencies approved
by the Department to place children in this State. In respect
to day care homes, applications may be filed on behalf of such
homes by a licensed day care agency or licensed child welfare
agency. In applying for license in behalf of a home in which
children are placed by and remain under supervision of the
applicant agency, such agency shall certify that the home and

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persons responsible for care of unrelated children therein, or
the home and relatives, as defined in Section 2.36 2.17 of this
Act, responsible for the care of related children therein,
were found to be in reasonable compliance with standards
prescribed by the Department for the type of care indicated.
(c) The Department shall not allow any person to examine
facilities under a provision of this Act who has not passed an
examination demonstrating that such person is familiar with
this Act and with the appropriate standards and regulations of
the Department.
(d) With the exception of day care centers, day care
homes, and group day care homes, licenses shall be issued in
such form and manner as prescribed by the Department and are
valid for 4 years from the date issued, unless revoked by the
Department or voluntarily surrendered by the licensee.
Licenses issued for day care centers, day care homes, and
group day care homes shall be valid for 3 years from the date
issued, unless revoked by the Department or voluntarily
surrendered by the licensee. When a licensee has made timely
and sufficient application for the renewal of a license or a
new license with reference to any activity of a continuing
nature, the existing license shall continue in full force and
effect for up to 30 days until the final agency decision on the
application has been made. The Department may further extend
the period in which such decision must be made in individual
cases for up to 30 days, but such extensions shall be only upon

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good cause shown.
(e) The Department may issue one 6-month permit to a newly
established facility for child care to allow that facility
reasonable time to become eligible for a full license. If the
facility for child care is a foster family home, or day care
home the Department may issue one 2-month permit only.
(f) The Department may issue an emergency permit to a
child care facility taking in children as a result of the
temporary closure for more than 2 weeks of a licensed child
care facility due to a natural disaster. An emergency permit
under this subsection shall be issued to a facility only if the
persons providing child care services at the facility were
employees of the temporarily closed day care center at the
time it was closed. No investigation of an employee of a child
care facility receiving an emergency permit under this
subsection shall be required if that employee has previously
been investigated at another child care facility. No emergency
permit issued under this subsection shall be valid for more
than 90 days after the date of issuance.
(g) During the hours of operation of any licensed child
care facility, authorized representatives of the Department
may without notice visit the facility for the purpose of
determining its continuing compliance with this Act or
regulations adopted pursuant thereto.
(h) Day care centers, day care homes, and group day care
homes shall be monitored at least annually by a licensing

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representative from the Department or the agency that
recommended licensure.
(Source: P.A. 98-804, eff. 1-1-15.)
(225 ILCS 10/7.3)
Sec. 7.3. Children placed by private child welfare agency.
(a) Before placing a child who is a youth in care in a
foster family home, a private child welfare agency must
ascertain (i) whether any other children who are youth in care
have been placed in that home and (ii) whether every such child
who has been placed in that home continues to reside in that
home, unless the child has been transferred to another
placement or is no longer a youth in care. The agency must keep
a record of every other child welfare agency that has placed
such a child in that foster family home; the record must
include the name and telephone number of a contact person at
each such agency.
(b) At least once every 30 days, a private child welfare
agency that places youth in care in certified relative
caregiver or foster family homes must make a site visit to
every such home where it has placed a youth in care. The
purpose of the site visit is to verify that the child continues
to reside in that home and to verify the child's safety and
well-being. The agency must document the verification in its
records. If a private child welfare agency fails to comply
with the requirements of this subsection, the Department must

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suspend all payments to the agency until the agency complies.
(c) The Department must periodically (but no less often
than once every 6 months) review the child placement records
of each private child welfare agency that places youth in
care.
(d) If a child placed in a foster family home is missing,
the foster parent must promptly report that fact to the
Department or to the child welfare agency that placed the
child in the home. If the foster parent fails to make such a
report, the Department shall put the home on hold for the
placement of other children and initiate corrective action
that may include revocation of the foster parent's license to
operate the foster family home. A foster parent who knowingly
and willfully fails to report a missing foster child under
this subsection is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.
(e) If a private child welfare agency determines that a
youth in care whom it has placed in a certified relative
caregiver or foster family home no longer resides in that
home, the agency must promptly report that fact to the
Department. If the agency fails to make such a report, the
Department shall put the agency on hold for the placement of
other children and initiate corrective action that may include
revocation of the agency's license.
(f) When a child is missing from a certified relative
caregiver or foster home, the Department or private agency in
charge of case management shall report regularly to the

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certified relative caregiver or foster parent concerning
efforts to locate the missing child.
(g) The Department must strive to account for the status
and whereabouts of every one of its youth in care who it
determines is not residing in the authorized placement in
which the youth was placed.
(Source: P.A. 103-22, eff. 8-8-23.)
(225 ILCS 10/7.4)
Sec. 7.4. Disclosures.
(a) Every licensed child welfare agency providing adoption
services shall provide to all prospective clients and to the
public written disclosures with respect to its adoption
services, policies, and practices, including general
eligibility criteria, fees, and the mutual rights and
responsibilities of clients, including birth parents and
adoptive parents. The written disclosure shall be posted on
any website maintained by the child welfare agency that
relates to adoption services. The Department shall adopt rules
relating to the contents of the written disclosures. Eligible
agencies may be deemed compliant with this subsection (a).
(b) Every licensed child welfare agency providing adoption
services shall provide to all applicants, prior to
application, a written schedule of estimated fees, expenses,
and refund policies. Every child welfare agency providing
adoption services shall have a written policy that shall be

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part of its standard adoption contract and state that it will
not charge additional fees and expenses beyond those disclosed
in the adoption contract unless additional fees are reasonably
required by the circumstances and are disclosed to the
adoptive parents or parent before they are incurred. The
Department shall adopt rules relating to the contents of the
written schedule and policy. Eligible agencies may be deemed
compliant with this subsection (b).
(c) Every licensed child welfare agency providing adoption
services must make full and fair disclosure to its clients,
including birth parents and adoptive parents, of all
circumstances material to the placement of a child for
adoption. The Department shall adopt rules necessary for the
implementation and regulation of the requirements of this
subsection (c).
(c-5) Whenever a licensed child welfare agency places a
child in a certified relative caregiver or licensed foster
family home or an adoption-only home, the agency shall provide
the following to the caregiver caretaker or prospective
adoptive parent:
(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

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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.
(3) Information containing details of the child's
individualized educational plan when the child is
receiving special education services.
(4) Any known social or behavioral information
(including, but not limited to, criminal background, fire
setting, perpetration of sexual abuse, destructive
behavior, and substance abuse) necessary to care for and
safeguard the child.
The agency may prepare a written summary of the
information required by this subsection, which may be provided
to the certified relative caregiver or foster or prospective
adoptive parent in advance of a placement. The certified
relative caregiver or 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 information
verbally, if necessary, and must subsequently provide the
information in writing as required by this subsection. In the
case of emergency placements when time does not allow prior
review, preparation, and collection of written information,
the agency shall provide such information as it becomes
available.

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The Department shall adopt rules necessary for the
implementation and regulation of the requirements of this
subsection (c-5).
(d) Every licensed child welfare agency providing adoption
services shall meet minimum standards set forth by the
Department concerning the taking or acknowledging of a consent
prior to taking or acknowledging a consent from a prospective
birth parent. The Department shall adopt rules concerning the
minimum standards required by agencies under this Section.
(Source: P.A. 103-22, eff. 8-8-23.)
Section 15. The Juvenile Court Act of 1987 is amended by
changing Sections 1-3, 1-5, 2-10, 2-13, 2-21, 2-22, 2-23,
2-27, 2-28, 2-28.1, and 5-745 and by adding Section 2-27.3 as
follows:
(705 ILCS 405/1-3) (from Ch. 37, par. 801-3)
Sec. 1-3. Definitions. Terms used in this Act, unless the
context otherwise requires, have the following meanings
ascribed to them:
(1) "Adjudicatory hearing" means a hearing to determine
whether the allegations of a petition under Section 2-13,
3-15, or 4-12 that a minor under 18 years of age is abused,
neglected, or dependent, or requires authoritative
intervention, or addicted, respectively, are supported by a
preponderance of the evidence or whether the allegations of a

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petition under Section 5-520 that a minor is delinquent are
proved beyond a reasonable doubt.
(2) "Adult" means a person 21 years of age or older.
(3) "Agency" means a public or private child care facility
legally authorized or licensed by this State for placement or
institutional care or for both placement and institutional
care.
(4) "Association" means any organization, public or
private, engaged in welfare functions which include services
to or on behalf of children but does not include "agency" as
herein defined.
(4.05) Whenever a "best interest" determination is
required, the following factors shall be considered in the
context of the child's age and developmental needs:
(a) the physical safety and welfare of the child,
including food, shelter, health, and clothing;
(b) the development of the child's identity;
(c) the child's background and ties, including
familial, cultural, and religious;
(d) the child's sense of attachments, including:
(i) where the child actually feels love,
attachment, and a sense of being valued (as opposed to
where adults believe the child should feel such love,
attachment, and a sense of being valued);
(ii) the child's sense of security;
(iii) the child's sense of familiarity;

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(iv) continuity of affection for the child;
(v) the least disruptive placement alternative for
the child;
(e) the child's wishes and long-term goals, including
the child's wishes regarding available permanency options
and the child's wishes regarding maintaining connections
with parents, siblings, and other relatives;
(f) the child's community ties, including church,
school, and friends;
(g) the child's need for permanence which includes the
child's need for stability and continuity of relationships
with parent figures, and with siblings, and other
relatives;
(h) the uniqueness of every family and child;
(i) the risks attendant to entering and being in
substitute care; and
(j) the preferences of the persons available to care
for the child, including willingness to provide permanency
to the child, either through subsidized guardianship or
through adoption.
(4.08) "Caregiver" includes a foster parent, as defined in
Section 2.17 of the Child Care Act of 1969, certified relative
caregiver, as defined in Section 2.36 of the Child Care Act of
1969, and relative caregiver as defined in Section 4d of the
Children and Family Services Act.
(4.1) "Chronic truant" shall have the definition ascribed

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to it in Section 26-2a of the School Code.
(5) "Court" means the circuit court in a session or
division assigned to hear proceedings under this Act.
(6) "Dispositional hearing" means a hearing to determine
whether a minor should be adjudged to be a ward of the court,
and to determine what order of disposition should be made in
respect to a minor adjudged to be a ward of the court.
(6.5) "Dissemination" or "disseminate" means to publish,
produce, print, manufacture, distribute, sell, lease, exhibit,
broadcast, display, transmit, or otherwise share information
in any format so as to make the information accessible to
others.
(7) "Emancipated minor" means any minor 16 years of age or
over who has been completely or partially emancipated under
the Emancipation of Minors Act or under this Act.
(7.03) "Expunge" means to physically destroy the records
and to obliterate the minor's name from any official index,
public record, or electronic database.
(7.05) "Foster parent" includes a relative caregiver
selected by the Department of Children and Family Services to
provide care for the minor.
(8) "Guardianship of the person" of a minor means the duty
and authority to act in the best interests of the minor,
subject to residual parental rights and responsibilities, to
make important decisions in matters having a permanent effect
on the life and development of the minor and to be concerned

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with the minor's general welfare. It includes but is not
necessarily limited to:
(a) the authority to consent to marriage, to
enlistment in the armed forces of the United States, or to
a major medical, psychiatric, and surgical treatment; to
represent the minor in legal actions; and to make other
decisions of substantial legal significance concerning the
minor;
(b) the authority and duty of reasonable visitation,
except to the extent that these have been limited in the
best interests of the minor by court order;
(c) the rights and responsibilities of legal custody
except where legal custody has been vested in another
person or agency; and
(d) the power to consent to the adoption of the minor,
but only if expressly conferred on the guardian in
accordance with Section 2-29, 3-30, or 4-27.
(8.1) "Juvenile court record" includes, but is not limited
to:
(a) all documents filed in or maintained by the
juvenile court pertaining to a specific incident,
proceeding, or individual;
(b) all documents relating to a specific incident,
proceeding, or individual made available to or maintained
by probation officers;
(c) all documents, video or audio tapes, photographs,

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and exhibits admitted into evidence at juvenile court
hearings; or
(d) all documents, transcripts, records, reports, or
other evidence prepared by, maintained by, or released by
any municipal, county, or State agency or department, in
any format, if indicating involvement with the juvenile
court relating to a specific incident, proceeding, or
individual.
(8.2) "Juvenile law enforcement record" includes records
of arrest, station adjustments, fingerprints, probation
adjustments, the issuance of a notice to appear, or any other
records or documents maintained by any law enforcement agency
relating to a minor suspected of committing an offense, and
records maintained by a law enforcement agency that identifies
a juvenile as a suspect in committing an offense, but does not
include records identifying a juvenile as a victim, witness,
or missing juvenile and any records created, maintained, or
used for purposes of referral to programs relating to
diversion as defined in subsection (6) of Section 5-105.
(9) "Legal custody" means the relationship created by an
order of court in the best interests of the minor which imposes
on the custodian the responsibility of physical possession of
a minor and the duty to protect, train and discipline the minor
and to provide the minor with food, shelter, education, and
ordinary medical care, except as these are limited by residual
parental rights and responsibilities and the rights and

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responsibilities of the guardian of the person, if any.
(9.1) "Mentally capable adult relative" means a person 21
years of age or older who is not suffering from a mental
illness that prevents the person from providing the care
necessary to safeguard the physical safety and welfare of a
minor who is left in that person's care by the parent or
parents or other person responsible for the minor's welfare.
(10) "Minor" means a person under the age of 21 years
subject to this Act.
(11) "Parent" means a father or mother of a child and
includes any adoptive parent. It also includes a person (i)
whose parentage is presumed or has been established under the
law of this or another jurisdiction or (ii) who has registered
with the Putative Father Registry in accordance with Section
12.1 of the Adoption Act and whose paternity has not been ruled
out under the law of this or another jurisdiction. It does not
include a parent whose rights in respect to the minor have been
terminated in any manner provided by law. It does not include a
person who has been or could be determined to be a parent under
the Illinois Parentage Act of 1984 or the Illinois Parentage
Act of 2015, or similar parentage law in any other state, if
that person has been convicted of or pled nolo contendere to a
crime that resulted in the conception of the child under
Section 11-1.20, 11-1.30, 11-1.40, 11-11, 12-13, 12-14,
12-14.1, subsection (a) or (b) (but not subsection (c)) of
Section 11-1.50 or 12-15, or subsection (a), (b), (c), (e), or

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(f) (but not subsection (d)) of Section 11-1.60 or 12-16 of the
Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012, or similar
statute in another jurisdiction unless upon motion of any
party, other than the offender, to the juvenile court
proceedings the court finds it is in the child's best interest
to deem the offender a parent for purposes of the juvenile
court proceedings.
(11.1) "Permanency goal" means a goal set by the court as
defined in subsection (2.3) subdivision (2) of Section 2-28.
(11.2) "Permanency hearing" means a hearing to set the
permanency goal and to review and determine (i) the
appropriateness of the services contained in the plan and
whether those services have been provided, (ii) whether
reasonable efforts have been made by all the parties to the
service plan to achieve the goal, and (iii) whether the plan
and goal have been achieved.
(12) "Petition" means the petition provided for in Section
2-13, 3-15, 4-12, or 5-520, including any supplemental
petitions thereunder in Section 3-15, 4-12, or 5-520.
(12.1) "Physically capable adult relative" means a person
21 years of age or older who does not have a severe physical
disability or medical condition, or is not suffering from
alcoholism or drug addiction, that prevents the person from
providing the care necessary to safeguard the physical safety
and welfare of a minor who is left in that person's care by the
parent or parents or other person responsible for the minor's

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welfare.
(12.2) "Post Permanency Sibling Contact Agreement" has the
meaning ascribed to the term in Section 7.4 of the Children and
Family Services Act.
(12.3) "Residential treatment center" means a licensed
setting that provides 24-hour care to children in a group home
or institution, including a facility licensed as a child care
institution under Section 2.06 of the Child Care Act of 1969, a
licensed group home under Section 2.16 of the Child Care Act of
1969, a qualified residential treatment program under Section
2.35 of the Child Care Act of 1969, a secure child care
facility as defined in paragraph (18) of this Section, or any
similar facility in another state. "Residential treatment
center" does not include a relative foster home or a licensed
foster family home.
(13) "Residual parental rights and responsibilities" means
those rights and responsibilities remaining with the parent
after the transfer of legal custody or guardianship of the
person, including, but not necessarily limited to, the right
to reasonable visitation (which may be limited by the court in
the best interests of the minor as provided in subsection
(8)(b) of this Section), the right to consent to adoption, the
right to determine the minor's religious affiliation, and the
responsibility for the minor's support.
(14) "Shelter" means the temporary care of a minor in
physically unrestricting facilities pending court disposition

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or execution of court order for placement.
(14.05) "Shelter placement" means a temporary or emergency
placement for a minor, including an emergency foster home
placement.
(14.1) "Sibling Contact Support Plan" has the meaning
ascribed to the term in Section 7.4 of the Children and Family
Services Act.
(14.2) "Significant event report" means a written document
describing an occurrence or event beyond the customary
operations, routines, or relationships in the Department of
Children of Family Services, a child care facility, or other
entity that is licensed or regulated by the Department of
Children of Family Services or that provides services for the
Department of Children of Family Services under a grant,
contract, or purchase of service agreement; involving children
or youth, employees, foster parents, or relative caregivers;
allegations of abuse or neglect or any other incident raising
a concern about the well-being of a minor under the
jurisdiction of the court under Article II of the Juvenile
Court Act of 1987; incidents involving damage to property,
allegations of criminal activity, misconduct, or other
occurrences affecting the operations of the Department of
Children of Family Services or a child care facility; any
incident that could have media impact; and unusual incidents
as defined by Department of Children and Family Services rule.
(15) "Station adjustment" means the informal handling of

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an alleged offender by a juvenile police officer.
(16) "Ward of the court" means a minor who is so adjudged
under Section 2-22, 3-23, 4-20, or 5-705, after a finding of
the requisite jurisdictional facts, and thus is subject to the
dispositional powers of the court under this Act.
(17) "Juvenile police officer" means a sworn police
officer who has completed a Basic Recruit Training Course, has
been assigned to the position of juvenile police officer by
the officer's chief law enforcement officer and has completed
the necessary juvenile officers training as prescribed by the
Illinois Law Enforcement Training Standards Board, or in the
case of a State police officer, juvenile officer training
approved by the Director of the Illinois State Police.
(18) "Secure child care facility" means any child care
facility licensed by the Department of Children and Family
Services to provide secure living arrangements for children
under 18 years of age who are subject to placement in
facilities under the Children and Family Services Act and who
are not subject to placement in facilities for whom standards
are established by the Department of Corrections under Section
3-15-2 of the Unified Code of Corrections. "Secure child care
facility" also means 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

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the facility, building, or distinct part of the building.
(Source: P.A. 102-538, eff. 8-20-21; 103-22, eff. 8-8-23;
103-564, eff. 11-17-23.)
(705 ILCS 405/1-5) (from Ch. 37, par. 801-5)
Sec. 1-5. Rights of parties to proceedings.
(1) Except as provided in this Section and paragraph (2)
of Sections 2-22, 3-23, 4-20, 5-610 or 5-705, the minor who is
the subject of the proceeding and the minor's parents,
guardian, legal custodian or responsible relative who are
parties respondent have the right to be present, to be heard,
to present evidence material to the proceedings, to
cross-examine witnesses, to examine pertinent court files and
records and also, although proceedings under this Act are not
intended to be adversary in character, the right to be
represented by counsel. At the request of any party
financially unable to employ counsel, with the exception of a
foster parent permitted to intervene under this Section, the
court shall appoint the Public Defender or such other counsel
as the case may require. Counsel appointed for the minor and
any indigent party shall appear at all stages of the trial
court proceeding, and such appointment shall continue through
the permanency hearings and termination of parental rights
proceedings subject to withdrawal, vacating of appointment, or
substitution pursuant to Supreme Court Rules or the Code of
Civil Procedure. Following the dispositional hearing, the

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court may require appointed counsel, other than counsel for
the minor or counsel for the guardian ad litem, to withdraw the
counsel's appearance upon failure of the party for whom
counsel was appointed under this Section to attend any
subsequent proceedings.
No hearing on any petition or motion filed under this Act
may be commenced unless the minor who is the subject of the
proceeding is represented by counsel. Notwithstanding the
preceding sentence, if a guardian ad litem has been appointed
for the minor under Section 2-17 of this Act and the guardian
ad litem is a licensed attorney at law of this State, or in the
event that a court appointed special advocate has been
appointed as guardian ad litem and counsel has been appointed
to represent the court appointed special advocate, the court
may not require the appointment of counsel to represent the
minor unless the court finds that the minor's interests are in
conflict with what the guardian ad litem determines to be in
the best interest of the minor. Each adult respondent shall be
furnished a written "Notice of Rights" at or before the first
hearing at which the adult respondent appears.
(1.5) The Department shall maintain a system of response
to inquiry made by parents or putative parents as to whether
their child is under the custody or guardianship of the
Department; and if so, the Department shall direct the parents
or putative parents to the appropriate court of jurisdiction,
including where inquiry may be made of the clerk of the court

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regarding the case number and the next scheduled court date of
the minor's case. Effective notice and the means of accessing
information shall be given to the public on a continuing basis
by the Department.
(2)(a) Though not appointed guardian or legal custodian or
otherwise made a party to the proceeding, any current or
previously appointed foster parent or relative caregiver, or
representative of an agency or association interested in the
minor has the right to be heard by the court, but does not
thereby become a party to the proceeding.
In addition to the foregoing right to be heard by the
court, any current foster parent or relative caregiver of a
minor and the agency designated by the court or the Department
of Children and Family Services as custodian of the minor who
is alleged to be or has been adjudicated an abused or neglected
minor under Section 2-3 or a dependent minor under Section 2-4
of this Act has the right to and shall be given adequate notice
at all stages of any hearing or proceeding under this Act.
Any foster parent or relative caregiver who is denied the
right to be heard under this Section may bring a mandamus
action under Article XIV of the Code of Civil Procedure
against the court or any public agency to enforce that right.
The mandamus action may be brought immediately upon the denial
of those rights but in no event later than 30 days after the
foster parent caregiver has been denied the right to be heard.
(b) If after an adjudication that a minor is abused or

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neglected as provided under Section 2-21 of this Act and a
motion has been made to restore the minor to any parent,
guardian, or legal custodian found by the court to have caused
the neglect or to have inflicted the abuse on the minor, a
caregiver foster parent may file a motion to intervene in the
proceeding for the sole purpose of requesting that the minor
be placed with the caregiver foster parent, provided that the
caregiver foster parent (i) is the current caregiver foster
parent of the minor or (ii) has previously been a caregiver
foster parent for the minor for one year or more, has a foster
care license or is eligible for a license or is not required to
have a license, and is not the subject of any findings of abuse
or neglect of any child. The juvenile court may only enter
orders placing a minor with a specific caregiver foster parent
under this subsection (2)(b) and nothing in this Section shall
be construed to confer any jurisdiction or authority on the
juvenile court to issue any other orders requiring the
appointed guardian or custodian of a minor to place the minor
in a designated caregiver's foster home or facility. This
Section is not intended to encompass any matters that are
within the scope or determinable under the administrative and
appeal process established by rules of the Department of
Children and Family Services under Section 5(o) of the
Children and Family Services Act. Nothing in this Section
shall relieve the court of its responsibility, under Section
2-14(a) of this Act to act in a just and speedy manner to

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reunify families where it is the best interests of the minor
and the child can be cared for at home without endangering the
child's health or safety and, if reunification is not in the
best interests of the minor, to find another permanent home
for the minor. Nothing in this Section, or in any order issued
by the court with respect to the placement of a minor with a
caregiver foster parent, shall impair the ability of the
Department of Children and Family Services, or anyone else
authorized under Section 5 of the Abused and Neglected Child
Reporting Act, to remove a minor from the home of a caregiver
foster parent if the Department of Children and Family
Services or the person removing the minor has reason to
believe that the circumstances or conditions of the minor are
such that continuing in the residence or care of the caregiver
foster parent will jeopardize the child's health and safety or
present an imminent risk of harm to that minor's life.
(c) If a caregiver foster parent has had the minor who is
the subject of the proceeding under Article II in the
caregiver's foster parent's home for more than one year on or
after July 3, 1994 and if the minor's placement is being
terminated from that caregiver's foster parent's home, that
caregiver foster parent shall have standing and intervenor
status except in those circumstances where the Department of
Children and Family Services or anyone else authorized under
Section 5 of the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act has
removed the minor from the caregiver foster parent because of

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a reasonable belief that the circumstances or conditions of
the minor are such that continuing in the residence or care of
the caregiver foster parent will jeopardize the child's health
or safety or presents an imminent risk of harm to the minor's
life.
(d) The court may grant standing to any caregiver foster
parent if the court finds that it is in the best interest of
the child for the caregiver foster parent to have standing and
intervenor status.
(3) Parties respondent are entitled to notice in
compliance with Sections 2-15 and 2-16, 3-17 and 3-18, 4-14
and 4-15 or 5-525 and 5-530, as appropriate. At the first
appearance before the court by the minor, the minor's parents,
guardian, custodian or responsible relative, the court shall
explain the nature of the proceedings and inform the parties
of their rights under the first 2 paragraphs of this Section.
If the child is alleged to be abused, neglected or
dependent, the court shall admonish the parents that if the
court declares the child to be a ward of the court and awards
custody or guardianship to the Department of Children and
Family Services, the parents must cooperate with the
Department of Children and Family Services, comply with the
terms of the service plans, and correct the conditions that
require the child to be in care, or risk termination of their
parental rights.
Upon an adjudication of wardship of the court under

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Sections 2-22, 3-23, 4-20 or 5-705, the court shall inform the
parties of their right to appeal therefrom as well as from any
other final judgment of the court.
When the court finds that a child is an abused, neglected,
or dependent minor under Section 2-21, the court shall
admonish the parents that the parents must cooperate with the
Department of Children and Family Services, comply with the
terms of the service plans, and correct the conditions that
require the child to be in care, or risk termination of their
parental rights.
When the court declares a child to be a ward of the court
and awards guardianship to the Department of Children and
Family Services under Section 2-22, the court shall admonish
the parents, guardian, custodian, or responsible relative that
the parents must cooperate with the Department of Children and
Family Services, comply with the terms of the service plans,
and correct the conditions that require the child to be in
care, or risk termination of their parental rights.
(4) No sanction may be applied against the minor who is the
subject of the proceedings by reason of the minor's refusal or
failure to testify in the course of any hearing held prior to
final adjudication under Section 2-22, 3-23, 4-20 or 5-705.
(5) In the discretion of the court, the minor may be
excluded from any part or parts of a dispositional hearing
and, with the consent of the parent or parents, guardian,
counsel or a guardian ad litem, from any part or parts of an

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adjudicatory hearing.
(6) The general public except for the news media and the
crime victim, as defined in Section 3 of the Rights of Crime
Victims and Witnesses Act, shall be excluded from any hearing
and, except for the persons specified in this Section only
persons, including representatives of agencies and
associations, who in the opinion of the court have a direct
interest in the case or in the work of the court shall be
admitted to the hearing. However, the court may, for the
minor's safety and protection and for good cause shown,
prohibit any person or agency present in court from further
disclosing the minor's identity. Nothing in this subsection
(6) prevents the court from allowing other juveniles to be
present or to participate in a court session being held under
the Juvenile Drug Court Treatment Act.
(7) A party shall not be entitled to exercise the right to
a substitution of a judge without cause under subdivision
(a)(2) of Section 2-1001 of the Code of Civil Procedure in a
proceeding under this Act if the judge is currently assigned
to a proceeding involving the alleged abuse, neglect, or
dependency of the minor's sibling or half sibling and that
judge has made a substantive ruling in the proceeding
involving the minor's sibling or half sibling.
(Source: P.A. 103-22, eff. 8-8-23.)
(705 ILCS 405/2-10) (from Ch. 37, par. 802-10)

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Sec. 2-10. Temporary custody hearing. At the appearance of
the minor before the court at the temporary custody hearing,
all witnesses present shall be examined before the court in
relation to any matter connected with the allegations made in
the petition.
(1) If the court finds that there is not probable cause to
believe that the minor is abused, neglected, or dependent it
shall release the minor and dismiss the petition.
(2) If the court finds that there is probable cause to
believe that the minor is abused, neglected, or dependent, the
court shall state in writing the factual basis supporting its
finding and the minor, the minor's parent, guardian, or
custodian, and other persons able to give relevant testimony
shall be examined before the court. The Department of Children
and Family Services shall give testimony concerning indicated
reports of abuse and neglect, of which they are aware through
the central registry, involving the minor's parent, guardian,
or custodian. After such testimony, the court may, consistent
with the health, safety, and best interests of the minor,
enter an order that the minor shall be released upon the
request of parent, guardian, or custodian if the parent,
guardian, or custodian appears to take custody. If it is
determined that a parent's, guardian's, or custodian's
compliance with critical services mitigates the necessity for
removal of the minor from the minor's home, the court may enter
an Order of Protection setting forth reasonable conditions of

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behavior that a parent, guardian, or custodian must observe
for a specified period of time, not to exceed 12 months,
without a violation; provided, however, that the 12-month
period shall begin anew after any violation. "Custodian"
includes the Department of Children and Family Services, if it
has been given custody of the child, or any other agency of the
State which has been given custody or wardship of the child. If
it is consistent with the health, safety, and best interests
of the minor, the court may also prescribe shelter care and
order that the minor be kept in a suitable place designated by
the court or in a shelter care facility designated by the
Department of Children and Family Services or a licensed child
welfare agency; however, 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 of Children and Family Services
by any court, except a minor less than 16 years of age and
committed to the Department of Children and Family Services
under Section 5-710 of this Act or a minor for whom an
independent basis of abuse, neglect, or dependency exists; and
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 of Children and

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Family Services by any court, except a minor less than 15 years
of age and committed to the Department of Children and Family
Services under Section 5-710 of this Act or a minor for whom an
independent basis of abuse, neglect, or dependency exists. 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.
In placing the minor, the Department or other agency
shall, to the extent compatible with the court's order, comply
with Section 7 of the Children and Family Services Act. In
determining the health, safety, and best interests of the
minor to prescribe shelter care, the court must find that it is
a matter of immediate and urgent necessity for the safety, and
protection of the minor or of the person or property of another
that the minor be placed in a shelter care facility or that the
minor is likely to flee the jurisdiction of the court, and must
further find that reasonable efforts have been made or that,
consistent with the health, safety and best interests of the
minor, no efforts reasonably can be made to prevent or
eliminate the necessity of removal of the minor from the
minor's home. The court shall require documentation from the
Department of Children and Family Services as to the
reasonable efforts that were made to prevent or eliminate the
necessity of removal of the minor from the minor's home or the
reasons why no efforts reasonably could be made to prevent or

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eliminate the necessity of removal. When a minor is placed in
the home of a relative, the Department of Children and Family
Services shall complete a preliminary background review of the
members of the minor's custodian's household in accordance
with Section 3.4 or Section 4.3 of the Child Care Act of 1969
within 90 days of that placement. If the minor is not placed in
the home of a relative, the court shall require evidence from
the Department as to the efforts that were made to place the
minor in the home of a relative or the reasons why no efforts
reasonably could be made to place the minor in the home of a
relative, consistent with the best interests of the minor. If
the minor is ordered placed in a shelter care facility of the
Department of Children and Family Services or a licensed child
welfare agency, the court shall, upon request of the
appropriate Department or other agency, appoint the Department
of Children and Family Services Guardianship Administrator or
other appropriate agency executive temporary custodian of the
minor and the court may enter such other orders related to the
temporary custody as it deems fit and proper, including the
provision of services to the minor or the minor's family to
ameliorate the causes contributing to the finding of probable
cause or to the finding of the existence of immediate and
urgent necessity.
Where the Department of Children and Family Services
Guardianship Administrator is appointed as the executive
temporary custodian, the Department of Children and Family

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Services shall file with the court and serve on the parties a
parent-child visiting plan, within 10 days, excluding weekends
and holidays, after the appointment. The parent-child visiting
plan shall set out the time and place of visits, the frequency
of visits, the length of visits, who shall be present at the
visits, and where appropriate, the minor's opportunities to
have telephone and mail communication with the parents.
Where the Department of Children and Family Services
Guardianship Administrator is appointed as the executive
temporary custodian, and when the child has siblings in care,
the Department of Children and Family Services shall file with
the court and serve on the parties a sibling placement and
contact plan within 10 days, excluding weekends and holidays,
after the appointment. The sibling placement and contact plan
shall set forth whether the siblings are placed together, and
if they are not placed together, what, if any, efforts are
being made to place them together. If the Department has
determined that it is not in a child's best interest to be
placed with a sibling, the Department shall document in the
sibling placement and contact plan the basis for its
determination. For siblings placed separately, the sibling
placement and contact plan shall set the time and place for
visits, the frequency of the visits, the length of visits, who
shall be present for the visits, and where appropriate, the
child's opportunities to have contact with their siblings in
addition to in person contact. If the Department determines it

HB4781 Engrossed - 126 - LRB103 38607 KTG 68743 b
is not in the best interest of a sibling to have contact with a
sibling, the Department shall document in the sibling
placement and contact plan the basis for its determination.
The sibling placement and contact plan shall specify a date
for development of the Sibling Contact Support Plan, under
subsection (f) of Section 7.4 of the Children and Family
Services Act, and shall remain in effect until the Sibling
Contact Support Plan is developed.
For good cause, the court may waive the requirement to
file the parent-child visiting plan or the sibling placement
and contact plan, or extend the time for filing either plan.
Any party may, by motion, request the court to review the
parent-child visiting plan to determine whether it is
reasonably calculated to expeditiously facilitate the
achievement of the permanency goal. A party may, by motion,
request the court to review the parent-child visiting plan or
the sibling placement and contact plan to determine whether it
is consistent with the minor's best interest. The court may
refer the parties to mediation where available. The frequency,
duration, and locations of visitation shall be measured by the
needs of the child and family, and not by the convenience of
Department personnel. Child development principles shall be
considered by the court in its analysis of how frequent
visitation should be, how long it should last, where it should
take place, and who should be present. If upon motion of the
party to review either plan and after receiving evidence, the

HB4781 Engrossed - 127 - LRB103 38607 KTG 68743 b
court determines that the parent-child visiting plan is not
reasonably calculated to expeditiously facilitate the
achievement of the permanency goal or that the restrictions
placed on parent-child contact or sibling placement or contact
are contrary to the child's best interests, the court shall
put in writing the factual basis supporting the determination
and enter specific findings based on the evidence. The court
shall enter an order for the Department to implement changes
to the parent-child visiting plan or sibling placement or
contact plan, consistent with the court's findings. At any
stage of proceeding, any party may by motion request the court
to enter any orders necessary to implement the parent-child
visiting plan, sibling placement or contact plan, or
subsequently developed Sibling Contact Support Plan. Nothing
under this subsection (2) shall restrict the court from
granting discretionary authority to the Department to increase
opportunities for additional parent-child contacts or sibling
contacts, without further court orders. Nothing in this
subsection (2) shall restrict the Department from immediately
restricting or terminating parent-child contact or sibling
contacts, without either amending the parent-child visiting
plan or the sibling contact plan or obtaining a court order,
where the Department or its assigns reasonably believe there
is an immediate need to protect the child's health, safety,
and welfare. Such restrictions or terminations must be based
on available facts to the Department and its assigns when

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viewed in light of the surrounding circumstances and shall
only occur on an individual case-by-case basis. The Department
shall file with the court and serve on the parties any
amendments to the plan within 10 days, excluding weekends and
holidays, of the change of the visitation.
Acceptance of services shall not be considered an
admission of any allegation in a petition made pursuant to
this Act, nor may a referral of services be considered as
evidence in any proceeding pursuant to this Act, except where
the issue is whether the Department has made reasonable
efforts to reunite the family. In making its findings that it
is consistent with the health, safety, and best interests of
the minor to prescribe shelter care, the court shall state in
writing (i) the factual basis supporting its findings
concerning the immediate and urgent necessity for the
protection of the minor or of the person or property of another
and (ii) the factual basis supporting its findings that
reasonable efforts were made to prevent or eliminate the
removal of the minor from the minor's home or that no efforts
reasonably could be made to prevent or eliminate the removal
of the minor from the minor's home. The parents, guardian,
custodian, temporary custodian, and minor shall each be
furnished a copy of such written findings. The temporary
custodian shall maintain a copy of the court order and written
findings in the case record for the child. The order together
with the court's findings of fact in support thereof shall be

HB4781 Engrossed - 129 - LRB103 38607 KTG 68743 b
entered of record in the court.
Once the court finds that it is a matter of immediate and
urgent necessity for the protection of the minor that the
minor be placed in a shelter care facility, the minor shall not
be returned to the parent, custodian, or guardian until the
court finds that such placement is no longer necessary for the
protection of the minor.
If the child is placed in the temporary custody of the
Department of Children and Family Services for the minor's
protection, the court shall admonish the parents, guardian,
custodian, or responsible relative that the parents must
cooperate with the Department of Children and Family Services,
comply with the terms of the service plans, and correct the
conditions which require the child to be in care, or risk
termination of their parental rights. The court shall ensure,
by inquiring in open court of each parent, guardian,
custodian, or responsible relative, that the parent, guardian,
custodian, or responsible relative has had the opportunity to
provide the Department with all known names, addresses, and
telephone numbers of each of the minor's living adult
relatives, including, but not limited to, grandparents,
siblings of the minor's parents, and siblings. The court shall
advise the parents, guardian, custodian, or responsible
relative to inform the Department if additional information
regarding the minor's adult relatives becomes available.
(2.5) When the court places the minor in the temporary

HB4781 Engrossed - 130 - LRB103 38607 KTG 68743 b
custody of the Department, the court shall inquire of the
Department's initial family finding and relative engagement
efforts, as described in Section 7 of the Children and Family
Services Act, and the Department shall complete any remaining
family finding and relative engagement efforts required under
Section 7 of the Children and Family Services Act within 30
days of the minor being taken into temporary custody. The
Department shall complete new family finding and relative
engagement efforts in accordance with Section 7 of the
Children and Family Services Act for relatives of the minor
within 30 days of an unknown parent's identity being
determined or a parent whose whereabouts were unknown being
located.
(3) If prior to the shelter care hearing for a minor
described in Sections 2-3, 2-4, 3-3, and 4-3 the moving party
is unable to serve notice on the party respondent, the shelter
care hearing may proceed ex parte. A shelter care order from an
ex parte hearing shall be endorsed with the date and hour of
issuance and shall be filed with the clerk's office and
entered of record. The order shall expire after 10 days from
the time it is issued unless before its expiration it is
renewed, at a hearing upon appearance of the party respondent,
or upon an affidavit of the moving party as to all diligent
efforts to notify the party respondent by notice as herein
prescribed. The notice prescribed shall be in writing and
shall be personally delivered to the minor or the minor's

HB4781 Engrossed - 131 - LRB103 38607 KTG 68743 b
attorney and to the last known address of the other person or
persons entitled to notice. The notice shall also state the
nature of the allegations, the nature of the order sought by
the State, including whether temporary custody is sought, and
the consequences of failure to appear and shall contain a
notice that the parties will not be entitled to further
written notices or publication notices of proceedings in this
case, including the filing of an amended petition or a motion
to terminate parental rights, except as required by Supreme
Court Rule 11; and shall explain the right of the parties and
the procedures to vacate or modify a shelter care order as
provided in this Section. The notice for a shelter care
hearing shall be substantially as follows:
NOTICE TO PARENTS AND CHILDREN
OF SHELTER CARE HEARING
On ................ at ........., before the Honorable
................, (address:) ................., the State
of Illinois will present evidence (1) that (name of child
or children) ....................... are abused,
neglected, or dependent for the following reasons:
.............................................. and (2)
whether there is "immediate and urgent necessity" to
remove the child or children from the responsible
relative.
YOUR FAILURE TO APPEAR AT THE HEARING MAY RESULT IN
PLACEMENT of the child or children in foster care until a

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trial can be held. A trial may not be held for up to 90
days. You will not be entitled to further notices of
proceedings in this case, including the filing of an
amended petition or a motion to terminate parental rights.
At the shelter care hearing, parents have the
following rights:
1. To ask the court to appoint a lawyer if they
cannot afford one.
2. To ask the court to continue the hearing to
allow them time to prepare.
3. To present evidence concerning:
a. Whether or not the child or children were
abused, neglected or dependent.
b. Whether or not there is "immediate and
urgent necessity" to remove the child from home
(including: their ability to care for the child,
conditions in the home, alternative means of
protecting the child other than removal).
c. The best interests of the child.
4. To cross examine the State's witnesses.
The Notice for rehearings shall be substantially as
follows:
NOTICE OF PARENT'S AND CHILDREN'S RIGHTS
TO REHEARING ON TEMPORARY CUSTODY
If you were not present at and did not have adequate

HB4781 Engrossed - 133 - LRB103 38607 KTG 68743 b
notice of the Shelter Care Hearing at which temporary
custody of ............... was awarded to
................, you have the right to request a full
rehearing on whether the State should have temporary
custody of ................. To request this rehearing,
you must file with the Clerk of the Juvenile Court
(address): ........................, in person or by
mailing a statement (affidavit) setting forth the
following:
1. That you were not present at the shelter care
hearing.
2. That you did not get adequate notice
(explaining how the notice was inadequate).
3. Your signature.
4. Signature must be notarized.
The rehearing should be scheduled within 48 hours of
your filing this affidavit.
At the rehearing, your rights are the same as at the
initial shelter care hearing. The enclosed notice explains
those rights.
At the Shelter Care Hearing, children have the
following rights:
1. To have a guardian ad litem appointed.
2. To be declared competent as a witness and to
present testimony concerning:
a. Whether they are abused, neglected or

HB4781 Engrossed - 134 - LRB103 38607 KTG 68743 b
dependent.
b. Whether there is "immediate and urgent
necessity" to be removed from home.
c. Their best interests.
3. To cross examine witnesses for other parties.
4. To obtain an explanation of any proceedings and
orders of the court.
(4) If the parent, guardian, legal custodian, responsible
relative, minor age 8 or over, or counsel of the minor did not
have actual notice of or was not present at the shelter care
hearing, the parent, guardian, legal custodian, responsible
relative, minor age 8 or over, or counsel of the minor may file
an affidavit setting forth these facts, and the clerk shall
set the matter for rehearing not later than 48 hours,
excluding Sundays and legal holidays, after the filing of the
affidavit. At the rehearing, the court shall proceed in the
same manner as upon the original hearing.
(5) Only when there is reasonable cause to believe that
the minor taken into custody is a person described in
subsection (3) of Section 5-105 may the minor be kept or
detained in a detention home or county or municipal jail. This
Section shall in no way be construed to limit subsection (6).
(6) No minor under 16 years of age may be confined in a
jail or place ordinarily used for the confinement of prisoners
in a police station. Minors under 18 years of age must be kept
separate from confined adults and may not at any time be kept

HB4781 Engrossed - 135 - LRB103 38607 KTG 68743 b
in the same cell, room, or yard with adults confined pursuant
to the criminal law.
(7) If the minor is not brought before a judicial officer
within the time period as specified in Section 2-9, the minor
must immediately be released from custody.
(8) If neither the parent, guardian, or custodian appears
within 24 hours to take custody of a minor released upon
request pursuant to subsection (2) of this Section, then the
clerk of the court shall set the matter for rehearing not later
than 7 days after the original order and shall issue a summons
directed to the parent, guardian, or custodian to appear. At
the same time the probation department shall prepare a report
on the minor. If a parent, guardian, or custodian does not
appear at such rehearing, the judge may enter an order
prescribing that the minor be kept in a suitable place
designated by the Department of Children and Family Services
or a licensed child welfare agency.
(9) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section
any interested party, including the State, the temporary
custodian, an agency providing services to the minor or family
under a service plan pursuant to Section 8.2 of the Abused and
Neglected Child Reporting Act, foster parent, or any of their
representatives, on notice to all parties entitled to notice,
may file a motion that it is in the best interests of the minor
to modify or vacate a temporary custody order on any of the
following grounds:

HB4781 Engrossed - 136 - LRB103 38607 KTG 68743 b
(a) It is no longer a matter of immediate and urgent
necessity that the minor remain in shelter care; or
(b) There is a material change in the circumstances of
the natural family from which the minor was removed and
the child can be cared for at home without endangering the
child's health or safety; or
(c) A person not a party to the alleged abuse, neglect
or dependency, including a parent, relative, or legal
guardian, is capable of assuming temporary custody of the
minor; or
(d) Services provided by the Department of Children
and Family Services or a child welfare agency or other
service provider have been successful in eliminating the
need for temporary custody and the child can be cared for
at home without endangering the child's health or safety.
In ruling on the motion, the court shall determine whether
it is consistent with the health, safety, and best interests
of the minor to modify or vacate a temporary custody order. If
the minor is being restored to the custody of a parent, legal
custodian, or guardian who lives outside of Illinois, and an
Interstate Compact has been requested and refused, the court
may order the Department of Children and Family Services to
arrange for an assessment of the minor's proposed living
arrangement and for ongoing monitoring of the health, safety,
and best interest of the minor and compliance with any order of
protective supervision entered in accordance with Section 2-20

HB4781 Engrossed - 137 - LRB103 38607 KTG 68743 b
or 2-25.
The clerk shall set the matter for hearing not later than
14 days after such motion is filed. In the event that the court
modifies or vacates a temporary custody order but does not
vacate its finding of probable cause, the court may order that
appropriate services be continued or initiated in behalf of
the minor and the minor's family.
(10) When the court finds or has found that there is
probable cause to believe a minor is an abused minor as
described in subsection (2) of Section 2-3 and that there is an
immediate and urgent necessity for the abused minor to be
placed in shelter care, immediate and urgent necessity shall
be presumed for any other minor residing in the same household
as the abused minor provided:
(a) Such other minor is the subject of an abuse or
neglect petition pending before the court; and
(b) A party to the petition is seeking shelter care
for such other minor.
Once the presumption of immediate and urgent necessity has
been raised, the burden of demonstrating the lack of immediate
and urgent necessity shall be on any party that is opposing
shelter care for the other minor.
(11) The changes made to this Section by Public Act 98-61
apply to a minor who has been arrested or taken into custody on
or after January 1, 2014 (the effective date of Public Act
98-61).

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(12) After the court has placed a minor in the care of a
temporary custodian pursuant to this Section, any party may
file a motion requesting the court to grant the temporary
custodian the authority to serve as a surrogate decision maker
for the minor under the Health Care Surrogate Act for purposes
of making decisions pursuant to paragraph (1) of subsection
(b) of Section 20 of the Health Care Surrogate Act. The court
may grant the motion if it determines by clear and convincing
evidence that it is in the best interests of the minor to grant
the temporary custodian such authority. In making its
determination, the court shall weigh the following factors in
addition to considering the best interests factors listed in
subsection (4.05) of Section 1-3 of this Act:
(a) the efforts to identify and locate the respondents
and adult family members of the minor and the results of
those efforts;
(b) the efforts to engage the respondents and adult
family members of the minor in decision making on behalf
of the minor;
(c) the length of time the efforts in paragraphs (a)
and (b) have been ongoing;
(d) the relationship between the respondents and adult
family members and the minor;
(e) medical testimony regarding the extent to which
the minor is suffering and the impact of a delay in
decision-making on the minor; and

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(f) any other factor the court deems relevant.
If the Department of Children and Family Services is the
temporary custodian of the minor, in addition to the
requirements of paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of Section 20
of the Health Care Surrogate Act, the Department shall follow
its rules and procedures in exercising authority granted under
this subsection.
(Source: P.A. 102-489, eff. 8-20-21; 102-502, eff. 1-1-22;
102-813, eff. 5-13-22; 103-22, eff. 8-8-23; revised 9-20-23.)
(705 ILCS 405/2-13) (from Ch. 37, par. 802-13)
Sec. 2-13. Petition.
(1) Any adult person, any agency or association by its
representative may file, or the court on its own motion,
consistent with the health, safety and best interests of the
minor may direct the filing through the State's Attorney of a
petition in respect of a minor under this Act. The petition and
all subsequent court documents shall be entitled "In the
interest of ...., a minor".
(2) The petition shall be verified but the statements may
be made upon information and belief. It shall allege that the
minor is abused, neglected, or dependent, with citations to
the appropriate provisions of this Act, and set forth (a)
facts sufficient to bring the minor under Section 2-3 or 2-4
and to inform respondents of the cause of action, including,
but not limited to, a plain and concise statement of the

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factual allegations that form the basis for the filing of the
petition; (b) the name, age and residence of the minor; (c) the
names and residences of the minor's parents; (d) the name and
residence of the minor's legal guardian or the person or
persons having custody or control of the minor, or of the
nearest known relative if no parent or guardian can be found;
and (e) if the minor upon whose behalf the petition is brought
is sheltered in custody, the date on which such temporary
custody was ordered by the court or the date set for a
temporary custody hearing. If any of the facts herein required
are not known by the petitioner, the petition shall so state.
(3) The petition must allege that it is in the best
interests of the minor and of the public that the minor be
adjudged a ward of the court and may pray generally for relief
available under this Act. The petition need not specify any
proposed disposition following adjudication of wardship. The
petition may request that the minor remain in the custody of
the parent, guardian, or custodian under an Order of
Protection.
(4) If termination of parental rights and appointment of a
guardian of the person with power to consent to adoption of the
minor under Section 2-29 is sought, the petition shall so
state. If the petition includes this request, the prayer for
relief shall clearly and obviously state that the parents
could permanently lose their rights as a parent at this
hearing.

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In addition to the foregoing, the petitioner, by motion,
may request the termination of parental rights and appointment
of a guardian of the person with power to consent to adoption
of the minor under Section 2-29 at any time after the entry of
a dispositional order under Section 2-22.
(4.5) (a) Unless good cause exists that filing a petition
to terminate parental rights is contrary to the child's best
interests, with respect to any minors committed to its care
pursuant to this Act, the Department of Children and Family
Services shall request the State's Attorney to file a petition
or motion for termination of parental rights and appointment
of guardian of the person with power to consent to adoption of
the minor under Section 2-29 if:
(i) a minor has been in foster care, as described in
subsection (b), for 15 months of the most recent 22
months; or
(ii) a minor under the age of 2 years has been
previously determined to be abandoned at an adjudicatory
hearing; or
(iii) the parent is criminally convicted of:
(A) first degree murder or second degree murder of
any child;
(B) attempt or conspiracy to commit first degree
murder or second degree murder of any child;
(C) solicitation to commit murder of any child,
solicitation to commit murder for hire of any child,

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or solicitation to commit second degree murder of any
child;
(D) aggravated battery, aggravated battery of a
child, or felony domestic battery, any of which has
resulted in serious injury to the minor or a sibling of
the minor;
(E) predatory criminal sexual assault of a child;
(E-5) aggravated criminal sexual assault;
(E-10) criminal sexual abuse in violation of
subsection (a) of Section 11-1.50 of the Criminal Code
of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012;
(E-15) sexual exploitation of a child;
(E-20) permitting sexual abuse of a child;
(E-25) criminal sexual assault; or
(F) an offense in any other state the elements of
which are similar and bear a substantial relationship
to any of the foregoing offenses.
(a-1) For purposes of this subsection (4.5), good cause
exists in the following circumstances:
(i) the child is being cared for by a relative,
(ii) the Department has documented in the case plan a
compelling reason for determining that filing such
petition would not be in the best interests of the child,
(iii) the court has found within the preceding 12
months that the Department has failed to make reasonable
efforts to reunify the child and family, or

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(iv) the parent is incarcerated, or the parent's prior
incarceration is a significant factor in why the child has
been in foster care for 15 months out of any 22-month
period, the parent maintains a meaningful role in the
child's life, and the Department has not documented
another reason why it would otherwise be appropriate to
file a petition to terminate parental rights pursuant to
this Section and the Adoption Act. The assessment of
whether an incarcerated parent maintains a meaningful role
in the child's life may include consideration of the
following:
(A) the child's best interest;
(B) the parent's expressions or acts of
manifesting concern for the child, such as letters,
telephone calls, visits, and other forms of
communication with the child and the impact of the
communication on the child;
(C) the parent's efforts to communicate with and
work with the Department for the purpose of complying
with the service plan and repairing, maintaining, or
building the parent-child relationship; or
(D) limitations in the parent's access to family
support programs, therapeutic services, visiting
opportunities, telephone and mail services, and
meaningful participation in court proceedings; or .
(v) the Department has not yet met with the child's

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caregiver to discuss the permanency goals of guardianship
and adoption.
(b) For purposes of this subsection, the date of entering
foster care is defined as the earlier of:
(1) The date of a judicial finding at an adjudicatory
hearing that the child is an abused, neglected, or
dependent minor; or
(2) 60 days after the date on which the child is
removed from the child's parent, guardian, or legal
custodian.
(c) (Blank).
(d) (Blank).
(5) The court shall liberally allow the petitioner to
amend the petition to set forth a cause of action or to add,
amend, or supplement factual allegations that form the basis
for a cause of action up until 14 days before the adjudicatory
hearing. The petitioner may amend the petition after that date
and prior to the adjudicatory hearing if the court grants
leave to amend upon a showing of good cause. The court may
allow amendment of the petition to conform with the evidence
at any time prior to ruling. In all cases in which the court
has granted leave to amend based on new evidence or new
allegations, the court shall permit the respondent an adequate
opportunity to prepare a defense to the amended petition.
(6) At any time before dismissal of the petition or before
final closing and discharge under Section 2-31, one or more

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motions in the best interests of the minor may be filed. The
motion shall specify sufficient facts in support of the relief
requested.
(Source: P.A. 103-22, eff. 8-8-23.)
(705 ILCS 405/2-21) (from Ch. 37, par. 802-21)
Sec. 2-21. Findings and adjudication.
(1) The court shall state for the record the manner in
which the parties received service of process and shall note
whether the return or returns of service, postal return
receipt or receipts for notice by certified mail, or
certificate or certificates of publication have been filed in
the court record. The court shall enter any appropriate orders
of default against any parent who has been properly served in
any manner and fails to appear.
No further service of process as defined in Sections 2-15
and 2-16 is required in any subsequent proceeding for a parent
who was properly served in any manner, except as required by
Supreme Court Rule 11.
The caseworker shall testify about the diligent search
conducted for the parent.
After hearing the evidence the court shall determine
whether or not the minor is abused, neglected, or dependent.
If it finds that the minor is not such a person, the court
shall order the petition dismissed and the minor discharged.
The court's determination of whether the minor is abused,

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neglected, or dependent shall be stated in writing with the
factual basis supporting that determination.
If the court finds that the minor is abused, neglected, or
dependent, the court shall then determine and put in writing
the factual basis supporting that determination, and specify,
to the extent possible, the acts or omissions or both of each
parent, guardian, or legal custodian that form the basis of
the court's findings. That finding shall appear in the order
of the court.
If the court finds that the child has been abused,
neglected or dependent, the court shall admonish the parents
that they must cooperate with the Department of Children and
Family Services, comply with the terms of the service plan,
and correct the conditions that require the child to be in
care, or risk termination of parental rights.
If the court determines that a person has inflicted
physical or sexual abuse upon a minor, the court shall report
that determination to the Illinois State Police, which shall
include that information in its report to the President of the
school board for a school district that requests a criminal
history records check of that person, or the regional
superintendent of schools who requests a check of that person,
as required under Section 10-21.9 or 34-18.5 of the School
Code.
(2) If, pursuant to subsection (1) of this Section, the
court determines and puts in writing the factual basis

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supporting the determination that the minor is either abused
or neglected or dependent, the court shall then set a time not
later than 30 days after the entry of the finding for a
dispositional hearing (unless an earlier date is required
pursuant to Section 2-13.1) to be conducted under Section 2-22
at which hearing the court shall determine whether it is
consistent with the health, safety and best interests of the
minor and the public that the minor he be made a ward of the
court. To assist the court in making this and other
determinations at the dispositional hearing, the court may
order that an investigation be conducted and a dispositional
report be prepared concerning the minor's physical and mental
history and condition, family situation and background,
economic status, education, occupation, history of delinquency
or criminality, personal habits, and any other information
that may be helpful to the court. The dispositional hearing
may be continued once for a period not to exceed 30 days if the
court finds that such continuance is necessary to complete the
dispositional report.
(3) The time limits of this Section may be waived only by
consent of all parties and approval by the court, as
determined to be consistent with the health, safety and best
interests of the minor.
(4) For all cases adjudicated prior to July 1, 1991, for
which no dispositional hearing has been held prior to that
date, a dispositional hearing under Section 2-22 shall be held

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within 90 days of July 1, 1991.
(5) The court may terminate the parental rights of a
parent at the initial dispositional hearing if all of the
following conditions are met:
(i) the original or amended petition contains a
request for termination of parental rights and appointment
of a guardian with power to consent to adoption; and
(ii) the court has found by a preponderance of
evidence, introduced or stipulated to at an adjudicatory
hearing, that the child comes under the jurisdiction of
the court as an abused, neglected, or dependent minor
under Section 2-18; and
(iii) the court finds, on the basis of clear and
convincing evidence admitted at the adjudicatory hearing
that the parent is an unfit person under subdivision D of
Section 1 of the Adoption Act; and
(iv) the court determines in accordance with the rules
of evidence for dispositional proceedings, that:
(A) it is in the best interest of the minor and
public that the child be made a ward of the court;
(A-1) the petitioner has demonstrated that the
Department has discussed the permanency options of
guardianship and adoption with the caregiver and the
Department has informed the court of the caregiver's
wishes as to the permanency goal;
(A-5) reasonable efforts under subsection (l-1) of

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Section 5 of the Children and Family Services Act are
inappropriate or such efforts were made and were
unsuccessful; and
(B) termination of parental rights and appointment
of a guardian with power to consent to adoption is in
the best interest of the child pursuant to Section
2-29.
(Source: P.A. 102-538, eff. 8-20-21.)
(705 ILCS 405/2-22) (from Ch. 37, par. 802-22)
Sec. 2-22. Dispositional hearing; evidence; continuance.
(1) At the dispositional hearing, the court shall
determine whether it is in the best interests of the minor and
the public that the minor be made a ward of the court, and, if
the minor is to be made a ward of the court, the court shall
determine the proper disposition best serving the health,
safety and interests of the minor and the public. The court
also shall consider the Department's diligent efforts in
family finding and relative engagement for the minor required
under Section 2-27.3 beginning July 1, 2025, the permanency
goal set for the minor, the nature of the service plan for the
minor and the services delivered and to be delivered under the
plan. All evidence helpful in determining these questions,
including oral and written reports, may be admitted and may be
relied upon to the extent of its probative value, even though
not competent for the purposes of the adjudicatory hearing.

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(2) Once all parties respondent have been served in
compliance with Sections 2-15 and 2-16, no further service or
notice must be given to a party prior to proceeding to a
dispositional hearing. Before making an order of disposition
the court shall advise the State's Attorney, the parents,
guardian, custodian or responsible relative or their counsel
of the factual contents and the conclusions of the reports
prepared for the use of the court and considered by it, and
afford fair opportunity, if requested, to controvert them. The
court may order, however, that the documents containing such
reports need not be submitted to inspection, or that sources
of confidential information need not be disclosed except to
the attorneys for the parties. Factual contents, conclusions,
documents and sources disclosed by the court under this
paragraph shall not be further disclosed without the express
approval of the court pursuant to an in camera hearing.
(3) A record of a prior continuance under supervision
under Section 2-20, whether successfully completed with regard
to the child's health, safety and best interest, or not, is
admissible at the dispositional hearing.
(4) On its own motion or that of the State's Attorney, a
parent, guardian, custodian, responsible relative or counsel,
the court may adjourn the hearing for a reasonable period to
receive reports or other evidence, if the adjournment is
consistent with the health, safety and best interests of the
minor, but in no event shall continuances be granted so that

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the dispositional hearing occurs more than 6 months after the
initial removal of a minor from the minor's home. In
scheduling investigations and hearings, the court shall give
priority to proceedings in which a minor has been removed from
the minor's home before an order of disposition has been made.
(5) Unless already set by the court, at the conclusion of
the dispositional hearing, the court shall set the date for
the first permanency hearing, to be conducted under
subsections (2), (2.3), and (2.4) subsection (2) of Section
2-28, which shall be held: (a) within 12 months from the date
temporary custody was taken, (b) if the parental rights of
both parents have been terminated in accordance with the
procedure described in subsection (5) of Section 2-21, within
30 days of the termination of parental rights and appointment
of a guardian with power to consent to adoption, or (c) in
accordance with subsection (2) of Section 2-13.1.
(6) When the court declares a child to be a ward of the
court and awards guardianship to the Department of Children
and Family Services: ,
(a) The the court shall admonish the parents,
guardian, custodian or responsible relative that the
parents must cooperate with the Department of Children and
Family Services, comply with the terms of the service
plans, and correct the conditions which require the child
to be in care, or risk termination of their parental
rights; and

HB4781 Engrossed - 152 - LRB103 38607 KTG 68743 b
(b) the court shall inquire of the parties of any
intent to proceed with termination of parental rights of a
parent:
(A) whose identity still remains unknown;
(B) whose whereabouts remain unknown; or
(C) who was found in default at the adjudicatory
hearing and has not obtained an order setting aside
the default in accordance with Section 2-1301 of the
Code of Civil Procedure.
(Source: P.A. 103-22, eff. 8-8-23.)
(705 ILCS 405/2-23) (from Ch. 37, par. 802-23)
Sec. 2-23. Kinds of dispositional orders.
(1) The following kinds of orders of disposition may be
made in respect of wards of the court:
(a) A minor found to be neglected or abused under
Section 2-3 or dependent under Section 2-4 may be (1)
continued in the custody of the minor's parents, guardian
or legal custodian; (2) placed in accordance with Section
2-27; (3) restored to the custody of the parent, parents,
guardian, or legal custodian, provided the court shall
order the parent, parents, guardian, or legal custodian to
cooperate with the Department of Children and Family
Services and comply with the terms of an after-care plan
or risk the loss of custody of the child and the possible
termination of their parental rights; or (4) ordered

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partially or completely emancipated in accordance with the
provisions of the Emancipation of Minors Act.
If the minor is being restored to the custody of a
parent, legal custodian, or guardian who lives outside of
Illinois, and an Interstate Compact has been requested and
refused, the court may order the Department of Children
and Family Services to arrange for an assessment of the
minor's proposed living arrangement and for ongoing
monitoring of the health, safety, and best interest of the
minor and compliance with any order of protective
supervision entered in accordance with Section 2-24.
However, in any case in which a minor is found by the
court to be neglected or abused under Section 2-3 of this
Act, custody of the minor shall not be restored to any
parent, guardian or legal custodian whose acts or
omissions or both have been identified, pursuant to
subsection (1) of Section 2-21, as forming the basis for
the court's finding of abuse or neglect, until such time
as a hearing is held on the issue of the best interests of
the minor and the fitness of such parent, guardian or
legal custodian to care for the minor without endangering
the minor's health or safety, and the court enters an
order that such parent, guardian or legal custodian is fit
to care for the minor.
(b) A minor found to be dependent under Section 2-4
may be (1) placed in accordance with Section 2-27 or (2)

HB4781 Engrossed - 154 - LRB103 38607 KTG 68743 b
ordered partially or completely emancipated in accordance
with the provisions of the Emancipation of Minors Act.
However, in any case in which a minor is found by the
court to be dependent under Section 2-4 of this Act,
custody of the minor shall not be restored to any parent,
guardian or legal custodian whose acts or omissions or
both have been identified, pursuant to subsection (1) of
Section 2-21, as forming the basis for the court's finding
of dependency, until such time as a hearing is held on the
issue of the fitness of such parent, guardian or legal
custodian to care for the minor without endangering the
minor's health or safety, and the court enters an order
that such parent, guardian or legal custodian is fit to
care for the minor.
(b-1) A minor between the ages of 18 and 21 may be
placed pursuant to Section 2-27 of this Act if (1) the
court has granted a supplemental petition to reinstate
wardship of the minor pursuant to subsection (2) of
Section 2-33, (2) the court has adjudicated the minor a
ward of the court, permitted the minor to return home
under an order of protection, and subsequently made a
finding that it is in the minor's best interest to vacate
the order of protection and commit the minor to the
Department of Children and Family Services for care and
service, or (3) the court returned the minor to the
custody of the respondent under Section 2-4b of this Act

HB4781 Engrossed - 155 - LRB103 38607 KTG 68743 b
without terminating the proceedings under Section 2-31 of
this Act, and subsequently made a finding that it is in the
minor's best interest to commit the minor to the
Department of Children and Family Services for care and
services.
(c) When the court awards guardianship to the
Department of Children and Family Services, the court
shall order: (i) the parents to cooperate with the
Department of Children and Family Services, comply with
the terms of the service plans, and correct the conditions
that require the child to be in care, or risk termination
of their parental rights; and (ii) the Department to make
diligent efforts in family finding and relative engagement
to establish lifelong connections for the minor,
consistent with the best interest of the minor, as
required under Section 2-27.3.
(2) Any order of disposition may provide for protective
supervision under Section 2-24 and may include an order of
protection under Section 2-25.
Unless the order of disposition expressly so provides, it
does not operate to close proceedings on the pending petition,
but is subject to modification, not inconsistent with Section
2-28, until final closing and discharge of the proceedings
under Section 2-31.
(3) The court also shall enter any other orders necessary
to fulfill the service plan, including, but not limited to,

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(i) orders requiring parties to cooperate with services, (ii)
restraining orders controlling the conduct of any party likely
to frustrate the achievement of the goal, and (iii) visiting
orders. When the child is placed separately from a sibling,
the court shall review the Sibling Contact Support Plan
developed under subsection (f) of Section 7.4 of the Children
and Family Services Act, if applicable. If the Department has
not convened a meeting to develop a Sibling Contact Support
Plan, or if the court finds that the existing Plan is not in
the child's best interest, the court may enter an order
requiring the Department to develop and implement a Sibling
Contact Support Plan under subsection (f) of Section 7.4 of
the Children and Family Services Act or order mediation.
Unless otherwise specifically authorized by law, the court is
not empowered under this subsection (3) to order specific
placements, specific services, or specific service providers
to be included in the plan. If, after receiving evidence, the
court determines that the services contained in the plan are
not reasonably calculated to facilitate achievement of the
permanency goal, the court shall put in writing the factual
basis supporting the determination and enter specific findings
based on the evidence. The court also shall enter an order for
the Department to develop and implement a new service plan or
to implement changes to the current service plan consistent
with the court's findings. The new service plan shall be filed
with the court and served on all parties within 45 days after

HB4781 Engrossed - 157 - LRB103 38607 KTG 68743 b
the date of the order. The court shall continue the matter
until the new service plan is filed. Except as authorized by
subsection (3.5) of this Section or authorized by law, the
court is not empowered under this Section to order specific
placements, specific services, or specific service providers
to be included in the service plan.
(3.5) If, after reviewing the evidence, including evidence
from the Department, the court determines that the minor's
current or planned placement is not necessary or appropriate
to facilitate achievement of the permanency goal, the court
shall put in writing the factual basis supporting its
determination and enter specific findings based on the
evidence. If the court finds that the minor's current or
planned placement is not necessary or appropriate, the court
may enter an order directing the Department to implement a
recommendation by the minor's treating clinician or a
clinician contracted by the Department to evaluate the minor
or a recommendation made by the Department. If the Department
places a minor in a placement under an order entered under this
subsection (3.5), the Department has the authority to remove
the minor from that placement when a change in circumstances
necessitates the removal to protect the minor's health,
safety, and best interest. If the Department determines
removal is necessary, the Department shall notify the parties
of the planned placement change in writing no later than 10
days prior to the implementation of its determination unless

HB4781 Engrossed - 158 - LRB103 38607 KTG 68743 b
remaining in the placement poses an imminent risk of harm to
the minor, in which case the Department shall notify the
parties of the placement change in writing immediately
following the implementation of its decision. The Department
shall notify others of the decision to change the minor's
placement as required by Department rule.
(4) In addition to any other order of disposition, the
court may order any minor adjudicated neglected with respect
to the minor's own injurious behavior to make restitution, in
monetary or non-monetary form, under the terms and conditions
of Section 5-5-6 of the Unified Code of Corrections, except
that the "presentence hearing" referred to therein shall be
the dispositional hearing for purposes of this Section. The
parent, guardian or legal custodian of the minor may pay some
or all of such restitution on the minor's behalf.
(5) Any order for disposition where the minor is committed
or placed in accordance with Section 2-27 shall provide for
the parents or guardian of the estate of such minor to pay to
the legal custodian or guardian of the person of the minor such
sums as are determined by the custodian or guardian of the
person of the minor as necessary for the minor's needs. Such
payments may not exceed the maximum amounts provided for by
Section 9.1 of the Children and Family Services Act.
(6) Whenever the order of disposition requires the minor
to attend school or participate in a program of training, the
truant officer or designated school official shall regularly

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report to the court if the minor is a chronic or habitual
truant under Section 26-2a of the School Code.
(7) The court may terminate the parental rights of a
parent at the initial dispositional hearing if all of the
conditions in subsection (5) of Section 2-21 are met.
(Source: P.A. 102-489, eff. 8-20-21; 103-22, eff. 8-8-23.)
(705 ILCS 405/2-27) (from Ch. 37, par. 802-27)
Sec. 2-27. Placement; legal custody or guardianship.
(1) If the court determines and puts in writing the
factual basis supporting the determination of whether the
parents, guardian, or legal custodian of a minor adjudged a
ward of the court are unfit or are unable, for some reason
other than financial circumstances alone, to care for,
protect, train or discipline the minor or are unwilling to do
so, and that the health, safety, and best interest of the minor
will be jeopardized if the minor remains in the custody of the
minor's parents, guardian or custodian, the court may at this
hearing and at any later point:
(a) place the minor in the custody of a suitable
relative or other person as legal custodian or guardian;
(a-5) with the approval of the Department of Children
and Family Services, place the minor in the subsidized
guardianship of a suitable relative or other person as
legal guardian; "subsidized guardianship" has the meaning
ascribed to that term in Section 4d of the Children and

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Family Services Act means a private guardianship
arrangement for children for whom the permanency goals of
return home and adoption have been ruled out and who meet
the qualifications for subsidized guardianship as defined
by the Department of Children and Family Services in
administrative rules;
(b) place the minor under the guardianship of a
probation officer;
(c) commit the minor to an agency for care or
placement, except an institution under the authority of
the Department of Corrections or of the Department of
Children and Family Services;
(d) on and after the effective date of this amendatory
Act of the 98th General Assembly and before January 1,
2017, commit the minor to the Department of Children and
Family Services for care and service; however, 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 of Children and Family
Services by any court, except (i) a minor less than 16
years of age and committed to the Department of Children
and Family Services under Section 5-710 of this Act, (ii)
a minor under the age of 18 for whom an independent basis
of abuse, neglect, or dependency exists, or (iii) a minor
for whom the court has granted a supplemental petition to

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reinstate wardship pursuant to subsection (2) of Section
2-33 of this Act. On and after January 1, 2017, commit the
minor to the Department of Children and Family Services
for care and service; however, 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
of Children and Family Services by any court, except (i) a
minor less than 15 years of age and committed to the
Department of Children and Family Services under Section
5-710 of this Act, (ii) a minor under the age of 18 for
whom an independent basis of abuse, neglect, or dependency
exists, 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 this Act. 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 be given due notice of the pendency of the action and
the Guardianship Administrator of the Department of
Children and Family Services shall be appointed guardian
of the person of the minor. Whenever the Department seeks
to discharge a minor from its care and service, the
Guardianship Administrator shall petition the court for an
order terminating guardianship. The Guardianship

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Administrator may designate one or more other officers of
the Department, appointed as Department officers by
administrative order of the Department Director,
authorized to affix the signature of the Guardianship
Administrator to documents affecting the guardian-ward
relationship of children for whom the Guardianship
Administrator has been appointed guardian at such times as
the Guardianship Administrator is unable to perform the
duties of the Guardianship Administrator office. The
signature authorization shall include but not be limited
to matters of consent of marriage, enlistment in the armed
forces, legal proceedings, adoption, major medical and
surgical treatment and application for driver's license.
Signature authorizations made pursuant to the provisions
of this paragraph shall be filed with the Secretary of
State and the Secretary of State shall provide upon
payment of the customary fee, certified copies of the
authorization to any court or individual who requests a
copy.
(1.5) In making a determination under this Section, the
court shall also consider whether, based on health, safety,
and the best interests of the minor,
(a) appropriate services aimed at family preservation
and family reunification have been unsuccessful in
rectifying the conditions that have led to a finding of
unfitness or inability to care for, protect, train, or

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discipline the minor, or
(b) no family preservation or family reunification
services would be appropriate,
and if the petition or amended petition contained an
allegation that the parent is an unfit person as defined in
subdivision (D) of Section 1 of the Adoption Act, and the order
of adjudication recites that parental unfitness was
established by clear and convincing evidence, the court shall,
when appropriate and in the best interest of the minor, enter
an order terminating parental rights and appointing a guardian
with power to consent to adoption in accordance with Section
2-29.
When making a placement, the court, wherever possible,
shall require the Department of Children and Family Services
to select a person holding the same religious belief as that of
the minor or a private agency controlled by persons of like
religious faith of the minor and shall require the Department
to otherwise comply with Section 7 of the Children and Family
Services Act in placing the child. In addition, whenever
alternative plans for placement are available, the court shall
ascertain and consider, to the extent appropriate in the
particular case, the views and preferences of the minor.
(2) When a minor is placed with a suitable relative or
other person pursuant to item (a) of subsection (1), the court
shall appoint the suitable relative or other person the legal
custodian or guardian of the person of the minor. When a minor

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is committed to any agency, the court shall appoint the proper
officer or representative thereof as legal custodian or
guardian of the person of the minor. Legal custodians and
guardians of the person of the minor have the respective
rights and duties set forth in subsection (9) of Section 1-3
except as otherwise provided by order of court; but no
guardian of the person may consent to adoption of the minor
unless that authority is conferred upon the guardian in
accordance with Section 2-29. An agency whose representative
is appointed guardian of the person or legal custodian of the
minor may place the minor in any child care facility, but the
facility must be licensed under the Child Care Act of 1969 or
have been approved by the Department of Children and Family
Services as meeting the standards established for such
licensing. No agency may place a minor adjudicated under
Sections 2-3 or 2-4 in a child care facility unless the
placement is in compliance with the rules and regulations for
placement under this Section promulgated by the Department of
Children and Family Services under Section 5 of the Children
and Family Services Act. Like authority and restrictions shall
be conferred by the court upon any probation officer who has
been appointed guardian of the person of a minor.
(3) No placement by any probation officer or agency whose
representative is appointed guardian of the person or legal
custodian of a minor may be made in any out of State child care
facility unless it complies with the Interstate Compact on the

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Placement of Children. Placement with a parent, however, is
not subject to that Interstate Compact.
(4) The clerk of the court shall issue to the legal
custodian or guardian of the person a certified copy of the
order of court, as proof of the legal custodian's or
guardian's authority. No other process is necessary as
authority for the keeping of the minor.
(5) Custody or guardianship granted under this Section
continues until the court otherwise directs, but not after the
minor reaches the age of 19 years except as set forth in
Section 2-31, or if the minor was previously committed to the
Department of Children and Family Services for care and
service and the court has granted a supplemental petition to
reinstate wardship pursuant to subsection (2) of Section 2-33.
(6) (Blank).
(Source: P.A. 103-22, eff. 8-8-23.)
(705 ILCS 405/2-27.3 new)
Sec. 2-27.3. Ongoing family finding and relative
engagement.
(a)(1) The Department shall make ongoing diligent efforts,
to the fullest extent consistent with the minor's best
interest, to engage in ongoing family finding and relative
engagement for the purposes of:
(A) establishing and supporting lifelong connections
for the minor by building a network of sustainable and

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supportive relationships that allow the minor to
experience a sense of belonging through enduring,
life-long relationships with family, extended family, and
other caring adults; and
(B) for minors who are not in a placement likely to
achieve permanency, identifying relatives who may be
willing and able to care for the minor and provide
permanency for the minor.
Efforts to identify, locate, and engage relatives to
assist in supporting and establishing lifelong connections for
the minor are required, consistent with the best interests of
the minor, even if the minor is placed with a relative,
recognizing it may be in the minor's best interest to maintain
connections with different relatives, and a relative's
capacity to provide connection and support, may change over
time.
(2) The Department shall provide a report to the court, as
part of the reporting requirement under Section 2-10.1, not
later than 45 days after a minor is placed in the Department's
custody, and with each case plan submitted to the court
thereafter, describing the Department's efforts, to identify,
locate, and engage relatives in a manner consistent with the
minor's best interest. The initial and subsequent reports
shall include:
(A) a list of contacts made and the outcome of each
contact;

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(B) for minors requiring placement in a home
environment or a home likely to achieve permanency, the
report shall specify which identified relatives have been
evaluated as placement options, including assessment as a
certified relative caregiver home under Section 3.4 of the
Child Care Act of 1969, and the diligent efforts the
Department is undertaking to remove barriers to placement,
if applicable, with one or more relatives or certified
relative caregivers. If the Department determines
placement with an identified relative willing to serve as
a caregiver for the minor is not in the minor's best
interest, the Department shall include its rationale in
the report; and
(C) consistent with the minor's best interest, the
manner in which the relative or person may be engaged with
the minor. Engagement may include, but is not limited to,
in person visitation, virtual visitation, telephone
contact, supervising visits between the minor and a parent
or sibling, assisting with transportation, providing
respite care and providing placement. If the Department
determines an identified relative's engagement with the
minor is not in the minor's best interest, the Department
shall include its rationale in the report.
(3) Ongoing family finding and relative engagement efforts
shall continue until excused in whole or in part by the court.
The court may order that further efforts to locate and engage

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relatives are futile based on efforts already made, or that
efforts to identify, locate, or engage a specified person or
persons is not in the minor's best interests. If a court finds
that family finding and relative engagement efforts should
cease, the court shall enter an order in writing. An order
entered under this Section shall include specific factual
findings supporting the court's decision. The Department may
resume family finding and relative engagement efforts after an
order excusing such efforts has been entered, if the court
determines resuming such efforts are in the minor's best
interest.
(4) Within 30 days of (i) an unknown parent's identity
being determined or (ii) a parent's whereabouts becoming known
for the first time, the Department shall complete family
finding and relative engagement efforts in accordance with
paragraph (2.5) of Section 2-10.
(b) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to create a
legally enforceable right on behalf of any relative or person
to placement, visitation, or engagement with the minor.
(705 ILCS 405/2-28)
Sec. 2-28. Court review.
(1) The court may require any legal custodian or guardian
of the person appointed under this Act to report periodically
to the court or may cite the legal custodian or guardian into
court and require the legal custodian, guardian, or the legal

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custodian's or guardian's agency to make a full and accurate
report of the doings of the legal custodian, guardian, or
agency on behalf of the minor. The custodian or guardian,
within 10 days after such citation, or earlier if the court
determines it to be necessary to protect the health, safety,
or welfare of the minor, shall make the report, either in
writing verified by affidavit or orally under oath in open
court, or otherwise as the court directs. Upon the hearing of
the report the court may remove the custodian or guardian and
appoint another in the custodian's or guardian's stead or
restore the minor to the custody of the minor's parents or
former guardian or custodian. However, custody of the minor
shall not be restored to any parent, guardian, or legal
custodian in any case in which the minor is found to be
neglected or abused under Section 2-3 or dependent under
Section 2-4 of this Act, unless the minor can be cared for at
home without endangering the minor's health or safety and it
is in the best interests of the minor, and if such neglect,
abuse, or dependency is found by the court under paragraph (1)
of Section 2-21 of this Act to have come about due to the acts
or omissions or both of such parent, guardian, or legal
custodian, until such time as an investigation is made as
provided in paragraph (5) and a hearing is held on the issue of
the fitness of such parent, guardian, or legal custodian to
care for the minor and the court enters an order that such
parent, guardian, or legal custodian is fit to care for the

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minor.
(1.5) The public agency that is the custodian or guardian
of the minor shall file a written report with the court no
later than 15 days after a minor in the agency's care remains:
(1) in a shelter placement beyond 30 days;
(2) in a psychiatric hospital past the time when the
minor is clinically ready for discharge or beyond medical
necessity for the minor's health; or
(3) in a detention center or Department of Juvenile
Justice facility solely because the public agency cannot
find an appropriate placement for the minor.
The report shall explain the steps the agency is taking to
ensure the minor is placed appropriately, how the minor's
needs are being met in the minor's shelter placement, and if a
future placement has been identified by the Department, why
the anticipated placement is appropriate for the needs of the
minor and the anticipated placement date.
(1.6) Within 30 days after placing a child in its care in a
qualified residential treatment program, as defined by the
federal Social Security Act, the Department of Children and
Family Services shall prepare a written report for filing with
the court and send copies of the report to all parties. Within
20 days of the filing of the report, or as soon thereafter as
the court's schedule allows but not more than 60 days from the
date of placement, the court shall hold a hearing to consider
the Department's report and determine whether placement of the

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child in a qualified residential treatment program provides
the most effective and appropriate level of care for the child
in the least restrictive environment and if the placement is
consistent with the short-term and long-term goals for the
child, as specified in the permanency plan for the child. The
court shall approve or disapprove the placement. If
applicable, the requirements of Sections 2-27.1 and 2-27.2
must also be met. The Department's written report and the
court's written determination shall be included in and made
part of the case plan for the child. If the child remains
placed in a qualified residential treatment program, the
Department shall submit evidence at each status and permanency
hearing:
(A) (1) demonstrating that on-going assessment of the
strengths and needs of the child continues to support the
determination that the child's needs cannot be met through
placement in a foster family home, that the placement
provides the most effective and appropriate level of care
for the child in the least restrictive, appropriate
environment, and that the placement is consistent with the
short-term and long-term permanency goal for the child, as
specified in the permanency plan for the child;
(B) (2) documenting the specific treatment or service
needs that should be met for the child in the placement and
the length of time the child is expected to need the
treatment or services; and

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(C) (3) the efforts made by the agency to prepare the
child to return home or to be placed with a fit and willing
relative, a legal guardian, or an adoptive parent, or in a
foster family home; and .
(D) beginning July 1, 2025, documenting the
Department's efforts regarding ongoing family finding and
relative engagement required under Section 2-27.3.
(2) The first permanency hearing shall be conducted by the
judge. Subsequent permanency hearings may be heard by a judge
or by hearing officers appointed or approved by the court in
the manner set forth in Section 2-28.1 of this Act. The initial
hearing shall be held (a) within 12 months from the date
temporary custody was taken, regardless of whether an
adjudication or dispositional hearing has been completed
within that time frame, (b) if the parental rights of both
parents have been terminated in accordance with the procedure
described in subsection (5) of Section 2-21, within 30 days of
the order for termination of parental rights and appointment
of a guardian with power to consent to adoption, or (c) in
accordance with subsection (2) of Section 2-13.1. Subsequent
permanency hearings shall be held every 6 months or more
frequently if necessary in the court's determination following
the initial permanency hearing, in accordance with the
standards set forth in this Section, until the court
determines that the plan and goal have been achieved. Once the
plan and goal have been achieved, if the minor remains in

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substitute care, the case shall be reviewed at least every 6
months thereafter, subject to the provisions of this Section,
unless the minor is placed in the guardianship of a suitable
relative or other person and the court determines that further
monitoring by the court does not further the health, safety,
or best interest of the child and that this is a stable
permanent placement. The permanency hearings must occur within
the time frames set forth in this subsection and may not be
delayed in anticipation of a report from any source or due to
the agency's failure to timely file its written report (this
written report means the one required under the next paragraph
and does not mean the service plan also referred to in that
paragraph).
The public agency that is the custodian or guardian of the
minor, or another agency responsible for the minor's care,
shall ensure that all parties to the permanency hearings are
provided a copy of the most recent service plan prepared
within the prior 6 months at least 14 days in advance of the
hearing. If not contained in the agency's service plan, the
agency shall also include a report setting forth the
following:
(A) (i) any special physical, psychological,
educational, medical, emotional, or other needs of the
minor or the minor's family that are relevant to a
permanency or placement determination, and (ii) for any
minor age 16 or over, a written description of the

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programs and services that will enable the minor to
prepare for independent living;
(B) beginning July 1, 2025, a written description of
ongoing family finding and relative engagement efforts in
accordance with the requirements under Section 2-27.3 the
agency has undertaken since the most recent report to the
court to plan for the emotional and legal permanency of
the minor; . If not contained in the agency's service plan,
the agency's report shall
(C) whether specify if a minor is placed in a licensed
child care facility under a corrective plan by the
Department due to concerns impacting the minor's safety
and well-being. The report shall explain the steps the
Department is taking to ensure the safety and well-being
of the minor and that the minor's needs are met in the
facility; . The agency's written report must
(D) detail regarding what progress or lack of progress
the parent has made in correcting the conditions requiring
the child to be in care; whether the child can be returned
home without jeopardizing the child's health, safety, and
welfare, and if not, what permanency goal is recommended
to be in the best interests of the child, and the reasons
for the recommendation. If a permanency goal under
paragraph (A), (B), or (B-1) of subsection (2.3) have been
deemed inappropriate and not in the minor's best interest,
the report must include the following information: why the

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other permanency goals are not appropriate.
(i) confirmation that the caseworker has discussed
the permanency options and subsidies available for
guardianship and adoption with the minor's caregivers,
the minor's parents, as appropriate, and has discussed
the available permanency options with the minor in an
age-appropriate manner;
(ii) confirmation that the caseworker has
discussed with the minor's caregivers, the minor's
parents, as appropriate, and the minor as
age-appropriate, the distinctions between guardianship
and adoption, including, but not limited to, that
guardianship does not require termination of the
parent's rights or the consent of the parent;
(iii) a description of the stated preferences and
concerns, if any, the minor, the parent as
appropriate, and the caregiver expressed relating to
the options of guardianship and adoption, and the
reasons for the preferences;
(iv) if the minor is not currently in a placement
that will provide permanency, identification of all
persons presently willing and able to provide
permanency to the minor through either guardianship or
adoption, and beginning July 1, 2025, if none are
available, a description of the efforts made in
accordance with Section 2-27.3; and

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(v) state the recommended permanency goal, why
that goal is recommended, and why the other potential
goals were not recommended.
The caseworker must appear and testify at the permanency
hearing. If a permanency hearing has not previously been
scheduled by the court, the moving party shall move for the
setting of a permanency hearing and the entry of an order
within the time frames set forth in this subsection.
(2.3) At the permanency hearing, the court shall determine
the permanency goal future status of the child. The court
shall set one of the following permanency goals:
(A) The minor will be returned home by a specific date
within 5 months.
(B) The minor will be in short-term care with a
continued goal to return home within a period not to
exceed one year, where the progress of the parent or
parents is substantial giving particular consideration to
the age and individual needs of the minor.
(B-1) The minor will be in short-term care with a
continued goal to return home pending a status hearing.
When the court finds that a parent has not made reasonable
efforts or reasonable progress to date, the court shall
identify what actions the parent and the Department must
take in order to justify a finding of reasonable efforts
or reasonable progress and shall set a status hearing to
be held not earlier than 9 months from the date of

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adjudication nor later than 11 months from the date of
adjudication during which the parent's progress will again
be reviewed.
If the court has determined that goals (A), (B), and
(B-1) are not appropriate and not in the minor's best
interest, the court may select one of the following goals:
(C), (D), (E), (F), or (G) for the minor as appropriate and
based on the best interests of the minor. The court shall
determine the appropriate goal for the minor based on best
interest factors and any considerations outlined in that
goal.
(C) The guardianship of the minor shall be transferred
to an individual or couple on a permanent basis. Prior to
changing the goal to guardianship, the court shall
consider the following:
(i) whether the agency has discussed adoption and
guardianship with the caregiver and what preference,
if any, the caregiver has as to the permanency goal;
(ii) whether the agency has discussed adoption and
guardianship with the minor, as age-appropriate, and
what preference, if any, the minor has as to the
permanency goal;
(iii) whether the minor is of sufficient age to
remember the minor's parents and if the child values
this familial identity;
(iv) whether the minor is placed in a relative

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home as defined in Section 4d of the Children and
Family Services Act or in a certified relative
caregiver home as defined in Section 2.36 of the Child
Care Act of 1969; and
(v) whether the parent or parents have been
informed about guardianship and adoption, and, if
appropriate, what preferences, if any, the parent or
parents have as to the permanency goal.
(D) The minor will be in substitute care pending court
determination on termination of parental rights. Prior to
changing the goal to substitute care pending court
determination on termination of parental rights, the court
shall consider the following:
(i) whether the agency has discussed adoption and
guardianship with the caregiver and what preference,
if any, the caregiver has as to the permanency goal;
(ii) whether the agency has discussed adoption and
guardianship with the minor, as age-appropriate, and
what preference, if any, the minor has as to the
permanency goal;
(iii) whether the minor is of sufficient age to
remember the minor's parents and if the child values
this familial identity;
(iv) whether the minor is placed in a relative
home as defined in Section 4d of the Children and
Family Services Act, in a certified relative caregiver

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home as defined in Section 2.36 of the Child Care Act
of 1969;
(v) whether the minor is already placed in a
pre-adoptive home, and if not, whether such a home has
been identified; and
(vi) whether the parent or parents have been
informed about guardianship and adoption, and, if
appropriate, what preferences, if any, the parent or
parents have as to the permanency goal.
(E) (D) Adoption, provided that parental rights have
been terminated or relinquished.
(E) The guardianship of the minor will be transferred
to an individual or couple on a permanent basis provided
that goals (A) through (D) have been deemed inappropriate
and not in the child's best interests. The court shall
confirm that the Department has discussed adoption, if
appropriate, and guardianship with the caregiver prior to
changing a goal to guardianship.
(F) Provided that permanency goals (A) through (E)
have been deemed inappropriate and not in the minor's best
interests, the The minor over age 15 will be in substitute
care pending independence. In selecting this permanency
goal, the Department of Children and Family Services may
provide services to enable reunification and to strengthen
the minor's connections with family, fictive kin, and
other responsible adults, provided the services are in the

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minor's best interest. The services shall be documented in
the service plan.
(G) The minor will be in substitute care because the
minor cannot be provided for in a home environment due to
developmental disabilities or mental illness or because
the minor is a danger to self or others, provided that
goals (A) through (E) (D) have been deemed inappropriate
and not in the child's best interests.
In selecting any permanency goal, the court shall indicate
in writing the reasons the goal was selected and why the
preceding goals were deemed inappropriate and not in the
child's best interest. Where the court has selected a
permanency goal other than (A), (B), or (B-1), the Department
of Children and Family Services shall not provide further
reunification services, except as provided in paragraph (F) of
this subsection (2.3) (2), but shall provide services
consistent with the goal selected.
(H) Notwithstanding any other provision in this
Section, the court may select the goal of continuing
foster care as a permanency goal if:
(1) The Department of Children and Family Services
has custody and guardianship of the minor;
(2) The court has deemed all other permanency
goals inappropriate based on the child's best
interest;
(3) The court has found compelling reasons, based

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on written documentation reviewed by the court, to
place the minor in continuing foster care. Compelling
reasons include:
(a) the child does not wish to be adopted or to
be placed in the guardianship of the minor's
relative, certified relative caregiver, or foster
care placement;
(b) the child exhibits an extreme level of
need such that the removal of the child from the
minor's placement would be detrimental to the
child; or
(c) the child who is the subject of the
permanency hearing has existing close and strong
bonds with a sibling, and achievement of another
permanency goal would substantially interfere with
the subject child's sibling relationship, taking
into consideration the nature and extent of the
relationship, and whether ongoing contact is in
the subject child's best interest, including
long-term emotional interest, as compared with the
legal and emotional benefit of permanence;
(4) The child has lived with the relative,
certified relative caregiver, or foster parent for at
least one year; and
(5) The relative, certified relative caregiver, or
foster parent currently caring for the child is

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willing and capable of providing the child with a
stable and permanent environment.
(2.4) The court shall set a permanency goal that is in the
best interest of the child. In determining that goal, the
court shall consult with the minor in an age-appropriate
manner regarding the proposed permanency or transition plan
for the minor. The court's determination shall include the
following factors:
(A) (1) Age of the child.
(B) (2) Options available for permanence, including
both out-of-state and in-state placement options.
(C) (3) Current placement of the child and the intent
of the family regarding subsidized guardianship and
adoption.
(D) (4) Emotional, physical, and mental status or
condition of the child.
(E) (5) Types of services previously offered and
whether or not the services were successful and, if not
successful, the reasons the services failed.
(F) (6) Availability of services currently needed and
whether the services exist.
(G) (7) Status of siblings of the minor.
(H) If the minor is not currently in a placement
likely to achieve permanency, whether there is an
identified and willing potential permanent caregiver for
the minor, and if so, that potential permanent caregiver's

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intent regarding guardianship and adoption.
The court shall consider (i) the permanency goal contained
in the service plan, (ii) the appropriateness of the services
contained in the plan and whether those services have been
provided, (iii) whether reasonable efforts have been made by
all the parties to the service plan to achieve the goal, and
(iv) whether the plan and goal have been achieved. All
evidence relevant to determining these questions, including
oral and written reports, may be admitted and may be relied on
to the extent of their probative value.
The court shall make findings as to whether, in violation
of Section 8.2 of the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting
Act, any portion of the service plan compels a child or parent
to engage in any activity or refrain from any activity that is
not reasonably related to remedying a condition or conditions
that gave rise or which could give rise to any finding of child
abuse or neglect. The services contained in the service plan
shall include services reasonably related to remedy the
conditions that gave rise to removal of the child from the home
of the child's parents, guardian, or legal custodian or that
the court has found must be remedied prior to returning the
child home. Any tasks the court requires of the parents,
guardian, or legal custodian or child prior to returning the
child home must be reasonably related to remedying a condition
or conditions that gave rise to or which could give rise to any
finding of child abuse or neglect.

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If the permanency goal is to return home, the court shall
make findings that identify any problems that are causing
continued placement of the children away from the home and
identify what outcomes would be considered a resolution to
these problems. The court shall explain to the parents that
these findings are based on the information that the court has
at that time and may be revised, should additional evidence be
presented to the court.
The court shall review the Sibling Contact Support Plan
developed or modified under subsection (f) of Section 7.4 of
the Children and Family Services Act, if applicable. If the
Department has not convened a meeting to develop or modify a
Sibling Contact Support Plan, or if the court finds that the
existing Plan is not in the child's best interest, the court
may enter an order requiring the Department to develop,
modify, or implement a Sibling Contact Support Plan, or order
mediation.
Beginning July 1, 2025, the court shall review the Ongoing
Family Finding and Relative Engagement Plan required under
Section 2-27.3. If the court finds that the plan is not in the
minor's best interest, the court shall enter specific factual
findings and order the Department to modify the plan
consistent with the court's findings.
If the goal has been achieved, the court shall enter
orders that are necessary to conform the minor's legal custody
and status to those findings.

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If, after receiving evidence, the court determines that
the services contained in the plan are not reasonably
calculated to facilitate achievement of the permanency goal,
the court shall put in writing the factual basis supporting
the determination and enter specific findings based on the
evidence. The court also shall enter an order for the
Department to develop and implement a new service plan or to
implement changes to the current service plan consistent with
the court's findings. The new service plan shall be filed with
the court and served on all parties within 45 days of the date
of the order. The court shall continue the matter until the new
service plan is filed. Except as authorized by subsection
(2.5) of this Section and as otherwise specifically authorized
by law, the court is not empowered under this Section to order
specific placements, specific services, or specific service
providers to be included in the service plan.
A guardian or custodian appointed by the court pursuant to
this Act shall file updated case plans with the court every 6
months.
Rights of wards of the court under this Act are
enforceable against any public agency by complaints for relief
by mandamus filed in any proceedings brought under this Act.
(2.5) If, after reviewing the evidence, including evidence
from the Department, the court determines that the minor's
current or planned placement is not necessary or appropriate
to facilitate achievement of the permanency goal, the court

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shall put in writing the factual basis supporting its
determination and enter specific findings based on the
evidence. If the court finds that the minor's current or
planned placement is not necessary or appropriate, the court
may enter an order directing the Department to implement a
recommendation by the minor's treating clinician or a
clinician contracted by the Department to evaluate the minor
or a recommendation made by the Department. If the Department
places a minor in a placement under an order entered under this
subsection (2.5), the Department has the authority to remove
the minor from that placement when a change in circumstances
necessitates the removal to protect the minor's health,
safety, and best interest. If the Department determines
removal is necessary, the Department shall notify the parties
of the planned placement change in writing no later than 10
days prior to the implementation of its determination unless
remaining in the placement poses an imminent risk of harm to
the minor, in which case the Department shall notify the
parties of the placement change in writing immediately
following the implementation of its decision. The Department
shall notify others of the decision to change the minor's
placement as required by Department rule.
(3) Following the permanency hearing, the court shall
enter a written order that includes the determinations
required under subsections subsection (2) and (2.3) of this
Section and sets forth the following:

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(a) The future status of the minor, including the
permanency goal, and any order necessary to conform the
minor's legal custody and status to such determination; or
(b) If the permanency goal of the minor cannot be
achieved immediately, the specific reasons for continuing
the minor in the care of the Department of Children and
Family Services or other agency for short-term placement,
and the following determinations:
(i) (Blank).
(ii) Whether the services required by the court
and by any service plan prepared within the prior 6
months have been provided and (A) if so, whether the
services were reasonably calculated to facilitate the
achievement of the permanency goal or (B) if not
provided, why the services were not provided.
(iii) Whether the minor's current or planned
placement is necessary, and appropriate to the plan
and goal, recognizing the right of minors to the least
restrictive (most family-like) setting available and
in close proximity to the parents' home consistent
with the health, safety, best interest, and special
needs of the minor and, if the minor is placed
out-of-state, whether the out-of-state placement
continues to be appropriate and consistent with the
health, safety, and best interest of the minor.
(iv) (Blank).

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(v) (Blank).
(4) The minor or any person interested in the minor may
apply to the court for a change in custody of the minor and the
appointment of a new custodian or guardian of the person or for
the restoration of the minor to the custody of the minor's
parents or former guardian or custodian.
When return home is not selected as the permanency goal:
(a) The Department, the minor, or the current foster
parent or relative caregiver seeking private guardianship
may file a motion for private guardianship of the minor.
Appointment of a guardian under this Section requires
approval of the court.
(b) The State's Attorney may file a motion to
terminate parental rights of any parent who has failed to
make reasonable efforts to correct the conditions which
led to the removal of the child or reasonable progress
toward the return of the child, as defined in subdivision
(D)(m) of Section 1 of the Adoption Act or for whom any
other unfitness ground for terminating parental rights as
defined in subdivision (D) of Section 1 of the Adoption
Act exists.
When parental rights have been terminated for a
minimum of 3 years and the child who is the subject of the
permanency hearing is 13 years old or older and is not
currently placed in a placement likely to achieve
permanency, the Department of Children and Family Services

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shall make reasonable efforts to locate parents whose
rights have been terminated, except when the Court
determines that those efforts would be futile or
inconsistent with the subject child's best interests. The
Department of Children and Family Services shall assess
the appropriateness of the parent whose rights have been
terminated, and shall, as appropriate, foster and support
connections between the parent whose rights have been
terminated and the youth. The Department of Children and
Family Services shall document its determinations and
efforts to foster connections in the child's case plan.
Custody of the minor shall not be restored to any parent,
guardian, or legal custodian in any case in which the minor is
found to be neglected or abused under Section 2-3 or dependent
under Section 2-4 of this Act, unless the minor can be cared
for at home without endangering the minor's health or safety
and it is in the best interest of the minor, and if such
neglect, abuse, or dependency is found by the court under
paragraph (1) of Section 2-21 of this Act to have come about
due to the acts or omissions or both of such parent, guardian,
or legal custodian, until such time as an investigation is
made as provided in paragraph (5) and a hearing is held on the
issue of the health, safety, and best interest of the minor and
the fitness of such parent, guardian, or legal custodian to
care for the minor and the court enters an order that such
parent, guardian, or legal custodian is fit to care for the

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minor. If a motion is filed to modify or vacate a private
guardianship order and return the child to a parent, guardian,
or legal custodian, the court may order the Department of
Children and Family Services to assess the minor's current and
proposed living arrangements and to provide ongoing monitoring
of the health, safety, and best interest of the minor during
the pendency of the motion to assist the court in making that
determination. In the event that the minor has attained 18
years of age and the guardian or custodian petitions the court
for an order terminating the minor's guardianship or custody,
guardianship or custody shall terminate automatically 30 days
after the receipt of the petition unless the court orders
otherwise. No legal custodian or guardian of the person may be
removed without the legal custodian's or guardian's consent
until given notice and an opportunity to be heard by the court.
When the court orders a child restored to the custody of
the parent or parents, the court shall order the parent or
parents to cooperate with the Department of Children and
Family Services and comply with the terms of an after-care
plan, or risk the loss of custody of the child and possible
termination of their parental rights. The court may also enter
an order of protective supervision in accordance with Section
2-24.
If the minor is being restored to the custody of a parent,
legal custodian, or guardian who lives outside of Illinois,
and an Interstate Compact has been requested and refused, the

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court may order the Department of Children and Family Services
to arrange for an assessment of the minor's proposed living
arrangement and for ongoing monitoring of the health, safety,
and best interest of the minor and compliance with any order of
protective supervision entered in accordance with Section
2-24.
(5) Whenever a parent, guardian, or legal custodian files
a motion for restoration of custody of the minor, and the minor
was adjudicated neglected, abused, or dependent as a result of
physical abuse, the court shall cause to be made an
investigation as to whether the movant has ever been charged
with or convicted of any criminal offense which would indicate
the likelihood of any further physical abuse to the minor.
Evidence of such criminal convictions shall be taken into
account in determining whether the minor can be cared for at
home without endangering the minor's health or safety and
fitness of the parent, guardian, or legal custodian.
(a) Any agency of this State or any subdivision
thereof shall cooperate with the agent of the court in
providing any information sought in the investigation.
(b) The information derived from the investigation and
any conclusions or recommendations derived from the
information shall be provided to the parent, guardian, or
legal custodian seeking restoration of custody prior to
the hearing on fitness and the movant shall have an
opportunity at the hearing to refute the information or

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contest its significance.
(c) All information obtained from any investigation
shall be confidential as provided in Section 5-150 of this
Act.
(Source: P.A. 102-193, eff. 7-30-21; 102-489, eff. 8-20-21;
102-813, eff. 5-13-22; 103-22, eff. 8-8-23; 103-154, eff.
6-30-23; 103-171, eff. 1-1-24; revised 12-15-23.)
(705 ILCS 405/2-28.1)
Sec. 2-28.1. Permanency hearings; before hearing officers.
(a) The chief judge of the circuit court may appoint
hearing officers to conduct the permanency hearings set forth
in subsections (2), (2.3), and (2.4) subsection (2) of Section
2-28, in accordance with the provisions of this Section. The
hearing officers shall be attorneys with at least 3 years
experience in child abuse and neglect or permanency planning
and in counties with a population of 3,000,000 or more, any
hearing officer appointed after September 1, 1997, must be an
attorney admitted to practice for at least 7 years. Once
trained by the court, hearing officers shall be authorized to
do the following:
(1) Conduct a fair and impartial hearing.
(2) Summon and compel the attendance of witnesses.
(3) Administer the oath or affirmation and take
testimony under oath or affirmation.
(4) Require the production of evidence relevant to the

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permanency hearing to be conducted. That evidence may
include, but need not be limited to case plans, social
histories, medical and psychological evaluations, child
placement histories, visitation records, and other
documents and writings applicable to those items.
(5) Rule on the admissibility of evidence using the
standard applied at a dispositional hearing under Section
2-22 of this Act.
(6) When necessary, cause notices to be issued
requiring parties, the public agency that is custodian or
guardian of the minor, or another agency responsible for
the minor's care to appear either before the hearing
officer or in court.
(7) Analyze the evidence presented to the hearing
officer and prepare written recommended orders, including
findings of fact, based on the evidence.
(8) Prior to the hearing, conduct any pre-hearings
that may be necessary.
(9) Conduct in camera interviews with children when
requested by a child or the child's guardian ad litem.
In counties with a population of 3,000,000 or more, hearing
officers shall also be authorized to do the following:
(i) Accept specific consents for adoption or
surrenders of parental rights from a parent or parents.
(ii) Conduct hearings on the progress made toward the
permanency goal set for the minor.

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(iii) Perform other duties as assigned by the court.
(b) The hearing officer shall consider evidence and
conduct the permanency hearings as set forth in subsections
(2), (2.3), (2.4), and (3) (2) and (3) of Section 2-28 in
accordance with the standards set forth therein. The hearing
officer shall assure that a verbatim record of the proceedings
is made and retained for a period of 12 months or until the
next permanency hearing, whichever date is later, and shall
direct to the clerk of the court all documents and evidence to
be made part of the court file. The hearing officer shall
inform the participants of their individual rights and
responsibilities. The hearing officer shall identify the
issues to be reviewed under subsections (2), (2.3), and (2.4)
subsection (2) of Section 2-28, consider all relevant facts,
and receive or request any additional information necessary to
make recommendations to the court.
If a party fails to appear at the hearing, the hearing
officer may proceed to the permanency hearing with the parties
present at the hearing. The hearing officer shall specifically
note for the court the absence of any parties. If all parties
are present at the permanency hearing, and the parties and the
Department are in agreement that the service plan and
permanency goal are appropriate or are in agreement that the
permanency goal for the child has been achieved, the hearing
officer shall prepare a recommended order, including findings
of fact, to be submitted to the court, and all parties and the

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Department shall sign the recommended order at the time of the
hearing. The recommended order will then be submitted to the
court for its immediate consideration and the entry of an
appropriate order.
The court may enter an order consistent with the
recommended order without further hearing or notice to the
parties, may refer the matter to the hearing officer for
further proceedings, or may hold such additional hearings as
the court deems necessary. All parties present at the hearing
and the Department shall be tendered a copy of the court's
order at the conclusion of the hearing.
(c) If one or more parties are not present at the
permanency hearing, or any party or the Department of Children
and Family Services objects to the hearing officer's
recommended order, including any findings of fact, the hearing
officer shall set the matter for a judicial determination
within 30 days of the permanency hearing for the entry of the
recommended order or for receipt of the parties' objections.
Any objections shall be in writing and identify the specific
findings or recommendations that are contested, the basis for
the objections, and the evidence or applicable law supporting
the objection. The recommended order and its contents may not
be disclosed to anyone other than the parties and the
Department or other agency unless otherwise specifically
ordered by a judge of the court.
Following the receipt of objections consistent with this

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subsection from any party or the Department of Children and
Family Services to the hearing officer's recommended orders,
the court shall make a judicial determination of those
portions of the order to which objections were made, and shall
enter an appropriate order. The court may refuse to review any
objections that fail to meet the requirements of this
subsection.
(d) The following are judicial functions and shall be
performed only by a circuit judge or associate judge:
(1) Review of the recommended orders of the hearing
officer and entry of orders the court deems appropriate.
(2) Conduct of judicial hearings on all pre-hearing
motions and other matters that require a court order and
entry of orders as the court deems appropriate.
(3) Conduct of judicial determinations on all matters
in which the parties or the Department of Children and
Family Services disagree with the hearing officer's
recommended orders under subsection (3).
(4) Issuance of rules to show cause, conduct of
contempt proceedings, and imposition of appropriate
sanctions or relief.
(Source: P.A. 89-17, eff. 5-31-95; 90-27, eff. 1-1-98; 90-28,
eff. 1-1-98; 90-87, eff. 9-1-97; 90-608, eff. 6-30-98; 90-655,
eff. 7-30-98.)
(705 ILCS 405/5-745)

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Sec. 5-745. Court review.
(1) The court may require any legal custodian or guardian
of the person appointed under this Act, including the
Department of Juvenile Justice for youth committed under
Section 5-750 of this Act, to report periodically to the court
or may cite the legal custodian or guardian into court and
require the legal custodian or guardian, or the legal
custodian's or guardian's agency, to make a full and accurate
report of the doings of the legal custodian, guardian, or
agency on behalf of the minor, including efforts to secure
post-release placement of the youth after release from the
Department's facilities. The legal custodian or guardian,
within 10 days after the citation, shall make the report,
either in writing verified by affidavit or orally under oath
in open court, or otherwise as the court directs. Upon the
hearing of the report the court may remove the legal custodian
or guardian and appoint another in the legal custodian's or
guardian's stead or restore the minor to the custody of the
minor's parents or former guardian or legal custodian.
(2) If the Department of Children and Family Services is
appointed legal custodian or guardian of a minor under Section
5-740 of this Act, the Department of Children and Family
Services shall file updated case plans with the court every 6
months. Every agency which has guardianship of a child shall
file a supplemental petition for court review, or review by an
administrative body appointed or approved by the court and

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further order within 18 months of the sentencing order and
each 18 months thereafter. The petition shall state facts
relative to the child's present condition of physical, mental
and emotional health as well as facts relative to the minor's
present custodial or foster care. The petition shall be set
for hearing and the clerk shall mail 10 days notice of the
hearing by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the
person or agency having the physical custody of the child, the
minor and other interested parties unless a written waiver of
notice is filed with the petition.
If the minor is in the custody of the Illinois Department
of Children and Family Services, pursuant to an order entered
under this Article, the court shall conduct permanency
hearings as set out in subsections (1), (2), (2.3), (2.4), and
(3) of Section 2-28 of Article II of this Act.
Rights of wards of the court under this Act are
enforceable against any public agency by complaints for relief
by mandamus filed in any proceedings brought under this Act.
(3) The minor or any person interested in the minor may
apply to the court for a change in custody of the minor and the
appointment of a new custodian or guardian of the person or for
the restoration of the minor to the custody of the minor's
parents or former guardian or custodian. In the event that the
minor has attained 18 years of age and the guardian or
custodian petitions the court for an order terminating the
minor's guardianship or custody, guardianship or legal custody

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shall terminate automatically 30 days after the receipt of the
petition unless the court orders otherwise. No legal custodian
or guardian of the person may be removed without the legal
custodian's or guardian's consent until given notice and an
opportunity to be heard by the court.
(4) If the minor is committed to the Department of
Juvenile Justice under Section 5-750 of this Act, the
Department shall notify the court in writing of the occurrence
of any of the following:
(a) a critical incident involving a youth committed to
the Department; as used in this paragraph (a), "critical
incident" means any incident that involves a serious risk
to the life, health, or well-being of the youth and
includes, but is not limited to, an accident or suicide
attempt resulting in serious bodily harm or
hospitalization, psychiatric hospitalization, alleged or
suspected abuse, or escape or attempted escape from
custody, filed within 10 days of the occurrence;
(b) a youth who has been released by the Prisoner
Review Board but remains in a Department facility solely
because the youth does not have an approved aftercare
release host site, filed within 10 days of the occurrence;
(c) a youth, except a youth who has been adjudicated a
habitual or violent juvenile offender under Section 5-815
or 5-820 of this Act or committed for first degree murder,
who has been held in a Department facility for over one

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consecutive year; or
(d) if a report has been filed under paragraph (c) of
this subsection, a supplemental report shall be filed
every 6 months thereafter.
The notification required by this subsection (4) shall contain
a brief description of the incident or situation and a summary
of the youth's current physical, mental, and emotional health
and the actions the Department took in response to the
incident or to identify an aftercare release host site, as
applicable. Upon receipt of the notification, the court may
require the Department to make a full report under subsection
(1) of this Section.
(5) With respect to any report required to be filed with
the court under this Section, the Independent Juvenile
Ombudsperson shall provide a copy to the minor's court
appointed guardian ad litem, if the Department has received
written notice of the appointment, and to the minor's
attorney, if the Department has received written notice of
representation from the attorney. If the Department has a
record that a guardian has been appointed for the minor and a
record of the last known address of the minor's court
appointed guardian, the Independent Juvenile Ombudsperson
shall send a notice to the guardian that the report is
available and will be provided by the Independent Juvenile
Ombudsperson upon request. If the Department has no record
regarding the appointment of a guardian for the minor, and the

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Department's records include the last known addresses of the
minor's parents, the Independent Juvenile Ombudsperson shall
send a notice to the parents that the report is available and
will be provided by the Independent Juvenile Ombudsperson upon
request.
(Source: P.A. 103-22, eff. 8-8-23.)
Section 20. The Adoption Act is amended by changing
Sections 4.1 and 15.1 as follows:
(750 ILCS 50/4.1) (from Ch. 40, par. 1506)
Sec. 4.1. Adoption between multiple jurisdictions. It is
the public policy of this State to promote child welfare in
adoption between multiple jurisdictions by implementing
standards that foster permanency for children in an
expeditious manner while considering the best interests of the
child as paramount. Ensuring that standards for
interjurisdictional adoption are clear and applied
consistently, efficiently, and reasonably will promote the
best interests of the child in finding a permanent home.
(a) The Department of Children and Family Services shall
promulgate rules regarding the approval and regulation of
agencies providing, in this State, adoption services, as
defined in Section 2.24 of the Child Care Act of 1969, which
shall include, but not be limited to, a requirement that any
agency shall be licensed in this State as a child welfare

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agency as defined in Section 2.08 of the Child Care Act of
1969. Any out-of-state agency, if not licensed in this State
as a child welfare agency, must obtain the approval of the
Department in order to act as a sending agency, as defined in
Section 1 of the Interstate Compact on Placement of Children
Act, seeking to place a child into this State through a
placement subject to the Interstate Compact on the Placement
of Children. An out-of-state agency, if not licensed in this
State as a child welfare agency, is prohibited from providing
in this State adoption services, as defined by Section 2.24 of
the Child Care Act of 1969; shall comply with Section 12C-70 of
the Criminal Code of 2012; and shall provide all of the
following to the Department:
(1) A copy of the agency's current license or other
form of authorization from the approving authority in the
agency's state. If no license or authorization is issued,
the agency must provide a reference statement, from the
approving authority, stating that the agency is authorized
to place children in foster care or adoption or both in its
jurisdiction.
(2) A description of the program, including home
studies, placements, and supervisions, that the child
welfare agency conducts within its geographical area, and,
if applicable, adoptive placements and the finalization of
adoptions. The child welfare agency must accept continued
responsibility for placement planning and replacement if

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the placement fails.
(3) Notification to the Department of any significant
child welfare agency changes after approval.
(4) Any other information the Department may require.
The rules shall also provide that any agency that places
children for adoption in this State may not, in any policy or
practice relating to the placement of children for adoption,
discriminate against any child or prospective adoptive parent
on the basis of race.
(a-5) (Blank).
(b) Interstate adoptions.
(1) All interstate adoption placements under this Act
shall comply with the Child Care Act of 1969 and the
Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children. The
placement of children with relatives by the Department of
Children and Family Services shall also comply with
subsections (b) and (b-5) subsection (b) of Section 7 of
the Children and Family Services Act. The Department may
promulgate rules to implement interstate adoption
placements, including those requirements set forth in this
Section.
(2) If an adoption is finalized prior to bringing or
sending a child to this State, compliance with the
Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children is not
required.
(3) Approval requirements. The Department shall

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promulgate procedures for interstate adoption placements
of children under this Act. No later than September 24,
2017 (30 days after the effective date of Public Act
100-344), the Department shall distribute a written list
of all preadoption approval requirements to all Illinois
licensed child welfare agencies performing adoption
services, and all out-of-state agencies approved under
this Section, and shall post the requirements on the
Department's website. The Department may not require any
further preadoption requirements other than those set
forth in the procedures required under this paragraph. The
procedures shall reflect the standard of review as stated
in the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children and
approval shall be given by the Department if the placement
appears not to be contrary to the best interests of the
child.
(4) Time for review and decision. In all cases where
the child to be placed is not a youth in care in Illinois
or any other state, a provisional or final approval for
placement shall be provided in writing from the Department
in accordance with the Interstate Compact on the Placement
of Children. Approval or denial of the placement must be
given by the Department as soon as practicable, but in no
event more than 3 business days of the receipt of the
completed referral packet by the Department's Interstate
Compact Administrator. Receipt of the packet shall be

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evidenced by the packet's arrival at the address
designated by the Department to receive such referrals.
The written decision to approve or deny the placement
shall be communicated in an expeditious manner, including,
but not limited to, electronic means referenced in
paragraph (b)(7) of this Section, and shall be provided to
all Illinois licensed child welfare agencies involved in
the placement, all out-of-state child placing agencies
involved in the placement, and all attorneys representing
the prospective adoptive parent or biological parent. If,
during its initial review of the packet, the Department
believes there are any incomplete or missing documents, or
missing information, as required in paragraph (b)(3), the
Department shall, as soon as practicable, but in no event
more than 2 business days of receipt of the packet,
communicate a list of any incomplete or missing documents
and information to all Illinois licensed child welfare
agencies involved in the placement, all out-of-state child
placing agencies involved in the placement, and all
attorneys representing the adoptive parent or biological
parent. This list shall be communicated in an expeditious
manner, including, but not limited to, electronic means
referenced in paragraph (b)(7) of this Section.
(5) Denial of approval. In all cases where the child
to be placed is not a youth in the care of any state, if
the Department denies approval of an interstate placement,

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the written decision referenced in paragraph (b)(4) of
this Section shall set forth the reason or reasons why the
placement was not approved and shall reference which
requirements under paragraph (b)(3) of this Section were
not met. The written decision shall be communicated in an
expeditious manner, including, but not limited to,
electronic means referenced in paragraph (b)(7) of this
Section, to all Illinois licensed child welfare agencies
involved in the placement, all out-of-state child placing
agencies involved in the placement, and all attorneys
representing the prospective adoptive parent or biological
parent.
(6) Provisional approval. Nothing in paragraphs (b)(3)
through (b)(5) of this Section shall preclude the
Department from issuing provisional approval of the
placement pending receipt of any missing or incomplete
documents or information.
(7) Electronic communication. All communications
concerning an interstate placement made between the
Department and an Illinois licensed child welfare agency,
an out-of-state child placing agency, and attorneys
representing the prospective adoptive parent or biological
parent, including the written communications referenced in
this Section, may be made through any type of electronic
means, including, but not limited to, electronic mail.
(c) Intercountry adoptions. The adoption of a child, if

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the child is a habitual resident of a country other than the
United States and the petitioner is a habitual resident of the
United States, or, if the child is a habitual resident of the
United States and the petitioner is a habitual resident of a
country other than the United States, shall comply with the
Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000, as amended, and the
Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended. In the case of an
intercountry adoption that requires oversight by the adoption
services governed by the Intercountry Adoption Universal
Accreditation Act of 2012, this State shall not impose any
additional preadoption requirements.
(d) (Blank).
(e) Re-adoption after an intercountry adoption.
(1) Any time after a minor child has been adopted in a
foreign country and has immigrated to the United States,
the adoptive parent or parents of the child may petition
the court for a judgment of adoption to re-adopt the child
and confirm the foreign adoption decree.
(2) The petitioner must submit to the court one or
more of the following to verify the foreign adoption:
(i) an immigrant visa for the child issued by
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services of
the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that was
valid at the time of the child's immigration;
(ii) a decree, judgment, certificate of adoption,
adoption registration, or equivalent court order,

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entered or issued by a court of competent jurisdiction
or administrative body outside the United States,
establishing the relationship of parent and child by
adoption; or
(iii) such other evidence deemed satisfactory by
the court.
(3) The child's immigrant visa shall be prima facie
proof that the adoption was established in accordance with
the laws of the foreign jurisdiction and met United States
requirements for immigration.
(4) If the petitioner submits documentation that
satisfies the requirements of paragraph (2), the court
shall not appoint a guardian ad litem for the minor who is
the subject of the proceeding, shall not require any
further termination of parental rights of the child's
biological parents, nor shall it require any home study,
investigation, post-placement visit, or background check
of the petitioner.
(5) The petition may include a request for change of
the child's name and any other request for specific relief
that is in the best interests of the child. The relief may
include a request for a revised birth date for the child if
supported by evidence from a medical or dental
professional attesting to the appropriate age of the child
or other collateral evidence.
(6) Two adoptive parents who adopted a minor child

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together in a foreign country while married to one another
may file a petition for adoption to re-adopt the child
jointly, regardless of whether their marriage has been
dissolved. If either parent whose marriage was dissolved
has subsequently remarried or entered into a civil union
with another person, the new spouse or civil union partner
shall not join in the petition to re-adopt the child,
unless the new spouse or civil union partner is seeking to
adopt the child. If either adoptive parent does not join
in the petition, he or she must be joined as a party
defendant. The defendant parent's failure to participate
in the re-adoption proceeding shall not affect the
existing parental rights or obligations of the parent as
they relate to the minor child, and the parent's name
shall be placed on any subsequent birth record issued for
the child as a result of the re-adoption proceeding.
(7) An adoptive parent who adopted a minor child in a
foreign country as an unmarried person may file a petition
for adoption to re-adopt the child as a sole petitioner,
even if the adoptive parent has subsequently married or
entered into a civil union.
(8) If one of the adoptive parents who adopted a minor
child dies prior to a re-adoption proceeding, the deceased
parent's name shall be placed on any subsequent birth
record issued for the child as a result of the re-adoption
proceeding.

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(Source: P.A. 103-501, eff. 1-1-24.)
(750 ILCS 50/15.1) (from Ch. 40, par. 1519.1)
Sec. 15.1. (a) Any person over the age of 18, who has cared
for a child for a continuous period of one year or more as a
foster parent licensed under the Child Care Act of 1969 to
operate a foster family home, as a certified relative
caregiver as defined in Section 2.37 of the Child Care Act of
1969, or as a relative caregiver as defined in Section 4d of
the Children and Family Services Act, may apply to the child's
guardian with the power to consent to adoption, for such
guardian's consent.
(b) Such guardian shall give preference and first
consideration to that application over all other applications
for adoption of the child but the guardian's final decision
shall be based on the welfare and best interest of the child.
In arriving at this decision, the guardian shall consider all
relevant factors including but not limited to:
(1) the wishes of the child;
(2) the interaction and interrelationship of the child
with the applicant to adopt the child;
(3) the child's need for stability and continuity of
relationship with parent figures;
(4) the wishes of the child's parent as expressed in
writing prior to that parent's execution of a consent or
surrender for adoption;

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(5) the child's adjustment to the child's his present
home, school and community;
(6) the mental and physical health of all individuals
involved;
(7) the family ties between the child and the
applicant to adopt the child and the value of preserving
family ties between the child and the child's relatives,
including siblings;
(8) the background, age and living arrangements of the
applicant to adopt the child;
(9) the criminal background check report presented to
the court as part of the investigation required under
Section 6 of this Act.
(c) The final determination of the propriety of the
adoption shall be within the sole discretion of the court,
which shall base its decision on the welfare and best interest
of the child. In arriving at this decision, the court shall
consider all relevant factors including but not limited to the
factors in subsection (b).
(d) If the court specifically finds that the guardian has
abused the guardian's his discretion by withholding consent to
an adoption in violation of the child's welfare and best
interests, then the court may grant an adoption, after all of
the other provisions of this Act have been complied with, with
or without the consent of the guardian with power to consent to
adoption. If the court specifically finds that the guardian

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has abused the guardian's his discretion by granting consent
to an adoption in violation of the child's welfare and best
interests, then the court may deny an adoption even though the
guardian with power to consent to adoption has consented to
it.
(Source: P.A. 90-608, eff. 6-30-98.)