Illinois-2023-HB5669-Introduced

103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB5669

Introduced , by Rep. Barbara Hernandez

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

`20 ILCS 505/46 new`
`750 ILCS 50/5`	`from Ch. 40, par. 1507`
`750 ILCS 50/9`	`from Ch. 40, par. 1511`

Provides that the amendatory Act may be referred to as the Reuniting Family Initiative Act. Amends the Children and Family Services Act. Creates the Family Advocacy Initiating Recovery (F.A.I.R.) Pilot Program within the Department of Children and Family Services. Provides that the F.A.I.R. pilot shall operate for a 2-year period and that the Department shall partner with peer-led organizations to assess the Department's performance and management of child placement and parental termination cases that involve a parent with a substance use disorder. Provides that the purpose of the F.A.I.R. pilot is to: (i) create a system of continuing safe care for mothers and families involved in the Department's parental termination and child placement case process in order to resolve decades-old family reunification failures by the Department; and (ii) ensure transparency between the Department and those peer-led organizations advocating on behalf of mothers and families. Contains provisions concerning the development of guidelines and best practices on how to create a sustainable pathway to family reunification in child placement cases; family needs assessments; reporting requirements; and other matters. Amends the Adoption Act. Provides that a petition to adopt a child may include an adoption contact agreement under which a petitioner may request an agreement for contact between a child and the child's birth parent or parents. Provides that the adoption contact agreement may include provisions for contact, visitation, or the exchange of information, and the grounds, if any, on which the adoptive parent or parents may decline to permit visits or cease providing contact or information. Provides that if the child is 12 years old or older, the court may not order an adoption contact agreement unless the child consents to all terms of the agreement. Provides that in DCFS cases a consent to adopt or surrender a child is not valid unless the legal mother has received pre-consent counseling or refused to participate in pre-consent counseling.

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A BILL FOR

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1 AN ACT concerning children.

2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,

3 represented in the General Assembly:

4 Section 1. This Act may be referred to as the Reuniting

5 Family Initiative Act.

6 Section 5. Purpose. The purpose of this Act is to:

7 (1) Trauma prevention. Prevent unnecessary harm to

8 children stemming from the removal or separation from

9 their families and homes exacerbated by failed family

10 reunification at the hand of the Department of Children

11 and Family Services.

12 (2) Security net. Ensure family reunification is at

13 the forefront of the Department of Children and Family

14 Services' case termination processes.

15 (3) Safeguards. Provide family reunification

16 precautionary measures for mothers separated from their

17 children due to a substance use disorder or incarceration.

18 (4) Anti-punitive. Protect mothers against

19 penalization for addiction and compulsive behavior

20 resulting from the challenges of a substance use disorder.

21 (5) Reform. Present necessary changes to the

22 Department's Recovery Matrix Rubric relating to the

23 substantial progress and timelines of recovering mothers

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1 needed to successfully reunite with their removed

2 children.

3 (6) Equal access. Require the Department of Children

4 and Family Services to make readily available the Recovery

5 Matrix Rubric of involved mothers to independent agencies

6 and peer-led organizations advocating for family

7 reunification on behalf of recovering mothers.

8 (7) Post-adoption relationships. Create a limited

9 post-adoption contact option for families who face the

10 permanent loss of custody of their children through

11 adoption due either to involuntary action (the termination

12 of parental rights by court order) or voluntary action

13 (the willful surrender of legal custody of the child) by

14 the family.

15 (8) Service planning. Create an advocacy pilot program

16 that promotes continued safe and productive care planning

17 geared towards family reunification by utilizing peer-led

18 organizations to provide child welfare services to

19 separated families (biological mothers, biological

20 parents, or legal guardians and children) independent of

21 the Department of Children and Family Services.

22 (9) Healthy conditions. Enhance family stability

23 within affected families through evaluations and

24 recommendations made to the Department of Children and

25 Family Services by independent non-profit agencies or

26 peer-led organizations.

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1 (10) Integrity. Afford transparency to families

2 involved in case termination processes by the Department

3 of Children and Family Services, while also ensuring

4 transparency between the Department of Children and Family

5 Services and the independent agencies or peer-led

6 organizations advocating for family reunification on

7 behalf of involved families.

8 Section 10. The Children and Family Services Act is

9 amended by adding Section 46 as follows:

10 (20 ILCS 505/46 new)

11 Sec. 46. Family Advocacy Initiating Recovery (F.A.I.R.)

12 Pilot Program.

13 (a) Definitions. As used in this Section:

14 "Department" or "DCFS" means the Department of Children

15 and Family Services.

16 "Infant" means a person in the early stage of development

17 and yet not of full age and who for whatever reason has become

18 involved in a DCFS parental termination or adoption case.

19 "Parent" means one or both biological parents, the

20 biological mother, or the biological father, separated from

21 her, his, or their biological underage child due to the

22 Department of Children and Family Services seeking placement

23 under Section 2-27, 3-28, 4-25, or 5-740 of the Juvenile Court

24 Act of 1987 or the termination of parental rights under

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1 Section 2-29 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987.

2 "Underage child" means a child under 18 years old who for

3 whatever reason has become involved in a DCFS parental

4 termination or adoption case.

5 "Legal guardian" means a person who has legal custody of

6 an underage child with the authority assigned by a court to

7 make decisions concerning the underage child's protection,

8 education, care, discipline, and any other matters related to

9 the child's care and custody.

10 "Family" means the biological parent or parents or the

11 legal guardian of an underage child who is involved in a DCFS

12 parental termination or adoption case. "Family" also means the

13 dynamic bond between the underage child and family.

14 "Home" means a safe dwelling for an underage child, a

15 mother, parents, or a legal guardian where the health dynamic

16 of the parent-child bond is cultivated.

17 "Safety" means the absence or reduction of threats of

18 severe harm to an underage child in the presence and under the

19 care of sufficient parental protective capacity.

20 "Removed" means a physical, psychological, and social

21 separation of an underage child from the family and home by the

22 Department. "Removed" also means being temporarily or

23 permanently placed in the DCFS foster care or adoption system.

24 "Service plan" means a written action plan issued on

25 families by the Department with set expectations, conditions,

26 and timelines required for successful case termination.

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1 "Independent" means to operate without the influence of or

2 under the ruling or control of the Department.

3 "Peer-led organization" means an entity whose chief

4 executive officer or executive director, chief operating

5 officer, or any other individual responsible for day-to-day

6 services publicly identify as individuals with lived

7 experience resulting from being system-justice involved and

8 the entity, program, or services operate as an alternative to

9 traditional institutions.

10 "System-justice involved" means to be legally, socially,

11 and economically, or familial affected in a negative manner by

12 the separation or removal of families through efforts of the

13 Department or to be legally, socially, and economically, or

14 familial affected by a substance use disorder and have an

15 underage child removed or separated from the home by the

16 Department.

17 "Advocacy" means the act of speaking in favor of,

18 recommending, arguing for a cause, supporting, or defending,

19 or pleading on behalf of a mother by a peer-led organization in

20 all stages of a DCFS parental termination or child placement

21 case.

22 "Successful" means the achievement of desired visions and

23 planned goals of case termination ending in family

24 reunification.

25 "Case" means a set of circumstances or conditions that are

26 part of a situation relating to the relationship between the

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1 family and an underage child requiring investigation or action

2 by the Department.

3 "Termination" means to bring to a close a case either

4 through family reunification or adoption or the foster care

5 system.

6 "Placement means" to commence a case by the Department

7 against families.

8 "Reunification" means to return an underage child to the

9 family or home from which the underage child was removed.

10 "Family reunification" means a successful case termination

11 with the objective of reuniting an underage child with the

12 family back home.

13 "Adoption" means the act or process whereby a person

14 legally assumes the parenting of another, usually a child

15 under the legal age of adulthood.

16 "Contact agreement" means a legal binder mandating the

17 adoptive parents to provide the family with post-adoption

18 contact with the underage child through protective measures.

19 "Post-adoption contact" means ongoing interaction between

20 the family and underage child through frequent visits

21 (in-person and video visits), and ongoing communication

22 (telephone and video calls, text and written messages, and

23 emails), as well as the exchange of information between the

24 family and adoptive parent regarding the physical,

25 psychological, social, and moral well-being and health of the

26 underage child.

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1 "Protective measures" means calculated steps taken with

2 all precautionary actions, procedures, or installations

3 conceived or undertaken to guard or defend from harm to

4 underage children, family, home, and everyone else involved in

5 family reunification and adoption processes.

6 "Prospective or adoptive parent" means a person other than

7 the biological parent who becomes the parent of an underage

8 child through an adoption process.

9 "Foster care system" means a temporary arrangement in

10 which trained caregivers, including kinship or relative

11 caregivers, provide for the care of an underage child when the

12 biological parent or parents are unable to care for the child.

13 "Addiction" means an illness or disease characterized by

14 intense cravings of something, loss of control over its use,

15 and continuing involvement with it despite adverse

16 consequences usually resulting from unresolved trauma, mental

17 health struggles, or genetic predisposition.

18 "Substance" means alcohol, cannabis, or any other illegal

19 drug or substance prohibited under the Illinois Controlled

20 Substances Act.

21 "Substance use disorder" has the same meaning ascribed to

22 that term in the Substance Use Disorder Act.

23 "Recovery" means (i) in the case of mothers suffering from

24 a substance use disorder, a lifelong and cyclical process,

25 with relapse often part of that process; and (ii) in the case

26 of mothers in labor, the process of physical and psychological

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1 healing from complications resulting after giving birth.

2 "Recovery Matrix Rubric" means a 9 to 12 month system used

3 by the Department in all child placement cases where a

4 substance use disorder has been determined by allegations or

5 when indicated on the substance use screen CFS 440-5, which

6 tracks the baseline progresses of participant parents from the

7 lack of to the substantial progress in substance use disorder

8 treatment and visitation and parenting responsibilities.

9 "F.A.I.R. pilot" means the Family Advocacy Initiating

10 Recovery Pilot Program, which is a peer-led social services

11 pilot program for mothers and families involved in DCFS

12 placement cases involving underage children.

13 "Transparency" means clear communication without

14 maliciously withholding facts relating to mothers and families

15 involved with the Department and the circumstances,

16 conditions, set expectations and timelines of DCFS child

17 placement and parental termination cases.

18 "Assessment" means to evaluate and outline the situation

19 and long-term needs of mothers and families involved in DCFS

20 child placement and parental termination cases.

21 (b) Establishment of program. The Family Advocacy

22 Initiating Recovery (F.A.I.R.) Pilot Program is created within

23 the Department as an independent peer-led family reunification

24 services program. The F.A.I.R. pilot shall operate for a

25 2-year period beginning on the effective date of this

26 amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly or as soon as

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1 practicable. The Department shall partner with peer-led

2 organizations to assess the Department's performance and

3 management of child placement and parental termination cases

4 that involve a parent with a substance use disorder. One

5 peer-led organization shall lead efforts to form a hub of

6 like-minded peer-led organizations and lead initiatives to

7 successfully execute perimeters of the pilot program, with the

8 mandated obligation of frequently reporting findings and

9 progress to the appropriate legislative committees in both

10 chambers of the General Assembly. The purpose of the F.A.I.R.

11 pilot is to:

12 (1) create a system of continuing safe care for

13 mothers and families involved in the Department's parental

14 termination and child placement case process in order to

15 resolve decades-old family reunification failures by the

16 Department; and

17 (2) ensure transparency between the Department and

18 those peer-led organizations advocating on behalf of

19 mothers and families.

20 (c) Under the F.A.I.R. pilot, the Department shall provide

21 peer-led organizations with access to review:

22 (1) the Department's data on the demographics of

23 mothers who tested for a substance at the time of labor and

24 delivery;

25 (2) the rates of child placement and parental

26 termination cases resulting in family reunification,

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1 adoption, or foster care;

2 (3) the Department's child placement and parental

3 termination case process for affected families with later

4 changes of termination goals and objectives; and

5 (4) data on the ages of underage children transferred

6 to the foster care system due to the mothers' substance

7 use disorder or incarceration.

8 (d) As to each child placement case reviewed under the

9 F.A.I.R. pilot, the Department shall provide the peer-led

10 organizations with:

11 (1) The Department's realistic reasons for removing

12 the child from the child's mother, family, or home; as

13 well as full disclosure on all progress made (partial and

14 substantial) or any lack of progress made by the mother or

15 family involved in the child placement case.

16 (2) The Department's realistic reasons for reuniting

17 the child with the child's mother or family; as well as

18 full disclosure on all progress made (partial and

19 substantial) or any lack of progress made by the mother or

20 family involved in the child placement case;

21 The Department shall collaborate with the peer-led

22 organizations on the development of Department guidelines and

23 best practices on how to create a sustainable pathway to

24 family reunification in child placement cases.

25 (e) To ensure Department transparency and accountability,

26 the Department and the peer-led organizations shall utilize

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1 experts in addiction and system-justice involvement to create

2 adequate service plans for those children and families

3 involved in child placement or parental termination cases

4 reviewed under the F.A.I.R. pilot.

5 (f) Peer-led organizations participating in the F.A.I.R.

6 pilot shall be permitted to conduct family needs assessments

7 on pending child placement and parental termination cases to

8 ensure that mothers with a substance use disorder are given

9 the opportunity to meet timelines, conditions, and

10 expectations as set forth by the Department's Recovery Matrix

11 Rubric and Service Plan.

12 (g) Parenting groups shall participate in the F.A.I.R.

13 pilot to provide treatment and recovery services to a family

14 experiencing the negative effects of substance use and

15 addiction leading to the removal of an underage child from the

16 home and a disruption in the child's dynamic bond with family.

17 (h) Under the F.A.I.R. pilot, the Department shall contact

18 participating peer-led organizations whenever the Department

19 opens a new child placement or parental termination case

20 involving an allegation of child abuse or neglect due to a

21 mother or other relative having a substance use disorder or a

22 pending criminal case that is likely to led to incarceration.

23 The peer-led organizations shall be contacted by the

24 Department within 24 hours after the Department opens the case

25 but no later than the commencement date of a Department

26 investigation into an allegation of child abuse or neglect.

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1 (i) Reporting requirements. Beginning 3 months after the

2 start of the F.A.I.R. pilot, and every 3 months thereafter

3 until the pilot ends, the Department and participating

4 peer-led organizations shall jointly submit to the General

5 Assembly a detailed report of their collaborative and

6 individual findings on:

7 (1) racial disproportionalities and disparities in

8 child placement and parental termination cases reviewed

9 under the F.A.I.R. pilot;

10 (2) the Department's success rate in reuniting

11 children with their families; and

12 (3) recommendations on how to help families in crisis

13 avert child removal or the termination of parental rights.

14 The detailed report shall include assessment reports on

15 the success of the F.A.I.R. pilot in implementing its stated

16 goals.

17 Section 15. The Adoption Act is amended by changing

18 Sections 5 and 9 as follows:

19 (750 ILCS 50/5) (from Ch. 40, par. 1507)

20 Sec. 5. Petition, contents, verification, filing.

21 A. A proceeding to adopt a child, other than a related

22 child, shall be commenced by the filing of a petition within 30

23 days after such child has become available for adoption,

24 provided that such petition may be filed at a later date by

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1 leave of court upon a showing that the failure to file such

2 petition within such 30 day period was not due to the

3 petitioners' culpable negligence or their wilful disregard of

4 the provisions of this Section. In the case of a child born

5 outside the United States or a territory thereof, if the

6 prospective adoptive parents of such child have been appointed

7 guardians of such child by a court of competent jurisdiction

8 in a country other than the United States or a territory

9 thereof, such parents shall file a petition as provided in

10 this Section within 30 days after entry of the child into the

11 United States. A petition to adopt an adult or a related child

12 may be filed at any time. A petition for adoption may include

13 more than one person sought to be adopted.

14 B. A petition to adopt a child other than a related child

15 shall state:

16 (a) The full names of the petitioners and, if minors,

17 their respective ages;

18 (b) The place of residence of the petitioners and the

19 length of residence of each in the State of Illinois

20 immediately preceding the filing of the petition;

21 (c) When the petitioners acquired, or intend to

22 acquire, custody of the child, and the name and address of

23 the persons or agency from whom the child was or will be

24 received;

25 (d) The name, the place and date of birth if known, and

26 the sex of the child sought to be adopted;

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1 (e) The relationship, if any, of the child to each

2 petitioner;

3 (f) The names, if known, and the place of residence,

4 if known, of the parents; and whether such parents are

5 minors, or otherwise under any legal disability. The names

6 and addresses of the parents shall be omitted and they

7 shall not be made parties defendant to the petition if (1)

8 the rights of the parents have been terminated by a court

9 of competent jurisdiction, or (2) the child has been

10 surrendered to an agency, or (3) the parent or parents

11 have been served with the notice provided in Section 12a

12 of this Act and said parent or parents have filed a

13 disclaimer of paternity as therein provided or have failed

14 to file such declaration of paternity or a request for

15 notice as provided in said Section, or (4) the parent is a

16 putative father or legal father of the child who has

17 waived his parental rights by signing a waiver as provided

18 in subsection S of Section 10;

19 (g) If it is alleged that the child has no living

20 parent, then the name of the guardian, if any, of such

21 child and the court which appointed such guardian;

22 (h) If it is alleged that the child has no living

23 parent and that no guardian of such child is known to

24 petitioners, then the name of a near relative, if known,

25 shall be set forth, or an allegation that no near relative

26 is known and on due inquiry cannot be ascertained by

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1 petitioners;

2 (i) The name to be given the child or adult;

3 (j) That the person or agency, having authority to

4 consent under Section 8 of this Act, has consented, or has

5 indicated willingness to consent, to the adoption of the

6 child by the petitioners, or that the person having

7 authority to consent is an unfit person and the ground

8 therefor, or that no consent is required under paragraph

9 (f) of Section 8 of this Act;

10 (k) Whatever orders, judgments or decrees have

11 heretofore been entered by any court affecting (1)

12 adoption or custody of the child, or (2) the adoptive,

13 custodial or parental rights of either petitioner,

14 including the prior denial of any petition for adoption

15 pertaining to such child, or to the petitioners, or either

16 of them.

17 C. A petition to adopt a related child shall include the

18 information specified in sub-paragraphs (a), (b), (d), (e),

19 (f), (i) and (k) of paragraph B and a petition to adopt an

20 adult shall contain the information required by sub-paragraphs

21 (a), (b) and (i) of paragraph B in addition to the name, place,

22 date of birth and sex of such adult.

23 C-1. A petition to adopt a related child may seek to use an

24 adoption contact agreement.

25 (a) Legislative findings and intent. The General

26 Assembly finds that allowing birth parents and their

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1 children to maintain contact under an adoption contact

2 agreement would serve to solve those problems stemming

3 from separated families and broken homes and to eradicate

4 the impact such problems have on underage children, the

5 family, and society. Fewer traumatic experiences translate

6 into less risk of violence and incarceration. Oftentimes

7 an underage child may experience racial, ethnic, or

8 cultural differences with adoptive parents that could be

9 alleviated by allowing the child to maintain some contact

10 and communication with his or her birth parents. An

11 adoption contact agreement would serve as a protective

12 measure for an underage child against alienation and later

13 in life abandonment issues. An adoption contact agreement

14 would also serve as a protective measure for a birth

15 parent who is recovering from a substance use disorder or

16 another addiction-related illness and cannot support,

17 nurture, or rear an underage child, but who desires to

18 maintain a supportive role in the child's life. It is the

19 intent of the General Assembly to not punish families

20 coping with substance use and other addiction-related

21 issues but rather to protect everyone involved while

22 maintaining the traditional roles of family and the

23 natural home.

24 (b) "Adoption contact agreement" means a legal

25 agreement between the petitioner and a child's birth

26 parent or parents that includes arrangements that allow

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1 contact between a child and the child's birth parent or

2 parents after the child's adoption has been completed.

3 (c) A petitioner may request an adoption contract

4 agreement for contact between a child and the child's

5 birth parent or parents. An adoption contact agreement may

6 include provisions for contact, visitation, or the

7 exchange of information, and the grounds, if any, on which

8 the adoptive parent or parents may decline to permit

9 visits or cease providing contact or information. An

10 adoption contact agreement may also include at least 2 or

11 more contact visits per month between the child and the

12 child's birth family. The adoption contact agreement shall

13 also provide the child with as much communication with the

14 birth parent or parents as is in the child's best

15 interests.

16 (d) The court shall include the adoption contact

17 agreement in the judgment of adoption if the court finds

18 the adoption contact agreement to be in the child's best

19 interests after considering the child's wishes and any

20 other relevant information.

21 (e) Upon the request of any signatory to the adoption

22 contact agreement, the court may void the agreement if it

23 is in the child's best interests.

24 (f) If the related child is 12 years old or older, the

25 court may not order an adoption contact agreement unless

26 the child consents to all terms of the adoption contact

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1 agreement.

2 (g) The court may use its contempt powers to enforce

3 an adoption contact agreement.

4 (h) The parties may negotiate amendments to an

5 adoption contact agreement at any time and may seek

6 judicial approval of the changes.

7 (i) Upon request of any signatory to the adoption

8 contact agreement, a court may order an evaluation of the

9 adoption contact agreement's effectiveness that may

10 include mental health examinations of the signatories and

11 child.

12 D. The petition shall be verified by the petitioners.

13 E. Upon the filing of the petition the petitioners shall

14 furnish the Clerk of the Court in which the petition is pending

15 such information not contained in such petition as shall be

16 necessary to enable the Clerk of such Court to complete a

17 certificate of adoption as hereinafter provided.

18 F. A petition for standby adoption shall conform to the

19 requirements of this Act with respect to petition contents,

20 verification, and filing. The petition for standby adoption

21 shall also state the facts concerning the consent of the

22 child's parent to the standby adoption. A petition for standby

23 adoption shall include the information in paragraph B if the

24 petitioner seeks to adopt a child other than a related child. A

25 petition for standby adoption shall include the information in

26 paragraph C if the petitioner seeks to adopt a related child or

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1 adult.

2 G. A petition for adoption to re-adopt a child after an

3 intercountry adoption shall include the information specified

4 in sub-paragraphs (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (i) and (k) of

5 paragraph B.

6 (Source: P.A. 99-49, eff. 7-15-15.)

7 (750 ILCS 50/9) (from Ch. 40, par. 1511)

8 Sec. 9. Time for signing a waiver, consent, or surrender.

9 A. A consent or a surrender signed not less than 72 hours

10 after the birth of the child is irrevocable except as provided

11 in Section 11 of this Act.

12 B. No consent or surrender shall be signed within the 72

13 hour period immediately following the birth of the child. For

14 DCFS cases, a consent or surrender from a legal mother is not

15 valid unless the legal mother has received pre-consent

16 counseling or refused to participate in pre-consent

17 counseling. The Department of Children and Family Services

18 shall make pre-consent counseling available to a legal mother

19 by delegating this responsibility to an entity outside the

20 Department. After the delegation, the Department may not

21 interfere with the services provided in the counseling. The

22 cost of pre-consent counseling shall be borne by the

23 petitioner or petitioners. The Department shall by rule

24 provide a formula for the petitioner or petitioners to be

25 assessed the cost of pre-consent counseling based on the

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1 ability of the petitioner or petitioners to pay part of this

2 expense. If the petitioner or petitioners do not have the

3 ability to pay for these services, the Department shall pay

4 them.

5 C. A consent or a surrender may be signed by the father

6 prior to the birth of the child. Such consent or surrender

7 shall be revoked if, within 72 hours after the birth of the

8 child, the father who gave such consent or surrender, notifies

9 in writing the person, agency or court representative who

10 acknowledged the surrender or consent or any individual

11 representing or connected with such person, agency or court

12 representative of the revocation of the consent or surrender.

13 D. Any consent or surrender signed in accordance with

14 paragraph C above which is not revoked within 72 hours after

15 the birth of the child is irrevocable except as provided in

16 Section 11 of this Act.

17 E. Consent may be given to a standby adoption by a parent

18 whose consent is required pursuant to Section 8 of this Act to

19 become effective when the consenting parent of the child dies

20 or that parent requests that the final judgment of adoption be

21 entered.

22 F. A waiver as provided in subsection S of Section 10 of

23 this Act may be signed by a putative father or legal father of

24 the child at any time prior to or after the birth of the child.

25 A waiver is irrevocable except as provided in Section 11 of

26 this Act.

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