Bill Text: IL SB2246 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Sets forth certain protections that must be provided to any subject of an abuse or neglect investigation whenever the Department of Children and Family Services consults with and relies upon the opinion of a medically trained professional as to whether there is evidence of abuse or neglect. Provides that no child or family member of a child who is the subject of an investigation shall be required to submit to additional medical tests, for investigation purposes only, during the investigation. Requires a consulting medical professional who is employed or under contract with the Department to identify himself or herself as a forensic consultant, rather than as a member of the child's treatment team, whenever the individual has direct contact with the child or the family of the child. Provides that the subject of a report shall have the opportunity to submit a second medical opinion as to whether there is evidence of abuse or neglect. Requires the Department to annually prepare and make available on the Department's Reports and Statistics webpage a report on the number of children referred to a consulting medical professional for forensic opinion. Provides that the first report must be posted by March 31, 2024. Sets forth certain data and information that must be contained in the annual report.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2023-04-19 - Added as Co-Sponsor Sen. Napoleon Harris, III [SB2246 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-SB2246-Introduced.html

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103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 SB2246 Introduced 2/10/2023, by Sen. Kimberly A. Lightford SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
325 ILCS 5/6 from Ch. 23, par. 2056
325 ILCS 5/7.4 from Ch. 23, par. 2057.4
Sets forth certain protections that must be provided to any subject of an abuse or neglect investigation whenever the Department of Children and Family Services consults with and relies upon the opinion of a medically trained professional as to whether there is evidence of abuse or neglect. Provides that no child or family member of a child who is the subject of an investigation shall be required to submit to additional medical tests, for investigation purposes only, during the investigation. Requires a consulting medical professional who is employed or under contract with the Department to identify himself or herself as a forensic consultant, rather than as a member of the child's treatment team, whenever the individual has direct contact with the child or the family of the child. Provides that the subject of a report shall have the opportunity to submit a second medical opinion as to whether there is evidence of abuse or neglect. Requires the Department to annually prepare and make available on the Department's Reports and Statistics webpage a report on the number of children referred to a consulting medical professional for forensic opinion. Provides that the first report must be posted by March 31, 2024. Sets forth certain data and information that must be contained in the annual report.
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A BILL FOR
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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. Findings. The General Assembly finds as
follows:
(1) Any case involving allegations of child abuse or
neglect raise the potential for risk of error and trauma if the
determination made at the conclusion of the investigation is
incorrect.
(2) The Department relies on the expertise of medical
professional consultants in order to understand and assess the
validity of hotline calls reporting abuse or neglect. The
Department has established contracts and consultations with
doctors and other medical professionals for the purpose of
obtaining their opinion during child abuse and neglect
investigations conducted throughout Illinois in accordance
with this Act.
(3) Such contracts and consultations, as currently
constituted, include input from law enforcement, county
state's attorneys, and other local agencies. A balance of
consideration of alternative explanations and information from
independent sources has not been developed in Illinois.
Consequently, parents, guardians, and others do not have equal
access and an ability to contribute potentially dispositive

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information during a child abuse or neglect investigations.
(4) There is extensive controversy over whether medical
conclusions such as "shaken baby syndrome", metaphyseal
fractures, Ehlers Danlos syndrome, rickets and Vitamin D
deficiency, and Munchausen's Syndrome by Proxy are the causes
or contributors to children's reported injuries, symptoms, or
conditions. There are many conditions that mimic child abuse.
Some common beliefs about child abuse being idiopathic to
certain conditions have been shown to be demonstrably false
(such as that a triad of conditions necessarily means that a
child must have been shaken or that the last person with the
child must have been the person who injured the child).
(5) Children with rare diseases and disabilities are
particularly at risk of having medical conditions overlooked
or misunderstood as child abuse.
(6) As a result of these medical misunderstandings and the
lack of up-to-date information grounded in science, innocent
parents have been targeted as child abusers and child
neglectors, and have been imprisoned, fired, or had their
children taken into state custody or their rights of access to
their children restricted whenever a person with the title
"child abuse pediatrician" contends that the parent's child is
abused, even when that opinion is erroneous.
(7) A right as basic as the right to consent to the release
of medical records is not adequately protected in the context
of any hotline call investigation.

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(8) There is currently no limitation on a medical
professional's participation in a child abuse or neglect
investigation even when the medical professional, or the
medical professional's colleague or employment institution,
directly participated in the making of the hotline call that
triggered the abuse or neglect investigation.
(9) The interest of truth in science, common sense, and
justice require that access to objective scientific
information should not be the privilege of one side to a
reasonable dispute as to medical science.
(10) The State of Illinois currently has no system of
independent review of the accuracy of the forensic opinions
rendered by child abuse pediatricians who hold contracts
through child advocacy centers and hospitals.
(11) Parents report being blindsided and misinformed as to
the role of the child abuse pediatrician in many cases,
including ones where no abuse was ultimately found.
(12) News reports by NBC News have highlighted cases in
which grievous errors in medical opinions rendered by child
abuse pediatricians, and relied upon by state agencies during
child abuse and neglect investigations, have led to grave
injustices that could be remedied with modest procedural
protections for the fairness of such investigations.
(13) Doctors take an oath to "first do no harm" but there
is no system in the State of Illinois for redressing and
mitigating the harm to families who have been the victims of

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wrongful child abuse or neglect allegations.
Section 5. The Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act is
amended by changing Sections 6 and 7.4 as follows:
(325 ILCS 5/6) (from Ch. 23, par. 2056)
Sec. 6. Any person required to investigate cases of
suspected child abuse or neglect may not take or cause to be
taken, at Department expense, color photographs and x-rays of
the child who is the subject of a report, and color photographs
of the physical environment in which the alleged abuse or
neglect has taken place, except if there are exigent
circumstances, or if there is a need for such photographs or
x-rays for emergency treatment of the child, or if the person
responsible for the child's welfare gives consent to the
taking of such photographs or x-rays. The person seeking to
take such photographs or x-rays shall make every reasonable
effort to notify the person responsible for the child's
welfare. The person required to investigate cases of suspected
child abuse or neglect shall not threaten removal of a child or
other legal action if the person reasonable for the child's
welfare refuses to consent to the taking of photographs or
x-rays.
(Source: P.A. 84-611.)
(325 ILCS 5/7.4) (from Ch. 23, par. 2057.4)

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Sec. 7.4. (a) The Department shall be capable of receiving
reports of suspected child abuse or neglect 24 hours a day, 7
days a week. Whenever the Department receives a report
alleging that a child is a truant as defined in Section 26-2a
of the School Code, as now or hereafter amended, the
Department shall notify the superintendent of the school
district in which the child resides and the appropriate
superintendent of the educational service region. The
notification to the appropriate officials by the Department
shall not be considered an allegation of abuse or neglect
under this Act.
(a-5) The Department of Children and Family Services may
implement a "differential response program" in accordance with
criteria, standards, and procedures prescribed by rule. The
program may provide that, upon receiving a report, the
Department shall determine whether to conduct a family
assessment or an investigation as appropriate to prevent or
provide a remedy for child abuse or neglect.
For purposes of this subsection (a-5), "family assessment"
means a comprehensive assessment of child safety, risk of
subsequent child maltreatment, and family strengths and needs
that is applied to a child maltreatment report that does not
allege substantial child endangerment. "Family assessment"
does not include a determination as to whether child
maltreatment occurred but does determine the need for services
to address the safety of family members and the risk of

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subsequent maltreatment.
For purposes of this subsection (a-5), "investigation"
means fact-gathering related to the current safety of a child
and the risk of subsequent abuse or neglect that determines
whether a report of suspected child abuse or neglect should be
indicated or unfounded and whether child protective services
are needed.
Under the "differential response program" implemented
under this subsection (a-5), the Department:
(1) Shall conduct an investigation on reports
involving substantial child abuse or neglect.
(2) Shall begin an immediate investigation if, at any
time when it is using a family assessment response, it
determines that there is reason to believe that
substantial child abuse or neglect or a serious threat to
the child's safety exists.
(3) May conduct a family assessment for reports that
do not allege substantial child endangerment. In
determining that a family assessment is appropriate, the
Department may consider issues, including, but not limited
to, child safety, parental cooperation, and the need for
an immediate response.
(4) Shall promulgate criteria, standards, and
procedures that shall be applied in making this
determination, taking into consideration the Child
Endangerment Risk Assessment Protocol of the Department.

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(5) May conduct a family assessment on a report that
was initially screened and assigned for an investigation.
In determining that a complete investigation is not
required, the Department must document the reason for
terminating the investigation and notify the local law
enforcement agency or the Illinois State Police if the local
law enforcement agency or Illinois State Police is conducting
a joint investigation.
Once it is determined that a "family assessment" will be
implemented, the case shall not be reported to the central
register of abuse and neglect reports.
During a family assessment, the Department shall collect
any available and relevant information to determine child
safety, risk of subsequent abuse or neglect, and family
strengths.
Information collected includes, but is not limited to,
when relevant: information with regard to the person reporting
the alleged abuse or neglect, including the nature of the
reporter's relationship to the child and to the alleged
offender, and the basis of the reporter's knowledge for the
report; the child allegedly being abused or neglected; the
alleged offender; the child's caretaker; and other collateral
sources having relevant information related to the alleged
abuse or neglect. Information relevant to the assessment must
be asked for, and may include:
(A) The child's sex and age, prior reports of abuse or

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neglect, information relating to developmental
functioning, credibility of the child's statement, and
whether the information provided under this paragraph (A)
is consistent with other information collected during the
course of the assessment or investigation.
(B) The alleged offender's age, a record check for
prior reports of abuse or neglect, and criminal charges
and convictions. The alleged offender may submit
supporting documentation relevant to the assessment.
(C) Collateral source information regarding the
alleged abuse or neglect and care of the child. Collateral
information includes, when relevant: (i) a medical
examination of the child; (ii) prior medical records
relating to the alleged maltreatment or care of the child
maintained by any facility, clinic, or health care
professional, and an interview with the treating
professionals; and (iii) interviews with the child's
caretakers, including the child's parent, guardian, foster
parent, child care provider, teachers, counselors, family
members, relatives, and other persons who may have
knowledge regarding the alleged maltreatment and the care
of the child.
(D) Information on the existence of domestic abuse and
violence in the home of the child, and substance abuse.
Nothing in this subsection (a-5) precludes the Department
from collecting other relevant information necessary to

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conduct the assessment or investigation. Nothing in this
subsection (a-5) shall be construed to allow the name or
identity of a reporter to be disclosed in violation of the
protections afforded under Section 7.19 of this Act.
After conducting the family assessment, the Department
shall determine whether services are needed to address the
safety of the child and other family members and the risk of
subsequent abuse or neglect.
Upon completion of the family assessment, if the
Department concludes that no services shall be offered, then
the case shall be closed. If the Department concludes that
services shall be offered, the Department shall develop a
family preservation plan and offer or refer services to the
family.
At any time during a family assessment, if the Department
believes there is any reason to stop the assessment and
conduct an investigation based on the information discovered,
the Department shall do so.
The procedures available to the Department in conducting
investigations under this Act shall be followed as appropriate
during a family assessment.
If the Department implements a differential response
program authorized under this subsection (a-5), the Department
shall arrange for an independent evaluation of the program for
at least the first 3 years of implementation to determine
whether it is meeting the goals in accordance with Section 2 of

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this Act.
The Department may adopt administrative rules necessary
for the execution of this Section, in accordance with Section
4 of the Children and Family Services Act.
The Department shall submit a report to the General
Assembly by January 15, 2018 on the implementation progress
and recommendations for additional needed legislative changes.
(b)(1) The following procedures shall be followed in the
investigation of all reports of suspected abuse or neglect of
a child, except as provided in subsection (c) of this Section.
(2) If, during a family assessment authorized by
subsection (a-5) or an investigation, it appears that the
immediate safety or well-being of a child is endangered, that
the family may flee or the child disappear, or that the facts
otherwise so warrant, the Child Protective Service Unit shall
commence an investigation immediately, regardless of the time
of day or night. All other investigations shall be commenced
within 24 hours of receipt of the report. Upon receipt of a
report, the Child Protective Service Unit shall conduct a
family assessment authorized by subsection (a-5) or begin an
initial investigation and make an initial determination
whether the report is a good faith indication of alleged child
abuse or neglect.
(3) Based on an initial investigation, if the Unit
determines the report is a good faith indication of alleged
child abuse or neglect, then a formal investigation shall

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commence and, pursuant to Section 7.12 of this Act, may or may
not result in an indicated report. The formal investigation
shall include: direct contact with the subject or subjects of
the report as soon as possible after the report is received; an
evaluation of the environment of the child named in the report
and any other children in the same environment; a
determination of the risk to such children if they continue to
remain in the existing environments, as well as a
determination of the nature, extent and cause of any condition
enumerated in such report; the name, age and condition of
other children in the environment; and an evaluation as to
whether there would be an immediate and urgent necessity to
remove the child from the environment if appropriate family
preservation services were provided. After seeing to the
safety of the child or children, the Department shall
forthwith notify the subjects of the report in writing, of the
existence of the report and their rights existing under this
Act in regard to amendment or expungement. To fulfill the
requirements of this Section, the Child Protective Service
Unit shall have the capability of providing or arranging for
comprehensive emergency services to children and families at
all times of the day or night.
(4) If (i) at the conclusion of the Unit's initial
investigation of a report, the Unit determines the report to
be a good faith indication of alleged child abuse or neglect
that warrants a formal investigation by the Unit, the

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Department, any law enforcement agency or any other
responsible agency and (ii) the person who is alleged to have
caused the abuse or neglect is employed or otherwise engaged
in an activity resulting in frequent contact with children and
the alleged abuse or neglect are in the course of such
employment or activity, then the Department shall, except in
investigations where the Director determines that such
notification would be detrimental to the Department's
investigation, inform the appropriate supervisor or
administrator of that employment or activity that the Unit has
commenced a formal investigation pursuant to this Act, which
may or may not result in an indicated report. The Department
shall also notify the person being investigated, unless the
Director determines that such notification would be
detrimental to the Department's investigation.
(c) In an investigation of a report of suspected abuse or
neglect of a child by a school employee at a school or on
school grounds, the Department shall make reasonable efforts
to follow the following procedures:
(1) Investigations involving teachers shall not, to
the extent possible, be conducted when the teacher is
scheduled to conduct classes. Investigations involving
other school employees shall be conducted so as to
minimize disruption of the school day. The school employee
accused of child abuse or neglect may have his superior,
his association or union representative and his attorney

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present at any interview or meeting at which the teacher
or administrator is present. The accused school employee
shall be informed by a representative of the Department,
at any interview or meeting, of the accused school
employee's due process rights and of the steps in the
investigation process. These due process rights shall also
include the right of the school employee to present
countervailing evidence regarding the accusations. In an
investigation in which the alleged perpetrator of abuse or
neglect is a school employee, including, but not limited
to, a school teacher or administrator, and the
recommendation is to determine the report to be indicated,
in addition to other procedures as set forth and defined
in Department rules and procedures, the employee's due
process rights shall also include: (i) the right to a copy
of the investigation summary; (ii) the right to review the
specific allegations which gave rise to the investigation;
and (iii) the right to an administrator's teleconference
which shall be convened to provide the school employee
with the opportunity to present documentary evidence or
other information that supports his or her position and to
provide information before a final finding is entered.
(2) If a report of neglect or abuse of a child by a
teacher or administrator does not involve allegations of
sexual abuse or extreme physical abuse, the Child
Protective Service Unit shall make reasonable efforts to

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conduct the initial investigation in coordination with the
employee's supervisor.
If the Unit determines that the report is a good faith
indication of potential child abuse or neglect, it shall
then commence a formal investigation under paragraph (3)
of subsection (b) of this Section.
(3) If a report of neglect or abuse of a child by a
teacher or administrator involves an allegation of sexual
abuse or extreme physical abuse, the Child Protective Unit
shall commence an investigation under paragraph (2) of
subsection (b) of this Section.
(c-5) In any instance in which a report is made or caused
to made by a school district employee involving the conduct of
a person employed by the school district, at the time the
report was made, as required under Section 4 of this Act, the
Child Protective Service Unit shall send a copy of its final
finding report to the general superintendent of that school
district.
(c-10) The Department may recommend that a school district
remove a school employee who is the subject of an
investigation from his or her employment position pending the
outcome of the investigation; however, all employment
decisions regarding school personnel shall be the sole
responsibility of the school district or employer. The
Department may not require a school district to remove a
school employee from his or her employment position or limit

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the school employee's duties pending the outcome of an
investigation.
(d) If the Department has contact with an employer, or
with a religious institution or religious official having
supervisory or hierarchical authority over a member of the
clergy accused of the abuse of a child, in the course of its
investigation, the Department shall notify the employer or the
religious institution or religious official, in writing, when
a report is unfounded so that any record of the investigation
can be expunged from the employee's or member of the clergy's
personnel or other records. The Department shall also notify
the employee or the member of the clergy, in writing, that
notification has been sent to the employer or to the
appropriate religious institution or religious official
informing the employer or religious institution or religious
official that the Department's investigation has resulted in
an unfounded report.
(d-1) Whenever a report alleges that a child was abused or
neglected while receiving care in a hospital, including a
freestanding psychiatric hospital licensed by the Department
of Public Health, the Department shall send a copy of its final
finding to the Director of Public Health and the Director of
Healthcare and Family Services.
(d-2) In any investigation conducted in accordance with
this Act during which the Department consults with and relies
upon a medically trained professional as to whether abuse or

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neglect is considered likely, to a reasonable degree of
medical certainty, the following protections shall be provided
to any subject of the investigation:
(A) No child or family member of a child who is the
subject of an investigation shall be required to submit to
additional medical tests, for investigation purposes only,
during the investigation. The risks associated with any
recommended test must be fully disclosed to the child's
custodial parent or guardian during the investigation.
Nothing in this paragraph shall be read to preclude those
medical tests that are medically necessary for the child's
treatment.
(B) If a consulting medical professional is employed,
in whole or in part, by the Department or receives
referrals in the course of an investigation pursuant to
any contract, memorandum of understanding, or direct
request by an investigator, such individual must identify
himself or herself as a forensic consultant, rather than
as a member of the child's treatment team, whenever the
individual has direct contact with the child or the family
of the child. The individual must also provide the child's
guardian with accurate information about the medical
specialties that the individual holds.
(C) The subject of the investigation shall be afforded
the opportunity to identify all medical professionals who
have examined or treated the child during the previous

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12-month period prior to the hotline call and, with the
subject's consent, such medical professionals shall be
afforded the opportunity to submit information for
consideration by the Department prior to the conclusion of
the investigation.
(D) The subject of the investigation shall be afforded
the reasonable opportunity to submit a second medical
opinion to the Department or to request that the
Department allow time for the subject to obtain and submit
second independent opinions from medical professionals. A
request for a second medical opinion shall be considered
good cause to toll deadlines for completion of an
investigation.
(E) Except if there are exigent circumstances, the
subject of the investigation shall be provided the
identity, credentials, and opinions of other professionals
the consulted medical professional relies upon in
rendering an opinion as to the likelihood of abuse or
neglect, and the written opinion of such person shall be
provided, upon the conclusion of the investigation (with
due allowance for redactions as otherwise provided under
this Act).
(F) The Department shall annually prepare and make
available on the Department's Reports and Statistics
webpage a report on the number of children referred to a
consulting medical professional for forensic opinion. The

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first report must be posted by March 31, 2024. The report
shall contain the following information:
(i) Total number of abuse or neglect cases that
were substantiated by the court.
(ii) Total number of abuse or neglect cases that
the Department determined were unfounded.
(iii) Total number of abuse or neglect cases that
the Department determined were indicated, but were not
sent to the court.
(I) Data on the subset of those indicated
cases that were appealed and the outcomes of those
appeals.
(II) Data on the subset of those cases that
the Department determined were indicated but with
an unknown perpetrator.
(iv) Compile the information collected under items
(i) through (iii) by individual provider.
(v) Compile the information collected under items
(i) through (iii) by medical diagnosis.
(vi) Compile the information collected under items
(i) through (iii) by county.
(vii) Compile the information collected under
items (i) through (iii) by race.
(viii) Compile the information collected under
items (i) through (iii) by gender (of the child).
(ix) Compile the information collected under items

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(i) through (iii) by children with safety plans and
children put in protective custody.
(e) Upon request by the Department, the Illinois State
Police and law enforcement agencies are authorized to provide
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 to
properly designated employees of the Department of Children
and Family Services 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 request
shall be in the form and manner required by the Illinois State
Police. Any information obtained by the Department of Children
and Family Services under this Section is confidential and may
not be transmitted outside the Department of Children and
Family Services other than to a court of competent
jurisdiction or unless otherwise authorized by law. Any
employee of the Department of Children and Family Services who
transmits confidential information in violation of this
Section or causes the information to be transmitted in
violation of this Section is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor
unless the transmittal of the information is authorized by
this Section or otherwise authorized by law.
(f) For purposes of this Section, "child abuse or neglect"

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includes abuse or neglect of an adult resident as defined in
this Act.
(Source: P.A. 101-43, eff. 1-1-20; 102-538, eff. 8-20-21.)