Bill Amendment: IL SB1670 | 2015-2016 | 99th General Assembly

NOTE: For additional amemendments please see the Bill Drafting List

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Bill Title: DCFS-ABANDONED NEWBORNS

Status: 2015-10-10 - Pursuant to Senate Rule 3-9(b) / Referred to Assignments [SB1670 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2015-SB1670-Senate_Amendment_001.html

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Sen. Heather A. Steans

Filed: 4/21/2015

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AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 1670
AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 1670 by replacing
everything after the enacting clause with the following:
"Section 5. The Abandoned Newborn Infant Protection Act is
amended by changing Sections 10, 20, 35, 50, 60, and 65 as
follows:
(325 ILCS 2/10)
Sec. 10. Definitions. In this Act:
"Abandon" has the same meaning as in the Abused and
Neglected Child Reporting Act.
"Abused child" has the same meaning as in the Abused and
Neglected Child Reporting Act.
"Child-placing agency" means a licensed public or private
agency that receives a child for the purpose of placing or
arranging for the placement of the child in a foster family
home or other facility for child care, apart from the custody

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of the child's parents.
"Department" or "DCFS" means the Illinois Department of
Children and Family Services.
"Emergency medical facility" means a freestanding
emergency center or trauma center, as defined in the Emergency
Medical Services (EMS) Systems Act.
"Emergency medical professional" includes licensed
physicians, and any emergency medical technician, emergency
medical technician-intermediate, advanced emergency medical
technician, paramedic, trauma nurse specialist, and
pre-hospital registered nurse, as defined in the Emergency
Medical Services (EMS) Systems Act.
"Fire station" means a fire station within the State with
at least one staff person.
"Foundling record" means the record required for infants of
unknown parentage in Section 13 of the Vital Records Act.
"Hospital" has the same meaning as in the Hospital
Licensing Act.
"Hospital birth" means any birth that occurs in a hospital
or emergency medical facility.
"Legal custody" means the relationship created by a court
order in the best interest of a newborn infant that imposes on
the infant's custodian the responsibility of physical
possession of the infant, the duty to protect, train, and
discipline the infant, and the duty to provide the infant with
food, shelter, education, and medical care, except as these are

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limited by parental rights and responsibilities.
"Neglected child" has the same meaning as in the Abused and
Neglected Child Reporting Act.
"Newborn infant" means a child who a licensed physician
reasonably believes is 30 days old or less at the time the
child is initially relinquished to a hospital, police station,
fire station, or emergency medical facility, and who is not an
abused or a neglected child.
"Police station" means a municipal police station, a county
sheriff's office, a campus police department located on any
college or university owned or controlled by the State or any
private college or private university that is not owned or
controlled by the State when employees of the campus police
department are present, or any of the district headquarters of
the Illinois State Police.
"Relinquish" means to bring a newborn infant, who a
licensed physician reasonably believes is 30 days old or less,
to a hospital, police station, fire station, or emergency
medical facility and to leave the infant with personnel of the
facility, if the person leaving the infant does not express an
intent to return for the infant or states that he or she will
not return for the infant. In the case of a mother who gives
birth to an infant in a hospital, the mother's act of leaving
that newborn infant at the hospital (i) without expressing an
intent to return for the infant or (ii) stating that she will
not return for the infant is not a "relinquishment" under this

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Act.
"Temporary protective custody" means the temporary
placement of a newborn infant within a hospital or other
medical facility out of the custody of the infant's parent.
(Source: P.A. 97-293, eff. 8-11-11; 98-973, eff. 8-15-14.)
(325 ILCS 2/20)
Sec. 20. Procedures with respect to relinquished newborn
infants.
(a) Hospitals. Every hospital must accept and provide all
necessary emergency services and care to a relinquished newborn
infant, in accordance with this Act. The hospital shall examine
a relinquished newborn infant and perform tests that, based on
reasonable medical judgment, are appropriate in evaluating
whether the relinquished newborn infant was abused or
neglected.
The act of relinquishing a newborn infant serves as implied
consent for the hospital and its medical personnel and
physicians on staff to treat and provide care for the infant.
The hospital shall be deemed to have temporary protective
custody of a relinquished newborn infant brought to a hospital
by a relinquishing person or who has been brought to a hospital
after relinquishment at a fire station, police station, or
emergency medical facility. The hospital shall have such
protective custody until the infant is discharged to the
custody of a child-placing agency or the Department. During

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this time of temporary protective custody of the infant, the
hospital shall complete a foundling record with respect to the
infant pursuant to Section 13 of the Vital Records Act.
(b) Fire stations, police stations, and emergency medical
facilities. Every fire station, police station, and emergency
medical facility must accept and provide all necessary
emergency services and care to a relinquished newborn infant,
in accordance with this Act.
The act of relinquishing a newborn infant serves as implied
consent for the fire station, police station, or emergency
medical facility and its emergency medical professionals to
treat and provide care for the infant, to the extent that those
emergency medical professionals are trained to provide those
services.
After the relinquishment of a newborn infant to a fire
station, police station, or emergency medical facility, the
fire station, police station, or emergency medical facility's
personnel must arrange for the transportation of the infant to
the nearest hospital as soon as transportation can be arranged.
If the parent of a newborn infant returns to reclaim the
child within 72 hours after relinquishing the child to a fire
station or emergency medical facility, the fire station or
emergency medical facility must inform the parent of the name
and location of the hospital to which the infant was
transported.
(c) If a parent of a newborn infant or any other person

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returns to reclaim the infant after relinquishing the infant to
a hospital, fire station, police station, or emergency medical
facility, the hospital, fire station, police station, or
emergency medical facility shall inform the parent or other
person that he or she must contact the Department and shall
provide the parent or other person with the toll-free telephone
number established by the Department for the sole purpose of
receiving calls made pursuant to this Section and for providing
the parent or person relinquishing the infant with the name of
the hospital or licensed child-placing agency to which the
infant has been taken. The Department shall adopt rules
necessary to create this dedicated toll-free telephone number
within 120 days of the effective date of this amendatory Act of
the 99th General Assembly. The rules shall require that any
call placed to the toll-free telephone number shall be returned
within one hour from the time the call was placed. Police
stations. Every police station must accept a relinquished
newborn infant, in accordance with this Act. After the
relinquishment of a newborn infant to a police station, the
police station must arrange for the transportation of the
infant to the nearest hospital as soon as transportation can be
arranged. The act of relinquishing a newborn infant serves as
implied consent for the hospital to which the infant is
transported and that hospital's medical personnel and
physicians on staff to treat and provide care for the infant.
If the parent of a newborn infant returns to reclaim the

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infant within 72 hours after relinquishing the infant to a
police station, the police station must inform the parent of
the name and location of the hospital to which the infant was
transported.
(Source: P.A. 92-408, eff. 8-17-01; 92-432, eff. 8-17-01;
93-820, eff. 7-27-04.)
(325 ILCS 2/35)
Sec. 35. Information for relinquishing person.
(a) A hospital, police station, fire station, or emergency
medical facility that receives a newborn infant relinquished in
accordance with this Act must offer an information packet to
the relinquishing person and, if possible, must clearly inform
the relinquishing person that his or her acceptance of the
information is completely voluntary. The information packet
must include all of the following:
(1) (Blank).
(2) Written notice of the following:
(A) No sooner than 30 days following the date of No
sooner than 60 days following the date of the initial
relinquishment of the infant to a hospital, police
station, fire station, or emergency medical facility,
the child-placing agency or the Department will
commence proceedings for the termination of parental
rights and placement of the infant for adoption.
(B) Failure of a parent of the infant to contact

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the Department and petition for the return of custody
of the infant before termination of parental rights
bars any future action asserting legal rights with
respect to the infant.
(3) A resource list of providers of counseling services
including grief counseling, pregnancy counseling, and
counseling regarding adoption and other available options
for placement of the infant.
Upon request of a parent, the Department of Public Health
shall provide the application forms for the Illinois Adoption
Registry and Medical Information Exchange.
(b) The information packet given to a relinquishing parent
in accordance with this Act shall include, in addition to other
information required under this Act, the following:
(1) A brochure (with a self-mailer attached) that
describes this Act and the rights of birth parents,
including an optional section for the parent to complete
and mail to the Department of Children and Family Services,
that shall ask for basic anonymous background information
about the relinquished child. This brochure shall be
maintained by the Department on its website.
(2) A brochure that describes the Illinois Adoption
Registry, including a toll-free number and website
information. This brochure shall be maintained on the
Office of Vital Records website.
(3) A brochure describing postpartum health

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information for the mother.
The information packet shall be designed in coordination
between the Office of Vital Records and the Department of
Children and Family Services, with the exception of the
resource list of providers of counseling services and adoption
agencies, which shall be provided by the hospital, fire
station, police station, sheriff's office, or emergency
medical facility.
(Source: P.A. 96-1114, eff. 7-20-10; 97-333, eff. 8-12-11.)
(325 ILCS 2/50)
Sec. 50. Child-placing agency procedures.
(a) The Department's State Central Registry must maintain a
list of licensed child-placing agencies willing to take legal
custody of newborn infants relinquished in accordance with this
Act. The child-placing agencies on the list must be contacted
by the Department on a rotating basis upon notice from a
hospital that a newborn infant has been relinquished in
accordance with this Act.
(b) Upon notice from the Department that a newborn infant
has been relinquished in accordance with this Act, a
child-placing agency must accept the newborn infant if the
agency has the accommodations to do so. The child-placing
agency must seek an order for legal custody of the infant upon
its acceptance of the infant.
(c) Within 3 business days after assuming physical custody

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of the infant, the child-placing agency shall file a petition
in the division of the circuit court in which petitions for
adoption would normally be heard. The petition shall allege
that the newborn infant has been relinquished in accordance
with this Act and shall state that the child-placing agency
intends to place the infant in an adoptive home.
(d) If no licensed child-placing agency is able to accept
the relinquished newborn infant, then the Department must
assume responsibility for the infant as soon as practicable.
(e) A custody order issued under subsection (b) shall
remain in effect until a final adoption order based on the
relinquished newborn infant's best interests is issued in
accordance with this Act and the Adoption Act.
(f) When possible, the child-placing agency must place a
relinquished newborn infant in a prospective adoptive home.
(g) The Department or child-placing agency must initiate
proceedings to (i) terminate the parental rights of the
relinquished newborn infant's known or unknown parents, (ii)
appoint a guardian for the infant, and (iii) obtain consent to
the infant's adoption in accordance with this Act no sooner
than 30 days no sooner than 60 days following the date of the
initial relinquishment of the infant to the hospital, police
station, fire station, or emergency medical facility.
(g-5) No court order terminating the parental rights of the
relinquished newborn infant's known or unknown parents shall be
entered sooner than 60 days after the date of the initial

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relinquishment of the infant to the hospital, fire station,
police station, or emergency medical facility.
(h) Before filing a petition for termination of parental
rights, the Department or child-placing agency must do the
following:
(1) Search its Putative Father Registry for the purpose
of determining the identity and location of the putative
father of the relinquished newborn infant who is, or is
expected to be, the subject of an adoption proceeding, in
order to provide notice of the proceeding to the putative
father. At least one search of the Registry must be
conducted, at least 30 days after the relinquished newborn
infant's estimated date of birth; earlier searches may be
conducted, however. Notice to any potential putative
father discovered in a search of the Registry according to
the estimated age of the relinquished newborn infant must
be in accordance with Section 12a of the Adoption Act.
(2) Verify with law enforcement officials, using the
National Crime Information Center, that the relinquished
newborn infant is not a missing child.
(Source: P.A. 92-408, eff. 8-17-01; 92-432, eff. 8-17-01;
93-820, eff. 7-27-04.)
(325 ILCS 2/60)
Sec. 60. Department's duties. The Department must
implement a public information program to promote safe

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placement alternatives for newborn infants. The public
information program must inform the public of the following:
(1) The relinquishment alternative provided for in
this Act, which results in the adoption of a newborn infant
under 30 7 days of age and which provides for the parent's
anonymity, if the parent so chooses.
(2) The alternative of adoption through a public or
private agency, in which the parent's identity may or may
not be known to the agency, but is kept anonymous from the
adoptive parents, if the birth parent so desires, and which
allows the parent to be actively involved in the child's
adoption plan.
The public information program may include, but need not be
limited to, the following elements:
(i) Educational and informational materials in print,
audio, video, electronic or other media.
(ii) Establishment of a web site.
(iii) Public service announcements and advertisements.
(iv) Establishment of toll-free telephone hotlines to
provide information.
(Source: P.A. 94-941, eff. 6-26-06.)
(325 ILCS 2/65)
Sec. 65. Evaluation.
(a) The Department shall collect and analyze information
regarding the relinquishment of newborn infants and placement

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of children under this Act. Police stations, fire stations,
emergency medical facilities, and medical professionals
accepting and providing services to a newborn infant under this
Act shall report to the Department data necessary for the
Department to evaluate and determine the effect of this Act in
the prevention of injury or death of newborn infants.
Child-placing agencies shall report to the Department data
necessary to evaluate and determine the effectiveness of these
agencies in providing child protective and child welfare
services to newborn infants relinquished under this Act.
(b) The information collected shall include, but need not
be limited to: the number of newborn infants relinquished; the
services provided to relinquished newborn infants; the outcome
of care for the relinquished newborn infants; the number and
disposition of cases of relinquished newborn infants subject to
placement; the number of children accepted and served by each
child-placing agency agencies; the name of each child-placing
agency which provided services; the number of infants
relinquished at each location, listed by location, including
the number of infants relinquished at a hospital, fire station,
police station, and emergency medical facility; and the
services provided by child-placing agencies and the
disposition of the cases of the children placed under this Act.
(c) The Department shall submit a report by January 1,
2002, and on January 1 of each year thereafter, to the Governor
and General Assembly regarding the prevention of injury or

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death of newborn infants and the effect of placements of
children under this Act. The report shall include, but need not
be limited to, a summary of collected data, an analysis of the
data and conclusions regarding the Act's effectiveness, a
determination whether the purposes of the Act are being
achieved, and recommendations for changes that may be
considered necessary to improve the administration and
enforcement of this Act.
(Source: P.A. 92-408, eff. 8-17-01; 92-432, eff. 8-17-01;
93-820, eff. 7-27-04.)".