Bill Text: IL HB0703 | 2017-2018 | 100th General Assembly | Engrossed

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Bill Title: Amends the Adoption Act. In a Section concerning adoption between multiple jurisdictions, adds a statement of public policy. Provides that the Department of Children and Family Services shall promulgate procedures and requirements for interstate adoption placements of children and disseminate the information via specified channels no later than 30 days after the effective date of the amendatory Act. Provides that the Department may not require any further pre-adoption requirements. Provides that 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. Adds provisions governing the timeline and procedures for interstate adoptions. Provides that 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 may be made through any type of electronic means, including, but not limited to, electronic mail. Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Passed) 2017-08-25 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 100-0344 [HB0703 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2017-HB0703-Engrossed.html

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AN ACT concerning civil law.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Adoption Act is amended by changing Section
4.1 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
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

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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
placing agency conducts within its geographical area, and,
if applicable, adoptive placements and the finalization of
adoptions. The child placing agency must accept continued
responsibility for placement planning and replacement if
the placement fails.
(3) Notification to the Department of any significant

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child placing 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
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
promulgate procedures for interstate adoption placements
of children under this Act. No later than 30 days after the
effective date of this amendatory Act of the 100th General

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Assembly, the Department shall distribute a written list of
all pre-adoption 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 pre-adoption 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
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

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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, 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

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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 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

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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,
entered or issued by a court of competent jurisdiction
or administrative body outside the United States,
establishing the relationship of parent and child by

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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
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

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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.
(Source: P.A. 98-455, eff. 1-1-14; 99-49, eff. 7-15-15.)
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.