Bill Text: IL HB5598 | 2013-2014 | 98th General Assembly | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Amends the Children and Family Services Act. Provides that when a child is voluntarily placed in out-of-home care funded by the Department of Children and Family Services for the purpose of obtaining mental health treatment for the child or treatment for the child's developmental disability, the Department is prohibited from requesting, recommending, or requiring that a parent terminate his or her parental rights with respect to the child or that a parent or legal guardian transfer legal custody of the child to the Department. Provides that a child voluntarily placed in out-of-home care shall be placed pursuant to a voluntary placement agreement voluntarily entered into by the parents or legal guardian of the child. Provides that for a child to remain in out-of-home care for longer than 180 days, a juvenile court must make a judicial determination within the first 180 days of the placement that the placement is in the best interests of the child. Requires the Department to report annually to the General Assembly concerning (i) the number of children who were voluntarily placed in out-of-home care funded by the Department and (ii) the number of parents or legal guardians who relinquished custody of their child for the purpose of seeking mental health treatment for the child or treatment for the child's developmental disability. Contains provisions concerning: an interagency agreement between specified State agencies to prevent children from becoming wards of the State and entering the child welfare system solely for purpose of treatment of a child's serious mental illness, serious emotional disturbance, or developmental disability; certain protocols that must be included in the interagency agreement; and additional reporting requirements. Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 15-3)

Status: (Passed) 2014-08-01 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 98-0808 [HB5598 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2013-HB5598-Amended.html

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Rep. Sara Feigenholtz

Filed: 4/7/2014

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AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 5598
AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 5598, AS AMENDED, by
replacing everything after the enacting clause with the
following:
"Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
Custody Relinquishment Prevention Act.
Section 5. Purpose. This Act establishes a pathway for
families on the verge of seeking services for their child's
serious mental illness or serious emotional disturbance
through relinquishment of parental custody to the Department of
Children and Family Services, despite the absence of abuse or
neglect, to receive services through the appropriate State
child-serving agency. This pathway shall be outlined in an
interagency agreement between all the relevant State agencies.
Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:

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"Family income" means the sum of a family's annual earnings
and cash benefits from all sources before taxes, less payments
made for child support.
"Serious mental illness" means a diagnosis set forth in the
most current version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual
of Mental Disorders (DSM).
"Serious emotional disturbance" means a diagnosable
mental, behavioral, or emotional disorder in a child or youth
that resulted in functional impairment which substantially
interferes with or limits his or her role or functioning in
family, school, or community activities.
"Child or youth at risk of custody relinquishment" means a
child or youth whose parents or guardians refuse to take the
child or youth home from a hospital or similar treatment
facility because the parents or guardians have a reasonable
belief that the child or youth will harm himself or herself or
other family members upon the child or youth's return home, and
there is no evidence of abuse or neglect.
Section 15. Interagency agreement. In order to intercept
and divert children and youth at risk of custody relinquishment
to the Department of Children and Family Services, within 180
days after the effective date of this Act, the Department of
Children of Family Services, the Department of Human Services,
the Department of Healthcare and Family Services, the Illinois
State Board of Education, the Department of Juvenile Justice,

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and the Department of Public Health shall enter into an
interagency agreement for the purpose of preventing children
and youth who are not otherwise abused or neglected from
entering the custody or guardianship of the Department of
Children and Family Services solely for purposes of receiving
services for a serious mental illness or serious emotional
disturbance.
The intergovernmental agreement shall require the agencies
listed in this Section to establish an interagency clinical
team to review cases of children and youth who are at risk of
relinquishment who are at a hospital or other similar treatment
facility, and to connect the child or youth and his or her
family with the appropriate services, treatment, and support to
stabilize the child or youth's serious mental illness or
serious emotional disturbance and prevent custody
relinquishment to the Department of Children and Family
Services.
The interagency agreement, among other things, shall
address all of the following:
(1) Requiring families with private health insurance
to exhaust their private insurance coverage.
(2) Establishing cost sharing for services received
for families whose income exceeds the federal poverty level
that would qualify them for Medicaid, based on the family's
ability to pay.
(3) For children or youth who are not otherwise

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Medicaid eligible, performing a crisis stabilization
assessment and developing a care plan for the child or
youth and the family with the goal of determining what
services are necessary to (i) stabilize the child or youth
and (ii) prevent custody relinquishment to the Department
of Children and Family Services when there is no abuse or
neglect.
(4) Set criteria for short-term crisis stabilization
services, including intensive community-based services or
a short-term residential placement, as the child or youth's
treatment plan is being developed.
Section 20. Outcomes and data reported annually to the
General Assembly.
(a) The Department of Children and Family Services shall
submit an annual report to the General Assembly which includes
the following with respect to the time period covered by the
report:
(1) The number of children and youth who were
relinquished to the Department of Children and Family
Services for purposes of receiving treatment for their
serious mental illness or serious emotional disturbance.
(2) The length of treatment and the status of children
and youth at the termination of services.
(b) The interagency agreement required under Section 15
shall require reporting to the General Assembly with respect to

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the following criteria:
(1) The number of children and youth who were
intercepted during the reporting period and the services
they were connected with to prevent custody relinquishment
and to stabilize the child or youth.
(2) The duration of the services the child or youth
received in order to stabilize his or her serious mental
illness or serious emotional disturbance.
(3) Following the connection to services through the
most appropriate State agency to address the child or
youth's needs, the number of families that failed to
stabilize and turned to the Department of Children and
Family Services for services, and that relinquished
custody or whose child was adjudicated a dependent minor
pursuant to subdivision (c) of paragraph (1) of Section 2-4
of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987.".