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| Public Act 098-0830
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| SB2909 Enrolled | LRB098 16977 KTG 52059 b |
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AN ACT concerning State government.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The Children and Family Services Act is amended |
by changing Section 21 as follows:
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(20 ILCS 505/21) (from Ch. 23, par. 5021)
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Sec. 21. Investigative powers; training.
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(a) To make such investigations as it may deem necessary to |
the
performance of its duties.
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(b) In the course of any such investigation any
qualified |
person authorized by the Director may administer oaths and |
secure
by its subpoena both the attendance and testimony of |
witnesses and the
production of books and papers relevant to |
such investigation. Any person
who is served with a subpoena by |
the Department to appear and testify or to
produce books and |
papers, in the course of an investigation authorized by
law, |
and who refuses or neglects to appear, or to testify, or to |
produce
books and papers relevant to such investigation, as |
commanded in such
subpoena, shall be guilty of a Class B |
misdemeanor. The fees of witnesses
for attendance and travel |
shall be the same as the fees of witnesses before
the circuit |
courts of this State. Any circuit court of this State, upon
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application of the person requesting the hearing or the |
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Department, may
compel the attendance of witnesses, the
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production of books and papers, and giving of testimony
before |
the Department or before any authorized officer or employee |
thereof,
by an attachment for contempt or otherwise, in the |
same manner as
production of evidence may be compelled before |
such court. Every person
who, having taken an oath or made |
affirmation before the Department or any
authorized officer or |
employee thereof, shall willfully swear or affirm
falsely, |
shall be guilty of perjury and upon conviction shall be |
punished
accordingly.
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(c) Investigations initiated under this Section shall |
provide
individuals due process of law, including the right to |
a hearing, to
cross-examine witnesses, to obtain relevant |
documents, and to present
evidence. Administrative findings |
shall be subject to the provisions of the
Administrative Review |
Law.
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(d) Beginning July 1, 1988, any child protective |
investigator or
supervisor or child welfare specialist or |
supervisor employed by the
Department on the
effective date of |
this amendatory Act of 1987
shall have completed a training |
program which shall be instituted by the
Department. The
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training program shall include, but not be limited to, the |
following: (1)
training in the detection of symptoms of child |
neglect and drug abuse; (2)
specialized training for dealing |
with families and children of drug
abusers; and (3) specific |
training in child development, family dynamics
and interview |
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techniques. Such program shall conform to the criteria and
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curriculum developed under Section 4 of the Child Protective |
Investigator
and Child Welfare Specialist Certification
Act of |
1987. Failure to complete such training due to lack of
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opportunity provided by the Department shall in no way be |
grounds for any
disciplinary or other action against an |
investigator or a specialist.
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The Department shall develop a continuous inservice staff |
development
program and evaluation system. Each child |
protective investigator and
supervisor and child welfare |
specialist and supervisor shall participate in
such program and |
evaluation and shall complete a minimum of 20 hours of
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inservice education and training every 2 years in order to |
maintain certification.
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Any child protective investigator or child protective |
supervisor,
or child welfare specialist or child welfare |
specialist supervisor
hired by
the Department who begins his
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actual
employment after the effective date of this amendatory |
Act of 1987, shall
be certified
pursuant
to the Child |
Protective Investigator and Child Welfare Specialist
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Certification Act of 1987 before he
begins such employment. |
Nothing in this Act shall replace or diminish the
rights of |
employees under the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act, as
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amended, or the National Labor Relations Act. In the event of |
any conflict
between either of those Acts, or any collective
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bargaining agreement negotiated thereunder, and the provisions |
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of subsections
(d) and (e), the former shall prevail and |
control.
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(e) The Department shall develop and implement the |
following:
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(1) A
standardized child endangerment risk assessment |
protocol.
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(2) Related training
procedures.
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(3) A standardized method for demonstration of
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proficiency in
application of the protocol.
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(4) An evaluation of the reliability and
validity of |
the protocol.
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All child protective investigators and supervisors
and child |
welfare specialists and supervisors employed by the Department |
or its
contractors shall be required, subsequent to the |
availability of training under
this Act, to demonstrate |
proficiency in application of the protocol previous to
being |
permitted to make decisions about the degree of risk posed to |
children
for whom they are responsible. The Department shall |
establish a
multi-disciplinary advisory committee
appointed by |
the Director, including but not limited to representatives from
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the fields of child development, domestic violence, family |
systems, juvenile
justice, law enforcement, health care, |
mental health, substance abuse, and
social service to advise |
the Department and its related contractors in the
development |
and implementation of the child
endangerment risk assessment |
protocol, related training, method for
demonstration of |
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proficiency in application of the protocol, and evaluation of
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the reliability and validity of the protocol. The Department |
shall develop the
protocol, training curriculum, method for |
demonstration of proficiency in
application of the protocol and |
method for evaluation of the reliability and
validity of the |
protocol by July 1, 1995. Training and demonstration of
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proficiency in application of the child endangerment risk |
assessment protocol
for all child protective investigators and |
supervisors and child welfare
specialists and
supervisors
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shall be completed
as soon as practicable, but no later than |
January 1, 1996. The Department
shall submit
to
the General |
Assembly on or before May 1, 1996, and every year thereafter, |
an
annual report on the evaluation of the reliability and |
validity of the child
endangerment risk assessment protocol. |
The Department shall contract with a
not for profit |
organization with demonstrated expertise in the field of child
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endangerment risk assessment to assist in the development and |
implementation of
the child endangerment risk assessment |
protocol, related training, method for
demonstration of |
proficiency in application of the protocol, and evaluation of
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the reliability and validity of the protocol.
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(f) The Department shall provide each parent or guardian |
and responsible adult caregiver participating in a safety plan |
a copy of the written safety plan as signed by each parent or |
guardian and responsible adult caregiver and by a |
representative of the Department. The Department shall also |
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provide each parent or guardian and responsible adult caregiver |
safety plan information on their rights and responsibilities |
that shall include, but need not be limited to, information on |
how to obtain medical care, emergency phone numbers, and |
information on how to notify schools or day care providers as |
appropriate. The Department's representative shall ensure that |
the safety plan is reviewed and approved by the child |
protection supervisor. |
(Source: P.A. 91-61, eff. 6-30-99; 92-154, eff. 1-1-02.)
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