Bill Text: IL SB3146 | 2013-2014 | 98th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Amends the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act. Provides that beginning January 1, 2015 (rather January 1, 2010), the Department of Children and Family Services shall (rather than may) implement a 3-year (rather than a 5-year) demonstration of a "differential response program" in accordance with criteria, standards, and procedures prescribed by rule. Provides that the program shall (rather than 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. In a provision concerning an independent evaluation of the differential response program, requires (i) the independent evaluator to collect appropriate data about the differential response program and (ii) the Department to provide annual reports and a final report to the General Assembly and to the Governor regarding the differential response program. Requires the Department to adopt any necessary administrative rules for the execution of certain provisions. Provides that the differential response program shall become a permanent program on January 1, 2018 (rather than on January 1, 2015), upon completion of the demonstration project period. Effective immediately.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2015-01-13 - Session Sine Die [SB3146 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2013-SB3146-Introduced.html
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1 | AN ACT concerning children.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 5. The Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act is | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
5 | amended by changing Section 7.4 as follows:
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6 | (325 ILCS 5/7.4) (from Ch. 23, par. 2057.4)
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7 | Sec. 7.4. (a) The Department shall be capable of receiving | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
8 | reports of
suspected child abuse or neglect 24 hours a day, 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
9 | days a week. Whenever
the Department receives a report alleging | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
10 | that a child is a
truant as defined in Section 26-2a of The | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
11 | School Code, as now or hereafter
amended, the Department shall | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
12 | notify the superintendent of the school
district in which the | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
13 | child resides and the appropriate superintendent of
the | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
14 | educational service region. The notification to the | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
15 | appropriate
officials by the Department shall not be considered | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
16 | an allegation of abuse
or neglect under this Act.
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17 | (a-5) Beginning January 1, 2015 2010 , the Department of | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
18 | Children and Family Services shall may implement a 3-year | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
19 | 5-year demonstration of a "differential response program" in | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
20 | accordance with criteria, standards, and procedures prescribed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
21 | by rule. The program shall may provide that, upon receiving a | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
22 | report, the Department shall determine whether to conduct a | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
23 | family assessment or an investigation as appropriate to prevent |
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1 | or provide a remedy for child abuse or neglect. | ||||||
2 | For purposes of this subsection (a-5), "family assessment" | ||||||
3 | means a comprehensive assessment of child safety, risk of | ||||||
4 | subsequent child maltreatment, and family strengths and needs | ||||||
5 | that is applied to a child maltreatment report that does not | ||||||
6 | allege substantial child endangerment. "Family assessment" | ||||||
7 | does not include a determination as to whether child | ||||||
8 | maltreatment occurred but does determine the need for services | ||||||
9 | to address the safety of family members and the risk of | ||||||
10 | subsequent maltreatment. | ||||||
11 | For purposes of this subsection (a-5), "investigation" | ||||||
12 | means fact-gathering related to the current safety of a child | ||||||
13 | and the risk of subsequent abuse or neglect that determines | ||||||
14 | whether a report of suspected child abuse or neglect should be | ||||||
15 | indicated or unfounded and whether child protective services | ||||||
16 | are needed. | ||||||
17 | Under the "differential response program" implemented | ||||||
18 | under this subsection (a-5), the Department: | ||||||
19 | (1) Shall conduct an investigation on reports | ||||||
20 | involving substantial child abuse or neglect. | ||||||
21 | (2) Shall begin an immediate investigation if, at any | ||||||
22 | time when it is using a family assessment response, it | ||||||
23 | determines that there is reason to believe that substantial | ||||||
24 | child abuse or neglect or a serious threat to the child's | ||||||
25 | safety exists. | ||||||
26 | (3) May conduct a family assessment for reports that do |
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1 | not allege substantial child endangerment. In determining | ||||||
2 | that a family assessment is appropriate, the Department may | ||||||
3 | consider issues including, but not limited to, child | ||||||
4 | safety, parental cooperation, and the need for an immediate | ||||||
5 | response. | ||||||
6 | (4) Shall promulgate criteria, standards, and | ||||||
7 | procedures that shall be applied in making this | ||||||
8 | determination, taking into consideration the Child | ||||||
9 | Endangerment Risk Assessment Protocol of the Department. | ||||||
10 | (5) May conduct a family assessment on a report that | ||||||
11 | was initially screened and assigned for an investigation. | ||||||
12 | In determining that a complete investigation is not | ||||||
13 | required, the Department must document the reason for | ||||||
14 | terminating the investigation and notify the local law | ||||||
15 | enforcement agency or the Department of State Police if the | ||||||
16 | local law enforcement agency or Department of State Police is | ||||||
17 | conducting a joint investigation. | ||||||
18 | Once it is determined that a "family assessment" will be | ||||||
19 | implemented, the case shall not be reported to the central | ||||||
20 | register of abuse and neglect reports. | ||||||
21 | During a family assessment, the Department shall collect | ||||||
22 | any available and relevant information to determine child | ||||||
23 | safety, risk of subsequent abuse or neglect, and family | ||||||
24 | strengths. | ||||||
25 | Information collected includes, but is not limited to, when | ||||||
26 | relevant: information with regard to the person reporting the |
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1 | alleged abuse or neglect, including the nature of the | ||||||
2 | reporter's relationship to the child and to the alleged | ||||||
3 | offender, and the basis of the reporter's knowledge for the | ||||||
4 | report; the child allegedly being abused or neglected; the | ||||||
5 | alleged offender; the child's caretaker; and other collateral | ||||||
6 | sources having relevant information related to the alleged | ||||||
7 | abuse or neglect. Information relevant to the assessment must | ||||||
8 | be asked for, and may include: | ||||||
9 | (A) The child's sex and age, prior reports of abuse or | ||||||
10 | neglect, information relating to developmental | ||||||
11 | functioning, credibility of the child's statement, and | ||||||
12 | whether the information provided under this paragraph (A) | ||||||
13 | is consistent with other information collected during the | ||||||
14 | course of the assessment or investigation. | ||||||
15 | (B) The alleged offender's age, a record check for | ||||||
16 | prior reports of abuse or neglect, and criminal charges and | ||||||
17 | convictions. The alleged offender may submit supporting | ||||||
18 | documentation relevant to the assessment. | ||||||
19 | (C) Collateral source information regarding the | ||||||
20 | alleged abuse or neglect and care of the child. Collateral | ||||||
21 | information includes, when relevant: (i) a medical | ||||||
22 | examination of the child; (ii) prior medical records | ||||||
23 | relating to the alleged maltreatment or care of the child | ||||||
24 | maintained by any facility, clinic, or health care | ||||||
25 | professional, and an interview with the treating | ||||||
26 | professionals; and (iii) interviews with the child's |
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1 | caretakers, including the child's parent, guardian, foster | ||||||
2 | parent, child care provider, teachers, counselors, family | ||||||
3 | members, relatives, and other persons who may have | ||||||
4 | knowledge regarding the alleged maltreatment and the care | ||||||
5 | of the child. | ||||||
6 | (D) Information on the existence of domestic abuse and | ||||||
7 | violence in the home of the child, and substance abuse. | ||||||
8 | Nothing in this subsection (a-5) precludes the Department | ||||||
9 | from collecting other relevant information necessary to | ||||||
10 | conduct the assessment or investigation. Nothing in this | ||||||
11 | subsection (a-5) shall be construed to allow the name or | ||||||
12 | identity of a reporter to be disclosed in violation of the | ||||||
13 | protections afforded under Section 7.19 of this Act. | ||||||
14 | After conducting the family assessment, the Department | ||||||
15 | shall determine whether services are needed to address the | ||||||
16 | safety of the child and other family members and the risk of | ||||||
17 | subsequent abuse or neglect. | ||||||
18 | Upon completion of the family assessment, if the Department | ||||||
19 | concludes that no services shall be offered, then the case | ||||||
20 | shall be closed. If the Department concludes that services | ||||||
21 | shall be offered, the Department shall develop a family | ||||||
22 | preservation plan and offer or refer services to the family. | ||||||
23 | At any time during a family assessment, if the Department | ||||||
24 | believes there is any reason to stop the assessment and conduct | ||||||
25 | an investigation based on the information discovered, the | ||||||
26 | Department shall do so. |
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1 | The procedures available to the Department in conducting | ||||||
2 | investigations under this Act shall be followed as appropriate | ||||||
3 | during a family assessment. | ||||||
4 | The Department shall arrange for an independent evaluation | ||||||
5 | of the "differential response program" authorized and | ||||||
6 | implemented under this subsection (a-5) to determine whether it | ||||||
7 | is meeting the goals in accordance with Section 2 of this Act. | ||||||
8 | The independent evaluator shall collect appropriate data about | ||||||
9 | the differential response program. The Department shall | ||||||
10 | provide annual reports to the General Assembly and to the | ||||||
11 | Governor regarding the differential response program no later | ||||||
12 | than March 31st of each year of the demonstration program | ||||||
13 | beginning in 2016, and the final report on the demonstration | ||||||
14 | program shall be submitted no later than March 31, 2018. The | ||||||
15 | Department shall may adopt administrative rules necessary for | ||||||
16 | the execution of this Section, in accordance with Section 4 of | ||||||
17 | the Children and Family Services Act. | ||||||
18 | The demonstration conducted under this subsection (a-5) | ||||||
19 | shall become a permanent program on January 1, 2018 2015 , upon | ||||||
20 | completion of the demonstration project period.
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21 | (b) (1) The following procedures shall be followed in the | ||||||
22 | investigation
of all reports of suspected abuse or neglect | ||||||
23 | of a child, except as provided
in subsection (c) of this | ||||||
24 | Section.
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25 | (2) If, during a family assessment authorized by | ||||||
26 | subsection (a-5) or an investigation, it appears that the |
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1 | immediate safety or well-being of a child is
endangered, | ||||||
2 | that the family may flee or the child disappear, or that | ||||||
3 | the
facts otherwise so warrant, the Child Protective | ||||||
4 | Service Unit shall
commence an investigation immediately, | ||||||
5 | regardless of the time of day or
night. All other | ||||||
6 | investigations shall be commenced within 24
hours of | ||||||
7 | receipt of the report. Upon receipt of a report, the Child
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8 | Protective Service Unit shall conduct a family assessment | ||||||
9 | authorized by subsection (a-5) or begin an initial | ||||||
10 | investigation and make an initial
determination whether | ||||||
11 | the report is a good faith indication of alleged
child | ||||||
12 | abuse or neglect.
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13 | (3) Based on an initial investigation, if the Unit | ||||||
14 | determines the report is a good faith
indication of alleged | ||||||
15 | child abuse or neglect, then a formal investigation
shall | ||||||
16 | commence and, pursuant to Section 7.12 of this Act, may or | ||||||
17 | may not
result in an indicated report. The formal | ||||||
18 | investigation shall include:
direct contact with the | ||||||
19 | subject or subjects of the report as soon as
possible after | ||||||
20 | the report is received; an
evaluation of the environment of | ||||||
21 | the child named in the report and any other
children in the | ||||||
22 | same environment; a determination of the risk to such
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23 | children if they continue to remain in the existing | ||||||
24 | environments, as well
as a determination of the nature, | ||||||
25 | extent and cause of any condition
enumerated in such | ||||||
26 | report; the name, age and condition of other children in
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1 | the environment; and an evaluation as to whether there | ||||||
2 | would be an
immediate and urgent necessity to remove the | ||||||
3 | child from the environment if
appropriate family | ||||||
4 | preservation services were provided. After seeing to
the | ||||||
5 | safety of the child or children, the Department shall
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6 | forthwith notify the subjects of the report in writing, of | ||||||
7 | the existence
of the report and their rights existing under | ||||||
8 | this Act in regard to amendment
or expungement. To fulfill | ||||||
9 | the requirements of this Section, the Child
Protective | ||||||
10 | Service Unit shall have the capability of providing or | ||||||
11 | arranging
for comprehensive emergency services to children | ||||||
12 | and families at all times
of the day or night.
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13 | (4) If (i) at the conclusion of the Unit's initial | ||||||
14 | investigation of a
report, the Unit determines the report | ||||||
15 | to be a good faith indication of
alleged child abuse or | ||||||
16 | neglect that warrants a formal investigation by
the Unit, | ||||||
17 | the Department, any law enforcement agency or any other
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18 | responsible agency and (ii) the person who is alleged to | ||||||
19 | have caused the
abuse or neglect is employed or otherwise | ||||||
20 | engaged in an activity resulting
in frequent contact with | ||||||
21 | children and the alleged abuse or neglect are in
the course | ||||||
22 | of such employment or activity, then the Department shall,
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23 | except in investigations where the Director determines | ||||||
24 | that such
notification would be detrimental to the | ||||||
25 | Department's investigation, inform
the appropriate | ||||||
26 | supervisor or administrator of that employment or activity
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1 | that the Unit has commenced a formal investigation pursuant | ||||||
2 | to this Act,
which may or may not result in an indicated | ||||||
3 | report. The Department shall also
notify the person being | ||||||
4 | investigated, unless the Director determines that
such | ||||||
5 | notification would be detrimental to the Department's | ||||||
6 | investigation.
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7 | (c) In an investigation of a report of suspected abuse or | ||||||
8 | neglect of
a child by a school employee at a school or on | ||||||
9 | school grounds, the
Department shall make reasonable efforts to | ||||||
10 | follow the following procedures:
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11 | (1) Investigations involving teachers shall not, to | ||||||
12 | the extent possible,
be conducted when the teacher is | ||||||
13 | scheduled to conduct classes.
Investigations involving | ||||||
14 | other school employees shall be conducted so as to
minimize | ||||||
15 | disruption of the school day. The school employee accused | ||||||
16 | of
child abuse or neglect may have his superior, his | ||||||
17 | association or union
representative and his attorney | ||||||
18 | present at any interview or meeting at
which the teacher or | ||||||
19 | administrator is present. The accused school employee
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20 | shall be informed by a representative of the Department, at | ||||||
21 | any
interview or meeting, of the accused school employee's | ||||||
22 | due process rights
and of the steps in the investigation | ||||||
23 | process.
The information shall include, but need not | ||||||
24 | necessarily be limited to the
right, subject to the | ||||||
25 | approval of the Department, of the school employee to
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26 | confront the accuser, if the accuser is 14 years of age or |
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1 | older, or the
right to review the specific allegations | ||||||
2 | which gave rise to the
investigation, and the right to | ||||||
3 | review all materials and evidence that have
been submitted | ||||||
4 | to the Department in support of the allegation. These due
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5 | process rights shall also include the right of the school | ||||||
6 | employee to
present countervailing evidence regarding the | ||||||
7 | accusations.
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8 | (2) If a report of neglect or abuse of a child by a | ||||||
9 | teacher or
administrator does not involve allegations of | ||||||
10 | sexual abuse or extreme
physical abuse, the Child | ||||||
11 | Protective Service Unit shall make reasonable
efforts to | ||||||
12 | conduct the initial investigation in coordination with the
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13 | employee's supervisor.
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14 | If the Unit determines that the report is a good faith | ||||||
15 | indication of
potential child abuse or neglect, it shall | ||||||
16 | then commence a formal
investigation under paragraph (3) of | ||||||
17 | subsection (b) of this Section.
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18 | (3) If a report of neglect or abuse of a child by a | ||||||
19 | teacher or
administrator involves an allegation of sexual | ||||||
20 | abuse or extreme physical
abuse, the Child Protective Unit | ||||||
21 | shall commence an investigation under
paragraph (2) of | ||||||
22 | subsection (b) of this Section.
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23 | (c-5) In any instance in which a report is made or caused | ||||||
24 | to made by a school district employee involving the conduct of | ||||||
25 | a person employed by the school district, at the time the | ||||||
26 | report was made, as required under Section 4 of this Act, the |
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1 | Child Protective Service Unit shall send a copy of its final | ||||||
2 | finding report to the general superintendent of that school | ||||||
3 | district.
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4 | (d) If the Department has contact with an employer, or with | ||||||
5 | a religious
institution or religious official having | ||||||
6 | supervisory or hierarchical authority
over a member of the | ||||||
7 | clergy accused of the abuse of a child,
in the course of its
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8 | investigation, the Department shall notify the employer or the | ||||||
9 | religious
institution or religious official, in writing, when a
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10 | report is unfounded so that any record of the investigation can | ||||||
11 | be expunged
from the employee's or member of the clergy's | ||||||
12 | personnel or other
records. The Department shall also notify
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13 | the employee or the member of the clergy, in writing, that | ||||||
14 | notification
has been sent to the employer or to the | ||||||
15 | appropriate religious institution or
religious official
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16 | informing the employer or religious institution or religious | ||||||
17 | official that
the
Department's investigation has resulted in
an | ||||||
18 | unfounded report.
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19 | (e) Upon request by the Department, the
Department of State | ||||||
20 | Police and law enforcement agencies are
authorized to provide | ||||||
21 | criminal history record information
as defined in the Illinois | ||||||
22 | Uniform Conviction Information Act and information
maintained | ||||||
23 | in
the adjudicatory and dispositional record system as defined | ||||||
24 | in Section
2605-355 of the Department of State Police Law (20 | ||||||
25 | ILCS
2605/2605-355) to properly
designated
employees of the
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26 | Department of Children
and Family Services if the Department |
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1 | determines the information is
necessary to perform its duties | ||||||
2 | under the Abused and
Neglected Child Reporting Act, the Child | ||||||
3 | Care Act of 1969, and the Children and
Family Services Act. The
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4 | request shall be in the form and manner required
by
the | ||||||
5 | Department of State Police. Any information obtained by the | ||||||
6 | Department of
Children
and Family Services under this Section | ||||||
7 | is
confidential and may not be transmitted outside the | ||||||
8 | Department of Children
and Family Services other than to a | ||||||
9 | court of competent jurisdiction or unless
otherwise authorized | ||||||
10 | by law.
Any employee of the Department of Children and Family | ||||||
11 | Services who transmits
confidential information in
violation | ||||||
12 | of this
Section or causes the information to be
transmitted in | ||||||
13 | violation of this Section is guilty of a Class A
misdemeanor | ||||||
14 | unless the transmittal of
the
information is
authorized by this | ||||||
15 | Section or otherwise authorized by law.
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16 | (f) For purposes of this Section "child abuse or neglect" | ||||||
17 | includes abuse or neglect of an adult resident as defined in | ||||||
18 | this Act. | ||||||
19 | (Source: P.A. 95-908, eff. 8-26-08; 96-760, eff. 1-1-10; | ||||||
20 | 96-1446, eff. 8-20-10.)
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21 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
22 | becoming law.
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