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| Public Act 097-0859
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| SB3325 Enrolled | LRB097 14106 KTG 58776 b |
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AN ACT concerning children.
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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 Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act is |
amended by changing Section 8.2 as follows:
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(325 ILCS 5/8.2) (from Ch. 23, par. 2058.2)
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Sec. 8.2. If the Child Protective Service Unit determines, |
following
an investigation made pursuant to Section 7.4 of this |
Act, that there is
credible evidence that the child is abused |
or neglected, the Department
shall assess the family's need for |
services, and, as necessary, develop,
with the family, an |
appropriate service plan for the family's voluntary
acceptance |
or refusal. In any case where there is evidence that the
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perpetrator of the abuse or neglect is an addict or alcoholic |
as defined in
the Alcoholism and Other Drug Abuse and |
Dependency Act, the Department, when
making referrals for drug |
or alcohol abuse services, shall make such referrals
to |
facilities licensed by the Department of Human Services or the |
Department
of Public Health. The Department shall comply with |
Section 8.1 by explaining
its lack of legal authority to compel |
the acceptance of services and may
explain its concomitant |
authority to petition the Circuit court
under the Juvenile |
Court Act of 1987 or refer the case to the local law
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enforcement authority or State's attorney for criminal |
prosecution.
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For purposes of this Act, the term "family preservation |
services"
refers to all services
to help families, including |
adoptive and extended families. Family
preservation services |
shall be
offered, where safe and appropriate,
to prevent the |
placement of children in substitute
care when the children can |
be cared for at home or in the custody of the
person |
responsible for the children's welfare without endangering the
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children's health or safety, to reunite them with their
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families if so placed when reunification
is an appropriate |
goal, or to maintain an adoptive placement. The term
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"homemaker" includes emergency caretakers, homemakers, |
caretakers,
housekeepers and chore services. The term |
"counseling" includes individual
therapy, infant stimulation |
therapy, family therapy, group therapy,
self-help groups, drug |
and alcohol abuse counseling, vocational counseling
and |
post-adoptive services. The term "day care" includes |
protective day
care and day care to meet educational, |
prevocational or vocational needs.
The term "emergency |
assistance and advocacy" includes coordinated services
to |
secure emergency cash, food, housing and medical assistance or |
advocacy
for other subsistence and family protective needs.
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Before July 1, 2000, appropriate family preservation |
services shall, subject
to appropriation, be included in the |
service plan if the Department has
determined that those |
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services will ensure the child's health and safety, are
in the |
child's best interests, and will not place the child in |
imminent risk of
harm. Beginning July 1, 2000, appropriate |
family preservation services shall
be uniformly available |
throughout the State. The Department shall promptly
notify |
children and families of the Department's responsibility to |
offer and
provide family preservation services as identified in |
the service plan. Such
plans may include but are not limited |
to: case management services; homemakers;
counseling; parent |
education; day care; emergency assistance and advocacy
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assessments; respite care; in-home health care; transportation |
to obtain any of
the above services; and medical assistance. |
Nothing in this paragraph shall be
construed to create a |
private right of action or claim on the part of any
individual |
or child welfare agency, except that when a child is the |
subject of an action under Article II of the Juvenile Court Act |
of 1987 and the child's service plan calls for services to |
facilitate achievement of the permanency goal, the court |
hearing the action under Article II of the Juvenile Court Act |
of 1987 may order the Department to provide the services set |
out in the plan, if those services are not provided with |
reasonable promptness and if those services are available.
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The Department shall provide a preliminary report to the |
General
Assembly no later than January 1, 1991, in regard to |
the provision of
services authorized pursuant to this Section. |
The report shall include:
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(a) the number of families and children served, by type |
of services;
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(b) the outcome from the provision of such services, |
including the
number of families which remained intact at |
least 6 months following the
termination of services;
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(c) the number of families which have been subjects of |
founded
reports of abuse following the termination of |
services;
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(d) an analysis of general family circumstances in |
which family
preservation services have been determined to |
be an effective intervention;
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(e) information regarding the number of families in |
need of services
but unserved due to budget or program |
criteria guidelines;
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(f) an estimate of the time necessary for and the |
annual cost of
statewide implementation of such services;
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(g) an estimate of the length of time before expansion |
of these
services will be made to include families with |
children over the age of 6; and
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(h) recommendations regarding any proposed legislative |
changes to
this program.
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Each Department field office shall maintain on a local |
basis
directories of services available to children and |
families in the local
area where the Department office is |
located.
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The Department shall refer children and families served
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pursuant to this Section to private agencies and governmental |
agencies,
where available.
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Where there are 2 equal proposals from both a |
not-for-profit and a
for-profit agency to provide services, the |
Department shall give preference
to the proposal from the |
not-for-profit agency.
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No service plan shall compel any child or parent to engage |
in any
activity or refrain from any activity which is not |
reasonably related to
remedying a condition or conditions that |
gave rise or which could give rise
to any finding of child |
abuse or neglect.
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(Source: P.A. 96-600, eff. 8-21-09.)
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Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon |
becoming law.
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