Bill Text: IL SB3767 | 2011-2012 | 97th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Children and Family Services Act. Requires the Department of Children and Family Services to file in the appropriate circuit court a petition requesting the appointment of the Office of State Guardian as guardian of any person with an intellectual or developmental disability who has reached the age of 21 and is receiving child residential services in a facility licensed by the Department. Provides that, if appointed by the court, the State Guardian shall serve as guardian of the person from the date upon which the person reaches the age of 21 until the day before his or her 22nd birthday. Requires the Department to file its petition in a timely manner to ensure that guardianship, if granted by the court, commences on the date of the affected person's 21st birthday. Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2013-01-08 - Session Sine Die [SB3767 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2011-SB3767-Introduced.html

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97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2011 and 2012 SB3767 Introduced 2/10/2012, by Sen. Don Harmon SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
20 ILCS 505/5 from Ch. 23, par. 5005
Amends the Children and Family Services Act. Requires the Department of Children and Family Services to file in the appropriate circuit court a petition requesting the appointment of the Office of State Guardian as guardian of any person with an intellectual or developmental disability who has reached the age of 21 and is receiving child residential services in a facility licensed by the Department. Provides that, if appointed by the court, the State Guardian shall serve as guardian of the person from the date upon which the person reaches the age of 21 until the day before his or her 22nd birthday. Requires the Department to file its petition in a timely manner to ensure that guardianship, if granted by the court, commences on the date of the affected person's 21st birthday. Effective immediately.
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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY
A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning State government.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Children and Family Services Act is amended
by changing Section 5 as follows:
(20 ILCS 505/5) (from Ch. 23, par. 5005)
Sec. 5. Direct child welfare services; Department of
Children and Family Services. To provide direct child welfare
services when not available through other public or private
child care or program facilities.
(a) For purposes of this Section:
(1) "Children" means persons found within the State who
are under the age of 18 years. The term also includes
persons under age 21 who:
(A) were committed to the Department pursuant to
the Juvenile Court Act or the Juvenile Court Act of
1987, as amended, prior to the age of 18 and who
continue under the jurisdiction of the court; or
(B) were accepted for care, service and training by
the Department prior to the age of 18 and whose best
interest in the discretion of the Department would be
served by continuing that care, service and training
because of severe emotional disturbances, physical

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disability, social adjustment or any combination
thereof, or because of the need to complete an
educational or vocational training program.
(2) "Homeless youth" means persons found within the
State who are under the age of 19, are not in a safe and
stable living situation and cannot be reunited with their
families.
(3) "Child welfare services" means public social
services which are directed toward the accomplishment of
the following purposes:
(A) protecting and promoting the health, safety
and welfare of children, including homeless, dependent
or neglected children;
(B) remedying, or assisting in the solution of
problems which may result in, the neglect, abuse,
exploitation or delinquency of children;
(C) preventing the unnecessary separation of
children from their families by identifying family
problems, assisting families in resolving their
problems, and preventing the breakup of the family
where the prevention of child removal is desirable and
possible when the child can be cared for at home
without endangering the child's health and safety;
(D) restoring to their families children who have
been removed, by the provision of services to the child
and the families when the child can be cared for at

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home without endangering the child's health and
safety;
(E) placing children in suitable adoptive homes,
in cases where restoration to the biological family is
not safe, possible or appropriate;
(F) assuring safe and adequate care of children
away from their homes, in cases where the child cannot
be returned home or cannot be placed for adoption. At
the time of placement, the Department shall consider
concurrent planning, as described in subsection (l-1)
of this Section so that permanency may occur at the
earliest opportunity. Consideration should be given so
that if reunification fails or is delayed, the
placement made is the best available placement to
provide permanency for the child;
(G) (blank);
(H) (blank); and
(I) placing and maintaining children in facilities
that provide separate living quarters for children
under the age of 18 and for children 18 years of age
and older, unless a child 18 years of age is in the
last year of high school education or vocational
training, in an approved individual or group treatment
program, in a licensed shelter facility, or secure
child care facility. The Department is not required to
place or maintain children:

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(i) who are in a foster home, or
(ii) who are persons with a developmental
disability, as defined in the Mental Health and
Developmental Disabilities Code, or
(iii) who are female children who are
pregnant, pregnant and parenting or parenting, or
(iv) who are siblings, in facilities that
provide separate living quarters for children 18
years of age and older and for children under 18
years of age.
(b) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to authorize
the expenditure of public funds for the purpose of performing
abortions.
(c) The Department shall establish and maintain
tax-supported child welfare services and extend and seek to
improve voluntary services throughout the State, to the end
that services and care shall be available on an equal basis
throughout the State to children requiring such services.
(d) The Director may authorize advance disbursements for
any new program initiative to any agency contracting with the
Department. As a prerequisite for an advance disbursement, the
contractor must post a surety bond in the amount of the advance
disbursement and have a purchase of service contract approved
by the Department. The Department may pay up to 2 months
operational expenses in advance. The amount of the advance
disbursement shall be prorated over the life of the contract or

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the remaining months of the fiscal year, whichever is less, and
the installment amount shall then be deducted from future
bills. Advance disbursement authorizations for new initiatives
shall not be made to any agency after that agency has operated
during 2 consecutive fiscal years. The requirements of this
Section concerning advance disbursements shall not apply with
respect to the following: payments to local public agencies for
child day care services as authorized by Section 5a of this
Act; and youth service programs receiving grant funds under
Section 17a-4.
(e) (Blank).
(f) (Blank).
(g) The Department shall establish rules and regulations
concerning its operation of programs designed to meet the goals
of child safety and protection, family preservation, family
reunification, and adoption, including but not limited to:
(1) adoption;
(2) foster care;
(3) family counseling;
(4) protective services;
(5) (blank);
(6) homemaker service;
(7) return of runaway children;
(8) (blank);
(9) placement under Section 5-7 of the Juvenile Court
Act or Section 2-27, 3-28, 4-25 or 5-740 of the Juvenile

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Court Act of 1987 in accordance with the federal Adoption
Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980; and
(10) interstate services.
Rules and regulations established by the Department shall
include provisions for training Department staff and the staff
of Department grantees, through contracts with other agencies
or resources, in alcohol and drug abuse screening techniques
approved by the Department of Human Services, as a successor to
the Department of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, for the
purpose of identifying children and adults who should be
referred to an alcohol and drug abuse treatment program for
professional evaluation.
(h) If the Department finds that there is no appropriate
program or facility within or available to the Department for a
ward and that no licensed private facility has an adequate and
appropriate program or none agrees to accept the ward, the
Department shall create an appropriate individualized,
program-oriented plan for such ward. The plan may be developed
within the Department or through purchase of services by the
Department to the extent that it is within its statutory
authority to do.
(i) Service programs shall be available throughout the
State and shall include but not be limited to the following
services:
(1) case management;
(2) homemakers;

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(3) counseling;
(4) parent education;
(5) day care; and
(6) emergency assistance and advocacy.
In addition, the following services may be made available
to assess and meet the needs of children and families:
(1) comprehensive family-based services;
(2) assessments;
(3) respite care; and
(4) in-home health services.
The Department shall provide transportation for any of the
services it makes available to children or families or for
which it refers children or families.
(j) The Department may provide categories of financial
assistance and education assistance grants, and shall
establish rules and regulations concerning the assistance and
grants, to persons who adopt physically or mentally
handicapped, older and other hard-to-place children who (i)
immediately prior to their adoption were legal wards of the
Department or (ii) were determined eligible for financial
assistance with respect to a prior adoption and who become
available for adoption because the prior adoption has been
dissolved and the parental rights of the adoptive parents have
been terminated or because the child's adoptive parents have
died. The Department may continue to provide financial
assistance and education assistance grants for a child who was

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determined eligible for financial assistance under this
subsection (j) in the interim period beginning when the child's
adoptive parents died and ending with the finalization of the
new adoption of the child by another adoptive parent or
parents. The Department may also provide categories of
financial assistance and education assistance grants, and
shall establish rules and regulations for the assistance and
grants, to persons appointed guardian of the person under
Section 5-7 of the Juvenile Court Act or Section 2-27, 3-28,
4-25 or 5-740 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 for children
who were wards of the Department for 12 months immediately
prior to the appointment of the guardian.
The amount of assistance may vary, depending upon the needs
of the child and the adoptive parents, as set forth in the
annual assistance agreement. Special purpose grants are
allowed where the child requires special service but such costs
may not exceed the amounts which similar services would cost
the Department if it were to provide or secure them as guardian
of the child.
Any financial assistance provided under this subsection is
inalienable by assignment, sale, execution, attachment,
garnishment, or any other remedy for recovery or collection of
a judgment or debt.
(j-5) The Department shall not deny or delay the placement
of a child for adoption if an approved family is available
either outside of the Department region handling the case, or

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outside of the State of Illinois.
(k) The Department shall accept for care and training any
child who has been adjudicated neglected or abused, or
dependent committed to it pursuant to the Juvenile Court Act or
the Juvenile Court Act of 1987.
(l) The Department shall offer family preservation
services, as defined in Section 8.2 of the Abused and Neglected
Child Reporting Act, to help families, including adoptive and
extended families. Family preservation services shall be
offered (i) 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,
(ii) to reunite children with their families, or (iii) to
maintain an adoptive placement. Family preservation services
shall only be offered when doing so will not endanger the
children's health or safety. With respect to children who are
in substitute care pursuant to the Juvenile Court Act of 1987,
family preservation services shall not be offered if a goal
other than those of subdivisions (A), (B), or (B-1) of
subsection (2) of Section 2-28 of that Act has been set.
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

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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.
The Department shall notify the child and his family of the
Department's responsibility to offer and provide family
preservation services as identified in the service plan. The
child and his family shall be eligible for services as soon as
the report is determined to be "indicated". The Department may
offer services to any child or family with respect to whom a
report of suspected child abuse or neglect has been filed,
prior to concluding its investigation under Section 7.12 of the
Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act. However, the child's
or family's willingness to accept services shall not be
considered in the investigation. The Department may also
provide services to any child or family who is the subject of
any report of suspected child abuse or neglect or may refer
such child or family to services available from other agencies
in the community, even if the report is determined to be
unfounded, if the conditions in the child's or family's home
are reasonably likely to subject the child or family to future
reports of suspected child abuse or neglect. Acceptance of such
services shall be voluntary. The Department may also provide
services to any child or family after completion of a family
assessment, as an alternative to an investigation, as provided
under the "differential response program" provided for in

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subsection (a-5) of Section 7.4 of the Abused and Neglected
Child Reporting Act.
The Department may, at its discretion except for those
children also adjudicated neglected or dependent, accept for
care and training any child who has been adjudicated addicted,
as a truant minor in need of supervision or as a minor
requiring authoritative intervention, under the Juvenile Court
Act or the Juvenile Court Act of 1987, but no such child shall
be committed to the Department by any court without the
approval of the Department. A minor charged with a criminal
offense under the Criminal Code of 1961 or adjudicated
delinquent shall not be placed in the custody of or committed
to the Department by any court, except (i) a minor less than 15
years of age committed to the Department under Section 5-710 of
the Juvenile Court Act of 1987, (ii) a minor for whom an
independent basis of abuse, neglect, or dependency exists,
which must be defined by departmental rule, or (iii) a minor
for whom the court has granted a supplemental petition to
reinstate wardship pursuant to subsection (2) of Section 2-33
of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987. An independent basis exists
when the allegations or adjudication of abuse, neglect, or
dependency do not arise from the same facts, incident, or
circumstances which give rise to a charge or adjudication of
delinquency.
As soon as is possible after August 7, 2009 (the effective
date of Public Act 96-134), the Department shall develop and

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implement a special program of family preservation services to
support intact, foster, and adoptive families who are
experiencing extreme hardships due to the difficulty and stress
of caring for a child who has been diagnosed with a pervasive
developmental disorder if the Department determines that those
services are necessary to ensure the health and safety of the
child. The Department may offer services to any family whether
or not a report has been filed under the Abused and Neglected
Child Reporting Act. The Department may refer the child or
family to services available from other agencies in the
community if the conditions in the child's or family's home are
reasonably likely to subject the child or family to future
reports of suspected child abuse or neglect. Acceptance of
these services shall be voluntary. The Department shall develop
and implement a public information campaign to alert health and
social service providers and the general public about these
special family preservation services. The nature and scope of
the services offered and the number of families served under
the special program implemented under this paragraph shall be
determined by the level of funding that the Department annually
allocates for this purpose. The term "pervasive developmental
disorder" under this paragraph means a neurological condition,
including but not limited to, Asperger's Syndrome and autism,
as defined in the most recent edition of the Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders of the American
Psychiatric Association.

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(l-1) The legislature recognizes that the best interests of
the child require that the child be placed in the most
permanent living arrangement as soon as is practically
possible. To achieve this goal, the legislature directs the
Department of Children and Family Services to conduct
concurrent planning so that permanency may occur at the
earliest opportunity. Permanent living arrangements may
include prevention of placement of a child outside the home of
the family when the child can be cared for at home without
endangering the child's health or safety; reunification with
the family, when safe and appropriate, if temporary placement
is necessary; or movement of the child toward the most
permanent living arrangement and permanent legal status.
When determining reasonable efforts to be made with respect
to a child, as described in this subsection, and in making such
reasonable efforts, the child's health and safety shall be the
paramount concern.
When a child is placed in foster care, the Department shall
ensure and document that reasonable efforts were made to
prevent or eliminate the need to remove the child from the
child's home. The Department must make reasonable efforts to
reunify the family when temporary placement of the child occurs
unless otherwise required, pursuant to the Juvenile Court Act
of 1987. At any time after the dispositional hearing where the
Department believes that further reunification services would
be ineffective, it may request a finding from the court that

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reasonable efforts are no longer appropriate. The Department is
not required to provide further reunification services after
such a finding.
A decision to place a child in substitute care shall be
made with considerations of the child's health, safety, and
best interests. At the time of placement, consideration should
also be given so that if reunification fails or is delayed, the
placement made is the best available placement to provide
permanency for the child.
The Department shall adopt rules addressing concurrent
planning for reunification and permanency. The Department
shall consider the following factors when determining
appropriateness of concurrent planning:
(1) the likelihood of prompt reunification;
(2) the past history of the family;
(3) the barriers to reunification being addressed by
the family;
(4) the level of cooperation of the family;
(5) the foster parents' willingness to work with the
family to reunite;
(6) the willingness and ability of the foster family to
provide an adoptive home or long-term placement;
(7) the age of the child;
(8) placement of siblings.
(m) The Department may assume temporary custody of any
child if:

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(1) it has received a written consent to such temporary
custody signed by the parents of the child or by the parent
having custody of the child if the parents are not living
together or by the guardian or custodian of the child if
the child is not in the custody of either parent, or
(2) the child is found in the State and neither a
parent, guardian nor custodian of the child can be located.
If the child is found in his or her residence without a parent,
guardian, custodian or responsible caretaker, the Department
may, instead of removing the child and assuming temporary
custody, place an authorized representative of the Department
in that residence until such time as a parent, guardian or
custodian enters the home and expresses a willingness and
apparent ability to ensure the child's health and safety and
resume permanent charge of the child, or until a relative
enters the home and is willing and able to ensure the child's
health and safety and assume charge of the child until a
parent, guardian or custodian enters the home and expresses
such willingness and ability to ensure the child's safety and
resume permanent charge. After a caretaker has remained in the
home for a period not to exceed 12 hours, the Department must
follow those procedures outlined in Section 2-9, 3-11, 4-8, or
5-415 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987.
The Department shall have the authority, responsibilities
and duties that a legal custodian of the child would have
pursuant to subsection (9) of Section 1-3 of the Juvenile Court

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Act of 1987. Whenever a child is taken into temporary custody
pursuant to an investigation under the Abused and Neglected
Child Reporting Act, or pursuant to a referral and acceptance
under the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 of a minor in limited
custody, the Department, during the period of temporary custody
and before the child is brought before a judicial officer as
required by Section 2-9, 3-11, 4-8, or 5-415 of the Juvenile
Court Act of 1987, shall have the authority, responsibilities
and duties that a legal custodian of the child would have under
subsection (9) of Section 1-3 of the Juvenile Court Act of
1987.
The Department shall ensure that any child taken into
custody is scheduled for an appointment for a medical
examination.
A parent, guardian or custodian of a child in the temporary
custody of the Department who would have custody of the child
if he were not in the temporary custody of the Department may
deliver to the Department a signed request that the Department
surrender the temporary custody of the child. The Department
may retain temporary custody of the child for 10 days after the
receipt of the request, during which period the Department may
cause to be filed a petition pursuant to the Juvenile Court Act
of 1987. If a petition is so filed, the Department shall retain
temporary custody of the child until the court orders
otherwise. If a petition is not filed within the 10 day period,
the child shall be surrendered to the custody of the requesting

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parent, guardian or custodian not later than the expiration of
the 10 day period, at which time the authority and duties of
the Department with respect to the temporary custody of the
child shall terminate.
(m-1) The Department may place children under 18 years of
age in a secure child care facility licensed by the Department
that cares for children who are in need of secure living
arrangements for their health, safety, and well-being after a
determination is made by the facility director and the Director
or the Director's designate prior to admission to the facility
subject to Section 2-27.1 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987.
This subsection (m-1) does not apply to a child who is subject
to placement in a correctional facility operated pursuant to
Section 3-15-2 of the Unified Code of Corrections, unless the
child is a ward who was placed under the care of the Department
before being subject to placement in a correctional facility
and a court of competent jurisdiction has ordered placement of
the child in a secure care facility.
(n) The Department may place children under 18 years of age
in licensed child care facilities when in the opinion of the
Department, appropriate services aimed at family preservation
have been unsuccessful and cannot ensure the child's health and
safety or are unavailable and such placement would be for their
best interest. Payment for board, clothing, care, training and
supervision of any child placed in a licensed child care
facility may be made by the Department, by the parents or

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guardians of the estates of those children, or by both the
Department and the parents or guardians, except that no
payments shall be made by the Department for any child placed
in a licensed child care facility for board, clothing, care,
training and supervision of such a child that exceed the
average per capita cost of maintaining and of caring for a
child in institutions for dependent or neglected children
operated by the Department. However, such restriction on
payments does not apply in cases where children require
specialized care and treatment for problems of severe emotional
disturbance, physical disability, social adjustment, or any
combination thereof and suitable facilities for the placement
of such children are not available at payment rates within the
limitations set forth in this Section. All reimbursements for
services delivered shall be absolutely inalienable by
assignment, sale, attachment, garnishment or otherwise.
(n-1) The Department shall provide or authorize child
welfare services, aimed at assisting minors to achieve
sustainable self-sufficiency as independent adults, for any
minor eligible for the reinstatement of wardship pursuant to
subsection (2) of Section 2-33 of the Juvenile Court Act of
1987, whether or not such reinstatement is sought or allowed,
provided that the minor consents to such services and has not
yet attained the age of 21. The Department shall have
responsibility for the development and delivery of services
under this Section. An eligible youth may access services under

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this Section through the Department of Children and Family
Services or by referral from the Department of Human Services.
Youth participating in services under this Section shall
cooperate with the assigned case manager in developing an
agreement identifying the services to be provided and how the
youth will increase skills to achieve self-sufficiency. A
homeless shelter is not considered appropriate housing for any
youth receiving child welfare services under this Section. The
Department shall continue child welfare services under this
Section to any eligible minor until the minor becomes 21 years
of age, no longer consents to participate, or achieves
self-sufficiency as identified in the minor's service plan. The
Department of Children and Family Services shall create clear,
readable notice of the rights of former foster youth to child
welfare services under this Section and how such services may
be obtained. The Department of Children and Family Services and
the Department of Human Services shall disseminate this
information statewide. The Department shall adopt regulations
describing services intended to assist minors in achieving
sustainable self-sufficiency as independent adults.
(o) The Department shall establish an administrative
review and appeal process for children and families who request
or receive child welfare services from the Department. Children
who are wards of the Department and are placed by private child
welfare agencies, and foster families with whom those children
are placed, shall be afforded the same procedural and appeal

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rights as children and families in the case of placement by the
Department, including the right to an initial review of a
private agency decision by that agency. The Department shall
insure that any private child welfare agency, which accepts
wards of the Department for placement, affords those rights to
children and foster families. The Department shall accept for
administrative review and an appeal hearing a complaint made by
(i) a child or foster family concerning a decision following an
initial review by a private child welfare agency or (ii) a
prospective adoptive parent who alleges a violation of
subsection (j-5) of this Section. An appeal of a decision
concerning a change in the placement of a child shall be
conducted in an expedited manner.
(p) There is hereby created the Department of Children and
Family Services Emergency Assistance Fund from which the
Department may provide special financial assistance to
families which are in economic crisis when such assistance is
not available through other public or private sources and the
assistance is deemed necessary to prevent dissolution of the
family unit or to reunite families which have been separated
due to child abuse and neglect. The Department shall establish
administrative rules specifying the criteria for determining
eligibility for and the amount and nature of assistance to be
provided. The Department may also enter into written agreements
with private and public social service agencies to provide
emergency financial services to families referred by the

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Department. Special financial assistance payments shall be
available to a family no more than once during each fiscal year
and the total payments to a family may not exceed $500 during a
fiscal year.
(q) The Department may receive and use, in their entirety,
for the benefit of children any gift, donation or bequest of
money or other property which is received on behalf of such
children, or any financial benefits to which such children are
or may become entitled while under the jurisdiction or care of
the Department.
The Department shall set up and administer no-cost,
interest-bearing accounts in appropriate financial
institutions for children for whom the Department is legally
responsible and who have been determined eligible for Veterans'
Benefits, Social Security benefits, assistance allotments from
the armed forces, court ordered payments, parental voluntary
payments, Supplemental Security Income, Railroad Retirement
payments, Black Lung benefits, or other miscellaneous
payments. Interest earned by each account shall be credited to
the account, unless disbursed in accordance with this
subsection.
In disbursing funds from children's accounts, the
Department shall:
(1) Establish standards in accordance with State and
federal laws for disbursing money from children's
accounts. In all circumstances, the Department's

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"Guardianship Administrator" or his or her designee must
approve disbursements from children's accounts. The
Department shall be responsible for keeping complete
records of all disbursements for each account for any
purpose.
(2) Calculate on a monthly basis the amounts paid from
State funds for the child's board and care, medical care
not covered under Medicaid, and social services; and
utilize funds from the child's account, as covered by
regulation, to reimburse those costs. Monthly,
disbursements from all children's accounts, up to 1/12 of
$13,000,000, shall be deposited by the Department into the
General Revenue Fund and the balance over 1/12 of
$13,000,000 into the DCFS Children's Services Fund.
(3) Maintain any balance remaining after reimbursing
for the child's costs of care, as specified in item (2).
The balance shall accumulate in accordance with relevant
State and federal laws and shall be disbursed to the child
or his or her guardian, or to the issuing agency.
(r) The Department shall promulgate regulations
encouraging all adoption agencies to voluntarily forward to the
Department or its agent names and addresses of all persons who
have applied for and have been approved for adoption of a
hard-to-place or handicapped child and the names of such
children who have not been placed for adoption. A list of such
names and addresses shall be maintained by the Department or

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its agent, and coded lists which maintain the confidentiality
of the person seeking to adopt the child and of the child shall
be made available, without charge, to every adoption agency in
the State to assist the agencies in placing such children for
adoption. The Department may delegate to an agent its duty to
maintain and make available such lists. The Department shall
ensure that such agent maintains the confidentiality of the
person seeking to adopt the child and of the child.
(s) The Department of Children and Family Services may
establish and implement a program to reimburse Department and
private child welfare agency foster parents licensed by the
Department of Children and Family Services for damages
sustained by the foster parents as a result of the malicious or
negligent acts of foster children, as well as providing third
party coverage for such foster parents with regard to actions
of foster children to other individuals. Such coverage will be
secondary to the foster parent liability insurance policy, if
applicable. The program shall be funded through appropriations
from the General Revenue Fund, specifically designated for such
purposes.
(t) The Department shall perform home studies and
investigations and shall exercise supervision over visitation
as ordered by a court pursuant to the Illinois Marriage and
Dissolution of Marriage Act or the Adoption Act only if:
(1) an order entered by an Illinois court specifically
directs the Department to perform such services; and

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(2) the court has ordered one or both of the parties to
the proceeding to reimburse the Department for its
reasonable costs for providing such services in accordance
with Department rules, or has determined that neither party
is financially able to pay.
The Department shall provide written notification to the
court of the specific arrangements for supervised visitation
and projected monthly costs within 60 days of the court order.
The Department shall send to the court information related to
the costs incurred except in cases where the court has
determined the parties are financially unable to pay. The court
may order additional periodic reports as appropriate.
(u) In addition to other information that must be provided,
whenever the Department places a child with a prospective
adoptive parent or parents or in a licensed foster home, group
home, child care institution, or in a relative home, the
Department shall provide to the prospective adoptive parent or
parents or other caretaker:
(1) available detailed information concerning the
child's educational and health history, copies of
immunization records (including insurance and medical card
information), a history of the child's previous
placements, if any, and reasons for placement changes
excluding any information that identifies or reveals the
location of any previous caretaker;
(2) a copy of the child's portion of the client service

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plan, including any visitation arrangement, and all
amendments or revisions to it as related to the child; and
(3) information containing details of the child's
individualized educational plan when the child is
receiving special education services.
The caretaker shall be informed of any known social or
behavioral information (including, but not limited to,
criminal background, fire setting, perpetuation of sexual
abuse, destructive behavior, and substance abuse) necessary to
care for and safeguard the children to be placed or currently
in the home. The Department may prepare a written summary of
the information required by this paragraph, which may be
provided to the foster or prospective adoptive parent in
advance of a placement. The foster or prospective adoptive
parent may review the supporting documents in the child's file
in the presence of casework staff. In the case of an emergency
placement, casework staff shall at least provide known
information verbally, if necessary, and must subsequently
provide the information in writing as required by this
subsection.
The information described in this subsection shall be
provided in writing. In the case of emergency placements when
time does not allow prior review, preparation, and collection
of written information, the Department shall provide such
information as it becomes available. Within 10 business days
after placement, the Department shall obtain from the

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prospective adoptive parent or parents or other caretaker a
signed verification of receipt of the information provided.
Within 10 business days after placement, the Department shall
provide to the child's guardian ad litem a copy of the
information provided to the prospective adoptive parent or
parents or other caretaker. The information provided to the
prospective adoptive parent or parents or other caretaker shall
be reviewed and approved regarding accuracy at the supervisory
level.
(u-5) Effective July 1, 1995, only foster care placements
licensed as foster family homes pursuant to the Child Care Act
of 1969 shall be eligible to receive foster care payments from
the Department. Relative caregivers who, as of July 1, 1995,
were approved pursuant to approved relative placement rules
previously promulgated by the Department at 89 Ill. Adm. Code
335 and had submitted an application for licensure as a foster
family home may continue to receive foster care payments only
until the Department determines that they may be licensed as a
foster family home or that their application for licensure is
denied or until September 30, 1995, whichever occurs first.
(v) The Department shall access criminal history record
information as defined in the Illinois Uniform Conviction
Information Act and information maintained in the adjudicatory
and dispositional record system as defined in Section 2605-355
of the Department of State Police Law (20 ILCS 2605/2605-355)
if the Department determines the information is necessary to

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perform its duties under the Abused and Neglected Child
Reporting Act, the Child Care Act of 1969, and the Children and
Family Services Act. The Department shall provide for
interactive computerized communication and processing
equipment that permits direct on-line communication with the
Department of State Police's central criminal history data
repository. The Department shall comply with all certification
requirements and provide certified operators who have been
trained by personnel from the Department of State Police. In
addition, one Office of the Inspector General investigator
shall have training in the use of the criminal history
information access system and have access to the terminal. The
Department of Children and Family Services and its employees
shall abide by rules and regulations established by the
Department of State Police relating to the access and
dissemination of this information.
(v-1) Prior to final approval for placement of a child, the
Department shall conduct a criminal records background check of
the prospective foster or adoptive parent, including
fingerprint-based checks of national crime information
databases. Final approval for placement shall not be granted if
the record check reveals a felony conviction for child abuse or
neglect, for spousal abuse, for a crime against children, or
for a crime involving violence, including rape, sexual assault,
or homicide, but not including other physical assault or
battery, or if there is a felony conviction for physical

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assault, battery, or a drug-related offense committed within
the past 5 years.
(v-2) Prior to final approval for placement of a child, the
Department shall check its child abuse and neglect registry for
information concerning prospective foster and adoptive
parents, and any adult living in the home. If any prospective
foster or adoptive parent or other adult living in the home has
resided in another state in the preceding 5 years, the
Department shall request a check of that other state's child
abuse and neglect registry.
(w) Within 120 days of August 20, 1995 (the effective date
of Public Act 89-392), the Department shall prepare and submit
to the Governor and the General Assembly, a written plan for
the development of in-state licensed secure child care
facilities that care for children who are in need of secure
living arrangements for their health, safety, and well-being.
For purposes of this subsection, secure care facility shall
mean a facility that is designed and operated to ensure that
all entrances and exits from the facility, a building or a
distinct part of the building, are under the exclusive control
of the staff of the facility, whether or not the child has the
freedom of movement within the perimeter of the facility,
building, or distinct part of the building. The plan shall
include descriptions of the types of facilities that are needed
in Illinois; the cost of developing these secure care
facilities; the estimated number of placements; the potential

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cost savings resulting from the movement of children currently
out-of-state who are projected to be returned to Illinois; the
necessary geographic distribution of these facilities in
Illinois; and a proposed timetable for development of such
facilities.
(x) The Department shall conduct annual credit history
checks to determine the financial history of children placed
under its guardianship pursuant to the Juvenile Court Act of
1987. The Department shall conduct such credit checks starting
when a ward turns 12 years old and each year thereafter for the
duration of the guardianship as terminated pursuant to the
Juvenile Court Act of 1987. The Department shall determine if
financial exploitation of the child's personal information has
occurred. If financial exploitation appears to have taken place
or is presently ongoing, the Department shall notify the proper
law enforcement agency, the proper State's Attorney, or the
Attorney General.
(y) Beginning on the effective date of this amendatory Act
of the 96th General Assembly, a child with a disability who
receives residential and educational services from the
Department shall be eligible to receive transition services in
accordance with Article 14 of the School Code from the age of
14.5 through age 21, inclusive, notwithstanding the child's
residential services arrangement. For purposes of this
subsection, "child with a disability" means a child with a
disability as defined by the federal Individuals with

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Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004.
(z) The Department shall file in the appropriate circuit
court a petition requesting the appointment of the Office of
State Guardian, or the State Guardian's authorized designee, as
guardian of any person with an intellectual or developmental
disability who has reached the age of 21 and is receiving child
residential services in a facility licensed by the Department.
If appointed by the court, the State Guardian shall serve as
guardian of the person from the date upon which the person
reaches the age of 21 until the day before his or her 22nd
birthday. The Department must file its petition in a timely
manner to ensure that guardianship, if granted by the court,
commences on the date of the affected person's 21st birthday.
(Source: P.A. 95-10, eff. 6-30-07; 95-601, eff. 9-11-07;
95-642, eff. 6-1-08; 95-876, eff. 8-21-08; 96-134, eff. 8-7-09;
96-581, eff. 1-1-10; 96-600, eff. 8-21-09; 96-619, eff. 1-1-10;
96-760, eff. 1-1-10; 96-1000, eff. 7-2-10; 96-1189, eff.
7-22-10.)
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.