Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of Public Act 100-0689
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Public Act 100-0689


 

Public Act 0689 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

  
  
  

 


 
Public Act 100-0689
 
HB5257 EnrolledLRB100 18028 SLF 33216 b

    AN ACT concerning juveniles.
 
    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 35.1 as follows:
 
    (20 ILCS 505/35.1)  (from Ch. 23, par. 5035.1)
    Sec. 35.1. The case and clinical records of patients in
Department supervised facilities, youth in care, children
receiving or applying for child welfare services, persons
receiving or applying for other services of the Department, and
Department reports of injury or abuse to children shall not be
open to the general public. Such case and clinical records and
reports or the information contained therein shall be disclosed
by the Director of the Department to juvenile authorities when
necessary for the discharge of their official duties who
request information concerning the minor and who certify in
writing that the information will not be disclosed to any other
party except as provided under law or order of court. For
purposes of this Section, "juvenile authorities" means: (i) a
judge of the circuit court and members of the staff of the
court designated by the judge; (ii) parties to the proceedings
under the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 and their attorneys; (iii)
probation officers and court appointed advocates for the
juvenile authorized by the judge hearing the case; (iv) any
individual, public or private agency having custody of the
child pursuant to court order or pursuant to placement of the
child by the Department; (v) any individual, public or private
agency providing education, medical or mental health service to
the child when the requested information is needed to determine
the appropriate service or treatment for the minor; (vi) any
potential placement provider when such release is authorized by
the court for the limited purpose of determining the
appropriateness of the potential placement; (vii) law
enforcement officers and prosecutors; (viii) adult and
juvenile prisoner review boards; (ix) authorized military
personnel; (x) individuals authorized by court; (xi) the
Illinois General Assembly or any committee or commission
thereof. This Section does not apply to the Department's fiscal
records, other records of a purely administrative nature, or
any forms, documents or other records required of facilities
subject to licensure by the Department except as may otherwise
be provided under the Child Care Act of 1969. Notwithstanding
any other provision of this Section, upon request, a guardian
ad litem or attorney appointed to represent a child who is the
subject of an action pursuant to Article II of the Juvenile
Court Act of 1987 may obtain a copy of foster home licensing
records, including all information related to licensing
complaints and investigations, regarding a home in which the
child is placed or regarding a home in which the Department
plans to place the child. Any information contained in foster
home licensing records that is protected from disclosure by
federal or State law may be obtained only in compliance with
that law. Nothing in this Section restricts the authority of a
court to order release of licensing records for purposes of
discovery or as otherwise authorized by law.
    Nothing contained in this Act prevents the sharing or
disclosure of information or records relating or pertaining to
juveniles subject to the provisions of the Serious Habitual
Offender Comprehensive Action Program when that information is
used to assist in the early identification and treatment of
habitual juvenile offenders.
    Nothing contained in this Act prevents the sharing or
disclosure of information or records relating or pertaining to
the death of a minor under the care of or receiving services
from the Department and under the jurisdiction of the juvenile
court with the juvenile court, the State's Attorney, and the
minor's attorney.
    In this paragraph, "significant event report" means a
written document describing an occurrence or event beyond the
customary operations, routines, or relationships in the
Department, a child care facility, or other entity that is
licensed or regulated by the Department or that provides
services for the Department under a grant, contract, or
purchase of service agreement; involving children or youth,
employees, foster parents, or relative caregivers; allegations
of abuse or neglect or any other incident raising a concern
about the well-being of a minor under the jurisdiction of the
court under Article II of the Juvenile Court Act; incidents
involving damage to property, allegations of criminal
activity, misconduct, or other occurrences affecting the
operations of the Department or a child care facility; any
incident that could have media impact; and unusual incidents as
defined by Department rule. The Department shall provide a
minor's guardian ad litem, appointed under Section 2-17 of the
Juvenile Court Act of 1987, or a minor's attorney appointed
under the Juvenile Court Act of 1987, with a copy of each
significant event report involving the minor no later than 3
days after the Department learns of an event requiring a
significant event report to be written, or earlier as required
by Department rule.
    Nothing contained in this Section prohibits or prevents any
individual dealing with or providing services to a minor from
sharing information with another individual dealing with or
providing services to a minor for the purpose of coordinating
efforts on behalf of the minor. The sharing of such information
is only for the purpose stated herein and is to be consistent
with the intent and purpose of the confidentiality provisions
of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987. This provision does not
abrogate any recognized privilege. Sharing information does
not include copying of records, reports or case files unless
authorized herein.
    Nothing in this Section prohibits or prevents the
re-disclosure of records, reports, or other information that
reveals malfeasance or nonfeasance on the part of the
Department, its employees, or its agents. Nothing in this
Section prohibits or prevents the Department or a party in a
proceeding under the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 from copying
records, reports, or case files for the purpose of sharing
those documents with other parties to the litigation.
(Source: P.A. 99-779, eff. 1-1-17; 100-159, eff. 8-18-17.)
 
    Section 10. The Juvenile Court Act of 1987 is amended by
changing Sections 1-3 and 2-17 as follows:
 
    (705 ILCS 405/1-3)  (from Ch. 37, par. 801-3)
    Sec. 1-3. Definitions. Terms used in this Act, unless the
context otherwise requires, have the following meanings
ascribed to them:
    (1) "Adjudicatory hearing" means a hearing to determine
whether the allegations of a petition under Section 2-13, 3-15
or 4-12 that a minor under 18 years of age is abused, neglected
or dependent, or requires authoritative intervention, or
addicted, respectively, are supported by a preponderance of the
evidence or whether the allegations of a petition under Section
5-520 that a minor is delinquent are proved beyond a reasonable
doubt.
    (2) "Adult" means a person 21 years of age or older.
    (3) "Agency" means a public or private child care facility
legally authorized or licensed by this State for placement or
institutional care or for both placement and institutional
care.
    (4) "Association" means any organization, public or
private, engaged in welfare functions which include services to
or on behalf of children but does not include "agency" as
herein defined.
    (4.05) Whenever a "best interest" determination is
required, the following factors shall be considered in the
context of the child's age and developmental needs:
        (a) the physical safety and welfare of the child,
    including food, shelter, health, and clothing;
        (b) the development of the child's identity;
        (c) the child's background and ties, including
    familial, cultural, and religious;
        (d) the child's sense of attachments, including:
            (i) where the child actually feels love,
        attachment, and a sense of being valued (as opposed to
        where adults believe the child should feel such love,
        attachment, and a sense of being valued);
            (ii) the child's sense of security;
            (iii) the child's sense of familiarity;
            (iv) continuity of affection for the child;
            (v) the least disruptive placement alternative for
        the child;
        (e) the child's wishes and long-term goals;
        (f) the child's community ties, including church,
    school, and friends;
        (g) the child's need for permanence which includes the
    child's need for stability and continuity of relationships
    with parent figures and with siblings and other relatives;
        (h) the uniqueness of every family and child;
        (i) the risks attendant to entering and being in
    substitute care; and
        (j) the preferences of the persons available to care
    for the child.
    (4.1) "Chronic truant" shall have the definition ascribed
to it in Section 26-2a of the School Code.
    (5) "Court" means the circuit court in a session or
division assigned to hear proceedings under this Act.
    (6) "Dispositional hearing" means a hearing to determine
whether a minor should be adjudged to be a ward of the court,
and to determine what order of disposition should be made in
respect to a minor adjudged to be a ward of the court.
    (7) "Emancipated minor" means any minor 16 years of age or
over who has been completely or partially emancipated under the
Emancipation of Minors Act or under this Act.
    (7.05) "Foster parent" includes a relative caregiver
selected by the Department of Children and Family Services to
provide care for the minor.
    (8) "Guardianship of the person" of a minor means the duty
and authority to act in the best interests of the minor,
subject to residual parental rights and responsibilities, to
make important decisions in matters having a permanent effect
on the life and development of the minor and to be concerned
with his or her general welfare. It includes but is not
necessarily limited to:
        (a) the authority to consent to marriage, to enlistment
    in the armed forces of the United States, or to a major
    medical, psychiatric, and surgical treatment; to represent
    the minor in legal actions; and to make other decisions of
    substantial legal significance concerning the minor;
        (b) the authority and duty of reasonable visitation,
    except to the extent that these have been limited in the
    best interests of the minor by court order;
        (c) the rights and responsibilities of legal custody
    except where legal custody has been vested in another
    person or agency; and
        (d) the power to consent to the adoption of the minor,
    but only if expressly conferred on the guardian in
    accordance with Section 2-29, 3-30, or 4-27.
    (9) "Legal custody" means the relationship created by an
order of court in the best interests of the minor which imposes
on the custodian the responsibility of physical possession of a
minor and the duty to protect, train and discipline him and to
provide him with food, shelter, education and ordinary medical
care, except as these are limited by residual parental rights
and responsibilities and the rights and responsibilities of the
guardian of the person, if any.
    (9.1) "Mentally capable adult relative" means a person 21
years of age or older who is not suffering from a mental
illness that prevents him or her from providing the care
necessary to safeguard the physical safety and welfare of a
minor who is left in that person's care by the parent or
parents or other person responsible for the minor's welfare.
    (10) "Minor" means a person under the age of 21 years
subject to this Act.
    (11) "Parent" means a father or mother of a child and
includes any adoptive parent. It also includes a person (i)
whose parentage is presumed or has been established under the
law of this or another jurisdiction or (ii) who has registered
with the Putative Father Registry in accordance with Section
12.1 of the Adoption Act and whose paternity has not been ruled
out under the law of this or another jurisdiction. It does not
include a parent whose rights in respect to the minor have been
terminated in any manner provided by law. It does not include a
person who has been or could be determined to be a parent under
the Illinois Parentage Act of 1984 or the Illinois Parentage
Act of 2015, or similar parentage law in any other state, if
that person has been convicted of or pled nolo contendere to a
crime that resulted in the conception of the child under
Section 11-1.20, 11-1.30, 11-1.40, 11-11, 12-13, 12-14,
12-14.1, subsection (a) or (b) (but not subsection (c)) of
Section 11-1.50 or 12-15, or subsection (a), (b), (c), (e), or
(f) (but not subsection (d)) of Section 11-1.60 or 12-16 of the
Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012, or similar
statute in another jurisdiction unless upon motion of any
party, other than the offender, to the juvenile court
proceedings the court finds it is in the child's best interest
to deem the offender a parent for purposes of the juvenile
court proceedings.
    (11.1) "Permanency goal" means a goal set by the court as
defined in subdivision (2) of Section 2-28.
    (11.2) "Permanency hearing" means a hearing to set the
permanency goal and to review and determine (i) the
appropriateness of the services contained in the plan and
whether those services have been provided, (ii) whether
reasonable efforts have been made by all the parties to the
service plan to achieve the goal, and (iii) whether the plan
and goal have been achieved.
    (12) "Petition" means the petition provided for in Section
2-13, 3-15, 4-12 or 5-520, including any supplemental petitions
thereunder in Section 3-15, 4-12 or 5-520.
    (12.1) "Physically capable adult relative" means a person
21 years of age or older who does not have a severe physical
disability or medical condition, or is not suffering from
alcoholism or drug addiction, that prevents him or her from
providing the care necessary to safeguard the physical safety
and welfare of a minor who is left in that person's care by the
parent or parents or other person responsible for the minor's
welfare.
    (12.2) "Post Permanency Sibling Contact Agreement" has the
meaning ascribed to the term in Section 7.4 of the Children and
Family Services Act.
    (12.3) "Residential treatment center" means a licensed
setting that provides 24-hour 24 hour care to children in a
group home or institution, including a facility licensed as a
child care institution under Section 2.06 of the Child Care Act
of 1969, a licensed group home under Section 2.16 of the Child
Care Act of 1969, a secure child care facility as defined in
paragraph (18) of this Section, or any similar facility in
another state. "Residential treatment center" does not include
a relative foster home or a licensed foster family home.
    (13) "Residual parental rights and responsibilities" means
those rights and responsibilities remaining with the parent
after the transfer of legal custody or guardianship of the
person, including, but not necessarily limited to, the right to
reasonable visitation (which may be limited by the court in the
best interests of the minor as provided in subsection (8)(b) of
this Section), the right to consent to adoption, the right to
determine the minor's religious affiliation, and the
responsibility for his support.
    (14) "Shelter" means the temporary care of a minor in
physically unrestricting facilities pending court disposition
or execution of court order for placement.
    (14.05) "Shelter placement" means a temporary or emergency
placement for a minor, including an emergency foster home
placement.
    (14.1) "Sibling Contact Support Plan" has the meaning
ascribed to the term in Section 7.4 of the Children and Family
Services Act.
    (14.2) "Significant event report" means a written document
describing an occurrence or event beyond the customary
operations, routines, or relationships in the Department of
Children of Family Services, a child care facility, or other
entity that is licensed or regulated by the Department of
Children of Family Services or that provides services for the
Department of Children of Family Services under a grant,
contract, or purchase of service agreement; involving children
or youth, employees, foster parents, or relative caregivers;
allegations of abuse or neglect or any other incident raising a
concern about the well-being of a minor under the jurisdiction
of the court under Article II of the Juvenile Court Act;
incidents involving damage to property, allegations of
criminal activity, misconduct, or other occurrences affecting
the operations of the Department of Children of Family Services
or a child care facility; any incident that could have media
impact; and unusual incidents as defined by Department of
Children and Family Services rule.
    (15) "Station adjustment" means the informal handling of an
alleged offender by a juvenile police officer.
    (16) "Ward of the court" means a minor who is so adjudged
under Section 2-22, 3-23, 4-20 or 5-705, after a finding of the
requisite jurisdictional facts, and thus is subject to the
dispositional powers of the court under this Act.
    (17) "Juvenile police officer" means a sworn police officer
who has completed a Basic Recruit Training Course, has been
assigned to the position of juvenile police officer by his or
her chief law enforcement officer and has completed the
necessary juvenile officers training as prescribed by the
Illinois Law Enforcement Training Standards Board, or in the
case of a State police officer, juvenile officer training
approved by the Director of the Department of State Police.
    (18) "Secure child care facility" means any child care
facility licensed by the Department of Children and Family
Services to provide secure living arrangements for children
under 18 years of age who are subject to placement in
facilities under the Children and Family Services Act and who
are not subject to placement in facilities for whom standards
are established by the Department of Corrections under Section
3-15-2 of the Unified Code of Corrections. "Secure child care
facility" also means 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.
(Source: P.A. 99-85, eff. 1-1-16; 100-136, eff. 8-8-17;
100-229, eff. 1-1-18; revised 10-10-17.)
 
    (705 ILCS 405/2-17)  (from Ch. 37, par. 802-17)
    Sec. 2-17. Guardian ad litem.
    (1) Immediately upon the filing of a petition alleging that
the minor is a person described in Sections 2-3 or 2-4 of this
Article, the court shall appoint a guardian ad litem for the
minor if:
        (a) such petition alleges that the minor is an abused
    or neglected child; or
        (b) such petition alleges that charges alleging the
    commission of any of the sex offenses defined in Article 11
    or in Sections 11-1.20, 11-1.30, 11-1.40, 11-1.50,
    11-1.60, 12-13, 12-14, 12-14.1, 12-15 or 12-16 of the
    Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012, have
    been filed against a defendant in any court and that such
    minor is the alleged victim of the acts of defendant in the
    commission of such offense.
    Unless the guardian ad litem appointed pursuant to this
paragraph (1) is an attorney at law he shall be represented in
the performance of his duties by counsel. The guardian ad litem
shall represent the best interests of the minor and shall
present recommendations to the court consistent with that duty.
    (2) Before proceeding with the hearing, the court shall
appoint a guardian ad litem for the minor if
        (a) no parent, guardian, custodian or relative of the
    minor appears at the first or any subsequent hearing of the
    case;
        (b) the petition prays for the appointment of a
    guardian with power to consent to adoption; or
        (c) the petition for which the minor is before the
    court resulted from a report made pursuant to the Abused
    and Neglected Child Reporting Act.
    (3) The court may appoint a guardian ad litem for the minor
whenever it finds that there may be a conflict of interest
between the minor and his parents or other custodian or that it
is otherwise in the minor's best interest to do so.
    (4) Unless the guardian ad litem is an attorney, he shall
be represented by counsel.
    (5) The reasonable fees of a guardian ad litem appointed
under this Section shall be fixed by the court and charged to
the parents of the minor, to the extent they are able to pay.
If the parents are unable to pay those fees, they shall be paid
from the general fund of the county.
    (6) A guardian ad litem appointed under this Section, shall
receive copies of any and all classified reports of child abuse
and neglect made under the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting
Act in which the minor who is the subject of a report under the
Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act, is also the minor for
whom the guardian ad litem is appointed under this Section.
    (6.5) A guardian ad litem appointed under this Section or
attorney appointed under this Act, shall receive a copy of each
significant event report that involves the minor no later than
3 days after the Department learns of an event requiring a
significant event report to be written, or earlier as required
by Department rule.
    (7) The appointed guardian ad litem shall remain the
child's guardian ad litem throughout the entire juvenile trial
court proceedings, including permanency hearings and
termination of parental rights proceedings, unless there is a
substitution entered by order of the court.
    (8) The guardian ad litem or an agent of the guardian ad
litem shall have a minimum of one in-person contact with the
minor and one contact with one of the current foster parents or
caregivers prior to the adjudicatory hearing, and at least one
additional in-person contact with the child and one contact
with one of the current foster parents or caregivers after the
adjudicatory hearing but prior to the first permanency hearing
and one additional in-person contact with the child and one
contact with one of the current foster parents or caregivers
each subsequent year. For good cause shown, the judge may
excuse face-to-face interviews required in this subsection.
    (9) In counties with a population of 100,000 or more but
less than 3,000,000, each guardian ad litem must successfully
complete a training program approved by the Department of
Children and Family Services. The Department of Children and
Family Services shall provide training materials and documents
to guardians ad litem who are not mandated to attend the
training program. The Department of Children and Family
Services shall develop and distribute to all guardians ad litem
a bibliography containing information including but not
limited to the juvenile court process, termination of parental
rights, child development, medical aspects of child abuse, and
the child's need for safety and permanence.
(Source: P.A. 96-1551, eff. 7-1-11; 97-1150, eff. 1-25-13.)

Effective Date: 1/1/2019