(55 ILCS 80/4) (from Ch. 23, par. 1804)

Sec. 4. Children's Advocacy Center.

(a) A CAC may be established to coordinate the activities of the various agencies involved in the investigation, prosecution and treatment of child maltreatment. The individual county or regional Advisory Board shall set the written protocol of the CAC within the appropriate jurisdiction. The operation of the CAC may be funded through public or private grants, contracts, donations, fees, and other available sources under this Act. Each CAC shall operate to the best of its ability in accordance with available funding. In counties in which a referendum has been adopted under Section 5 of this Act, the Advisory Board, by the majority vote of its members, shall submit a proposed annual budget for the operation of the CAC to the county board, which shall appropriate funds and levy a tax sufficient to operate the CAC. The county board in each county in which a referendum has been adopted shall establish a Children's Advocacy Center Fund and shall deposit the net proceeds of the tax authorized by Section 6 of this Act in that Fund, which shall be kept separate from all other county funds and shall only be used for the purposes of this Act.

(b) The Advisory Board shall pay from the Children's Advocacy Center Fund or from other available funds the salaries of all employees of the Center and the expenses of acquiring a physical plant for the Center by construction or lease and maintaining the Center, including the expenses of administering the coordination of the investigation, prosecution and treatment referral of child maltreatment under the provisions of the protocol adopted pursuant to this Act.

(c) Every CAC shall include at least the following components:

(1) A multidisciplinary, coordinated systems approach to the investigation of child maltreatment which shall include, at a minimum:

(i) an interagency notification procedure;

(ii) a policy on multidisciplinary team collaboration and communication that requires MDT members share information pertinent to investigations and the safety of children;

(iii) (blank);

(iv) a description of the role each agency has in responding to a referral for services in an individual case;

(v) a dispute resolution process between the involved agencies when a conflict arises on how to proceed on the referral of a particular case;

(vi) a process for the CAC to assist in the forensic interview of children that witness alleged crimes;

(vii) a child-friendly, trauma informed space for children and their non-offending family members;

(viii) an MDT approach including law enforcement, prosecution, medical, mental health, victim advocacy, and other community resources;

(ix) medical evaluation on-site or off-site through referral;

(x) mental health services on-site or off-site through referral;

(xi) on-site forensic interviews;

(xii) culturally competent services;

(xiii) case tracking and review;

(xiv) case staffing on each investigation;

(xv) effective organizational capacity; and

(xvi) a policy or procedure to familiarize a child and his or her non-offending family members or guardians with the court process as well as preparations for testifying in court, if necessary;

(2) A safe, separate space with assigned personnel designated for the investigation and coordination of child maltreatment cases;

(3) A multidisciplinary case review process for purposes of decision-making, problem solving, systems coordination, and information sharing;

(4) A comprehensive client tracking system to receive and coordinate information concerning child maltreatment cases from each participating agency;

(5) Multidisciplinary specialized training for all professionals involved with the victims and non-offending family members in child maltreatment cases; and

(6) A process for evaluating the effectiveness of the CAC and its operations.

(d) In the event that a CAC has been established as provided in this Section, the Advisory Board of that CAC may, by a majority vote of the members, authorize the CAC to coordinate the activities of the various agencies involved in the investigation, prosecution, and treatment referral in cases of serious or fatal injury to a child. For CACs receiving funds under Section 5 or 6 of this Act, the Advisory Board shall provide for the financial support of these activities in a manner similar to that set out in subsections (a) and (b) of this Section and shall be allowed to submit a budget that includes support for physical abuse and neglect activities to the County Board, which shall appropriate funds that may be available under Section 5 of this Act. In cooperation with the Department of Children and Family Services Child Death Review Teams, the Department of Children and Family Services Office of the Inspector General, and other stakeholders, this protocol must be initially implemented in selected counties to the extent that State appropriations or funds from other sources for this purpose allow.

(e) CACI may also provide technical assistance and guidance to the Advisory Boards.

(Source: P.A. 98-809, eff. 1-1-15; 99-78, eff. 7-20-15.)