(750 ILCS 50/12.3)

Sec. 12.3. Additional requirements in private adoptions. In cases of adoptions in which an Illinois licensed child welfare agency is not providing adoption services and the child who is the subject of the adoption is not a related child of the prospective adoptive parent and not under the custody or guardianship of the Department of Children and Family Services under the Juvenile Court Act of 1987, the following requirements shall apply in addition to any other applicable requirements set forth in Section 6 or other provisions of this Act:

(1) Within 10 days of filing a petition for adoption pursuant to Section 5 of this Act, the prospective adoptive parents and anyone 18 years of age or older who resides in the adoptive home must initiate requests for background checks from the following: the State police and child abuse registry from every state of residence for the 5 years preceding the filing date of the petition, the FBI, the National Sex Offender Registry, and, if Illinois residents, from the Illinois State Police and Child Abuse and Neglect Tracking System. The background checks must be fingerprint-based, if available. The Child Abuse and Neglect Tracking System background check must also be requested for each person 13 to 17 years of age living in the adoptive home.

(2) Within 30 days of filing a petition for adoption, the results of the background checks set forth in paragraph (1) of this Section shall be provided to the guardian ad litem of the child appointed by the court or, should there not be a guardian ad litem, to the investigator appointed by the court pursuant to subsection A of Section 6 of this Act.

(3) An initial assessment, including a home visit, must be made by the guardian ad litem or the investigator appointed by the court pursuant to subsection A of Section 6 of this Act no later than 30 days of said appointment;

(4) As part of the investigation, the guardian ad litem or the investigator appointed by the court pursuant to subsection A of Section 6 of this Act must provide the prospective adoptive parents with the Adoptive Parent Rights and Responsibilities-Private Form set forth in Section 12.2 of this Act. The prospective adoptive parent or parents must sign the form acknowledging receipt of the form, and the original form must be filed with the court at the time of the issuance of the interim order, and a copy must be provided to the prospective parent or parents;

(5) The attorney for the prospective adoptive parent or parents or the birth parent or parents shall provide the prospective adoptive parent or parents with the Birth Parent Medical form or forms if completed by the birth parent or parents as set forth in subsection A-2 of Section 10 of this Act, as soon as practicable but no later than the time of entry of the interim order;

(6) The guardian ad litem, or the court-appointed investigator appointed pursuant to subsection A of Section 6 of this Act, shall provide a report of investigation to the Court within 6 months after appointment, or earlier if so ordered by the court.

(7) The birth parent shall have the right to request to receive counseling before and after signing a Final and Irrevocable Consent to Adoption form, a Final and Irrevocable Consent to Adoption by a Specified Person or Persons: Non-DCFS Case form, or a Consent to Adoption of Unborn Child form. The prospective adoptive parent or parents may agree to pay for the cost of counseling in a manner consistent with Illinois law, but the prospective adoptive parent or parents are not required to do so.

(Source: P.A. 99-833, eff. 1-1-17.)