Public Act 102-0208
 
SB0755 EnrolledLRB102 04572 LNS 14591 b

    AN ACT concerning courts.
 
    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 5e and by adding Section 6b-1 as follows:
 
    (20 ILCS 505/5e)
    Sec. 5e. Advocacy Office for Children and Families.
    (a) The Department of Children and Family Services shall
establish and maintain an Advocacy Office for Children and
Families that shall, in addition to other duties assigned by
the Director, receive and respond to complaints that may be
filed by children, parents, caretakers, and relatives of
children receiving child welfare services from the Department
of Children and Family Services or its agents. The Department
shall promulgate policies and procedures for filing,
processing, investigating, and resolving the complaints. The
Department shall make a final report to the complainant of its
findings. If a final report is not completed, the Department
shall report on its disposition every 30 days.
    (b) If a youth in care, current foster parent or
caregiver, or caseworker requests the information, the
Advocacy Office shall make available the name, electronic mail
address, and telephone number for each youth's court-appointed
guardian ad litem and, if applicable, the guardian ad litem's
supervisor.
    (c) The Advocacy Office shall include a statewide
toll-free telephone number and an electronic mail address that
may be used to file complaints, or to obtain information about
the delivery of child welfare services by the Department or
its agents, and to obtain the contact information for the
guardian ad litem. This telephone number and electronic mail
address shall be included in all appropriate notices and
handbooks regarding services available through the Department.
    (d) The Department shall provide a flyer to all youth
entering care describing the responsibilities of the Advocacy
Office listed in this Section, the toll-free telephone number
and electronic mailing address for the Advocacy Office, and a
description of the role of a guardian ad litem. The Department
shall also provide this flyer to youth at every administrative
case review.
(Source: P.A. 92-334, eff. 8-10-01; 92-651, eff. 7-11-02.)
 
    (20 ILCS 505/6b-1 new)
    Sec. 6b-1. Maintaining and tracking information on
guardians ad litem. The Department must maintain the name,
electronic mail address, and telephone number for each youth
in care's court-appointed guardian ad litem and, if
applicable, the guardian ad litem's supervisor. The Department
must update this contact information within 5 days of
receiving notice of a change. The Advocacy Office for Children
and Families, established pursuant to Section 5e, must make
this contact information available to the youth in care,
current foster parent or caregiver, or caseworker, if
requested. By December 31, 2021, the Department shall adopt
rules for maintaining and providing this information.
 
    Section 10. The Juvenile Court Act of 1987 is amended by
changing Section 2-17 as follows:
 
    (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 or she shall be
represented in the performance of his or her 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 or she
shall be represented by counsel.
    (4.5) Pursuant to Section 6b-1 of the Children and Family
Services Act, the Department of Children and Family Services
must maintain the name, electronic mail address, and telephone
number for each minor's court-appointed guardian ad litem and,
if applicable, the guardian ad litem's supervisor. The
Department of Children and Family Services must update this
contact information within 5 days of receiving notice of a
change. The Advocacy Office for Children and Families,
established pursuant to Section 5e of the Children and Family
Services Act, must make this contact information available to
the minor, current foster parent or caregiver, or caseworker,
if requested.
    (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
minor's 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. 100-689, eff. 1-1-19; 101-81, eff. 7-12-19.)
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.