Public Act 098-0453
 
HB2787 EnrolledLRB098 06185 DRJ 36226 b

    AN ACT concerning children.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act is
amended by changing Sections 7.7, 7.14, 7.16, and 7.21 and by
adding Section 7.22 as follows:
 
    (325 ILCS 5/7.7)  (from Ch. 23, par. 2057.7)
    Sec. 7.7. There shall be a central register of all cases of
suspected child abuse or neglect reported and maintained by the
Department under this Act. Through the recording of initial,
preliminary, and final reports, the central register shall be
operated in such a manner as to enable the Department to: (1)
immediately identify and locate prior reports of child abuse or
neglect; (2) continuously monitor the current status of all
reports of child abuse or neglect being provided services under
this Act; and (3) regularly evaluate the effectiveness of
existing laws and programs through the development and analysis
of statistical and other information.
    The Department shall maintain in the central register a
listing of unfounded reports where the subject of the unfounded
report requests that the record not be expunged because the
subject alleges an intentional false report was made. Such a
request must be made by the subject in writing to the
Department, within 10 days of the investigation. By January 1,
2014, the Department shall promulgate rules establishing
criteria and standards for labeling an unfounded report as an
intentional false report in the central register. The rules
shall permit the reporter to submit a statement regarding the
report unless the reporter has been convicted of knowingly
transmitting a false report to the Department under paragraph
(7) of subsection (a) of Section 26-1 of the Criminal Code of
2012.
    The Department shall also maintain in the central register
a listing of unfounded reports where the report was classified
as a priority one or priority two report in accordance with the
Department's rules or the report was made by a person mandated
to report suspected abuse or neglect under this Act.
    The Department shall maintain in the central register for 3
years a listing of unfounded reports involving the death of a
child, the sexual abuse of a child, or serious physical injury
to a child as defined by the Department in rules.
    If an individual is the subject of a subsequent
investigation that is pending, the Department shall maintain
all prior unfounded reports pertaining to that individual until
the pending investigation has been completed or for 12 months,
whichever time period ends later.
    The Department shall maintain all other unfounded reports
for 12 months following the date of the final finding.
    For purposes of this Section "child abuse or neglect"
includes abuse or neglect of an adult resident as defined in
this Act.
(Source: P.A. 96-1164, eff. 7-21-10; 96-1446, eff. 8-20-10;
97-333, eff. 8-12-11; 97-1089, eff. 8-24-12.)
 
    (325 ILCS 5/7.14)  (from Ch. 23, par. 2057.14)
    Sec. 7.14. All reports in the central register shall be
classified in one of three categories: "indicated",
"unfounded" or "undetermined", as the case may be. After the
report is classified, the person making the classification
shall determine whether the child named in the report is the
subject of an action under Article II of the Juvenile Court Act
of 1987. If the child is the subject of an action under Article
II of the Juvenile Court Act, the Department shall, within 45
days of classification of the report, transmit a copy of the
report to the guardian ad litem appointed for the child under
Section 2-17 of the Juvenile Court Act. All information
identifying the subjects of an unfounded report shall be
expunged from the register forthwith, except as provided in
Section 7.7. Unfounded reports may only be made available to
the Child Protective Service Unit when investigating a
subsequent report of suspected abuse or maltreatment involving
a child named in the unfounded report; and to the subject of
the report, provided the Department has not expunged the file
in accordance with Section 7.7. The Child Protective Service
Unit shall not indicate the subsequent report solely based upon
the existence of the prior unfounded report or reports.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, an
unfounded report shall not be admissible in any judicial or
administrative proceeding or action. Identifying information
on all other records shall be removed from the register no
later than 5 years after the report is indicated. However, if
another report is received involving the same child, his
sibling or offspring, or a child in the care of the persons
responsible for the child's welfare, or involving the same
alleged offender, the identifying information may be
maintained in the register until 5 years after the subsequent
case or report is closed.
    Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section,
identifying information in indicated reports involving serious
physical injury to a child as defined by the Department in
rules, may be retained longer than 5 years after the report is
indicated or after the subsequent case or report is closed, and
may not be removed from the register except as provided by the
Department in rules. Identifying information in indicated
reports involving sexual penetration of a child, sexual
molestation of a child, sexual exploitation of a child, torture
of a child, or the death of a child, as defined by the
Department in rules, shall be retained for a period of not less
than 50 years after the report is indicated or after the
subsequent case or report is closed.
    For purposes of this Section "child" includes an adult
resident as defined in this Act.
(Source: P.A. 96-1164, eff. 7-21-10; 96-1446, eff. 8-20-10;
97-333, eff. 8-12-11.)
 
    (325 ILCS 5/7.16)  (from Ch. 23, par. 2057.16)
    Sec. 7.16. For any investigation or appeal initiated on or
after, or pending on July 1, 1998, the following time frames
shall apply. Within 60 days after the notification of the
completion of the Child Protective Service Unit investigation,
determined by the date of the notification sent by the
Department, a subject of a report may request the Department to
amend the record or remove the record of the report from the
register. Such request shall be in writing and directed to such
person as the Department designates in the notification. If the
Department disregards any request to do so or does not act
within 10 days, the subject shall have the right to a hearing
within the Department to determine whether the record of the
report should be amended or removed on the grounds that it is
inaccurate or it is being maintained in a manner inconsistent
with this Act, except that there shall be no such right to a
hearing on the ground of the report's inaccuracy if there has
been a court finding of child abuse or neglect, the report's
accuracy being conclusively presumed on such finding. Such
hearing shall be held within a reasonable time after the
subject's request and at a reasonable place and hour. The
appropriate Child Protective Service Unit shall be given notice
of the hearing. If the minor, who is the victim named in the
report sought to be amended or removed from the State Central
Register, is the subject of a pending action under Article II
of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987, and the report was made
while a guardian ad litem was appointed for the minor under
Section 2-17 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987, then the minor
shall, through the minor's attorney or guardian ad litem
appointed under Section 2-17 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987,
have the right to participate and be heard in such hearing as
defined under the Department's rules. In such hearings, the
burden of proving the accuracy and consistency of the record
shall be on the Department and the appropriate Child Protective
Service Unit. The hearing shall be conducted by the Director or
his designee, who is hereby authorized and empowered to order
the amendment or removal of the record to make it accurate and
consistent with this Act. The decision shall be made, in
writing, at the close of the hearing, or within 45 days
thereof, and shall state the reasons upon which it is based.
Decisions of the Department under this Section are
administrative decisions subject to judicial review under the
Administrative Review Law.
    Should the Department grant the request of the subject of
the report pursuant to this Section either on administrative
review or after administrative hearing to amend an indicated
report to an unfounded report, the report shall be released and
expunged in accordance with the standards set forth in Section
7.14 of this Act.
(Source: P.A. 90-15, eff. 6-13-97; 90-608, eff. 6-30-98.)
 
    (325 ILCS 5/7.21)
    Sec. 7.21. Multidisciplinary Review Committee.
    (a) The Department may establish multidisciplinary review
committees in each region of the State to assure that mandated
reporters have the ability to have a review conducted on any
situation where a child abuse or neglect report made by them
was "unfounded", and they have concerns about the adequacy of
the investigation. These committees shall draw upon the
expertise of the Child Death Review Teams as necessary and
practicable. Each committee will be composed of the following:
a health care professional, a Department employee, a law
enforcement official, a licensed social worker, and a
representative of the State's attorney's office. In appointing
members of a committee, primary consideration shall be given to
a prospective member's prior experience in dealing with cases
of suspected child abuse or neglect.
    (b) Whenever the Department determines that a reported
incident of child abuse or neglect from a mandated reporter is
"unfounded", the mandated reporter may request a review of the
investigation within 10 days of the notification of the final
finding. Whenever the Department determines that a reported
incident of child abuse or neglect from a mandated reporter or
any other reporter is "unfounded", the minor's guardian ad
litem appointed under the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 may
request a review of the investigation within 10 days of the
notification of the final finding if the subject of the report
is also the minor for whom the guardian ad litem has been
appointed. The review of the investigation requested by the
guardian ad litem may be conducted by the Regional Child
Protection Manager.
    A review under this subsection will be conducted by the
committee, except those requests for review that are made by
the guardian ad litem, which shall be conducted by the Regional
Child Protection Manager. The Department shall make available
to the committee all information in the Department's possession
concerning the case. The committee shall make recommendations
to the Department as to the adequacy of the investigation and
of the accuracy of the final finding determination. These
findings shall be forwarded to the Regional Child Protection
Manager.
    (c) The Department shall provide complete records of these
investigations to the committee. Records provided to the
committee and recommendation reports generated by the
committee shall not be public record.
    (c-5) On or before October 1 of each year, the Department
shall prepare a report setting forth (i) the number of
investigations reviewed by each committee during the previous
fiscal year and (ii) the number of those investigations that
the committee found to be inadequate. The report shall also
include a summary of the committee's comments and a summary of
the corrective action, if any, that was taken in response to
the committee's recommendations. The report shall be a public
record. The Department shall submit the report to the General
Assembly and shall make the report available to the public upon
request.
    (d) The Department shall adopt rules to implement this
Section.
(Source: P.A. 90-239, eff. 7-28-97; 91-812, eff. 6-13-00.)
 
    (325 ILCS 5/7.22 new)
    Sec. 7.22. Reviews of unfounded reports.
    (a) Whenever the Department determines that a reported
incident of child abuse or neglect is "unfounded", the minor's
attorney or guardian ad litem appointed under the Juvenile
Court Act of 1987 may request a review of the investigation
within 10 days of the notification of the final finding and
receipt of the report, as provided in Section 7.14 of this Act,
if the subject of the report is also the minor for whom the
attorney or guardian ad litem has been appointed.
    (b) Reviews requested under subsection (a) may be requested
by sending a request via U.S. Mail, postmarked within 10 days
after notice of the final finding, or by faxing a request
within 10 days after notice of the final finding. The date of
notification of the final finding is the date the attorney or
guardian ad litem received a copy of the report from the
Department.
    (c) By January 1, 2014, the Department shall promulgate
rules addressing reviews requested under subsection (a). The
rules shall provide that a review requested under subsection
(a) must occur before the report is classified and a final
finding is entered in the central register and that the review
must be conducted by a Department employee outside the
supervisory chain of the assigned investigator.
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.