HB0634 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB102 10856 AWJ 16186 b

102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
HB0634

Introduced 2/8/2021, by Rep. Steven Reick

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

See Index

Creates the McHenry County Children and Family Services Agency Division in the Counties Code (which may be referred to as AJ's Law). Establishes a county children and family services agency in McHenry County for a 5-year period to replace the operations of the Department of Children and Family Services within that county. Provides that the McHenry County children and family services agency shall have all powers and duties of the Department under the Children and Family Services Act and the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act. Provides for the appointment of an executive director and employment of employees. Provides for requirements for operation of the county children and family services agency, including unit-based multidisciplinary teams. Provides for State funding of the agency after submission of a budget to the Department each year. Provides for transfer of power and duties back to the Department should the county children and family services agency cease operators after the initial 5-year period. Effective immediately.

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

HOUSING AFFORDABILITY IMPACT NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning local government.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Counties Code is amended by adding Division 5-45 as follows:

(55 ILCS 5/Div. 5-45 heading new)

Division 5-45. McHenry County Children

and Family Services Agency

(55 ILCS 5/5-45001 new)

Sec. 5-45001. Reference to Division. This Division may be referred to as AJ's Law.

(55 ILCS 5/5-45005 new)

Sec. 5-45005. Definitions. As used in this Division:

"Agency" means the McHenry County children and family services agency.

"County" means McHenry County.

"County board" means the McHenry County Board.

"Department" means the Department of Children and Family Services.

(55 ILCS 5/5-45010 new)

Sec. 5-45010. McHenry County children and family services agency; Department transfer of duties.

(a) The McHenry County children and family services agency is established. The agency shall begin operating no earlier than 90 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly. Once operations begin, the agency shall be a full-time agency of the county whose personnel, other than consultants, clinicians, or part-time clerical staff, shall devote full time during business hours to agency duties.

The county shall give the Department at least 45 days' notice as to the date the agency will begin operations. The agency will operate for at least 5 full years after the date the agency began its operations.

(b) On the date the county indicated to the Department that it would begin its agency operations in the notice provided to the Department under subsection (a), the Department's powers and duties under the Children and Family Services Act and the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act are assumed by the agency. Duties under these Acts include, but are not limited to, maintaining and managing: current services offered under the Acts; a crisis line or hotline; and the files transferred from the Department and created by the agency. The agency may modify their duties under the Acts if those changes are in the best interests of the children and families in the county and by reporting such changes to the Department no earlier than 30 days before any such change.

(c) Once powers and duties are assumed by the agency under this Section, the agency shall perform its work in accordance with Department criteria, including any needed revised criteria based upon changes to the agency's duties reported to the Department under subsection (b).

(55 ILCS 5/5-45015 new)

Sec. 5-45015. Agency duties; investigatory functions. The agency shall protect the health, safety, and best interests of children in all situations in which children are vulnerable to child abuse or neglect, offer protective services in order to prevent any further harm to the child and to other children in the same environment or family, stabilize the home environment, and preserve family life whenever possible.

The agency shall employ policies and procedures to protect children from being abused and neglected as provided for in the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act, including, but not limited to, being responsible for receiving and investigating reports of adult resident abuse or neglect. In performing any of these duties, the agency may utilize protective services of voluntary agencies as are available.

(55 ILCS 5/5-45020 new)

Sec. 5-45020. Executive director; appointment. The county board chairperson shall appoint an executive director of the agency, with the advice and consent of the county board. The executive director shall possess such qualifications as prescribed by the county board. The executive director of the agency may appoint such professional employees who meet the qualification requirements of the agency as allowed by the funds available to the agency.

(55 ILCS 5/5-45025 new)

Sec. 5-45025. Employees; facilities.

(a) All investigators and employees of the agency shall be employees of the county with the same qualifications and accreditation as required under the statutes, rules, procedures, and standards governing investigators and employees the Department. Current employees or contractors of the Department may be employed or contracted by the agency as deemed appropriate by the executive director, including those employees and investigators employed by the State within the facilities of the Department within the county. Agency employees shall be enrolled in such benefits and pension programs as deemed appropriate by the executive director that would be commensurate with county employees within other county agencies and departments. County employees of the agency shall be eligible for the same training eligible to for similar roles as State employees or contractors of the Department.

(b) The agency may lease or purchase facilities to operate the agency and to house its employees and contractors, including leasing or purchasing facilities from the Department.

(55 ILCS 5/5-45030 new)

Sec. 5-45030. Operations. The agency will be operated as recommended in the February 2016 report, "The Urgent Need in Illinois for Unit-Based Multidisciplinary Teams to Investigate Child Abuse", published by the Illinois Children's Justice Task Force.

The agency may contract with the State, units of local government, providers, contractors, and servicers in order to provide its services with the highest standards as determined by the executive director and the agency, including contracts with pediatric child abuse physicians and neglect centers of excellence.

(55 ILCS 5/5-45035 new)

Sec. 5-45035. Agency funding; continuing appropriation.

(a) No later than 45 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General assembly and each year thereafter no later than 45 days before the anniversary of the date the agency began operations, the executive director shall prepare a budget and file the proposed budget with the Director of the Department. Each budget shall be no less than the total amount of all appropriations that were used by the Department in the county in the fiscal year immediately preceding the date the agency began its operations.

On the date the agency begins its operations under subsection (a) of Section 5-45010, the Department shall make grants to the county for use by the agency in amounts equal to the moneys the Department was appropriated or otherwise received that the Department would have used for the remainder of the current fiscal year in the county. The grants, including those amounts appropriated and transferred to the Department under subsection (b), shall be distributed to the county no later than 14 days after the Department receives the applicable moneys and shall continue indefinitely unless the agency ceases operations under Section 5-45045. For moneys in possession of the Department designated for use in the county on the date the agency begins its operations, those moneys shall be distributed to the county no later than 14 days after the agency began its operations.

(b) For the 5 State fiscal years immediately following the date the agency begins its operations under subsection (a) of Section 5-45010:

(1) The Governor shall submit to the General Assembly a proposed budget for the Department for use by the county in which total General Revenue Fund appropriations are no less than the total amount of all appropriations that were used by the Department in the county in the fiscal year immediately preceding the date the agency began its operations. In addition, the Governor shall specify the total amount of funds to be transferred from all Funds to the Department for use by the county during the budget year, which shall be no less than the total amount of all appropriations that were used by the Department in the county in the fiscal year immediately preceding the date the agency began its operations. The Governor may submit a proposed budget in which the total appropriated and transferred amounts the Department for use by the county are less than the total amount of all appropriations that were used by the Department in the county in the fiscal year immediately preceding the date the agency began its operations if the Governor declares in writing to the General Assembly the reason for the lesser amounts.

(2) The General Assembly shall appropriate amounts for the Department for use by the county for each fiscal year so that the total appropriation from all Funds is no less than the total amount of appropriations that were used by the Department in the county in the fiscal year immediately preceding the date the agency began its operations. In addition, the General Assembly shall legislatively transfer to the Department for use by the county for the fiscal year a total amount that is no less than the total amount of all appropriations that were used by the Department in the county in the fiscal year immediately preceding the date the agency began its operations. The General Assembly may appropriate or transfer lesser amounts if it declares by Joint Resolution the reason for the lesser amounts.

(55 ILCS 5/5-45040 new)

Sec. 5-45040. Reporting; accountability.

(a) The agency shall issue annual reports to the Department, the Governor, and the General Assembly no later than 30 days after each anniversary of the date the agency began its operations. The report shall detail the agency's performance according to standard performance metrics, including, but not limited to: time of response to hotline reports; time of communication of hotline reports among various county stakeholders, including law enforcement; number and quality of indicated reports as measured against the Department's last baseline established in the county before the date the agency began its operations; caseload management by investigators as measured against the Department's last baseline established in the county before the date the agency began its operations; and other metrics as may be recommended by the executive director of the agency, the Director of the Department, or the Office of the Inspector General of the Department.

(b) The Office of the Inspector General of the Department has the authority to investigate any agency matter that would otherwise fall within the Inspector General's authority if those matters involved the Department.

(55 ILCS 5/5-45045 new)

Sec. 5-45045. Agency ceasing operations.

(a) No earlier than 5 years after the agency began operations, the county may cease operations under this Section. Before ceasing operations, the county shall give the Department no less than 90 days' notice of the date the agency will cease operations. On the date agency ceases operations, the Department will resume its powers and duties under the Children and Family Services Act and the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act and cease all grants to the county under this Division.

For moneys in possession of the agency from grants from the Department on the date the agency ceases operations, those moneys shall be distributed to the Department no later than 14 days after the agency ceases its operations.

(b) The agency shall cease operations on the date of repeal of this Division under Section 5-45050 if the General Assembly has not repealed that Section. On that date, the Department shall resume its powers and duties and the agency shall distribute moneys as provided in subsection (a).

(55 ILCS 5/5-45050 new)

Sec. 5-45050. Repeal. This Act is repealed 6 years after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.