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1 | AN ACT concerning minors.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 5. The Juvenile Court Act of 1987 is amended by | ||||||
5 | changing Section 2-18 as follows:
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6 | (705 ILCS 405/2-18) (from Ch. 37, par. 802-18)
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7 | Sec. 2-18. Evidence.
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8 | (1) At the adjudicatory hearing, the court shall first | ||||||
9 | consider only the
question whether the minor is abused, | ||||||
10 | neglected or dependent. The standard of
proof and the rules of | ||||||
11 | evidence in the nature of civil proceedings in this
State are | ||||||
12 | applicable to proceedings under this Article. If the petition | ||||||
13 | also
seeks the appointment of a guardian of the person with
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14 | power to consent to adoption of the minor under Section 2-29, | ||||||
15 | the court may
also consider legally admissible evidence at the | ||||||
16 | adjudicatory hearing that one
or more grounds of unfitness | ||||||
17 | exists under subdivision D of Section 1 of the
Adoption Act.
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18 | (2) In any hearing under this Act, the following shall | ||||||
19 | constitute prima
facie evidence of abuse or neglect, as the | ||||||
20 | case may be:
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21 | (a) proof that a minor has a medical diagnosis of | ||||||
22 | battered child syndrome
is prima facie evidence of abuse;
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23 | (b) proof that a minor has a medical diagnosis of | ||||||
24 | failure to thrive
syndrome is prima facie evidence of | ||||||
25 | neglect;
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26 | (c) proof that a minor has a medical diagnosis of fetal | ||||||
27 | alcohol syndrome
is prima facie evidence of neglect;
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28 | (d) proof that a minor has a medical diagnosis at birth | ||||||
29 | of withdrawal
symptoms from narcotics or barbiturates is | ||||||
30 | prima facie evidence of neglect;
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31 | (e) proof of injuries sustained by a minor or of the | ||||||
32 | condition of a minor
of such a nature as would ordinarily |
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1 | not be sustained or exist except by
reason of the acts or | ||||||
2 | omissions of the parent, custodian or guardian of
such | ||||||
3 | minor shall be prima facie evidence of abuse or neglect, as | ||||||
4 | the case may
be;
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5 | (f) proof that a parent, custodian or guardian of a | ||||||
6 | minor repeatedly used
a drug, to the extent that it has or | ||||||
7 | would ordinarily have the effect of
producing in the user a | ||||||
8 | substantial state of stupor, unconsciousness,
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9 | intoxication, hallucination, disorientation or | ||||||
10 | incompetence, or a
substantial impairment of judgment, or a | ||||||
11 | substantial manifestation of
irrationality, shall be prima | ||||||
12 | facie evidence of neglect;
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13 | (g) proof that a parent, custodian, or guardian of a | ||||||
14 | minor repeatedly
used a controlled substance, as defined in | ||||||
15 | subsection (f) of Section 102 of the
Illinois Controlled | ||||||
16 | Substances Act, in the presence of the minor or a sibling
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17 | of the minor is prima facie evidence of neglect. "Repeated | ||||||
18 | use", for the
purpose of this subsection, means more than | ||||||
19 | one use of a controlled substance
as defined in subsection | ||||||
20 | (f) of Section 102 of the Illinois Controlled
Substances | ||||||
21 | Act;
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22 | (h) proof that a newborn infant's blood, urine, or | ||||||
23 | meconium contains any
amount of a controlled substance as | ||||||
24 | defined in subsection (f) of Section 102 of
the Illinois | ||||||
25 | Controlled Substances Act, or a metabolite of a controlled
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26 | substance, with the exception of controlled substances or | ||||||
27 | metabolites of those
substances, the presence of which is | ||||||
28 | the result of medical treatment
administered to the mother | ||||||
29 | or the newborn, is prime facie evidence of
neglect ; . | ||||||
30 | (i) proof that a minor was present in a structure or | ||||||
31 | vehicle in which the minor's parent, custodian, or guardian | ||||||
32 | was involved in the manufacture of methamphetamine | ||||||
33 | constitutes prima facie evidence of abuse and neglect.
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34 | (3) In any hearing under this Act, proof of the abuse, | ||||||
35 | neglect or dependency
of one minor shall be admissible evidence | ||||||
36 | on the issue of the abuse, neglect or
dependency of any other |
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1 | minor for whom the respondent is responsible.
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2 | (4) (a) Any writing, record, photograph or x-ray of any | ||||||
3 | hospital or public
or private agency, whether in the form of an | ||||||
4 | entry in a book or otherwise,
made as a memorandum or record of | ||||||
5 | any condition, act, transaction, occurrence
or event relating | ||||||
6 | to a minor in an abuse, neglect or
dependency proceeding, shall | ||||||
7 | be
admissible in evidence as proof of that condition, act, | ||||||
8 | transaction, occurrence
or event, if the court finds that the | ||||||
9 | document was made in the regular course
of the business of the | ||||||
10 | hospital or agency and that it was in the regular
course of | ||||||
11 | such business to make it, at the time of the act, transaction,
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12 | occurrence or event, or within a reasonable time thereafter. A | ||||||
13 | certification
by the head or responsible employee of the | ||||||
14 | hospital or agency that the writing,
record, photograph or | ||||||
15 | x-ray is the full and complete record of the condition,
act, | ||||||
16 | transaction, occurrence or event and that it satisfies the | ||||||
17 | conditions
of this paragraph shall be prima facie evidence of | ||||||
18 | the facts contained in
such certification. A certification by | ||||||
19 | someone other than the head of the
hospital or agency shall be | ||||||
20 | accompanied by a photocopy of a delegation of
authority signed | ||||||
21 | by both the head of the hospital or agency and by such
other | ||||||
22 | employee. All other circumstances of the making of the | ||||||
23 | memorandum,
record, photograph or x-ray, including lack of | ||||||
24 | personal knowledge of the
maker, may be proved to affect the | ||||||
25 | weight to be accorded such evidence,
but shall not affect its | ||||||
26 | admissibility.
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27 | (b) Any indicated report filed pursuant to the Abused and | ||||||
28 | Neglected Child
Reporting Act shall be admissible in evidence.
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29 | (c) Previous statements made by the minor relating to any | ||||||
30 | allegations
of abuse or neglect shall be admissible in | ||||||
31 | evidence. However, no such
statement, if uncorroborated and not | ||||||
32 | subject to cross-examination, shall be
sufficient in itself to | ||||||
33 | support a finding of abuse or neglect.
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34 | (d) There shall be a rebuttable presumption that a minor is | ||||||
35 | competent
to testify in abuse or neglect proceedings. The court | ||||||
36 | shall determine how
much weight to give to the minor's |
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1 | testimony, and may allow the minor to
testify in chambers with | ||||||
2 | only the court, the court reporter and attorneys
for the | ||||||
3 | parties present.
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4 | (e) The privileged character of communication between any | ||||||
5 | professional
person and patient or client, except privilege | ||||||
6 | between attorney and client,
shall not apply to proceedings | ||||||
7 | subject to this Article.
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8 | (f) Proof of the impairment of emotional health or | ||||||
9 | impairment of mental
or emotional condition as a result of the | ||||||
10 | failure of the respondent to exercise
a minimum degree of care | ||||||
11 | toward a minor may include competent opinion or
expert | ||||||
12 | testimony, and may include proof that such impairment lessened | ||||||
13 | during
a period when the minor was in the care, custody or | ||||||
14 | supervision of a person
or agency other than the respondent.
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15 | (5) In any hearing under this Act alleging neglect for | ||||||
16 | failure to
provide education as required by law under | ||||||
17 | subsection (1) of Section 2-3,
proof that a minor under 13 | ||||||
18 | years of age who is subject to compulsory
school attendance | ||||||
19 | under the School Code is a chronic truant as defined
under the | ||||||
20 | School Code shall be prima facie evidence of neglect by the
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21 | parent or guardian in any hearing under this Act and proof that | ||||||
22 | a minor who
is 13 years of age or older who is subject to | ||||||
23 | compulsory school attendance
under the School Code is a chronic | ||||||
24 | truant shall raise a rebuttable
presumption of neglect by the | ||||||
25 | parent or guardian. This subsection (5)
shall not apply in | ||||||
26 | counties with 2,000,000 or more inhabitants.
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27 | (6) In any hearing under this Act, the court may take | ||||||
28 | judicial notice of
prior sworn testimony or evidence admitted | ||||||
29 | in prior proceedings involving
the same minor if (a) the | ||||||
30 | parties were either represented by counsel at such
prior | ||||||
31 | proceedings or the right to counsel was knowingly waived and | ||||||
32 | (b) the
taking of judicial notice would not result in admitting | ||||||
33 | hearsay evidence at a
hearing where it would otherwise be | ||||||
34 | prohibited.
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35 | (Source: P.A. 89-704, eff. 8-16-97 (changed from 1-1-98 by P.A.
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36 | 90-443); 90-608, eff. 6-30-98.)
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