DCFS Oversight Committee
Filed: 3/15/2007
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1 | AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 617
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2 | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 617 by replacing | ||||||
3 | everything after the enacting clause with the following:
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4 | "Section 5. The Children and Family Services Act is amended | ||||||
5 | by changing Section 35.5 and by adding Section 35.7 as follows:
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6 | (20 ILCS 505/35.5)
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7 | Sec. 35.5. Inspector General.
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8 | (a) The Governor shall appoint, and the Senate shall | ||||||
9 | confirm, an Inspector
General who shall
have the authority to | ||||||
10 | conduct investigations into allegations of or incidents
of | ||||||
11 | possible misconduct, misfeasance, malfeasance, or violations | ||||||
12 | of rules,
procedures, or laws by any employee, foster parent, | ||||||
13 | service provider, or
contractor of the Department of Children | ||||||
14 | and Family Services. The Inspector
General shall make | ||||||
15 | recommendations
to the Director of Children and Family Services | ||||||
16 | concerning sanctions or
disciplinary actions against |
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1 | Department
employees or providers of service under contract to | ||||||
2 | the Department. The Director of Children and Family Services | ||||||
3 | shall provide the Inspector General with an implementation | ||||||
4 | report on the status of any corrective actions taken on cases | ||||||
5 | under review and shall continue sending updated reports until | ||||||
6 | the corrective action is completed. The Inspector General may | ||||||
7 | recommend to the Director sanctions to be imposed against | ||||||
8 | agency staff for any actions taken, or not taken, that may have | ||||||
9 | affected the outcome of the case, or jeopardized the protection | ||||||
10 | of the child or children who were the subject of an | ||||||
11 | investigation. The Director shall provide a written response to | ||||||
12 | the Inspector General indicating the status of any sanctions or | ||||||
13 | disciplinary actions against employees or providers of service | ||||||
14 | involving any case subject to review. In any case, information | ||||||
15 | included in the reports to the Inspector General and Department | ||||||
16 | responses shall be subject to the public disclosure | ||||||
17 | requirements of the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act. | ||||||
18 | Any
investigation
conducted by the Inspector General shall be | ||||||
19 | independent and separate from the
investigation mandated by the | ||||||
20 | Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act. The
Inspector General | ||||||
21 | shall be appointed for a term of 4 years. The Inspector
General | ||||||
22 | shall function independently within the Department of Children | ||||||
23 | and Family Services with respect to
be independent of the | ||||||
24 | operations of the Office of Inspector General, including the | ||||||
25 | performance of investigations and issuance of findings and | ||||||
26 | recommendations,
Department and shall
report to the Director of |
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1 | Children and Family Services and the Governor and
perform other
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2 | duties the Director may designate. The appropriation for the | ||||||
3 | Office of Inspector General shall be separate from the overall | ||||||
4 | appropriation for the Department of Children and Family | ||||||
5 | Services. The Inspector General shall adopt rules
as necessary | ||||||
6 | to carry out the
functions, purposes, and duties of the office | ||||||
7 | of Inspector General in the
Department of Children and Family | ||||||
8 | Services, in accordance with the Illinois
Administrative | ||||||
9 | Procedure Act and any other applicable law.
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10 | (b) The Inspector
General shall have access to all | ||||||
11 | information and personnel necessary to perform
the duties of | ||||||
12 | the office. To minimize duplication of efforts, and to assure
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13 | consistency and conformance with the requirements and | ||||||
14 | procedures established in
the B.H. v. Suter consent decree and | ||||||
15 | to share resources
when appropriate, the Inspector General | ||||||
16 | shall coordinate his or her
activities with the Bureau of | ||||||
17 | Quality Assurance within the Department.
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18 | (c) The Inspector General shall be the primary liaison | ||||||
19 | between the
Department and the Department of State Police with | ||||||
20 | regard to investigations
conducted under the Inspector | ||||||
21 | General's auspices.
If the Inspector General determines that a | ||||||
22 | possible criminal act
has been committed,
or that special | ||||||
23 | expertise is required in the investigation, he or she shall
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24 | immediately notify the Department of State Police.
All | ||||||
25 | investigations conducted by the Inspector General shall be
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26 | conducted in a manner designed to ensure the preservation of |
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1 | evidence for
possible use in a criminal prosecution.
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2 | (d) The Inspector General may recommend to the Department | ||||||
3 | of Children and
Family Services, the Department of Public | ||||||
4 | Health, or any other appropriate
agency, sanctions to be | ||||||
5 | imposed against service providers under the
jurisdiction of or | ||||||
6 | under contract with the Department for the protection of
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7 | children in the custody or under the guardianship of the | ||||||
8 | Department who
received services from those providers. The | ||||||
9 | Inspector General may seek the
assistance of the Attorney | ||||||
10 | General or any of the several State's Attorneys in
imposing | ||||||
11 | sanctions.
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12 | (e) The Inspector General shall at all times be granted | ||||||
13 | access to any foster
home, facility, or program operated for or | ||||||
14 | licensed or funded by the
Department.
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15 | (f) Nothing in this Section shall limit investigations by | ||||||
16 | the Department of
Children and Family Services that may | ||||||
17 | otherwise be required by law or that may
be necessary in that | ||||||
18 | Department's capacity as the central administrative
authority | ||||||
19 | for child welfare.
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20 | (g) The Inspector General shall have the power to subpoena | ||||||
21 | witnesses and
compel the production of books and papers | ||||||
22 | pertinent to an investigation
authorized by this Act. The power | ||||||
23 | to subpoena or to compel the
production of books and papers, | ||||||
24 | however, shall not extend to the person or
documents of a
labor | ||||||
25 | organization or its representatives insofar as the person or | ||||||
26 | documents of
a labor organization relate to the function of |
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1 | representing an employee subject
to investigation under this | ||||||
2 | Act. Any person who fails to appear in response to
a subpoena | ||||||
3 | or to answer any question or produce any books or papers | ||||||
4 | pertinent
to an investigation under this Act, except as | ||||||
5 | otherwise provided in this
Section, or who knowingly gives | ||||||
6 | false testimony in relation to an investigation
under this Act | ||||||
7 | is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.
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8 | (h) The Inspector General shall provide to the General | ||||||
9 | Assembly and the
Governor, no later than January 1 of each | ||||||
10 | year, a summary of reports and
investigations made under this | ||||||
11 | Section for the prior fiscal year. The
summaries shall detail | ||||||
12 | the imposition of sanctions and the final disposition
of those | ||||||
13 | recommendations. The summaries shall not contain any | ||||||
14 | confidential or
identifying information concerning the | ||||||
15 | subjects of the reports and
investigations. The summaries also | ||||||
16 | shall include detailed recommended
administrative actions and | ||||||
17 | matters for consideration by the General Assembly.
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18 | (Source: P.A. 90-512, eff. 8-22-97.)
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19 | (20 ILCS 505/35.7 new)
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20 | Sec. 35.7. Error Reduction Implementations Plans; | ||||||
21 | Inspector General. | ||||||
22 | (a) The Inspector General of the Department of Children and | ||||||
23 | Family Services shall develop Error Reduction Implementation | ||||||
24 | Plans, as necessary, to remedy patterns of errors or | ||||||
25 | problematic practices that compromise or threaten the safety of |
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1 | children as identified in DCFS Office of Inspector General | ||||||
2 | (OIG) death or serious injury investigations and Child Death | ||||||
3 | Review Teams recommendations. The Error Reduction | ||||||
4 | Implementation Plans shall include both training and on-site | ||||||
5 | components. The Department shall deploy Error Reduction Safety | ||||||
6 | Teams to implement the Error Reduction Implementation Plans. | ||||||
7 | The Error Reduction Safety Teams shall be composed of Quality | ||||||
8 | Assurance and Division of Training staff to implement hands-on | ||||||
9 | training and Error Reduction Implementation Plans in targeted | ||||||
10 | offices where the Inspector General has determined that serious | ||||||
11 | or lethal errors have occurred or offices at risk for errors to | ||||||
12 | occur. The teams shall work in the offices or agencies as | ||||||
13 | required by the Error Reduction Implementation Plan and shall | ||||||
14 | work to ensure that systems are in place to continue reform | ||||||
15 | efforts after the departure of the teams. The Director shall | ||||||
16 | develop a method to ensure consistent compliance with any Error | ||||||
17 | Reduction Implementation Plan. The training curricula shall be | ||||||
18 | determined by the Inspector General with advice from the Child | ||||||
19 | Death Review Team Executive Council. | ||||||
20 | (b) Quality Assurance shall prepare public reports | ||||||
21 | annually detailing the following: the substance of any Error | ||||||
22 | Reduction Implementation Plan developed; any deviations from | ||||||
23 | the Error Reduction Plan; whether adequate staff was available | ||||||
24 | to perform functions necessary to the Error Reduction | ||||||
25 | Implementation Plan, including identification and reporting of | ||||||
26 | any staff needs; other problems noted or barriers to |
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1 | implementing the Error Reduction Implementation Plan; and | ||||||
2 | recommendations for additional training, amendments to rules | ||||||
3 | and procedures, or other systemic reform identified by the | ||||||
4 | teams. | ||||||
5 | (c) The Error Reduction Teams shall implement training and | ||||||
6 | reform protocols through incubating change in each region, | ||||||
7 | Department office, or purchase of service office, as required. | ||||||
8 | The teams shall administer hands-on assistance, supervision, | ||||||
9 | and management while ensuring that the office, region, or | ||||||
10 | agency develops the skills and systems necessary to incorporate | ||||||
11 | changes on a permanent basis. For each Error Reduction Plan, | ||||||
12 | the Team shall determine whether adequate staff is available to | ||||||
13 | fulfill the Error Reduction Plan, provide case-by-case | ||||||
14 | supervision to ensure that the plan is implemented, and ensure | ||||||
15 | that management puts systems in place to enable the reforms to | ||||||
16 | continue. | ||||||
17 | (d) The OIG shall develop new Error Reduction Plans as | ||||||
18 | necessary. To implement each Error Reduction Plan, the OIG | ||||||
19 | shall work with Error Reduction Teams designated by the | ||||||
20 | Department. The teams shall be comprised of staff from Quality | ||||||
21 | Assurance and Training. Training shall work with the OIG to | ||||||
22 | develop a curriculum to address errors identified that | ||||||
23 | compromise the safety of children. Following the training | ||||||
24 | roll-out, the Teams shall work on-site in identified offices. | ||||||
25 | The Teams shall review and supervise all work relevant to the | ||||||
26 | Error Reduction Plan. Quality Assurance, in conjunction with |
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1 | the OIG, shall identify outcome measures and track compliance | ||||||
2 | with the training curriculum. Each quarter, Quality Assurance | ||||||
3 | shall prepare a report detailing compliance with the Error | ||||||
4 | Reduction Plan and alert the Director to staffing needs or | ||||||
5 | other needs to accomplish the goals of the Error Reduction | ||||||
6 | Plan. The report shall be transmitted to the Director, the OIG, | ||||||
7 | and all management staff involved in the Error Reduction Plan. | ||||||
8 | (e) The Director shall review quarterly Quality Assurance | ||||||
9 | reports and shall ensure that supervisors' and managers' | ||||||
10 | performance evaluations (objectives evaluation) are based on | ||||||
11 | adherence to the Error Reduction Plan using criteria developed | ||||||
12 | by the Department. | ||||||
13 | (f) Quality Assurance shall prepare public reports | ||||||
14 | annually detailing the following: the substance of any Error | ||||||
15 | Reduction Plan developed; any deviations from the Error | ||||||
16 | Reduction Plan; whether adequate staff was available to perform | ||||||
17 | functions necessary to the Error Reduction Plan, including | ||||||
18 | identification and reporting of any staff needs; other problems | ||||||
19 | noted or barriers to implementing the Error Reduction Plan; and | ||||||
20 | any recommendations for additional training needs or systemic | ||||||
21 | change or reform of Rules and Procedures. ".
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