Rep. Dan Brady
Filed: 5/30/2007
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1 | AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 3170
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2 | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 3170, AS AMENDED, by | ||||||
3 | replacing everything after the enacting clause with the | ||||||
4 | following:
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5 | "Section 5. The Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act is | ||||||
6 | amended by changing Sections 4, 7.4, and 9 as follows:
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7 | (325 ILCS 5/4) (from Ch. 23, par. 2054)
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8 | Sec. 4. Persons required to report; privileged | ||||||
9 | communications;
transmitting false report. Any physician, | ||||||
10 | resident, intern, hospital,
hospital administrator
and | ||||||
11 | personnel engaged in examination, care and treatment of | ||||||
12 | persons, surgeon,
dentist, dentist hygienist, osteopath, | ||||||
13 | chiropractor, podiatrist, physician
assistant, substance abuse | ||||||
14 | treatment personnel, funeral home
director or employee, | ||||||
15 | coroner, medical examiner, emergency medical technician,
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16 | acupuncturist, crisis line or hotline personnel, school |
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1 | personnel (including administrators and both certified and | ||||||
2 | non-certified school employees), educational
advocate assigned | ||||||
3 | to a child pursuant to the School Code, truant officers,
social | ||||||
4 | worker, social services administrator,
domestic violence | ||||||
5 | program personnel, registered nurse, licensed
practical nurse, | ||||||
6 | genetic counselor,
respiratory care practitioner, advanced | ||||||
7 | practice nurse, home
health aide, director or staff
assistant | ||||||
8 | of a nursery school or a child day care center, recreational | ||||||
9 | program
or facility personnel, law enforcement officer, | ||||||
10 | licensed professional
counselor, licensed clinical | ||||||
11 | professional counselor, registered psychologist
and
assistants | ||||||
12 | working under the direct supervision of a psychologist,
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13 | psychiatrist, or field personnel of the Department of | ||||||
14 | Healthcare and Family Services,
Public Health, Human Services | ||||||
15 | (acting as successor to the Department of Mental
Health and | ||||||
16 | Developmental Disabilities, Rehabilitation Services, or Public | ||||||
17 | Aid),
Corrections, Human Rights, or Children and Family | ||||||
18 | Services, supervisor and
administrator of general assistance | ||||||
19 | under the Illinois Public Aid Code,
probation officer, or any | ||||||
20 | other foster parent, homemaker or child care worker
having | ||||||
21 | reasonable cause to believe a child known to them in their | ||||||
22 | professional
or official capacity may be an abused child or a | ||||||
23 | neglected child shall
immediately report or cause a report to | ||||||
24 | be made to the Department.
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25 | Any member of the clergy having reasonable cause to believe | ||||||
26 | that a child
known to that member of the clergy in his or her |
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1 | professional capacity may be
an abused child as defined in item | ||||||
2 | (c) of the definition of "abused child" in
Section 3 of this | ||||||
3 | Act shall immediately report or cause a report to be made to
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4 | the Department.
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5 | If an allegation is raised to a school board member during | ||||||
6 | the course of an open or closed school board meeting that a | ||||||
7 | child who is enrolled in the school district of which he or she | ||||||
8 | is a board member is an abused child as defined in Section 3 of | ||||||
9 | this Act, the member shall direct or cause the school board to | ||||||
10 | direct the superintendent of the school district or other | ||||||
11 | equivalent school administrator to comply with the | ||||||
12 | requirements of this Act concerning the reporting of child | ||||||
13 | abuse. For purposes of this paragraph, a school board member is | ||||||
14 | granted the authority in his or her individual capacity to | ||||||
15 | direct the superintendent of the school district or other | ||||||
16 | equivalent school administrator to comply with the | ||||||
17 | requirements of this Act concerning the reporting of child | ||||||
18 | abuse.
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19 | Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, if an | ||||||
20 | employee of a school district has made a report or caused a | ||||||
21 | report to be made to the Department under this Act involving | ||||||
22 | the conduct of a current or former employee of the school | ||||||
23 | district and a request is made by another school district for | ||||||
24 | the provision of information concerning the job performance or | ||||||
25 | qualifications of the current or former employee because he or | ||||||
26 | she is an applicant for employment with the requesting school |
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1 | district, the general superintendent of the school district to | ||||||
2 | which the request is being made must disclose to the requesting | ||||||
3 | school district the fact that an employee of the school | ||||||
4 | district has made a report involving the conduct of the | ||||||
5 | applicant or caused a report to be made to the Department, as | ||||||
6 | required under this Act. Only the fact that an employee of the | ||||||
7 | school district has made a report involving the conduct of the | ||||||
8 | applicant or caused a report to be made to the Department may | ||||||
9 | be disclosed by the general superintendent of the school | ||||||
10 | district to which the request for information concerning the | ||||||
11 | applicant is made, and this fact may be disclosed only in cases | ||||||
12 | where the employee and the general superintendent have not been | ||||||
13 | informed by the Department that the allegations were unfounded. | ||||||
14 | An employee of a school district who is or has been the subject | ||||||
15 | of a report made pursuant to this Act during his or her | ||||||
16 | employment with the school district must be informed by that | ||||||
17 | school district that if he or she applies for employment with | ||||||
18 | another school district, the general superintendent of the | ||||||
19 | former school district, upon the request of the school district | ||||||
20 | to which the employee applies, shall notify that requesting | ||||||
21 | school district that the employee is or was the subject of such | ||||||
22 | a report.
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23 | Whenever
such person is required to report under this Act | ||||||
24 | in his capacity as a member of
the staff of a medical or other | ||||||
25 | public or private institution, school, facility
or agency, or | ||||||
26 | as a member of the clergy, he shall
make report immediately to |
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1 | the Department in accordance
with the provisions of this Act | ||||||
2 | and may also notify the person in charge of
such institution, | ||||||
3 | school, facility or agency, or church, synagogue, temple,
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4 | mosque, or other religious institution, or his
designated agent | ||||||
5 | that such
report has been made. Under no circumstances shall | ||||||
6 | any person in charge of
such institution, school, facility or | ||||||
7 | agency, or church, synagogue, temple,
mosque, or other | ||||||
8 | religious institution, or his
designated agent to whom
such | ||||||
9 | notification has been made, exercise any control, restraint, | ||||||
10 | modification
or other change in the report or the forwarding of | ||||||
11 | such report to the
Department.
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12 | The privileged quality of communication between any | ||||||
13 | professional
person required to report
and his patient or | ||||||
14 | client shall not apply to situations involving abused or
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15 | neglected children and shall not constitute grounds for failure | ||||||
16 | to report
as required by this Act.
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17 | A member of the clergy may claim the privilege under | ||||||
18 | Section 8-803 of the
Code of Civil Procedure.
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19 | In addition to the above persons required to
report | ||||||
20 | suspected cases of abused or neglected children, any other | ||||||
21 | person
may make a report if such person has reasonable cause to | ||||||
22 | believe a child
may be an abused child or a neglected child.
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23 | Any person who enters into
employment on and after July 1, | ||||||
24 | 1986 and is mandated by virtue of that
employment to report | ||||||
25 | under this Act, shall sign a statement on a form
prescribed by | ||||||
26 | the Department, to the effect that the employee has knowledge
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1 | and understanding of the reporting requirements of this Act. | ||||||
2 | The statement
shall be signed prior to commencement of the | ||||||
3 | employment. The signed
statement shall be retained by the | ||||||
4 | employer. The cost of printing,
distribution, and filing of the | ||||||
5 | statement shall be borne by the employer.
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6 | The Department shall provide copies of this Act, upon | ||||||
7 | request, to all
employers employing persons who shall be | ||||||
8 | required under the provisions of
this Section to report under | ||||||
9 | this Act.
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10 | Any person who knowingly transmits a false report to the | ||||||
11 | Department
commits the offense of disorderly conduct under | ||||||
12 | subsection (a)(7) of
Section 26-1 of the "Criminal Code of | ||||||
13 | 1961". Any person who violates this
provision a second or | ||||||
14 | subsequent time shall be guilty of a Class 3
felony.
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15 | Any person who knowingly and willfully violates any | ||||||
16 | provision of this
Section other than a second or subsequent | ||||||
17 | violation of transmitting a
false report as described in the
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18 | preceding paragraph, is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor for
a | ||||||
19 | first violation and a Class 4 felony for a
second or subsequent | ||||||
20 | violation; except that if the person acted as part
of a plan or | ||||||
21 | scheme having as its object the
prevention of discovery of an | ||||||
22 | abused or neglected child by lawful authorities
for the
purpose | ||||||
23 | of protecting or insulating any person or entity from arrest or
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24 | prosecution, the
person is guilty of a Class 4 felony for a | ||||||
25 | first offense and a Class 3 felony
for a second or
subsequent | ||||||
26 | offense (regardless of whether the second or subsequent offense
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1 | involves any
of the same facts or persons as the first or other | ||||||
2 | prior offense).
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3 | A child whose parent, guardian or custodian in good faith | ||||||
4 | selects and depends
upon spiritual means through prayer alone | ||||||
5 | for the treatment or cure of
disease or remedial care may be | ||||||
6 | considered neglected or abused, but not for
the sole reason | ||||||
7 | that his parent, guardian or custodian accepts and
practices | ||||||
8 | such beliefs.
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9 | A child shall not be considered neglected or abused solely | ||||||
10 | because the
child is not attending school in accordance with | ||||||
11 | the requirements of
Article 26 of the School Code, as amended.
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12 | (Source: P.A. 93-137, eff. 7-10-03; 93-356, eff. 7-24-03; | ||||||
13 | 93-431, eff. 8-5-03; 93-1041, eff. 9-29-04; 94-888, eff. | ||||||
14 | 6-20-06.)
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15 | (325 ILCS 5/7.4) (from Ch. 23, par. 2057.4)
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16 | Sec. 7.4. (a) The Department shall be capable of receiving | ||||||
17 | reports of
suspected child abuse or neglect 24 hours a day, 7 | ||||||
18 | days a week. Whenever
the Department receives a report alleging | ||||||
19 | that a child is a
truant as defined in Section 26-2a of The | ||||||
20 | School Code, as now or hereafter
amended, the Department shall | ||||||
21 | notify the superintendent of the school
district in which the | ||||||
22 | child resides and the appropriate superintendent of
the | ||||||
23 | educational service region. The notification to the | ||||||
24 | appropriate
officials by the Department shall not be considered | ||||||
25 | an allegation of abuse
or neglect under this Act.
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1 | (b) (1) The following procedures shall be followed in the | ||||||
2 | investigation
of all reports of suspected abuse or neglect | ||||||
3 | of a child, except as provided
in subsection (c) of this | ||||||
4 | Section.
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5 | (2) If it appears that the immediate safety or | ||||||
6 | well-being of a child is
endangered, that the family may | ||||||
7 | flee or the child disappear, or that the
facts otherwise so | ||||||
8 | warrant, the Child Protective Service Unit shall
commence | ||||||
9 | an investigation immediately, regardless of the time of day | ||||||
10 | or
night. In all other cases, investigation shall be | ||||||
11 | commenced within 24
hours of receipt of the report. Upon | ||||||
12 | receipt of a report, the Child
Protective Service Unit | ||||||
13 | shall make an initial investigation and an initial
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14 | determination whether the report is a good faith indication | ||||||
15 | of alleged
child abuse or neglect.
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16 | (3) If the Unit determines the report is a good faith
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17 | indication of alleged child abuse or neglect, then a formal | ||||||
18 | investigation
shall commence and, pursuant to Section 7.12 | ||||||
19 | of this Act, may or may not
result in an indicated report. | ||||||
20 | The formal investigation shall include:
direct contact | ||||||
21 | with the subject or subjects of the report as soon as
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22 | possible after the report is received; an
evaluation of the | ||||||
23 | environment of the child named in the report and any other
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24 | children in the same environment; a determination of the | ||||||
25 | risk to such
children if they continue to remain in the | ||||||
26 | existing environments, as well
as a determination of the |
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1 | nature, extent and cause of any condition
enumerated in | ||||||
2 | such report; the name, age and condition of other children | ||||||
3 | in
the environment; and an evaluation as to whether there | ||||||
4 | would be an
immediate and urgent necessity to remove the | ||||||
5 | child from the environment if
appropriate family | ||||||
6 | preservation services were provided. After seeing to
the | ||||||
7 | safety of the child or children, the Department shall
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8 | forthwith notify the subjects of the report in writing, of | ||||||
9 | the existence
of the report and their rights existing under | ||||||
10 | this Act in regard to amendment
or expungement. To fulfill | ||||||
11 | the requirements of this Section, the Child
Protective | ||||||
12 | Service Unit shall have the capability of providing or | ||||||
13 | arranging
for comprehensive emergency services to children | ||||||
14 | and families at all times
of the day or night.
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15 | (4) If (i) at the conclusion of the Unit's initial | ||||||
16 | investigation of a
report, the Unit determines the report | ||||||
17 | to be a good faith indication of
alleged child abuse or | ||||||
18 | neglect that warrants a formal investigation by
the Unit, | ||||||
19 | the Department, any law enforcement agency or any other
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20 | responsible agency and (ii) the person who is alleged to | ||||||
21 | have caused the
abuse or neglect is employed or otherwise | ||||||
22 | engaged in an activity resulting
in frequent contact with | ||||||
23 | children and the alleged abuse or neglect are in
the course | ||||||
24 | of such employment or activity, then the Department shall,
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25 | except in investigations where the Director determines | ||||||
26 | that such
notification would be detrimental to the |
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1 | Department's investigation, inform
the appropriate | ||||||
2 | supervisor or administrator of that employment or activity
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3 | that the Unit has commenced a formal investigation pursuant | ||||||
4 | to this Act,
which may or may not result in an indicated | ||||||
5 | report. The Department shall also
notify the person being | ||||||
6 | investigated, unless the Director determines that
such | ||||||
7 | notification would be detrimental to the Department's | ||||||
8 | investigation.
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9 | (c) In an investigation of a report of suspected abuse or | ||||||
10 | neglect of
a child by a school employee at a school or on | ||||||
11 | school grounds, the
Department shall make reasonable efforts to | ||||||
12 | follow the following procedures:
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13 | (1) Investigations involving teachers shall not, to | ||||||
14 | the extent possible,
be conducted when the teacher is | ||||||
15 | scheduled to conduct classes.
Investigations involving | ||||||
16 | other school employees shall be conducted so as to
minimize | ||||||
17 | disruption of the school day. The school employee accused | ||||||
18 | of
child abuse or neglect may have his superior, his | ||||||
19 | association or union
representative and his attorney | ||||||
20 | present at any interview or meeting at
which the teacher or | ||||||
21 | administrator is present. The accused school employee
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22 | shall be informed by a representative of the Department, at | ||||||
23 | any
interview or meeting, of the accused school employee's | ||||||
24 | due process rights
and of the steps in the investigation | ||||||
25 | process.
The information shall include, but need not | ||||||
26 | necessarily be limited to the
right, subject to the |
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1 | approval of the Department, of the school employee to
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2 | confront the accuser, if the accuser is 14 years of age or | ||||||
3 | older, or the
right to review the specific allegations | ||||||
4 | which gave rise to the
investigation, and the right to | ||||||
5 | review all materials and evidence that have
been submitted | ||||||
6 | to the Department in support of the allegation. These due
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7 | process rights shall also include the right of the school | ||||||
8 | employee to
present countervailing evidence regarding the | ||||||
9 | accusations.
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10 | (2) If a report of neglect or abuse of a child by a | ||||||
11 | teacher or
administrator does not involve allegations of | ||||||
12 | sexual abuse or extreme
physical abuse, the Child | ||||||
13 | Protective Service Unit shall make reasonable
efforts to | ||||||
14 | conduct the initial investigation in coordination with the
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15 | employee's supervisor.
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16 | If the Unit determines that the report is a good faith | ||||||
17 | indication of
potential child abuse or neglect, it shall | ||||||
18 | then commence a formal
investigation under paragraph (3) of | ||||||
19 | subsection (b) of this Section.
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20 | (3) If a report of neglect or abuse of a child by a | ||||||
21 | teacher or
administrator involves an allegation of sexual | ||||||
22 | abuse or extreme physical
abuse, the Child Protective Unit | ||||||
23 | shall commence an investigation under
paragraph (2) of | ||||||
24 | subsection (b) of this Section.
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25 | (c-5) In any instance in which a report is made or caused | ||||||
26 | to made by a school district employee involving the conduct of |
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1 | a person employed by the school district, at the time the | ||||||
2 | report was made, as required under Section 4 of this Act, the | ||||||
3 | Child Protective Service Unit shall send a copy of its final | ||||||
4 | finding report to the general superintendent of that school | ||||||
5 | district.
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6 | (d) If the Department has contact with an employer, or with | ||||||
7 | a religious
institution or religious official having | ||||||
8 | supervisory or hierarchical authority
over a member of the | ||||||
9 | clergy accused of the abuse of a child,
in the course of its
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10 | investigation, the Department shall notify the employer or the | ||||||
11 | religious
institution or religious official, in writing, when a
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12 | report is unfounded so that any record of the investigation can | ||||||
13 | be expunged
from the employee's or member of the clergy's | ||||||
14 | personnel or other
records. The Department shall also notify
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15 | the employee or the member of the clergy, in writing, that | ||||||
16 | notification
has been sent to the employer or to the | ||||||
17 | appropriate religious institution or
religious official
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18 | informing the employer or religious institution or religious | ||||||
19 | official that
the
Department's investigation has resulted in
an | ||||||
20 | unfounded report.
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21 | (e) Upon request by the Department, the
Department of State | ||||||
22 | Police and law enforcement agencies are
authorized to provide | ||||||
23 | criminal history record information
as defined in the Illinois | ||||||
24 | Uniform Conviction Information Act and information
maintained | ||||||
25 | in
the adjudicatory and dispositional record system as defined | ||||||
26 | in Section
2605-355 of the Department of State Police Law (20 |
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1 | ILCS
2605/2605-355) to properly
designated
employees of the
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2 | Department of Children
and Family Services if the Department | ||||||
3 | determines the information is
necessary to perform its duties | ||||||
4 | under the Abused and
Neglected Child Reporting Act, the Child | ||||||
5 | Care Act of 1969, and the Children and
Family Services Act. The
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6 | request shall be in the form and manner required
by
the | ||||||
7 | Department of State Police. Any information obtained by the | ||||||
8 | Department of
Children
and Family Services under this Section | ||||||
9 | is
confidential and may not be transmitted outside the | ||||||
10 | Department of Children
and Family Services other than to a | ||||||
11 | court of competent jurisdiction or unless
otherwise authorized | ||||||
12 | by law.
Any employee of the Department of Children and Family | ||||||
13 | Services who transmits
confidential information in
violation | ||||||
14 | of this
Section or causes the information to be
transmitted in | ||||||
15 | violation of this Section is guilty of a Class A
misdemeanor | ||||||
16 | unless the transmittal of
the
information is
authorized by this | ||||||
17 | Section or otherwise authorized by law.
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18 | (Source: P.A. 91-239, eff. 1-1-00; 92-801, eff. 8-16-02.)
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19 | (325 ILCS 5/9) (from Ch. 23, par. 2059)
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20 | Sec. 9. Any person, institution or agency, under this Act, | ||||||
21 | participating
in good faith in the making of a report or | ||||||
22 | referral, or in the investigation of
such a report or referral | ||||||
23 | or in the taking of photographs and x-rays
or in the retaining | ||||||
24 | a child in temporary protective custody or in making a
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25 | disclosure of information concerning reports of child abuse and |
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1 | neglect in
compliance with Sections 4.2 and 11.1 of this Act or | ||||||
2 | Section 4 of this Act, as it relates to disclosure by school | ||||||
3 | personnel and except in cases of wilful or wanton misconduct,
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4 | shall have immunity
from any liability, civil,
criminal or that | ||||||
5 | otherwise might result by reason of such actions. For
the | ||||||
6 | purpose of any proceedings,
civil or criminal, the good faith | ||||||
7 | of any persons required to report or refer,
or permitted to | ||||||
8 | report,
cases of suspected child abuse or neglect or permitted | ||||||
9 | to refer
individuals under this Act or required to disclose | ||||||
10 | information concerning
reports of child abuse and neglect in | ||||||
11 | compliance with Sections 4.2 and 11.1
of this Act, shall be | ||||||
12 | presumed.
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13 | (Source: P.A. 90-15, eff. 6-13-97.)
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14 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
15 | becoming law.".
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