HB4739 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB098 17877 RLC 53001 b

98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2013 and 2014
HB4739

Introduced , by Rep. Sara Feigenholtz

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

New Act

Creates the Voluntary Placement for Children with Serious Mental Illnesses or Developmental Disabilities Act. Provides that the Department of Children and Family Services, the Division of Mental Health within the Department of Human Services, the Division of Developmental Disabilities within the Department of Human Services, and the Department of Healthcare and Family Services shall enter into an interagency agreement, the purpose of which is to prevent children in psychiatric lock-out from entering the child welfare system for a time-limited, out-of-home placement for treatment of the child's serious mental illness, serious emotional disturbance, or developmental disability when there is no evidence of abuse or neglect of the child, and place the child in a time-limited out-of-home placement under the most appropriate State agency. Provides that the Department of Children and Family Services shall establish a voluntary placement program, in which a child is voluntarily placed into the care of the Department of Children and Family Services under a voluntary placement agreement for the purpose of out-of-home placement of the child for the treatment of a serious mental illness, serious emotional disturbance, or developmental disability. Provides that the out-of-home placement may not exceed 180 days without juvenile court approval. Provides that the Department of Children and Family Services shall refer all cases voluntarily placed under the Act to the Community and Residential Services Authority for review as soon as the child is voluntarily placed to enable the Authority to annually review why cases were voluntarily placed in the Department of Children and Family Services rather than routed to a more appropriate agency for treating the child's disability.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning children.

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

Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Voluntary Placement for Children with Serious Mental Illnesses or Developmental Disabilities Act.

Section 5. Purpose. It is becoming tragically more common for families with a child with a serious mental illness, serious emotional disturbance, or developmental disability to turn to the Department of Children and Family Services for time-limited out-of-home placement of the child when all avenues of effective, sustained treatment have been foreclosed. When a child enters the child welfare system under the Department of Children and Family Services solely to obtain treatment of the child's disability in an out-of-home placement, the child's parents are often forced to relinquish custody despite the absence of abuse or neglect, resulting in a legal separation of the family and an abuse and neglect investigation by the Department of Children and Family Services. This causes irreparable damage to the child and the family unit, and takes the Department of Children and Family Services resources away from its core mission of protecting abused and neglected children in this State. The child welfare system is not the appropriate system of care for a child when there is no abuse or neglect. These children should be receiving services under the agency that provides care and treatment for their mental illness or developmental disability. Therefore, this Act: (1) requires the Department of Children and Family Services and other relevant State agencies to enter into an interagency agreement to route families who are undergoing a psychiatric lockout of a child, to the appropriate State agency that oversees the services that will treat the child's primary disability; and (2) enables families who are relegated to the child welfare system for out-of-home treatment of a serious mental illness, serious emotional disturbance, or developmental disability to remain intact while the child is in the out-of-home placement.

Section 10. Definition. As used in this Act:

"Children" has the meaning ascribed to it in Section 5 of the Children and Family Services Act.

"Psychiatric lock-out" means when a parent or guardian refuses to take a child home from a psychiatric hospital or similar facility when the hospital or facility indicates the child can be treated at home and the parents or guardian refuse to take the child home because of a reasonable fear the child will harm himself or herself or other family members.

Section 15. Interagency agreement for children in psychiatric lockout.

(a) The Department of Children and Family Services, the Division of Mental Health within the Department of Human Services, the Division of Developmental Disabilities within the Department of Human Services, and the Department of Healthcare and Family Services shall enter into an interagency agreement, the purpose of which, is to prevent children in psychiatric lock-out from entering the child welfare system for a time-limited, out-of-home placement for treatment of the child's serious mental illness, serious emotional disturbance, or developmental disability when there is no evidence of abuse or neglect by the child's parents or guardian, and place the child in a time-limited out-of-home placement under the most appropriate State agency.

(b) The interagency agreement shall include the criteria under the agency the child will receive time-limited out-of-home services (the Department of Children and Family Services, the Division of Mental Health within the Department of Human Services, the Division of Developmental Disabilities within the Department of Human Services, or the Department of Healthcare and Family Services) depending on the child's primary disability and the child's care needs, the process by which the child is placed under the care of the appropriate agency to treat the child's condition or conditions and each agency's responsibilities throughout this process, including budgetary responsibility.

(c) An interagency agreement shall be executed within 6 months after the effective date of this Act.

Section 20. Voluntary placement of children with a serious mental illness, serious emotional disturbance, or developmental disability.

(a) The Department of Children and Family Services shall establish a voluntary placement program, in which a child is voluntarily placed into the care of the Department of Children and Family Services under a voluntary placement agreement for the purpose of out-of-home placement of the child for the treatment of a serious mental illness, serious emotional disturbance, or developmental disability.

(b) The Department of Children and Family Services shall make reasonable efforts with the child's parents or legal guardian to prevent an out-of-home placement prior to entering into a voluntary placement agreement, including working with the family to secure services through the Division of Mental Health, the Division of Developmental Disabilities, the Department of Healthcare and Family Services, or other appropriate State or local agency.

(c) The Department of Children and Family Services is prohibited from seeking legal custody of a child under voluntary placement if the child has a serious mental illness, serious emotional disturbance, or developmental disability and the purpose of the voluntary placement is to obtain treatment or care related to the child's disability in the out-of-home placement.

(d) The Department of Children and Family Services shall adopt rules to implement the voluntary placement program, including, but not limited to:

(1) the voluntary placement agreement process;

(2) assessing the voluntary placement agreement;

(3) outlining parental or guardian rights and responsibilities for children voluntarily placed under this Act to maximize parental or guardian participation in the child's recovery and family reunification as soon as is best for the child, including but not limited to, parental or guardian involvement in the child's care, decision-making authority, involvement in care planning meetings, maintenance of health care coverage, and reasonable child support;

(4) juvenile court requirements for children under a voluntary placement agreement to ensure Title IV-E of the federal Social Security Act reimbursement when applicable;

(5) terminating a voluntary placement agreement;

(6) administrative issues and reporting requirements; and

(7) any other rules necessary to implement a voluntary placement program to carry out this Act.

(e) The out-of-home placement may not exceed 180 days without juvenile court approval. A child may remain in an out-of-home placement under a voluntary placement agreement under this Act for more than 180 days only if the child's disability necessitates care or treatment in the out-of-home placement and a juvenile court finds that continuation of the placement is in the best interests of the child. Rules shall set the interval for which juvenile court approval is needed beyond 180 days.

(f) Abandonment at a psychiatric hospital or similar facility shall not constitute grounds for a finding of abuse or neglect under certain circumstances. If a parent or guardian refuses to take a child home from a psychiatric hospital or other similar facility that indicates the child can be treated at home and the parents or guardian report they are unable or unwilling to take the child home because of a reasonable fear for the safety of the child or other family members, the Department of Children and Family Services shall determine whether the alleged fear is reasonable under the circumstances. If it is determined to be reasonable, the Department of Children and Family Services shall not use the circumstances as a basis for an indicated finding of abuse or neglect.

(g) The inability of a parent to care for a child with a serious mental illness, serious emotional disturbance, or developmental disability shall not in itself be the basis for a finding of abuse or neglect.

(h) Exception to reporting on the State Central Register for Child Abuse and Neglect. Parents or guardians who refuse to take a child home from a psychiatric hospital or other similar facility because of a reasonable fear for the safety of the child or other family member shall not be placed on the State Central Register for Child Abuse and Neglect if the Department of Children and Family Services has determined that the fear was reasonable.

(i) A State employee or agent shall not communicate to a parent in any manner that the State will provide different or additional mental health services of any kind to that parent's child if the child is found to be dependent or neglected or if the parent surrenders custody of that child to the State.

(j) Annual review by the Community and Residential Services Authority. The Department of Children and Family Services shall refer all cases voluntarily placed under this Act to the Community and Residential Services Authority for review as soon as the child is voluntarily placed to enable the Authority to annually review why cases were voluntarily placed in the Department of Children and Family Services rather than a more appropriate agency for treating the child's disability. The Community and Residential Services Authority shall submit an annual report to the General Assembly on whether the number of cases voluntarily placed during the year were appropriate cases for voluntarily placement, why placement under the Division of Mental Health, the Division of Developmental Disabilities, and the Department of Healthcare and Family Services did not occur and recommendations for reducing the number of voluntary placements for purposes of treatment of a serious mental illness, serious emotional disturbance, or developmental disability.