SB3145 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB098 16340 KTG 51401 b

98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2013 and 2014
SB3145

Introduced 2/11/2014, by Sen. Mattie Hunter

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

325 ILCS 5/7.14	from Ch. 23, par. 2057.14
325 ILCS 5/7.15	from Ch. 23, par. 2057.15

Amends the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act. Provides that the Department of Children and Family Services shall, by rule, establish conditions under which an indicated finding that is properly appealed may be expunged upon completion of a course of services prescribed by the Department. Provides that notwithstanding the expiration of the deadline for appealing an indicated report and notwithstanding the previous issuance of a non-appealable final administrative decision denying a request to expunge an indicated report, and pursuant to the Child Protective Service Unit's authority to amend reports, the Director of the Department or his or her designee shall have the exclusive discretion, on the ground of manifest injustice, to expunge from the central register either an indicated report or the name of a specified perpetrator or to reduce the length of time for which the specified perpetrator's name is to remain registered on the central register. Further provides that in the alternative, the Director or his or her designee shall have the exclusive discretion to direct that the issue of expungement of an indicated report or of expungement of the name of a specified perpetrator be re-opened for an evidentiary hearing on the merits. Effective immediately.

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning children.

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

Section 5. The Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act is amended by changing Sections 7.14 and 7.15 as follows:

(325 ILCS 5/7.14) (from Ch. 23, par. 2057.14)

Sec. 7.14. All reports in the central register shall be classified in one of three categories: "indicated", "unfounded" or "undetermined", as the case may be. After the report is classified, the person making the classification shall determine whether the child named in the report is the subject of an action under Article II of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987. If the child is the subject of an action under Article II of the Juvenile Court Act, the Department shall, within 45 days of classification of the report, transmit a copy of the report to the guardian ad litem appointed for the child under Section 2-17 of the Juvenile Court Act. All information identifying the subjects of an unfounded report shall be expunged from the register forthwith, except as provided in Section 7.7. Unfounded reports may only be made available to the Child Protective Service Unit when investigating a subsequent report of suspected abuse or maltreatment involving a child named in the unfounded report; and to the subject of the report, provided the Department has not expunged the file in accordance with Section 7.7. The Child Protective Service Unit shall not indicate the subsequent report solely based upon the existence of the prior unfounded report or reports. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, an unfounded report shall not be admissible in any judicial or administrative proceeding or action. Identifying information on all other records shall be removed from the register no later than 5 years after the report is indicated. However, if another report is received involving the same child, his sibling or offspring, or a child in the care of the persons responsible for the child's welfare, or involving the same alleged offender, the identifying information may be maintained in the register until 5 years after the subsequent case or report is closed.

The Department shall, by rule, prescribe retention periods of no longer than 2 years in all categories of cases in which the differential response program, authorized under subsection (a-5) of Section 7.4, has operated, if any. In addition, the Department shall, by rule, establish conditions under which an indicated finding that is properly appealed under Section 7.16 may be expunged upon completion of a course of services prescribed by the Department.

Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section, identifying information in indicated reports involving serious physical injury to a child as defined by the Department in rules, may be retained longer than 5 years after the report is indicated or after the subsequent case or report is closed, and may not be removed from the register except as provided by the Department in rules. Identifying information in indicated reports involving sexual penetration of a child, sexual molestation of a child, sexual exploitation of a child, torture of a child, or the death of a child, as defined by the Department in rules, shall be retained for a period of not less than 50 years after the report is indicated or after the subsequent case or report is closed.

For purposes of this Section "child" includes an adult resident as defined in this Act.

(Source: P.A. 97-333, eff. 8-12-11; 98-453, eff. 8-16-13.)

(325 ILCS 5/7.15) (from Ch. 23, par. 2057.15)

Sec. 7.15. The central register may contain such other information which the Department determines to be in furtherance of the purposes of this Act. Pursuant to the provisions of Sections 7.14 and 7.16, the Department may amend or remove from the central register appropriate records upon good cause shown and upon notice to the subjects of the report and the Child Protective Service Unit.

Notwithstanding the expiration of the deadline set forth in Section 7.16 for appealing an indicated report and notwithstanding the previous issuance of a non-appealable final administrative decision denying a request to expunge an indicated report, and pursuant to the Child Protective Service Unit's authority to amend reports granted in Section 7.18, the Director of the Department or his or her designee shall have the exclusive discretion, on the ground of manifest injustice, to expunge from the central register either an indicated report or the name of a specified perpetrator or to reduce the length of time for which the specified perpetrator's name is to remain registered on the central register. In the alternative, the Director of the Department or his or her designee shall have the exclusive discretion to direct that the issue of expungement of an indicated report or of expungement of the name of a specified perpetrator be re-opened for an evidentiary hearing on the merits. The Department shall establish procedures for requesting relief on the grounds of manifest injustice.

(Source: P.A. 90-15, eff. 6-13-97.)

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