SB1750 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB099 09987 MLM 30207 b

99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2015 and 2016
SB1750

Introduced 2/20/2015, by Sen. Julie A. Morrison

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

225 ILCS 10/7.11 new

Amends the Child Care Act of 1969. Establishes a Youth in Care Well-Being Monitoring Workgroup to review and make recommendations regarding the Department of Children and Family Services' process of monitoring the well-being of children placed in Department-licensed child care facilities. Sets the minimum composition of the Workgroup. Requires the Workgroup to submit a report to the General Assembly with its recommendations by June 1, 2016. Requires the Department to implement the recommendations it finds feasible and appropriate and respond to the General Assembly within 120 days of the Workgroup report to explain the implementation or non-implementation of recommendations. Provides that the Department provide to the Workgroup all relevant records and information in its possession with confidential information redacted.

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning regulation.

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

Section 5. The Child Care Act of 1969 is amended by adding Section 7.11 as follows:

(225 ILCS 10/7.11 new)

Sec. 7.11. Youth in Care Well-Being Monitoring Workgroup.

(a) The General Assembly finds and declares all of the following:

(1) Children who have been removed by a court from the care of their parents because of child abuse, neglect, or dependency and placed in the custody or guardianship of the Department of Children and Family Services have typically experienced multiple traumatic events, including the trauma that prompted the family's involvement with the Department, the trauma of being removed from their family, including their siblings and extended family, and additional trauma while in the Department's care as the result of being placed in multiple living arrangements.

(2) Repeated trauma can exacerbate the already fragile emotional states of youth in the Department's care and contribute to lower rates of returning home to parents and adoption. It can also cause youth to require care in congregate care settings, as opposed to family-like settings.

(3) When a court appoints the Department as the guardian of a youth, the Department is required to, among other things, act in the youth's best interests and to ensure the youth's general welfare. When a court appoints the Department as the custodian of a youth, the Department has a duty to, among other things, protect the youth. The Department is also responsible for licensing the child care facilities with which it contracts to provide care to youth in the Department's care.

(4) Youth placed in congregate care settings by the Department are particularly vulnerable to abuse, neglect, and maltreatment. Ensuring that children in the Department's care do not experience additional trauma and other negative experiences while in placements selected by and licensed by the Department is of the upmost importance. The Department must timely and effectively monitor the care provided by its contracted child care facilities to ensure the health, safety, and well-being of the children placed in those facilities.

(b) The Department shall convene a Youth in Care Well-Being Monitoring Workgroup to review and make recommendations regarding the Department's process of monitoring the well-being of children placed in Department-licensed child care facilities. The Youth in Care Well-Being Monitoring Workgroup shall:

(1) review the Department's current monitoring process for licensed child care facilities;

(2) make recommendations to the General Assembly for improving the timeliness and efficacy of the Department's monitoring process;

(3) make recommendations to the General Assembly to ensure that monitoring standards address the quality of life for youth in Department-licensed child care facilities;

(4) establish written standards for monitoring the safety and well-being of youth placed in Department-licensed child care facilities; and

(5) oversee the implementation of its recommendations.

(c) The membership of the Youth in Care Well-Being Monitoring Workgroup shall be appointed by the Director and consist of a minimum of:

(1) two representatives of the Department, including one who is familiar with the Department's current monitoring process;

(2) one representative of a child advocacy organization;

(3) one licensed clinician with expertise in reviewing or monitoring child care facilities;

(4) one board-certified child and adolescent psychiatrist with expertise in reviewing or monitoring child care facilities;

(5) two representatives from providers of residential treatment programs in the State of Illinois;

(6) one representative of the Department's Youth Advisory Board; and

(7) one representative of an agency independent of the Department that has experience in accrediting or monitoring residential treatment facilities.

(d) The Youth in Care Well-Being Monitoring Workgroup shall submit a report to the General Assembly with its recommendations by June 1, 2016.

(e) The Director of Children and Family Services shall implement the Youth in Care Well-Being Monitoring Workgroup's recommendations the Director finds feasible and appropriate and shall respond in writing to the General Assembly within 120 days of the issuance of the Workgroup's report to explain the implementation or non-implementation of each recommendation.

(f) The Department shall provide the Youth in Care Well-Being Monitoring Workgroup with all records and information in the Department's possession that are relevant to the Youth in Care Well-Being Monitoring Workgroup's review of the Department's monitoring process. Confidential information, including names and identifying information of persons receiving services from the Department, shall be redacted in documents provided to the Youth in Care Well-Being Monitoring Workgroup.