102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
HB3748

 

Introduced 2/22/2021, by Rep. Debbie Meyers-Martin

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
325 ILCS 5/4

    Amends the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act. Expands the list of crisis intervention personnel required to report under the Act to include the staff of any homeless shelter, domestic violence shelter, or any other shelter or halfway house. Effective immediately.


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A BILL FOR

 

HB3748LRB102 14767 KTG 20120 b

1    AN ACT concerning children.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act is
5amended by changing Section 4 as follows:
 
6    (325 ILCS 5/4)
7    Sec. 4. Persons required to report; privileged
8communications; transmitting false report.
9    (a) The following persons are required to immediately
10report to the Department when they have reasonable cause to
11believe that a child known to them in their professional or
12official capacities may be an abused child or a neglected
13child:
14        (1) Medical personnel, including any: physician
15    licensed to practice medicine in any of its branches
16    (medical doctor or doctor of osteopathy); resident;
17    intern; medical administrator or personnel engaged in the
18    examination, care, and treatment of persons; psychiatrist;
19    surgeon; dentist; dental hygienist; chiropractic
20    physician; podiatric physician; physician assistant;
21    emergency medical technician; acupuncturist; registered
22    nurse; licensed practical nurse; advanced practice
23    registered nurse; genetic counselor; respiratory care

 

 

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1    practitioner; home health aide; or certified nursing
2    assistant.
3        (2) Social services and mental health personnel,
4    including any: licensed professional counselor; licensed
5    clinical professional counselor; licensed social worker;
6    licensed clinical social worker; licensed psychologist or
7    assistant working under the direct supervision of a
8    psychologist; associate licensed marriage and family
9    therapist; licensed marriage and family therapist; field
10    personnel of the Departments of Healthcare and Family
11    Services, Public Health, Human Services, Human Rights, or
12    Children and Family Services; supervisor or administrator
13    of the General Assistance program established under
14    Article VI of the Illinois Public Aid Code; social
15    services administrator; or substance abuse treatment
16    personnel.
17        (3) Crisis intervention personnel, including any:
18    crisis line or hotline personnel; or domestic violence
19    program personnel; or staff of any homeless shelter,
20    domestic violence shelter, or any other shelter or halfway
21    house.
22        (4) Education personnel, including any: school
23    personnel (including administrators and certified and
24    non-certified school employees); personnel of institutions
25    of higher education; educational advocate assigned to a
26    child in accordance with the School Code; member of a

 

 

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1    school board or the Chicago Board of Education or the
2    governing body of a private school (but only to the extent
3    required under subsection (d)); or truant officer.
4        (5) Recreation or athletic program or facility
5    personnel.
6        (6) Child care personnel, including any: early
7    intervention provider as defined in the Early Intervention
8    Services System Act; director or staff assistant of a
9    nursery school or a child day care center; or foster
10    parent, homemaker, or child care worker.
11        (7) Law enforcement personnel, including any: law
12    enforcement officer; field personnel of the Department of
13    Juvenile Justice; field personnel of the Department of
14    Corrections; probation officer; or animal control officer
15    or field investigator of the Department of Agriculture's
16    Bureau of Animal Health and Welfare.
17        (8) Any funeral home director; funeral home director
18    and embalmer; funeral home employee; coroner; or medical
19    examiner.
20        (9) Any member of the clergy.
21        (10) Any physician, physician assistant, registered
22    nurse, licensed practical nurse, medical technician,
23    certified nursing assistant, licensed social worker,
24    licensed clinical social worker, or licensed professional
25    counselor of any office, clinic, or any other physical
26    location that provides abortions, abortion referrals, or

 

 

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1    contraceptives.
2    (b) When 2 or more persons who work within the same
3workplace and are required to report under this Act share a
4reasonable cause to believe that a child may be an abused or
5neglected child, one of those reporters may be designated to
6make a single report. The report shall include the names and
7contact information for the other mandated reporters sharing
8the reasonable cause to believe that a child may be an abused
9or neglected child. The designated reporter must provide
10written confirmation of the report to those mandated reporters
11within 48 hours. If confirmation is not provided, those
12mandated reporters are individually responsible for
13immediately ensuring a report is made. Nothing in this Section
14precludes or may be used to preclude any person from reporting
15child abuse or child neglect.
16    (c)(1) As used in this Section, "a child known to them in
17their professional or official capacities" means:
18        (A) the mandated reporter comes into contact with the
19    child in the course of the reporter's employment or
20    practice of a profession, or through a regularly scheduled
21    program, activity, or service;
22        (B) the mandated reporter is affiliated with an
23    agency, institution, organization, school, school
24    district, regularly established church or religious
25    organization, or other entity that is directly responsible
26    for the care, supervision, guidance, or training of the

 

 

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1    child; or
2        (C) a person makes a specific disclosure to the
3    mandated reporter that an identifiable child is the victim
4    of child abuse or child neglect, and the disclosure
5    happens while the mandated reporter is engaged in his or
6    her employment or practice of a profession, or in a
7    regularly scheduled program, activity, or service.
8    (2) Nothing in this Section requires a child to come
9before the mandated reporter in order for the reporter to make
10a report of suspected child abuse or child neglect.
11    (d) If an allegation is raised to a school board member
12during the course of an open or closed school board meeting
13that a child who is enrolled in the school district of which he
14or she is a board member is an abused child as defined in
15Section 3 of this Act, the member shall direct or cause the
16school board to direct the superintendent of the school
17district or other equivalent school administrator to comply
18with the requirements of this Act concerning the reporting of
19child abuse. For purposes of this paragraph, a school board
20member is granted the authority in his or her individual
21capacity to direct the superintendent of the school district
22or other equivalent school administrator to comply with the
23requirements of this Act concerning the reporting of child
24abuse.
25    Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, if an
26employee of a school district has made a report or caused a

 

 

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1report to be made to the Department under this Act involving
2the conduct of a current or former employee of the school
3district and a request is made by another school district for
4the provision of information concerning the job performance or
5qualifications of the current or former employee because he or
6she is an applicant for employment with the requesting school
7district, the general superintendent of the school district to
8which the request is being made must disclose to the
9requesting school district the fact that an employee of the
10school district has made a report involving the conduct of the
11applicant or caused a report to be made to the Department, as
12required under this Act. Only the fact that an employee of the
13school district has made a report involving the conduct of the
14applicant or caused a report to be made to the Department may
15be disclosed by the general superintendent of the school
16district to which the request for information concerning the
17applicant is made, and this fact may be disclosed only in cases
18where the employee and the general superintendent have not
19been informed by the Department that the allegations were
20unfounded. An employee of a school district who is or has been
21the subject of a report made pursuant to this Act during his or
22her employment with the school district must be informed by
23that school district that if he or she applies for employment
24with another school district, the general superintendent of
25the former school district, upon the request of the school
26district to which the employee applies, shall notify that

 

 

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1requesting school district that the employee is or was the
2subject of such a report.
3    (e) Whenever such person is required to report under this
4Act in his capacity as a member of the staff of a medical or
5other public or private institution, school, facility or
6agency, or as a member of the clergy, he shall make report
7immediately to the Department in accordance with the
8provisions of this Act and may also notify the person in charge
9of such institution, school, facility or agency, or church,
10synagogue, temple, mosque, or other religious institution, or
11his designated agent that such report has been made. Under no
12circumstances shall any person in charge of such institution,
13school, facility or agency, or church, synagogue, temple,
14mosque, or other religious institution, or his designated
15agent to whom such notification has been made, exercise any
16control, restraint, modification or other change in the report
17or the forwarding of such report to the Department.
18    (f) In addition to the persons required to report
19suspected cases of child abuse or child neglect under this
20Section, any other person may make a report if such person has
21reasonable cause to believe a child may be an abused child or a
22neglected child.
23    (g) The privileged quality of communication between any
24professional person required to report and his patient or
25client shall not apply to situations involving abused or
26neglected children and shall not constitute grounds for

 

 

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1failure to report as required by this Act or constitute
2grounds for failure to share information or documents with the
3Department during the course of a child abuse or neglect
4investigation. If requested by the professional, the
5Department shall confirm in writing that the information or
6documents disclosed by the professional were gathered in the
7course of a child abuse or neglect investigation.
8    The reporting requirements of this Act shall not apply to
9the contents of a privileged communication between an attorney
10and his or her client or to confidential information within
11the meaning of Rule 1.6 of the Illinois Rules of Professional
12Conduct relating to the legal representation of an individual
13client.
14    A member of the clergy may claim the privilege under
15Section 8-803 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
16    (h) Any office, clinic, or any other physical location
17that provides abortions, abortion referrals, or contraceptives
18shall provide to all office personnel copies of written
19information and training materials about abuse and neglect and
20the requirements of this Act that are provided to employees of
21the office, clinic, or physical location who are required to
22make reports to the Department under this Act, and instruct
23such office personnel to bring to the attention of an employee
24of the office, clinic, or physical location who is required to
25make reports to the Department under this Act any reasonable
26suspicion that a child known to him or her in his or her

 

 

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1professional or official capacity may be an abused child or a
2neglected child.
3    (i) Any person who enters into employment on and after
4July 1, 1986 and is mandated by virtue of that employment to
5report under this Act, shall sign a statement on a form
6prescribed by the Department, to the effect that the employee
7has knowledge and understanding of the reporting requirements
8of this Act. On and after January 1, 2019, the statement shall
9also include information about available mandated reporter
10training provided by the Department. The statement shall be
11signed prior to commencement of the employment. The signed
12statement shall be retained by the employer. The cost of
13printing, distribution, and filing of the statement shall be
14borne by the employer.
15    (j) Persons required to report child abuse or child
16neglect as provided under this Section must complete an
17initial mandated reporter training within 3 months of their
18date of engagement in a professional or official capacity as a
19mandated reporter, or within the time frame of any other
20applicable State law that governs training requirements for a
21specific profession, and at least every 3 years thereafter.
22The initial requirement only applies to the first time they
23engage in their professional or official capacity. In lieu of
24training every 3 years, medical personnel, as listed in
25paragraph (1) of subsection (a), must meet the requirements
26described in subsection (k).

 

 

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1    The trainings shall be in-person or web-based, and shall
2include, at a minimum, information on the following topics:
3(i) indicators for recognizing child abuse and child neglect,
4as defined under this Act; (ii) the process for reporting
5suspected child abuse and child neglect in Illinois as
6required by this Act and the required documentation; (iii)
7responding to a child in a trauma-informed manner; and (iv)
8understanding the response of child protective services and
9the role of the reporter after a call has been made.
10Child-serving organizations are encouraged to provide
11in-person annual trainings.
12    The mandated reporter training shall be provided through
13the Department, through an entity authorized to provide
14continuing education for professionals licensed through the
15Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, the State
16Board of Education, the Illinois Law Enforcement Training
17Standards Board, or the Department of State Police, or through
18an organization approved by the Department to provide mandated
19reporter training. The Department must make available a free
20web-based training for reporters.
21    Each mandated reporter shall report to his or her employer
22and, when applicable, to his or her licensing or certification
23board that he or she received the mandated reporter training.
24The mandated reporter shall maintain records of completion.
25    Beginning January 1, 2021, if a mandated reporter receives
26licensure from the Department of Financial and Professional

 

 

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1Regulation or the State Board of Education, and his or her
2profession has continuing education requirements, the training
3mandated under this Section shall count toward meeting the
4licensee's required continuing education hours.
5    (k)(1) Medical personnel, as listed in paragraph (1) of
6subsection (a), who work with children in their professional
7or official capacity, must complete mandated reporter training
8at least every 6 years. Such medical personnel, if licensed,
9must attest at each time of licensure renewal on their renewal
10form that they understand they are a mandated reporter of
11child abuse and neglect, that they are aware of the process for
12making a report, that they know how to respond to a child in a
13trauma-informed manner, and that they are aware of the role of
14child protective services and the role of a reporter after a
15call has been made.
16    (2) In lieu of repeated training, medical personnel, as
17listed in paragraph (1) of subsection (a), who do not work with
18children in their professional or official capacity, may
19instead attest each time at licensure renewal on their renewal
20form that they understand they are a mandated reporter of
21child abuse and neglect, that they are aware of the process for
22making a report, that they know how to respond to a child in a
23trauma-informed manner, and that they are aware of the role of
24child protective services and the role of a reporter after a
25call has been made. Nothing in this paragraph precludes
26medical personnel from completing mandated reporter training

 

 

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1and receiving continuing education credits for that training.
2    (l) The Department shall provide copies of this Act, upon
3request, to all employers employing persons who shall be
4required under the provisions of this Section to report under
5this Act.
6    (m) Any person who knowingly transmits a false report to
7the Department commits the offense of disorderly conduct under
8subsection (a)(7) of Section 26-1 of the Criminal Code of
92012. A violation of this provision is a Class 4 felony.
10    Any person who knowingly and willfully violates any
11provision of this Section other than a second or subsequent
12violation of transmitting a false report as described in the
13preceding paragraph, is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor for a
14first violation and a Class 4 felony for a second or subsequent
15violation; except that if the person acted as part of a plan or
16scheme having as its object the prevention of discovery of an
17abused or neglected child by lawful authorities for the
18purpose of protecting or insulating any person or entity from
19arrest or prosecution, the person is guilty of a Class 4 felony
20for a first offense and a Class 3 felony for a second or
21subsequent offense (regardless of whether the second or
22subsequent offense involves any of the same facts or persons
23as the first or other prior offense).
24    (n) A child whose parent, guardian or custodian in good
25faith selects and depends upon spiritual means through prayer
26alone for the treatment or cure of disease or remedial care may

 

 

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1be considered neglected or abused, but not for the sole reason
2that his parent, guardian or custodian accepts and practices
3such beliefs.
4    (o) A child shall not be considered neglected or abused
5solely because the child is not attending school in accordance
6with the requirements of Article 26 of the School Code, as
7amended.
8    (p) Nothing in this Act prohibits a mandated reporter who
9reasonably believes that an animal is being abused or
10neglected in violation of the Humane Care for Animals Act from
11reporting animal abuse or neglect to the Department of
12Agriculture's Bureau of Animal Health and Welfare.
13    (q) A home rule unit may not regulate the reporting of
14child abuse or neglect in a manner inconsistent with the
15provisions of this Section. This Section is a limitation under
16subsection (i) of Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois
17Constitution on the concurrent exercise by home rule units of
18powers and functions exercised by the State.
19    (r) For purposes of this Section "child abuse or neglect"
20includes abuse or neglect of an adult resident as defined in
21this Act.
22(Source: P.A. 100-513, eff. 1-1-18; 100-1071, eff. 1-1-19;
23101-564, eff. 1-1-20.)
 
24    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
25becoming law.