HB4915 EngrossedLRB102 25747 KTG 35065 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; physical therapist; physical
22    therapy assistant; occupational therapist; occupational
23    therapy assistant; acupuncturist; registered nurse;

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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1    The mandated reporter trainings shall be in-person or
2web-based, and shall include, at a minimum, information on the
3following topics: (i) indicators for recognizing child abuse
4and child neglect, as defined under this Act; (ii) the process
5for reporting suspected child abuse and child neglect in
6Illinois as required by this Act and the required
7documentation; (iii) responding to a child in a
8trauma-informed manner; and (iv) understanding the response of
9child protective services and the role of the reporter after a
10call has been made. Child-serving organizations are encouraged
11to provide in-person annual trainings.
12    The implicit bias section shall be in-person or web-based,
13and shall include, at a minimum, information on the following
14topics: (i) implicit bias and (ii) racial and ethnic
15sensitivity. As used in this subsection, "implicit bias" means
16the attitudes or internalized stereotypes that affect people's
17perceptions, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner
18and that exist and often contribute to unequal treatment of
19people based on race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual
20orientation, age, disability, and other characteristics. The
21implicit bias section shall provide tools to adjust automatic
22patterns of thinking and ultimately eliminate discriminatory
23behaviors. During these trainings mandated reporters shall
24complete the following: (1) a pretest to assess baseline
25implicit bias levels; (2) an implicit bias training task; and
26(3) a posttest to reevaluate bias levels after training. The

 

 

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1implicit bias curriculum for mandated reporters shall be
2developed within one year after the effective date of this
3amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly and shall be
4created in consultation with organizations demonstrating
5expertise and or experience in the areas of implicit bias,
6youth and adolescent developmental issues, prevention of child
7abuse, exploitation, and neglect, culturally diverse family
8systems, and the child welfare system.
9    The mandated reporter training, including a section on
10implicit bias, shall be provided through the Department,
11through an entity authorized to provide continuing education
12for professionals licensed through the Department of Financial
13and Professional Regulation, the State Board of Education, the
14Illinois Law Enforcement Training Standards Board, or the
15Department of State Police, or through an organization
16approved by the Department to provide mandated reporter
17training, including a section on implicit bias. The Department
18must make available a free web-based training for reporters.
19    Each mandated reporter shall report to his or her employer
20and, when applicable, to his or her licensing or certification
21board that he or she received the mandated reporter training.
22The mandated reporter shall maintain records of completion.
23    Beginning January 1, 2021, if a mandated reporter receives
24licensure from the Department of Financial and Professional
25Regulation or the State Board of Education, and his or her
26profession has continuing education requirements, the training

 

 

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

 

 

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1request, to all employers employing persons who shall be
2required under the provisions of this Section to report under
3this Act.
4    (m) Any person who knowingly transmits a false report to
5the Department commits the offense of disorderly conduct under
6subsection (a)(7) of Section 26-1 of the Criminal Code of
72012. A violation of this provision is a Class 4 felony.
8    Any person who knowingly and willfully violates any
9provision of this Section other than a second or subsequent
10violation of transmitting a false report as described in the
11preceding paragraph, is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor for a
12first violation and a Class 4 felony for a second or subsequent
13violation; except that if the person acted as part of a plan or
14scheme having as its object the prevention of discovery of an
15abused or neglected child by lawful authorities for the
16purpose of protecting or insulating any person or entity from
17arrest or prosecution, the person is guilty of a Class 4 felony
18for a first offense and a Class 3 felony for a second or
19subsequent offense (regardless of whether the second or
20subsequent offense involves any of the same facts or persons
21as the first or other prior offense).
22    (n) A child whose parent, guardian or custodian in good
23faith selects and depends upon spiritual means through prayer
24alone for the treatment or cure of disease or remedial care may
25be considered neglected or abused, but not for the sole reason
26that his parent, guardian or custodian accepts and practices

 

 

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1such beliefs.
2    (o) A child shall not be considered neglected or abused
3solely because the child is not attending school in accordance
4with the requirements of Article 26 of the School Code, as
5amended.
6    (p) Nothing in this Act prohibits a mandated reporter who
7reasonably believes that an animal is being abused or
8neglected in violation of the Humane Care for Animals Act from
9reporting animal abuse or neglect to the Department of
10Agriculture's Bureau of Animal Health and Welfare.
11    (q) A home rule unit may not regulate the reporting of
12child abuse or neglect in a manner inconsistent with the
13provisions of this Section. This Section is a limitation under
14subsection (i) of Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois
15Constitution on the concurrent exercise by home rule units of
16powers and functions exercised by the State.
17    (r) For purposes of this Section "child abuse or neglect"
18includes abuse or neglect of an adult resident as defined in
19this Act.
20(Source: P.A. 101-564, eff. 1-1-20; 102-604, eff. 1-1-22.)