103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
HB2917

 

Introduced 2/16/2023, by Rep. La Shawn K. Ford

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
20 ILCS 505/4a  from Ch. 23, par. 5004a

    Amends the Children and Family Services Act. Permits the Department of Children and Family Services to establish and maintain locally held funds to be individually known as the Youth in Care Support Fund. Provides that moneys in these funds shall be used for purchases for the immediate needs of youth in care or for the immediate support needs of youth, families, and caregivers served by the Department. Provides that moneys paid into these funds shall be from appropriations made to the DCFS Children's Services Fund; and that any funds remaining in any Youth in Care Support Fund must be returned to the DCFS Children's Services Fund upon dissolution. Provides that any warrant for payment to a vendor for the same product or service for a youth in care shall be payable to the Department to reimburse the immediate payment from the Youth in Care Support Fund.


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A BILL FOR

 

HB2917LRB103 24990 KTG 51324 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 Children and Family Services Act is amended
5by changing Section 4a as follows:
 
6    (20 ILCS 505/4a)  (from Ch. 23, par. 5004a)
7    Sec. 4a. (a) To administer child abuse prevention shelters
8and service programs for abused and neglected children, or
9provide for their administration by not-for-profit
10corporations, community-based organizations or units of local
11government.
12    The Department is hereby designated the single State
13agency for planning and coordination of child abuse and
14neglect prevention programs and services. On or before the
15first Friday in October of each year, the Department shall
16submit to the Governor and the General Assembly a State
17comprehensive child abuse and neglect prevention plan. The
18plan shall: identify priorities, goals and objectives;
19identify the resources necessary to implement the plan,
20including estimates of resources needed to investigate or
21otherwise process reports of suspected child abuse or neglect
22and to provide necessary follow-up services for child
23protection, family preservation and family reunification in

 

 

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1"indicated" cases as determined under the Abused and Neglected
2Child Reporting Act; make proposals for the most effective use
3of existing resources to implement the plan, including
4recommendations for the optimum use of private, local public,
5State and federal resources; and propose strategies for the
6development of additional resources to meet the goal of
7reducing the incidence of child abuse and neglect and reducing
8the number of reports of suspected child abuse and neglect
9made to the Department.
10    (b) The administration of child abuse prevention, shelters
11and service programs under subsection (a) shall be funded in
12part by appropriations made from the Child Abuse Prevention
13Fund, which is hereby created in the State Treasury, and in
14part by appropriations from the General Revenue Fund. All
15interest earned on monies in the Child Abuse Prevention Fund
16shall remain in such fund. The Department and the State
17Treasurer may accept funds as provided by Sections 507 and 508
18of the Illinois Income Tax Act and unsolicited private
19donations for deposit into the Child Abuse Prevention Fund.
20Annual requests for appropriations for the purpose of
21providing child abuse and neglect prevention programs and
22services under this Section shall be made in separate and
23distinct line-items. In setting priorities for the direction
24and scope of such programs, the Director shall be advised by
25the State-wide Citizen's Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect.
26    (c) Where the Department contracts with outside agencies

 

 

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1to operate the shelters or programs, such outside agencies may
2receive funding from the Department, except that the shelters
3must certify a 20% financial match for operating expenses of
4their programs. In selecting the outside agencies to
5administer child shelters and service programs, and in
6allocating funds for such agencies, the Department shall give
7priority to new and existing shelters or programs offering the
8broadest range of services to the community served.
9    (d) The Department shall have the power to make grants of
10monies to fund comprehensive community-based services to
11reduce the incidence of family dysfunction typified by child
12abuse and neglect; to diminish those factors found to increase
13family dysfunction; and to measure the effectiveness and costs
14of such services.
15    (e) For implementing such intergovernmental cooperation
16and involvement, units of local government and public and
17private agencies may apply for and receive federal or State
18funds from the Department under this Act or seek and receive
19gifts from local philanthropic or other private local sources
20in order to augment any State funds appropriated for the
21purposes of this Act.
22    (e-5) The Department may establish and maintain locally
23held funds to be individually known as the Youth in Care
24Support Fund. Moneys in these funds shall be used for
25purchases for the immediate needs of youth in care or for the
26immediate support needs of youth, families, and caregivers

 

 

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1served by the Department. Moneys paid into funds shall be from
2appropriations made to the DCFS Children's Services Fund.
3Funds remaining in any Youth in Care Support Fund must be
4returned to the DCFS Children's Services Fund upon
5dissolution. Any warrant for payment to a vendor for the same
6product or service for a youth in care shall be payable to the
7Department to reimburse the immediate payment from the Youth
8in Care Support Fund.
9    (f) For the purposes of this Section:
10        (1) The terms "abused child" and "neglected child"
11    have meanings ascribed to them in Section 3 of the Abused
12    and Neglected Child Reporting Act.
13        (2) "Shelter" has the meaning ascribed to it in
14    Section 1-3 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987.
15(Source: P.A. 97-20, eff. 6-28-11.)