103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
HB3936

 

Introduced 2/17/2023, by Rep. Terra Costa Howard

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
225 ILCS 10/4.3  from Ch. 23, par. 2214.3

    Amends the Child Care Act of 1969. Requires child care facility license applicants and current and prospective employees of a child care facility who might have contact with children to authorize an investigation of the Central Register to ascertain if they have been the subject of a child abuse or neglect investigation (without regard to whether the Department of Children and Family Services determined the report of child abuse or neglect to be indicated or unfounded).


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A BILL FOR

 

HB3936LRB103 30214 KTG 56642 b

1    AN ACT concerning regulations.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Child Care Act of 1969 is amended by
5changing Section 4.3 as follows:
 
6    (225 ILCS 10/4.3)  (from Ch. 23, par. 2214.3)
7    Sec. 4.3. Child Abuse and Neglect Reports. All child care
8facility license applicants and all current and prospective
9employees of a child care facility who have any possible
10contact with children in the course of their duties, as a
11condition of such licensure or employment, shall authorize in
12writing on a form prescribed by the Department an
13investigation of the Central Register, as defined in the
14Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act, to ascertain if such
15applicant or employee (i) has been the subject of a child abuse
16or neglect investigation (without regard to whether the
17Department determined the report of child abuse or neglect to
18be indicated or unfounded) or (ii) has been determined to be a
19perpetrator in an indicated report of child abuse or neglect.
20    All child care facilities as a condition of licensure
21pursuant to this Act shall maintain such information which
22demonstrates that all current employees and other applicants
23for employment who have any possible contact with children in

 

 

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1the course of their duties have authorized an investigation of
2the Central Register as hereinabove required. Only those
3current or prospective employees who will have no possible
4contact with children as part of their present or prospective
5employment may be excluded from provisions requiring
6authorization of an investigation.
7    Such information concerning a license applicant, employee
8or prospective employee obtained by the Department shall be
9confidential and exempt from public inspection and copying as
10provided under Section 7 of The Freedom of Information Act,
11and such information shall not be transmitted outside the
12Department, except as provided in the Abused and Neglected
13Child Reporting Act, and shall not be transmitted to anyone
14within the Department except as provided in the Abused and
15Neglected Child Reporting Act, and shall not be transmitted to
16anyone within the Department except as needed for the purposes
17of evaluation of an application for licensure or for
18consideration by a child care facility of an employee. Any
19employee of the Department of Children and Family Services
20under this Section who gives or causes to be given any
21confidential information concerning any child abuse or neglect
22reports about a child care facility applicant, child care
23facility employee, shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor,
24unless release of such information is authorized by Section
2511.1 of the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act.
26    Additionally, any licensee who is informed by the

 

 

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1Department of Children and Family Services, pursuant to
2Section 7.4 of the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act,
3approved June 26, 1975, as amended, that a formal
4investigation has commenced relating to an employee of the
5child care facility or any other person in frequent contact
6with children at the facility, shall take reasonable action
7necessary to insure that the employee or other person is
8restricted during the pendency of the investigation from
9contact with children whose care has been entrusted to the
10facility.
11    When a foster family home is the subject of an indicated
12report under the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act, the
13Department of Children and Family Services must immediately
14conduct a re-examination of the foster family home to evaluate
15whether it continues to meet the minimum standards for
16licensure. The re-examination is separate and apart from the
17formal investigation of the report. The Department must
18establish a schedule for re-examination of the foster family
19home mentioned in the report at least once a year.
20(Source: P.A. 91-557, eff. 1-1-00.)