103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
HB4291

 

Introduced 1/16/2024, by Rep. Dan Caulkins

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
325 ILCS 5/4

    Amends the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act. In a provision permitting 2 or more mandated reporters from the same workplace to designate one reporter to make a single report concerning the group's shared belief that a child may be abused or neglected, provides that the report made by the designated reporter shall include the name, business address, and telephone number of the mandated reporter; the capacity that makes the person a mandated reporter; and the information that gave rise to the knowledge or reasonable suspicion of child abuse or neglect and the source or sources of that information. Provides that the report shall also include, if known, certain information on the child, the child's parents and guardians, and the person or persons who the mandated reporter knows or reasonably suspects to have abused or neglected the child. Requires the designated mandated reporter to make a report even if some of the required information is not known or is uncertain to the reporter. Removes the requirement that the report include the names and contact information for the other mandated reporters. In a provision permitting any other person who is not a mandated reporter to make a child abuse or neglect report, provides that the Department of Children and Family Services shall ask the reporter to provide in the report his or her name, telephone number, information that gave rise to the knowledge or reasonable suspicion of child abuse or neglect, and the source or sources of the information that gave rise to the knowledge or reasonable suspicion of child abuse or neglect. Provides that if the reporter refuses to provide his or her name or telephone number, the Department shall make efforts to determine the basis for that refusal and advise the reporter that the identifying information will remain confidential.


LRB103 35141 KTG 65105 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

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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, licensed behavior
25    analyst, licensed assistant behavior analyst, or any other
26    physical location that provides abortions, abortion

 

 

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1    referrals, or 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 name,
7business address, and telephone number of the mandated
8reporter; the capacity that makes the person a mandated
9reporter; and the information that gave rise to the knowledge
10or reasonable suspicion of child abuse or neglect and the
11source or sources of that information. If a report is made, the
12following information, if known, shall also be included in the
13report: the child's name, address, present location, and, if
14applicable, school, grade, and class; the names, addresses,
15and telephone numbers of the child's parents or guardians; and
16the name, address, telephone number, and other relevant
17personal information about the person or persons who the
18mandated reporter knows or reasonably suspects to have abused
19or neglected the child. The mandated reporter shall make a
20report even if some of this information is not known or is
21uncertain to him or her the names and contact information for
22the other mandated reporters sharing the reasonable cause to
23believe that a child may be an abused or neglected child. The
24designated reporter must provide written confirmation of the
25report to those mandated reporters within 48 hours. If
26confirmation is not provided, those mandated reporters are

 

 

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1individually responsible for immediately ensuring a report is
2made. Nothing in this Section precludes or may be used to
3preclude any person from reporting child abuse or child
4neglect.
5    (c)(1) As used in this Section, "a child known to them in
6their professional or official capacities" means:
7        (A) the mandated reporter comes into contact with the
8    child in the course of the reporter's employment or
9    practice of a profession, or through a regularly scheduled
10    program, activity, or service;
11        (B) the mandated reporter is affiliated with an
12    agency, institution, organization, school, school
13    district, regularly established church or religious
14    organization, or other entity that is directly responsible
15    for the care, supervision, guidance, or training of the
16    child; or
17        (C) a person makes a specific disclosure to the
18    mandated reporter that an identifiable child is the victim
19    of child abuse or child neglect, and the disclosure
20    happens while the mandated reporter is engaged in his or
21    her employment or practice of a profession, or in a
22    regularly scheduled program, activity, or service.
23    (2) Nothing in this Section requires a child to come
24before the mandated reporter in order for the reporter to make
25a report of suspected child abuse or child neglect.
26    (d) If an allegation is raised to a school board member

 

 

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1during the course of an open or closed school board meeting
2that a child who is enrolled in the school district of which he
3or she is a board member is an abused child as defined in
4Section 3 of this Act, the member shall direct or cause the
5school board to direct the superintendent of the school
6district or other equivalent school administrator to comply
7with the requirements of this Act concerning the reporting of
8child abuse. For purposes of this paragraph, a school board
9member is granted the authority in his or her individual
10capacity to direct the superintendent of the school district
11or other equivalent school administrator to comply with the
12requirements of this Act concerning the reporting of child
13abuse.
14    Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, if an
15employee of a school district has made a report or caused a
16report to be made to the Department under this Act involving
17the conduct of a current or former employee of the school
18district and a request is made by another school district for
19the provision of information concerning the job performance or
20qualifications of the current or former employee because he or
21she is an applicant for employment with the requesting school
22district, the general superintendent of the school district to
23which the request is being made must disclose to the
24requesting school district the fact that an employee of the
25school district has made a report involving the conduct of the
26applicant or caused a report to be made to the Department, as

 

 

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1required under this Act. Only the fact that an employee of the
2school district has made a report involving the conduct of the
3applicant or caused a report to be made to the Department may
4be disclosed by the general superintendent of the school
5district to which the request for information concerning the
6applicant is made, and this fact may be disclosed only in cases
7where the employee and the general superintendent have not
8been informed by the Department that the allegations were
9unfounded. An employee of a school district who is or has been
10the subject of a report made pursuant to this Act during his or
11her employment with the school district must be informed by
12that school district that if he or she applies for employment
13with another school district, the general superintendent of
14the former school district, upon the request of the school
15district to which the employee applies, shall notify that
16requesting school district that the employee is or was the
17subject of such a report.
18    (e) Whenever such person is required to report under this
19Act in his capacity as a member of the staff of a medical or
20other public or private institution, school, facility or
21agency, or as a member of the clergy, he shall make report
22immediately to the Department in accordance with the
23provisions of this Act and may also notify the person in charge
24of such institution, school, facility or agency, or church,
25synagogue, temple, mosque, or other religious institution, or
26his designated agent that such report has been made. Under no

 

 

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1circumstances shall any person in charge of such institution,
2school, facility or agency, or church, synagogue, temple,
3mosque, or other religious institution, or his designated
4agent to whom such notification has been made, exercise any
5control, restraint, modification or other change in the report
6or the forwarding of such report to the Department.
7    (f) In addition to the persons required to report
8suspected cases of child abuse or child neglect under this
9Section, any other person may make a report if such person has
10reasonable cause to believe a child may be an abused child or a
11neglected child. The Department shall ask the reporter to
12provide in the report his or her name, telephone number,
13information that gave rise to the knowledge or reasonable
14suspicion of child abuse or neglect, and the source or sources
15of the information that gave rise to the knowledge or
16reasonable suspicion of child abuse or neglect. If the
17reporter refuses to provide his or her name or telephone
18number, the Department shall make efforts to determine the
19basis for that refusal and advise the reporter that the
20identifying information will remain confidential.
21    (g) The privileged quality of communication between any
22professional person required to report and his patient or
23client shall not apply to situations involving abused or
24neglected children and shall not constitute grounds for
25failure to report as required by this Act or constitute
26grounds for failure to share information or documents with the

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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1developed within one year after January 1, 2022 (the effective
2date of Public Act 102-604) this amendatory Act of the 102nd
3General Assembly and shall be created in consultation with
4organizations demonstrating expertise and or experience in the
5areas of implicit bias, youth and adolescent developmental
6issues, prevention of child abuse, exploitation, and neglect,
7culturally diverse family systems, and the child welfare
8system.
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
15Illinois Department of State Police, or through an
16organization approved by the Department to provide mandated
17reporter training, including a section on implicit bias. The
18Department must make available a free web-based training for
19reporters.
20    Each mandated reporter shall report to his or her employer
21and, when applicable, to his or her licensing or certification
22board that he or she received the mandated reporter training.
23The mandated reporter shall maintain records of completion.
24    Beginning January 1, 2021, if a mandated reporter receives
25licensure from the Department of Financial and Professional
26Regulation or the State Board of Education, and his or her

 

 

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

 

 

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1    (l) The Department shall provide copies of this Act, upon
2request, to all employers employing persons who shall be
3required under the provisions of this Section to report under
4this Act.
5    (m) Any person who knowingly transmits a false report to
6the Department commits the offense of disorderly conduct under
7subsection (a)(7) of Section 26-1 of the Criminal Code of
82012. A violation of this provision is a Class 4 felony.
9    Any person who knowingly and willfully violates any
10provision of this Section other than a second or subsequent
11violation of transmitting a false report as described in the
12preceding paragraph, is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor for a
13first violation and a Class 4 felony for a second or subsequent
14violation; except that if the person acted as part of a plan or
15scheme having as its object the prevention of discovery of an
16abused or neglected child by lawful authorities for the
17purpose of protecting or insulating any person or entity from
18arrest or prosecution, the person is guilty of a Class 4 felony
19for a first offense and a Class 3 felony for a second or
20subsequent offense (regardless of whether the second or
21subsequent offense involves any of the same facts or persons
22as the first or other prior offense).
23    (n) A child whose parent, guardian or custodian in good
24faith selects and depends upon spiritual means through prayer
25alone for the treatment or cure of disease or remedial care may
26be considered neglected or abused, but not for the sole reason

 

 

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1that his parent, guardian or custodian accepts and practices
2such beliefs.
3    (o) A child shall not be considered neglected or abused
4solely because the child is not attending school in accordance
5with the requirements of Article 26 of the School Code, as
6amended.
7    (p) Nothing in this Act prohibits a mandated reporter who
8reasonably believes that an animal is being abused or
9neglected in violation of the Humane Care for Animals Act from
10reporting animal abuse or neglect to the Department of
11Agriculture's Bureau of Animal Health and Welfare.
12    (q) A home rule unit may not regulate the reporting of
13child abuse or neglect in a manner inconsistent with the
14provisions of this Section. This Section is a limitation under
15subsection (i) of Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois
16Constitution on the concurrent exercise by home rule units of
17powers and functions exercised by the State.
18    (r) For purposes of this Section "child abuse or neglect"
19includes abuse or neglect of an adult resident as defined in
20this Act.
21(Source: P.A. 101-564, eff. 1-1-20; 102-604, eff. 1-1-22;
22102-861, eff. 1-1-23; 102-953, eff. 5-27-22; revised 2-5-23.)