103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
HB4524

 

Introduced 1/31/2024, by Rep. Suzanne M. Ness

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
225 ILCS 10/4  from Ch. 23, par. 2214

    Amends the Child Care Act of 1969. Removes a requirement that the Department of Children and Family Services notify the public when a child care institution, maternity center, or group home licensed by the Department undergoes a change in the area within the facility used by children or a change in the age of children served.


LRB103 35710 SPS 65788 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB4524LRB103 35710 SPS 65788 b

1    AN ACT concerning regulation.
 
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 as follows:
 
6    (225 ILCS 10/4)  (from Ch. 23, par. 2214)
7    Sec. 4. License requirement; application; notice.
8    (a) Any person, group of persons or corporation who or
9which receives children or arranges for care or placement of
10one or more children unrelated to the operator must apply for a
11license to operate one of the types of facilities defined in
12Sections 2.05 through 2.19 and in Section 2.22 of this Act. Any
13relative, as defined in Section 2.17 of this Act, who receives
14a child or children for placement by the Department on a
15full-time basis may apply for a license to operate a foster
16family home as defined in Section 2.17 of this Act.
17    (a-5) Any agency, person, group of persons, association,
18organization, corporation, institution, center, or group
19providing adoption services must be licensed by the Department
20as a child welfare agency as defined in Section 2.08 of this
21Act. "Providing adoption services" as used in this Act,
22includes facilitating or engaging in adoption services.
23    (b) Application for a license to operate a child care

 

 

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1facility must be made to the Department in the manner and on
2forms prescribed by it. An application to operate a foster
3family home shall include, at a minimum: a completed written
4form; written authorization by the applicant and all adult
5members of the applicant's household to conduct a criminal
6background investigation; medical evidence in the form of a
7medical report, on forms prescribed by the Department, that
8the applicant and all members of the household are free from
9communicable diseases or physical and mental conditions that
10affect their ability to provide care for the child or
11children; the names and addresses of at least 3 persons not
12related to the applicant who can attest to the applicant's
13moral character; the name and address of at least one relative
14who can attest to the applicant's capability to care for the
15child or children; and fingerprints submitted by the applicant
16and all adult members of the applicant's household.
17    (b-5) Prior to submitting an application for a foster
18family home license, a quality of care concerns applicant as
19defined in Section 2.22a of this Act must submit a preliminary
20application to the Department in the manner and on forms
21prescribed by it. The Department shall explain to the quality
22of care concerns applicant the grounds for requiring a
23preliminary application. The preliminary application shall
24include a list of (i) all children placed in the home by the
25Department who were removed by the Department for reasons
26other than returning to a parent and the circumstances under

 

 

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1which they were removed and (ii) all children placed by the
2Department who were subsequently adopted by or placed in the
3private guardianship of the quality of care concerns applicant
4who are currently under 18 and who no longer reside in the home
5and the reasons why they no longer reside in the home. The
6preliminary application shall also include, if the quality of
7care concerns applicant chooses to submit, (1) a response to
8the quality of care concerns, including any reason the
9concerns are invalid, have been addressed or ameliorated, or
10no longer apply and (2) affirmative documentation
11demonstrating that the quality of care concerns applicant's
12home does not pose a risk to children and that the family will
13be able to meet the physical and emotional needs of children.
14The Department shall verify the information in the preliminary
15application and review (i) information regarding any prior
16licensing complaints, (ii) information regarding any prior
17child abuse or neglect investigations, (iii) information
18regarding any involuntary foster home holds placed on the home
19by the Department, and (iv) information regarding all child
20exit interviews, as provided in Section 5.26 of the Children
21and Family Services Act, regarding the home. Foster home
22applicants with quality of care concerns are presumed
23unsuitable for future licensure.
24    Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection (b-5),
25the Department may make an exception and issue a foster family
26license to a quality of care concerns applicant if the

 

 

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1Department is satisfied that the foster family home does not
2pose a risk to children and that the foster family will be able
3to meet the physical and emotional needs of children. In
4making this determination, the Department must obtain and
5carefully review all relevant documents and shall obtain
6consultation from its Clinical Division as appropriate and as
7prescribed by Department rule and procedure. The Department
8has the authority to deny a preliminary application based on
9the record of quality of care concerns of the foster family
10home. In the alternative, the Department may (i) approve the
11preliminary application, (ii) approve the preliminary
12application subject to obtaining additional information or
13assessments, or (iii) approve the preliminary application for
14purposes of placing a particular child or children only in the
15foster family home. If the Department approves a preliminary
16application, the foster family shall submit an application for
17licensure as described in subsection (b) of this Section. The
18Department shall notify the quality of care concerns applicant
19of its decision and the basis for its decision in writing.
20    (c) The Department shall notify the public when a child
21care institution, maternity center, or group home licensed by
22the Department undergoes a change in (i) the range of care or
23services offered at the facility or , (ii) the age or type of
24children served, or (iii) the area within the facility used by
25children. The Department shall notify the public of the change
26in a newspaper of general circulation in the county or

 

 

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1municipality in which the applicant's facility is or is
2proposed to be located.
3    (d) If, upon examination of the facility and investigation
4of persons responsible for care of children and, in the case of
5a foster home, taking into account information obtained for
6purposes of evaluating a preliminary application, if
7applicable, the Department is satisfied that the facility and
8responsible persons reasonably meet standards prescribed for
9the type of facility for which application is made, it shall
10issue a license in proper form, designating on that license
11the type of child care facility and, except for a child welfare
12agency, the number of children to be served at any one time.
13    (e) The Department shall not issue or renew the license of
14any child welfare agency providing adoption services, unless
15the agency (i) is officially recognized by the United States
16Internal Revenue Service as a tax-exempt organization
17described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of
181986 (or any successor provision of federal tax law) and (ii)
19is in compliance with all of the standards necessary to
20maintain its status as an organization described in Section
21501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (or any
22successor provision of federal tax law). The Department shall
23grant a grace period of 24 months from the effective date of
24this amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly for existing
25child welfare agencies providing adoption services to obtain
26501(c)(3) status. The Department shall permit an existing

 

 

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1child welfare agency that converts from its current structure
2in order to be recognized as a 501(c)(3) organization as
3required by this Section to either retain its current license
4or transfer its current license to a newly formed entity, if
5the creation of a new entity is required in order to comply
6with this Section, provided that the child welfare agency
7demonstrates that it continues to meet all other licensing
8requirements and that the principal officers and directors and
9programs of the converted child welfare agency or newly
10organized child welfare agency are substantially the same as
11the original. The Department shall have the sole discretion to
12grant a one year extension to any agency unable to obtain
13501(c)(3) status within the timeframe specified in this
14subsection (e), provided that such agency has filed an
15application for 501(c)(3) status with the Internal Revenue
16Service within the 2-year timeframe specified in this
17subsection (e).
18(Source: P.A. 101-63, eff. 7-12-19; 102-763, eff. 1-1-23.)