Sen. Heather A. Steans

Filed: 4/21/2015

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 1670

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 1670 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4    "Section 5. The Abandoned Newborn Infant Protection Act is
5amended by changing Sections 10, 20, 35, 50, 60, and 65 as
6follows:
 
7    (325 ILCS 2/10)
8    Sec. 10. Definitions. In this Act:
9    "Abandon" has the same meaning as in the Abused and
10Neglected Child Reporting Act.
11    "Abused child" has the same meaning as in the Abused and
12Neglected Child Reporting Act.
13    "Child-placing agency" means a licensed public or private
14agency that receives a child for the purpose of placing or
15arranging for the placement of the child in a foster family
16home or other facility for child care, apart from the custody

 

 

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1of the child's parents.
2    "Department" or "DCFS" means the Illinois Department of
3Children and Family Services.
4    "Emergency medical facility" means a freestanding
5emergency center or trauma center, as defined in the Emergency
6Medical Services (EMS) Systems Act.
7    "Emergency medical professional" includes licensed
8physicians, and any emergency medical technician, emergency
9medical technician-intermediate, advanced emergency medical
10technician, paramedic, trauma nurse specialist, and
11pre-hospital registered nurse, as defined in the Emergency
12Medical Services (EMS) Systems Act.
13    "Fire station" means a fire station within the State with
14at least one staff person.
15    "Foundling record" means the record required for infants of
16unknown parentage in Section 13 of the Vital Records Act.
17    "Hospital" has the same meaning as in the Hospital
18Licensing Act.
19    "Hospital birth" means any birth that occurs in a hospital
20or emergency medical facility.
21    "Legal custody" means the relationship created by a court
22order in the best interest of a newborn infant that imposes on
23the infant's custodian the responsibility of physical
24possession of the infant, the duty to protect, train, and
25discipline the infant, and the duty to provide the infant with
26food, shelter, education, and medical care, except as these are

 

 

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1limited by parental rights and responsibilities.
2    "Neglected child" has the same meaning as in the Abused and
3Neglected Child Reporting Act.
4    "Newborn infant" means a child who a licensed physician
5reasonably believes is 30 days old or less at the time the
6child is initially relinquished to a hospital, police station,
7fire station, or emergency medical facility, and who is not an
8abused or a neglected child.
9    "Police station" means a municipal police station, a county
10sheriff's office, a campus police department located on any
11college or university owned or controlled by the State or any
12private college or private university that is not owned or
13controlled by the State when employees of the campus police
14department are present, or any of the district headquarters of
15the Illinois State Police.
16    "Relinquish" means to bring a newborn infant, who a
17licensed physician reasonably believes is 30 days old or less,
18to a hospital, police station, fire station, or emergency
19medical facility and to leave the infant with personnel of the
20facility, if the person leaving the infant does not express an
21intent to return for the infant or states that he or she will
22not return for the infant. In the case of a mother who gives
23birth to an infant in a hospital, the mother's act of leaving
24that newborn infant at the hospital (i) without expressing an
25intent to return for the infant or (ii) stating that she will
26not return for the infant is not a "relinquishment" under this

 

 

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1Act.
2    "Temporary protective custody" means the temporary
3placement of a newborn infant within a hospital or other
4medical facility out of the custody of the infant's parent.
5(Source: P.A. 97-293, eff. 8-11-11; 98-973, eff. 8-15-14.)
 
6    (325 ILCS 2/20)
7    Sec. 20. Procedures with respect to relinquished newborn
8infants.
9    (a) Hospitals. Every hospital must accept and provide all
10necessary emergency services and care to a relinquished newborn
11infant, in accordance with this Act. The hospital shall examine
12a relinquished newborn infant and perform tests that, based on
13reasonable medical judgment, are appropriate in evaluating
14whether the relinquished newborn infant was abused or
15neglected.
16    The act of relinquishing a newborn infant serves as implied
17consent for the hospital and its medical personnel and
18physicians on staff to treat and provide care for the infant.
19    The hospital shall be deemed to have temporary protective
20custody of a relinquished newborn infant brought to a hospital
21by a relinquishing person or who has been brought to a hospital
22after relinquishment at a fire station, police station, or
23emergency medical facility. The hospital shall have such
24protective custody until the infant is discharged to the
25custody of a child-placing agency or the Department. During

 

 

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1this time of temporary protective custody of the infant, the
2hospital shall complete a foundling record with respect to the
3infant pursuant to Section 13 of the Vital Records Act.
4    (b) Fire stations, police stations, and emergency medical
5facilities. Every fire station, police station, and emergency
6medical facility must accept and provide all necessary
7emergency services and care to a relinquished newborn infant,
8in accordance with this Act.
9    The act of relinquishing a newborn infant serves as implied
10consent for the fire station, police station, or emergency
11medical facility and its emergency medical professionals to
12treat and provide care for the infant, to the extent that those
13emergency medical professionals are trained to provide those
14services.
15    After the relinquishment of a newborn infant to a fire
16station, police station, or emergency medical facility, the
17fire station, police station, or emergency medical facility's
18personnel must arrange for the transportation of the infant to
19the nearest hospital as soon as transportation can be arranged.
20    If the parent of a newborn infant returns to reclaim the
21child within 72 hours after relinquishing the child to a fire
22station or emergency medical facility, the fire station or
23emergency medical facility must inform the parent of the name
24and location of the hospital to which the infant was
25transported.
26    (c) If a parent of a newborn infant or any other person

 

 

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1returns to reclaim the infant after relinquishing the infant to
2a hospital, fire station, police station, or emergency medical
3facility, the hospital, fire station, police station, or
4emergency medical facility shall inform the parent or other
5person that he or she must contact the Department and shall
6provide the parent or other person with the toll-free telephone
7number established by the Department for the sole purpose of
8receiving calls made pursuant to this Section and for providing
9the parent or person relinquishing the infant with the name of
10the hospital or licensed child-placing agency to which the
11infant has been taken. The Department shall adopt rules
12necessary to create this dedicated toll-free telephone number
13within 120 days of the effective date of this amendatory Act of
14the 99th General Assembly. The rules shall require that any
15call placed to the toll-free telephone number shall be returned
16within one hour from the time the call was placed. Police
17stations. Every police station must accept a relinquished
18newborn infant, in accordance with this Act. After the
19relinquishment of a newborn infant to a police station, the
20police station must arrange for the transportation of the
21infant to the nearest hospital as soon as transportation can be
22arranged. The act of relinquishing a newborn infant serves as
23implied consent for the hospital to which the infant is
24transported and that hospital's medical personnel and
25physicians on staff to treat and provide care for the infant.
26    If the parent of a newborn infant returns to reclaim the

 

 

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1infant within 72 hours after relinquishing the infant to a
2police station, the police station must inform the parent of
3the name and location of the hospital to which the infant was
4transported.
5(Source: P.A. 92-408, eff. 8-17-01; 92-432, eff. 8-17-01;
693-820, eff. 7-27-04.)
 
7    (325 ILCS 2/35)
8    Sec. 35. Information for relinquishing person.
9    (a) A hospital, police station, fire station, or emergency
10medical facility that receives a newborn infant relinquished in
11accordance with this Act must offer an information packet to
12the relinquishing person and, if possible, must clearly inform
13the relinquishing person that his or her acceptance of the
14information is completely voluntary. The information packet
15must include all of the following:
16        (1) (Blank).
17        (2) Written notice of the following:
18            (A) No sooner than 30 days following the date of No
19        sooner than 60 days following the date of the initial
20        relinquishment of the infant to a hospital, police
21        station, fire station, or emergency medical facility,
22        the child-placing agency or the Department will
23        commence proceedings for the termination of parental
24        rights and placement of the infant for adoption.
25            (B) Failure of a parent of the infant to contact

 

 

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1        the Department and petition for the return of custody
2        of the infant before termination of parental rights
3        bars any future action asserting legal rights with
4        respect to the infant.
5        (3) A resource list of providers of counseling services
6    including grief counseling, pregnancy counseling, and
7    counseling regarding adoption and other available options
8    for placement of the infant.
9    Upon request of a parent, the Department of Public Health
10shall provide the application forms for the Illinois Adoption
11Registry and Medical Information Exchange.
12    (b) The information packet given to a relinquishing parent
13in accordance with this Act shall include, in addition to other
14information required under this Act, the following:
15        (1) A brochure (with a self-mailer attached) that
16    describes this Act and the rights of birth parents,
17    including an optional section for the parent to complete
18    and mail to the Department of Children and Family Services,
19    that shall ask for basic anonymous background information
20    about the relinquished child. This brochure shall be
21    maintained by the Department on its website.
22        (2) A brochure that describes the Illinois Adoption
23    Registry, including a toll-free number and website
24    information. This brochure shall be maintained on the
25    Office of Vital Records website.
26        (3) A brochure describing postpartum health

 

 

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1    information for the mother.
2    The information packet shall be designed in coordination
3between the Office of Vital Records and the Department of
4Children and Family Services, with the exception of the
5resource list of providers of counseling services and adoption
6agencies, which shall be provided by the hospital, fire
7station, police station, sheriff's office, or emergency
8medical facility.
9(Source: P.A. 96-1114, eff. 7-20-10; 97-333, eff. 8-12-11.)
 
10    (325 ILCS 2/50)
11    Sec. 50. Child-placing agency procedures.
12    (a) The Department's State Central Registry must maintain a
13list of licensed child-placing agencies willing to take legal
14custody of newborn infants relinquished in accordance with this
15Act. The child-placing agencies on the list must be contacted
16by the Department on a rotating basis upon notice from a
17hospital that a newborn infant has been relinquished in
18accordance with this Act.
19    (b) Upon notice from the Department that a newborn infant
20has been relinquished in accordance with this Act, a
21child-placing agency must accept the newborn infant if the
22agency has the accommodations to do so. The child-placing
23agency must seek an order for legal custody of the infant upon
24its acceptance of the infant.
25    (c) Within 3 business days after assuming physical custody

 

 

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1of the infant, the child-placing agency shall file a petition
2in the division of the circuit court in which petitions for
3adoption would normally be heard. The petition shall allege
4that the newborn infant has been relinquished in accordance
5with this Act and shall state that the child-placing agency
6intends to place the infant in an adoptive home.
7    (d) If no licensed child-placing agency is able to accept
8the relinquished newborn infant, then the Department must
9assume responsibility for the infant as soon as practicable.
10    (e) A custody order issued under subsection (b) shall
11remain in effect until a final adoption order based on the
12relinquished newborn infant's best interests is issued in
13accordance with this Act and the Adoption Act.
14    (f) When possible, the child-placing agency must place a
15relinquished newborn infant in a prospective adoptive home.
16    (g) The Department or child-placing agency must initiate
17proceedings to (i) terminate the parental rights of the
18relinquished newborn infant's known or unknown parents, (ii)
19appoint a guardian for the infant, and (iii) obtain consent to
20the infant's adoption in accordance with this Act no sooner
21than 30 days no sooner than 60 days following the date of the
22initial relinquishment of the infant to the hospital, police
23station, fire station, or emergency medical facility.
24    (g-5) No court order terminating the parental rights of the
25relinquished newborn infant's known or unknown parents shall be
26entered sooner than 60 days after the date of the initial

 

 

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1relinquishment of the infant to the hospital, fire station,
2police station, or emergency medical facility.
3    (h) Before filing a petition for termination of parental
4rights, the Department or child-placing agency must do the
5following:
6        (1) Search its Putative Father Registry for the purpose
7    of determining the identity and location of the putative
8    father of the relinquished newborn infant who is, or is
9    expected to be, the subject of an adoption proceeding, in
10    order to provide notice of the proceeding to the putative
11    father. At least one search of the Registry must be
12    conducted, at least 30 days after the relinquished newborn
13    infant's estimated date of birth; earlier searches may be
14    conducted, however. Notice to any potential putative
15    father discovered in a search of the Registry according to
16    the estimated age of the relinquished newborn infant must
17    be in accordance with Section 12a of the Adoption Act.
18        (2) Verify with law enforcement officials, using the
19    National Crime Information Center, that the relinquished
20    newborn infant is not a missing child.
21(Source: P.A. 92-408, eff. 8-17-01; 92-432, eff. 8-17-01;
2293-820, eff. 7-27-04.)
 
23    (325 ILCS 2/60)
24    Sec. 60. Department's duties. The Department must
25implement a public information program to promote safe

 

 

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1placement alternatives for newborn infants. The public
2information program must inform the public of the following:
3        (1) The relinquishment alternative provided for in
4    this Act, which results in the adoption of a newborn infant
5    under 30 7 days of age and which provides for the parent's
6    anonymity, if the parent so chooses.
7        (2) The alternative of adoption through a public or
8    private agency, in which the parent's identity may or may
9    not be known to the agency, but is kept anonymous from the
10    adoptive parents, if the birth parent so desires, and which
11    allows the parent to be actively involved in the child's
12    adoption plan.
13    The public information program may include, but need not be
14limited to, the following elements:
15        (i) Educational and informational materials in print,
16    audio, video, electronic or other media.
17        (ii) Establishment of a web site.
18        (iii) Public service announcements and advertisements.
19        (iv) Establishment of toll-free telephone hotlines to
20    provide information.
21(Source: P.A. 94-941, eff. 6-26-06.)
 
22    (325 ILCS 2/65)
23    Sec. 65. Evaluation.
24    (a) The Department shall collect and analyze information
25regarding the relinquishment of newborn infants and placement

 

 

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1of children under this Act. Police stations, fire stations,
2emergency medical facilities, and medical professionals
3accepting and providing services to a newborn infant under this
4Act shall report to the Department data necessary for the
5Department to evaluate and determine the effect of this Act in
6the prevention of injury or death of newborn infants.
7Child-placing agencies shall report to the Department data
8necessary to evaluate and determine the effectiveness of these
9agencies in providing child protective and child welfare
10services to newborn infants relinquished under this Act.
11    (b) The information collected shall include, but need not
12be limited to: the number of newborn infants relinquished; the
13services provided to relinquished newborn infants; the outcome
14of care for the relinquished newborn infants; the number and
15disposition of cases of relinquished newborn infants subject to
16placement; the number of children accepted and served by each
17child-placing agency agencies; the name of each child-placing
18agency which provided services; the number of infants
19relinquished at each location, listed by location, including
20the number of infants relinquished at a hospital, fire station,
21police station, and emergency medical facility; and the
22services provided by child-placing agencies and the
23disposition of the cases of the children placed under this Act.
24    (c) The Department shall submit a report by January 1,
252002, and on January 1 of each year thereafter, to the Governor
26and General Assembly regarding the prevention of injury or

 

 

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1death of newborn infants and the effect of placements of
2children under this Act. The report shall include, but need not
3be limited to, a summary of collected data, an analysis of the
4data and conclusions regarding the Act's effectiveness, a
5determination whether the purposes of the Act are being
6achieved, and recommendations for changes that may be
7considered necessary to improve the administration and
8enforcement of this Act.
9(Source: P.A. 92-408, eff. 8-17-01; 92-432, eff. 8-17-01;
1093-820, eff. 7-27-04.)".