Full Text of SJR0058 93rd General Assembly
SJ0058 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, Termination of parental rights and subsequent | 3 |
| adoption of minor children fails to recognize the importance to | 4 |
| children of maintaining ties to siblings and is a severing of | 5 |
| all sibling contact; and
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| WHEREAS, There are over 500,000 children in foster care in | 7 |
| the United States, 55% to 69% have siblings, 30% have 4 or more | 8 |
| siblings; and
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| WHEREAS, Only 26 states address the sibling relationship in | 10 |
| legislation; 61% of children with siblings are placed with at | 11 |
| least one sibling; this is good news; and
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| WHEREAS, Only 38% of children with siblings are placed with | 13 |
| all of their siblings; current estimates indicate that 75% of | 14 |
| sibling groups end up living apart after they enter foster | 15 |
| care; and
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| WHEREAS, The policy of the State of Illinois mandates that | 17 |
| contact be maintained between siblings pre-termination while | 18 |
| they are in foster care or youth in care and provides for | 19 |
| possible contact post majority via the Illinois Adoption | 20 |
| Registry and Medical Information Exchange; and
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| WHEREAS, The General Assembly recognizes that generally it | 22 |
| is in the best interests of children to maintain continuing | 23 |
| contact after termination of parental rights; and
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| WHEREAS, The General Assembly recognizes efforts to | 25 |
| maintain sibling bonds will diminish the negative impact | 26 |
| termination of parental rights has on sibling relationships; | 27 |
| and
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| WHEREAS, The General Assembly recognizes the challenges in |
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| providing continuing contact among siblings once parental | 2 |
| rights have been terminated; and
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| WHEREAS, The General Assembly recognizes that the | 4 |
| importance of maintaining continuing contact among siblings | 5 |
| warrants further study and consideration to develop policies | 6 |
| and programs which best address the needs of children affected | 7 |
| by the severing of sibling ties; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-THIRD GENERAL | 9 |
| ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES | 10 |
| CONCURRING HEREIN, that within 90 days after the adoption of | 11 |
| this joint resolution, there shall be created a Sibling | 12 |
| Post-Adoption Continuing Contact Governor's Joint Task Force | 13 |
| to study and make recommendations regarding post-termination | 14 |
| sibling contact; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That the Governor's Joint Task Force shall | 16 |
| consist of 20 members appointed as follows: four legislative | 17 |
| members, one each appointed by the President of the Senate, the | 18 |
| Minority Leader of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of | 19 |
| Representatives, and the Minority Leader of the House of | 20 |
| Representatives; 15 members appointed by the Governor as | 21 |
| follows: one member from each of the Department of Children and | 22 |
| Family Services' six Regional Youth Advisory Boards; one | 23 |
| Statewide Youth Advisory Board alumnus; three members from the | 24 |
| Adoption Advisory Council; three members from the Statewide | 25 |
| Foster Care Council; and two Youth Advisory Board Coordinators; | 26 |
| and the Director of Children and Family Services or his or her | 27 |
| designee; all of whom shall serve without compensation; and be | 28 |
| it further
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| RESOLVED, That the President of the Senate and the Speaker | 30 |
| of the House of Representatives shall each designate one member | 31 |
| to serve as co-chairs of the Joint Task Force; and that the | 32 |
| Task Force shall meet as often as necessary to accomplish its |
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| objectives, but at least four times; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That the Joint Task Force shall examine issues | 3 |
| including, but not limited to: (1) establishing policies and | 4 |
| programs regarding post-adoption contact that serve the best | 5 |
| interests of children and respect the rights of adoptive | 6 |
| parents, (2) determining the appropriate forum for hearing | 7 |
| disputes in individual cases, and (3) to study and make | 8 |
| recommendations to the General Assembly regarding continuing | 9 |
| sibling contact post-adoption including, but not limited to, | 10 |
| visitation, contact via telephone, and contact via mail | 11 |
| including e-mail; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That the Joint Task Force shall hold public | 13 |
| hearings on the subject of post-adoption contact; and be it | 14 |
| further
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| RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall make recommendations | 16 |
| regarding rights of children to maintain continuing contact | 17 |
| with siblings post-termination of parental rights and | 18 |
| post-adoption and shall deliver to the General Assembly and the | 19 |
| Governor a final report with its recommendations within one | 20 |
| year of the effective date of the creation of the Joint Task | 21 |
| Force.
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