Full Text of HB4252 95th General Assembly
HB4252 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2007 and 2008 HB4252
Introduced , by Rep. Dan Brady SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
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Amends the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act. Provides that if an employee of a school district has made a report or caused a report to be made to the Department of Children and Family Services under the Act involving the conduct of a current or former employee of the school district and a request is made by another school district for the provision of information concerning the job performance or qualifications of the current or former employee because he or she is an applicant for employment, the general superintendent of the school district to which the request is being made must disclose to the requesting school district the fact that an employee of the school district has made a report involving the conduct of the applicant or caused a report to be made to the Department, as required under the Act. Provides that only the fact that an employee of the school district has made a report involving the conduct of the applicant or caused a report to be made to the Department may be disclosed and that this fact may be disclosed only in cases where the school employee and the general superintendent have not been informed by the Department that the allegations were unfounded. Provides that an employee of a school district who is or has been the subject of a report during his or her employment with the school district must be informed by that school district that if he or she applies for employment with another school district, the general superintendent of the former school district, upon the request of the school district to which the employee applies, shall notify that requesting school district that the employee is or was the subject of such a report. Makes a related change concerning immunity. Effective immediately.
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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY | |
STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT |
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A BILL FOR
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HB4252 |
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LRB095 14406 RAS 40309 b |
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| AN ACT concerning children.
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| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| represented in the General Assembly:
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| Section 5. The Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act is | 5 |
| amended by changing Sections 4, 7.4, and 9 as follows:
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| (325 ILCS 5/4) (from Ch. 23, par. 2054)
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| Sec. 4. Persons required to report; privileged | 8 |
| communications;
transmitting false report. Any physician, | 9 |
| resident, intern, hospital,
hospital administrator
and | 10 |
| personnel engaged in examination, care and treatment of | 11 |
| persons, surgeon,
dentist, dentist hygienist, osteopath, | 12 |
| chiropractor, podiatrist, physician
assistant, substance abuse | 13 |
| treatment personnel, funeral home
director or employee, | 14 |
| coroner, medical examiner, emergency medical technician,
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| acupuncturist, crisis line or hotline personnel, school | 16 |
| personnel (including administrators and both certified and | 17 |
| non-certified school employees), educational
advocate assigned | 18 |
| to a child pursuant to the School Code, member of a school | 19 |
| board or the Chicago Board of Education or the governing body | 20 |
| of a private school (but only to the extent required in | 21 |
| accordance with other provisions of this Section expressly | 22 |
| concerning the duty of school board members to report suspected | 23 |
| child abuse), truant officers,
social worker, social services |
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| administrator,
domestic violence program personnel, registered | 2 |
| nurse, licensed
practical nurse, genetic counselor,
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| respiratory care practitioner, advanced practice nurse, home
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| health aide, director or staff
assistant of a nursery school or | 5 |
| a child day care center, recreational program
or facility | 6 |
| personnel, law enforcement officer, licensed professional
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| counselor, licensed clinical professional counselor, | 8 |
| registered psychologist
and
assistants working under the | 9 |
| direct supervision of a psychologist,
psychiatrist, or field | 10 |
| personnel of the Department of Healthcare and Family Services,
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| Juvenile Justice, Public Health, Human Services (acting as | 12 |
| successor to the Department of Mental
Health and Developmental | 13 |
| Disabilities, Rehabilitation Services, or Public Aid),
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| Corrections, Human Rights, or Children and Family Services, | 15 |
| supervisor and
administrator of general assistance under the | 16 |
| Illinois Public Aid Code,
probation officer, or any other | 17 |
| foster parent, homemaker or child care worker
having reasonable | 18 |
| cause to believe a child known to them in their professional
or | 19 |
| official capacity may be an abused child or a neglected child | 20 |
| shall
immediately report or cause a report to be made to the | 21 |
| Department.
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| Any member of the clergy having reasonable cause to believe | 23 |
| that a child
known to that member of the clergy in his or her | 24 |
| professional capacity may be
an abused child as defined in item | 25 |
| (c) of the definition of "abused child" in
Section 3 of this | 26 |
| Act shall immediately report or cause a report to be made to
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| the Department.
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| If an allegation is raised to a school board member during | 3 |
| the course of an open or closed school board meeting that a | 4 |
| child who is enrolled in the school district of which he or she | 5 |
| is a board member is an abused child as defined in Section 3 of | 6 |
| this Act, the member shall direct or cause the school board to | 7 |
| direct the superintendent of the school district or other | 8 |
| equivalent school administrator to comply with the | 9 |
| requirements of this Act concerning the reporting of child | 10 |
| abuse. For purposes of this paragraph, a school board member is | 11 |
| granted the authority in his or her individual capacity to | 12 |
| direct the superintendent of the school district or other | 13 |
| equivalent school administrator to comply with the | 14 |
| requirements of this Act concerning the reporting of child | 15 |
| abuse.
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| Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, if an | 17 |
| employee of a school district has made a report or caused a | 18 |
| report to be made to the Department under this Act involving | 19 |
| the conduct of a current or former employee of the school | 20 |
| district and a request is made by another school district for | 21 |
| the provision of information concerning the job performance or | 22 |
| qualifications of the current or former employee because he or | 23 |
| she is an applicant for employment with the requesting school | 24 |
| district, the general superintendent of the school district to | 25 |
| which the request is being made must disclose to the requesting | 26 |
| school district the fact that an employee of the school |
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| district has made a report involving the conduct of the | 2 |
| applicant or caused a report to be made to the Department, as | 3 |
| required under this Act. Only the fact that an employee of the | 4 |
| school district has made a report involving the conduct of the | 5 |
| applicant or caused a report to be made to the Department may | 6 |
| be disclosed by the general superintendent of the school | 7 |
| district to which the request for information concerning the | 8 |
| applicant is made, and this fact may be disclosed only in cases | 9 |
| where the employee and the general superintendent have not been | 10 |
| informed by the Department that the allegations were unfounded. | 11 |
| An employee of a school district who is or has been the subject | 12 |
| of a report made pursuant to this Act during his or her | 13 |
| employment with the school district must be informed by that | 14 |
| school district that if he or she applies for employment with | 15 |
| another school district, the general superintendent of the | 16 |
| former school district, upon the request of the school district | 17 |
| to which the employee applies, shall notify that requesting | 18 |
| school district that the employee is or was the subject of such | 19 |
| a report.
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| Whenever
such person is required to report under this Act | 21 |
| in his capacity as a member of
the staff of a medical or other | 22 |
| public or private institution, school, facility
or agency, or | 23 |
| as a member of the clergy, he shall
make report immediately to | 24 |
| the Department in accordance
with the provisions of this Act | 25 |
| and may also notify the person in charge of
such institution, | 26 |
| school, facility or agency, or church, synagogue, temple,
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| mosque, or other religious institution, or his
designated agent | 2 |
| that such
report has been made. Under no circumstances shall | 3 |
| any person in charge of
such institution, school, facility or | 4 |
| agency, or church, synagogue, temple,
mosque, or other | 5 |
| religious institution, or his
designated agent to whom
such | 6 |
| notification has been made, exercise any control, restraint, | 7 |
| modification
or other change in the report or the forwarding of | 8 |
| such report to the
Department.
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| The privileged quality of communication between any | 10 |
| professional
person required to report
and his patient or | 11 |
| client shall not apply to situations involving abused or
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| neglected children and shall not constitute grounds for failure | 13 |
| to report
as required by this Act.
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| A member of the clergy may claim the privilege under | 15 |
| Section 8-803 of the
Code of Civil Procedure.
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| In addition to the above persons required to
report | 17 |
| suspected cases of abused or neglected children, any other | 18 |
| person
may make a report if such person has reasonable cause to | 19 |
| believe a child
may be an abused child or a neglected child.
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| Any person who enters into
employment on and after July 1, | 21 |
| 1986 and is mandated by virtue of that
employment to report | 22 |
| under this Act, shall sign a statement on a form
prescribed by | 23 |
| the Department, to the effect that the employee has knowledge
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| and understanding of the reporting requirements of this Act. | 25 |
| The statement
shall be signed prior to commencement of the | 26 |
| employment. The signed
statement shall be retained by the |
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| employer. The cost of printing,
distribution, and filing of the | 2 |
| statement shall be borne by the employer.
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| The Department shall provide copies of this Act, upon | 4 |
| request, to all
employers employing persons who shall be | 5 |
| required under the provisions of
this Section to report under | 6 |
| this Act.
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| Any person who knowingly transmits a false report to the | 8 |
| Department
commits the offense of disorderly conduct under | 9 |
| subsection (a)(7) of
Section 26-1 of the "Criminal Code of | 10 |
| 1961". Any person who violates this
provision a second or | 11 |
| subsequent time shall be guilty of a Class 3
felony.
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| Any person who knowingly and willfully violates any | 13 |
| provision of this
Section other than a second or subsequent | 14 |
| violation of transmitting a
false report as described in the
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| preceding paragraph, is guilty of a
Class A misdemeanor for
a | 16 |
| first violation and a Class
4 felony for a
second or subsequent | 17 |
| violation; except that if the person acted as part
of a plan or | 18 |
| scheme having as its object the
prevention of discovery of an | 19 |
| abused or neglected child by lawful authorities
for the
purpose | 20 |
| of protecting or insulating any person or entity from arrest or
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| prosecution, the
person is guilty of a Class 4 felony for a | 22 |
| first offense and a Class 3 felony
for a second or
subsequent | 23 |
| offense (regardless of whether the second or subsequent offense
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| involves any
of the same facts or persons as the first or other | 25 |
| prior offense).
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| A child whose parent, guardian or custodian in good faith |
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| selects and depends
upon spiritual means through prayer alone | 2 |
| for the treatment or cure of
disease or remedial care may be | 3 |
| considered neglected or abused, but not for
the sole reason | 4 |
| that his parent, guardian or custodian accepts and
practices | 5 |
| such beliefs.
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| A child shall not be considered neglected or abused solely | 7 |
| because the
child is not attending school in accordance with | 8 |
| the requirements of
Article 26 of the School Code, as amended.
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| (Source: P.A. 94-888, eff. 6-20-06; 95-10, eff. 6-30-07; | 10 |
| 95-461, eff. 8-27-07; revised 11-15-07.)
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| (325 ILCS 5/7.4) (from Ch. 23, par. 2057.4)
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| Sec. 7.4. (a) The Department shall be capable of receiving | 13 |
| reports of
suspected child abuse or neglect 24 hours a day, 7 | 14 |
| days a week. Whenever
the Department receives a report alleging | 15 |
| that a child is a
truant as defined in Section 26-2a of The | 16 |
| School Code, as now or hereafter
amended, the Department shall | 17 |
| notify the superintendent of the school
district in which the | 18 |
| child resides and the appropriate superintendent of
the | 19 |
| educational service region. The notification to the | 20 |
| appropriate
officials by the Department shall not be considered | 21 |
| an allegation of abuse
or neglect under this Act.
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| (b) (1) The following procedures shall be followed in the | 23 |
| investigation
of all reports of suspected abuse or neglect | 24 |
| of a child, except as provided
in subsection (c) of this | 25 |
| Section.
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| (2) If it appears that the immediate safety or | 2 |
| well-being of a child is
endangered, that the family may | 3 |
| flee or the child disappear, or that the
facts otherwise so | 4 |
| warrant, the Child Protective Service Unit shall
commence | 5 |
| an investigation immediately, regardless of the time of day | 6 |
| or
night. In all other cases, investigation shall be | 7 |
| commenced within 24
hours of receipt of the report. Upon | 8 |
| receipt of a report, the Child
Protective Service Unit | 9 |
| shall make an initial investigation and an initial
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| determination whether the report is a good faith indication | 11 |
| of alleged
child abuse or neglect.
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| (3) If the Unit determines the report is a good faith
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| indication of alleged child abuse or neglect, then a formal | 14 |
| investigation
shall commence and, pursuant to Section 7.12 | 15 |
| of this Act, may or may not
result in an indicated report. | 16 |
| The formal investigation shall include:
direct contact | 17 |
| with the subject or subjects of the report as soon as
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| possible after the report is received; an
evaluation of the | 19 |
| environment of the child named in the report and any other
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| children in the same environment; a determination of the | 21 |
| risk to such
children if they continue to remain in the | 22 |
| existing environments, as well
as a determination of the | 23 |
| nature, extent and cause of any condition
enumerated in | 24 |
| such report; the name, age and condition of other children | 25 |
| in
the environment; and an evaluation as to whether there | 26 |
| would be an
immediate and urgent necessity to remove the |
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| child from the environment if
appropriate family | 2 |
| preservation services were provided. After seeing to
the | 3 |
| safety of the child or children, the Department shall
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| forthwith notify the subjects of the report in writing, of | 5 |
| the existence
of the report and their rights existing under | 6 |
| this Act in regard to amendment
or expungement. To fulfill | 7 |
| the requirements of this Section, the Child
Protective | 8 |
| Service Unit shall have the capability of providing or | 9 |
| arranging
for comprehensive emergency services to children | 10 |
| and families at all times
of the day or night.
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| (4) If (i) at the conclusion of the Unit's initial | 12 |
| investigation of a
report, the Unit determines the report | 13 |
| to be a good faith indication of
alleged child abuse or | 14 |
| neglect that warrants a formal investigation by
the Unit, | 15 |
| the Department, any law enforcement agency or any other
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| responsible agency and (ii) the person who is alleged to | 17 |
| have caused the
abuse or neglect is employed or otherwise | 18 |
| engaged in an activity resulting
in frequent contact with | 19 |
| children and the alleged abuse or neglect are in
the course | 20 |
| of such employment or activity, then the Department shall,
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| except in investigations where the Director determines | 22 |
| that such
notification would be detrimental to the | 23 |
| Department's investigation, inform
the appropriate | 24 |
| supervisor or administrator of that employment or activity
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| that the Unit has commenced a formal investigation pursuant | 26 |
| to this Act,
which may or may not result in an indicated |
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| report. The Department shall also
notify the person being | 2 |
| investigated, unless the Director determines that
such | 3 |
| notification would be detrimental to the Department's | 4 |
| investigation.
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| (c) In an investigation of a report of suspected abuse or | 6 |
| neglect of
a child by a school employee at a school or on | 7 |
| school grounds, the
Department shall make reasonable efforts to | 8 |
| follow the following procedures:
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| (1) Investigations involving teachers shall not, to | 10 |
| the extent possible,
be conducted when the teacher is | 11 |
| scheduled to conduct classes.
Investigations involving | 12 |
| other school employees shall be conducted so as to
minimize | 13 |
| disruption of the school day. The school employee accused | 14 |
| of
child abuse or neglect may have his superior, his | 15 |
| association or union
representative and his attorney | 16 |
| present at any interview or meeting at
which the teacher or | 17 |
| administrator is present. The accused school employee
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| shall be informed by a representative of the Department, at | 19 |
| any
interview or meeting, of the accused school employee's | 20 |
| due process rights
and of the steps in the investigation | 21 |
| process.
The information shall include, but need not | 22 |
| necessarily be limited to the
right, subject to the | 23 |
| approval of the Department, of the school employee to
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| confront the accuser, if the accuser is 14 years of age or | 25 |
| older, or the
right to review the specific allegations | 26 |
| which gave rise to the
investigation, and the right to |
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| review all materials and evidence that have
been submitted | 2 |
| to the Department in support of the allegation. These due
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| process rights shall also include the right of the school | 4 |
| employee to
present countervailing evidence regarding the | 5 |
| accusations.
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| (2) If a report of neglect or abuse of a child by a | 7 |
| teacher or
administrator does not involve allegations of | 8 |
| sexual abuse or extreme
physical abuse, the Child | 9 |
| Protective Service Unit shall make reasonable
efforts to | 10 |
| conduct the initial investigation in coordination with the
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| employee's supervisor.
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| If the Unit determines that the report is a good faith | 13 |
| indication of
potential child abuse or neglect, it shall | 14 |
| then commence a formal
investigation under paragraph (3) of | 15 |
| subsection (b) of this Section.
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| (3) If a report of neglect or abuse of a child by a | 17 |
| teacher or
administrator involves an allegation of sexual | 18 |
| abuse or extreme physical
abuse, the Child Protective Unit | 19 |
| shall commence an investigation under
paragraph (2) of | 20 |
| subsection (b) of this Section.
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| (c-5) In any instance in which a report is made or caused | 22 |
| to made by a school district employee involving the conduct of | 23 |
| a person employed by the school district, at the time the | 24 |
| report was made, as required under Section 4 of this Act, the | 25 |
| Child Protective Service Unit shall send a copy of its final | 26 |
| finding report to the general superintendent of that school |
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| district.
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| (d) If the Department has contact with an employer, or with | 3 |
| a religious
institution or religious official having | 4 |
| supervisory or hierarchical authority
over a member of the | 5 |
| clergy accused of the abuse of a child,
in the course of its
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| investigation, the Department shall notify the employer or the | 7 |
| religious
institution or religious official, in writing, when a
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| report is unfounded so that any record of the investigation can | 9 |
| be expunged
from the employee's or member of the clergy's | 10 |
| personnel or other
records. The Department shall also notify
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| the employee or the member of the clergy, in writing, that | 12 |
| notification
has been sent to the employer or to the | 13 |
| appropriate religious institution or
religious official
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| informing the employer or religious institution or religious | 15 |
| official that
the
Department's investigation has resulted in
an | 16 |
| unfounded report.
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| (e) Upon request by the Department, the
Department of State | 18 |
| Police and law enforcement agencies are
authorized to provide | 19 |
| criminal history record information
as defined in the Illinois | 20 |
| Uniform Conviction Information Act and information
maintained | 21 |
| in
the adjudicatory and dispositional record system as defined | 22 |
| in Section
2605-355 of the Department of State Police Law (20 | 23 |
| ILCS
2605/2605-355) to properly
designated
employees of the
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| Department of Children
and Family Services if the Department | 25 |
| determines the information is
necessary to perform its duties | 26 |
| under the Abused and
Neglected Child Reporting Act, the Child |
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| Care Act of 1969, and the Children and
Family Services Act. The
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| request shall be in the form and manner required
by
the | 3 |
| Department of State Police. Any information obtained by the | 4 |
| Department of
Children
and Family Services under this Section | 5 |
| is
confidential and may not be transmitted outside the | 6 |
| Department of Children
and Family Services other than to a | 7 |
| court of competent jurisdiction or unless
otherwise authorized | 8 |
| by law.
Any employee of the Department of Children and Family | 9 |
| Services who transmits
confidential information in
violation | 10 |
| of this
Section or causes the information to be
transmitted in | 11 |
| violation of this Section is guilty of a Class A
misdemeanor | 12 |
| unless the transmittal of
the
information is
authorized by this | 13 |
| Section or otherwise authorized by law.
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| (Source: P.A. 91-239, eff. 1-1-00; 92-801, eff. 8-16-02.)
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| (325 ILCS 5/9) (from Ch. 23, par. 2059)
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| Sec. 9. Any person, institution or agency, under this Act, | 17 |
| participating
in good faith in the making of a report or | 18 |
| referral, or in the investigation of
such a report or referral | 19 |
| or in the taking of photographs and x-rays
or in the retaining | 20 |
| a child in temporary protective custody or in making a
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| disclosure of information concerning reports of child abuse and | 22 |
| neglect in
compliance with Sections 4.2 and 11.1 of this Act or | 23 |
| Section 4 of this Act, as it relates to disclosure by school | 24 |
| personnel and except in cases of wilful or wanton misconduct,
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| shall have immunity
from any liability, civil,
criminal or that |
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| otherwise might result by reason of such actions. For
the | 2 |
| purpose of any proceedings,
civil or criminal, the good faith | 3 |
| of any persons required to report or refer,
or permitted to | 4 |
| report,
cases of suspected child abuse or neglect or permitted | 5 |
| to refer
individuals under this Act or required to disclose | 6 |
| information concerning
reports of child abuse and neglect in | 7 |
| compliance with Sections 4.2 and 11.1
of this Act, shall be | 8 |
| presumed.
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| (Source: P.A. 90-15, eff. 6-13-97.)
| 10 |
| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 11 |
| becoming law.
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|
INDEX
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Statutes amended in order of appearance
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| 325 ILCS 5/4 |
from Ch. 23, par. 2054 |
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| 325 ILCS 5/7.4 |
from Ch. 23, par. 2057.4 |
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| 325 ILCS 5/9 |
from Ch. 23, par. 2059 |
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