Full Text of HB5990 98th General Assembly
HB5990enr 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning local government.
| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 5. The Children's Advocacy Center Act is amended by | 5 | | changing Sections 2, 3, and 4 and by adding Section 2.5 as | 6 | | follows:
| 7 | | (55 ILCS 80/2) (from Ch. 23, par. 1802)
| 8 | | Sec. 2. Legislative findings. | 9 | | (a) The General Assembly finds that the creation
| 10 | | establishment of accredited Children's Advocacy Centers | 11 | | ("CACs") accredited throughout the State of
Illinois is | 12 | | essential to providing a formal, comprehensive, integrated, | 13 | | and multidisciplinary response to the investigation and | 14 | | disposition of reports of child maltreatment; by expediting and | 15 | | improving the validation or invalidation of such allegations | 16 | | for the benefit of children, their families and accused | 17 | | perpetrators; by requiring the use of collaborative decision | 18 | | making and case management, thereby reducing the number of | 19 | | times children are questioned and examined, thus preventing | 20 | | further trauma of children; by coordinating therapeutic | 21 | | intervention and services thereby providing safety and | 22 | | treatment for child victims and their families; by developing | 23 | | communication, case coordination, and information sharing |
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| 1 | | policies and protocols among allied professionals and agencies | 2 | | who play a role in child protection in a given jurisdiction; by | 3 | | collecting data to report to partner agencies, the community, | 4 | | and the General Assembly, and to use in continually improving | 5 | | collaborative multidisciplinary investigations; and, by | 6 | | maintaining the confidentiality of client records and records | 7 | | from partner agencies, to ensure the protection of the privacy | 8 | | of children, their families and accused perpetrators. A CAC | 9 | | organized and operating under this Act may accept, receive and | 10 | | disburse in furtherance of its duties and functions any funds, | 11 | | grants and services made available by the State of Illinois and | 12 | | its agencies, the federal government and its agencies, a unit | 13 | | of local government, or private or civic sources. To the extent | 14 | | permitted by applicable law, participating entities shall | 15 | | maintain the confidentiality of case-related information which | 16 | | includes, but is not limited to, case review discussions, case | 17 | | review notes, written reports and records, and verbal exchanges | 18 | | is desirable to coordinate the investigation, prosecution and
| 19 | | treatment referral of child sexual abuse .
| 20 | | Further, the General Assembly finds that the creation of an | 21 | | advisory
board is desirable to develop a coordinated protocol | 22 | | for the handling of
child sexual abuse cases among various | 23 | | agencies responsible for
investigation, prosecution and | 24 | | treatment referral and that such agencies
should be encouraged | 25 | | to adopt such a coordinated protocol.
| 26 | | (b) The General Assembly further finds that the most |
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| 1 | | precious resource in the State of Illinois is our children. The | 2 | | protection of children from physical abuse, sexual abuse and | 3 | | exploitation, and neglect, hereinafter "child maltreatment", | 4 | | is at the core of the duties and fundamental responsibilities | 5 | | of the General Assembly and provides the highest compelling | 6 | | interest to create and maintain a system to effectively respond | 7 | | to reports of child maltreatment and protect children from | 8 | | harm. | 9 | | (Source: P.A. 86-276.)
| 10 | | (55 ILCS 80/2.5 new) | 11 | | Sec. 2.5. Definitions. As used in this Section: | 12 | | "Accreditation" means the process in which certification | 13 | | of competency, authority, or credibility is presented by | 14 | | standards set by the National Children's Alliance to ensure | 15 | | effective, efficient and consistent delivery of services by a | 16 | | CAC. | 17 | | "Child maltreatment" includes any act or occurrence, as | 18 | | defined in Section 5 of the Criminal Code of 2012, under the | 19 | | Children and Family Services Act or the Juvenile Court Act | 20 | | involving either a child victim or child witness. | 21 | | "Children's Advocacy Center" or "CAC" is a child-focused, | 22 | | trauma-informed, facility-based program in which | 23 | | representatives from law enforcement, child protection, | 24 | | prosecution, mental health, forensic interviewing, medical, | 25 | | and victim advocacy disciplines collaborate to interview |
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| 1 | | children, meet with a child's parent or parents, caregivers, | 2 | | and family members, and make team decisions about the | 3 | | investigation, prosecution, safety, treatment, and support | 4 | | services for child maltreatment cases. | 5 | | "Children's Advocacy Centers of Illinois" or "CACI" is a | 6 | | state chapter of the National Children's Alliance ("NCA") and | 7 | | organizing entity for Children's Advocacy Centers in the State | 8 | | of Illinois. It defines membership and engages member CACs in | 9 | | the NCA accreditation process and collecting and sharing of | 10 | | data, and provides training, leadership, and technical | 11 | | assistance to existing and emerging CACs in the State. | 12 | | "Forensic interview" means an interview between a trained | 13 | | forensic interviewer, as defined by NCA standards, and a child | 14 | | in which the interviewer obtains information from children in | 15 | | an unbiased and fact finding manner that is developmentally | 16 | | appropriate and culturally sensitive to support accurate and | 17 | | fair decision making by the multidisciplinary team in the | 18 | | criminal justice and child protection systems. Whenever | 19 | | practical, all parties involved in investigating reports of | 20 | | child maltreatment shall observe the interview, which shall be | 21 | | digitally recorded. | 22 | | "Multidisciplinary team" or "MDT" means a group of | 23 | | professionals working collaboratively under a written | 24 | | protocol, who represent various disciplines from the point of a | 25 | | report of child maltreatment to assure the most effective | 26 | | coordinated response possible for every child. Employees from |
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| 1 | | each participating entity shall be included on the MDT. A CAC's | 2 | | MDT must include professionals involved in the coordination, | 3 | | investigation, and prosecution of child abuse cases, including | 4 | | the CAC's staff, participating law enforcement agencies, the | 5 | | county state's attorney, and the Illinois Department of | 6 | | Children and Family Services, and must include professionals | 7 | | involved in the delivery of services to victims of child | 8 | | maltreatment and non-offending parent or parents, caregiver, | 9 | | and their families. | 10 | | "National Children's Alliance" or "NCA" means the | 11 | | professional membership organization dedicated to helping | 12 | | local communities respond to allegations of child abuse in an | 13 | | effective and efficient manner. NCA provides training, | 14 | | support, technical assistance and leadership on a national | 15 | | level to state and local CACs and communities responding to | 16 | | reports of child maltreatment. NCA is the national organization | 17 | | that provides the standards for CAC accreditation. | 18 | | "Protocol" means a written methodology defining the | 19 | | responsibilities of each of the MDT members in the | 20 | | investigation and prosecution of child maltreatment within a | 21 | | defined jurisdiction. Written protocols are signed documents | 22 | | and are reviewed and/or updated annually, at a minimum, by a | 23 | | CAC's Advisory Board.
| 24 | | (55 ILCS 80/3) (from Ch. 23, par. 1803)
| 25 | | Sec. 3. Child Advocacy Advisory Board.
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| 1 | | (a) Each county or group of counties in the State of | 2 | | Illinois shall establish a Child Advocacy
Advisory Board | 3 | | ("Advisory Board").
| 4 | | Each of the following county officers or State agencies or | 5 | | allied professional entities shall designate a
representative | 6 | | to serve on the Advisory Board: law enforcement within the | 7 | | appropriate jurisdiction(s), the sheriff,
the Illinois | 8 | | Department of Children and Family Services,
the State's | 9 | | attorney, and the Children's Advocacy Center the county mental | 10 | | health department, and the Department of State Police .
| 11 | | The Advisory Board chairman may appoint additional members | 12 | | of the Advisory Board as is
deemed necessary to accomplish the | 13 | | purposes of this Act, the additional
members to include but not | 14 | | be limited to representatives of local law
enforcement | 15 | | agencies, allied professionals, and the Circuit Courts.
| 16 | | (b) The Advisory Board shall have the authority to organize | 17 | | itself and appoint, assign, or elect leaders. The Advisory | 18 | | Board shall determine the voting rights of multiple members | 19 | | from the same agency or entity. from among its
members a | 20 | | chairman and such other officers as are deemed necessary. Until | 21 | | a
chairman is so elected, the State's attorney shall serve as | 22 | | interim
chairman.
| 23 | | (c) The Advisory Board shall adopt, by a majority of the | 24 | | members, a
written operational protocol. The Advisory Board | 25 | | shall, prior to finalization, submit a draft to the Children's | 26 | | Advocacy Center of Illinois ("CACI") for review and comments to |
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| 1 | | ensure compliance with accreditation standards from NCA. After | 2 | | considering the comments of the CACI and upon finalization of | 3 | | its protocol, the Advisory Board shall file the protocol with | 4 | | the Department of Children and Family Services and the CACI. If | 5 | | requested, a copy shall be made available to the public by the | 6 | | local CAC. Each Advisory Board shall, on an annual basis, | 7 | | review and/or update the written protocol. Any changes made to | 8 | | the written protocol shall be approved by majority vote and, | 9 | | prior to finalization, a draft shall be submitted to the CACI | 10 | | for review and comments to ensure compliance with accreditation | 11 | | standards from NCA. After considering the comments of the CACI | 12 | | and upon finalization of its protocol, the Advisory Board shall | 13 | | file the protocol with the Department of Children and Family | 14 | | Services and the CACI child sexual abuse protocol within one | 15 | | year after the effective
date of this Act.
An Advisory Board | 16 | | adopting a protocol after the effective date of this
amendatory | 17 | | Act of 1996 shall, prior to finalization, submit its draft to | 18 | | the
Illinois Child Advocacy Commission for review and comments. | 19 | | After considering
the comments of the Illinois Child Advocacy | 20 | | Commission and upon finalization of
its protocol, the Advisory | 21 | | Board shall file the protocol with the Department of
Children | 22 | | and Family Services.
A copy shall be furnished
to the Illinois | 23 | | Child Advocacy Commission and to each agency in the county
or | 24 | | counties which has any involvement with the
cases of sexually | 25 | | abused children .
| 26 | | The Illinois Child Advocacy Commission shall consist of the |
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| 1 | | Attorney
General and the Directors of the Illinois State Police | 2 | | and the Department of
Children and Family Services or their | 3 | | designees. Additional members may be
appointed to the Illinois | 4 | | Child Advocacy Commission as deemed necessary by the
Attorney | 5 | | General and the Directors of the Illinois State Police and the
| 6 | | Department of Children and Family Services. The Illinois Child | 7 | | Advocacy
Commission may also provide technical assistance and | 8 | | guidance to the Advisory
Boards.
| 9 | | (d) The purpose of the protocol shall be to ensure | 10 | | coordination
and cooperation among all agencies involved in | 11 | | child maltreatment sexual abuse cases
so as to increase the | 12 | | efficiency and effectiveness of those agencies,
to minimize the | 13 | | trauma stress created for the child and his or her | 14 | | non-offending parents, caregivers, or family members by the
| 15 | | investigatory and judicial process, and to ensure that more | 16 | | effective
treatment is provided for the child and his or her | 17 | | non-offending parents, caregivers, or family members. Agencies | 18 | | that are members of the Advisory Board are encouraged to amend | 19 | | their internal operating protocol in a manner that further | 20 | | facilitates coordination and cooperation among all agencies .
| 21 | | (e) The protocol shall be a written document outlining in | 22 | | detail the
procedures to be used in investigating and | 23 | | responding to prosecuting cases arising from
alleged child | 24 | | maltreatment sexual abuse and in coordinating treatment | 25 | | referrals for the
child and his or her non-offending parents, | 26 | | caregivers, or family members . In preparing the written |
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| 1 | | protocol, the Advisory
Board shall ensure that the CAC includes | 2 | | all of the components listed in Section 4 of this Act. consider | 3 | | the following:
| 4 | | (1) An interdisciplinary, coordinated systems approach | 5 | | to the
investigation of child sexual abuse which shall | 6 | | include, at a minimum;
| 7 | | (i) an interagency notification procedure;
| 8 | | (ii) a dispute resolution process between the | 9 | | involved agencies when a
conflict arises on how to | 10 | | proceed with the investigation of a case;
| 11 | | (iii) a policy on interagency decision-making; and
| 12 | | (iv) a description of the role each agency has in | 13 | | the investigation of
the case;
| 14 | | (2) A safe, separate space with assigned personnel | 15 | | designated for the
investigation and coordination of child | 16 | | sexual abuse cases;
| 17 | | (3) An interdisciplinary case review process for | 18 | | purposes of
decision-making, problem solving, systems | 19 | | coordination, and information
sharing;
| 20 | | (4) A comprehensive tracking system to receive and | 21 | | coordinate information
concerning child sexual abuse cases | 22 | | from each participating agency;
| 23 | | (5) Interdisciplinary specialized training for all | 24 | | professionals
involved with the victims and families of | 25 | | child sexual abuse cases;
and
| 26 | | (6) A process for evaluating the implementation and |
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| 1 | | effectiveness of the
protocol.
| 2 | | (f) The Advisory Board shall evaluate the implementation | 3 | | and
effectiveness of the protocol required under subsection (c) | 4 | | of this Section on
an annual basis, and shall propose | 5 | | appropriate modifications to the protocol to
maximize its | 6 | | effectiveness. A report of the Advisory Board's review, along
| 7 | | with proposed modifications, shall be submitted to the CACI the | 8 | | Illinois Child Advocacy
Commission for its review and comments. | 9 | | After considering the comments of the CACI the
Illinois Child | 10 | | Advocacy Commission and adopting modifications, the Advisory
| 11 | | Board shall file its amended protocol with the
Department of | 12 | | Children and Family Services. A copy of the Advisory Board's
| 13 | | review and amended protocol shall be furnished to the CACI the | 14 | | Illinois Child Advocacy
Commission and to the public each | 15 | | agency in the county or counties having any involvement
with | 16 | | the cases covered by the protocol .
| 17 | | (g) (Blank). The Advisory Board shall adopt, by a majority | 18 | | of the members, a written
protocol for coordinating cases of
| 19 | | serious or fatal injury to a child, following the
procedures | 20 | | and purposes described in subsections (c), (d), (e), and (f) of | 21 | | this
Section.
The protocol shall be a written document | 22 | | outlining in detail the procedures
that will be used by all of | 23 | | the agencies involved in investigating and
prosecuting cases | 24 | | arising from alleged cases of serious or fatal injury to a | 25 | | child and in
coordinating treatment referrals for the child and | 26 | | his or her family.
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| 1 | | (Source: P.A. 95-527, eff. 6-1-08 .)
| 2 | | (55 ILCS 80/4) (from Ch. 23, par. 1804)
| 3 | | Sec. 4. Children's Advocacy Center.
| 4 | | (a) A CAC Children's Advocacy Center ("Center") may be
| 5 | | established to coordinate the activities of the various | 6 | | agencies involved
in the investigation, prosecution and | 7 | | treatment referral of child maltreatment
sexual abuse . The | 8 | | individual county or regional Advisory Board shall set the | 9 | | written protocol of the CAC within the appropriate jurisdiction | 10 | | serve as the governing board for
the Center .
The operation of | 11 | | the CAC Center may be funded through public or private grants, | 12 | | contracts, donations, fees, and or any
other available sources | 13 | | under this Act . Each CAC shall operate to the best of its | 14 | | ability in accordance with available funding. In counties in | 15 | | which a referendum has been adopted
under Section 5 of this | 16 | | Act, the Advisory Board, by the majority vote of its members, | 17 | | shall submit a
proposed annual budget for the operation of the | 18 | | CAC Center to the county board,
which shall appropriate funds | 19 | | and levy a tax sufficient to
operate the CAC Center . The county | 20 | | board in each county in which a
referendum has been adopted | 21 | | shall establish a Children's Advocacy
Center Fund and shall | 22 | | deposit the net proceeds of the tax authorized by
Section 6 of | 23 | | this Act in that Fund, which shall be kept separate from all
| 24 | | other county funds and shall only be used for the purposes of | 25 | | this Act.
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| 1 | | (b) The Advisory Board shall pay from the Children's | 2 | | Advocacy Center
Fund or from other available funds the salaries | 3 | | of all employees of the
Center and the expenses of acquiring a | 4 | | physical plant for
the Center by construction or lease and | 5 | | maintaining the Center, including
the expenses of | 6 | | administering the coordination of the investigation,
| 7 | | prosecution and treatment referral of child maltreatment | 8 | | sexual
abuse under the provisions of the protocol
adopted | 9 | | pursuant to this Act.
| 10 | | (c) Every CAC Center shall include at least the following | 11 | | components:
| 12 | | (1) A multidisciplinary An interdisciplinary , | 13 | | coordinated systems approach to the
investigation of child | 14 | | maltreatment sexual abuse which shall include, at a | 15 | | minimum;
| 16 | | (i) an interagency notification procedure;
| 17 | | (ii) a policy on multidisciplinary team | 18 | | collaboration and communication that requires MDT | 19 | | members share information pertinent to investigations | 20 | | and the safety of children a dispute resolution process | 21 | | between the involved agencies when a
conflict arises on | 22 | | how to proceed with the investigation of a case ;
| 23 | | (iii) (blank); a policy on interagency | 24 | | decision-making; and
| 25 | | (iv) a description of the role each agency has in | 26 | | responding to a referral for services in an individual |
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| 1 | | the investigation of
the case;
| 2 | | (v) a dispute resolution process between the | 3 | | involved agencies when a conflict arises on how to | 4 | | proceed on the referral of a particular case; | 5 | | (vi) a process for the CAC to assist in the | 6 | | forensic interview of children that witness alleged | 7 | | crimes; | 8 | | (vii) a child-friendly, trauma informed space for | 9 | | children and their non-offending family members; | 10 | | (viii) an MDT approach including law enforcement, | 11 | | prosecution, medical, mental health, victim advocacy, | 12 | | and other community resources; | 13 | | (ix) medical evaluation on-site or off-site | 14 | | through referral; | 15 | | (x) mental health services on-site or off-site | 16 | | through referral; | 17 | | (xi) on-site forensic interviews; | 18 | | (xii) culturally competent services; | 19 | | (xiii) case tracking and review; | 20 | | (xiv) case staffing on each investigation; | 21 | | (xv) effective organizational capacity; and | 22 | | (xvi) a policy or procedure to familiarize a child | 23 | | and his or her non-offending family members or | 24 | | guardians with the court process as well as | 25 | | preparations for testifying in court, if necessary.
| 26 | | (2) A safe, separate space with assigned personnel |
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| 1 | | designated for the
investigation and coordination of child | 2 | | maltreatment sexual abuse cases;
| 3 | | (3) A multidisciplinary An interdisciplinary case | 4 | | review process for purposes of
decision-making, problem | 5 | | solving, systems coordination, and information
sharing;
| 6 | | (4) A comprehensive client tracking system to receive | 7 | | and coordinate
information concerning child maltreatment | 8 | | sexual abuse cases from each participating agency;
| 9 | | (5) Multidisciplinary Interdisciplinary specialized | 10 | | training for all professionals involved
with the victims | 11 | | and non-offending family members in families of child | 12 | | maltreatment sexual abuse cases; and
| 13 | | (6) A process for evaluating the effectiveness of the | 14 | | CAC Center and its
operations.
| 15 | | (d) In the event that a CAC Center has been established as | 16 | | provided in this
Section, the Advisory Board of that CAC Center | 17 | | may, by a majority vote of the members,
authorize the CAC | 18 | | Center to coordinate the activities of the various agencies
| 19 | | involved in the investigation, prosecution, and treatment | 20 | | referral in cases of serious or fatal injury to a
child. For | 21 | | CACs receiving funds under Section 5 or 6 of this Act, the The | 22 | | Advisory Board shall provide for the financial
support of these | 23 | | activities in a manner similar to that set out in subsections
| 24 | | (a) and (b) of this Section and shall be allowed to submit a | 25 | | budget that
includes support for physical abuse and neglect | 26 | | activities to the County Board,
which shall appropriate funds |
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| 1 | | that may be available under Section 5 of this
Act. In | 2 | | cooperation with the Department of Children and Family Services | 3 | | Child Death Review Teams, the Department of Children and Family | 4 | | Services Office of the Inspector General, the Department of | 5 | | State Police, and other stakeholders, this protocol must be | 6 | | initially implemented in selected counties to the extent that | 7 | | State appropriations or funds from other sources for this | 8 | | purpose allow.
| 9 | | (e) CACI The Illinois Child Advocacy Commission may also | 10 | | provide technical
assistance and guidance to the Advisory | 11 | | Boards and shall make a single annual
grant for the purpose of | 12 | | providing technical support and assistance for
advocacy center | 13 | | development in Illinois whenever an appropriation is made by
| 14 | | the General Assembly specifically for that purpose. The grant | 15 | | may be made only
to an Illinois not-for-profit corporation that | 16 | | qualifies for tax treatment
under Section 501(c)(3) of the | 17 | | Internal Revenue Code and that has a voting
membership | 18 | | consisting of children's advocacy centers. The grant may be | 19 | | spent
on staff, office space, equipment, and other expenses | 20 | | necessary for the
development of resource materials
and other | 21 | | forms of technical support and assistance. The grantee shall | 22 | | report
to the Commission on the specific uses of grant funds by | 23 | | no later than October
1 of each year and shall retain | 24 | | supporting documentation for a period of at
least
5 years after | 25 | | the corresponding report is filed .
| 26 | | (Source: P.A. 95-527, eff. 6-1-08 .)
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