Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of SB2407
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Full Text of SB2407  100th General Assembly

SB2407enr 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

  
  
  

 


 
SB2407 EnrolledLRB100 17926 RJF 33110 b

1    AN ACT concerning State government.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Child Death Review Team Act is amended by
5changing Sections 15, 20, 25, and 40 as follows:
 
6    (20 ILCS 515/15)
7    Sec. 15. Child death review teams; establishment.
8    (a) The Inspector General of the Department Director, in
9consultation and cooperation with the Executive Council, law
10enforcement, and other professionals who work in the field of
11investigating, treating, or preventing child abuse or neglect
12in that subregion, shall appoint members to a child death
13review team in each of the Department's administrative
14subregions of the State outside Cook County and at least one
15child death review team in Cook County. The members of a team
16shall be appointed for 2-year terms and shall be eligible for
17reappointment upon the expiration of the terms. The Inspector
18General of the Department Director must fill any vacancy in a
19team within 60 days after that vacancy occurs.
20    (b) Each child death review team shall consist of at least
21one member from each of the following categories:
22        (1) Pediatrician or other physician knowledgeable
23    about child abuse and neglect.

 

 

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1        (2) Representative of the Department.
2        (3) State's attorney or State's attorney's
3    representative.
4        (4) Representative of a local law enforcement agency.
5        (5) Psychologist or psychiatrist.
6        (6) Representative of a local health department.
7        (7) Representative of a school district or other
8    education or child care interests.
9        (8) Coroner or forensic pathologist.
10        (9) Representative of a child welfare agency or child
11    advocacy organization.
12        (10) Representative of a local hospital, trauma
13    center, or provider of emergency medical services.
14        (11) Representative of the Department of State Police.
15        (12) Representative of the Department of Public
16    Health.
17    Each child death review team may make recommendations to
18the Inspector General of the Department Director concerning
19additional appointments. In the event of a disagreement, the
20Executive Council's decision shall control.
21    Each child death review team member must have demonstrated
22experience and an interest in investigating, treating, or
23preventing child abuse or neglect.
24    (c) Each child death review team shall select a chairperson
25and vice-chairperson from among its members. The chairperson
26shall also serve on the Illinois Child Death Review Teams

 

 

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1Executive Council. The vice-chairperson may also serve on the
2Illinois Child Death Review Teams Executive Council, but shall
3not have a vote on child death review team business unless the
4chairperson is unable to attend a meeting.
5    (d) The child death review teams shall be funded under a
6separate line item in the Department's annual budget.
7    (e) The Department shall provide at least one full-time
8Statewide Department of Children and Family Services Liaison
9who shall attend all child death review team meetings, all
10Executive meetings, all Executive Council meetings, and
11meetings between the Director and the Executive Council.
12(Source: P.A. 100-397, eff. 1-1-18.)
 
13    (20 ILCS 515/20)
14    Sec. 20. Reviews of child deaths.
15    (a) Every child death shall be reviewed by the team in the
16subregion which has primary case management responsibility.
17The deceased child must be one of the following:
18        (1) A youth in care.
19        (2) The subject of an open service case maintained by
20    the Department.
21        (3) The subject of a pending child abuse or neglect
22    investigation.
23        (4) A child who was the subject of an abuse or neglect
24    investigation at any time during the 12 months preceding
25    the child's death.

 

 

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1        (5) Any other child whose death is reported to the
2    State central register as a result of alleged child abuse
3    or neglect which report is subsequently indicated.
4    A child death review team may, at its discretion, review
5other sudden, unexpected, or unexplained child deaths, and
6cases of serious or fatal injuries to a child identified under
7the Children's Advocacy Center Act, and all unfounded child
8death cases.
9    (b) A child death review team's purpose in conducting
10reviews of child deaths is to do the following:
11        (1) Assist in determining the cause and manner of the
12    child's death, when requested.
13        (2) Evaluate means by which the death might have been
14    prevented.
15        (3) Report its findings to appropriate agencies and
16    make recommendations that may help to reduce the number of
17    child deaths caused by abuse or neglect.
18        (4) Promote continuing education for professionals
19    involved in investigating, treating, and preventing child
20    abuse and neglect as a means of preventing child deaths due
21    to abuse or neglect.
22        (5) Make specific recommendations to the Director and
23    the Inspector General of the Department concerning the
24    prevention of child deaths due to abuse or neglect and the
25    establishment of protocols for investigating child deaths.
26    (c) A child death review team shall review a child death as

 

 

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1soon as practical and not later than 90 days following the
2completion by the Department of the investigation of the death
3under the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act. When there
4has been no investigation by the Department, the child death
5review team shall review a child's death within 90 days after
6obtaining the information necessary to complete the review from
7the coroner, pathologist, medical examiner, or law enforcement
8agency, depending on the nature of the case. A child death
9review team shall meet at least once in each calendar quarter.
10    (d) The Director shall, within 90 days, review and reply to
11recommendations made by a team under item (5) of subsection
12(b). With respect to each recommendation made by a team, the
13Director shall submit his or her reply both to the chairperson
14of that team and to the chairperson of the Executive Council.
15The Director's reply to each recommendation must include a
16statement as to whether the Director intends to implement the
17recommendation. The Director shall meet in person with the
18Executive Council at least every 60 days to discuss
19recommendations and the Department's responses.
20    The Director shall implement recommendations as feasible
21and appropriate and shall respond in writing to explain the
22implementation or nonimplementation of the recommendations.
23    (e) Within 90 days after the Director submits a reply with
24respect to a recommendation as required by subsection (d), the
25Director must submit an additional report that sets forth in
26detail the way, if any, in which the Director will implement

 

 

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1the recommendation and the schedule for implementing the
2recommendation. The Director shall submit this report to the
3chairperson of the team that made the recommendation and to the
4chairperson of the Executive Council.
5    (f) Within 180 days after the Director submits a report
6under subsection (e) concerning the implementation of a
7recommendation, the Director shall submit a further report to
8the chairperson of the team that made the recommendation and to
9the chairperson of the Executive Council. This report shall set
10forth the specific changes in the Department's policies and
11procedures that have been made in response to the
12recommendation.
13(Source: P.A. 100-159, eff. 8-18-17.)
 
14    (20 ILCS 515/25)
15    Sec. 25. Team access to information.
16    (a) No later than 21 days prior to a child death review
17team meeting, the The Department shall provide to a child death
18review team and its staff , on the request of the team
19chairperson, all records and information in the Department's
20possession that are relevant to the team's review of a child
21death, including records and information concerning previous
22reports or investigations of suspected child abuse or neglect,
23all records and information from the Statewide Automated Child
24Welfare Information System or from any other database
25maintained by the Department, and all documents, including, but

 

 

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1not limited to, police reports and medical information.
2    (b) A child death review team shall have access to all
3records and information that are relevant to its review of a
4child death and in the possession of a State or local
5governmental agency, including, but not limited to,
6information gained through the Child Advocacy Center protocol
7for cases of serious or fatal injury to a child. These records
8and information include, without limitation, birth
9certificates, all relevant medical and mental health records,
10records of law enforcement agency investigations, records of
11coroner or medical examiner investigations, records of the
12Department of Corrections and Department of Juvenile Justice
13concerning a person's parole or aftercare release, records of a
14probation and court services department, and records of a
15social services agency that provided services to the child or
16the child's family.
17    (c) Child death review team staff must have full access to
18the Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System, any
19other child welfare database maintained by the Department, and
20any child death certificates held by the Office of Vital
21Records within the Department of Public Health.
22(Source: P.A. 98-558, eff. 1-1-14.)
 
23    (20 ILCS 515/40)
24    Sec. 40. Illinois Child Death Review Teams Executive
25Council.

 

 

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1    (a) The Illinois Child Death Review Teams Executive
2Council, consisting of the chairpersons of the 9 child death
3review teams in Illinois, is the coordinating and oversight
4body for child death review teams and activities in Illinois.
5The vice-chairperson of a child death review team, as
6designated by the chairperson, may serve as a back-up member or
7an alternate member of the Executive Council, if the
8chairperson of the child death review team is unavailable to
9serve on the Executive Council. The Inspector General of the
10Department, ex officio, is a non-voting member of the Executive
11Council. The Inspector General of the Department Director may
12appoint to the Executive Council any additional ex-officio
13members deemed necessary. Persons with expertise needed by the
14Executive Council may be invited to meetings. The Executive
15Council must select from its members a chairperson and a
16vice-chairperson, each to serve a 2-year, renewable term.
17    The Executive Council must meet at least 4 times during
18each calendar year. At each such meeting, in addition to any
19other matters under consideration, the Executive Council shall
20review all replies and reports received from the Director
21pursuant to subsections (d), (e), and (f) of Section 20 since
22the Executive Council's previous meeting. The Executive
23Council's review must include consideration of the Director's
24proposed manner of and schedule for implementing each
25recommendation made by a child death review team.
26    (b) The Department must provide or arrange for the staff

 

 

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1support necessary for the Executive Council to carry out its
2duties. This includes a full-time Executive Director and
3support staff person. The Inspector General of the Department
4Director, in cooperation and consultation with the Executive
5Council, shall appoint, reappoint, and remove team members. In
6the event of a disagreement, the Executive Council's decision
7shall control. From funds available, the Director may select
8from a list of 2 or more candidates recommended by the
9Executive Council to serve as the Child Death Review Teams
10Executive Director. The Child Death Review Teams Executive
11Director shall oversee the operations of the child death review
12teams and shall report directly to the Executive Council.
13    (c) The Executive Council has, but is not limited to, the
14following duties:
15        (1) To serve as the voice of child death review teams
16    in Illinois.
17        (2) To oversee the regional teams in order to ensure
18    that the teams' work is coordinated and in compliance with
19    the statutes and the operating protocol.
20        (3) To ensure that the data, results, findings, and
21    recommendations of the teams are adequately used to make
22    any necessary changes in the policies, procedures, and
23    statutes in order to protect children in a timely manner.
24        (4) To collaborate with the General Assembly, the
25    Department, and others in order to develop any legislation
26    needed to prevent child fatalities and to protect children.

 

 

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1        (5) To assist in the development of quarterly and
2    annual reports based on the work and the findings of the
3    teams.
4        (6) To ensure that the regional teams' review processes
5    are standardized in order to convey data, findings, and
6    recommendations in a usable format.
7        (7) To serve as a link with child death review teams
8    throughout the country and to participate in national child
9    death review team activities.
10        (8) To develop an annual statewide symposium to update
11    the knowledge and skills of child death review team members
12    and to promote the exchange of information between teams.
13        (9) To provide the child death review teams with the
14    most current information and practices concerning child
15    death review and related topics.
16        (10) To perform any other functions necessary to
17    enhance the capability of the child death review teams to
18    reduce and prevent child injuries and fatalities.
19    (c-5) The Executive Council shall prepare an annual report.
20The report must include, but need not be limited to, (i) each
21recommendation made by a child death review team pursuant to
22item (5) of subsection (b) of Section 20 during the period
23covered by the report, (ii) the Director's proposed schedule
24for implementing each such recommendation, and (iii) a
25description of the specific changes in the Department's
26policies and procedures that have been made in response to the

 

 

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1recommendation. The Executive Council shall send a copy of its
2annual report to each of the following:
3        (1) The Governor.
4        (2) Each member of the Senate or the House of
5    Representatives, county coroners and medical examiners,
6    and State's Attorneys, in the sole discretion of the
7    Executive Council. whose legislative district lies wholly
8    or partly within the region covered by any child death
9    review team whose recommendation is addressed in the annual
10    report.
11        (3) Each member of each child death review team in the
12    State.
13    (d) In any instance when a child death review team does not
14operate in accordance with established protocol, the Director,
15in consultation and cooperation with the Executive Council,
16must take any necessary actions to bring the team into
17compliance with the protocol.
18(Source: P.A. 95-405, eff. 6-1-08; 95-527, eff. 6-1-08; 95-876,
19eff. 8-21-08.)
 
20    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
21becoming law.