Full Text of HB5418 102nd General Assembly
HB5418 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022 HB5418 Introduced 1/31/2022, by Rep. Thomas Morrison SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
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Amends the Foster Children's Bill of Rights Act. Expands the list of rights under the Foster Children's Bill of Rights to include: (i) the right to participate in a formal intake process
immediately after placement in the custody or guardianship
of the Department of Children and Family Services during which the youth will be
instructed on inappropriate acts of affection, discipline,
and punishment by guardians, foster parents, foster
siblings, or any other adult responsible for the youth's
welfare; (ii) the right to have access to intervention and counseling
services within the first 24 hours after removal from the
home in order to assess whether the youth is exhibiting
signs of a post-traumatic stress disorder, special needs,
or mental illness; (iii) the right to have monthly assessment visits with a staff member of the Department's Division of Child Protection to
determine the youth's well-being and emotional health
following placement, to determine the youth's relationship
with his or her guardian or foster parent or with any other
adult responsible for the youth's welfare, and to
determine what forms of discipline, if any, the youth's
guardian or foster parent or any other responsible adult
uses to correct the youth; (iv) the right to be gradually transitioned out of foster care
and not systematically aged out of State care; (v) the right to be enrolled in an independent living program
prior to his or her transition out of foster care where the
youth will receive phased in classes and instruction on
independent living and self-sufficiency in the areas of
employment, finances, meals, and housing as well as help
in developing life skills and long-term goals; and (vi) the right to be assessed by a third-party entity or agency
prior to enrollment in any independent living program in
order to determine the youth's readiness for a transition
out of foster care based on the youth's individual needs,
emotional development, and ability, regardless of age, to
make a successful transition to adulthood.
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| | A BILL FOR |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning State government.
| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 5. The Foster Children's Bill of Rights Act is | 5 | | amended by changing Section 5 as follows: | 6 | | (20 ILCS 521/5) | 7 | | Sec. 5. Foster Children's Bill of Rights. It is the policy | 8 | | of this State that every child and
adult in the care of the | 9 | | Department of Children and Family Services who is placed in | 10 | | foster care shall have the following rights: | 11 | | (1) To live in a safe, healthy, and comfortable home | 12 | | where he or
she is treated with respect. | 13 | | (2) To be free from physical, sexual, emotional, or | 14 | | other abuse,
or corporal punishment. | 15 | | (3) To receive adequate and healthy food, adequate | 16 | | clothing, and,
for youth in group homes, residential | 17 | | treatment facilities, and foster homes, an allowance. | 18 | | (4) To receive medical, dental, vision, and mental | 19 | | health
services. | 20 | | (5) To be free of the administration of medication or | 21 | | chemical
substances, unless authorized by a physician. | 22 | | (6) To contact family members, unless prohibited by | 23 | | court order,
and social workers, attorneys, foster youth |
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| 1 | | advocates and supporters,
Court Appointed Special | 2 | | Advocates (CASAs), and probation officers. | 3 | | (7) To visit and contact brothers and sisters, unless | 4 | | prohibited
by court order. | 5 | | (8) To contact the Advocacy Office for Children and | 6 | | Families established under the Children and Family | 7 | | Services Act or the Department of Children and Family | 8 | | Services' Office of the Inspector General regarding | 9 | | violations of rights, to speak to representatives of these
| 10 | | offices confidentially, and to be free from threats or | 11 | | punishment for
making complaints. | 12 | | (9) To make and receive confidential telephone calls | 13 | | and send and
receive unopened mail, unless prohibited by | 14 | | court order.
| 15 | | (10) To attend religious services and activities of | 16 | | his or her
choice.
| 17 | | (11) To maintain an emancipation bank account and | 18 | | manage personal
income, consistent with the child's age | 19 | | and developmental level,
unless prohibited by the case | 20 | | plan. | 21 | | (12) To not be locked in a room, building, or facility | 22 | | premises,
unless placed in a secure child care facility | 23 | | licensed by the Department of Children and Family Services | 24 | | under the Child Care Act of 1969 and placed pursuant to | 25 | | Section 2-27.1 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987. | 26 | | (13) To attend school and participate in |
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| 1 | | extracurricular,
cultural, and personal enrichment | 2 | | activities, consistent with the
child's age and | 3 | | developmental level, with minimal disruptions to
school | 4 | | attendance and educational stability. | 5 | | (14) To work and develop job skills at an | 6 | | age-appropriate level,
consistent with State law. | 7 | | (15) To have social contacts with people outside of | 8 | | the foster
care system, including teachers, church | 9 | | members, mentors, and
friends. | 10 | | (16) If he or she meets age requirements, to attend | 11 | | services and programs operated by the Department of | 12 | | Children and Family Services or any other appropriate | 13 | | State agency that aim to help current and former foster | 14 | | youth achieve self-sufficiency prior to and after leaving | 15 | | foster care. | 16 | | (17) To attend court hearings and speak to the judge. | 17 | | (18) To have storage space for private use. | 18 | | (19) To be involved in the development of his or her | 19 | | own case plan
and plan for permanent placement. | 20 | | (20) To review his or her own case plan and plan for | 21 | | permanent
placement, if he or she is 12 years of age or | 22 | | older and in a
permanent placement, and to receive | 23 | | information about his or her
out-of-home placement and | 24 | | case plan, including being told of changes
to the case | 25 | | plan. | 26 | | (21) To be free from unreasonable searches of personal |
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| 1 | | belongings. | 2 | | (22) To the confidentiality of all juvenile court | 3 | | records
consistent with existing law. | 4 | | (23) To have fair and equal access to all available | 5 | | services,
placement, care, treatment, and benefits, and to | 6 | | not be subjected to
discrimination or harassment on the | 7 | | basis of actual or perceived
race, ethnic group | 8 | | identification, ancestry, national origin, color,
| 9 | | religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, mental | 10 | | or
physical disability, or HIV status. | 11 | | (24) To have caregivers and child welfare personnel | 12 | | who have received sensitivity training and instruction on | 13 | | matters concerning race, ethnicity, national origin, | 14 | | color, ancestry, religion, mental and physical disability, | 15 | | and HIV status. | 16 | | (25) To have caregivers and child welfare personnel | 17 | | who have
received instruction on cultural competency and | 18 | | sensitivity relating
to, and best practices for, providing | 19 | | adequate care to lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgender | 20 | | youth in out-of-home care. | 21 | | (26) At 16 years of age or older, to have access to | 22 | | existing
information regarding the educational options | 23 | | available, including,
but not limited to, the coursework | 24 | | necessary for vocational and
postsecondary educational | 25 | | programs, and information regarding
financial aid for | 26 | | postsecondary education. |
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| 1 | | (27) To have access to age-appropriate, medically | 2 | | accurate
information about reproductive health care, the | 3 | | prevention of
unplanned pregnancy, and the prevention and | 4 | | treatment of sexually
transmitted infections at 12 years | 5 | | of age or older.
| 6 | | (28) To receive a copy of this Act from and have it | 7 | | fully explained by the Department of Children and Family | 8 | | Services when the child or adult is placed in the care of | 9 | | the Department of Children and Family Services.
| 10 | | (29) To be placed in the least restrictive and most | 11 | | family-like setting available and in close proximity to | 12 | | his or her parent's home consistent with his or her | 13 | | health, safety, best interests, and special needs. | 14 | | (30) To participate in a formal intake process | 15 | | immediately after placement in the custody or guardianship | 16 | | of the Department during which the youth will be | 17 | | instructed on inappropriate acts of affection, discipline, | 18 | | and punishment by guardians, foster parents, foster | 19 | | siblings, or any other adult responsible for the youth's | 20 | | welfare. | 21 | | (31) To have access to intervention and counseling | 22 | | services within the first 24 hours after removal from the | 23 | | home in order to assess whether the youth is exhibiting | 24 | | signs of a post-traumatic stress disorder, special needs, | 25 | | or mental illness. | 26 | | (31) To have monthly assessment visits with a staff |
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| 1 | | member of the Department's Division of Child Protection to | 2 | | determine the youth's well-being and emotional health | 3 | | following placement, to determine the youth's relationship | 4 | | with his or her guardian or foster parent or with any other | 5 | | adult responsible for the youth's welfare, and to | 6 | | determine what forms of discipline, if any, the youth's | 7 | | guardian or foster parent or any other responsible adult | 8 | | uses to correct the youth. | 9 | | (32) To be gradually transitioned out of foster care | 10 | | and not systematically aged out of State care. | 11 | | (33) To be enrolled in an independent living program | 12 | | prior to his or her transition out of foster care where the | 13 | | youth will receive phased in classes and instruction on | 14 | | independent living and self-sufficiency in the areas of | 15 | | employment, finances, meals, and housing as well as help | 16 | | in developing life skills and long-term goals. | 17 | | (34) To be assessed by a third-party entity or agency | 18 | | prior to enrollment in any independent living program in | 19 | | order to determine the youth's readiness for a transition | 20 | | out of foster care based on the youth's individual needs, | 21 | | emotional development, and ability, regardless of age, to | 22 | | make a successful transition to adulthood. | 23 | | (Source: P.A. 99-344, eff. 1-1-16; 100-189, eff. 1-1-18 .)
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