Full Text of SB0098 102nd General Assembly
SB0098 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022 SB0098 Introduced 2/3/2021, by Sen. Terri Bryant SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
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Amends the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act. In a provision requiring all mandated reporters to complete mandated reporter training, provides that the required in-person or web-based training shall include information on the process for reporting suspected child abuse or neglect utilizing the Department of Children and Family Services' Online Reporting System for Mandated Reporters.
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| | A BILL FOR |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning children.
| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 5. The Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act is | 5 | | amended by changing Section 4 as follows:
| 6 | | (325 ILCS 5/4)
| 7 | | Sec. 4. Persons required to report; privileged | 8 | | communications;
transmitting false report. | 9 | | (a) The following persons are required to immediately | 10 | | report to the Department when they have reasonable cause to | 11 | | believe that a child known to them in their professional or | 12 | | official capacities may be an abused child or a neglected | 13 | | child: | 14 | | (1) Medical personnel, including any: physician | 15 | | licensed to practice medicine in any of its branches | 16 | | (medical doctor or doctor of osteopathy); resident; | 17 | | intern; medical administrator or personnel engaged in the | 18 | | examination, care, and treatment of persons; psychiatrist; | 19 | | surgeon; dentist; dental hygienist; chiropractic | 20 | | physician; podiatric physician; physician assistant; | 21 | | emergency medical technician; acupuncturist; registered | 22 | | nurse; licensed practical nurse; advanced practice | 23 | | registered nurse; genetic counselor; respiratory care |
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| 1 | | practitioner; home health aide; or certified nursing | 2 | | assistant. | 3 | | (2) Social services and mental health personnel, | 4 | | including any: licensed professional counselor; licensed | 5 | | clinical professional counselor; licensed social worker; | 6 | | licensed clinical social worker; licensed psychologist or | 7 | | assistant working under the direct supervision of a | 8 | | psychologist; associate licensed marriage and family | 9 | | therapist; licensed marriage and family therapist; field | 10 | | personnel of the Departments of Healthcare and Family | 11 | | Services, Public Health, Human Services, Human Rights, or | 12 | | Children and Family Services; supervisor or administrator | 13 | | of the General Assistance program established under | 14 | | Article VI of the Illinois Public Aid Code; social | 15 | | services administrator; or substance abuse treatment | 16 | | personnel. | 17 | | (3) Crisis intervention personnel, including any: | 18 | | crisis line or hotline personnel; or domestic violence | 19 | | program personnel. | 20 | | (4)
Education personnel, including any: school | 21 | | personnel (including administrators and certified and | 22 | | non-certified school employees); personnel of institutions | 23 | | of higher education; educational advocate assigned to a | 24 | | child in accordance with the School Code; member of a | 25 | | school board or the Chicago Board of Education or the | 26 | | governing body of a private school (but only to the extent |
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| 1 | | required under subsection (d)); or truant officer. | 2 | | (5)
Recreation or athletic program or facility | 3 | | personnel. | 4 | | (6)
Child care personnel, including any: early | 5 | | intervention provider as defined in the Early Intervention | 6 | | Services System Act; director or staff assistant of a | 7 | | nursery school or a child day care center; or foster | 8 | | parent, homemaker, or child care worker. | 9 | | (7)
Law enforcement personnel, including any: law | 10 | | enforcement officer; field personnel of the Department of | 11 | | Juvenile Justice; field personnel of the Department of | 12 | | Corrections; probation officer; or animal control officer | 13 | | or field investigator of the Department of Agriculture's | 14 | | Bureau of Animal Health and Welfare. | 15 | | (8)
Any funeral home director; funeral home director | 16 | | and embalmer; funeral home employee; coroner; or medical | 17 | | examiner. | 18 | | (9)
Any member of the clergy. | 19 | | (10) Any physician, physician assistant, registered | 20 | | nurse, licensed practical nurse, medical technician, | 21 | | certified nursing assistant, licensed social worker, | 22 | | licensed clinical social worker, or licensed professional | 23 | | counselor of any office, clinic, or any other physical | 24 | | location that provides abortions, abortion referrals, or | 25 | | contraceptives. | 26 | | (b) When 2 or more persons who work within the same |
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| 1 | | workplace and are required to report under this Act share a | 2 | | reasonable cause to believe that a child may be an abused or | 3 | | neglected child, one of those reporters may be designated to | 4 | | make a single report. The report shall include the names and | 5 | | contact information for the other mandated reporters sharing | 6 | | the reasonable cause to believe that a child may be an abused | 7 | | or neglected child. The designated reporter must provide | 8 | | written confirmation of the report to those mandated reporters | 9 | | within 48 hours. If confirmation is not provided, those | 10 | | mandated reporters are individually responsible for | 11 | | immediately ensuring a report is made. Nothing in this Section | 12 | | precludes or may be used to preclude any person from reporting | 13 | | child abuse or child neglect. | 14 | | (c)(1) As used in this Section, "a child known to them in | 15 | | their professional or official capacities" means: | 16 | | (A) the mandated reporter comes into contact with the | 17 | | child in the course of the reporter's employment or | 18 | | practice of a profession, or through a regularly scheduled | 19 | | program, activity, or service; | 20 | | (B) the mandated reporter is affiliated with an | 21 | | agency, institution, organization, school, school | 22 | | district, regularly established church or religious | 23 | | organization, or other entity that is directly responsible | 24 | | for the care, supervision, guidance, or training of the | 25 | | child; or | 26 | | (C) a person makes a specific disclosure to the |
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| 1 | | mandated reporter that an identifiable child is the victim | 2 | | of child abuse or child neglect, and the disclosure | 3 | | happens while the mandated reporter is engaged in his or | 4 | | her employment or practice of a profession, or in a | 5 | | regularly scheduled program, activity, or service. | 6 | | (2) Nothing in this Section requires a child to come | 7 | | before the mandated reporter in order for the reporter to make | 8 | | a report of suspected child abuse or child neglect.
| 9 | | (d) If an allegation is raised to a school board member | 10 | | during the course of an open or closed school board meeting | 11 | | that a child who is enrolled in the school district of which he | 12 | | or she is a board member is an abused child as defined in | 13 | | Section 3 of this Act, the member shall direct or cause the | 14 | | school board to direct the superintendent of the school | 15 | | district or other equivalent school administrator to comply | 16 | | with the requirements of this Act concerning the reporting of | 17 | | child abuse. For purposes of this paragraph, a school board | 18 | | member is granted the authority in his or her individual | 19 | | capacity to direct the superintendent of the school district | 20 | | or other equivalent school administrator to comply with the | 21 | | requirements of this Act concerning the reporting of child | 22 | | abuse.
| 23 | | Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, if an | 24 | | employee of a school district has made a report or caused a | 25 | | report to be made to the Department under this Act involving | 26 | | the conduct of a current or former employee of the school |
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| 1 | | district and a request is made by another school district for | 2 | | the provision of information concerning the job performance or | 3 | | qualifications of the current or former employee because he or | 4 | | she is an applicant for employment with the requesting school | 5 | | district, the general superintendent of the school district to | 6 | | which the request is being made must disclose to the | 7 | | requesting school district the fact that an employee of the | 8 | | school district has made a report involving the conduct of the | 9 | | applicant or caused a report to be made to the Department, as | 10 | | required under this Act. Only the fact that an employee of the | 11 | | school district has made a report involving the conduct of the | 12 | | applicant or caused a report to be made to the Department may | 13 | | be disclosed by the general superintendent of the school | 14 | | district to which the request for information concerning the | 15 | | applicant is made, and this fact may be disclosed only in cases | 16 | | where the employee and the general superintendent have not | 17 | | been informed by the Department that the allegations were | 18 | | unfounded. An employee of a school district who is or has been | 19 | | the subject of a report made pursuant to this Act during his or | 20 | | her employment with the school district must be informed by | 21 | | that school district that if he or she applies for employment | 22 | | with another school district, the general superintendent of | 23 | | the former school district, upon the request of the school | 24 | | district to which the employee applies, shall notify that | 25 | | requesting school district that the employee is or was the | 26 | | subject of such a report.
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| 1 | | (e) Whenever
such person is required to report under this | 2 | | Act in his capacity as a member of
the staff of a medical or | 3 | | other public or private institution, school, facility
or | 4 | | agency, or as a member of the clergy, he shall
make report | 5 | | immediately to the Department in accordance
with the | 6 | | provisions of this Act and may also notify the person in charge | 7 | | of
such institution, school, facility or agency, or church, | 8 | | synagogue, temple,
mosque, or other religious institution, or | 9 | | his
designated agent that such
report has been made. Under no | 10 | | circumstances shall any person in charge of
such institution, | 11 | | school, facility or agency, or church, synagogue, temple,
| 12 | | mosque, or other religious institution, or his
designated | 13 | | agent to whom
such notification has been made, exercise any | 14 | | control, restraint, modification
or other change in the report | 15 | | or the forwarding of such report to the
Department.
| 16 | | (f) In addition to the persons required to report | 17 | | suspected cases of child abuse or child neglect under this | 18 | | Section, any other person may make a report if such person has | 19 | | reasonable cause to believe a child may be an abused child or a | 20 | | neglected child. | 21 | | (g) The privileged quality of communication between any | 22 | | professional
person required to report
and his patient or | 23 | | client shall not apply to situations involving abused or
| 24 | | neglected children and shall not constitute grounds for | 25 | | failure to report
as required by this Act or constitute | 26 | | grounds for failure to share information or documents with the |
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| 1 | | Department during the course of a child abuse or neglect | 2 | | investigation. If requested by the professional, the | 3 | | Department shall confirm in writing that the information or | 4 | | documents disclosed by the professional were gathered in the | 5 | | course of a child abuse or neglect investigation.
| 6 | | The reporting requirements of this Act shall not apply to | 7 | | the contents of a privileged communication between an attorney | 8 | | and his or her client or to confidential information within | 9 | | the meaning of Rule 1.6 of the Illinois Rules of Professional | 10 | | Conduct relating to the legal representation of an individual | 11 | | client. | 12 | | A member of the clergy may claim the privilege under | 13 | | Section 8-803 of the
Code of Civil Procedure.
| 14 | | (h) Any office, clinic, or any other physical location | 15 | | that provides abortions, abortion referrals, or contraceptives | 16 | | shall provide to all office personnel copies of written | 17 | | information and training materials about abuse and neglect and | 18 | | the requirements of this Act that are provided to employees of | 19 | | the office, clinic, or physical location who are required to | 20 | | make reports to the Department under this Act, and instruct | 21 | | such office personnel to bring to the attention of an employee | 22 | | of the office, clinic, or physical location who is required to | 23 | | make reports to the Department under this Act any reasonable | 24 | | suspicion that a child known to him or her in his or her | 25 | | professional or official capacity may be an abused child or a | 26 | | neglected child.
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| 1 | | (i) Any person who enters into
employment on and after | 2 | | July 1, 1986 and is mandated by virtue of that
employment to | 3 | | report under this Act, shall sign a statement on a form
| 4 | | prescribed by the Department, to the effect that the employee | 5 | | has knowledge
and understanding of the reporting requirements | 6 | | of this Act. On and after January 1, 2019, the statement
shall | 7 | | also include information about available mandated reporter | 8 | | training provided by the Department. The statement
shall be | 9 | | signed prior to commencement of the employment. The signed
| 10 | | statement shall be retained by the employer. The cost of | 11 | | printing,
distribution, and filing of the statement shall be | 12 | | borne by the employer.
| 13 | | (j) Persons required to report child abuse or child | 14 | | neglect as provided under this Section must complete an | 15 | | initial mandated reporter training within 3 months of their | 16 | | date of engagement in a professional or official capacity as a | 17 | | mandated reporter, or within the time frame of any other | 18 | | applicable State law that governs training requirements for a | 19 | | specific profession, and at least every 3 years thereafter. | 20 | | The initial requirement only applies to the first time they | 21 | | engage in their professional or official capacity. In lieu of | 22 | | training every 3 years, medical personnel, as listed in | 23 | | paragraph (1) of subsection (a), must meet the requirements | 24 | | described in subsection (k). | 25 | | The trainings shall be in-person or web-based, and shall | 26 | | include, at a minimum, information on the following topics: |
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| 1 | | (i) indicators for recognizing child abuse and child neglect, | 2 | | as defined under this Act; (ii) the process for reporting | 3 | | suspected child abuse and child neglect in Illinois as | 4 | | required by this Act and the required documentation , including | 5 | | the process for reporting suspected child abuse or neglect | 6 | | utilizing the Department's Online Reporting System for | 7 | | Mandated Reporters ; (iii) responding to a child in a | 8 | | trauma-informed manner; and (iv) understanding the response of | 9 | | child protective services and the role of the reporter after a | 10 | | call has been made. Child-serving organizations are encouraged | 11 | | to provide in-person annual trainings. | 12 | | The mandated reporter training shall be provided through | 13 | | the Department, through an entity authorized to provide | 14 | | continuing education for professionals licensed through the | 15 | | Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, the State | 16 | | Board of Education, the Illinois Law Enforcement Training | 17 | | Standards Board, or the Department of State Police, or through | 18 | | an organization approved by the Department to provide mandated | 19 | | reporter training. The Department must make available a free | 20 | | web-based training for reporters. | 21 | | Each mandated reporter shall report to his or her employer | 22 | | and, when applicable, to his or her licensing or certification | 23 | | board that he or she received the mandated reporter training. | 24 | | The mandated reporter shall maintain records of completion. | 25 | | Beginning January 1, 2021, if a mandated reporter receives | 26 | | licensure from the Department of Financial and Professional |
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| 1 | | Regulation or the State Board of Education, and his or her | 2 | | profession has continuing education requirements, the training | 3 | | mandated under this Section shall count toward meeting the | 4 | | licensee's required continuing education hours. | 5 | | (k)(1) Medical personnel, as listed in paragraph (1) of | 6 | | subsection (a), who work with children in their professional | 7 | | or official capacity, must complete mandated reporter training | 8 | | at least every 6 years. Such medical personnel, if licensed, | 9 | | must attest at each time of licensure renewal on their renewal | 10 | | form that they understand they are a mandated reporter of | 11 | | child abuse and neglect, that they are aware of the process for | 12 | | making a report, that they know how to respond to a child in a | 13 | | trauma-informed manner, and that they are aware of the role of | 14 | | child protective services and the role of a reporter after a | 15 | | call has been made. | 16 | | (2) In lieu of repeated training, medical personnel, as | 17 | | listed in paragraph (1) of subsection (a), who do not work with | 18 | | children in their professional or official capacity, may | 19 | | instead attest each time at licensure renewal on their renewal | 20 | | form that they understand they are a mandated reporter of | 21 | | child abuse and neglect, that they are aware of the process for | 22 | | making a report, that they know how to respond to a child in a | 23 | | trauma-informed manner, and that they are aware of the role of | 24 | | child protective services and the role of a reporter after a | 25 | | call has been made. Nothing in this paragraph precludes | 26 | | medical personnel from completing mandated reporter training |
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| 1 | | and receiving continuing education credits for that training. | 2 | | (l) The Department shall provide copies of this Act, upon | 3 | | request, to all
employers employing persons who shall be | 4 | | required under the provisions of
this Section to report under | 5 | | this Act.
| 6 | | (m) Any person who knowingly transmits a false report to | 7 | | the Department
commits the offense of disorderly conduct under | 8 | | subsection (a)(7) of
Section 26-1 of the Criminal Code of | 9 | | 2012. A violation of this provision is a Class 4 felony.
| 10 | | Any person who knowingly and willfully violates any | 11 | | provision of this
Section other than a second or subsequent | 12 | | violation of transmitting a
false report as described in the
| 13 | | preceding paragraph, is guilty of a
Class A misdemeanor for
a | 14 | | first violation and a Class
4 felony for a
second or subsequent | 15 | | violation; except that if the person acted as part
of a plan or | 16 | | scheme having as its object the
prevention of discovery of an | 17 | | abused or neglected child by lawful authorities
for the
| 18 | | purpose of protecting or insulating any person or entity from | 19 | | arrest or
prosecution, the
person is guilty of a Class 4 felony | 20 | | for a first offense and a Class 3 felony
for a second or
| 21 | | subsequent offense (regardless of whether the second or | 22 | | subsequent offense
involves any
of the same facts or persons | 23 | | as the first or other prior offense).
| 24 | | (n) A child whose parent, guardian or custodian in good | 25 | | faith selects and depends
upon spiritual means through prayer | 26 | | alone for the treatment or cure of
disease or remedial care may |
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| 1 | | be considered neglected or abused, but not for
the sole reason | 2 | | that his parent, guardian or custodian accepts and
practices | 3 | | such beliefs.
| 4 | | (o) A child shall not be considered neglected or abused | 5 | | solely because the
child is not attending school in accordance | 6 | | with the requirements of
Article 26 of the School Code, as | 7 | | amended.
| 8 | | (p) Nothing in this Act prohibits a mandated reporter who | 9 | | reasonably believes that an animal is being abused or | 10 | | neglected in violation of the Humane Care for Animals Act from | 11 | | reporting animal abuse or neglect to the Department of | 12 | | Agriculture's Bureau of Animal Health and Welfare. | 13 | | (q) A home rule unit may not regulate the reporting of | 14 | | child abuse or neglect in a manner inconsistent with the | 15 | | provisions of this Section. This Section is a limitation under | 16 | | subsection (i) of Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois | 17 | | Constitution on the concurrent exercise by home rule units of | 18 | | powers and functions exercised by the State. | 19 | | (r) For purposes of this Section "child abuse or neglect" | 20 | | includes abuse or neglect of an adult resident as defined in | 21 | | this Act. | 22 | | (Source: P.A. 100-513, eff. 1-1-18; 100-1071, eff. 1-1-19; | 23 | | 101-564, eff. 1-1-20 .)
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