Full Text of SB2977 103rd General Assembly
SB2977 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY | | | 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024 SB2977 Introduced 1/31/2024, by Sen. Sara Feigenholtz SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: | | 750 ILCS 50/18.3a | from Ch. 40, par. 1522.3a |
| Amends the Adoption Act. Allows any person 21 years of age or over who was relinquished under the Abandoned Newborn Infant Protection Act or who had a birth certificate issued under specified provisions of the Vital Records Act to petition for the appointment of a confidential intermediary. Requires the confidential intermediary to provide such a petitioner with a DNA test kit upon request with no fee. Allows a petitioner to use the remedy in the Adoption Act for a missing or lost original birth certificate to be used for missing or lost birth certificate issued under specified provisions of the Vital Records Act. |
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| | A BILL FOR |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning civil law. | 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, | 3 | | represented in the General Assembly: | 4 | | Section 5. The Adoption Act is amended by changing Section | 5 | | 18.3a as follows: | 6 | | (750 ILCS 50/18.3a) (from Ch. 40, par. 1522.3a) | 7 | | Sec. 18.3a. Confidential intermediary. | 8 | | (a) General purposes. Notwithstanding any other provision | 9 | | of this Act, | 10 | | (1) any adopted or surrendered person 21 years of age | 11 | | or over; or | 12 | | (2) any adoptive parent or legal guardian of an | 13 | | adopted or surrendered person under the age of 21; or | 14 | | (3) any birth parent of an adopted or surrendered | 15 | | person who is 21 years of age or over; or | 16 | | (4) any adult child or adult grandchild of a deceased | 17 | | adopted or surrendered person; or | 18 | | (5) any adoptive parent or surviving spouse of a | 19 | | deceased adopted or surrendered person; or | 20 | | (6) any adult birth sibling of the adult adopted or | 21 | | surrendered person unless the birth parent has checked | 22 | | Option E on the Birth Parent Preference Form or has filed a | 23 | | Denial of Information Exchange with the Registry and is |
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| 1 | | not deceased; or | 2 | | (7) any adult adopted birth sibling of an adult | 3 | | adopted or surrendered person; or | 4 | | (8) any adult birth sibling of the birth parent if the | 5 | | birth parent is deceased; or | 6 | | (9) any birth grandparent ; or | 7 | | (10) any person 21 years of age or over who was | 8 | | relinquished pursuant to the Abandoned Newborn Infant | 9 | | Protection Act or who had a birth certificate issued | 10 | | pursuant to Section 13 of the Vital Records Act. | 11 | | may petition the court in any county in the State of Illinois | 12 | | for appointment of a confidential intermediary as provided in | 13 | | this Section for the purpose of exchanging medical information | 14 | | with one or more mutually consenting biological relatives, | 15 | | obtaining identifying information about one or more mutually | 16 | | consenting biological relatives, or arranging contact with one | 17 | | or more mutually consenting biological relatives. The | 18 | | petitioner shall be required to accompany his or her petition | 19 | | with proof of registration with the Illinois Adoption Registry | 20 | | and Medical Information Exchange. | 21 | | (a-5) In addition, any former youth in care as defined in | 22 | | Section 4d of the Children and Family Services Act who was | 23 | | adopted or surrendered may petition the court in any county in | 24 | | the State for appointment of a confidential intermediary as | 25 | | provided in this Section for the purposes of obtaining | 26 | | identifying information or arranging contact with (i) siblings |
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| 1 | | or birth relatives if the former youth in care is between the | 2 | | ages of 18 and 21 or (ii) former foster parents or foster | 3 | | siblings if the former youth in care is over the age of 18. A | 4 | | petitioner under this subsection is not required to register | 5 | | with the Illinois Adoption Registry and Medical Information | 6 | | Exchange. | 7 | | (b) Petition. Upon petition, the court shall appoint a | 8 | | confidential intermediary. The petition shall indicate if the | 9 | | petitioner wants to do any one or more of the following as to | 10 | | the sought-after relative or relatives: exchange medical | 11 | | information with the biological relative or relatives, obtain | 12 | | identifying information from the biological relative or | 13 | | relatives, or to arrange contact with the biological relative. | 14 | | (c) Order. The order appointing the confidential | 15 | | intermediary shall allow that intermediary to conduct a search | 16 | | for the sought-after relative by accessing those records | 17 | | described in subsection (g) of this Section. | 18 | | (d) Fees and expenses. The court shall not condition the | 19 | | appointment of the confidential intermediary on the payment of | 20 | | the intermediary's fees and expenses in advance of the | 21 | | commencement of the work of the confidential intermediary. No | 22 | | fee shall be charged to any petitioner. | 23 | | (d-5) The confidential intermediary shall provide any | 24 | | petitioner under paragraph (a)(10) with a DNA test kit upon | 25 | | request with no fee. | 26 | | (e) Eligibility of intermediary. The court may appoint as |
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| 1 | | confidential intermediary any person certified by the | 2 | | Department of Children and Family Services as qualified to | 3 | | serve as a confidential intermediary. Certification shall be | 4 | | dependent upon the confidential intermediary completing a | 5 | | course of training including, but not limited to, applicable | 6 | | federal and State privacy laws. | 7 | | (f) (Blank). | 8 | | (g) Confidential intermediary access to information. | 9 | | Subject to the limitations of subsection (i) of this Section, | 10 | | the confidential intermediary shall have access to vital | 11 | | records maintained by the Department of Public Health and its | 12 | | local designees for the maintenance of vital records, or a | 13 | | comparable public entity that maintains vital records in | 14 | | another state in accordance with that state's laws, and all | 15 | | records of the court or any adoption agency, public or | 16 | | private, as limited in this Section, which relate to the | 17 | | adoption or the identity and location of an adopted or | 18 | | surrendered person, of an adult child or surviving spouse of a | 19 | | deceased adopted or surrendered person, or of a birth parent, | 20 | | birth sibling, or the sibling of a deceased birth parent. The | 21 | | confidential intermediary shall not have access to any | 22 | | personal health information protected by the Standards for | 23 | | Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information | 24 | | adopted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services | 25 | | under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act | 26 | | of 1996 unless the confidential intermediary has obtained |
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| 1 | | written consent from the person whose information is being | 2 | | sought by an adult adopted or surrendered person or, if that | 3 | | person is a minor child, that person's parent or guardian. | 4 | | Confidential intermediaries shall be authorized to inspect | 5 | | confidential relinquishment and adoption records. The | 6 | | confidential intermediary shall not be authorized to access | 7 | | medical records, financial records, credit records, banking | 8 | | records, home studies, attorney file records, or other | 9 | | personal records. In cases where a birth parent is being | 10 | | sought, an adoption agency shall inform the confidential | 11 | | intermediary of any statement filed pursuant to Section 18.3, | 12 | | hereinafter referred to as "the 18.3 statement", indicating a | 13 | | desire of the surrendering birth parent to have identifying | 14 | | information shared or to not have identifying information | 15 | | shared. Information provided to the confidential intermediary | 16 | | by an adoption agency shall be restricted to the full name, | 17 | | date of birth, place of birth, last known address, last known | 18 | | telephone number of the sought-after relative or, if | 19 | | applicable, of the children or siblings of the sought-after | 20 | | relative, and the 18.3 statement. If the petitioner is an | 21 | | adult adopted or surrendered person or the adoptive parent of | 22 | | a minor and if the petitioner has signed a written | 23 | | authorization to disclose personal medical information, an | 24 | | adoption agency disclosing information to a confidential | 25 | | intermediary shall disclose available medical information | 26 | | about the adopted or surrendered person from birth through |
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| 1 | | adoption. | 2 | | (h) Missing or lost original birth certificate or birth | 3 | | certificate issued under Section 13 of the Vital Records Act ; | 4 | | remedy. Disclosure of information by the confidential | 5 | | intermediary shall be consistent with the public policy and | 6 | | intent of laws granting original birth certificate access as | 7 | | expressed in Section 18.04 of this Act. The confidential | 8 | | intermediary shall comply with the following procedures in | 9 | | disclosing information to the petitioners: | 10 | | (1) If the petitioner is an adult adopted or | 11 | | surrendered person, or the adult child, adult grandchild, | 12 | | or surviving spouse of a deceased adopted or surrendered | 13 | | person, the confidential intermediary shall disclose: | 14 | | (A) identifying information about the birth parent | 15 | | of the adopted person which, in the ordinary course of | 16 | | business, would have been reflected on the original | 17 | | filed certificate of birth, as of the date of birth, | 18 | | only if: | 19 | | (i) the adopted person was born before January | 20 | | 1, 1946 and the petitioner has requested a | 21 | | non-certified copy of the adopted person's | 22 | | original birth certificate under Section 18.1 of | 23 | | this Act, and the Illinois Department of Public | 24 | | Health has issued a certification that the | 25 | | original birth certificate was not found, or the | 26 | | petitioner has presented the confidential |
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| 1 | | intermediary with the non-certified copy of the | 2 | | original birth certificate which omits the name of | 3 | | the birth parent; | 4 | | (ii) the adopted person was born after January | 5 | | 1, 1946, and the petitioner has requested a | 6 | | non-certified copy of the adopted person's | 7 | | original birth certificate under Section 18.1 of | 8 | | this Act and the Illinois Department of Public | 9 | | Health has issued a certification that the | 10 | | original birth certificate was not found. | 11 | | In providing information pursuant to this | 12 | | subdivision (h)(1)(A), the confidential intermediary | 13 | | shall expressly inform the petitioner in writing that | 14 | | since the identifying information is not from an | 15 | | official original certificate of birth filed pursuant | 16 | | to the Vital Records Act, the confidential | 17 | | intermediary cannot attest to the complete accuracy of | 18 | | the information and the confidential intermediary | 19 | | shall not be liable if the information disclosed is | 20 | | not accurate. Only information from the court files | 21 | | shall be provided to the petitioner in this Section. | 22 | | If the identifying information concerning a birth | 23 | | father is sought by the petitioner, the confidential | 24 | | intermediary shall disclose only the identifying | 25 | | information of the birth father as defined in Section | 26 | | 18.06 of this Act; |
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| 1 | | (B) the name of the child welfare agency which had | 2 | | legal custody of the surrendered person or | 3 | | responsibility for placing the surrendered person and | 4 | | any available contact information for such agency; | 5 | | (C) the name of the state in which the surrender | 6 | | occurred or in which the adoption was finalized; and | 7 | | (D) any information for which the sought-after | 8 | | relative has provided his or her consent to disclose | 9 | | under paragraphs (1) through (4) of subsection (i) of | 10 | | this Section. | 11 | | (2) If the petitioner is an adult adopted or | 12 | | surrendered person, or the adoptive parent of an adult | 13 | | adopted or surrendered person under the age of 21, or the | 14 | | adoptive parent of a deceased adopted or surrendered | 15 | | person, the confidential intermediary shall provide, in | 16 | | addition to the information listed in paragraph (1) of | 17 | | this subsection (h): | 18 | | (A) any information which the adoption agency | 19 | | provides pursuant to subsection (i) of this Section | 20 | | pertaining to medical information about the adopted or | 21 | | surrendered person; and | 22 | | (B) any non-identifying information, as defined in | 23 | | Section 18.4 of this Act, that is obtained during the | 24 | | search. | 25 | | (3) If the petitioner is not defined in paragraph (1) | 26 | | or (2) of this subsection, the confidential intermediary |
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| 1 | | shall provide to the petitioner: | 2 | | (A) any information for which the sought-after | 3 | | relative has provided his or her consent under | 4 | | paragraphs (1) through (4) of subsection (i) of this | 5 | | Section; | 6 | | (B) the name of the child welfare agency which had | 7 | | legal custody of the surrendered person or | 8 | | responsibility for placing the surrendered person and | 9 | | any available contact information for such agency; and | 10 | | (C) the name of the state in which the surrender | 11 | | occurred or in which the adoption was finalized. | 12 | | (h-5) Disclosure of information shall be made by the | 13 | | confidential intermediary at any time from the appointment of | 14 | | the confidential intermediary and the court's issuance of an | 15 | | order of dismissal. | 16 | | (i) Duties of confidential intermediary in conducting a | 17 | | search. In conducting a search under this Section, the | 18 | | confidential intermediary shall first determine whether there | 19 | | is a Denial of Information Exchange or a Birth Parent | 20 | | Preference Form with Option E selected or an 18.3 statement | 21 | | referenced in subsection (g) of this Section on file with the | 22 | | Illinois Adoption Registry. If there is a denial, the Birth | 23 | | Parent Preference Form on file with the Registry and the birth | 24 | | parent who completed the form selected Option E, or if there is | 25 | | an 18.3 statement indicating the birth parent's intent not to | 26 | | have identifying information shared and the birth parent did |
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| 1 | | not later file an Information Exchange Authorization with the | 2 | | Registry, the confidential intermediary must discontinue the | 3 | | search unless 5 years or more have elapsed since the execution | 4 | | of the Denial of Information Exchange, Birth Parent Preference | 5 | | Form, or the 18.3 statement. If a birth parent was previously | 6 | | the subject of a search through the State confidential | 7 | | intermediary program, the confidential intermediary shall | 8 | | inform the petitioner of the need to discontinue the search | 9 | | until 10 years or more have elapsed since the initial search | 10 | | was closed. In cases where a birth parent has been the object | 11 | | of 2 searches through the State confidential intermediary | 12 | | program, no subsequent search for the birth parent shall be | 13 | | authorized absent a court order to the contrary. | 14 | | In conducting a search under this Section, the | 15 | | confidential intermediary shall attempt to locate the relative | 16 | | or relatives from whom the petitioner has requested | 17 | | information. If the sought-after relative is deceased or | 18 | | cannot be located after a diligent search, the confidential | 19 | | intermediary may contact other adult relatives of the | 20 | | sought-after relative. | 21 | | The confidential intermediary shall contact a sought-after | 22 | | relative on behalf of the petitioner in a manner that respects | 23 | | the sought-after relative's privacy and shall inform the | 24 | | sought-after relative of the petitioner's request for medical | 25 | | information, identifying information or contact as stated in | 26 | | the petition. Based upon the terms of the petitioner's |
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| 1 | | request, the confidential intermediary shall contact a | 2 | | sought-after relative on behalf of the petitioner and inform | 3 | | the sought-after relative of the following options: | 4 | | (1) The sought-after relative may totally reject one | 5 | | or all of the requests for medical information, | 6 | | identifying information or contact. The sought-after | 7 | | relative shall be informed that they can provide a medical | 8 | | questionnaire to be forwarded to the petitioner without | 9 | | releasing any identifying information. The confidential | 10 | | intermediary shall inform the petitioner of the | 11 | | sought-after relative's decision to reject the sharing of | 12 | | information or contact. | 13 | | (2) The sought-after relative may consent to | 14 | | completing a medical questionnaire only. In this case, the | 15 | | confidential intermediary shall provide the questionnaire | 16 | | and ask the sought-after relative to complete it. The | 17 | | confidential intermediary shall forward the completed | 18 | | questionnaire to the petitioner and inform the petitioner | 19 | | of the sought-after relative's desire to not provide any | 20 | | additional information. | 21 | | (3) The sought-after relative may communicate with the | 22 | | petitioner without having his or her identity disclosed. | 23 | | In this case, the confidential intermediary shall arrange | 24 | | the desired communication in a manner that protects the | 25 | | identity of the sought-after relative. The confidential | 26 | | intermediary shall inform the petitioner of the |
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| 1 | | sought-after relative's decision to communicate but not | 2 | | disclose his or her identity. | 3 | | (4) The sought-after relative may consent to initiate | 4 | | contact with the petitioner. The confidential intermediary | 5 | | shall obtain written consents from both parties that they | 6 | | wish to disclose their identities to each other and to | 7 | | have contact with each other. | 8 | | (j) Oath. The confidential intermediary shall sign an oath | 9 | | of confidentiality substantially as follows: "I, .........., | 10 | | being duly sworn, on oath depose and say: As a condition of | 11 | | appointment as a confidential intermediary, I affirm that: | 12 | | (1) I will not disclose to the petitioner, directly or | 13 | | indirectly, any confidential information except in a | 14 | | manner consistent with the law. | 15 | | (2) I recognize that violation of this oath subjects | 16 | | me to civil liability and to a potential finding of | 17 | | contempt of court. ................................ | 18 | | SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me, a Notary Public, on (insert | 19 | | date) | 20 | | ................................." | 21 | | (k) Sanctions. | 22 | | (1) Any confidential intermediary who improperly | 23 | | discloses confidential information identifying a | 24 | | sought-after relative shall be liable to the sought-after | 25 | | relative for damages and may also be found in contempt of | 26 | | court. |
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| 1 | | (2) Any person who learns a sought-after relative's | 2 | | identity, directly or indirectly, through the use of | 3 | | procedures provided in this Section and who improperly | 4 | | discloses information identifying the sought-after | 5 | | relative shall be liable to the sought-after relative for | 6 | | actual damages plus minimum punitive damages of $10,000. | 7 | | (3) The Department shall fine any confidential | 8 | | intermediary who improperly discloses confidential | 9 | | information in violation of item (1) or (2) of this | 10 | | subsection (k) an amount up to $2,000 per improper | 11 | | disclosure. This fine does not affect civil liability | 12 | | under item (2) of this subsection (k). The Department | 13 | | shall deposit all fines and penalties collected under this | 14 | | Section into the Illinois Adoption Registry and Medical | 15 | | Information Fund. | 16 | | (l) Death of person being sought. Notwithstanding any | 17 | | other provision of this Act, if the confidential intermediary | 18 | | discovers that the person being sought has died, he or she | 19 | | shall report this fact to the court, along with a copy of the | 20 | | death certificate. If the sought-after relative is a birth | 21 | | parent, the confidential intermediary shall also forward a | 22 | | copy of the birth parent's death certificate, if available, to | 23 | | the Registry for inclusion in the Registry file. | 24 | | (m) Any confidential information obtained by the | 25 | | confidential intermediary during the course of his or her | 26 | | search shall be kept strictly confidential and shall be used |
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| 1 | | for the purpose of arranging contact between the petitioner | 2 | | and the sought-after birth relative. At the time the case is | 3 | | closed, all identifying information shall be returned to the | 4 | | court for inclusion in the impounded adoption file. | 5 | | (n) (Blank). | 6 | | (o) Except as provided in subsection (k) of this Section, | 7 | | no liability shall accrue to the State, any State agency, any | 8 | | judge, any officer or employee of the court, any certified | 9 | | confidential intermediary, or any agency designated to oversee | 10 | | confidential intermediary services for acts, omissions, or | 11 | | efforts made in good faith within the scope of this Section. | 12 | | (p) An adoption agency that has received a request from a | 13 | | confidential intermediary for the full name, date of birth, | 14 | | last known address, or last known telephone number of a | 15 | | sought-after relative pursuant to subsection (g) of Section | 16 | | 18.3a, or for medical information regarding a sought-after | 17 | | relative pursuant to subsection (h) of Section 18.3a, must | 18 | | satisfactorily comply with this court order within a period of | 19 | | 45 days. The court shall order the adoption agency to | 20 | | reimburse the petitioner in an amount equal to all payments | 21 | | made by the petitioner to the confidential intermediary, and | 22 | | the adoption agency shall be subject to a civil monetary | 23 | | penalty of $1,000 to be paid to the Department of Children and | 24 | | Family Services. Following the issuance of a court order | 25 | | finding that the adoption agency has not complied with Section | 26 | | 18.3, the adoption agency shall be subject to a monetary |
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| 1 | | penalty of $500 per day for each subsequent day of | 2 | | non-compliance. Proceeds from such fines shall be utilized by | 3 | | the Department of Children and Family Services to subsidize | 4 | | the fees of petitioners as referenced in subsection (d) of | 5 | | this Section. | 6 | | (q) (Blank). | 7 | | Any reimbursements and fines, notwithstanding any | 8 | | reimbursement directly to the petitioner, paid under this | 9 | | subsection are in addition to other remedies a court may | 10 | | otherwise impose by law. | 11 | | The Department of Children and Family Services shall | 12 | | submit reports to the Adoption Registry-Confidential | 13 | | Intermediary Advisory Council by July 1 and January 1 of each | 14 | | year in order to report the penalties assessed and collected | 15 | | under this subsection, the amounts of related deposits into | 16 | | the DCFS Children's Services Fund, and any expenditures from | 17 | | such deposits. | 18 | | (Source: P.A. 102-825, eff. 7-1-23 .) |
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