Full Text of SB2980 103rd General Assembly
SB2980enr 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY | | | SB2980 Enrolled | | LRB103 35564 SPS 65636 b |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning regulation. | 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, | 3 | | represented in the General Assembly: | 4 | | Section 5. The Child Care Act of 1969 is amended by | 5 | | changing Section 4 as follows: | 6 | | (225 ILCS 10/4) (from Ch. 23, par. 2214) | 7 | | Sec. 4. License requirement; application; notice. | 8 | | (a) Any person, group of persons or corporation who or | 9 | | which receives children or arranges for care or placement of | 10 | | one or more children unrelated to the operator must apply for a | 11 | | license to operate one of the types of facilities defined in | 12 | | Sections 2.05 through 2.19 and in Section 2.22 of this Act. Any | 13 | | relative, as defined in Section 2.17 of this Act, who receives | 14 | | a child or children for placement by the Department on a | 15 | | full-time basis may apply for a license to operate a foster | 16 | | family home as defined in Section 2.17 of this Act. | 17 | | (a-5) Any agency, person, group of persons, association, | 18 | | organization, corporation, institution, center, or group | 19 | | providing adoption services must be licensed by the Department | 20 | | as a child welfare agency as defined in Section 2.08 of this | 21 | | Act. "Providing adoption services" as used in this Act, | 22 | | includes facilitating or engaging in adoption services. | 23 | | (b) Application for a license to operate a child care |
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| 1 | | facility must be made to the Department in the manner and on | 2 | | forms prescribed by it. An application to operate a foster | 3 | | family home shall include, at a minimum: a completed written | 4 | | form; written authorization by the applicant and all adult | 5 | | members of the applicant's household to conduct a criminal | 6 | | background investigation; medical evidence in the form of a | 7 | | medical report, on forms prescribed by the Department, that | 8 | | the applicant and all members of the household are free from | 9 | | communicable diseases or physical and mental conditions that | 10 | | affect their ability to provide care for the child or | 11 | | children; the names and addresses of at least 3 persons not | 12 | | related to the applicant who can attest to the applicant's | 13 | | moral character; the name and address of at least one relative | 14 | | who can attest to the applicant's capability to care for the | 15 | | child or children; and fingerprints submitted by the applicant | 16 | | and all adult members of the applicant's household. | 17 | | (b-5) Prior to submitting an application for a foster | 18 | | family home license, a quality of care concerns applicant as | 19 | | defined in Section 2.22a of this Act must submit a preliminary | 20 | | application to the Department in the manner and on forms | 21 | | prescribed by it. The Department shall explain to the quality | 22 | | of care concerns applicant the grounds for requiring a | 23 | | preliminary application. The preliminary application shall | 24 | | include a list of (i) all children placed in the home by the | 25 | | Department who were removed by the Department for reasons | 26 | | other than returning to a parent and the circumstances under |
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| 1 | | which they were removed and (ii) all children placed by the | 2 | | Department who were subsequently adopted by or placed in the | 3 | | private guardianship of the quality of care concerns applicant | 4 | | who are currently under 18 and who no longer reside in the home | 5 | | and the reasons why they no longer reside in the home. The | 6 | | preliminary application shall also include, if the quality of | 7 | | care concerns applicant chooses to submit, (1) a response to | 8 | | the quality of care concerns, including any reason the | 9 | | concerns are invalid, have been addressed or ameliorated, or | 10 | | no longer apply and (2) affirmative documentation | 11 | | demonstrating that the quality of care concerns applicant's | 12 | | home does not pose a risk to children and that the family will | 13 | | be able to meet the physical and emotional needs of children. | 14 | | The Department shall verify the information in the preliminary | 15 | | application and review (i) information regarding any prior | 16 | | licensing complaints, (ii) information regarding any prior | 17 | | child abuse or neglect investigations, (iii) information | 18 | | regarding any involuntary foster home holds placed on the home | 19 | | by the Department, and (iv) information regarding all child | 20 | | exit interviews, as provided in Section 5.26 of the Children | 21 | | and Family Services Act, regarding the home. Foster home | 22 | | applicants with quality of care concerns are presumed | 23 | | unsuitable for future licensure. | 24 | | Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection (b-5), | 25 | | the Department may make an exception and issue a foster family | 26 | | license to a quality of care concerns applicant if the |
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| 1 | | Department is satisfied that the foster family home does not | 2 | | pose a risk to children and that the foster family will be able | 3 | | to meet the physical and emotional needs of children. In | 4 | | making this determination, the Department must obtain and | 5 | | carefully review all relevant documents and shall obtain | 6 | | consultation from its Clinical Division as appropriate and as | 7 | | prescribed by Department rule and procedure. The Department | 8 | | has the authority to deny a preliminary application based on | 9 | | the record of quality of care concerns of the foster family | 10 | | home. In the alternative, the Department may (i) approve the | 11 | | preliminary application, (ii) approve the preliminary | 12 | | application subject to obtaining additional information or | 13 | | assessments, or (iii) approve the preliminary application for | 14 | | purposes of placing a particular child or children only in the | 15 | | foster family home. If the Department approves a preliminary | 16 | | application, the foster family shall submit an application for | 17 | | licensure as described in subsection (b) of this Section. The | 18 | | Department shall notify the quality of care concerns applicant | 19 | | of its decision and the basis for its decision in writing. | 20 | | (c) The Department shall notify the public when a child | 21 | | care institution, maternity center, or group home licensed by | 22 | | the Department undergoes a change in (i) the range of care or | 23 | | services offered at the facility or , (ii) the age or type of | 24 | | children served , or (iii) the area within the facility used by | 25 | | children . The Department shall notify the public of the change | 26 | | in a newspaper of general circulation in the county or |
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| 1 | | municipality in which the applicant's facility is or is | 2 | | proposed to be located. | 3 | | (c-5) When a child care institution, maternity center, or | 4 | | a group home licensed by the Department undergoes a change in | 5 | | (i) the age of children served or (ii) the area within the | 6 | | facility used by children, the Department shall post | 7 | | information regarding proposed changes on its website as | 8 | | required by rule. | 9 | | (d) If, upon examination of the facility and investigation | 10 | | of persons responsible for care of children and, in the case of | 11 | | a foster home, taking into account information obtained for | 12 | | purposes of evaluating a preliminary application, if | 13 | | applicable, the Department is satisfied that the facility and | 14 | | responsible persons reasonably meet standards prescribed for | 15 | | the type of facility for which application is made, it shall | 16 | | issue a license in proper form, designating on that license | 17 | | the type of child care facility and, except for a child welfare | 18 | | agency, the number of children to be served at any one time. | 19 | | (e) The Department shall not issue or renew the license of | 20 | | any child welfare agency providing adoption services, unless | 21 | | the agency (i) is officially recognized by the United States | 22 | | Internal Revenue Service as a tax-exempt organization | 23 | | described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of | 24 | | 1986 (or any successor provision of federal tax law) and (ii) | 25 | | is in compliance with all of the standards necessary to | 26 | | maintain its status as an organization described in Section |
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| 1 | | 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (or any | 2 | | successor provision of federal tax law). The Department shall | 3 | | grant a grace period of 24 months from the effective date of | 4 | | this amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly for existing | 5 | | child welfare agencies providing adoption services to obtain | 6 | | 501(c)(3) status. The Department shall permit an existing | 7 | | child welfare agency that converts from its current structure | 8 | | in order to be recognized as a 501(c)(3) organization as | 9 | | required by this Section to either retain its current license | 10 | | or transfer its current license to a newly formed entity, if | 11 | | the creation of a new entity is required in order to comply | 12 | | with this Section, provided that the child welfare agency | 13 | | demonstrates that it continues to meet all other licensing | 14 | | requirements and that the principal officers and directors and | 15 | | programs of the converted child welfare agency or newly | 16 | | organized child welfare agency are substantially the same as | 17 | | the original. The Department shall have the sole discretion to | 18 | | grant a one year extension to any agency unable to obtain | 19 | | 501(c)(3) status within the timeframe specified in this | 20 | | subsection (e), provided that such agency has filed an | 21 | | application for 501(c)(3) status with the Internal Revenue | 22 | | Service within the 2-year timeframe specified in this | 23 | | subsection (e). | 24 | | (f) The Department shall adopt rules to implement the | 25 | | changes to this Section made by this amendatory Act of the | 26 | | 103rd General Assembly no later than January 1, 2025. |
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| 1 | | (Source: P.A. 101-63, eff. 7-12-19; 102-763, eff. 1-1-23 .) |
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