Full Text of HB3267 102nd General Assembly
HB3267enr 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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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 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the | 5 | | Advisory Commission on Reducing the Disproportionate | 6 | | Representation of African-American Children in Foster Care | 7 | | Act. | 8 | | Section 5. Findings. The General Assembly finds the | 9 | | following: | 10 | | (1) In 1994 the African-American Family Commission was | 11 | | created by Executive Order to assist the Department of | 12 | | Children and Family Services in developing and | 13 | | implementing programs and public policies that affect the | 14 | | State's child welfare system. | 15 | | (2) However, in 2004 the Commission was renamed and | 16 | | its role expanded to focus on the development of services | 17 | | and programs that aim to strengthen and preserve the | 18 | | social and economic well-being of African-American | 19 | | families. | 20 | | (3) This holistic approach to strengthening | 21 | | African-American families and communities, though | 22 | | necessary, has yet to adequately address the | 23 | | disproportionate number of African-American children in |
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| 1 | | foster care. | 2 | | (4) According to a 2017 fact sheet published by Child | 3 | | Trends, in 2015 African-American children represented 50% | 4 | | of Illinois' foster care population even though they only | 5 | | make up 15% of the State's general child population. | 6 | | (5) In contrast, white children represented 38% of the | 7 | | foster care population in 2015 even though they make up | 8 | | 52% of the State's general child population. | 9 | | (6) Hispanic children are underrepresented in | 10 | | Illinois' foster care system as they only accounted for 9% | 11 | | of the foster care population in 2015 despite making up | 12 | | 24% of the general child population. | 13 | | (7) Unfortunately, the disproportionate number of | 14 | | African-American children in foster care is a national | 15 | | dilemma. | 16 | | (8) According to an April 13, 2020 report published by | 17 | | the Annie E. Casey Foundation's KIDS COUNT Data Center, | 18 | | even though "the share of children who are black and in | 19 | | foster care remains much smaller than it was nearly a | 20 | | decade ago . . . black children are still overrepresented | 21 | | among youth in foster care relative to the general | 22 | | population" as they account for 23% of all kids in foster | 23 | | care even though they only represent 14% of the total | 24 | | child population in the United States. | 25 | | (9) In light of these grim statistics, the General | 26 | | Assembly finds the need for a separate advisory commission |
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| 1 | | that is exclusively focused on identifying those causes | 2 | | and factors that contribute to the overrepresentation of | 3 | | African-American children in Illinois' foster care system | 4 | | and the policy measures needed to safely reduce the number | 5 | | of African-American children in foster care and keep them | 6 | | with their families. | 7 | | Section 10. Advisory Commission on Reducing the | 8 | | Disproportionate Representation of African-American Children | 9 | | in Foster Care. | 10 | | (a) The Advisory Commission on Reducing the | 11 | | Disproportionate Representation of African-American Children | 12 | | in Foster Care is created and shall have the following | 13 | | appointed members: | 14 | | (1) One member appointed by the Governor or his of her | 15 | | designee. | 16 | | (2) One member appointed by the Speaker of the House | 17 | | of Representatives or his or her designee. | 18 | | (3) One member appointed by the Minority Leader of the | 19 | | House of Representatives or his or her designee. | 20 | | (4) One member appointed by the President of the | 21 | | Senate or his or her designee. | 22 | | (5) One member appointed by the Minority Leader of the | 23 | | Senate or his or her designee. | 24 | | (6) The Department on Aging, the Department of | 25 | | Children and Family Services, the Department of Human |
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| 1 | | Services, the Department of Juvenile Justice, the | 2 | | Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, the | 3 | | Department of Healthcare and Family Services, the | 4 | | Department of Public Health, the State Board of Education, | 5 | | the Board of Higher Education, the Illinois Community | 6 | | College Board, the Department of Human Rights, the Capital | 7 | | Development Board, the Department of Corrections, and the | 8 | | Department of Labor shall each appoint a liaison to serve | 9 | | ex officio on the Commission. | 10 | | (7) One member from the Task Force on Strengthening | 11 | | Child Welfare Workforce for Children and Families. | 12 | | (8) One member from the Child Endangerment Risk | 13 | | Assessment Protocol Advisory Committee. | 14 | | (9) Two members representing nonprofit organizations | 15 | | that advocate for African-American children or youth to be | 16 | | appointed by the Governor or his or her designee. | 17 | | (b) The Governor or his or her designee shall appoint the | 18 | | chairperson or chairpersons. | 19 | | (c) Each member appointed to the Commission shall have a | 20 | | working knowledge of Illinois' child welfare system. The | 21 | | members shall reflect regional representation to ensure that | 22 | | the needs of African-American families and children throughout | 23 | | the State of Illinois are met. | 24 | | (d) Members shall be appointed within 60 days after
the | 25 | | effective date of this Act. The Advisory Commission shall hold | 26 | | its
initial meetings within 60 days after at least 50% of the
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| 1 | | members have been appointed. | 2 | | (e) Vacancies on the Advisory Commission shall be filled | 3 | | in the same manner as initial appointments. Appointments to | 4 | | fill vacancies occurring before the expiration of a term shall | 5 | | be for the remainder of the unexpired term. Members shall | 6 | | serve without compensation but may be reimbursed for actual | 7 | | necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their | 8 | | duties. | 9 | | (f) The Department of Children and Family Services shall | 10 | | provide administrative support to the Advisory Commission. | 11 | | Section 15. Duties. The Advisory Commission shall be a | 12 | | coordinating and advocating body that acts on behalf of the | 13 | | interests of African-American children who are at risk of | 14 | | placement within the State's child welfare system. The | 15 | | Advisory Commission shall advise the Governor and the General | 16 | | Assembly, as well as work directly with State agencies, to | 17 | | identify those causes and factors that contribute to the | 18 | | overrepresentation of African-American children in foster | 19 | | care. In addition, the Advisory Commission shall collaborate | 20 | | with State agencies and other social services organizations to | 21 | | develop effective strategies, policies, services, and programs | 22 | | that are aimed at providing African-American children and | 23 | | their families with the resources and preventive services they | 24 | | need to stay out of foster care and the child welfare system | 25 | | generally. The Advisory Commission shall also assist in the |
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| 1 | | development of child welfare policies and practices that | 2 | | advance more equitable outcomes for African-American children | 3 | | and their families who have contact with the Department of | 4 | | Children and Family Services. In furtherance of these | 5 | | purposes, the Advisory Commission shall do the following: | 6 | | (1) Regularly track and analyze State and local data | 7 | | on
the racial disproportionality of children in foster | 8 | | care in order to develop effective policies to
prevent | 9 | | African-American children's placement in foster or | 10 | | substitute care. | 11 | | (2) Examine and develop strategies and policies to | 12 | | address the 2018 data released by the University of | 13 | | Illinois' Children and Family Research Center, School of | 14 | | Social Work, which showed racial disproportionality during | 15 | | 5 key stages of the child welfare decision-making process: | 16 | | investigated maltreatment reports; protective custody; | 17 | | indicated maltreatment reports; entries into substitute | 18 | | care; and timely exits from substitute care. | 19 | | (3) Assist in the development of cultural competency | 20 | | training programs for child welfare caseworkers to | 21 | | eliminate racial bias and cultural misconceptions about | 22 | | African-American families and communities during the child | 23 | | welfare decision-making process. | 24 | | (4) Monitor and comment on existing and
proposed | 25 | | legislation that affects African-American children who are | 26 | | at risk of placement in the child welfare or juvenile |
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| 1 | | justice systems. | 2 | | (5) Identify best practices to safely increase the | 3 | | number of family or relative placements for | 4 | | African-American children who enter the child welfare | 5 | | system. | 6 | | (6) Collaborate with other State agencies and social | 7 | | services agencies in the development of programs that | 8 | | improve African-American families access to preventive and | 9 | | supportive services, including, but not limited to, mental | 10 | | health and substance use disorder services, medical care, | 11 | | legal assistance, housing assistance, and family | 12 | | counseling. | 13 | | Section 20. Reporting requirements. The Advisory | 14 | | Commission shall submit an initial report on its findings and | 15 | | recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly one | 16 | | year after it convenes its first meeting and every 2 years | 17 | | thereafter.
| 18 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 19 | | becoming law.
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