Full Text of SB0466 95th General Assembly
SB0466 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2007 and 2008 SB0466
Introduced 2/8/2007, by Sen. John J. Cullerton SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
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Amends the Children and Family Services Act. Requires the Department of Children and Family Services to develop and administer a program of information and services for caregivers, particularly older caregivers, of children previously in Department custody, with respect to the future care and custody of those children. Effective immediately.
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A BILL FOR
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SB0466 |
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| AN ACT concerning State government.
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| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| represented in the General Assembly:
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| Section 5. The Children and Family Services Act is amended | 5 |
| by changing Section 34.11 as follows:
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| (20 ILCS 505/34.11)
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| Sec. 34.11. Grandparent child care program.
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| (a) The General Assembly finds and declares the following:
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| (1) An increasing number of children under the age of | 10 |
| 18, including many
children who would otherwise be at risk | 11 |
| of abuse or neglect, are in the care of
a grandparent or | 12 |
| other nonparent relative.
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| (2) The principal causes of this increase include | 14 |
| parental substance
abuse, child abuse, mental illness, | 15 |
| poverty, and death, as well as concerted
efforts by | 16 |
| families and by the child welfare service system to keep | 17 |
| children
with relatives whenever possible.
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| (3) Grandparents and older relatives providing primary | 19 |
| care for at-risk
children may experience unique resultant | 20 |
| problems, such as financial stress due
to limited incomes, | 21 |
| emotional difficulties dealing with the loss of the child's
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| parents or the child's unique behaviors, and decreased | 23 |
| physical stamina coupled
with a much higher incidence of |
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| chronic illness.
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| (4) Many children being raised by nonparent relatives | 3 |
| experience one or a
combination of emotional, behavioral, | 4 |
| psychological, academic, or medical
problems, especially | 5 |
| those born to a substance-abusing mother or at risk of
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| child abuse, neglect, or abandonment.
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| (5) Grandparents and other relatives providing primary | 8 |
| care for children
lack appropriate information about the | 9 |
| issues of kinship care, the special
needs (both physical | 10 |
| and psychological) of children born to a substance-abusing
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| mother or at risk of child abuse, neglect, or abandonment, | 12 |
| and the support
resources currently available to them.
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| (6) An increasing number of grandparents and other | 14 |
| relatives age 60 or older are adopting or becoming the | 15 |
| subsidized guardians of children placed in their care by | 16 |
| the Department. Some of these children will experience the | 17 |
| death of their adoptive parent or guardian before reaching | 18 |
| the age of 18. For most of these children, no legal plan | 19 |
| has been made for the child's future care and custody in | 20 |
| the event of the caregiver's death or incapacity. | 21 |
| (7) Grandparents and other relatives providing primary | 22 |
| care for children lack appropriate information about | 23 |
| future care and custody planning for children in their | 24 |
| care. They also lack access to resources that may assist | 25 |
| them in developing future legal care and custody plans for | 26 |
| children in their legal custody.
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| (b) The Department may establish an informational and | 2 |
| educational program
for grandparents and other relatives who | 3 |
| provide primary care for children who
are at risk of child | 4 |
| abuse, neglect, or abandonment or who were born to
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| substance-abusing mothers. As a part of the program, the | 6 |
| Department may
develop, publish, and distribute an | 7 |
| informational brochure for grandparents and
other relatives | 8 |
| who provide primary care for children who are at risk of child
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| abuse, neglect, or abandonment or who were born to | 10 |
| substance-abusing mothers.
The information provided under the | 11 |
| program authorized by this Section may
include, but is not | 12 |
| limited to the following:
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| (1) The most prevalent causes of kinship care, | 14 |
| especially the risk of
substance exposure or child abuse, | 15 |
| neglect, or abandonment.
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| (2) The problems experienced by children being raised | 17 |
| by nonparent
caregivers.
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| (3) The problems experienced by grandparents and other | 19 |
| nonparent relatives
providing primary care for children | 20 |
| who have special needs.
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| (4) The legal system as it relates to children and | 22 |
| their nonparent primary
caregivers.
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| (5) The benefits available to children and their | 24 |
| nonparent primary
caregivers.
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| (6) A list of support groups and resources located | 26 |
| throughout the State.
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| The brochure may be distributed through hospitals, public | 2 |
| health nurses,
child protective services, medical professional | 3 |
| offices, elementary and
secondary schools, senior citizen | 4 |
| centers, public libraries, community action
agencies selected | 5 |
| by the Department, and the Department of Human Services.
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| (c) In addition to other provisions of this Section, the | 7 |
| Department shall establish a program of information, social | 8 |
| work services, and legal services for any person age 60 or over | 9 |
| and any other person who may be in need of a future legal care | 10 |
| and custody plan who adopt, have adopted, take guardianship of, | 11 |
| or have taken guardianship of children previously in the | 12 |
| Department's custody. This program shall also assist families | 13 |
| of deceased adoptive parents and guardians. As part of the | 14 |
| program, the Department shall:
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| (1) Develop a protocol for identification of persons | 16 |
| age 60 or over and others who may be in need of future care | 17 |
| and custody plans, including ill caregivers, who are | 18 |
| adoptive parents, prospective adoptive parents, guardians, | 19 |
| or prospective guardians of children who are or have been | 20 |
| in Department custody.
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| (2) Provide outreach to caregivers before and after | 22 |
| adoption and guardianship, and to the families of deceased | 23 |
| caregivers, regarding Illinois legal options for future | 24 |
| care and custody of children.
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| (3) Provide training for Department and private agency | 26 |
| staff on methods of assisting caregivers before and after |
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| adoption and guardianship, and the families of older and | 2 |
| ill caregivers, who wish to make future care and custody | 3 |
| plans for children who have been wards of the Department | 4 |
| and who are or will be adopted by or are or will become | 5 |
| wards of those caregivers.
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| (4) Ensure that all caregivers age 60 or over who will | 7 |
| adopt, have adopted, will become guardians of, or are | 8 |
| guardians of children previously in Department custody | 9 |
| have specifically designated future caregivers for | 10 |
| children in their care. The Department shall document this | 11 |
| designation, and the Department shall also document | 12 |
| acceptance of this responsibility by any future caregiver. | 13 |
| Documentation of future care designation shall be included | 14 |
| in each child's case file and adoption or guardianship | 15 |
| subsidy files as applicable to the child.
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| (5) Ensure that any designated future caregiver and the | 17 |
| family of a deceased caregiver have information on the | 18 |
| financial needs of the child and future resources that may | 19 |
| be available to support the child, including any adoption | 20 |
| assistance and subsidized guardianship for which the child | 21 |
| is or may be eligible.
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| (6) Provide legal and social work services to older and | 23 |
| ill caregivers, and the families of deceased caregivers, | 24 |
| with the goal of securing a court-ordered or other legal | 25 |
| future care and custody plan for children in their care. | 26 |
| Court-ordered plans may include: standby adoption, standby |
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| guardianship, adoption, guardianship, or other | 2 |
| court-ordered custody plans. Other legal plans may include | 3 |
| short-term guardianship or testamentary guardianship | 4 |
| through a last will and testament.
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| Legal services shall include legal consultation, | 6 |
| ongoing representation and counseling, and review of | 7 |
| adoption assistance and subsidized guardianship | 8 |
| agreements.
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| Social work services shall be offered with the goal of | 10 |
| facilitating agreements between a current and potential | 11 |
| future caregiver and any other family members or persons | 12 |
| who are significant in the life of a child regarding future | 13 |
| care and custody of the child.
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| (7) Ensure that future caregivers designated by | 15 |
| adoptive parents or guardians, and the families of deceased | 16 |
| caregivers, understand their rights and potential | 17 |
| responsibilities and shall be able to provide adequate | 18 |
| support and education for children who may become their | 19 |
| legal responsibility.
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| (8) Ensure that future caregivers designated by | 21 |
| adoptive parents and guardians, and the families of | 22 |
| deceased caregivers, understand the problems of children | 23 |
| who have experienced multiple caregivers and who may have | 24 |
| experienced abuse, neglect, or abandonment or may have been | 25 |
| born to substance-abusing mothers.
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| (9) Ensure that future caregivers designated by |
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| adoptive parents and guardians, and the families of | 2 |
| deceased caregivers, understand the problems experienced | 3 |
| by older and ill caregivers of children, including children | 4 |
| with special needs, such as financial stress due to limited | 5 |
| income and increased financial responsibility, emotional | 6 |
| difficulties associated with the loss of a child's parent | 7 |
| or the child's unique behaviors, the special needs of a | 8 |
| child who may come into their custody or whose parent or | 9 |
| guardian is already deceased, and decreased physical | 10 |
| stamina and a higher rate of chronic illness and other | 11 |
| health concerns.
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| (10) Provide additional services as needed to families | 13 |
| in which a designated caregiver appointed by the court or a | 14 |
| caregiver designated in a will or other legal document | 15 |
| cannot or will not fulfill the responsibilities as adoptive | 16 |
| parent, guardian, or legal custodian of the child.
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| No later than January 1, 2008, the Department shall adopt | 18 |
| rules to implement this subsection. On or before January 1, | 19 |
| 2009 and each January 1 thereafter, the Department shall submit | 20 |
| to the General Assembly a report on the implementation of this | 21 |
| subsection.
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| (Source: P.A. 88-229; 88-670, eff. 12-2-94; 89-507, eff. | 23 |
| 7-1-97.)
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| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 25 |
| becoming law.
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