Full Text of HB5085 093rd General Assembly
HB5085 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2003 and 2004 HB5085
Introduced 02/05/04, by Mary E. Flowers SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
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20 ILCS 505/5f new |
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20 ILCS 505/34.13 new |
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20 ILCS 505/34.14 new |
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30 ILCS 500/35-17 new |
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Amends the Children and Family Services Act to create the Children's Services
Commission. Provides that the Commission shall recommend ways to more
effectively deliver services provided by the State to children and families, to
promote inter-agency cooperation relating to the delivery of those services, to
more effectively use existing resources, and to eliminate
duplication of efforts. Directs the Commission to make recommendations on the
abolition of existing boards, committees, and commissions and on the
consolidation of the powers and duties of those boards, committees, and
commissions into a single entity.
Creates the Task Force on Accreditation of Services for Children, which shall
develop accreditation standards for foster homes, group homes, community
facilities, and other facilities and a 2-year plan for mandatory accreditation
for those facilities. Requires employees of the Department of Children and
Family Services and independent contractors to possess certain qualifications
before providing direct child welfare services. Amends the Illinois Procurement Code to require prospective contractors for child welfare services to prequalify
with the Department of Children and Family Services.
Effective July 1, 2004.
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A BILL FOR
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HB5085 |
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LRB093 20184 BDD 45929 b |
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| AN ACT concerning services for children.
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| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, | 3 |
| represented in the General Assembly:
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| Section 5. The Children and Family Services Act is amended | 5 |
| by adding Sections
5f,
34.13, and 34.14 as follows:
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| (20 ILCS 505/5f new)
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| Sec. 5f. Qualifications for direct child welfare service | 8 |
| employees.
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| (a) After July 1, 2004, a person shall not be hired as a | 10 |
| direct child
welfare
service employee or an independent | 11 |
| contractor for direct child welfare services
unless that person | 12 |
| has (i) a master's degree from an accredited or
State-approved | 13 |
| graduate school in social work or social welfare, marriage,
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| family, and child counseling, child psychology, child | 15 |
| development, or child
counseling psychology or (ii) the | 16 |
| equivalent education and experience, as
determined by the | 17 |
| Department. If a person who is, on the effective date of
this | 18 |
| amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly, a direct child | 19 |
| welfare service employee or an
independent contractor who | 20 |
| provides direct child welfare services does not
possess the | 21 |
| qualifications required by this Section by July 1, 2007, that
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| person's employment or contract shall be terminated.
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| (b) In addition to the requirements of subsection (a), | 24 |
| after July 1, 2004, a
person shall not be hired as a direct | 25 |
| child welfare service employee or an
independent contractor for | 26 |
| direct child welfare services unless that person has
all of the | 27 |
| following:
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| (1) At least 3 semester units or 100 days of field | 29 |
| practice or
experience at the master's level in a public or | 30 |
| private social service agency
setting.
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| (2) At least 9 semester units of course work related to | 32 |
| children and
families or 18 months experience in working |
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| with children and families.
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| (3) At least 3 semester units in working with minority | 3 |
| populations, 6
months of experience with minority | 4 |
| populations, or 6 months in-service training
in working | 5 |
| with minority populations within the first year of | 6 |
| employment as a
condition of employment.
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| (4) At least 3 semester units in child welfare or 2 | 8 |
| years of experience
in
a public or private child welfare | 9 |
| social service setting.
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| (c) As used in this Section, "direct child welfare service | 11 |
| employee" means a
public or private employee who provides | 12 |
| investigative services, foster care
services, or family | 13 |
| preservation services by or through the Department.
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| (20 ILCS 505/34.13 new)
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| Sec. 34.13. Children's Services Commission.
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| (a) There is established within the Department of Children | 17 |
| and Family
Services the Children's Services Commission. The | 18 |
| Commission shall be composed
of the following members:
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| (1) The Director or Deputy Director of:
the Department | 20 |
| of
Children and Family Services, the Department of Public | 21 |
| Aid, the Department of
State Police, and the Department of | 22 |
| Public Health; and the Secretary or
Assistant Secretary of | 23 |
| Human
Services.
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| (2) The State Superintendent of Education.
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| (3) One judge of a juvenile court, appointed by the | 26 |
| Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court.
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| (4) Four members of the House of Representatives, 2 of | 28 |
| whom shall be
appointed by the Speaker of the House of | 29 |
| Representatives and 2 of whom shall be
appointed by the | 30 |
| Minority Leader of the House of Representatives.
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| (5) Four members of the Senate, 2 of whom shall be | 32 |
| appointed by the
President of the Senate and 2 of whom | 33 |
| shall be appointed by the Minority Leader
of the Senate.
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| (b) The Commission shall:
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| (1) Make recommendations on how to encourage greater |
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| inter-agency
coordination and cooperation, to provide for | 2 |
| more effective utilization of
existing resources, and to | 3 |
| eliminate duplication of efforts in activities of
State
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| agencies that affect the legal rights and well-being of | 5 |
| children in Illinois.
These recommendations shall include | 6 |
| recommendations for (i) the abolition of
existing boards, | 7 |
| committees, and commissions created under this Act or the
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| Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act and other State | 9 |
| boards, committees,
and commissions that deal with child | 10 |
| welfare issues and (ii) the consolidation
of the powers and | 11 |
| duties of those boards, committees, and commissions into a
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| single board, committee, or commission.
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| (2) Develop a plan, to be phased in over a 3-year | 14 |
| period, for an
integrated system for providing child | 15 |
| welfare and child care services to
children in this State | 16 |
| through State programs.
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| (3) Develop a plan to improve the quality of child | 18 |
| welfare programs
Statewide. This plan shall include, but | 19 |
| not be limited to:
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| (A) Methods for making these programs available to | 21 |
| those children and
families who need them regardless of | 22 |
| their geographic location in the State or
their | 23 |
| financial limitations.
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| (B) Program recommendations for child welfare | 25 |
| services that include
child development, education, | 26 |
| supervision, health, and social services.
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| (C) Recommendations to address all federal | 28 |
| mandates concerning State
child welfare programs.
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| (4) Evaluate the Commission's success in fulfilling | 30 |
| its duties under this
Section.
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| (5) Submit a report to the General Assembly by February | 32 |
| 1 of each year
detailing the Commission's activities and | 33 |
| setting forth its recommendations.
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| (c) The Commission shall have an executive director, | 35 |
| appointed by the
Director of Children and Family Services, and | 36 |
| 5 staff members who shall be
provided by the Department of |
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| Children and Family Services. The costs of the
Commission shall | 2 |
| be paid from appropriations to the Department of Children and
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| Family Services for that purpose.
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| (20 ILCS 505/34.14 new)
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| Sec. 34.14. Accreditation of services for children.
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| (a) There is established within the Department of Children | 7 |
| and Family
Services the Task Force on Accreditation of Services | 8 |
| for Children. The Governor
shall convene a meeting of that body | 9 |
| on or before July 1, 2004.
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| (b) The Governor shall appoint a minimum of 15 members to | 11 |
| the Task Force.
Membership of the Task Force shall include, but | 12 |
| not be limited to, the
following:
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| (1) A representative from the Department of Children | 14 |
| and Family Services,
the Department of Public Aid, the
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| Department of Public Health, and the Department of Human | 16 |
| Services.
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| (2) A representative from the State Board of Education.
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| (3) Four representatives from university research | 19 |
| schools with expertise
in children's services and, | 20 |
| specifically, standards of care.
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| (4) Three professionals in the field of child welfare | 22 |
| service delivery who
have at least 5 years of direct child | 23 |
| welfare service experience and who have a
minimum of a | 24 |
| Master's level degree in graduate studies related to child | 25 |
| welfare
service delivery.
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| (5) Two pediatric physicians, at least one of whom is a | 27 |
| pediatric
psychiatrist, with at least 5 years of direct | 28 |
| child welfare servicing
experience.
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| (6) One representative with experience in | 30 |
| accreditation of agencies
serving children.
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| (c) No member serving on the Task Force shall be under | 32 |
| contract with the
State of Illinois.
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| (d) Members of the Task Force shall receive no compensation | 34 |
| related to their
service on the Task Force with the exception | 35 |
| of departmental employees.
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| (e) The Task Force may consult with additional persons, | 2 |
| advisory entities,
and governmental agencies, as the Task Force | 3 |
| determines necessary.
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| (f) The Task Force shall develop a 2-year plan for | 5 |
| mandatory accreditation
of
all facilities for children in | 6 |
| substitute care, including group homes, foster
family | 7 |
| agencies, foster family homes, and community treatment | 8 |
| facilities, in
order to achieve the maximum quality of | 9 |
| residential services for children.
Accreditation standards | 10 |
| shall also be developed for child welfare service
personnel who | 11 |
| are employed by or are under contract with child welfare
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| agencies.
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| (g) The plan shall include, but not be limited to, all of | 14 |
| the following:
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| (1) Proof that the standards of accreditation have been | 16 |
| written with the
participation of a diverse group of | 17 |
| service providers, advocacy organizations,
and placement | 18 |
| agency personnel.
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| (2) A draft that sets forth accreditation standards | 20 |
| that are comprehensive
and detailed, are concerned with | 21 |
| optimal achievement rather than minimal
quality, and | 22 |
| provide for continuing and objective evaluation of | 23 |
| services.
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| (3) A recommended schedule for implementation of | 25 |
| accreditation of
residential facilities for children, and | 26 |
| a fiscal incentive strategy for
programs that become | 27 |
| accredited.
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| The Task Force shall report its plan to the Governor and | 29 |
| the General Assembly
by December 31, 2004.
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| Section 10. The Illinois Procurement Code is amended by | 31 |
| adding Section 35-17 as follows: | 32 |
| (30 ILCS 500/35-17 new)
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| Sec. 35-17. Prequalification for child welfare services. | 34 |
| The Department of Children and Family Services shall require
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| prospective contractors for child welfare services, including | 2 |
| those
contracts involving professional skills, to be | 3 |
| prequalified to determine their
responsibility and competency | 4 |
| to perform the prospective contract. Contractors,
including | 5 |
| the principals, officers, or directors of a corporation, who | 6 |
| engage
in
political activity to influence the bidding selection | 7 |
| process or make political
contributions to political office | 8 |
| holders who may influence the bidding
selection process, are | 9 |
| automatically excluded from the bidding process.
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| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect on July | 11 |
| 1, 2004.
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