State of Illinois
91st General Assembly
Legislation

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91_HB1298

 
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 1        AN ACT to amend the Adoption Act by changing Section 1.

 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
 5    Section 1 as follows:

 6        (750 ILCS 50/1) (from Ch. 40, par. 1501)
 7        Sec. 1.  Definitions.  When used in this Act, unless  the
 8    context otherwise requires:
 9        A.  "Child"  means  a  person  under legal age subject to
10    adoption under this Act.
11        B.  "Related child" means a  child  subject  to  adoption
12    where either or both of the adopting parents stands in any of
13    the   following  relationships  to  the  child  by  blood  or
14    marriage: parent, grand-parent, brother, sister, step-parent,
15    step-grandparent,  step-brother,  step-sister,  uncle,  aunt,
16    great-uncle, great-aunt, or cousin of first degree.  A  child
17    whose  parent  has  executed  a  final irrevocable consent to
18    adoption or a final irrevocable  surrender  for  purposes  of
19    adoption,  or whose parent has had his or her parental rights
20    terminated, is not a related child to that person, unless the
21    consent is determined to be  void  or  is  void  pursuant  to
22    subsection O of Section 10.
23        C.  "Agency"  for  the purpose of this Act means a public
24    child welfare agency or a licensed child welfare agency.
25        D.  "Unfit person" means any person whom the court  shall
26    find  to  be  unfit  to  have  a child, without regard to the
27    likelihood that the child will be placed for  adoption.   The
28    grounds of unfitness are any one or more of the following:
29             (a)  Abandonment of the child.
30             (a-1)  Abandonment   of   a   newborn  infant  in  a
31        hospital.
 
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 1             (a-2)  Abandonment  of  a  newborn  infant  in   any
 2        setting  where  the  evidence  suggests  that  the parent
 3        intended to relinquish his or her parental rights.
 4             (b)  Failure to  maintain  a  reasonable  degree  of
 5        interest,  concern  or  responsibility  as to the child's
 6        welfare.
 7             (c)  Desertion of the child for more than  3  months
 8        next   preceding   the   commencement   of  the  Adoption
 9        proceeding.
10             (d)  Substantial neglect of the child if  continuous
11        or repeated.
12             (d-1)  Substantial   neglect,   if   continuous   or
13        repeated,  of  any  child residing in the household which
14        resulted in the death of that child.
15             (e)  Extreme or repeated cruelty to the child.
16             (f)  Two or more findings of physical abuse  to  any
17        children  under  Section 4-8 of the Juvenile Court Act or
18        Section 2-21 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987, the  most
19        recent  of  which  was  determined  by the juvenile court
20        hearing  the  matter  to  be  supported  by   clear   and
21        convincing  evidence;  a criminal conviction or a finding
22        of not guilty by reason of insanity  resulting  from  the
23        death  of any child by physical child abuse; or a finding
24        of physical child abuse resulting from the death  of  any
25        child  under  Section  4-8  of  the Juvenile Court Act or
26        Section 2-21 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987.
27             (g)  Failure to protect the  child  from  conditions
28        within his environment injurious to the child's welfare.
29             (h)  Other  neglect  of,  or  misconduct  toward the
30        child; provided that in making a finding of unfitness the
31        court hearing the adoption proceeding shall not be  bound
32        by  any  previous finding, order or judgment affecting or
33        determining the rights of the parents  toward  the  child
34        sought  to be adopted in any other proceeding except such
 
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 1        proceedings terminating parental rights as shall  be  had
 2        under  either  this  Act,  the  Juvenile Court Act or the
 3        Juvenile Court Act of 1987.
 4             (i)  Depravity.   Conviction  of  any  one  of   the
 5        following crimes shall create a presumption that a parent
 6        is  depraved  which  can  be  overcome  only by clear and
 7        convincing evidence: (1) first degree murder in violation
 8        of paragraph 1 or 2 of subsection (a) of Section  9-1  of
 9        the  Criminal Code of 1961 or conviction of second degree
10        murder in violation of subsection (a) of Section  9-2  of
11        the  Criminal Code of 1961 of a parent of the child to be
12        adopted; (2) first degree murder or second degree  murder
13        of  any  child in violation of the Criminal Code of 1961;
14        (3) attempt or conspiracy to commit first  degree  murder
15        or  second degree murder of any child in violation of the
16        Criminal Code of 1961; (4) solicitation to commit  murder
17        of  any child, solicitation to commit murder of any child
18        for hire, or solicitation to commit second degree  murder
19        of  any  child in violation of the Criminal Code of 1961;
20        or (5) aggravated criminal sexual assault in violation of
21        Section 12-14(b)(1) of the Criminal Code of 1961.
22             There is a rebuttable presumption that a  parent  is
23        depraved  if  the parent has been criminally convicted of
24        at least 3 felonies under the laws of this State  or  any
25        other  state,  or under federal law, or the criminal laws
26        of any United States territory; and at least one of these
27        convictions took place within 5 years of  the  filing  of
28        the  petition  or  motion seeking termination of parental
29        rights.
30             There is a rebuttable presumption that a  parent  is
31        depraved  if that parent has been criminally convicted of
32        either first or second degree murder  of  any  person  as
33        defined  in  the Criminal Code of 1961 within 10 years of
34        the filing date of the petition or  motion  to  terminate
 
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 1        parental rights.
 2             (j)  Open and notorious adultery or fornication.
 3             (j-1)  (Blank).
 4             (k)  Habitual  drunkenness  or  addiction  to drugs,
 5        other than those prescribed by a physician, for at  least
 6        one  year  immediately  prior  to the commencement of the
 7        unfitness proceeding.
 8             There is a rebuttable presumption that a  parent  is
 9        unfit  under this subsection with respect to any child to
10        which that parent gives birth where there is a  confirmed
11        test  result  that  at birth the child's blood, urine, or
12        meconium contained any amount of a  controlled  substance
13        as  defined  in  subsection  (f)  of  Section  102 of the
14        Illinois Controlled Substances Act or metabolites of such
15        substances, the presence of which in the  newborn  infant
16        was  not  the result of medical treatment administered to
17        the mother or the  newborn  infant;  and  the  biological
18        mother of this child is the biological mother of at least
19        one  other  child  who  was adjudicated a neglected minor
20        under subsection (c) of Section 2-3 of the Juvenile Court
21        Act of 1987.
22             (l)  Failure to demonstrate a reasonable  degree  of
23        interest,  concern or responsibility as to the welfare of
24        a new born child during  the  first  30  days  after  its
25        birth.
26             (m)  Failure  by  a  parent  (i)  to make reasonable
27        efforts to correct the conditions that were the basis for
28        the removal of the child from the parent, or (ii) to make
29        reasonable progress toward the return of the child to the
30        parent within 9 months after an adjudication of neglected
31        or abused minor under Section 2-3 of the  Juvenile  Court
32        Act  of 1987 or dependent minor under Section 2-4 of that
33        Act, or (iii) to  make  reasonable  progress  toward  the
34        return  of  the  child  to  the parent during any 9-month
 
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 1        period after  the  end  of  the  initial  9-month  period
 2        following  the  adjudication of neglected or abused minor
 3        under Section 2-3 of the Juvenile Court Act  of  1987  or
 4        dependent  minor  under  Section  2-4  of  that Act. If a
 5        service plan  has  been  established  as  required  under
 6        Section  8.2  of the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting
 7        Act to correct the conditions that were the basis for the
 8        removal of  the  child  from  the  parent  and  if  those
 9        services  were available, then, for purposes of this Act,
10        "failure to make reasonable progress toward the return of
11        the child  to  the  parent"  includes  (I)  the  parent's
12        failure  to  substantially fulfill his or her obligations
13        under the service plan and correct  the  conditions  that
14        brought  the  child  into  care within 9 months after the
15        adjudication under Section 2-3 or  2-4  of  the  Juvenile
16        Court  Act  of  1987  and  (II)  the  parent's failure to
17        substantially fulfill his or her  obligations  under  the
18        service  plan and correct the conditions that brought the
19        child into care during any 9-month period after  the  end
20        of  the initial 9-month period following the adjudication
21        under Section 2-3 or 2-4 of the  Juvenile  Court  Act  of
22        1987.
23             (m-1)  Pursuant to the Juvenile Court Act of 1987, a
24        child has been in foster care for 15 months out of any 22
25        month  period which begins on or after the effective date
26        of this amendatory Act of 1998 unless the child's  parent
27        can  prove  by a preponderance of the evidence that it is
28        more likely  than  not  that  it  will  be  in  the  best
29        interests  of  the  child  to  be  returned to the parent
30        within 6 months of the  date  on  which  a  petition  for
31        termination   of  parental  rights  is  filed  under  the
32        Juvenile Court Act of 1987.  The 15 month time  limit  is
33        tolled  during  any  period  for  which  there is a court
34        finding that the appointed custodian or  guardian  failed
 
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 1        to  make reasonable efforts to reunify the child with his
 2        or her family,  provided  that  (i)  the  finding  of  no
 3        reasonable  efforts  is made within 60 days of the period
 4        when reasonable efforts were not made or (ii) the  parent
 5        filed  a  motion  requesting  a  finding of no reasonable
 6        efforts within 60 days  of  the  period  when  reasonable
 7        efforts  were not made.  For purposes of this subdivision
 8        (m-1), the date of entering foster care  is  the  earlier
 9        of: (i) the date of a judicial finding at an adjudicatory
10        hearing  that  the  child  is  an  abused,  neglected, or
11        dependent minor; or (ii) 60 days after the date on  which
12        the child is removed from his or her parent, guardian, or
13        legal custodian.
14             (n)  Evidence  of  intent to forgo forego his or her
15        parental rights, whether or not the child is  a  ward  of
16        the  court, (1) as manifested by his or her failure for a
17        period of 12 months: (i) to  visit  the  child,  (ii)  to
18        communicate with the child or agency, although able to do
19        so  and  not  prevented  from doing so by an agency or by
20        court order, or (iii) to maintain contact  with  or  plan
21        for  the future of the child, although physically able to
22        do so, or (2) as  manifested  by  the  father's  failure,
23        where  he  and  the mother of the child were unmarried to
24        each other at the time  of  the  child's  birth,  (i)  to
25        commence  legal  proceedings  to  establish his paternity
26        under the Illinois Parentage Act of 1984 or  the  law  of
27        the  jurisdiction  of the child's birth within 30 days of
28        being informed, pursuant to Section 12a of this Act, that
29        he is the father or the likely father of  the  child  or,
30        after  being so informed where the child is not yet born,
31        within 30 days of the child's birth, or (ii)  to  make  a
32        good  faith  effort  to  pay  a  reasonable amount of the
33        expenses related to the birth of the child and to provide
34        a reasonable amount for  the  financial  support  of  the
 
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 1        child,  the  court  to  consider in its determination all
 2        relevant circumstances, including the financial condition
 3        of both parents; provided that the ground for termination
 4        provided in this subparagraph (n)(2)(ii)  shall  only  be
 5        available  where the petition is brought by the mother or
 6        the husband of the mother.
 7             Contact or communication by a parent with his or her
 8        child that does not  demonstrate  affection  and  concern
 9        does not constitute reasonable contact and planning under
10        subdivision  (n).   In  the  absence  of  evidence to the
11        contrary, the ability  to  visit,  communicate,  maintain
12        contact,  pay  expenses  and plan for the future shall be
13        presumed.  The subjective intent of the  parent,  whether
14        expressed  or  otherwise,  unsupported by evidence of the
15        foregoing parental acts manifesting  that  intent,  shall
16        not preclude a determination that the parent has intended
17        to  forgo  forego  his or her parental rights.  In making
18        this determination, the court may consider but shall  not
19        require  a  showing  of diligent efforts by an authorized
20        agency to  encourage  the  parent  to  perform  the  acts
21        specified in subdivision (n).
22             It shall be an affirmative defense to any allegation
23        under  paragraph (2) of this subsection that the father's
24        failure was due to circumstances beyond his control or to
25        impediments created by the mother  or  any  other  person
26        having legal custody.  Proof of that fact need only be by
27        a preponderance of the evidence.
28             (o)  Repeated  or continuous failure by the parents,
29        although physically and financially able, to provide  the
30        child with adequate food, clothing, or shelter.
31             (p)  Inability       to      discharge      parental
32        responsibilities supported by competent evidence  from  a
33        psychiatrist,   licensed   clinical   social  worker,  or
34        clinical  psychologist  of  mental   impairment,   mental
 
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 1        illness or mental retardation as defined in Section 1-116
 2        of the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code,
 3        or  developmental  disability as defined in Section 1-106
 4        of that Code, and there is  sufficient  justification  to
 5        believe   that   the   inability  to  discharge  parental
 6        responsibilities shall extend beyond  a  reasonable  time
 7        period.   However,  this  subdivision  (p)  shall  not be
 8        construed so as to  permit  a  licensed  clinical  social
 9        worker  to  conduct  any  medical  diagnosis to determine
10        mental illness or mental impairment.
11             (q)  The parent has  been  criminally  convicted  of
12        aggravated  battery, heinous battery, or attempted murder
13        of any child.
14             (r)  The  child  is  in  the  temporary  custody  or
15        guardianship of the Department  of  Children  and  Family
16        Services,  the  parent  is  incarcerated  as  a result of
17        criminal conviction at the time the  petition  or  motion
18        for  termination  of  parental  rights is filed, prior to
19        incarceration the parent had little or  no  contact  with
20        the child or provided little or no support for the child,
21        and  the  parent's  incarceration will prevent the parent
22        from discharging his or her parental responsibilities for
23        the child for a period in excess of  2  years  after  the
24        filing  of  the  petition  or  motion  for termination of
25        parental rights.
26             (s)  The  child  is  in  the  temporary  custody  or
27        guardianship of the Department  of  Children  and  Family
28        Services,  the  parent  is  incarcerated  at the time the
29        petition or motion for termination of parental rights  is
30        filed,  the  parent has been repeatedly incarcerated as a
31        result of criminal convictions, and the parent's repeated
32        incarceration has prevented the parent  from  discharging
33        his or her parental responsibilities for the child.
34             (t)   A  finding  that  at  birth the child's blood,
 
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 1        urine, or meconium contained any amount of  a  controlled
 2        substance  as defined in subsection (f) of Section 102 of
 3        the Illinois Controlled Substances Act, or  a  metabolite
 4        of   a   controlled  substance,  with  the  exception  of
 5        controlled substances or metabolites of such  substances,
 6        the  presence  of  which  in  the  newborn infant was the
 7        result of medical treatment administered to the mother or
 8        the newborn infant, and that  the  biological  mother  of
 9        this child is the biological mother of at least one other
10        child   who  was  adjudicated  a  neglected  minor  under
11        subsection (c) of Section 2-3 of the Juvenile  Court  Act
12        of  1987,  after  which  the  biological  mother  had the
13        opportunity to enroll in and participate in a  clinically
14        appropriate  substance  abuse  counseling, treatment, and
15        rehabilitation program.
16        E.  "Parent" means the father or mother of  a  legitimate
17    or illegitimate child.  For the purpose of this Act, a person
18    who  has executed a final and irrevocable consent to adoption
19    or  a  final  and  irrevocable  surrender  for  purposes   of
20    adoption,  or whose parental rights have been terminated by a
21    court, is not a parent of the child who was  the  subject  of
22    the consent or surrender, unless the consent is void pursuant
23    to subsection O of Section 10.
24        F.  A  person  is  available for adoption when the person
25    is:
26             (a)  a child who has been surrendered  for  adoption
27        to  an  agency  and  to  whose  adoption  the  agency has
28        thereafter consented;
29             (b)  a child to whose adoption a  person  authorized
30        by  law,  other  than  his  parents, has consented, or to
31        whose adoption no consent is required pursuant to Section
32        8 of this Act;
33             (c)  a child who is in the custody  of  persons  who
34        intend  to  adopt  him  through  placement  made  by  his
 
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 1        parents;
 2             (c-1)  a  child  for  whom  a  parent  has  signed a
 3        specific consent pursuant to subsection O of Section  10;
 4        or
 5             (d)  an  adult who meets the conditions set forth in
 6        Section 3 of this Act.
 7        A person who would otherwise be  available  for  adoption
 8    shall not be deemed unavailable for adoption solely by reason
 9    of his or her death.
10        G.  The  singular  includes  the  plural  and  the plural
11    includes the singular and the "male" includes  the  "female",
12    as the context of this Act may require.
13        H.  "Adoption   disruption"   occurs   when  an  adoptive
14    placement does not prove successful and it becomes  necessary
15    for  the  child  to  be  removed  from  placement  before the
16    adoption is finalized.
17        I.  "Foreign placing agency" is an agency  or  individual
18    operating in a country or territory outside the United States
19    that  is  authorized  by  its  country  to place children for
20    adoption either directly with families in the  United  States
21    or through United States based international agencies.
22        J.  "Immediate  relatives"  means the biological parents,
23    the parents of the biological parents  and  siblings  of  the
24    biological parents.
25        K.  "Intercountry adoption" is a process by which a child
26    from a country other than the United States is adopted.
27        L.  "Intercountry Adoption Coordinator" is a staff person
28    of  the  Department of Children and Family Services appointed
29    by the Director to coordinate the provision  of  services  by
30    the  public  and  private  sector  to  prospective parents of
31    foreign-born children.
32        M.  "Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children"  is
33    a  law enacted by most states for the purpose of establishing
34    uniform procedures for handling the interstate  placement  of
 
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 1    children in foster homes, adoptive homes, or other child care
 2    facilities.
 3        N.  "Non-Compact  state"  means  a  state  that  has  not
 4    enacted the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children.
 5        O.  "Preadoption   requirements"   are   any   conditions
 6    established  by  the  laws  or  regulations  of  the  Federal
 7    Government  or  of  each  state that must be met prior to the
 8    placement of a child in an adoptive home.
 9        P.  "Abused  child"  means  a  child  whose   parent   or
10    immediate  family  member,  or any person responsible for the
11    child's welfare,  or any individual residing in the same home
12    as the child, or a paramour of the child's parent:
13             (a)  inflicts, causes to be inflicted, or allows  to
14        be  inflicted  upon  the  child physical injury, by other
15        than accidental means, that causes death,  disfigurement,
16        impairment  of  physical  or emotional health, or loss or
17        impairment of any bodily function;
18             (b)  creates a substantial risk of  physical  injury
19        to  the  child by other than accidental means which would
20        be likely to cause death,  disfigurement,  impairment  of
21        physical  or  emotional  health, or loss or impairment of
22        any bodily function;
23             (c)  commits or  allows  to  be  committed  any  sex
24        offense against the child, as sex offenses are defined in
25        the Criminal Code of 1961 and extending those definitions
26        of  sex  offenses  to  include children under 18 years of
27        age;
28             (d)  commits or allows to be  committed  an  act  or
29        acts of torture upon the child; or
30             (e)  inflicts excessive corporal punishment.
31        Q.  "Neglected  child"  means  any  child whose parent or
32    other person responsible for the child's welfare withholds or
33    denies nourishment or medically indicated treatment including
34    food or care denied solely on the basis  of  the  present  or
 
                            -12-               LRB9101556WHpc
 1    anticipated  mental or physical impairment as determined by a
 2    physician  acting  alone  or  in  consultation   with   other
 3    physicians  or  otherwise  does  not  provide  the  proper or
 4    necessary support, education as required by law,  or  medical
 5    or   other  remedial  care  recognized  under  State  law  as
 6    necessary for a child's well-being, or other  care  necessary
 7    for  his or her well-being, including adequate food, clothing
 8    and shelter; or who is abandoned by his  or  her  parents  or
 9    other person responsible for the child's welfare.
10        A  child  shall not be considered neglected or abused for
11    the sole reason that  the  child's  parent  or  other  person
12    responsible  for  his  or  her welfare depends upon spiritual
13    means through prayer alone  for  the  treatment  or  cure  of
14    disease  or  remedial care as provided under Section 4 of the
15    Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act.
16        R.  "Putative father" means a man who may  be  a  child's
17    father,  but  who (1) is not married to the child's mother on
18    or before the date that the child was or is to  be  born  and
19    (2)  has  not  established  paternity of the child in a court
20    proceeding before the filing of a petition for  the  adoption
21    of  the  child.  The term includes a male who is less than 18
22    years of age.  "Putative father" does not mean a man  who  is
23    the  child's  father  as a result of criminal sexual abuse or
24    assault as defined under Article 12 of the Criminal  Code  of
25    1961.
26    (Source: P.A.  89-235,  eff.  8-4-95;  89-704,  eff.  8-16-97
27    (changed  from  1-1-98  by P.A. 90-443); 90-13, eff. 6-13-97;
28    90-15, eff. 6-13-97; 90-27, eff. 1-1-98 except subdiv. (D)(m)
29    eff. 6-25-97; 90-28, eff. 1-1-98 except subdiv.  (D)(m)  eff.
30    6-25-97;  90-443, eff. 8-16-97; 90-608, eff. 6-30-98; 90-655,
31    eff. 7-30-98; revised 10-31-98.)

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