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Public Act 097-0711
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| HB3887 Enrolled | LRB097 14804 KTG 59832 b |
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AN ACT concerning children.
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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 Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act is |
amended by changing Section 4 as follows:
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(325 ILCS 5/4) (from Ch. 23, par. 2054)
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Sec. 4. Persons required to report; privileged |
communications;
transmitting false report. Any physician, |
resident, intern, hospital,
hospital administrator
and |
personnel engaged in examination, care and treatment of |
persons, surgeon,
dentist, dentist hygienist, osteopath, |
chiropractor, podiatrist, physician
assistant, substance abuse |
treatment personnel, funeral home
director or employee, |
coroner, medical examiner, emergency medical technician,
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acupuncturist, crisis line or hotline personnel, school |
personnel (including administrators and both certified and |
non-certified school employees), personnel of institutions of |
higher education, educational
advocate assigned to a child |
pursuant to the School Code, member of a school board or the |
Chicago Board of Education or the governing body of a private |
school (but only to the extent required in accordance with |
other provisions of this Section expressly concerning the duty |
of school board members to report suspected child abuse), |
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truant officers,
social worker, social services administrator,
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domestic violence program personnel, registered nurse, |
licensed
practical nurse, genetic counselor,
respiratory care |
practitioner, advanced practice nurse, home
health aide, |
director or staff
assistant of a nursery school or a child day |
care center, recreational or athletic program
or facility |
personnel, early intervention provider as defined in the Early |
Intervention Services System Act, law enforcement officer, |
licensed professional
counselor, licensed clinical |
professional counselor, registered psychologist
and
assistants |
working under the direct supervision of a psychologist,
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psychiatrist, or field personnel of the Department of |
Healthcare and Family Services,
Juvenile Justice, Public |
Health, Human Services (acting as successor to the Department |
of Mental
Health and Developmental Disabilities, |
Rehabilitation Services, or Public Aid),
Corrections, Human |
Rights, or Children and Family Services, supervisor and
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administrator of general assistance under the Illinois Public |
Aid Code,
probation officer, animal control officer or Illinois |
Department of Agriculture Bureau of Animal Health and Welfare |
field investigator, or any other foster parent, homemaker or |
child care worker
having reasonable cause to believe a child |
known to them in their professional
or official capacity may be |
an abused child or a neglected child shall
immediately report |
or cause a report to be made to the Department.
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Any member of the clergy having reasonable cause to believe |
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that a child
known to that member of the clergy in his or her |
professional capacity may be
an abused child as defined in item |
(c) of the definition of "abused child" in
Section 3 of this |
Act shall immediately report or cause a report to be made to
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the Department.
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Any physician, physician's assistant, registered nurse, |
licensed practical nurse, medical technician, certified |
nursing assistant, social worker, or licensed professional |
counselor of any office, clinic, or any other physical location |
that provides abortions, abortion referrals, or contraceptives |
having reasonable cause to believe a child known to him or her |
in his or her professional
or official capacity may be an |
abused child or a neglected child shall
immediately report or |
cause a report to be made to the Department. |
If an allegation is raised to a school board member during |
the course of an open or closed school board meeting that a |
child who is enrolled in the school district of which he or she |
is a board member is an abused child as defined in Section 3 of |
this Act, the member shall direct or cause the school board to |
direct the superintendent of the school district or other |
equivalent school administrator to comply with the |
requirements of this Act concerning the reporting of child |
abuse. For purposes of this paragraph, a school board member is |
granted the authority in his or her individual capacity to |
direct the superintendent of the school district or other |
equivalent school administrator to comply with the |
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requirements of this Act concerning the reporting of child |
abuse.
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Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, if an |
employee of a school district has made a report or caused a |
report to be made to the Department under this Act involving |
the conduct of a current or former employee of the school |
district and a request is made by another school district for |
the provision of information concerning the job performance or |
qualifications of the current or former employee because he or |
she is an applicant for employment with the requesting school |
district, the general superintendent of the school district to |
which the request is being made must disclose to the requesting |
school district the fact that an employee of the school |
district has made a report involving the conduct of the |
applicant or caused a report to be made to the Department, as |
required under this Act. Only the fact that an employee of the |
school district has made a report involving the conduct of the |
applicant or caused a report to be made to the Department may |
be disclosed by the general superintendent of the school |
district to which the request for information concerning the |
applicant is made, and this fact may be disclosed only in cases |
where the employee and the general superintendent have not been |
informed by the Department that the allegations were unfounded. |
An employee of a school district who is or has been the subject |
of a report made pursuant to this Act during his or her |
employment with the school district must be informed by that |
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school district that if he or she applies for employment with |
another school district, the general superintendent of the |
former school district, upon the request of the school district |
to which the employee applies, shall notify that requesting |
school district that the employee is or was the subject of such |
a report.
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Whenever
such person is required to report under this Act |
in his capacity as a member of
the staff of a medical or other |
public or private institution, school, facility
or agency, or |
as a member of the clergy, he shall
make report immediately to |
the Department in accordance
with the provisions of this Act |
and may also notify the person in charge of
such institution, |
school, facility or agency, or church, synagogue, temple,
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mosque, or other religious institution, or his
designated agent |
that such
report has been made. Under no circumstances shall |
any person in charge of
such institution, school, facility or |
agency, or church, synagogue, temple,
mosque, or other |
religious institution, or his
designated agent to whom
such |
notification has been made, exercise any control, restraint, |
modification
or other change in the report or the forwarding of |
such report to the
Department.
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The privileged quality of communication between any |
professional
person required to report
and his patient or |
client shall not apply to situations involving abused or
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neglected children and shall not constitute grounds for failure |
to report
as required by this Act or constitute grounds for |
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failure to share information or documents with the Department |
during the course of a child abuse or neglect investigation. If |
requested by the professional, the Department shall confirm in |
writing that the information or documents disclosed by the |
professional were gathered in the course of a child abuse or |
neglect investigation.
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A member of the clergy may claim the privilege under |
Section 8-803 of the
Code of Civil Procedure.
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Any office, clinic, or any other physical location that |
provides abortions, abortion referrals, or contraceptives |
shall provide to all office personnel copies of written |
information and training materials about abuse and neglect and |
the requirements of this Act that are provided to employees of |
the office, clinic, or physical location who are required to |
make reports to the Department under this Act, and instruct |
such office personnel to bring to the attention of an employee |
of the office, clinic, or physical location who is required to |
make reports to the Department under this Act any reasonable |
suspicion that a child known to him or her in his or her |
professional or official capacity may be an abused child or a |
neglected child. In addition to the above persons required to
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report suspected cases of abused or neglected children, any |
other person
may make a report if such person has reasonable |
cause to believe a child
may be an abused child or a neglected |
child.
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Any person who enters into
employment on and after July 1, |
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1986 and is mandated by virtue of that
employment to report |
under this Act, shall sign a statement on a form
prescribed by |
the Department, to the effect that the employee has knowledge
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and understanding of the reporting requirements of this Act. |
The statement
shall be signed prior to commencement of the |
employment. The signed
statement shall be retained by the |
employer. The cost of printing,
distribution, and filing of the |
statement shall be borne by the employer.
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The Department shall provide copies of this Act, upon |
request, to all
employers employing persons who shall be |
required under the provisions of
this Section to report under |
this Act.
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Any person who knowingly transmits a false report to the |
Department
commits the offense of disorderly conduct under |
subsection (a)(7) of
Section 26-1 of the "Criminal Code of |
1961". A violation of this provision is a Class 4 felony.
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Any person who knowingly and willfully violates any |
provision of this
Section other than a second or subsequent |
violation of transmitting a
false report as described in the
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preceding paragraph, is guilty of a
Class A misdemeanor for
a |
first violation and a Class
4 felony for a
second or subsequent |
violation; except that if the person acted as part
of a plan or |
scheme having as its object the
prevention of discovery of an |
abused or neglected child by lawful authorities
for the
purpose |
of protecting or insulating any person or entity from arrest or
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prosecution, the
person is guilty of a Class 4 felony for a |
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first offense and a Class 3 felony
for a second or
subsequent |
offense (regardless of whether the second or subsequent offense
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involves any
of the same facts or persons as the first or other |
prior offense).
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A child whose parent, guardian or custodian in good faith |
selects and depends
upon spiritual means through prayer alone |
for the treatment or cure of
disease or remedial care may be |
considered neglected or abused, but not for
the sole reason |
that his parent, guardian or custodian accepts and
practices |
such beliefs.
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A child shall not be considered neglected or abused solely |
because the
child is not attending school in accordance with |
the requirements of
Article 26 of the School Code, as amended.
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Nothing in this Act prohibits a mandated reporter who |
reasonably believes that an animal is being abused or neglected |
in violation of the Humane Care for Animals Act from reporting |
animal abuse or neglect to the Department of Agriculture's |
Bureau of Animal Health and Welfare. |
A home rule unit may not regulate the reporting of child |
abuse or neglect in a manner inconsistent with the provisions |
of this Section. This Section is a limitation under subsection |
(i) of Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois Constitution on |
the concurrent exercise by home rule units of powers and |
functions exercised by the State. |
For purposes of this Section "child abuse or neglect" |
includes abuse or neglect of an adult resident as defined in |