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Public Act 097-1068
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| HB4966 Enrolled | LRB097 19242 KTG 64484 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 4.2 as follows:
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(325 ILCS 5/4.2)
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Sec. 4.2. Departmental report on death or serious |
life-threatening injury of child.
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(a) In the case of the death or serious life-threatening |
injury of a child whose care and custody or custody
and |
guardianship has been transferred to the Department, or in the |
case
of a child abuse or neglect report made to the central |
register involving the
death of a child, the
Department shall |
(i) investigate or provide for an investigation of the cause
of |
and circumstances surrounding the death or serious |
life-threatening injury, (ii) review the investigation,
and |
(iii) prepare and issue a report on the death or serious |
life-threatening injury.
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(b) The report shall include (i) the cause of death or |
serious life-threatening injury, whether from natural
or other |
causes, (ii) any
extraordinary or pertinent information |
concerning the circumstances of the
child's death or serious |
life-threatening injury, (iii) identification of child |
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protective or other social services provided or actions taken |
regarding the child or his or her family at the time of the |
death or serious life-threatening injury or within the |
preceding 5 years, (iv) any action or further investigation |
undertaken by the
Department since the death or serious |
life-threatening injury of the
child, (v) as appropriate, |
recommendations for State
administrative or policy changes, |
and (vi) whether the alleged perpetrator of the abuse or |
neglect has been charged with committing a crime related to the |
report and allegation of abuse or neglect, and (vii) a copy of |
any documents, files, records, books, and papers created or |
used in connection with the Department's investigation of the |
death or serious life-threatening injury of the child. In any |
case involving the death or near death of a child, when a |
person responsible for the child has been charged with |
committing a crime that results in the child's death or near |
death, there shall be a presumption that the best interest of |
the public will be served by public disclosure of certain |
information concerning the circumstances of the investigations |
of the death or near death of the child and any other |
investigations concerning that child or other children living |
in the same household.
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If the Department receives from the public a request for |
information relating to a case of child abuse or neglect |
involving the death or serious life-threatening injury of a |
child, the Director shall consult with the State's Attorney in |
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the county of venue and release the report related to the case, |
except for the following, which may be redacted from the |
information disclosed to the public: any mental health or |
psychological information that is confidential as otherwise |
provided in State law; privileged communications of an |
attorney; the identity of the individual or individuals, if |
known, who made the report; information that may cause mental |
or physical harm to a sibling or another child living in the |
household; information that may undermine an ongoing criminal |
investigation; and any information prohibited from disclosure |
by federal law or regulation. Any information provided by an |
adult subject of a report that is released about the case in a |
public forum shall be subject to disclosure upon a public |
information request. Information about the case shall also be |
subject to disclosure upon consent of an adult subject. |
Information about the case shall also be subject to disclosure |
if it has been publicly disclosed in a report by a law |
enforcement agency or official, a State's Attorney, a judge, or |
any other State or local investigative agency or official. |
Except as it may apply directly to the cause of the death or |
serious life-threatening injury of the
child, nothing
in this |
Section shall be deemed to authorize the release or disclosure |
to the
public of
the substance or content of any psychological, |
psychiatric, therapeutic,
clinical, or medical reports, |
evaluation, or like materials or information
pertaining to the |
child or the child's family.
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(c) No later than 6 months after the date of the death or |
serious life-threatening injury of the child, the
Department |
shall notify the President of the Senate, the Minority Leader |
of
the Senate, the
Speaker of the House of Representatives, the |
Minority Leader of the House of
Representatives, and the |
members of the Senate and the House of Representatives
in whose |
district the child's death or serious life-threatening injury |
occurred upon the completion of each report
and
shall submit an |
annual cumulative report to the Governor and the General
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Assembly incorporating cumulative data about the above reports |
and including appropriate
findings
and recommendations. The |
reports required by this subsection (c) shall be made available |
to the public
after completion or submittal.
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(d) To enable the Department to prepare the report, the |
Department may
request and shall timely receive from |
departments, boards, bureaus, or other
agencies of the State, |
or any of its political subdivisions, or any duly
authorized |
agency, or any other agency which provided assistance, care, or
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services to the deceased or injured child any information they |
are authorized to
provide.
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(Source: P.A. 95-405, eff. 6-1-08.)
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