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Sec. 3-2.7-10. Definitions. In this Article, unless the |
context requires otherwise: |
"Department" means the Department of Juvenile Justice. |
"Immediate family or household member" means the spouse, |
child, parent, brother, sister, grandparent, or grandchild, |
whether of the whole blood or half blood or by adoption, or a |
person who shares a common dwelling. |
"Juvenile justice system" means all activities by public or |
private agencies or persons pertaining to youth involved in or |
having contact with the police, courts, or corrections. |
"Office" means the Office of the Independent Juvenile |
Ombudsman. |
"Ombudsman" means the Department of Juvenile Justice |
Independent Juvenile Ombudsman. |
"Youth" means any person committed by court order to the |
custody of the Department of Juvenile Justice, including youth |
released on aftercare before final discharge.
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(730 ILCS 5/3-2.7-15 new) |
Sec. 3-2.7-15. Appointment of Independent Juvenile |
Ombudsman. The Governor shall appoint the Independent Juvenile |
Ombudsman with the advice and consent of the Senate for a term |
of 4 years, with the first term expiring February 1, 2017. A |
person appointed as Ombudsman may be reappointed to one or more |
subsequent terms. A vacancy shall occur upon resignation, |
death, or removal. The Ombudsman may only be removed by the |
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Governor for incompetency, malfeasance, neglect of duty, or |
conviction of a felony. If the Senate is not in session or is |
in recess when an appointment subject to its confirmation is |
made, the Governor shall make a temporary appointment which |
shall be subject to subsequent Senate approval.
The Ombudsman |
may employ deputies to perform, under the direction of the |
Ombudsman, the same duties and exercise the same powers as the |
Ombudsman, and may employ other support staff as deemed |
necessary. The Ombudsman and deputies must: |
(1) be over the age of 21 years; |
(2) have a bachelor's or advanced degree from an accredited |
college or university; and |
(3) have relevant expertise in areas such as the juvenile |
justice system, investigations, or civil rights advocacy as |
evidenced by experience in the field or by academic background.
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(730 ILCS 5/3-2.7-20 new) |
Sec. 3-2.7-20. Conflicts of interest. A person may not |
serve as Ombudsman or as a deputy if the person or the person's |
immediate family or household member: |
(1) is or has been employed by the Department of Juvenile |
Justice or Department of Corrections within one year prior to |
appointment, other than as Ombudsman or Deputy Ombudsman; |
(2) participates in the management of a business entity or |
other organization receiving funds from the Department of |
Juvenile Justice; |
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(3) owns or controls, directly or indirectly, any interest |
in a business entity or other organization receiving funds from |
the Department of Juvenile Justice; |
(4) uses or receives any amount of tangible goods, |
services, or funds from the Department of Juvenile Justice, |
other than as Ombudsman or Deputy Ombudsman; or |
(5) is required to register as a lobbyist for an |
organization that interacts with the juvenile justice system.
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(730 ILCS 5/3-2.7-25 new) |
Sec. 3-2.7-25. Duties and powers. |
(a) The Independent Juvenile Ombudsman shall function |
independently within the Department of Juvenile Justice with |
respect to the operations of the Office in performance of his |
or her duties under this Article and shall report to the |
Governor. The Ombudsman shall adopt rules and standards as may |
be
necessary or desirable to carry out his or her duties. |
Funding
for the Office shall be designated separately within
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Department funds. The Department shall provide necessary |
administrative services and facilities to the Office of the |
Independent Juvenile Ombudsman. |
(b) The Office of Independent Juvenile Ombudsman shall have
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the following duties: |
(1) review and monitor the implementation of the rules
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and standards established by the Department of Juvenile
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Justice and evaluate the delivery of services to youth to
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ensure that the rights of youth are fully observed; |
(2) provide assistance to a youth or family who the
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Ombudsman determines is in need of assistance, including
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advocating with an agency, provider, or other person in the
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best interests of the youth; |
(3) investigate and attempt to resolve complaints made |
by or on behalf of youth, other than
complaints alleging |
criminal behavior or violations of the State Officials and |
Employee Ethics Act, if the Office
determines that the |
investigation and resolution would further the purpose of |
the Office, and: |
(A) a youth committed to the Department of Juvenile
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Justice or the youth's family is in need of
assistance |
from the Office; or |
(B) a systemic issue in the Department of Juvenile
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Justice's provision of services is raised by a
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complaint; |
(4) review or inspect periodically the facilities and
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procedures of any facility in which a youth has been placed
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by the Department of Juvenile Justice to ensure that the
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rights of youth are fully observed; and |
(5) be accessible to and meet confidentially and
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regularly with youth committed to the Department and serve
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as a resource by informing them of pertinent laws,
rules, |
and policies, and their rights thereunder. |
(c) The following cases shall be reported immediately to
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the Director of Juvenile Justice and the Governor: |
(1) cases of severe abuse or injury of a youth; |
(2) serious misconduct, misfeasance, malfeasance, or
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serious violations of policies and procedures concerning
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the administration of a Department of Juvenile Justice
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program or operation; |
(3) serious problems concerning the delivery of |
services in a facility operated by or under contract with
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the Department of Juvenile Justice; |
(4) interference by the Department of Juvenile Justice
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with an investigation conducted by the Office; and |
(5) other cases as deemed necessary by the Ombudsman. |
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
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Ombudsman may not investigate alleged criminal behavior or |
violations of the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act. If |
the
Ombudsman determines that a possible criminal act has been
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committed, or that special expertise is required in the
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investigation, he or she shall immediately notify the
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Department of State Police. If the Ombudsman determines that a |
possible violation of the State Officials and Employees Ethics |
Act has occurred, he or she shall immediately refer the |
incident to the Office of the Governor's Executive Inspector |
General for investigation. If the Ombudsman receives a |
complaint from a youth or third party regarding suspected abuse |
or neglect of a child, the Ombudsman shall refer the incident |
to the Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline or to the State Police |
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as mandated by the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act. |
Any investigation conducted by the
Ombudsman shall not be |
duplicative and shall be separate from
any investigation |
mandated by the Abused and Neglected Child
Reporting Act.
All |
investigations conducted by the Ombudsman shall be
conducted in |
a manner designed to ensure the preservation of
evidence for |
possible use in a criminal prosecution. |
(e) In performance of his or her duties, the
Ombudsman may: |
(1) review court files of youth; |
(2) recommend policies, rules, and legislation
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designed to protect youth; |
(3) make appropriate referrals under any of the duties
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and powers listed in this Section; |
(4) attend internal administrative and disciplinary |
hearings to ensure the rights of youth are fully observed
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and advocate for the best interest of youth when deemed
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necessary; and |
(5) perform other acts, otherwise permitted or |
required by law, in furtherance of the purpose of the |
Office. |
(f) To assess if a youth's rights have been violated, the
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Ombudsman may, in any matter that does not involve alleged
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criminal behavior, contact or consult with an administrator,
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employee, youth, parent, expert, or any other individual in the
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course of his or her investigation or to secure information as
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necessary to fulfill his or her duties.
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(730 ILCS 5/3-2.7-30 new) |
Sec. 3-2.7-30. Duties of the Department of Juvenile |
Justice. |
(a) The Department of Juvenile Justice shall allow any |
youth to communicate with the Ombudsman or a deputy at any |
time. The communication: |
(1) may be in person, by phone, by mail, or by any |
other means deemed appropriate in light of security |
concerns; and |
(2) is confidential and privileged. |
(b) The Department shall allow the Ombudsman and deputies |
full and unannounced access to youth and Department facilities |
at any time. The Department shall furnish the Ombudsman and |
deputies with appropriate meeting space in each facility in |
order to preserve confidentiality. |
(c) The Department shall allow the Ombudsman and deputies |
to participate in professional development opportunities |
provided by the Department of Juvenile Justice as practical and |
to attend appropriate professional training when requested by |
the Ombudsman. |
(d) The Department shall provide the Ombudsman copies of |
critical incident reports involving a youth residing in a |
facility operated by the Department. Critical incidents |
include, but are not limited to, severe injuries that result in |
hospitalization, suicide attempts that require medical |
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intervention, sexual abuse, and escapes. |
(e) The Department shall provide the Ombudsman with |
reasonable advance notice of all internal administrative and |
disciplinary hearings regarding a youth residing in a facility |
operated by the Department. |
(f) The Department of Juvenile Justice may not discharge, |
demote, discipline, or in any manner discriminate or retaliate |
against a youth or an employee who in good faith makes a |
complaint to the Office of the Independent Juvenile Ombudsman |
or cooperates with the Office.
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(730 ILCS 5/3-2.7-35 new) |
Sec. 3-2.7-35. Reports. The Independent Juvenile Ombudsman |
shall provide to the General Assembly and the Governor, no |
later than January 1 of each year, a summary of activities done |
in furtherance of the purpose of
the Office for the prior |
fiscal year. The summaries shall contain data both aggregated |
and disaggregated by individual facility and describe: |
(1) the work of the Ombudsman; |
(2) the status of any review or investigation undertaken by
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the Ombudsman, but
may not contain any confidential or |
identifying information
concerning the subjects of the reports |
and investigations; and |
(3) any recommendations that the Independent Juvenile
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Ombudsman has relating to a systemic issue in the Department of |
Juvenile Justice's provision of services and any
other matters |
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for consideration by the General Assembly and the Governor.
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(730 ILCS 5/3-2.7-40 new) |
Sec. 3-2.7-40. Complaints. The Office of Independent |
Juvenile Ombudsman shall promptly and efficiently act on |
complaints made by or on behalf of youth filed with the Office |
that relate to the operations or staff of the Department of |
Juvenile Justice. The Office shall maintain information about |
parties to the complaint, the subject matter of the complaint, |
a summary of the results of the review or investigation of the |
complaint, including any resolution of or recommendations made |
as a result of the complaint. The Office shall make information |
available describing its procedures for complaint |
investigation and resolution. When applicable, the Office |
shall notify the complaining youth that an investigation and |
resolution may result in or will require disclosure of the |
complaining youth's identity. The Office shall periodically |
notify the complaint parties of the status of the complaint |
until final disposition.
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(730 ILCS 5/3-2.7-45 new) |
Sec. 3-2.7-45. Confidentiality. The name, address, or |
other personally identifiable information of a person who files |
a complaint with the Office, information generated by the |
Office related to a complaint or other activities of the |
Office, and confidential records obtained by the Office are not |
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subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act. The |
Office shall disclose the records only if required by court |
order on a showing of good cause.
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(730 ILCS 5/3-2.7-50 new) |
Sec. 3-2.7-50. Promotion and Awareness of Office. The |
Independent Juvenile Ombudsman shall promote awareness among |
the public and youth of: |
(1) the rights of youth committed to the Department; |
(2) purpose of the Office; |
(3) how the Office may be contacted; |
(4) the confidential nature of communications; and |
(5) the services the Office provides.
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(730 ILCS 5/3-2.7-55 new) |
Sec. 3-2.7-55. Access to information of governmental |
entities. The Department of Juvenile Justice shall provide the |
Independent Juvenile Ombudsman unrestricted access to all |
master record files of youth under Section 3-5-1 of this Code. |
Access to educational, social, psychological, mental health, |
substance abuse, and medical records shall not be disclosed |
except as provided in Section 5-910 of the Juvenile Court Act |
of 1987, the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities |
Confidentiality Act, the School Code, and any applicable |
federal laws that govern access to those records.
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Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon |